Zeff's terms meant Lin Mo only had to stay here. He didn't have to do a thing.
What was there to hesitate over?
Of course he agreed.
Repaying a favor could be a real hassle.
He had no intention of owing anyone in this world and letting them lead him around by the nose.
"Haha, I win." Zeff grinned. "Never thought I'd see the day someone turned you down, Garp."
Garp fell silent for a moment.
Then he burst out laughing.
He didn't seem bothered in the slightest that Lin Mo hadn't chosen him.
"Hahaha!" Garp laughed. "What an interesting kid. In that case, I've decided to stay here for now. I'll leave whenever Lin Mo does!"
"Huh?" Zeff stared at him. "All this for one kid? Don't forget who you are. Don't you have pirates to catch?"
Garp pointed at Zeff and laughed. "Of course I do. I hear pirates visit your restaurant all the time. I can enjoy delicious desserts while catching the ones who come right to me. Two birds with one stone. What could be better?"
Zeff: "..."
Lin Mo: "..."
Lin Mo hadn't expected Garp to go this far.
His determination to get Lin Mo into the Marines was remarkably similar to the way Luffy would insist that Zoro, Sanji, and the others join his pirate crew.
They really were grandfather and grandson...
Forget it. Let him do what he wants.
Lin Mo had no intention of staying here any longer.
Without another word, he headed toward the kitchen.
"Where are you going?" Zeff asked.
"The kitchen," Lin Mo replied calmly.
Zeff's eyes flickered. "Can you cook?"
Lin Mo's expression didn't change. "No."
Zeff: "..."
Garp couldn't hold back his laughter. "Hahaha!"
After Lin Mo entered the kitchen,
Garp prepared to return to the dining room.
Zeff suddenly called after him. "Garp, are you really staying?"
Garp grinned. "Of course."
With that, he descended the Spiral Staircase and returned to the dining room below.
Zeff looked toward the kitchen door again. "Just where did that kid come from...?"
Inside the kitchen,
Lin Mo's gaze passed over the dozen or so busy cooks and settled on Sanji, who was diligently washing dishes at the sink.
Judging by his experience with the check-in at Shimotsuki Village,
the mission involving Sanji would probably account for a large share of his progress.
Without giving it much more thought, Lin Mo walked over to him.
Sanji sensed someone approaching
and turned to look.
When he saw the kid who had traded kicks with Zeff,
he froze, and a plate slipped from his hands.
It shattered with a crash.
Sanji's face changed. "Ah! Damn it, that old geezer's going to yell at me..."
Floating Restaurant: Sanji Begins to Reflect on Himself
Sanji hadn't expected Lin Mo to come looking for him.
Worse, Lin Mo's arrival had made him break a plate...
That made him furious.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Sanji snapped. "Thanks to you, I broke a plate!"
Lin Mo gave him an amused look. "Did I break it?"
Sanji paused, then muttered, "No..."
"Then what does it have to do with me?"
"Huh?" Sanji knew he was in the wrong and had to swallow his frustration. "Damn it! All you people ever do is pick on me. Those lousy cooks do it, that old geezer does it, and now even you, a complete outsider! One day, I'll make you all see me differently!"
Just then, Patty shoved the kitchen door open and stormed in, grumbling as he walked. "The nerve of that penniless bum, coming to the Baratie for a meal! He didn't know what he was getting himself into!"
The busy cooks burst out laughing.
"Patty, did you throw another one out the back door?"
"Hahaha! That's Patty for you."
But Sanji stopped washing dishes as soon as he heard Patty had thrown out someone who couldn't afford a meal.
Lin Mo watched him calmly.
From what Lin Mo knew of Sanji, the boy would definitely sneak some food out to the man.
After all, Sanji couldn't stand by while someone went hungry.
Sure enough,
Sanji quietly took two rolls and a bottle of milk.
When he noticed Lin Mo watching, he gestured for him to keep quiet.
Then, while Patty and the others weren't looking, he slipped out of the kitchen.
Lin Mo followed him.
Sanji reached the deck by the back door.
A man, thin from hunger, lay flat on his back on the deck, staring upward in despair.
Without a word, Sanji placed the rolls and milk beside him.
"Eat," Sanji said, sitting down nearby and watching him.
The man weakly turned his head. His hands trembled as he picked up the rolls and milk, then he devoured them without hesitation.
When he finished, tears streamed down his face. "Thank you. Thank you so much. I thought I was going to starve to death out on this sea."
Sanji grinned. "Feels good to have something to eat, doesn't it?"
The man nodded with a smile. "It does. For the first time, I realize how lucky I am just to have food. I don't know how to thank you."
"No need to thank me. Food is a treasure nature gives us. Just promise me that even if you're well-off someday, you won't waste it."
"I promise!"
"Good." Sanji nodded and headed back.
When he came up the Spiral Staircase,
Lin Mo was leaning against the wall beside the second-floor stairs.
As Sanji passed, Lin Mo said, "A hot meal would've been better than dry bread, wouldn't it?"
Sanji stopped dead.
Lin Mo's words struck him like a blade through the heart.
"Hey! What do you know?" Sanji burst out angrily. "I want to cook for hungry people too, but my food tastes awful! That old geezer refuses to teach me, and I don't know what to do about it!"
"Heh." Lin Mo gave a cold laugh.
Sanji gritted his teeth. "You're laughing at me, aren't you? What gives you the right?"
"With an attitude like that, why should Zeff teach you?"
"What?" Sanji shook with anger. "You want a fight?"
As he spoke, Sanji lunged at Lin Mo and threw a punch.
Lin Mo stepped aside.
Sanji's fist slammed into the wooden wall behind him. He stamped his feet in pain.
Lin Mo was speechless.
Apparently, the boy hadn't started learning to fight with his legs yet...
He was still using his hands?
A chef's hands were for cooking.
A good chef should fight with his legs.
That was how Zeff did it.
And how Sanji would fight in the future.
The boy was just taking too long to figure it out.
As Lin Mo considered this with some frustration, an idea struck him.
Maybe this is the key to Mission Progress this time!
With that thought, Lin Mo asked, "Does your hand hurt?"
"Obviously it hurts!" Sanji snapped.
Lin Mo smiled faintly. "Do you know why Zeff still won't teach you to cook?"
Sanji paused, then snorted. "Who knows what's going through that old geezer's head? You're an outsider. Don't tell me you know why."
"I do."
"Huh?" Sanji stared at him in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding. How long have you even known that old geezer? How could you know?"
"What's your dream?"
"Hey, why are you asking?" Despite his annoyance, Sanji answered honestly. "I want to surpass that old geezer. Then, after he passes away, I'll set sail to find All Blue."
All Blue was a place Sanji had always dreamed of: where the four seas met. Legend said it held ingredients from every sea, a paradise every chef longed to find.
Sanji's eyes shone when he spoke of All Blue.
Lin Mo merely gave an indifferent "Oh."
That brought Sanji straight back to reality. "What's that halfhearted 'oh' supposed to mean?"
"What right does someone who spends all day complaining have to talk about dreams?"
"Huh? You bastard! You don't know anything!" Sanji clenched his fist and swung at Lin Mo again.
This time, Lin Mo didn't dodge. "A chef's hands are his most important tools, aren't they? If you hurt yours, are you going to cook with your feet?"
Sanji's fist stopped less than two inches from Lin Mo's face.
The corner of Lin Mo's mouth lifted. "Someone who won't even put in the effort has no right to talk about dreams."
With that, Lin Mo stepped around him and set off to explore the Baratie and learn his way around.
He'd said everything he needed to say.
Before you continue