"Colorful Chef" Sanji

They laughed and slapped the table, making it go bang, bang, bang...

Kuina covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking wildly as bright, bell-like laughter escaped her.

Zeff straightened up and smiled at the four of them as they laughed themselves silly.

He had known all along that Kuta was joking, so he had played along.

Did they really think he was after the money on the table?

Once they had laughed enough, Zeff asked, "Judging by how you're dressed, you kids don't look like pirates. Are you going sightseeing, or are you really setting out on an adventure?"

"An adventure, of course! We're going all the way around the Grand Line," Ahua answered excitedly.

Kuta had told them that was their goal as soon as they set sail.

"The Grand Line. That brings back memories."

A wistful look crossed Zeff's face.

Ahua and the others only knew Zeff as a chef. They had no idea he used to be a pirate; they weren't Kuta or Marines.

"Oh? From the look on your face, Mr. Zeff, have you been to the Grand Line?" Ahua asked with interest, pushing up his glasses.

Zeff smiled and looked back on the past. "Mm... I had a dream once, so I gathered a crew who shared it and went to the Grand Line."

He paused. His expression gradually turned grave as he looked at Kuta and the others. "We sailed the Grand Line for only a year before our entire crew was wiped out. If a kind ship hadn't come along, even I wouldn't have made it back."

"What happened after that? What made you decide to open a restaurant at sea?"

A-Luo braced both hands on the table and looked at Zeff in puzzlement as he asked.

Ahua and A-Tao nodded too, watching Zeff curiously.

They weren't concerned about the dangers of the Grand Line. They had never experienced them, so they couldn't truly grasp them. Besides, they had Kuta and his seemingly invincible strength.

What interested them was what could drive someone to open a restaurant at sea.

He must have been through plenty of interesting things to come up with an idea like that!

Meeting the curious gazes of the Ahua Trio, Zeff showed a flicker of lingering fear.

He pulled out a chair and sat beside Kuta, then slowly recounted his harrowing experience of being shipwrecked and stranded on a deserted island, speaking of it as though it were nothing.

He didn't say much about his leg or Sanji.

When Zeff finished, Ahua pushed up his glasses, a sharp gleam in his eyes.

"So you've experienced the extremes of hunger, Mr. Zeff. Is that why you decided to open a restaurant at sea—so people out sailing would have somewhere to eat when they were starving?"

"Yes."

At Zeff's brief confirmation, admiration appeared on all their faces.

For a chef, what a noble and magnificent ambition that was!

Zeff looked at the youngsters opposite him. They were interested only in the Baratie and seemed utterly unconcerned about the dangers of the Grand Line, so he offered them a warning.

"Kids, I'd advise you to prepare properly before you set off. The dangers of the Grand Line are nothing like those of the Four Blues. The most vicious pirates from all four seas gather there."

"Pirates?"

A-Tao shrugged unconcernedly, took out a pack of cigarettes, and offered it to Zeff with a smile.

"Would you like one, Mr. Zeff?"

Zeff looked at A-Tao and quickly waved her off, explaining to them.

"These hands of mine never touch that stuff. I don't want it tainting my cooking."

Seeing that Zeff was serious, A-Tao put the pack away, took one out for herself, lit it, and drew on it.

Seeing that Kuta and the others still weren't taking pirates seriously, Zeff continued in a stern voice.

"Pirates are one thing. You might be able to escape them. But if your luck runs out and you run into weather as devastating as a natural disaster, congratulations—you might all be wiped out."

"That's exactly what happened to my crew. A natural disaster wiped us out."

The Perverted Cook Sanji ### Seeing Zeff's earnest warning, Kuta stopped smiling and said,

"Hey, don't worry, Mr. Zeff."

"I waited over ten years to set sail. How could I not be prepared?"

A trace of terrifying pressure rose from him as he spoke solemnly to Zeff.

"I set sail specifically to claim the title of the strongest and see the Grand Line's extraordinary sights!"

Ahua and the other two nodded along.

They were only tagging along, but that didn't stop them from putting on a show.

"And I set sail to become the strongest female Swordmaster and keep up with Kuta!" Kuina declared from her seat on Kuta's left, her gaze unwavering.

Sensing Kuta's presence and resolve, Zeff couldn't help marveling at the power of dreams.

He, too, had once gone to sea for a dream: to find the legendary All Blue.

That thought brought Sanji to mind. Sanji shared his dream.

That boy had refused to set sail and pursue his own dream because of him.

No sooner had Zeff thought of Sanji than the boy appeared.

A dark figure suddenly burst out of the kitchen, swept past Kuta, and stopped right beside Kuina.

Facing her, he dropped to one knee, pressed his left hand to his chest, and raised a red rose in his right as he proclaimed loudly,

"Oh, sea!"

"Thank you for bringing us together today!"

Kuina stared at the man before her, dressed in a black suit, with blond hair and distinctly curled eyebrows.

She looked surprised for a moment, then watched his performance without expression.

The colder Kuina's face grew, the more excited Sanji became. Clutching his face, he cried out,

"Oh, love!"

"Go ahead and mock me for being unable to bear this agony! If it means I can be with you, I'm ready to become a pirate or even a devil!"

The corners of Kuta's mouth and those of the Ahua Trio twitched.

Kuta was stunned and speechless at the Perverted Cook Sanji's sudden appearance and wildly exaggerated words and gestures.

The Ahua Trio, meanwhile, simply mourned for him.

He's asking for it.

Sure enough, what happened next proved them right.

Goosebumps prickled all over Kuina. She sprang to her feet, raised her leg, and lashed out at his head with a slanting kick.

Bang!

Sanji's head snapped to one side, and he shot toward the floor.

Thud!

His head slammed hard into the floor.

Even after that kick left him sprawled there, he craned his neck to stare at Kuina, hearts practically pouring from his eyes.

"Ah, my goddess! Even the way you kick is beautiful."

Sanji had thoroughly creeped Kuina out. She hurried behind Kuta, wrapped her arms around him, and complained,

"Kuta, he's so disgusting!"

Kuta glared at Sanji, his face dark. Seeing him in person was something else. The man's lecherous audacity knew no bounds!

"Hey! Who are you? Get away from my goddess!"

Only when Sanji saw Kuina leaning against Kuta's back did he notice him.

Once he got a good look at Kuta's face, alarm bells rang in his head.

Sanji considered himself handsome, but next to Kuta, he was nothing.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stood up as though nothing had happened.

Eyes wide, he stared hard at Kuta and waited for an answer.

"Me? I'm your goddess's fiancé. Who do you think I am?" Kuta answered coolly.

No one would be in a good mood when some lecher harassed his fiancée.

Even if he knew the lecher meant no real harm and was simply a womanizer.

That didn't change the fact that Kuta had taken an immediate dislike to Sanji the moment they met.

"Oh... So you're her fiancé!"

Sanji was a little slow to react.

Then it sank in, and he stared at Kuta in astonishment.

"What did you say?"

"I said I'm your goddess's fiancé. Was that not clear enough?"

Kuta looked at Sanji, speechless.

Sanji froze. His face rapidly fell, and he lowered his head, murmuring,

"Ah, love!"

"You arrived so suddenly, then left in such a hurry. It was over before it even began."

Then he calmly took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a drag.

He was a womanizer, but he wasn't a scoundrel. He wouldn't pursue someone else's fiancée.

"Hmm..."

Only then did he notice Zeff standing beside Kuta, his face dark.

Sanji called out casually,

"Hey, old geezer! When did you come down? Weren't you resting upstairs?"

"This is my restaurant. Am I not allowed to come down?"

"And you! That was no way to treat a customer!"

With that, Zeff strode up to Sanji, raised his prosthetic leg high, and brought it down in a swift kick.

Thock!

This time, it was the sound of wood striking a skull.

Thud!

Sanji landed on the floor again.

Lying there, he clutched his head and looked up at Zeff, shouting angrily,

"Hey, old geezer! I'm the sous-chef here! Couldn't you leave me a little dignity?"

Zeff gazed calmly at Sanji and said, "You're always picking fights with customers, you run off to fawn over every woman you see, and you can't even cook anything decent..."

He paused, then kept the rest to himself.

He had intended to send Sanji out to sea with Kuta and the others.

From their conversation, he could sense their resolve. And Sanji's dream didn't conflict with theirs; in fact, it fit right in.