Fired

Rubick resisted the urge to cancel his Devil Fruit power. Helpless as a stone, he sank straight down.

Sanji stared at him. "Hey, we're in the middle of a duel. What are you doing hiding in the water?"

Zeff leaned out from the third floor. "Sanji, that kid might be a Devil Fruit User."

Sanji hurriedly kicked off his shoes. "Hope I'm not too late!"

He plunged into the sea without hesitation. At a glance, he spotted Rubick unconscious, sinking slowly toward the depths.

Damn it. Sanji dove after him, kicking and pulling with all his might, and hauled him up.

Splash!

Sanji broke the surface with the unconscious Rubick over his shoulder and gulped down several breaths of air.

"Damn it, he really is a Devil Fruit User. He sank without even struggling."

Sanji tossed Rubick onto the Deck, climbed aboard, and began CPR, pressing hard against his chest.

Before long, Rubick woke up and regained his strength.

"Haha! I knew you'd save me."

Sanji cursed. "Are you nuts? Didn't you say I couldn't hurt you?"

Leaning against the wall, Rubick grinned. "And you didn't. The sea hurt me."

Sanji took off his suit jacket and pulled a cigarette from his pocket. He put it between his lips, but it was soaked through and wouldn't light.

"So, what Devil Fruit did you eat?"

Instead of answering, Rubick said, "The answer would knock your socks off. If we ever become crewmates, I'll tell you."

"Forget it. I'm not becoming a Pirate, and I'm not leaving this ship."

"You will."

Rubick swept his wet hair back and, with a quick slick of his hand, shaped it into a pompadour. "I came to the East Blue to find crewmates. A ship needs a captain, a navigator, a doctor, and so on. And you? I think you might be our cook."

Sanji laced his hands behind his head and gazed at the starry sky. "A ship does need a cook. But I'm still not going off to be a Pirate with you."

"Haha, don't be so sure, kid. I've already found a captain, a first mate, a sniper, a navigator, and an archaeologist. You're not getting away, cook."

"Hold on!"

Sanji looked startled. "Why would you need an archaeologist on your crew?"

Rubick kept up the mystery. "If you ever become one of us, I'll tell you."

"Tch."

Sanji scoffed. "Sorry, I'm not that curious."

On the third floor, Zeff returned to the Captain's Quarters. He needed to find a way to drive Sanji away. Sanji was no ordinary man; the Grand Line was where he belonged. Besides, how could he search for the All Blue if he never left the East Blue?

The next day, Rubick was cleaning the dining room when Zeff came downstairs.

"Rubick."

"What is it, Captain?"

"You're fired."

"What?"

Sanji froze too. Why had Zeff suddenly fired Rubick?

Zeff entered the dining room and said gravely, "Our profits have dropped a lot over the past two months, and it's because you eat too much!"

He set 100,000 Beli on the table. "Go eat someone else out of house and home. This restaurant's nearly bankrupt."

Rubick scratched his head, baffled. He had worked in food service in his previous life, and by his calculations, the restaurant couldn't possibly be losing money. But Zeff was the boss. What he said went.

Rubick pocketed the money and put down his broom.

Sanji couldn't let that pass. "Old man, we're making money. You have no reason to kick Rubick out."

Zeff snorted. "We're making some, but not enough. Every morning when I open my eyes, dozens of you are waiting for me to pay your wages. I have to feed and look after the lot of you. You think that's easy?"

He pointed at Rubick. "This guy eats enough for twenty people but only does one person's work. What's wrong with firing him?"

Rubick patted Sanji on the shoulder. The kid was only seventeen, right in the middle of his rebellious years. "Don't make things hard for the boss. Remember, you're just an employee. Questioning his decisions won't do you any good."

"Damn it! I'm not staying somewhere this heartless!"

In his anger, Sanji threatened to leave.

That was exactly what Zeff had been waiting to hear. "Fine by me. You can get out too. All you do is argue with me, flirt with the women, and fight the men. Get out. Now."

Sanji abruptly calmed down. Without a word, he turned and went into the kitchen.

"Hmph. He's not getting rid of me. I'm not falling for it."

A smile tugged at Zeff's lips. He turned to Rubick. "Let's talk outside."

Out on the Deck, Zeff said, "I've tried to drive Sanji away plenty of times, but that stubborn brat refuses to leave. I can see he considers you a friend, though. Otherwise, he wouldn't have said that."

"I'm honored," Rubick said.

Zeff moved on. "I can tell you want to get stronger. You just haven't found your path yet, have you?"

Rubick scratched his head, looking glum. "Yeah. Before I went to sea, I was an ordinary, law-abiding guy who'd never even been in a fight. Then a Pirate crew captured me and put me to work in an iron mine. Later, I got pushed around in Loguetown. I want to get stronger, but I don't know how."

"You have a Devil Fruit, though I haven't seen you use it. Most people develop their Devil Fruit powers and gradually build a fighting style around them. What do you have in mind?"

Zeff continued, "The strong fighters at sea either train their bodies and fight with their fists and feet, take up weapons like swords, or focus solely on developing their Devil Fruit powers. So what you choose matters. I've been around long enough to offer you some advice."

"Well, when it comes to my Devil Fruit, I'm strong against the weak and even stronger against the strong. But I haven't decided between unarmed combat and weapons. I don't know what I'm good at yet. I'm leaning toward fighting with my fists and feet, though. Sanji uses his legs, I use my fists, then we add a couple of swordsmen and a few Devil Fruit Users. That'd give us a well-rounded crew."

Zeff laughed. "I didn't realize you'd planned so far ahead for your future crewmates. As I see it, what you need to do now is train your body. Forget about fighting styles. If your body's strong enough, fighting becomes simple."

Zeff had a point. Did Garp have some special fist technique? No. He simply knocked people down with one punch. If one punch didn't do it, he threw another. At that level, it came down to sheer physical strength. Fighting styles were beside the point.