New to this world

It was a vast, surging sea, stretching as far as the eye could see. Sunlight shone on the water, making its shimmering surface a beautiful sight.

Occasionally, a sea creature leaped out of the water before gravity dragged it crashing back down, throwing up an enormous splash that seemed about to reach the sky.

That was mainly because the creatures were so huge. Almost all of them were over a hundred meters long, and they came in all sorts of bizarre shapes. Some looked like electric eels, while others resembled a cross between a wild ox and a fish.

Suddenly, a pitch-black fissure appeared in the air above the sea, as though space itself had shattered. It started out only a few inches wide, but expanded rapidly, becoming a black hole in the blink of an eye.

Then a foot emerged from the hole, followed by a leg, and Su Yu stepped leisurely out.

By the time Su Yu had emerged, the black opening had vanished, as though it had never existed.

Su Yu looked young, somewhere in his twenties. His soft black hair fell just past his eyebrows and fluttered in the breeze.

He wore a long black coat over a white shirt and stood suspended in midair, looking around as though surveying his surroundings.

A moment later, a faint gleam flashed through his eyes, and he murmured to himself, "So it's this world... Since I'm here, I might as well do as the locals do."

With that, he raised a hand, and white light suddenly flared in his palm. A moment later, the light faded, and a sailing ship appeared out of thin air on the previously empty sea below.

He looked over the ship and nodded, seemingly quite pleased with his own "shipbuilding skills." Then he dispelled the antigravity field around himself and dropped straight onto the ship.

Next, he walked to the center of the deck and promptly lowered himself into a reclining position. Before his backside could make intimate contact with the deck, a comfortable-looking lounge chair appeared beneath him, catching his descending body perfectly.

He adjusted his position, then lay back comfortably in the chair, basking leisurely in the sun.

Su Yu might have looked as though he was resting there, but in fact, he really was resting...

Well, resting wasn't all he was doing. Having just arrived in this world, Su Yu needed to let his body adapt to its governing laws. How long that process took varied from world to world.

For this world, roughly twenty-four hours would do.

So he planned to drift at sea for a day and decide what to do once he had finished adapting. But perhaps the sunshine was simply too comfortable, because he naturally fell asleep.

It was nearly noon the next day when Su Yu groggily pulled himself out of sleep, the pleasant sound of waves reaching his ears.

He stood up, yawned, and gave himself a long stretch, then discovered that he had finished adapting to the world's laws.

Su Yu looked around beyond the ship, hoping to see where he had drifted, and spotted a very strange vessel not far away.

What made it strange? Instead of the streamlined shape of an ordinary ship, it was round, with a huge, lifelike fish head at its bow. It was also truly enormous. Compared to this vessel, the ship Su Yu had "built himself" was like an ant next to an elephant.

Su Yu's eyes lit up when he saw the ship. He recognized the place.

This was none other than the famous Baratie!

Who would've thought my ship would drift here? It must be fate! Now I can enjoy a feast right after waking up!

Su Yu guided his ship toward the floating restaurant, even speeding it up with telekinesis. Before long, it came to a stop beside the restaurant.

With a slight push, Su Yu jumped onto the Baratie's deck.

The moment he landed, someone dressed as a waiter approached him.

Su Yu took a closer look. The man wore a black suit and had striking golden-blond hair. His long hair covered his left eye, leaving only his right visible, but the eyebrow above that eye was highly distinctive, curling into a spiral.

Despite working in a restaurant, he still had a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

Su Yu recognized this famous figure, mainly because he was so distinctive. At the Baratie, someone with eyebrows like those could only be Sanji.

Looks like Luffy hasn't reached the floating restaurant yet.

"Hello, sir. What would you like to eat?"

His tone was casual, but his sincerity was clear-or rather, his sincerity toward diners was.

Su Yu said, "A plate of seafood fried rice, please."

"Certainly, sir. Please give us a moment!"

"Wait!"

Sanji stopped and turned to look at Su Yu. "Was there anything else, sir?"

"I'd like you to cook it yourself."

Sanji raised an eyebrow at Su Yu's request, but said nothing more. He simply agreed and returned to the kitchen.

Su Yu casually chose an empty table and sat down, anticipation building within him. After all, Sanji's cooking had fascinated him back when he watched the anime. Since he had come to the world of One Piece, this floating restaurant was a must-visit.

Soon, Sanji returned with a heaping plate of fried rice and set it before Su Yu. "Enjoy your meal!"

Then Sanji left to seek out beautiful women and fawn over them.

Unable to wait, Su Yu picked up his spoon, scooped up a generous helping of fried rice, and stuffed it into his mouth. Rich flavors instantly flooded his taste buds. Delicious!

It tasted even better than he had imagined.

Spoonful after spoonful, Su Yu soon polished off the entire plate.

Only when he went to pay did he suddenly remember that he apparently had no money...

But that was no problem. In the pirate world, gold could be used directly to pay the bill. Su Yu opened his hands, and gold particles steadily gathered in his palm, forming a perfect sphere the size of a ping-pong ball in the blink of an eye.

He called over Sanji, who was still fawning over beautiful women. Sanji was reluctant, but he had no choice. Su Yu was a customer, and as a chef, he couldn't refuse a customer's request.

"What is it, sir?" Sanji asked impatiently.

Su Yu didn't mind. "I'd like to settle the bill. Oh, and your fried rice was delicious. I really enjoyed it!"

As he spoke, Su Yu handed Sanji the golden ball.

"Keep the change."

Being complimented on his cooking clearly put Sanji in a good mood, and even the man before him seemed a little more likable.

He took the golden ball and weighed it in his hand, his smile becoming a little more sincere. "Thank you for your generosity, sir."

Su Yu rose to leave. Before he departed, he gave Sanji a meaningful look and said, "I think we'll have another chance to meet."

Sanji paused, but thought little of it and took the golden ball back to the kitchen.

As soon as he entered the kitchen, Zeff approached him. "Brat, what did that customer just say to you?"

"Nothing much. Something about us meeting again later. Cryptic nonsense. Who knows what he meant?" Sanji shrugged, looking unconcerned.

Zeff pondered it with a grim expression, but couldn't figure out what it meant either. He simply stopped thinking about it, then looked sternly at Sanji. "Brat, if you run into that man again, be careful. There's more to him than meets the eye!"

Sanji was taken aback. That man looked completely harmless. He didn't even look as strong as me. What's so special about him?

Still, he didn't argue, merely nodding to show that he understood.

In truth, he was still too weak, and his senses weren't sharp enough to notice.

Su Yu had only just adapted to this world's laws and still didn't have very good control over his aura. Zeff had happened to sense the trace that Su Yu inadvertently let slip. In that instant, he felt as though a prehistoric beast was baring its teeth at him in a savage grin. Every hair on his body stood on end, and cold sweat instantly coated his back. Only after seeing that Su Yu really had come just to eat a meal and leave did he breathe a sigh of relief.