After tying Luffy up, Liu Qing warned him, "Don't screw around, you dumbass. If you fly over there and smash someone's ship, we can't afford to pay for it."
Luffy looked unhappy at being stopped. "I get it."
A few minutes later.
Everyone moored the ship, entered Baratie's dining room, and found an empty table. Before they could order, a man in a black suit with curled eyebrows twisted wildly like a cooked noodle as he approached Nami.
"Beautiful lady, may I treat you to a candlelit dinner?"
Nami rolled her eyes. "It's still noon, but if you treat us to a feast, I can agree to have a candlelit dinner with you."
Sanji's eyes lit up. "Deal! This meal is on me-"
Before Sanji could finish, Zeff leaped up and kicked him in the head, shouting, "Go take orders somewhere else! Stop bothering them!"
Sanji looked at Zeff with disdain. "I know, old man. Honestly, you've ruined things for me again."
After chasing Sanji away, Zeff said, "What would you like to eat? I'll make it for you."
Luffy shouted happily, "This, this, and this! This one too!"
"Certainly. Please wait a moment. Your food will be right out." With that, Zeff went into the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Fullbody, the marine known as Iron Fist whom Luffy had met, started causing trouble.
Fullbody had seen Sanji flirting with the beauty he had brought along, which made him furious, so he wanted to make things difficult for him.
"Hey, you with the curly eyebrows! Why is there a bug in this soup?" Fullbody shouted at Sanji.
When Sanji came over, he even knocked the dishes onto the floor.
Fury burned inside Sanji at the sight, and he sent Fullbody flying with a kick.
Sanji walked up to Fullbody, crouched down, and grabbed his collar, saying through gritted teeth, "I don't care whether you're a marine or anything else, and I don't care how you usually eat. But here at our Sea Restaurant, Baratie, you're not allowed to waste a single bit of food. Anyone who wastes food, I'll send to hell."
Sanji was about to kick him again as he spoke, but Gally held him back firmly.
Gally said, "Let it go, Sanji. They're marines. We shouldn't antagonize them."
At Luffy's table, the dishes arrived one after another, and everyone began wolfing down the food.
A while later, everyone had eaten and drunk their fill and rubbed their bellies.
Luffy said, "Ahh, that was so good!"
Liu Qing said, "Yeah, that was the best feast I've ever had."
Nami called to Sanji, "The bill, please!"
Nami instantly drew Sanji over, and he wriggled as he said, "Beautiful lady, what bill? It's free! Absolutely free, no charge!"
Nami said in a sugary voice, "Really, handsome? Thank you so much!"
Just as Sanji grew so excited that his nose was about to bleed.
Bang! A thin man with dark circles under his eyes kicked open the Sea Restaurant's front door.
The diners were frightened at the sight of the newcomer.
One diner said, "It's Gin the Demon! What's he doing here?"
Another diner said, "Yeah, didn't the Krieg Pirates head into the Grand Line? Then how did Gin the Demon turn up here?"
Gally hurried out and watched Gin warily. "What do you want? If you're here to rob us, you've picked the wrong opponents. We're not just cooks."
Gin managed to say, "Give me food."
Gally said, "Do you have any Beli?"
At that, Gin raised his gun and pointed it at Gally. "Will this cover the meal?"
Another cook walked over then. Without a word, he knocked Gin to the ground and threw him out.
"Please enjoy your meals without worry, everyone. We'll do everything we can to protect your dining experience here," Zeff said as he came out.
Meanwhile, Sanji silently watched the scene, then turned and went back into the kitchen.
Luffy turned to watch Sanji enter the kitchen, a thoughtful look flickering in his eyes.
Before long, Sanji brought a bowl of fried rice to Gin and said, "Eat. You haven't had anything to eat in a long time, have you? Nobody knows that feeling better than I do." With that, Sanji left.
Luffy, Liu Qing, Zoro, and the others all witnessed the scene.
When they returned to the Going Merry to rest, Liu Qing looked at his companions and asked, "What did you think of that cook just now? Should we find a way to get him to join our pirate crew?"
Luffy couldn't suppress the smile on his face. "Ah, I've decided! I want him as our crewmate. He's going to be our crew's cook!"
Zoro, Nami, and Usopp all nodded in agreement.
From that day on, someone constantly followed Sanji around, annoying him to no end. Every day, Luffy followed him and tried to get him to join the crew, asking all day long until Sanji's head was about to burst.
After another day of failure, Luffy returned to the Going Merry looking unhappy. One look at his expression told everyone he had failed again.
Usopp said, "Luffy, it's been two days, and you still haven't managed it. Why don't we find another cook?"
"No. I want him to be our cook," Luffy said firmly.
Just then, Liu Qing said, "Luffy, pestering him won't work. You need to go see Baratie's owner. Get him on board, and you can bring Sanji into the crew."
Luffy smacked his fist into his palm. "I see! Got it! Hahahaha! I'll go right now."
Before Luffy could go find Baratie's owner, a battered large ship appeared nearby, slowly sailing toward the restaurant.
Just then, a terrified scream suddenly rang out from the crowd. "Look! That's the Krieg Pirates' flag! They're heading toward Baratie!"
The scream was like a thunderclap, instantly shattering the peaceful atmosphere and sending panic through the surrounding diners. Everyone looked toward the ship and saw a vessel in tatters slowly approaching from the distance, its conspicuous pirate flag snapping in the wind as though announcing its arrival.
Meanwhile, the cooks busy in the kitchen were drawn by the commotion outside. They stopped working and came out to see what was happening. When they learned that the newcomers were the notorious Krieg Pirates, their expressions grew grave.
The cooks quickly returned to the kitchen, grabbed their weapons, and hurried onto the deck, watching the approaching wreck nervously.
"Let's go take a look too," Liu Qing suggested, turning to Zoro.
Zoro nodded in agreement.
Then Liu Qing turned to Nami, Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku and instructed them, "Nami, stay here with Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku and watch the ship. Don't worry. Nothing will happen here."
"Be careful," Nami said worriedly.
Meanwhile, at the seafaring restaurant Baratie.
Under everyone's gaze, two people disembarked from the battered pirate ship.
One was Gin, the pirate who had previously come to Baratie for food without any money. He was supporting Krieg, a tall man wrapped in bandages and wearing a gray cloak.
Gin supported Krieg as they walked toward Baratie, paying no attention to the looks from everyone else.
But as soon as they reached the deck, the cooks stopped them.
"Gin, you pirate, what are you doing here again? And this time you've brought your captain along. Do you realize you're disturbing our customers' meals?" Gally said in disgust.
"Get lost! We're not cooking for you," another cook snapped.
"We brought money this time. We only want to buy food." With that, Gin tossed over a bag of treasure.
The customers objected. "Don't sell them anything! Let them starve to death! The Krieg Pirates commit every kind of evil. Now's the perfect time to ignore them."
"Exactly. Who knows what he'll do once he recovers?" another customer agreed.
"If Krieg regains his strength, he'll definitely attack our restaurant! We can't even give him a drop of water!" a cook in the back shouted as well.
Just then, Krieg dropped to his knees and pleaded humbly, "I won't do anything. I promise, if you give me something to eat, I'll leave quietly. Please, save me!"
Seeing Krieg kneel, Gin couldn't help dropping to his knees as well.
Facing the cooks, Gin knocked his head hard against the floor several times, then begged, "Please, save Captain Krieg."
Just then, Sanji walked out of the kitchen, carrying a bowl of fried rice.
Sanji set the fried rice in front of Krieg and said, "Eat, then leave. I don't want to see anyone starve to death, but if you dare do anything to this place after eating, I'll personally kick you to death."
Before you continue