As Luffy watched Sanji do this yet again, his desire to have him as a crewmate grew stronger and stronger.
Krieg picked up the fried rice and began wolfing it down.
"I've finally got my strength back." As he spoke, he abruptly stood up and kicked straight at Sanji.
Sanji had never expected Krieg to attack so suddenly. He made no attempt to defend himself and was sent flying.
Gin stared at Krieg in disbelief and shouted angrily, "Captain Krieg, how could you go back on your word? I only brought you here because you promised not to attack this restaurant! Besides, that man saved our lives! You'd even attack someone who saved your life?"
Seeing Gin dare to lecture him, Krieg walked over and punched him. Gin didn't fight back and was sent flying as well.
The sight made Luffy furious.
Krieg looked around the restaurant and nodded in satisfaction. "Not a bad restaurant. I'm taking this ship. Prepare another two hundred portions of food for me, or I'll kill you all and go in and take it myself."
Faced with Krieg's arrogance, the customers couldn't help backing away, while all the cooks stepped forward, ready to fight him.
Just then, Sanji stepped forward, enduring the pain of his injuries, and said firmly, "Since I'm the one who caused this trouble, let me handle it myself."
Krieg looked at the charging Sanji with utter disdain. He swept his cloak aside, revealing the golden armor beneath it. Several dark gun barrels then sprang out of the armor.
As Krieg opened fire, Sanji had no chance to get close and was struck by the bullets.
Seeing Sanji wounded, Luffy cried out, "Sanji, are you all right?"
Zoro walked over and looked at the bullet-riddled Sanji, his own anger rising.
"Luffy, didn't you want him to join us? Are we just going to watch? Let's take this bastard down together first!" Zoro said angrily.
Luffy was truly furious now too and immediately turned around. "Let's get him together! How dare this damn bastard bully our crewmate!"
Hearing Luffy and Zoro's words, Sanji was deeply moved, though he didn't show it.
"Let's go, Zoro!" Luffy charged straight at Krieg.
Zoro answered and immediately took up his Three-Sword Style.
"Gum-Gum Gatling!" Luffy unleashed a barrage of punches straight at Krieg's chest.
Zoro also went straight for a powerful move. "Three-Sword Style: Oni Giri!"
With a series of metallic clangs and scrapes, Krieg's Alloy Armor blocked both their attacks without so much as a mark.
Liu Qing watched, speechless, then couldn't help shouting at them, "Why do you insist on hitting his armor? Can't you attack his lower body? Cut his legs and feet!"
Luffy and Zoro slapped their foreheads and exchanged a look. "Right! Get him!"
Then Krieg faced a barrage of attacks to his lower body from the two of them.
"Gum-Gum Battle Axe!" Luffy dropped down with both hands braced against the ground and began frantically kicking Krieg's legs with both feet.
Zoro watched for openings, slashing Krieg's feet from time to time.
Their attacks left Krieg in a miserable state. After a few minutes, his legs no longer even looked like legs.
Watching the victorious Luffy and Zoro, Zeff recalled how Luffy had spent the past few days pestering Sanji to sail with him, and an idea came to him.
Before long, Krieg couldn't move at all. Zeff called the cooks over to tie up every member of the Krieg Pirates so they could take them to a Marine Base for the bounties when they had time.
Just as everyone was about to return to the restaurant to continue eating, an enormous green sword slash suddenly hurtled toward Krieg's pirate ship at an astonishing speed. With a whoosh, the huge pirate ship was cleaved clean in two!
"What's going on?" Everyone was astonished. The sudden turn of events left them dumbstruck, and cries of amazement rang out.
Before anyone could recover, a small coffin-shaped boat slowly approached from a short distance beside the large ship.
Even more surprisingly, a candle burned on either side of the little boat, and a man sat at its bow.
He had short black hair, dark as ink yet glinting with a faint, cold light. His sharp yellow eyes resembled a hawk's, as though they could see through everything. He wore a black top hat adorned with white down. The shadow beneath its brim concealed most of his face, making his true features difficult to discern.
His appearance made everyone involuntarily hold their breath, and the entire scene instantly fell silent.
"Dracule... Mihawk!" Zoro's voice suddenly rang out from the crowd. His eyes remained fixed on the man, shining with barely restrained excitement.
Indeed, this was the man Zoro had spent so long searching for, the World's Greatest Swordsman-Dracule Mihawk!
A few minutes later, Mihawk stepped onto the Baratie's deck.
Krieg, who had been tied up by the cooks, looked at Mihawk and demanded loudly, "Why? Why do you keep hounding us and driving us into a corner?"
Mihawk said casually, "You only have your bad luck to blame. You saw something you shouldn't have."
"What the hell are you talking about? We were so far away from you! What could we possibly have seen? We could barely even see your boat without looking closely! You destroyed the Krieg Pirates I poured my heart and soul into building over such a ridiculous excuse!" Krieg completely lost his composure.
Indeed, there was a reason Mihawk had destroyed all fifty warships of the Krieg Pirates, then traveled all the way to the East Blue to continue hunting them.
While Mihawk was sailing, his stomach had happened to hurt, so he had squatted on the Coffin Boat to relieve himself into the sea. That in itself was nothing, but the trouble was that he hadn't brought any toilet paper. Just as he was about to wash himself with seawater, the Krieg Pirates appeared not far from him.
Mihawk saw so many pirate ships nearby. If they saw that he hadn't brought toilet paper and had even washed himself with water, that would never do. Without even having time to pull his pants up or wash his hands, he drew Black Blade: Yoru and destroyed all of Krieg's pirate ships with a single sword slash. Then he pulled up his pants and began his pursuit of Krieg.
Just then, Zoro stepped out of the crowd.
"You're Dracule Mihawk, aren't you? The World's Greatest Swordsman! I've been working hard with you as my goal all this time. Now that I've met you, I can't let this chance slip away. I challenge you!" Zoro's face was full of excitement.
Mihawk looked at the three swords at Zoro's waist. "Sword energy? Not bad. You have the courage to challenge me, but as you are now, you aren't qualified."
Then Mihawk turned to Liu Qing, his expression serious. "I can sense that you're strong, and not just ordinarily strong. With your strength, you shouldn't be unknown."
"Hahaha! Really? I've never fought anyone strong, so I don't know exactly how strong I am either. Want to have a match later if there's time? There's something I'd like to ask you about too." Liu Qing scratched his head sheepishly.
"All right. We'll have a fight later." Mihawk agreed.
Then Zoro issued his challenge again. "I set sail to challenge you, Mihawk. Please accept my challenge. This is a promise I made to a close friend, even if it costs me my life."
Seeing Zoro's determined gaze, Mihawk accepted his challenge this time. "An ignorant weakling dares to challenge a mountain. I admire your courage. I accept your challenge."
When Mihawk accepted his challenge, Zoro took out his bandanna and tied it around his head. He slowly drew Wado Ichimonji from his waist and gently gripped it between his teeth, then stared at Mihawk with a serious expression.
Mihawk leaped onto a fragment of Krieg's pirate ship. "Let's fight here. It wouldn't do to damage a restaurant that makes such delicious food."
Zoro went over and stood opposite Mihawk.
On the Baratie's deck, the Sea Restaurant's customers and cooks crowded around the railings to watch the duel between the World's Greatest Swordsman and the swordsman from the East Blue.
Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Johnny, Yosaku, and Liu Qing all cheered Zoro on. "You can do it, Zoro!"
Despite everyone's anticipation and cheers, Zoro focused only on the opponent before him. He looked at Mihawk. "Aren't you going to draw your blade?"
Mihawk looked as though he had just remembered something. "Oh, right, right. Let me see... aha, found it."
As he spoke, Mihawk looked down at his Cross Necklace, pulled it off, and held it in his hand as he looked at Zoro. "Come at me, swordsman."
Seeing Mihawk look down on him so much, Zoro burned with anger. "Are you looking down on me? Why are you fighting me with a weapon that looks like a toy?"
Before you continue