The sea breeze carried splintered wood and fragments of shattered barrels toward the Floating Restaurant Baratie.
A small lifeboat, barely large enough for five or six people, bobbed helplessly amid the wreckage.
Two surviving Marines struggled to pull their comrades out of the water.
At the stern lay a man with neatly parted hair.
His iron gloves gleamed coldly in the sunlight, making him look like a particularly ruthless man.
It was Fullbody.
“Lieutenant Commander Fullbody!
Wake up!”
A Marine knelt beside him, shaking his shoulder.
“Lieutenant Commander Fullbody, how are you?
Hey!
Medic, get over here…”
The man in the iron gloves twitched his eyelids, but his eyes remained shut.
His face was swollen almost beyond recognition, and blood continued to seep from the wound at his temple.
To understand how this mess had happened, we need to go back ten minutes.
At the time, the sea had still been relatively calm.
Usopp stood at the bow, waving his arms around as he bragged about dreaming the previous night about a Sea King capable of swallowing a Marine warship.
Luffy lay flat on his back on the deck with a blade of grass between his teeth, staring up at a cloud that looked suspiciously like a giant bone covered in meat and swallowing hungrily.
“Look over there!”
Nami suddenly pointed toward starboard, her brow furrowing.
Everyone looked.
A blue Marine warship was cutting through the waves, slowly drawing alongside the Going Merry.
Standing on the bridge was a young Marine officer with an arrogant expression.
It was Fullbody.
He had an attractive woman in his arms, and his hawk-like gaze swept over the Going Merry before finally settling on the Straw Hat Pirates’ Jolly Roger.
“Where did this pirate ship come from?”
Fullbody sneered and turned toward the Marine beside him.
“That flag doesn’t look familiar.
Who’s the captain?”
Before the Marine could answer, Luffy sprang to his feet and leaned over the railing.
“Me!
I’m Captain Luffy!
Our pirate crew was formed just two days ago!”
“And there’s more!”
Usopp hurried over and proudly thumped his chest.
“I drew that flag myself!”
The contempt on Fullbody’s face deepened.
He turned and took several steps across the Marine warship’s deck, his dress shoes clicking sharply against the planks.
Then he pointed at the Marines.
“So they’re just playing pirate.
What an eyesore.”
“Sink them.”
As he said the word “sink,” he pointed his thumb down toward the deck without even looking back at the Straw Hats, as though ordering the destruction of a worthless speck of dust.
“Yes, sir!”
The Marines immediately sprang into action.
The cannons slowly turned toward the Going Merry.
“Ready—fire!”
A black cannonball trailing white smoke shot toward the Merry.
Zoro’s sword was already drawn, its edge flashing beneath the sunlight.
Usopp crouched behind the railing, slingshot fully drawn and a steel ball aimed at the Marines.
Nami gripped the helm, her eyes sharpening.
The Going Merry suddenly shifted course at an angle, putting them in a better position to withstand the shockwave from the explosion.
“Luffy, what do you think?”
Mox stood at the very front of the deck, his long hair whipping wildly in the sea breeze.
Luffy wasn’t nervous in the slightest.
He grinned.
“Since they’re firing at us, let’s have some fun!”
He inhaled deeply, his stomach swelling into a huge round sphere.
It was Gum-Gum Balloon.
The cannonball slammed into his inflated stomach.
Before anyone could react, Luffy suddenly contracted his abdomen.
Whoosh!
The cannonball was launched straight back.
It flew directly toward Fullbody.
BOOM—!
An explosion erupted across the Marine warship.
Through the smoke, Fullbody crawled out of the wreckage, his face covered in soot and his hair singed black.
Furious and shocked, he pointed toward the Going Merry.
“How dare you…
resist the Marines?!
Do you know who stands behind us?
The World Government!”
“Destroy them!”
Before he could finish, Zoro stepped onto the railing and leaped across.
He drew only two swords.
His figure flashed through the Marines, and every sweep of his blades was followed by cries of pain.
Within moments, every Marine on the deck had been knocked down.
None of them could get back up.
The few who tried to hide were promptly struck by Usopp’s steel balls.
Mox glanced at the fallen Marines and curled his lips.
“These cannon fodder are way too weak.”
Luffy spotted Fullbody and launched himself forward with a Rocket Jump, intending to finish him with a headbutt.
Unfortunately, Fullbody stepped backward without noticing an empty bottle rolling across the deck.
His foot landed on it.
“Whoa!”
He slipped and fell flat on his back.
The accident caused him to narrowly evade Luffy’s attack.
Luffy, however, had already committed to the charge.
He flew straight past Fullbody like a cannonball.
And straight toward the distant Baratie.
A moment later, a tremendous series of crashes rang out.
Crash!
Bang!
Smash!
The sounds of breaking glass followed.
Mox covered his forehead with one hand.
“That idiot captain…
Who knows how much we’ll have to pay this time?”
He turned toward the others.
“Finish them quickly!
Luffy’s already caused trouble.
Let’s go check on him.
The owner of this restaurant isn’t someone we want to provoke.”
With that, Mox joined the battle.
He flashed toward Fullbody and began pummeling him with completely unrefined punches.
“Who do you think you’re showing off to?!
Still acting tough?!
Still acting tough?!”
He kept hitting until Fullbody was barely breathing.
The entire battle was over in less than ten minutes.
The Marines had completely lost their ability to resist.
Even the Marine warship became a test subject for Usopp’s special Buggy Ball gunpowder.
BOOM!
The warship was blasted apart, its wreckage slowly sinking into the sea.
Mox stared at the floating debris.
“Leaving all this here would pollute the ocean.”
He closed his eyes.
His Observation Haki instantly spread across the surrounding area.
The wreckage, metal fragments, and other debris seemed to be pulled together by invisible hands.
They gathered into a single mass— and then disappeared.
“Hmm.
Sixty Physical Strength points.
Not bad.”
Mox nodded in satisfaction.
Then his gaze suddenly caught a figure.
A man wearing a headband had taken advantage of the chaos to climb aboard the Baratie.
It was Gin, the man who had originally been escorted by Fullbody in the anime.
“So he’s here.”
“With the warship destroyed, he managed to escape.”
Nami walked over to Mox and looked toward the lifeboat carrying Fullbody and the surviving Marines.
“What if these Marines go back and report everything?”
“Don’t worry.”
Mox smiled unconcernedly.
“With that little boat, it’ll take them at least a week to reach the nearest island, especially with that many people aboard.”
“Forget about them.
Let’s clean up and head to Baratie.”
Inside the Baratie, Luffy was being dragged around by Zeff, who had him by the ear.
The second-floor windows had been shattered.
Several tables had been knocked over.
The entire place was covered in evidence of Luffy’s latest disaster.
“You brat!
You’re going to work here for a year to pay for the damage!”
Zeff glared at him, his beard bristling with anger.
“No!”
Luffy shook his head like a rattle.
“You sure answer quickly, you little brat!”
Zeff’s eyebrows knotted together.
Luffy thought for a moment and tried to bargain.
“One week?
Three weeks?”
“Not enough!”
Zeff’s eyes bulged.
“One year of doing odd jobs!
Not a day less!”
“No way!”
Luffy stubbornly lifted his chin.
“I endured ten whole years just to become a pirate!
I’m not staying here!”
What happened next was enough to make anyone’s jaw drop.
The future Pirate King was actually standing in the Baratie kitchen wearing an apron and washing dishes.
Unfortunately, he was hopeless at it.
Every plate he washed broke in his hands.
Crash!
Crash!
Crash!
The constant breaking eventually forced the cooks to chase Luffy out of the kitchen.
Luffy rubbed his aching head and was about to look for something to eat when he noticed a scene in the corner of the restaurant.
Sanji was holding out a plate of fried rice to Gin, who stood there with a growling stomach.
Wasn’t this the same guy who had been thrown out earlier for not having any money?
“Eat.”
Sanji’s voice was calm.
Gin pursed his lips.
Although hunger made his entire body tremble, he stubbornly refused.
“No matter how desperate I am, I won’t accept charity!”
“Anyone who’s hungry is a customer here.”
Sanji took a drag from his cigarette and exhaled a smoke ring.
There was a barely perceptible gentleness in his eyes.
“On this merciless sea, who knows whether tomorrow or an accident will come first?”
“I know what it’s like to have neither food nor water better than most.”
“Stay alive, and you’ll live to see hope.”
Gin stared at Sanji.
His eyes slowly reddened.
He accepted the fried rice and could no longer hold back.
He devoured it while crying, his words muffled by the food.
“This…
this is the best food I’ve ever eaten…”
From the second floor, Luffy’s eyes lit up.
He slapped his thigh.
“I found our cook!”
He immediately vaulted over the railing and landed beside Sanji.
“I’m a pirate, and I need a cook.
Join my crew!”
Sanji took another drag and calmly exhaled a smoke ring.
“You’re a pirate?”
“I’d advise you not to mess with this ship.
That old man used to be a famous pirate himself.”
“Oh?
That old guy was a pirate?!”
Luffy’s eyes shone even brighter.
“There are plenty of pirates who come here.
Some of them are real monsters who come specifically because they’ve heard of this place.”
Sanji flicked away some ash.
“Eventually, they scared away most of the waiters.”
“No wonder that old man made me work for a year.”
Luffy scratched his head before looking back at Sanji.
“You’re a great cook.
Join us!”
“I refuse.”
“I refuse to accept your refusal!”
Luffy stubbornly puffed out his chest.
Sanji glanced at him.
“I have my reasons.
I can’t talk about them.”
Gin had finished his fried rice.
He bowed deeply toward Sanji.
“Sanji, thank you for saving my life!”
Then he turned toward Luffy.
“You’re still young.
Don’t rush into the Grand Line.
Take your time.”
“That’s just my advice.
Whether you listen is up to you.”
At that moment, Zeff appeared on the second-floor balcony.
Gin hurriedly said,
“I’m sorry, Sanji.
You’re going to get yelled at!”
Sanji tossed the plate into the sea.
Splash!
“There.
No evidence.”
Gin burst into tears and bowed deeply to Sanji before rowing away in his small boat.
“Sanji!
And you, the dishwashing brat!
Get back to work!”
Zeff’s roar echoed through the restaurant.
Luffy promptly returned to the kitchen and proceeded to make himself even more of a hindrance.
He carried out a plate of freshly prepared food, secretly stole a few bites, and then looked up.
Zoro, Mox, Usopp, and Nami were sitting around a table.
Zoro noticed him first.
He raised an eyebrow and deliberately teased him.
“Well, well.
I hear someone’s working here for a year.”
“Should we change our pirate flag to say ‘Straw Hat Pirates—Baratie Branch’?”
“You guys are so mean!”
Luffy stomped his feet.
“How dare you eat all this delicious food behind my back!”
He secretly picked his nose and flicked a booger into the glass of water in front of Zoro.
Zoro pretended not to notice.
He slowly picked up the glass as though he were about to drink.
Luffy’s eyes widened with anticipation, waiting for the show.
Instead, Zoro suddenly reached out, grabbed Luffy, dragged him closer, and forced the glass against his mouth.
He poured the water down Luffy’s throat.
“Blegh!”
Nami couldn’t help laughing.
Usopp slapped the table, laughing hysterically.
Even Mox smiled.
The commotion attracted Sanji’s attention.
He looked over and saw Luffy coughing on the floor.
Then he looked at the group around the table.
Are these his companions?
His gaze landed on Mox.
He froze for a moment.
Then he recognized him.
Sanji handed the bottle of red wine in his hand to the customer beside him.
“Pour it yourself.”
He quickly walked over to Mox.
“Mox, you’re here.”
“Yo, Sanji.”
Mox smiled.
“Long time no see.
You’ve gotten even more handsome.”
“You joined this Straw Hat brat’s pirate crew too?”
Sanji raised an eyebrow.
“Yep.”
Mox pointed toward the people beside him.
“These are my crewmates—sniper Usopp, swordsman Zoro…
and this is our naviga—”
Sanji interrupted him.
He somehow produced a red rose and dropped to one knee.
Then he struck a dramatic pose in front of Nami, his voice so syrupy that it practically made the air cringe.
“Ah, the sea itself thanks fate for this encounter!”
“Ah, love!”
“As long as I can sail alongside you, whether the destination is the pirate seas or the depths of Hell, I am prepared!”
“Your beauty shines like the brightest star upon the sea, but alas, there is an insurmountable obstacle between you and me…”
“The obstacle would be me, I assume!”
Zeff’s voice suddenly exploded from behind them.
He glared at Sanji, then turned toward Mox.
“Brat, did you come here to take this troublesome kid out to sea?”
“Yep!
Long time no see, old man.
How have you been?”
Mox waved.
“I’m being driven half-mad by this idiot!”
Zeff glared at Sanji before speaking to Mox.
“Sanji, this is a good opportunity.
Go out to sea with them!”
“I don’t need a cook who gives food to every starving person he sees and loses his head every time he sees a beautiful woman!”
“I’ll stay on this ship as a cook until the day you die.”
Sanji stubbornly lifted his chin.
“Want me dead?
You’ll have to wait another hundred years!”
Zeff snorted and turned back toward the kitchen.
Sanji stood up and addressed the Straw Hats.
“Since you’re Mox’s companions, this meal is on the house.”
“At least you’ve got some sense.”
Zoro spoke around the chopsticks between his teeth.
Only then did Sanji notice him properly.
He frowned and looked Zoro up and down.
“Who are you, moss-head?
Are we acquainted?”
“You wanna fight, curly-brow cook?”
Zoro immediately glared back.
“Enough, enough.
Stop fighting.”
Mox quickly stepped between them.
“Hey, Mox!”
Luffy suddenly came over and pointed at Sanji.
“He’s the awesome cook you were talking about, right?
Just as I thought—”
Before he could finish, Sanji grabbed him by the collar.
“What are you standing around for, idiot?
Get back to washing dishes and work off your debt!”
That night, a cool sea breeze swept across the Going Merry.
Nami stood alone at the railing, gazing out at the ocean.
There was an indescribable loneliness in her silhouette.
Mox walked over and asked softly,
“What’s wrong, our navigator?”
Nami turned around and shook her head.
“Nothing.”
But the pain in her eyes was impossible to hide, heavy and saturated like waterlogged cloth.
“It’s because of the wanted poster in your pocket, isn’t it?”
Nami froze.
Her eyes widened.
Before she could answer, Mox continued.
“You’ve heard me discussing Haki with Zoro these past few days, so you should have some idea of what it can do.”
“Two days ago, Johnny pulled out a stack of wanted posters and dropped them on the ground.”
“You stared at one of them.”
“The killing intent in your eyes was practically overflowing.”
“Luffy wanted to ask you about it at the time, but I stopped him.”
He paused and looked at her.
“Do you know why?”
Nami’s voice trembled.
“Was it…
because you wanted me to tell you myself?”
“If we’re hungry, we need a cook to prepare food.”
“If we encounter enemies, we need a fighter like Zoro.”
“If the ship breaks, we need a shipwright.”
“If we don’t know how to navigate, we need a navigator like you.”
“That’s what crewmates are.”
“We need each other.
We help each other.”
Mox’s voice was soft, yet powerful.
“So, Nami…”
“Do you need us?”
Those words tore through the final barrier she’d been desperately holding together.
Nami collapsed onto the deck.
Tears began falling one after another.
“Luffy…
everyone…”
“Please help me!”
“You heard her, everyone!”
Mox raised his voice.
Footsteps sounded from below deck.
Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp came up onto the deck.
Luffy’s straw hat was pulled low over his face, concealing his expression.
But with every step he took, the air around him seemed to tremble faintly.
Mox thought to himself,
This guy…
the first signs of Conqueror’s Haki are already beginning to emerge.
Zoro and Usopp followed behind him, their expressions unusually solemn.
Luffy walked over to Nami.
Then he removed his most precious possession— his straw hat.
He gently placed it on her head.
Nami looked at him through tear-filled eyes.
She knew exactly what that hat meant to Luffy.
“This is my most precious straw hat.”
“It’s also the symbol of our Straw Hat Pirates.”
Luffy’s voice was steady.
“Hold onto it.”
“Consider it a promise.”
“Give it back to me on the day I beat the Arlong Pirates.”
Nami stood up and threw her arms around Luffy, crying even harder.
“Thank you, Luffy…”
“Thank you, everyone!”
She sniffled and wiped away her tears.
“Arlong still needs me for now.
He won’t do anything to the villagers yet.”
“The most important thing right now is getting Sanji to join us.”
“The importance of having a cook…
just look at what happened to Yosaku.”
She smiled.
For the first time that night, her smile was exceptionally sweet.
“I can wait a little longer.”