"Ohhh, he has thrown Don Krieg out of here!"
"Well done!" said another one, congratulating him.
The civilians were quite happy that he managed to throw him out… until they realized Krieg might come back for retaliation, so they began leaving the restaurant to avoid being caught in the crossfire between the restaurant and the Krieg Pirates.
"That was quite a hit you gave him," Zoro told him.
"I could've done it," said Usopp, lying.
"Well, when he comes back, we'll have you fight him," Oliver said.
"N-No, you can keep doing it," Usopp said, terrified.
Oliver looked at his own hand, clenching it tightly.
'My strength increased a lot. I guess it's because of Adaptive Body constantly improving, and with Accelerated Healing Factor it'll get way stronger,' Oliver thought.
And the last customer of the Baratie walked away, leaving them alone against the Krieg Pirates.
"Sanji-san, I'm really sorry, I didn't think he…" Gin apologized while touching his shoulder.
"Don't apologize for feeling guilty," Zeff said. "We cooks here have acted according to our own beliefs."
"Boss, even you're protecting Sanji?! Why?" asked Patty.
"It's true, this is all his fault! If it wasn't for him, who knows what would've happened!" said another cook, referring to Oliver.
"He wants to destroy our restaurant!"
"Oi, Sanji! You're not doing this to take the Boss's place, are you?!"
"It's what you've always wanted! Am I wrong?!"
All the cooks started blaming Sanji.
"ENOUGH, YOU IDIOTS!!" Zeff shouted, silencing everyone. "Have any of you ever been hungry? Have you ever spent days without food or water out at sea? Do you have any idea what that agony is like?"
"What do you mean, Boss?" asked a cook.
"I don't have time to talk about the past. Don Krieg will come back for the restaurant, so if you want to leave, you only need to use the back door," Zeff told them.
"I'll stay and fight! I won't let them attack the restaurant!"
"Me neither, this restaurant is my home!"
"Yeah! I don't have anywhere else to go!"
As the cooks declared they would fight for the restaurant, Luffy was talking with Zoro and Usopp, while Oliver stayed silent thinking about whether to stay and fight the Krieg Pirates or go to Arlong Park.
"He's a good guy, right?" Luffy said with a smile.
"I don't care! Let's just get out of here already!" said Usopp, scared.
"Relax, the enemy is just a bunch of sick people," Zoro said, referring to Don Krieg's pirates.
"Yeah, and besides, I need to fight that guy! If he's that strong, I'll have to do it sooner or later. By the way, Gin…" Luffy said to him. "You said you didn't know anything about the Grand Line, but you've been there, right?"
"Honestly, I still can't believe what happened to us," Gin said, grabbing his head. "On the seventh day there, I'm not even sure if it was a dream or real. It happened so fast—our fleet of 50 ships was destroyed by a single man!"
"That must be a joke!"
"What did you say?!"
"A SINGLE MAN?!"
Everyone there couldn't believe Gin's words about one man destroying 50 ships.
"Before we knew it, our ships were sinking one after another. If it hadn't been for a storm, our main ship would've been destroyed too. I don't even know how many ships survived—it was a nightmare," he said, remembering what happened.
"When we saw that man's eyes, it felt like we were already dead. I never want to remember those terrifying Hawk Eyes again," he said, completely terrified.
"What?!" Zoro was shocked hearing that name.
"Then it must have been Hawk Eyes," Zeff said.
"HAWK EYES!!!" the cooks yelled.
"You said his eyes were like a hawk's. That's proof enough. For him to do that to your ships, it had to be him!!" Zeff said, shocking several of them.
"H-Hawk Eyes?! Who's that?" asked Usopp, who had been impressed but didn't know him.
"Yeah, I wanna know that too," Luffy said.
"That's the man I'm looking for," Zoro said, drawing their attention. "Ever since Johnny told me, and now this…"
While they talked, Oliver was meditating on what to do.
"Hey, maybe we can check the—"
Suddenly, every hair on Oliver's body stood on end as he felt something incredibly dangerous approaching, and a loud noise echoed.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" everyone shouted.
In an instant, Don Krieg's galleon was sliced into three pieces with ease, making the sea churn violently.
"Damn it! Nami, Yosaku and Johnny are still out there on the ship!" Zoro shouted.
"Shit! It might be too late!!" Usopp yelled.
"Raise the anchors!!" Zeff ordered.
Everyone rushed out of the restaurant to look for the Going Merry, but they didn't find it—instead, they only saw Johnny and Yosaku in the water.
"ANIKI!!" both swordsmen yelled while swimming.
"Yosaku! Johnny! Are you okay?" Luffy asked.
"And the ship? Where is it? What happened to Nami?" Zoro asked.
"Aniki, she's not here anymore," Yosaku said.
"NAMI-ANEKI…!!"
"…SHE TOOK ALL THE TREASURE AND RAN AWAY!"
They yelled, shocking the whole crew.
"W-What did you say?!" everyone shouted after hearing the news.
'That's how it normally goes, and I couldn't think of anything to change it,' Oliver thought. "Yosaku, Johnny, climb up."
Both swordsmen grabbed his hand and climbed onto the Baratie.
Yosaku and Johnny explained everything that had happened—every detail, including how they thought of spying on her while she changed, until she pushed them into the sea and fled with the Going Merry.
"AND THAT'S HOW SHE ESCAPED!!" Johnny shouted, completely regretful.
"Damn it! She took advantage of us!" Zoro yelled angrily, punching a wall.
"THAT SHIP WAS A GIFT FROM KAYA!!" Usopp screamed furiously.
"Wait! I can see it! It's the Going Merry!" Luffy yelled.
"I think we can reach her by swimming," Oliver said, seeing it in the distance.
"Where's your ship?" Luffy asked Johnny and Yosaku.
"We still have it, but…" they answered.
"Zoro, Usopp, Oliver, go immediately! Go after Nami using their ship," Luffy ordered the three.
"It doesn't matter, let her go. There's no need to chase that woman," Zoro told him.
"No! Nami will be our navigator and no one else!!" Luffy said, looking at Zoro.
"I agree with Luffy. Nami has sailed long enough with us to be our nakama," Oliver said.
"Fine," Zoro said, resigned.
"Zoro-Aniki, the ship is ready!" the two swordsmen shouted.
"Luffy, what about you?" Zoro asked him.
"I haven't paid off everything I owe the restaurant yet, so I can't leave," Luffy told them.
"Be careful. Things are weird around here," Zoro warned him.
"Yeah, especially with that monster approaching," Oliver said, sweating as he felt the danger coming from Mihawk.
Then the pirates began screaming about the man who arrived on a tiny boat.
"That man is…" Zoro stared at his target.
"Zoro, who is he?" Luffy asked, seeing his expression.
"Hawk Eyes Mihawk, the strongest swordsman in the world," Zoro said, looking at his goal.
The pirates stared in terror at the man who had attacked them.
"Bastard!! Why do you hate us so much to chase us like this?!" one of Don Krieg's pirates yelled.
Mihawk looked around as if nothing mattered.
"I'm killing time," Mihawk said, angering the pirate.
"DIE!!" the pirate yelled, firing both pistols.
Mihawk drew his sword and easily deflected the bullets.
"He missed?" one pirate said in shock.
"They were deflected. No matter how many times you shoot him, the result will be the same. He changed the bullets' trajectory with the tip of his sword," Zoro explained. "I've never seen such an elegant sword."
"There is no strength in a sword without delicacy," Mihawk said.
"And you sliced the ship with that same sword too?" Zoro asked.
"That's right," he answered.
"You really are the strongest," Zoro said, completely thrilled. "I came out to sea to find you!!"
"What is it that you seek?" Mihawk asked.
"To be the BEST!" Zoro said, tying his bandana onto his head.
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