"Zeff, Boss! You shouldn't be doing this kind of thing yourself!"
Just as he was about to respond, the familiar sound of wood knocking against the ship's deck reached his ears. He turned around and, sure enough, saw Zeff walking over, carrying a sack of spoiled food.
He quickly rushed over, trying to take the sack from him while muttering under his breath. If the other cooks on board saw this, they'd definitely come looking to scold him and Carne.
If it were Patty who saw someone letting his most respected boss, Zeff, do such chores, he'd definitely give that guy a serious beating.
"I'm not so old I need others waiting on me," Zeff grunted. He shook his head and insisted on carrying the sack himself. Then, with practiced ease, he began sorting through the spoiled ingredients.
The kind of dirty work others would avoid at all costs—Zeff treated it as nothing more than a chef's most basic duty.
"It's fine. I'll handle the rest, Boss Zeff," Carne said with a dry chuckle. Although they'd only been talking about the sudden drop in customers, letting Zeff overhear it felt a little embarrassing.
"Hmph. You think I'm deaf? Even if I was deaf, I'm not blind. All this spoiled food—obviously we've had way fewer customers lately."
Zeff snorted. What he hated most was being treated like some feeble old man who needed looking after. Not even Sanji was an exception to that rule.
"Hehe… So Boss heard us after all... Hey, Boss Zeff, do you have any idea why the customers suddenly stopped coming?" Patty scratched his head sheepishly. Despite his burly frame, he instinctively lowered his voice and bowed slightly before the shorter Zeff out of respect.
"Same reason as always. Pirates getting too rowdy, scaring folks off," Zeff replied casually. The situation that left Patty and Carne so anxious didn't seem to trouble him in the slightest.
For someone like Zeff, who had walked the line between life and death countless times, very few things could still make him feel uneasy.
"Sigh, those damn pirates are a real nuisance… If they keep stirring up trouble, we're gonna be in a tight spot…" Carne muttered, seemingly forgetting that he and Zeff had once been pirates themselves. Even if Baratie wasn't afraid of pirates, their guests definitely were.
Even the thrill-seeking folks who enjoyed watching the chefs beat up dine-and-dashers—or even pirates—wouldn't risk getting caught in a real pirate attack just to eat there.
"Yeah, Boss Zeff. It's a real waste to keep losing food like this," Patty added with concern. Though they tried to repurpose spoiled ingredients as bait or animal feed, there was only so much they could do.
And the most expensive ingredients were also the quickest to spoil. If this kept up, Baratie wouldn't last much longer.
"No need to worry. Things will go back to normal soon," Zeff said calmly. He knew his old peers far too well—and knew exactly how terrifying the Navy truly was.
If the Navy had lost the war at Marineford, then maybe they'd have had no choice but to tolerate the pirates for a while.
But they won. And not just any win—two Emperor-level pirates ended up dead or wounded.
Any pirate with half a brain would know what to do next.
Of course, there were always some cocky, clueless rookies—especially in the so-called "weakest sea," the East Blue.
Once the Navy freed up some forces, it wouldn't take long to crush those idiots still causing trouble.
What really worried Zeff… was Sanji, now a member of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Sure, the Marineford War had been all about the Navy and the Yonko, but anyone paying close attention would've noticed the chaos caused by Monkey D. Luffy midway through.
Zeff had seen Luffy.
But he hadn't seen Sanji.
And that absence gnawed at him.
"Stupid kid… Don't you dare die so easily..."
Zeff gazed toward the entrance of the Grand Line and couldn't help but mutter to himself.
"Boss Zeff, what did you just say?"
Patty leaned over with a curious look. He had been arguing with Carne and hadn't heard what Zeff said.
"...Get to work! Get rid of all the spoiled ingredients before the guests arrive! If there's any left, that's your dinner for tonight!"
Just a moment ago, Zeff had been worried about Sanji, but he quickly changed his expression and barked at Patty with irritation.
If those idiots found out he was actually missing that brat, they'd definitely be laughing behind his back.
South Blue, the Kingdom of Vissen.
This nation, famous worldwide for its technology and mechanical modifications, was one of the few powerful countries that had never joined the World Government, yet still held a firm place on the seas.
However, few people knew that years ago, the Kingdom of Vissen had quietly become the largest Revolutionary Army stronghold in the South Blue.
What was even more shocking was that the high-ranking Revolutionary officers who had just participated in the Paramount War were now all gathered in the capital of this southern nation.
And it had been less than a month since the war. If word got out, even the Five Elders—currently wrangling with the Celestial Dragons over pure gold—wouldn't be able to sit still.
Because this would mean the Revolutionary Army had already mastered the technology to sail through the Calm Belt, making any hope of wiping them out even more remote—and the difficulty of guarding against a surprise attack from them had gone up another level.
"So scary, so scary! I didn't think that Kizaru boy would be that strong! Last time he even had Kuma pass along a message saying he wanted to beat me up. Now I'm really done for..."
Emporio Ivankov, the Okama King, held a freshly printed newspaper in hand, wailing as he looked at the front page. The new Fleet Admiral's face—unchanged for decades, as if immune to aging—stared back at him.
But the other Revolutionary leaders present were far too familiar with Ivankov to take him seriously. They all knew the Okama King was just fooling around, and even his deputy, Inazuma, didn't bother reacting.
"After all, it's been decades since Kizaru last really went all out. Even I thought his strength had deteriorated along with his attitude..."
Fortunately, a slightly chubby Revolutionary officer spoke up, stopping Ivankov from monologuing further.
Despite his appearance—like a harmless neighborhood uncle—this man had once been a promising Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral who left the Navy alongside Dragon more than a decade ago.
Though he hadn't participated in the Paramount War, Dragon had entrusted him with critical responsibilities as a stay-behind officer—proving that his power and status in the Revolutionary Army were second only to the five army commanders.
"After decades of silence, he suddenly explodes with power and nearly scares everyone to death. If Mr. Dragon hadn't had a contingency plan, we and those pirates would've likely been wiped out together..."
Lindbergh, the Southern Army commander, scratched his head with lingering fear. He finally understood why Dragon had repeatedly refused his proposal to launch a nuclear bomb strike on Marineford after the nuclear bomb was developed.
With a "monster" like that stationed at Marineford, even if Mr. Dragon personally helped cover the operation, the nuclear bomb wouldn't have posed any threat to Navy Headquarters.
"Don't be discouraged. Compared to before, we've already grown stronger. Exposing the enemy's true strength now isn't necessarily a bad thing. At least now we know who we're trying to catch up to..."
The North Army Commander, Crow, spoke in a "soft voice." Not because he was trying to whisper, but because he was naturally born with an extremely quiet voice.
If it weren't for Lindbergh's invention of the voice amplifier, even if someone pressed their ear right against Crow's mouth, they still wouldn't be able to hear what he was saying.
"Uh, could you speak up? Morley can't hear you..."
The West Army Commander, Morley, who looked like an oversized potato, poked his head through the window and said a little awkwardly.
Thanks to his outstanding performance in the Summit War, Morley had now replaced Ivankov as the second-highest bounty holder among the Revolutionary Army.
West Army Commander of the Revolutionary Army, Giant Morley—Bounty: 1.76 billion berries!
Compared to most pirates, Revolutionary Army members tend to have lower bounties relative to their actual strength.
Yet the Navy still issued such a high bounty, and it was personally approved by Vice Admiral Tsuru, Chief of Naval Strategy—this alone shows just how much trouble Morley had caused them.
"You bastard! I am speaking loudly!"
Crow shouted in frustration—quietly—but even with the amplifier, his voice still sounded like a child talking.
Expecting Morley, sitting outside the building, to hear that clearly... well, that was asking a bit much of giant ears.
"Hhss... haaa... What a damn headache..."
Eastern Army Commander Belo Betty leaned against a pillar with a cigarette in her mouth, totally unconcerned about the fact that her tiny vest on top was barely covering anything anymore.
Perhaps because, under Dragon's leadership these past few years, the Revolutionary Army had advanced and acted with such success...
Somewhere along the way, both the high-ranking officers and the rank-and-file had developed a kind of blind confidence. As if it was only a matter of time before they toppled the World Government and saw the dawn of a successful revolution.
They even dared to charge into a battlefield as brutal as the Summit War.
Even someone like Belo Betty—fully aware of Dragon's true plan—had once fantasized about it: smashing the Navy at Marineford completely, then uniting with those pirates to storm Mary Geoise in one breath and overthrow the World Government altogether.
°°°
If you want to read ahead and access 20 advanced chapters, check the patreon
Link: Patreon/Moziel
Subscription should be made thru the web and never the ios app, it helps you and me.