Chapter 47: Trust on the Sea is More Precious Than Food!
Two days passed in the blink of an eye during the debt-repayment period.
For Sanji, aside from his usual routine of charming female customers with his overflowing gentlemanly appeal, these two days had introduced a new activity: pestering... or rather, courting the new female dishwasher.
This dishwasher was, of course, Lufia.
Whenever Lufia was washing dishes or wiping the deck with a rag, Sanji would buzz over like a bee drawn to nectar, either offering a specially crafted drink or showering her with flowery compliments that bordered on... harassment.
"Ah~ Miss Lufia! How could such heavy labor be entrusted to your delicate hands? Please allow me to take over!"
"Miss Lufia, the beads of sweat on your temples glisten like the purest morning dew! Permit me to wipe them for you!"
"Miss Lufia, you must be exhausted from work! This is my specially formulated stamina-replenishing juice—please do me the honor of accepting it!"
Yet every time Sanji ventured within three meters of Lufia, a ghostly-fast figure would invariably materialize between them.
This would inevitably trigger their daily skirmish, complete with chaotic scrambling.
In the cramped restaurant space, drawn blades were impractical, so their clashes focused on kicks.
Sanji's kicking techniques were diverse and elaborate, whereas Ralph's style leaned toward high-speed assaults derived from Soru and concise and effective jumping stomps, making his moves comparatively straightforward.
But Ralph was faster!
Coupled with his preliminary mastery of Observation Haki, he could always sense Sanji's attack trajectories a split second in advance.
Thus, the restaurant often witnessed scenes like this:
Sanji would launch a powerful kick, but Ralph would sidestep as if foreseeing it, dodging by a hair's breadth.
Sanji would fail to retract his momentum in time, or Ralph would give a slight nudge while evading.
"Crash!" A chair would splinter.
"Clatter!" A decorative vase would shatter.
"Crack!" A door panel would sprout a new hole.
The outcome, naturally, was a furious dressing-down from Head Chef Zeff, who'd come running at the noise.
Zeff's mustache quivered with rage, his wooden leg stomping thunderously on the deck. "Sanji! Slacking off again! I've long wanted to kick your troublemaking ass out of this restaurant!"
Sanji brushed wood chips off his clothes, retorting stubbornly, "Old man! What nonsense! I'd rather die than leave this place! I'll stay here waiting for you to kick the bucket!"
Zeff snorted coldly, "Oh? Is that so? Weren't you singing a different tune when you were chatting up that straw-hat girl, itching to sail away with her?"
Sanji's face flushed instantly. "Th-that was a momentary lapse of judgment from love! It doesn't count!"
"Hmph, can't be bothered to argue."
Zeff turned his back on Sanji.
"Deep down, you know what you truly want. While she's here working off her debt, you'd better think long and hard about it!"
Meanwhile, the kitchen presented a completely different scene.
Zoro stood expressionless, gripping a sharp kitchen knife in each hand with a smaller boning knife clenched between his teeth. The three blades whirled into a dazzling flurry of gleaming arcs in his hands (and mouth).
With a series of soft "swish-swish-swish" sounds, a massive sea fish on the cutting board before him was evenly sliced into sashimi as thin as cicada wings, neatly arranged on an ice plate. The fish bones were completely removed—clean and precise.
This miraculous display of the "Three Sword Style: Vegetable Cutting Technique" left even the usually proud chef Patty, who took great pride in his own knife skills, utterly dumbfounded. He couldn't help but give a thumbs-up: "Incredible! Young man, with skills like that, it'd be a waste if you weren't a chef!"
However, Zoro was anything but willing in this labor. He complained to Ralph, who was intently tasting soup by another stove: "Hey, Ralph. By any measure, my appetite isn't as big as Lufia's, right? If you want to share weal and woe with your woman, that's your business. Why should I be stuck here too? Even Usopp got to go back to the ship to laze around—why do I have to stay here slicing fish?!"
Ralph first carefully ladled a bit of light golden broth from the pot, blew on it, and took a sip. The rich, layered umami on his tongue was even slightly more complex than yesterday's. Satisfied, he narrowed his eyes slightly before leisurely turning to Zoro and replying: "First," he raised a finger, "aside from Lufia, you did indeed consume the most food."
"And besides..." Before Ralph could finish, a crisp "smash" came from the direction of the restaurant hall, followed by the furious scolding of some chef: "Straw Hat girl! How many times have I told you! Hold the plates steady! Watch where you're going! How many plates are there today?!"
Logically, as the "knight in shining armor," Ralph should have rushed out immediately to defend Lufia. But hearing the commotion outside, the corner of his mouth twitched, and he remained rooted to the spot. The truth was... he simply couldn't keep up with defending her!
Sure enough, within seconds, an even louder voice roared: "Hey! You with the straw hat! No stealing food! That's for table number 3!!"
Faced with all this chaos, Ralph spread his hands helplessly at Zoro, "...Besides, with one more person working, the three of us can get out of debt sooner. Otherwise, with Lufia's... unique style of working, our captain might be chained to this restaurant for life!"
Zoro opened his mouth to retort but found that what Ralph said... damn it, actually made sense! Being stuck with a captain who could both cause trouble and eat like a bottomless pit was the worst luck in eight lifetimes!
"Also," Ralph added while continuing to stir the Oden in the pot, "about Usopp... we do need to spare someone to keep an eye on the ship, right? The Going Merry can't be left completely unattended."
Zoro shot him a glance, his tone tinged with amusement: "You still don't fully trust that woman Nami, do you?"
Ralph smiled without denying it, "Not entirely, no. You, Usopp, and Lufia are all easy to read. What you want, what you dislike, your dreams—it's all written on your faces or shouted out loud. But Nami is different. She's deeply thoughtful, hiding many things."
He paused, adding a pinch of salt to the soup pot, "And I myself... am also deeply thoughtful. People like us find it hard to easily build unreserved trust in others. And precisely because of that..."
He glanced at Zoro. "That's exactly why I particularly envy people like you and Lufia—once you commit, you honor your word and can entrust your backs to each other."
Of course, these heartfelt-sounding words were only half true.
The main reason for having Usopp guard the ship was to give Nami an opportunity, to see if she would steal the ship and leave as in the original storyline.
Zoro fell silent for a moment, but before he could respond, a sudden commotion erupted from outside, accompanied by faint exclamations and the dull thud of colliding ships.
The two exchanged glances, set down their tasks, and quickly moved to the kitchen doorway to look outside.
They saw an enormous three-deck warship, resembling a fortress at sea, docked beside the Sea Restaurant Baratie.
Though majestic, the ship currently appeared pitiful—multiple planks were cracked, the massive sails were tattered, and the entire vessel looked less like it had come to plunder and more like it had narrowly escaped some catastrophic disaster.
Flying from the main mast was the flag of the Krieg Pirates!
Ralph, knowing what was about to happen, couldn't help but smirk.
"Did I call it? Is that Gin guy really going to repay kindness with betrayal and bring his men to destroy the restaurant?"
"Absolutely not!"
Lufia, who had somehow appeared beside them, stated firmly, "I believe in Gin! He would never do such a thing!"
Ralph looked at her helplessly. "Lufia, why do you trust him so much? You've only met him once."
Lufia answered matter-of-factly, "Isn't it obvious? If someone gave me a meal when I was starving, I'd be too grateful to even think about attacking them! Gin must feel the same way!"
Ralph: "..."
He was left speechless.
Given Lufia's nature, if someone fed her, she would only think of how to repay them or consider them a friend—she would never dream of repaying kindness with betrayal.
Soon after, everyone watched as Gin helped an exceptionally tall and burly man, whose face was ashen and breath feeble, struggle onto the deck of the Sea Restaurant.
That man was the notorious "Pirate Admiral," Krieg!
Surprisingly, this infamous pirate of the East Sea was so weak he needed support. They had come to the restaurant not to plunder, but—to beg for help.
"Food... Please, give us food and water..."
Krieg's voice was hoarse and weak, devoid of the arrogance he was known for.
The chefs and patrons in the restaurant immediately grew tense, murmuring among themselves.
"It's the Krieg Pirates! They look weak, but if we give them food and water and they regain their strength, who knows what they'll do?"
"Maybe... we should just let them starve? They're not good people anyway!"
"We should report this to the Navy!"
Even more unexpectedly, faced with the hostility and whispers around him, the once-overbearing Krieg trembled... and knelt down!
"Please... I beg you... give us some food... My crew... can't hold on much longer..."
The scene moved some soft-hearted patrons and chefs.
However, someone immediately shouted a warning:
"Don't be fooled by him! He's 'Foul Play Krieg'! He's impersonated the Navy to plunder, launched sneak attacks under white flags... Is there any despicable act he hasn't committed? Can his words be trusted?!"
In the past.
Even with such warnings ringing out, Sanji silently brought a plate of steaming hot food from the kitchen, walked over to the kneeling Krieg, and handed it to him.
"Eat," he said without emotion.
Krieg abruptly raised his head, a glimmer flashing in his murky eyes. He practically snatched the plate and began wolfing down the food without any regard for appearances.
However, the moment he finished the last bite and tossed the plate aside—
A sudden change occurred!
The previously feeble Krieg now revealed a vicious glare in his eyes and, without warning, threw a powerful punch at Sanji who stood right before him!
"Mr. Sanji!" Gin cried out in horror, trying to step forward and intervene. But with a casual swing of Krieg's massive golden gauntlet carrying immense force, Gin was sent flying and crashed heavily to the ground!
"Humph! Now that I'm full, my strength has returned!"
Krieg slowly rose to his feet, his armor scraping as he moved. The pitiful demeanor from moments before vanished completely, replaced by naked greed and aggression.
"Listen! I don't just want food and water for 100 people! I also want this ship beneath our feet—the Sea Restaurant Baratie! With this as my new flagship, my fleet can be reborn!"
What happens after feeding a treacherous wolf was already self-evident.
Yet, faced with Krieg's shameless demands and the recent sneak attack, after staggering a few steps and steadying himself, wiping a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth, Sanji actually told the other furious chefs: "I'll go prepare food for 100 people."
"Sanji! Have you gone mad?!"
"Didn't you see he wants to steal our ship?!"
"This scum should starve to death!"
The other chefs completely failed to understand Sanji's thinking. Fierce arguments and conflicts erupted in the restaurant, creating a chaotic scene.
In the kitchen, Ralph heard everything clearly.
As he placed the final ingredients into the pot of Oden that was already emitting an enticing glow, he shook his head inwardly:
If being a chef at sea means having to adhere to principles like Sanji's "never let anyone starve to death"... then this profession really isn't for me.
Ganzo expertly helped Ralph chop various ingredients into uniformly sized pieces while grinning and saying: "Tsk, as expected of the cook Lufia has her eye on. This personality... is really quite special."
Knowing the storyline well, Ralph understood that the current developments hadn't reached the point where he needed to forcefully intervene.
Moreover, he had more important matters before him.
This pot of Oden, infused with Ganzo's secret recipe, Zeff's guidance, and all his efforts over the past two days, was at its most critical final stage.
He could feel that the flavor integration had reached a tipping point.
All the ingredients simmered gently in the light golden broth, with rich, savory aromas rising along with the steam.
[Ding! Through persistent practice and comprehension, your 'Cooking' level has increased to: Intermediate!]
[Current Oden completion: Excellent. Has mastered 80% of the core essence of Ganzo's secret recipe.]
Success!
Though it hadn't reached the pinnacle of craftsmanship like old man Ganzo's supreme level, this pot of Oden was undoubtedly the highest achievement Ralph could currently attain!
A genuine surge of joy welled up in Ralph's heart, washing away the repeated attempts and frustrations of the past two days in this very moment.
Beaming with delight, he lifted the pot of Oden radiating an enticing glow and prepared to head outside.
Seeing this, Zoro immediately tore off his apron and tossed it aside: "Your 'grand undertaking' is finished? Then I'm not sticking around! It's unbearably noisy out there!!"
After some shoving, several gunshots, and a few cannon blasts, the commotion in the restaurant gradually subsided.
Boss Zeff had somehow managed to control the situation and had actually brought out enough food and water for 100 people, piling it on the deck.
However, when Krieg caught sight of Zeff, it was as if he'd discovered some hidden treasure.
"You... you're... 'Red Leg' Zeff! The great pirate who once ventured into the Grand Line for a year and returned unscathed!"
The greed on his face intensified: "Haha! Never expected such an unexpected windfall! I'm not just taking the food and this ship—I want your navigation log from back then too! With ample intelligence, a sturdy ship, superior weapons, and enough crew, I'll definitely break into the Grand Line again, find One Piece, dominate this great pirate era, and become the Pirate King!"
At these words, Lufia, who had been watching the spectacle from the sidelines, couldn't stand idly by.
She leaped forward in a flash, pointed at Krieg, and loudly declared: "Hey! I'm the one who's going to find One Piece and become the Pirate King!"
Krieg sneered at Lufia's proclamation, arrogantly looking down at this seemingly "petite" Straw Hat Girl as he boasted about his fleet, strength, and weapons.
Meanwhile, Lufia spoke to him about comrades, dreams, and the joy of free-spirited adventure.
The two were completely on different wavelengths. Krieg found himself at a loss for words, simply dismissing her as unreasonable.
"Hmph, little girl, can't be bothered wasting words on you!"
Krieg waved his hand impatiently, "While I'm distributing food to my crew, anyone who values their life should get lost now! My targets are this ship and the navigation log!"
Clearly, he didn't take Lufia seriously in the slightest.
And Lufia, for her part, didn't think much of him either.
Her nose twitched as she suddenly caught an intensely familiar aroma. Turning around, she saw Ralph emerging with a steaming pot of fragrant, mouth-watering Oden.
"Ralph! You smell amazing!"
Lufia's attention instantly shifted, her eyes sparkling as she moved closer.
Ralph smiled and lifted the lid, inviting: "Here, Lufia, try this—it's my latest creation."
Just then, Sanji found Ralph.
Unusually, he wasn't his usual sarcastic or hostile self, "Hey, Ralph. Take Lufia and your people and get out of here quickly. You're just working here to pay off debts—no need to fight for the restaurant against scum like Krieg."
Ralph shook his head, his tone carrying a strangely calm note, "Right now, this is no longer just your restaurant's affair."
Without elaborating further, he walked straight toward the restaurant entrance.
There, Gin knelt on the ground, his face filled with anguish and deep remorse.
Gin had just sincerely apologized, never expecting Captain Krieg to break his promise of not harming the restaurant staff after giving his word.
Both Boss Zeff and Sanji could forgive him, as the earlier incident wasn't entirely Gin's fault.
Having survived shipwrecks themselves, they understood the agony of near-starvation—a shared ordeal that forged their culinary creed: never let anyone starve before their eyes.
Even if that person was an enemy!
Meanwhile, Ralph watched Gin quietly, not speaking until his silence made the other man visibly uneasy.
"Gin," he began slowly, "the one you owe an apology to… isn't just Sanji, I'm afraid."
Gin froze.
Ralph continued, "Our captain trusted you so deeply, yet you let him down. Food is precious on the sea, but trust is even more valuable!"
His tone sharpened abruptly, "Didn't I say… if you disappointed our captain, I'd make you pay?"
Just then, Lufia's praise arrived alongside a system notification.
"Ralph! Your oden is amazing! I knew you'd succeed! I'm so happy for you!"
[Ding! You have lived up to Lufia's trust and moved her with your 'heartfelt' oden. Affection +5%]
[Current Affection: 100%]
***
T/N: I've been thinking of asking a question for some time: what kind of translation of names do you guys like? I mean, for Devil Fruits and other techniques in the anime, like "Gomu Gomu no Mi" or "Gum-Gum Fruit". Should I do the literal English translation or the Japanese equivalent? I might change how I translate in the future, so please let me know.
Thanks for reading (●'◡'●)