"Hmph."
Zeff looked at Sanji gripping his collar, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
"You dare grab the boss by the collar? What kind of behavior is that?!"
"Ha—!"
Zeff didn't even use his prosthetic leg.
He merely twisted his waist, and that arm brimming with terrifying strength instantly clamped onto Sanji's wrist, borrowing his force to execute a clean over-the-shoulder throw!
"BOOM—!!"
Sanji was hurled out like a cannonball.
His body traced a perfect arc through the air and landed squarely—without deviation—on Ronan and the others' dining table!
The solid wooden table shattered instantly on impact, splinters flying everywhere.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
At the critical moment just before the table collapsed, two afterimages flashed past.
Zoro snatched up the half-finished bottle of liquor with lightning speed, while Luffy rescued the very last piece of meat from the plate just in time.
The two exchanged a glance, then calmly continued eating and drinking, completely ignoring Sanji sprawled amid the wreckage.
"Cough… cough…"
Sanji struggled to prop himself up from the debris. Though the throw had been brutal, his inhuman physique meant he'd only scraped his skin a little.
He raised his head, staring hard at Zeff's retreating back, his hoarse but resolute voice echoing through the entire restaurant:
"No matter how you try to drive me away… I'll stay a chef in this restaurant forever!"
"Until… until you die!!"
This was the most awkward, yet deepest confession a son could make to his father.
Zeff's footsteps faltered slightly.
He didn't turn around—only pulled his chef's hat down lower, hiding the flicker of emotion in his eyes, and barked stubbornly:
"Hmph! I'm not dying! This old man's living another hundred years!"
With that, he strode straight into the kitchen without looking back.
"Such an… arrogant old man!" Sanji spat a blood-tinged mouthful, clambering to his feet in a sorry state.
"Awesome!"
Luffy stuffed the last piece of meat into his mouth and slapped Sanji on the shoulder excitedly, completely missing the lingering sadness in the air.
"He approved! That's great! Now you can be a pirate! Get on my ship!"
A large vein popped on Sanji's forehead as he roared at Luffy:
"No way! Didn't you hear what I just said?! I'm not leaving!"
...
Afternoon, Baratie.
Despite the earlier farce, business in the restaurant remained booming.
For sea travelers, the conflict was little more than dinner entertainment.
Luffy clung to Sanji like glue, following him everywhere— even to the restroom— endlessly muttering, "Be my cook."
Ronan, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp sat by the window, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.
However, the calm didn't last long.
"W-why did it suddenly get dark?"
A guest by the window looked up in confusion.
The bright sunlight seemed to be blocked by something massive, plunging the restaurant into shadow.
An oppressive pressure accompanied the encroaching darkness.
"Th-that is…"
The guest pointed outside, pupils trembling violently, his voice warped by sheer terror.
"A skull flag… with hourglasses hanging on both sides as a warning…"
"That flag—there's no mistake!!"
"It's the overlord of the East Blue! The Krieg Pirates!!!"
With that scream, the entire restaurant erupted.
Ronan turned to look out the window.
On the sea, a colossal three-deck sailing ship drifted slowly closer.
It was enormous— the Going Merry looked like a toy in comparison, and even the massive sea restaurant Baratie seemed small beneath its shadow.
The flagship—Dreadnought Sabre.
Like a mobile sea fortress, it blotted out the sky, completely engulfing Baratie in darkness.
The huge black sails were tattered, yet the purple hourglass skull emblazoned upon them still radiated a chilling aura of death.
"W-why would the Krieg Pirates come here?!"
"Run! We'll be killed!"
The restaurant fell into chaos— screams, crashing tables and chairs filled the air.
The once-arrogant chefs now wore faces of fear.
"That's a leader with five thousand men and a fleet of fifty ships!"
Patty's hand trembled as he gripped his knife.
"Did they come all this way to take revenge for that pirate earlier?!"
"This is bad, Luffy!"
Usopp's hands shook violently as he clutched the telescope, hiding behind Ronan with a tearful voice.
"This is completely out of our league! We should run!"
Nami covered her mouth, her face pale.
"That ship… how can it be that big?"
Zoro's hand rested on his sword hilt, his expression grim.
The sheer visual pressure of such a behemoth was overwhelming.
Luffy, however, pressed his face to the window, eyes wide with innocent awe.
"Whoa—! It's huge! Way bigger than our Merry!"
He turned to Sanji and asked:
"Is Gin here to repay you?"
Sanji lit a cigarette, taking a deep drag to steady himself.
"I don't think so."
His sharp gaze swept over the massive vessel, brows knit tightly.
"But… something's strange."
"Huh?" Luffy tilted his head.
"That ship…"
Sanji narrowed his eyes.
"It's really wrecked."
Luffy noticed it too.
The once-dominant warship now looked like a massive corpse adrift at sea.
The hull was riddled with holes, the main mast snapped halfway, barely standing.
The railings along the sides were completely destroyed, and the sails were tattered like a beggar's rags.
"Doesn't look like cannon damage," Sanji said calmly, experienced eyes spotting the details at once.
"If it were cannon fire, there'd be scorch marks and blast craters. But these cuts…"
"They're too clean."
"Not man-made either… or maybe a tornado?" Luffy guessed.
...
However, at the very instant the colossal ship came to a stop—
"BZZZZ—!!"
An extremely sharp, high-frequency hum—one that exceeded the limits of hearing— abruptly pierced the sea's silence.
Ronan, Zoro, and Luffy, standing at the very front of the deck, felt their pupils shrink to pinpoints.
Within their newly awakened yet still immature Observation Haki, the world seemed to freeze.
Then—
Two terrifying green streaks of light, like divine punishment itself—
Instantly sliced through the air, through space, and even through perception itself, unobstructed as they swept across the Krieg Pirates' towering flagship.
Fast.
Too fast.
So fast that even sound lagged behind.
"CRACK—!!"
Only after the green streaks vanished beyond the horizon did a thunderous rupture explode.
Before the eyes of the horrified crowd, the three-deck giant ship—capable of holding a thousand men—
Split cleanly down the middle, like butter cut by a hot knife!
The massive mast collapsed, the reinforced keel snapped.
Wood fragments rained down, seawater poured in like a waterfall.
The already half-starved Krieg Pirates—
Were wiped out in an instant.
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