Zaraki slowly opened his eyes.
In an instant, his pupils seemed to transform into two pitch-black holes devouring the very light around them.
An invisible aura spread outward from him in a heavy, spherical wave.
It was the quality of a true king who stands above millions.
It was a power only those carrying an absolute will could wield.
Haoshoku no Haki.
Hum—!
A low-frequency vibration, audible only to the soul itself, seemed to reverberate straight through the air.
The vicious pirate charging at the absolute forefront brandishing a scimitar suddenly froze mid-snarl.
His eyes rolled right back into his head as if his spine had been brutally ripped out, and without making a single sound, he collapsed face-first onto the wooden deck.
It was exactly like toppling the first domino.
Thud, thud, thud...
The deafening battle cries were abruptly cut off as if by an invisible, giant hand.
Hundreds of pirates, who had been charging forward as fierce as rabid wolves just moments ago, now fell exactly like harvested wheat, collapsing across the deck in rolling waves.
Their heavy weapons clattered onto the wood with sharp, ringing metallic clangs.
From the bow of the ship all the way to the stern, and from the main deck up to the lookout post.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
Across the entire warship, aside from Zaraki standing tall atop the mast, not a single conscious pirate remained standing.
Even the seagulls circling high in the sky plummeted right into the sea like kites with their strings violently severed, their wings flapping helplessly.
Krieg remained totally frozen in his shooting pose, still holding up the poison gas grenade launcher, but his consciousness had already plunged deep into total darkness.
His massive frame collapsed like a heavy heap of scrap metal, crushing Gin, who had also passed out cold with his eyes rolled back.
The entire world fell silent.
Zaraki stood high up on the mast, yawning with complete boredom.
Releasing this tiny level of Haoshoku Haki wasn't even enough to count as a proper warm-up for him.
He turned his head, his dark gaze crossing the open sea to look at the distant terrace of the Baratie.
The air over there seemed to have grown incredibly stagnant because of the silent commotion here.
A deathly, heavy silence had spread all the way to the open-air terrace of the Baratie sea restaurant.
The sea breeze blew past the frozen crowd, rolling up a few loose napkins that spun awkwardly through the air.
The once-noisy diners and the tough battle chefs holding their knives and forks now maintained a comically rigid, frozen posture.
Patty's oversized cooking ladle clattered right onto his foot, but the large chef didn't even furrow his brow.
He just stood there with his mouth hanging wide open, staring at the distant wreckage of the warship completely filled with unconscious men, and the back of the young man as he lightly jumped down from the mast.
That was hundreds of grown, vicious men. Not hundreds of tiny ants.
And not even a single drop of blood was shed—they all just collapsed in unison like that.
Zaraki's boots touched down, landing on the Baratie's well-maintained teak deck with a dull, heavy thud.
The sound wasn't overly loud, but it seemed to step right in perfect rhythm with everyone's beating heart, causing many of the terrified onlookers to instinctively take half a step back in fear.
"What... what the hell just happened?"
Ace scratched the back of his head, the freckles on his face bunching together in pure confusion.
He looked at the Krieg Pirates lying totally unconscious in the distance, then back at Zaraki, his expression incredibly dazed.
"Zaraki, what kind of crazy sorcery is this? Hypnotic gas? Or some invisible trick?"
"Stop guessing wildly." Zaraki casually flicked some nonexistent dust off his collar, his tone incredibly lazy.
"I just made them take a quick nap so they wouldn't disturb my meal."
"That isn't just simple sleeping.."
An aged yet incredibly robust voice cut right into the conversation.
Zeff, leaning heavily on his famous peg leg, stepped forward from behind the stunned crowd.
His two signature golden braided mustaches trembled slightly, and his old eyes, which had seen countless brutal storms on the Grand Line, were now filled with heavy gravity and a trace of barely noticeable nostalgia.
"That is Haki." Zeff's gaze hooked onto Zaraki like a sharp claw, as if desperately trying to see something extraordinary inside this sixteen-year-old boy.
"And not just any Haki—it's the quality of a king, Haoshoku Haki, which only one in millions possesses."
"Haki?" Ace was totally taken abac, the term sounded unfamiliar to him.
"Busoshoku Haki hardens the body and attacks, Kenbunshoku Haki senses presence and movement, and Haoshoku Haki..." Zeff took a deep breath, lowering his raspy voice. "...is pure, crushing intimidation through sheer willpower. You don't even need to lift a single finger—just your resolve alone can completely intimidate or even knock out your opponents. Kid, using this kind of crazy power in a place like East Blue is exactly like using a heavy cannon to kill a tiny mosquito."
The surrounding chefs and diners listened in total confusion, but they could clearly sense it was something completely extraordinary.
Even if they didn't fully understand what Haoshoku Haki was, the heavy description that "only one in millions possesses it" was more than enough to make them realize the terrifying caliber of this black-coated boy standing right before them.
It was a complete dimensional downgrade on the very level of life itself.
"Tch, seems like you old man quite knowledgeable." Zaraki curled his lips, not bothering to deny it.
He didn't intent to hide this power anyway. In this brutal world where pure strength reigns supreme, appropriately showing off one's power could easily avoid the vast majority of annoying troubles—like certain blind, starving flies trying to disturb his meal.
He turned to look at Ace and found no fear in the boy's eyes, only burning, wild excitement.
"Want to learn?" Zaraki glanced down at him.
"Yes!" Ace answered immediately and resolutely.
"You're not ready yet." Zaraki mercilessly poured a bucket of cold water right over the boy's hype.
He reached out and gently tapped his finger right on Ace's forehead, his tone unusually serious.
"A Logia Devil Fruit indeed lets you run wild right now in the East Blue, making you feel invincible. But remember this, Ace—out on these seas, the guys who rely too heavily on their Devil Fruit powers die the fastest."
"Haki is the power that stands far above all of that."
Zaraki's words were incredibly plain, yet they struck Ace's eardrums exactly like a heavy hammer.
This wasn't some vague warning.
It was serious advice from a brother.
The wild fervor in Ace's eyes cooled slightly, replaced by a look of deep, thoughtful contemplation.
Though he was reckless, he definitely wasn't foolish.
The sheer dominance Zaraki had just displayed truly made him see the massive gap between himself and the truly top-tier powerhouses out on the sea.
Gurgle—
A thunderous stomach growl rang out loudly again at a totally inopportune moment, utterly ruining the heavy atmosphere.
This time, it was a loud duet from both Zaraki and Ace.
The lofty, serious demeanor they held just moments ago instantly crumbled into pieces.
Zaraki rubbed his empty stomach—the intense hunger from releasing such heavy energy felt like it could burn a hole straight through his gut.
"Um..." Ace awkwardly patted the pocket of his shorts, which had been burned to half their length during the battle, his finger poking right through a charred hole.
"Zaraki, do you happen to have any Beli on you? My wallet seems to have... well, fell right into the sea."
Zaraki froze stiff.
He instinctively reached into the inner pocket of his massive coat.
Empty.
Great. He had left the ship in way too much of a hurry to fight, meaning his wallet was still sitting back on the ship.
Two terrifying monsters who had just shaken the entire surrounding sea—one possessing Haoshoku Haki, the other a fiery Logia user—now faced the simple, crushing truth that you actually have to pay for meals.
They both fell into a simultaneous, awkward silence.
"Hahahaha!" Zeff burst into loud, roaring laughter seeing the identical awkward, panicked expressions on their faces, the heavy atmosphere from earlier completely vanishing into the sea breeze.
"Alright! Today's meal is on me!"
"Boss?!" Patty exclaimed in panic. "These two look like they could easily eat the entire storeroom empty!"
"Shut up, Patty." Zeff glared hard at him, then turned to the blond, curly-browed young man leaning lazily against the kitchen doorway smoking.
"Sanji! You still got the strength to cook? Don't embarrass the Baratie—show these guys some real skill and stuff these two starving ghosts full!"
"Tch, damn old man."
Sanji blew out a thick smoke ring, a sharp flicker of excitement flashing in his visible eye.
For a chef, absolutely nothing ignited fighting spirit more than encountering diners who truly appreciated food and were utterly ravenous.
"If it's for entertaining hungry guests, then there's no helping it. Hey, what do you guys want to eat? Just name it—anything that swims in the sea, I can make it."
"Meat! I want lots of meat on the bone!" Ace cheered loudly, raising both his hands and completely shedding the terrifying air of a great pirate captain.
"Same for me," Zaraki shrugged, the simple joy of scoring a free meal instantly lifting his mood completely.
"Just make it big and incredibly filling."