"HEY!! I'm a customer! A paying customer!!"
Fullbody shouted at Sanji, spit flying as he stomped his foot on a chair. He seemed determined to vent all the humiliation and rage he'd bottled up from his earlier encounter.
He felt a surge of relief—Damn it, I can't touch that red-eyed freak, but do you really think I can't handle a measly restaurant cook?!
However, in the face of his fury, Sanji simply kept his head down, a cigarette dangling from his lips. His bangs shadowed half his face as he spoke in a low, cold voice.
"Can money... fill a stomach?"
"Huh?"
Fullbody blinked. The dark tone and the strange aura radiating from the man made him feel a sudden, inexplicable prickle of nerves.
But he quickly remembered his status. He was a Marine Lieutenant! Flushed with shame and anger, he slammed the table again.
"What nonsense are you spouting! I am—"
BAM!!
Before he could finish, a black blur streaked across his vision. Without warning, Sanji's leg whipped upward, his heel slamming into Fullbody's jaw with bone-shaking force.
"Pwah!"
Fullbody flew backward like a sandbag, crashing through the tables behind him. Before he could even hit the floor, Sanji had already stepped forward, his hand snapping out to grab the Lieutenant's collar and hoisting him clean off the ground.
Sanji's exposed eye burned with a cold, murderous fire as he glared at Fullbody.
"I asked you—CAN MONEY FILL A STOMACH?!"
The sudden explosion of violence stunned everyone in the restaurant. Diners shrieked and scrambled away, turning the once-elegant dining room into a scene of wreckage.
Standing at the entrance, Nami's jaw dropped. "What... what is happening? Why is the cook here more terrifying than a pirate?"
"You damn brat! You're doing it again! SANJI!!"
Just then, a coarse roar echoed from the back. A massive, muscular man in a black chef's uniform—Patty—came charging out wielding a giant fork. He barked at Sanji, "What do you think you're doing to our guest! You violent cook!"
"What was that? Don't say my name so casually, you bastard, Patty," Sanji replied, glancing back with a gaze that remained frigid.
"You shitty cook don't have the right to call me a shitty cook! No customers means no restaurant! Are you trying to destroy this shop?!" Patty bellowed.
"So what if he's a customer?" Sanji didn't back down an inch. His voice turned even more glacial. "This guy didn't just waste precious food; he insulted the soul of the dish a chef poured his heart into. That's why I'm giving him a taste of reality."
With that, Sanji tossed Fullbody onto the floor like a sack of trash.
"Cough... cough..."
Fullbody clutched his bruised jaw, his face twisting into a mask of hysterical madness as he scrambled back. He looked at the surrounding chefs, who all looked like hardened thugs, and his fear turned into a desperate shriek.
"Cooks... what kind of cooks are you?!" He pointed a trembling finger at Sanji, his eyes bloodshot.
"I am a Marine Lieutenant! I'll destroy this shop! I'll contact the government right now and have the Navy blow this place to smithereens!!"
The moment the words "destroy this shop" left his mouth, Sanji's expression became truly horrifying. A killing intent like a vengeful demon erupted from him.
"In that case, I'll just have to kill you right now!!"
The ember of Sanji's cigarette flared as he took a step toward Fullbody. "You think you're something special, you bastard?"
"Hey! Sanji! Stop!" "Calm down!"
The nearby chefs turned pale and immediately lunged forward, grabbing Sanji's waist and arms to hold him back with everything they had.
"Let go of me! Let me slaughter this food-wasting piece of trash!"
At the door...
"Ah... they're really going to kill each other." Nami rubbed her temples, looking at the chaos. She tugged on Viktor's sleeve.
"Hey, Viktor, let's just pay the money, get Luffy, and get out of here. This place is not normal. I have a feeling we're going to get caught up in something big."
Viktor, however, remained leaning against the doorframe, a small smile playing on his lips as he watched the blonde cook with the curly eyebrows.
"No, isn't this getting interesting?"
"WHAT PART OF THIS IS INTERESTING?!" Nami yelled at him, reaching her breaking point.
KABOOM!!!
Suddenly, a massive crash echoed from the ceiling. Wood splintered, and a cloud of dust billowed down. Two entangled figures plummeted from the second floor, crashing heavily onto the central floor of the dining room.
"Cough... what now?!" "Is it... an attack? Are we being boarded?"
The restaurant descended into panic again. Some diners even dove under their tables. As the dust cleared...
"Luffy!!"
Nami's face lit up with relief when she saw the straw-hatted figure climbing out of the debris. Meanwhile, the other chefs recognized the second figure and shouted in surprise:
"Boss?! What are you doing?!"
There stood Zeff, the one-legged head chef, staring down at Luffy.
"Ah, Viktor! Nami! Shishishi! You came to save me!" Luffy picked up his hat, patted off the dust, and grinned at the duo by the door, completely oblivious to the chaos he'd caused.
But a second later, he was grabbed by the collar by an irate Zeff.
"You damn brat! It's all your fault!" Zeff pointed at the gaping hole in the ceiling, his mustache twitching with rage. "My ceiling! I just had that fixed! It's your fault! PAY UP!!"
"HUH?! Old man, you're the one who kicked me into it!!" Luffy argued. "You're at least half responsible!"
"Shut up! In my restaurant, what I say goes!"
While they argued, the chefs holding Sanji were losing their grip. "Boss! Forget the ceiling! Come help us hold Sanji! He's actually going to murder someone!"
"Hmm?" Zeff turned his head, his eyes locking onto the murderous Sanji. "Sanji... you brat! Raising hell in the shop again?"
"Shut it, you geezer."
Though Sanji talked back, the moment he saw Zeff's dark expression, he instinctively stopped his advance, clicking his tongue and looking away.
"What was that?! Who do you think you're talking to! This is my restaurant, you brat!"
Without hesitation, Zeff's wooden leg blurred, delivering a heavy kick to Sanji's face.
BAM!
Sanji was sent spinning across the floor. This chain of violent outbursts completely shattered Fullbody's world. He sat on the floor, cold sweat pouring down his face as he looked at these chefs who were more like pirates than pirates. His teeth began to chatter.
"This restaurant... what is wrong with this place... it's just a pirate ship..."
He wanted to run, but his legs were like jelly.
"Hey, you with the pink hair."
Suddenly, a voice that had become his living nightmare drifted over from the side. Fullbody froze. Like a rusted machine, he turned his head inch by inch.
There, leaning against the doorframe and smiling at him, was Viktor. Those signature red eyes gleamed with a playful, dangerous light.
"Ah... ah... you..."
Fullbody's pupils shrank to pinpricks. His body shook violently, and all the bravado he had shown toward Sanji vanished instantly. This monster... why is he here too?!
"Aren't you leaving?" Viktor tilted his head, his tone soft. "Or would you like me to finish what I started with your other hand?"
"Y-YES! YES! I'M LEAVING!!"
Fullbody let out a terrified shriek. Driven by pure survival instinct, he scrambled toward the exit on all fours with incredible speed. He didn't even look back at his date, Moody, who was still sitting on the floor in a daze. He completely forgot she existed.
The restaurant finally became a bit quieter.
"Hmm?"
Zeff, having dealt with his "family business," turned his head. His gaze moved past Luffy to lock onto Viktor and Nami at the door. His eyes sharpened as he looked them up and down.
"And who... might you be?"
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