"Hey! Sanji! You shitty cook! Get out of the way!!" Patty roared, his forehead drenched in cold sweat as he brandished a giant fork at the blonde back shielding the pirate.
"Have you lost your mind? That's Krieg! The cold-blooded Ruler of the East Blue!"
"Sanji! Wake up! If you give him food and he gets his strength back, he'll destroy this entire shop! Move!!" Carne gripped his rolling pin so hard his knuckles turned white, his voice trembling.
The diners, recovering from their initial shock, began a chorus of angry condemnation.
"Exactly! Scum like that deserves to die!" "Think of all the merchant ships he's plundered!" "It's only natural for a pirate hunter to kill him! Is that curly-browed cook trying to get us all killed? Get out of the way!"
On the second-floor balcony, Head Chef Zeff stood with arms crossed. Under his tall chef's hat, his sharp eyes remained fixed on the two men confronting each other below, but he remained silent.
The entire restaurant was screaming at Sanji. Faced with a thousand pointing fingers, Sanji bit his lip so hard it nearly bled. His face was shadowed, dark and grim, but he didn't retreat an inch.
"Final warning."
Viktor raised his long sword, the blade reflecting the restaurant's candlelight with lethal clarity. The tip was a mere centimeter from Sanji's nose.
"Move, Cook."
Viktor's voice was as flat as a stagnant pool. His crimson Sharingan stared coldly at Sanji. "The man lying on the floor is Don Krieg, a man with a fifty-million-Beli bounty.
A piece of trash who uses any underhanded tactic for victory. Saving him is the same as committing murder yourself."
Sanji took a drag of his cigarette. Through the rising pale blue smoke, his single visible deep-blue eye met Viktor's oppressive gaze without flinching.
"I don't care about your grand logic, red-eyed brat." Sanji's voice was low, rasping with stubbornness. "I don't see a 'Ruler' or a 'piece of trash.' I only hear this man's stomach growling. For a chef, that's enough."
Sanji slowly lifted one leg, his black leather shoe gleaming dangerously in the light. "You want to kill him? Fine. But before he finishes this meal... nobody touches him."
"Oh?" Viktor narrowed his eyes. The blade moved forward a fraction, nearly grazing the bridge of Sanji's nose.
"Risking your life for a stranger? For scum? Is this your chivalry? Even if it turns this restaurant into an inferno? Even if it puts your benefactor, Zeff, in danger?"
"This isn't chivalry." Sanji didn't flinch, even as the sword's aura nicked his skin, letting a single drop of blood slide down his nose.
He looked at Viktor steadily. "This is simply the bottom line of a chef who has known hunger. If I can't even feed a starving man, I don't deserve to stand in this restaurant. I don't deserve to call myself a chef!"
The air solidified. Luffy adjusted his straw hat but didn't move. He watched his two comrades facing off with a calm, silent gaze.
However...
In that moment of peak tension, where both men were hyper-focused on each other...
Gulp...
A sound like a ravenous beast swallowing broke the suffocating silence. Viktor's two-tomoe Sharingan flickered downward. In his dynamic vision, the massive body that had been "dying"—unable to even lift a finger—suddenly twitched. Every muscle tightened like a cornered animal's.
Adrenaline, fueled by extreme hunger. Viktor's lips curled into a mocking smirk.
"Damn it... THAT'S MINE!!"
Krieg, who had been face down, snapped his head up. His eyes were bloodshot and glazed. He didn't look at Viktor's sword; he stared at the steaming plate of seafood fried rice in Sanji's hand.
He had felt the terrifying killing intent from the red-eyed youth—eyes that would truly decapitate him without hesitation.
If he didn't fight now, he would die here. If he didn't eat... he was finished!
"GIVE IT TO ME!!!"
With a raspy, crazed howl, Krieg's massive frame exploded with a speed that defied his weakened state. He didn't attack Viktor, the greatest threat. Instead, he chose the "savior" who had his back turned to him.
"BOOM!"
"What—?!" Sanji, fully focused on Viktor's blade, never expected the man he was protecting to strike from behind. Beside them, Gin's eyes widened, a scream trapped in his throat.
"Ugh!" Sanji felt a massive force slam into his waist. He lost his balance, stumbling sideways as the plate flew from his hand.
Clatter—!
Krieg lunged like a rabid dog, snatching the plate out of the air before scrambling into the corner of the restaurant.
He didn't care about the dignity of an "Admiral." He didn't care about the disgusted glares of the crowd. He shoved his filthy hands into the scalding rice and crammed it into his mouth.
"Mmph! Mmph! DELICIOUS!!" "This is food!! This is LIFE!!"
Rice spilled over his golden beard and stained his mud-caked armor. He didn't care. Like a wolf that hadn't tasted meat in centuries, his throat made bone-chilling swallowing sounds. "Haha... I'm coming back... the strength... it's flowing..."
The room went quiet. Sanji leaned against the railing to steady himself. Looking at the man who had discarded his humanity for a scrap of food, there was no anger in his eyes—only a faint sense of relief. He brushed the dust off his suit and relit his cigarette.
"Hmph. See? Plenty of spirit left, isn't there?"
However...
Before Krieg could swallow a second mouthful, a killing intent far colder and more pure than before enveloped him. His entire body froze. It was as if the scythe of the Grim Reaper had been placed against his neck.
Viktor, naturally, was not going to give him the chance to regain his strength, put on his gear, and go on a rampage.
"Body Flicker."
A black blur. Krieg looked up in terror, only to see Viktor's eerie, spinning red eyes.
"Genjutsu: Hell Viewing Technique."
BOOM! Krieg's mind exploded. The restaurant vanished. In its place was the raging Grand Line, and the nightmare man—Hawk-Eye Mihawk—who had sliced his fifty ships to ribbons! It was the absolute peak of his inner fear.
"No... no..." Krieg's body locked up. His pupils dilated, and the rice fell from his hands.
"Die."
In the real world, Viktor appeared at his side. He lifted his foot and ruthlessly pinned Krieg's head against the hard wall, immobilizing him. Then, gripping his sword with both hands, his chakra exploded. He swung with everything he had at the thick neck.
Squelch!CRACK!
The sound of steel shearing through muscle and severing the cervical vertebrae echoed through the room. It was over in a heartbeat.
Don Krieg's massive head, frozen in a mask of terror and disbelief, rolled across the floor. It stopped right at the feet of the shell-shocked Patty.
Patty looked down at the dead, staring eyes and felt a shiver of pure discomfort. With a subtle flick of his toe, he kicked the head toward Luffy. Meanwhile, the blood from the headless trunk sprayed like a fountain, painting the walls and floor a vivid crimson.
Flick. Viktor snapped his wrist, clearing the blood from his blade in a sharp red line across the air. He stood over the headless corpse, his expression as cold as ice.
"When it's time to swing the blade, I do not hesitate."
The sudden violence left everyone paralyzed. Gin's hands shook as he pushed himself off the floor, only to collapse again. He mumbled something, but no sound came out. He eventually clutched his head and began to sob quietly.
The silence was absolute, broken only by the sound of waves outside. The Overlord of the East Blue... the Admiral of the fifty-ship fleet...
Dead? Just like that? Decapitated like a dog without even a chance to resist?
In that moment, a pleasant notification rang in Viktor's mind:
[Ding! Congratulations! You have defeated a special target: Admiral Don Krieg (Bounty: 17,000,000 Beli).]
[Battle Grade: S]
[Reward: 1500 Shinobi Points]
[Ding! Congratulations! You have significantly altered the original plot.]
[Reward: 1000 Shinobi Points]
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