Before the Storm

-x-

"You sure got lucky," Luffy commented as he looked down at Sanji and the previously starving pirate. "That food saved you, you darn near starved to death! Hahahahaha!" Luffy turned to Sanji, "Hey Mr. Cook, join us! Be the cook for my pirate crew!"

"You're a pirate?" questioned Sanji when Luffy came down to sit with him and the other pirate. "Why did you fire on us?"

"It was an accident," explained Luffy, "It was a stray cannonball that was launched in self-defense."

"That makes no sense," Sanji said, cannonballs weren't launched in defense, they were just fired to attack and destroy. "Well you'd best watch yourself around here, Chef Zeff used to be a famous pirate."

"That old man was a pirate?" asked Luffy.

"The Baratie is the ratbag's treasure," Sanji told him, "And the cooks that flock to him are all hot-blooded pirate types. For a place frequented by pirates, they're perfect for the job."

"Yeah this place is a nuthouse," Luffy agreed.

"You get used to it," Sanji replied, "Some people come just to see the pirates and the cooks go at it. But the waiters got scared and jumped ship a few months ago. We still haven't been able to find anyone willing to take the job."

"Oh, so that's why he wants me to cook for a year," Luffy realized, "You should sail with me."

"I decline," Sanji answered, "I have a good reason for staying here."

"No, I decline!" Luffy snapped.

"What?" questioned Sanji, "You decline what?"

"I decline your declination!" Luffy exclaimed, "You're a good cook and you're joining my crew!"

"Hold on... listen to my reason," Sanji requested.

"What is it?" asked Luffy.

"None of your business!" Sanji growled.

"But you just told me to listen!" Luffy protested.

"Respect my wishes or I'll make a fillet out of you crap-hat kid!" threatened Sanji.

"You make fun of this hat and I'll send you flying!" Luffy warned him.

"Sorry to butt in," the pirate suddenly interrupted, causing Luffy and Sanji to turn and glare at him, "I'm Gin, one of Don Krieg's pirates. If you're really a pirate, what are you after?"

"I'm going to the Grand Line!" Luffy announced. "I wanna become King of the Pirates!"

Gin paused and stared at Luffy for a moment, "If you don't have a cook, you must not have much of a crew yet," observed Gin.

"This guy makes six," Luffy answered.

"Don't count me!" Sanji scolded him.

"You don't seem like a bad sort, so I'll give you a word of warning," Gin decided. "Whatever you do, don't go to the Grand Line. You're young, don't rush to your doom. The seas are vast and the Grand Line is just a narrow route. There are plenty of safer waters to plunder."

"Hnm... really?" questioned Luffy, "Do you know a lot about the Grand Line?"

"Not much," Gin admitted, "Hardly anything at all. But enough that it scares me."

"You're rather chicken for one of Krieg's men," Sanji remarked.

"Who's Krieg?" wondered Luffy.

-x-

In the kitchen the chefs were all talking about the events that had taken place, well some of them were. A lot of the chefs were just going about their business and were cooking.

"Hors D'oeuvres for table three!" a cook called out.

"Serve it yourself, we don't have any waiters!"

"Why are you making trouble for us Patty?" as a brown haired chef with a short beard and sunglasses. He wore the usual cooking attire but he was one of the top chefs on the Baratie, his name was Carne.

"What?" questioned Patty as he took a fish and cut off its head and tail.

"That feller you clobbered today was one of Krieg's cutthroats," Carne explained.

"That's what he said," Patty agreed but he wasn't worried.

"Don Krieg is the meanest pirate in all these waters."

"Aye, he's the Don of the Pirate Armada, a combination of fifty pirate crews. He's pure evil!" added another chef.

"So what?" Patty replied as he dumped the fish into a pan and put it over a flame.

"He commands five thousand killers and that feller was one of 'em!" exclaimed Carne, "If he tells Don Krieg how he was mistreated here, they'll run over us like stampeding elephants! They'll make mincemeat out of us!"

"Oh yeah?" questioned Patty, "You think I should have fed him? How would the paying customers feel? We're the trademark of the Baratie, Ferocious Fighting Cooks. Do you know how many pirates we've chased off? If you're scared, then quit!"

"That's just what you told the waiters, wasn't it? Its cause of you we're so overworked."

"Those fools were useless anyway!" Patty shot back.

"Hey idiots!" came Chef Zeff's voice, "Get to work!"

"Yes sir," Patty, Carne, and the other chefs agreed as they quickly went back to cooking.

-x-

"Well... just thought I'd warn you," Gin concluded, he was now in a small dingy and was getting ready to leave.

"I'm going to the Grand Line anyway," Luffy informed him. He didn't care if it was dangerous. In order to achieve his dream he'd have to go there, so he wasn't scared.

"Haha, do what you want," Gin chuckled, "How you throw your life away is your business." Gin then turned his attention to Sanji, "Sanji, thanks. You saved my life. That grub was great. Can I come and eat again?"

"Any time," Sanji replied.

"Chore Boy, there you are!" came the loud voice of Chef Zeff as he made his presence known out on the deck above them.

"Yikes, the Chef!" exclaimed Luffy.

"..." But Zeff didn't say anything, he just glanced at the empty plate of food laying on the ground.

"Good luck Gin," said Sanji as Gin pushed off in his boat.

"You're gonna get in trouble for giving me a free meal now," Gin commented.

"What free meal?" Sanji asked as he kicked the dish off of the edge of the boat and into the water, "Where's the proof?"

"..." Again, Zeff didn't say anything.

"Stay out of trouble Gin!" Luffy called out as Gin started sailing away.

"Sanji! Chore Boy! Get to work!" Chef Zeff suddenly yelled.

-x-

"Can I help you?" asked a cook once he saw the four Straw Hat Pirates walk in.

"Table for four," requested Y/N who was no longer wearing the marine uniform and was once again in his normal sleeveless black shirt and steel-soled boots but was still wearing his black sunglasses. The Straw Hats had washed the paint out of their hair and clothes over the passed few days so they looked as normal as they ever would.

"You four wouldn't happen to be pirates would you?" questioned the chef, as he looked them over, from what he could see they were just a bunch of teenagers. The Straw Hats had the foresight to leave their weapons on the ship so they didn't get in any trouble with the cooks. "We just had some trouble with a pirate."

"Well we are," replied Zoro as he glared at the chef, "But you have our Captain so we're not going anywhere."

"Oh, so you're the pirates that blasted us with that cannonball?" questioned the chef.

"That wasn't us, it was the Marines!" Usopp protested, "We simply deflected it."

"How much would it cost to pay for the repairs and let out Captain go?" inquired Y/N.

"A lot," answered the cook.

Y/N glanced at Nami, she was looking at him as if he were crazy for even suggesting such a thing. "Well, Luffy's gonna have to arrange something then. Get us a table," instructed Y/N, "unlike the other pirate you had in here. We'll actually pay."

"You've got money?" questioned the chef. Y/N pulled a sack of gold coins out from his bottom left pocket and held it up in front of the chef. The chef's expression quickly changed now that he wouldn't have to fight off another bunch of pirates. "Right this way!"

"I told you there was a point to stealing from that marine ship," Y/N whispered to Zoro.

-x-

"I'm Luffy," Luffy called out as he entered the kitchen, "But for now, I'm Chore Boy, reporting for duty."

But no one seemed to be listening, because the kitchen was incredibly busy and the chefs were all worrying about the orders. "Where's table six's dessert? Who took that order?" asked one chef.

"You did you fool! I'm too busy incase you can't see that!"

Luffy took a minute to sit down in an empty chair, but all of the chefs instantly rounded on him. "If you've got nothing to do, wash dishes Chore Boy!"

"Okee-dokee," replied Luffy with a smile as he went off to the sink.

"Where's Sanji?" Patty called out.

"Out flirting of course."

"Again?" Patty complained, "And he's the Assistant Head Chef? That makes me want to puke!"

"I know, but he's been here the longest. Ever wonder why Sanji stays even though he don't get on well with the Head Chef?"

KRASH! KRAK! Over at the sink Luffy was listening intently, but as a result he wasn't paying attention to the dishes he was supposed to be washing ended up breaking yet another one. "Chore Boy! How many dishes have you broken!?" demanded Patty.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to keep count," Luffy apologized.

"Be more careful," Patty warned him.

KRASH! But Luffy being Luffy wasn't careful and ended up breaking a few more dishes. Another Chef shouted at him, "Enough dish-breaking! Go bus those tables!"

"Okay," Luffy agreed as he walked off toward the dining room, but he stopped to swipe some food and quickly ate it.

"Stop swiping food! That was for a customer!"

Luffy didn't pay attention and walked over to a hot wok, "I'll just clean this," Luffy decided as he picked up a rag and held the wok still so he could clean it. It took about five seconds for Luffy to finally realize that the wok was still on the fire. "YEEOWWW! HOT! HOT!" KRASH! Luffy threw the wok and it smashed into some other plates making a big mess. KRATA-KRASH!

"GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN!" screamed the chefs.

Patty came over and grabbed Luffy, "Go take orders, just ask the customers what they want to eat. Think you can handle that?"

"Yesh," answered Luffy who was having his face squished by Patty's hands. Patty let Luffy go and the chore boy headed off towards the Dining Room.

"And treat the customers like I told you to!" added Patty as Luffy left.

"Got it," replied Luffy, as he walked out into the Dining Room. "Chores are hard, Coby must have been miserable. I wonder how long Y/N did this for back at the Marine Base." But suddenly, speak of the devil, Luffy spotted a familiar pirate wearing sunglasses sitting at a table across the room. "HEY!" exclaimed Luffy as he rushed over to his crew, "You guys!"

"Hi Chore Boy!" Nami greeted him with a smile.

"We got hungry so we came on board," Y/N explained with a shrug, their table was loaded with fancy dishes, the Straw Hats – minus the Captain – were eating fancy today, all that the cost of Lieutenant Fullbody and the Marines, of course.

"So, I hear you gotta work for a year," commented Usopp.

"Can we change the ship's flag?" Zoro teased him as he looked over his shoulder at the Captain.

"YOU'RE EATING WITHOUT ME!?" Luffy complained, "I'M SLAVING AND YOU'RE EATING OUT! THAT'S MEAN!"

"Luffy quiet down!" Sanji scolded him as he poured wine for a woman at another table, "Is that your crew?"

"Eat this," Luffy grumbled as he picked his nose the put a booger in Zoro's water while the swordsman wasn't paying attention. Unfortunately for him, everyone else on the crew was.

Nami and Usopp started sniggering while they waited to see what would happen.

"Why shouldn't we enjoy a nice meal?" Zoro asked, "The food's not bad here." Zoro went to drink his water but under the table Y/N discreetly nudged Zoro's foot when he was about to take a sip of his contaminated water, when Zoro looked his way he shook his head slightly silently telling him not to drink it. Usopp and Nami were still struggling not to laugh, telling Zoro that Y/N probably knew something he didn't.

"But I feel bad for you..." Zoro resolved, he smirked then shot up out of his chair and poured his water into Luffy's mouth, booger and all. "YOU DRINK IT!"

GLUG! GLUG! "What'd you do that for!?" Luffy demanded as he fell to the ground and started choking on the water he had contaminated.

"What did you do that for?" countered Zoro.

Nami and Usopp burst out laughing as they watched the captain flail around on the ground clutching his throat. Y/N settled for a small smile.

"HEHEHEHEHE!"

"AHAHAHAHAHA!"

"What do you know," Y/N calmly commented while Nami and Usopp were still overcome by their fit of laughter, "Dinner and a show."

"AHAHAHA! My sides hurt," complained Usopp as he banged his fists on the table.

But the loud commotion had turned Sanji's attention to the table and the second he noticed Nami his one visible eye turned into a heart and he started swooning.

"Oh sea, how grateful I am for this day of days! Oh love, smile upon me for I can not survive this pain!" swooned Sanji as rushed over to Nami, hearts still in his eyes, Luffy and Zoro looked on in surprise while Y/N seemed to be pointedly ignoring the swooning waiter. "I would stoop to becoming a pirate, or even a demon, if only I could be with you. Such tragedy! The obstacles between us are great."

Y/N rolled his eye, not that anyone saw under his sunglasses, but Sanji was stopped from his attempts at wooing Nami by Chef Zeff. "Obstacles Sanji?" questioned Zeff. "That would be me, wouldn't it?"

"What do you want, you old geezer?" Sanji growled.

"Follow your heart, go be a pirate," Zeff told him, "I don't need you here anymore."

"What!?" Sanji snapped.

-x-

At the same time, Gin had arrived at where Don Krieg was stationed and explained to him about what had happened to him on board the Baratie.

"So this cook saved you from certain death?" Krieg commented, "That's how you made it back, eh Gin?"

"Aye sir," Gin replied, "But I didn't know the flagship was in such condition."

"Oh really?" questioned Krieg.

"Don Krieg, I'll guide you there," Gin vowed, "To the Baratie, the Oceangoing Restaurant."

Trouble was heading for the Baratie, hopefully the Straw Hats and the Cooks could handle it.

-x-

An Uninvited Guest

-x-

"Hey old man!" Sanji snarled as he glared at Chef Zeff, "I'm the Assistant Head Chef, what do you mean I'm not needed?"

Zeff glared back and Sanji and started listing off his reasons, "You fight with the customers, you waste hours flirting with women, you're a lousy cook, and you're nothing but dead weight. The other cooks don't like you much either. So go be a pirate and get out of my restaurant."

"Don't step over the line old man!" Sanji warned him as he stormed over to Zeff and held him by the collar, "You can insult me but don't ever insult my cooking! I'm staying right here, you have no say in the matter!"

"DON'T LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Zeff yelled as he sent Sanji flying, KRASH! Zoro, Nami, and Usopp managed to grab their food and keep it from falling on the floor but Sanji smashed through the table and ended up in Y/N's lap.

"Get off," Y/N complained as he shoved Sanji and the remains of the table off of him then got up to his feet.

But Sanji quickly sat back up and glared at Zeff, "YOU CAN'T KICK ME OUT! I'LL BECOME THE HEAD CHEF WHEN YOU DIE!" shouted Sanji.

"I won't die," Zeff argued as he turned away and started walking off, "I'll live for another hundred years."

"You always have to get the last word in don't you?" muttered Sanji.

"Yup," answered Zeff.

-x-

In the kitchen the cooks had overheard the shouting match between Sanji and Zeff and were discussing it, "You hear what Sanji just said?"

"Aye, he wants to be Head Chef."

-x-

Back in the Dining Room, Luffy was looking at this as if it were a good thing, "Great, you got permission!" Luffy exclaimed. "Come be my cook!"

"NEVER!" Sanji refused.

"Well there's your answer," said Y/N. "Now leave him alone."

"Yeah!" agreed Sanji but then he turned and glared at Y/N. "Wait... are you saying I'm not good enough to join your stupid pirate crew?"

"What would make you think that?" Y/N asked calmly.

But suddenly Luffy interrupted, "No Y/N, he's going to be our cook! Just like we got Nami as our Navigator, we'll get him too."

"Why him?" questioned Y/N.

"Because he's the best one," Luffy answered.

"Hmph, if you say so," Y/N conceded with an indifferent shrug.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" demanded Sanji.

"Whatever you want it to," Y/N calmly replied as Sanji stood right in front of him and sized him up. The pirate was a good two and a half inches taller than him but Sanji was pretty sure he could take him if a fight broke out.

"Watch what you say around me, bastard," Sanji warned him.

-x-

Later, the Straw Hats' table had been replaced and they were back to eating and Sanji was once again back to flirting with Nami while Y/N seemed like he didn't care.

"Forgive the commotion," apologized Sanji as he placed a cup of fruit down in front of Nami, "A Fruit Macedonia, my compliments." Sanji then pulled out a bottle of wine and poured it in Nami's empty glass, "And a Grand Marnier as a digestive, my Princess."

"Oh, thank you," said Nami, "You're so sweet."

"It's no problem at all," Sanji assured her.

"Hey!" exclaimed Usopp, "Don't we get any? That's discrimination! I'll sue!"

"I gave you tea didn't I?" Sanji asked as he turned to Usopp who got up to his feet, "You should be grateful, you mangy octopus!"

"You wanna fight?" questioned Usopp, "I'm not gonna take that from you!" Usopp quickly turned to Zoro and tapped him on the shoulder, "Get 'im Zoro!"

"Get 'im yourself," replied the swordsman as he occupied himself in drinking his tea.

"Um...hey Y/N, why don't you take him, I just remembered that I pulled something the other day," Usopp lied. "I can't fight him or it'll get worse."

"I'd rather not waste my time," said Y/N.

"What did you say!?" Sanji demanded.

"Nothing," Y/N answered with a half-hearted shrug. "Hey Usopp, they didn't clear your plate. What kind of service is that?"

"Yeah! You didn't even clear my plate!" Usopp pointed out as he gestured to some left over mushrooms. "What kind of waiter are you?"

"I'm not a waiter, I'm the Assistant Head Chef," Sanji informed him. "And there are mushrooms on it, eat them!"

"I don't like mushrooms," said Usopp. "One time I ate a poisonous mushroom that made mushrooms sprout out all over my body!" (A/N: Luffy in Manga Chapter 514)

"Well, those aren't poisonous!" Sanji growled while fighting not to kick the crap out of another customer. "So eat every bite, Long Nose!"

"That Marine Lieutenant didn't look so good when he left," Y/N commented to Usopp as he continued to ignore the blond cook. "If that's how they treat their customers, I wouldn't put it passed him to slip something into our food and try to poison us all."

"You might be right," agreed Usopp.

"I'd never waste food on something as stupid as poisoning you two," growled Sanji. Now he was concentrating on restraining himself from kicking the crap out of another TWO customers.

"Boys," Nami interrupted with a sweet smile, "Please don't fight over me."

"As you wish," said Sanji.

"I wasn't." stated Y/N.

Usopp on the other hand shouted, "Who's fighting over you!?"

"Oh Chef, dear," added Nami as she called Sanji's attention over to her, "This is a tad pricey..."

"For you it's free!" swooned Sanji.

"Yay! My Hero!" exclaimed Nami as she threw her arms around Sanji and hugged him.

"You bums still have to pay!" growled Sanji as he turned and glared at Y/N and Usopp before staggering off with a happy smile on his face.

"Mmm, good tea," commented Luffy who was watching Sanji wander off with interest.

"Did you bewitch him?" Zoro wondered as he glanced from the still dazed Assistant Head Chef to the orange haired navigator.

"You four had better watch out," threatened Nami with a playful smile and a wink.

"Too late for that," mumbled Zoro as he cast a glance in Y/N's direction.

"Are you trying to say something?" Y/N asked.

"I'm just pointing out that you seemed overly hostile while he was flirting with Nami," reasoned Zoro, causing Nami to stare at Y/N but his sunglasses hid any emotion that he might've been showing, "well, hostile for you at least."

Y/N shook his head, "I'd react that way if he was flirting with anyone at this table. You included."

Zoro's eyes went wide and he pushed his plate away, "Well... I've just lost my appetite." (A/N: Sorry Zoro/Sanji fans.)

"I haven't," said Y/N as he quickly reached across the table and snatched Zoro's plate before Luffy had a chance to grab it.

THWACK! Sanji came back and kicked Luffy on top of the head, slamming his face down into the tea he was drinking, "Enough goofing off Chore Boy!" Sanji scolded him, as he grabbed Luffy then, literally, dragged him off, "Go offer hot towels to the customers."

"Okay..." Luffy replied.

-x-

Two days later, the Straw Hat Pirates were still harbored near the Baratie, and Luffy was still working as the Chore Boy. Y/N was lying on his back up in the crow's nest of the Going Merry watching the clouds.

Out of nowhere, a ship appeared on the horizon flying the flag of 'Pirate Admiral' Don Krieg. The skull and crossbones depicted a uniquely drawn skull and next to it were a pair of hourglasses that connected two corners of the bones on each side.

"That's Don Krieg's pirate ship," Y/N observed, he leapt out of the out of the crow's nest and landed gracefully on the deck, TMP! Y/N's sudden landing woke Zoro from his nap.

"Uughh?" Zoro groaned in confusion, not quite awake.

"That's done Krieg's galleon," Y/N pointed out. Zoro woke up and stared in the direction Y/N was looking. "Those hourglasses besides the skull mean that time's up for their enemies. There's no mistaking it."

"The question is... what do they want?" wondered Zoro as he got up and stared at the approaching vessel.

-x-

On the Baratie and in the kitchen people also noticed the approaching ship. As a result Patty was catching hell from one of the other cooks, "See Patty," snapped a cook, "They're here! Now you have to deal with them!"

"It c-c-can't be!" Patty exclaimed, he finally seemed scared, "'Pirate Admiral' Don Krieg and his five thousand men! Here? Why would they come just to avenge one flunky?"

"Well they're here!" pointed out another cook, "That's definitely his ship!"

-x-

On the Going Merry people were freaking out as well, at least Usopp and the team of Bounty Hunters were. "THIS IS HORRIBLE! WE'VE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!" shouted Usopp.

"Brother!" Johnny called out to Zoro, "Set sail, we don't wanna die!"

"We're not going anywhere," Y/N told them as the ship went passed them and approached the Baratie. "Luffy is still on board the Baratie and if something bad happens we need to be here to back him up. Besides, this could actually be a great opportunity."

"What are you talking about?" asked Nami.

Y/N had a sly grin on his face as he turned to face Nami, "There's treasure to be had, I can feel it."

-x-

"That ship is huge!" commented Luffy as he and Sanji looked out the window at the approaching vessel, it was MASSIVE and towered over the Baratie. "Maybe Gin has come back to say thanks."

"I doubt it," replied Sanji, "But something seems odd." It took a few minutes for the ship to get close enough to actually be seen, but when it did the sheer side of the monstrosity was evident. The ship was over three times as high as the Baratie, but despite that, what was scary was the fact that it looked like it had gotten in a fight with a hurricane... and lost.

"That ship is a wreck!" Luffy blurted out.

"A great galleon ravaged to that degree wasn't the work of men," reasoned Sanji, "It looks like they sailed through a typhoon!"

The ship got closer to the Baratie, but then dropped anchor, two minutes later, the door to the oceangoing restaurant banged open and a figure appeared, startling the customers, and a great deal of the cooks.

Upon closer inspection the figure was actually two people. One person was familiar, Gin was back. The other was a giant man who looked like he was on the brink of death, believe it or not, that was Don Krieg, Admiral of the Pirate Armada. He was pale had grayish-blue hair that went down the sides of his face in a pair of thick bushy sideburns and was wearing a cloak topped with fur, he wore a yellow shirt with a purple collar and gray pants underneath the cloak, and there was something gold underneath the yellow shirt. Finishing the look was a length of fabric that was wrapped around his forehead.

"Please, may I have some food or water?" requested Krieg in a weak voice, "I've got money, lots of money..."

"What?" questioned a startled chef.

"He looks pretty shabby for a King," Patty remarked.

"He looks hungry," Luffy pointed out to Sanji.

"What's going on?" Sanji wondered.

FWOMP! Suddenly Krieg's strength grave out and he collapsed to the ground, "Don Krieg!" Gin exclaimed as he went to help his commander, "Food! Water! Please! The Don is on the verge of death! If you don't help him, he's doomed!

Gin's words didn't seem to have the desired effect, because suddenly Patty started laughing out loud, "Haaahahaha! That's rich!" laughed Patty, "Whatta laugh! Dis bum is the dreaded Don Krieg?"

"This time I've got money!" shouted Gin. "We're customers!"

"Alert the Marines," Patty ordered the other cooks. "They won't wanna miss an opportunity to catch this fiend! Don't feed 'em a crumb! Just grab 'em!"

"If regains strength there's no telling what he'll do to us!" a random customer exclaimed, "He's a pirate and a killer! Starving is too good for him! He deserves to die so let him!"

"If Krieg regains his strength he'll pillage this restaurant," a cook said to the others, "Don't even give him a cup of water!"

"I won't harm anyone!" Krieg promised as he slowly pushed himself up off of the ground, "feed me and I'll leave quietly. I beg you... help me!"

"Don Krieg don't grovel it isn't you!" exclaimed Gin as he looked down at the Don in shock, "It's beneath you!"

But Krieg didn't listen, "Please I beg you!" Krieg pleaded, while on his hands and knees, "Left over rice, anything!"

The customers looked on in shock, while Gin looked disgusted at what Krieg was reducing himself to. "Don Kreig..." he mumbled.

"Hmph, trying for sympathy, eh?" questioned Patty, he wasn't going to give an inch, but somebody was, and that somebody was right behind him.

"Outta the way, Patty!" ordered Sanji. SHWAK! Sanji whipped his leg around and kicked Patty square in the head, knocking him down to the ground. Then Sanji turned to Gin and Krieg and placed a plate down in front of them, "Here Gin, he can eat this."

"Thank you!" exclaimed Krieg, he lunged at the plate and began wolfing down the food.

"Sanji take that food away from him!" Carne exclaimed, "Don't you know who he is? He's 'Foul Play' Krieg! Tyrant of the East Blue! He started out in prison then he lied his way onto a Marine Ship. He killed the officers then took over. That's how he got his start as a pirate. Flying a Marine flag, he sails into port and attacks both towns and ships. Sometimes he flies a white flag... then opens fire! He'll stop at nothing to win. His duplicity is legendary! At full strength he'll be unstoppable. He says he'll go if we feed him, but we can't trust him! That two-faced scoundrel should starve! The world would be a better place!"

All through the Carne's speech Krieg continued eating, his strength was slowly returning, FWAK! Suddenly he lunged up off of the ground and took Sanji by surprise and nearly took his head off with a vicious clothesline. SKRSSHH! The cooks, Luffy, and even Gin, stared in shock as Sanji went skidding across the floor. His cigarette went flying out of his mouth and fell on the floor beside him.

"You said you wouldn't Krieg!" Gin protested. "You swore you wouldn't hurt nobody if I led you here! That man saved both of our lives!"

WHAP! As an answer Krieg suddenly reached out and grabbed Gin right around his shoulder muscle and lifted him up off of the floor, Gin yelled out in pain as Kreig squeezed hi shoulder. "Gin!" shouted Luffy when he saw the look of pain on Gin's face.

"So that's how it is, eh?" questioned Sanji from the ground as he looked up at Krieg, a trickle of blood was coming out from the corner of his mouth.

"Nice restaurant," commented Kreig, "I'LL TAKE IT!"

-x-

The Don's Offer

-x-

"Wait, don't tell me you're going on board that thing?" Nami asked Y/N as he slipped his shirt over his head. Right now she was too worried to care about seeing the First Mate shirtless.

"I thought you of all people would appreciate some good treasure," Y/N commented as he stood there in his pants, boots, and eye patch.

"What does not wearing a shirt have to do with hunting treasure?" questioned Usopp.

"When a male anime character takes off his shirt it makes him immensely more powerful," Y/N explained. "It's not exactly a law, but it holds true here too." (A/N: Watch Lanipator's Yu Yu Hakusho Abridged on YouTube.)

"Oh," said Usopp, "Wait... WHAT!?"

"I've got treasure to steal," Y/N announced. "And judging from the state of the ship, the crew won't be in any shape to stop me."

"Y/N, be rational," Nami attempted to reason with him, "We can't just climb on board Don Krieg's flagship and steal all of his treasure! That thing's probably crawling with pirates!"

"Pirates that look like they just went through a hurricane," Y/N countered, he removed Akaikyuuketsuki and its sheath from his waist and put it down on his shirt. "Zoro," said Y/N as he turned to the swordsman, "Do me a favor and put that stuff inside for me. My sword doesn't like the water."

"You're really serious about this aren't you?" asked Zoro as he picked up Y/N's shirt and sword.

"That's Don Krieg's flagship," Y/N reminded him. "His bounty's worth seventeen million berries and he's known as the King of the East Blue. He's bound to have something valuable on there. I can't pass up an opportunity like this."

"I guess I can't stop you," Zoro realized. "Just be careful and try to come back alive."

"I'll be fine," Y/N assured him, "but in some chance that I don't make it... you can be First Mate." Zoro smirked then carried the stuff off into the ship.

"Hold on, that's not fair!" Usopp protested. "How come he gets to be First Mate?"

"Do you want to fight him for the title?" asked Y/N.

"On second thought... he can have it," Usopp decided. "I didn't really want to be Captain anyway. I'm happy being the ship's sniper."

"Good," replied Y/N. "Then as the First Mate and resident treasure hunter, I'm gonna have to ask you to buzz off."

Usopp shook his head at Y/N and walked off, if Y/N wanted to get himself killed, he was welcome to. But climbing onto an enemy ship while the enemy was still on it was just insane!

Nami was having similar thoughts, "Y/N, I rob pirates, but even I have to draw the line somewhere."

"Weren't you the one that wanted to go to the Grand Line and steal one hundred million berries from the pirates there?" Y/N inquired. "If you can't handle Don Krieg's ship, you'll never be able to handle the stuff in the Grand Line. Clearly he couldn't."

Nami stiffened but remembered that she told him that and silently cursed the fact that he was the one person on the crew that appeared to have long-term memory. "Going on that ship is suicide," Nami told him. "I'm not going to risk that, I can't afford to throw my life away."

It was quiet for a moment.

"You're leaving soon aren't you?" Y/N suddenly asked, startling Nami.

"No I... how did you know that?"

"Because you collected a lot of treasure," answered Y/N, "Half of Buggy the Clown's treasure, all of the Black Cat Pirate's treasure, a little under half of the treasure I found on that island, and anything else you found before that."

"Speaking of that, where are you keeping your treasure?" inquired Nami.

"There's a barrel in the far corner of the storage room. Inside of it are two hollowed out cannonballs and what's left of the treasure I stole from Fullbody, it's a little over a million berries."

Nami stared at him in surprise, "Why'd you tell me?"

"You need it more than I do," Y/N pointed out with a casual shrug. "Buying a village is more important than anything I could ever do with it. I just hope its enough. You wouldn't risk throwing away a good thing like this if you weren't close."

Nami stared at him, he was giving her his treasure. He was trying to help her. Never in her eight year history as a thief had she met a pirate that had done that.

"Aren't you going to try and stop me?" Nami asked.

"That depends," replied Y/N. "Will you be here when I get back?"

"I need to take the ship while everyone else is gone," Nami admitted. "This Krieg-guy could serve as a good distraction."

"Too bad," said Y/N, "I would've given you anything I got from Krieg's ship."

"Why are you so strange!?" Nami blurted out, causing Y/N to raise his visible eyebrow. "You're not like any pirate I've met before. You and the others... you help people. You don't terrorize people like a pirate's supposed to!"

"That's because you haven't met any decent pirates before," Y/N countered. "But I can't blame you when a pirate's holding your village hostage."

Nami's eyes went wide, "How...?"

"It's obvious," said Y/N. "I just hope he lives up to his end of the deal. If he doesn't, we'll deal with it when Luffy finishes his inevitable fight with Don Krieg."

"Don't be stupid," Nami scolded him, "he'd kill you before you even set foot on the island! You wouldn't stand a chance!"

Y/N just shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. "Don't even think about it!" Nami warned him as she poked him in the chest with her finger. "Promise me you guys won't try to fight him. Promise me you won't get yourselves killed."

"I can't do that," Y/N refused. "I don't go back on my word. But I will promise you this, we're Nakama and we'll help you if need us." With that he lunged backwards and flew over the railing and off the boat. He plummeted into the water below the ship, SPLASH!

Nami stared after him as he swam off in the direction of Don Krieg's ship. This was bad, he knew too much and knowing him that wasn't all he knew. Nami needed to get out of here before he had a chance to follow her.

-x-

Inside the Baratie the cooks, customers, Sanji, and Luffy were all getting over the shock of the fact that Krieg wanted the oceangoing restaurant.

"Outrageous!" Carne exclaimed. "Krieg wants the Baratie?"

Meanwhile all the customers were running out the back door in an attempt to escape. They boarded a boat and sailed off as fast as they could, they didn't want to get caught up in this.

But through all the screaming and the commotion, Patty had finally reawaken, "Huh? What's all da ruckus?" questioned Patty as he glanced around him.

"Don Krieg, you swore!" Gin said from the ground.

"Gin are you okay?" asked Luffy.

Patty suddenly looked up as saw Don Krieg standing in front of him, "What's going on?" he wondered.

"My ship's a wreck," Krieg explained, "I need a new one. So when I'm finished with you, I'll dump you. I have one hundred men left on my ship that still draw breath, they're dying from wounds, hunger, and thirst. I need one hundred rations of food and water, you will prepare them. Some have already starved to death, so there's no time to waste."

"You expect us to feed one hundred pirates so they'll regain strength and take over our ship?" questioned a cook, "We refuse!"

"Refuse?" repeated Krieg, "You don't understand. It wasn't a request. IT'S AN ORDER! DO NOT DEFY ME!"

"Sorry Sanji," Gin apologized, "I didn't know..."

"You!" Patty snapped as he turned to face Sanji who started walking passed him, "you got us into this mess! Where are you going Sanji?"

"To the kitchen of course," Sanji replied. "We have one hundred meals to prepare."

"WHAT?" exclaimed all of the cooks.

"Heh, that's right," Krieg chucked.

"Sanji..." Gin and Luffy whispered.

Suddenly the cooks all drew pistols and pointed them at Sanji, "Are you Krieg's bitch Sanji?" Carne demanded. "We can't let you into the kitchen! We're not going along with this. It's an outrage!"

"If you want to stop me, then fire," Sanji offered, as he held his arms up. "I know they're unredeemable villains, but it's my job to feed people, not to judge them. It's not that complicated. If a man is hungry, I feed him. That's a cook's job! So what's the problem?"

WONK! Patty came from behind and slammed his large forearms into the back of Sanji's head, knocking him to the ground, "Hold him down!" Patty ordered the cooks before turning to Sanji. "Sanji, I know you feed the people I chase off, maybe you're right to do that sometimes. But this time you're wrong. Now you keep still, I'm going to defend this restaurant. He may be Don Krieg but he's just one man. He can't beat all of us! This is the Baratie! We deal with rowdy pirates everyday! And we know what kind of customer service to give 'em." Patty reached to the side and pulled the cover off of the bulky object he had beside him, it was a handheld cannon. "YOU'VE EATEN! HERE'S YOUR DESSERT! THE MEATBALL OF DOOM!" BOOM! Patty fired the cannon and blasted it at Krieg.

But as the cannonball whizzed at him, Krieg didn't move, he wasn't intimidated, "Impudence," Krieg growled as he allowed the cannonball to hit him, KA-BOOOM! A large explosion rang out and a large cloud of smoke appeared. When the smoke cleared there was no sign of Don Krieg, the doors had been blown off of their hinges.

"Damn, I busted the doors," Patty complained. "The Chef'll have my hide!"

"That's nothing," Carne consoled him. "It's a small price to pay to save the Baratie."

"What about the men on Krieg's ship?" questioned Sanji, who had since freed himself from the cooks that were holding him down.

"I say we smear butter on it and set it on fire!" Patty suggested.

"Sounds delicious, Chef," came a voice as Don Krieg walked back through the door and back into the restaurant. The clothes Krieg had been wearing had been burned to bits and torn off, revealing the gold plated steel armor he had on underneath. The blast hadn't affected him at all. "That dessert was a little heavy for my taste," Krieg remarked, "hardly a four-star meal."

"His body! It's all shiny!" exclaimed Luffy when he noticed Krieg's armor.

"Steel body armor! What a dirty trick!" snapped Patty as he started charging at Krieg, "RUSH HIM!" The other cooks rushed at the Don along with Patty.

But suddenly golden circular panels on Kreig's armor popped up to reveal gun barrels, they were on his sides, on his shoulders, and on top of his gloves, "INSOLENT FOOLS!" Krieg shouted as he opened fire and blasted the chef. BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

"Bullets!" exclaimed Luffy as he and Sanji watched the cooks crash to the ground after getting pelted with bullets.

"No one defies Don Krieg, you worthless scum!" Krieg growled. "I am by far the strongest man in the world! I have arms of steel, stronger than any flesh! A carapace of the strongest wootz steel! Diamond fists to demolish anything! And a built in array of weapons! I command fifty ships and five thousand men! I've never lost a battle! I am the Don of the Pirate Armada! IF I TELL YOU TO PREPARE FOOD, YOU'LL SHUT UP AND DO IT! NO ONE DEFIES ME!"

-x-

Over on Don Krieg's ship Y/N had reached the treasure hold but stopped and stood in the doorway and stared at the 'guard'.

The starved pirate staggered up off of the floor and shakily stood in front of Y/N, "You're not on this crew... right?"

"Since you're hardly a threat, I'll tell you," replied Y/N. "I'm 'One Eye' Y/N, Treasure Hunter Extraordinaire and I'm here to steal your Captain's treasure."

"Uggg..." grunted one pirate as he held his stomach in agony. "Captain Don Krieg... is the Strongest Pirate in the World! He's got a fleet... of fifty ships and five thousand men! He's gonna be... King of the Pirates."

"You make an interesting point," commented Y/N as he stood in front of the pirate. "I'm sure Krieg is plenty strong... but on the other hand..." POW! Y/N shot out his hand and punched the already weak pirate right in the nose, he crumbled to the ground and went out like a light.

"You have no idea what the rest of the world is like," Y/N lectured the unconscious pirate. "Don Krieg may be strong here in the East Blue but there are pirates ten-times as strong as he is in the Grand Line. You guys clearly found that out first hand." Y/N looked up and noticed the treasure in the room and his eye went wide, "Jackpot."

-x-

"Outta the way, kid," came the voice of Head Chef Zeff. He came out from the kitchen carrying a giant sack and placed it down in front of Krieg.

"Chef Zeff!" exclaimed one of the cooks.

"There's food for one hundred," Zeff informed Krieg. "Take it to your men."

"Zeff?" Krieg repeated in his mind, "Did he say Zeff?"

"Chef what are you thinking?" asked Carne. "If you feed those pirates, they'll come and overrun us!"

"Unless they're all spineless dogs," Zeff commented, causing everyone to turn and looked at him in shock as he turned to Krieg. "You went to the Grand Line and ran scared, eh?"

"Whoa!" exclaimed a cook, "He called Krieg a coward!"

"The tyrant of the Eastern Seas, who commands fifty pirate ships, couldn't handle the Grand Line," Zeff remarked.

"The Grand Line?" repeated Luffy, that's where he was heading.

But suddenly, Krieg had a realization, "YOU'RE 'RED SHOES' ZEFF!"

-x-

Off in a distance, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp were watching the Baratie from a safe distance away. "Looks like things are getting started," Zoro observed.

"Yeah," added Usopp, "Someone just got blown through the door!"

"You two had better check it out," Nami suggested. "Like Y/N said before, Luffy might need some help."

"Y-you want us to g-go over th-there?" Usopp stammered in obvious fear.

Nami was saved from answering by Zoro's response, "Good idea. Usopp, you come with me. Nami, stay here with Johnny and Yosaku and guard the ship. Let Y/N know where we are if he comes back."

Nami nodded with a blank look on her face, "Good luck guys," Nami said as Zoro and Usopp prepared to leave, "Goodbye."

-x-

On Krieg's ship Y/N was still in the treasure hold and had loaded almost all of the treasure in a sack that was half his size but twice as bulky. The only thing left was a thick-looking safe.

"Whatever's in there is worth five times the rest of this," Y/N thought to himself as he stared at the safe, "Krieg went to great lengths to keep it safe, this thing looks like it's really thick. But they haven't made the safe yet that can keep me out." Y/N quickly got to work.

-x-

Steer Clear

-x-

"'Red Shoes' Zeff," commented Don Krieg as he glanced at the Head Chef, "So you're alive. You were quite the unique pirate, the Captain-Cook."

"So what if I'm alive?" questioned Zeff. "What's it to you? I'm now exclusively a Chef."

"Heh! You say that like it was a choice," Krieg laughed. "But did you CHOOSE to be a cook? Or was being a pirate too tough for you? It looks like your Red Shoes days are behind you." Everyone took a moment to glance at Chef Zeff's peg-leg, "'Red Shoes' Zeff, the master of the deadly kick. He never used his hands in battle. His awesome leg strength could smash stone and leave footprints in steel. The blood of your enemies died your shoes, thus your unusual nickname. They say you died at sea... but it appears that you didn't lose your life. But you did lose one of your precious legs."

"I can't fight any more," Zeff agreed. "But I can cook as long as I have these two hands. Now what do you want? Spit it out."

"'Red Shoes' Zeff, you once sailed the Devil's Nest, the Grand Line for an entire year," Krieg reminded him. "But you returned unscathed. You kept a record of that voyage for that year. Give me your logbook!"

"You've been to the Grand Line too, old man?" Luffy questioned, it was starting to look like everyone had been there, Y/N, then Gin and Don Krieg, and now Zeff.

"Aye," Zeff answered Luffy, before turning back to face Krieg. "My logbook, yeah I still have it. But I won't give it to you. For me and the men that sailed with me that book was a testament. I won't give it to the likes of you!"

"Then I'll take it from you!" Krieg decided. "It's true that I did not succeed on the Grand Line, but I am Don Krieg, mightiest of all! Weaklings do well to shun the dark route, but I had plenty of strength, ships, men, and ambition! The only thing I lacked was knowledge. That's what stopped me, I didn't know enough. I'll have that log... and this ship too!"

"You can't have it," Patty refused. "This ship's all we've got in the world."

"Yeah, we've been cast out from everywhere else," Carne added. "Chef Zeff is our savior, he took us in when nobody else would! We won't let you take our ship."

"PUNY FOOLS!" Krieg shouted, "NO ONE CAN DEFY ME! YOU'VE SEEN THAT I'M THE STRONGEST OF ALL! I'LL TAKE ZEFF'S LOG, ASSEMBLE ANOTHER ARMADA, CAPTURE ONE PIECE, AND RULE OVER THE ENTIRE OCEAN!"

At that, Luffy clenched his fist, "HOLD IT!" Luffy interrupted, "I'M GONNA BE KING OF THE PIRATES! AND MY CREW IS GOING TO FIND ONE PIECE!"

"Chore Boy!" exclaimed Patty. "Stay out of this, kid! He'll murder ya!"

"I can't, not out of this!" said Luffy.

"Did you say something, boy?" questioned Krieg. "Are you sure you don't want to take that back?"

"Nope," Luffy replied, "I'm only stating the facts."

"This isn't a game!" Krieg snarled.

"Obviously," Luffy quipped back.

"Weren't you listening," came a voice, "The Grand Line was too much for Krieg! Can't we just call it off? Going there is suicide!"

"Quiet, stay out of this," someone next to the first person scolded.

Luffy turned around to see Zoro and Usopp sitting together at a nearby table. "Time to fight Luffy?" Zoro inquired, "I'll lend a hand."

"Zoro, Usopp, you guys are here?" questioned Luffy.

"Nami and Y/N sent us," Usopp admitted.

"Of course leaving those two alone on the ship once Y/N gets back might be a bad idea," Zoro commented.

"Well don't worry, I can handle this," Luffy assured them.

Krieg turned to look at Zoro and Usopp then started laughing, "Hahaha, that's your crew?" laughed Krieg. "A little thin isn't it?"

"Wrong, I've there are three more," Luffy told him.

"DON'T COUNT ME!" yelled Sanji.

"DON'T BE SO COCKY KID!" Krieg yelled. "I HAD A FLEET OF FIVE THOUSAND MEN! IN SEVEN DAYS WE WERE SMASHED TO BITS BY THAT DEMON SEA!" Beside him Gin flinched in terror.

"Seven days?" Patty repeated, "Krieg's Armada was destroyed in seven days! What could have done that?"

"Did you hear that?" asked Usopp who was so scared he was practically crying, "Fifty ships in one week!"

"That's pathetic," Zoro remarked. "Y/N was there for two years."

"Reckless impudence!" Krieg growled, "You're not funny, watch your mouth or I'll kill you right now!"

Krieg turned away from Zoro and glared at the cooks as he hoisted the large sack of meals onto his shoulder, "Now listen carefully," Krieg ordered, "I'll give you one chance. I'm taking this food to the men on my ship then I'm coming back. Anyone who doesn't want to die had better be gone when I return. All I want is the log and the ship. But if you're eager to die, wait for me. I'll kill you then bury you at sea! It's your choice." With that Krieg turned and left, taking the sack of food along with him.

-x-

"Brother Zoro and Brother Usopp went in there," Johnny pointed out to Yosaku, while still on board the Going Merry. They suspiciously eyed the Baratie wondering what was happening inside.

"Yeah, and now everything's gotten really quiet," Yosaku observed.

"Sister Nami, should we go in there too?" Johnny asked. The Bounty Hunter duo turned their attention to the orange-haired navigator, who was leaning on the side of the boat staring at a piece of paper.

"Huh?" Nami said as she turned to face them.

"Are you alright?" Yosaku inquired.

"Oh, of course," Nami replied with a fake smile as she slipped the paper behind her back... it was a wanted poster.

-x-

"Forgive me Sanji," Gin apologized. "I didn't think he would do this. I..."

"It's not your fault," Zeff said. "The cooks helped bring this on us as well."

"Chef, are you siding with Sanji?" questioned Patty, "Are you crazy? He's the guy who started all this trouble. Sanji wants to destroy your precious restaurant." Patty then turned and glared at Sanji, "Don't you Sanji, you'll do anything to become Head Chef! Either that, or your insane, which is it?"

"SHUT UP, YOU MORON!" Zeff scolded him, Patty was instantly quiet. "Have any of you ever actually been truly hungry before? Have you gone for days without food or water on the high seas? Do you have any idea what agony that is?"

"What are you saying Chef?" Patty asked.

"This difference between all of you and Sanji, is that Sanji knows," Zeff said, the blond cook in question was sitting off to the side once again smoking a cigarette. "If you're going to keep moaning, then just walk out the back door and never come back."

In response the cooks only picked up their weapons again. "I'll stay and fight," Patty announced, "I can't stand to let Krieg have his way."

"Me neither! This restaurant is my home," Carne agreed. "Besides, we've got nowhere else to go!"

"What?" questioned Gin, "Are you fools? You've seen what Krieg can do! You'd better run!"

"Gin," Sanji said, "Listen to me. As a Cook, I see it as my duty to feed the hungry. BUT! Now that your crew is well fed, I have no obligation to them. It's with a clean conscience that I can beat every one of them to a bloody pulp. If anyone tries to take the restaurant, they're dead. I'll kill them without a moment's hesitation. Got that?"

"First you feed them, then you kill them?" Patty growled. "Good idea Sanji!"

"Be quiet crap-cooker," snapped Sanji.

"See, he's tough isn't he?" Luffy said to Usopp and Zoro.

"Who cares!" Usopp replied as he prepared to run away. "We gotta get out of here!"

"Relax, they're wounded and starving," Zoro reasoned.

"Besides, I've got to fight Krieg," Luffy resolved. "He's a powerful rival and I'll have to take him down some time." Luffy then turned and glanced across the Dining Room at Gin, "By the way Gin, you said you didn't know anything about the Grand Line. But you've been there!"

"I know nothing at all," Gin confessed, "What happened to us on our seventh day on our journey in that cursed sea... I don't know if it's some crazy dream or reality. I saw things that I can't bring myself to believe. It's almost impossible to believe... for that entire fleet of fifty ships to be eradicated by just one man!"

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Usopp screamed in terror.

"Whoa!" Luffy gasped.

"Impossible!" exclaimed Patty. "KREIG'S ARMADA WAS DESTROYED BY ONE MAN!?"

"It all happened so fast..." Gin recalled. "As soon as this man appeared he began to systematically sink our ships one after another. If that storm hadn't come when it had, then that monster would've destroyed our flagship as well! I don't know if a single other ship that made it out. It all seems like a terrible nightmare burned into my memory. I just want to forget. Those eyes... they were like a hawk's... sharp and murderous... his gaze alone felt like the cold hand of death..."

At that revelation Zoro's eyes shot opened, "WHAT!?"

-x-

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!