On the heavily damaged upper deck of the Baratie, a heated negotiation was underway. Or rather, a one-sided declaration of terms.
"One year is too long!" Luffy shouted, his arms crossed defiantly. "I'll wash dishes for a week! And you have to feed me three meals a day! With lots of meat!"
"Red Leg" Zeff, the owner and head chef, stood over him, his massive frame looming, his one peg leg planted firmly on the splintered deck. He was unimpressed.
"You destroyed my quarters and blew a hole in the roof of my restaurant," he stated, his voice a low, gravelly rumble. "The debt is one year of servitude. That is the price. You will accept it."
"I will not!" Luffy shot back rudely.
THWACK!
Zeff's peg leg moved faster than a man of his age should be able to move. It slammed into Luffy's side, sending him tumbling across the deck.
"Then we can arrange a faster method of payment," Zeff offered, his voice devoid of emotion. He pointed the end of his peg leg at Luffy's own leg. "How about we cut one of those off? An eye for an eye, a leg for a leg. It seems fair."
Luffy scrambled back in horror. "NO WAY! YOU CRAZY OLD GEEZER!"
THWACK!
Another swift kick sent Luffy flying. "Mind your manners, brat."
Their argument, a chaotic symphony of rubbery shrieks and the thud of wood on rubber, continued to rage.
Meanwhile, in the bustling dining hall below, another cook named Patty was preparing himself for the dinner rush. He was a large man with a flamboyant sense of style, meticulously adjusting his cravat in a small mirror.
"Welcome, esteemed guests, to the magnificent Baratie," he practiced, his voice a smooth, professional purr. He then turned and, out of pure habit, punched a small dent into the kitchen wall behind him. He was a man of conflicting aesthetics.
With a final, confident smile, he strode out into the dining hall, ready to greet the customers. The first thing he saw was the blood.
And the source of it: Sanji, the sous chef, was calmly holding the bloodied, semi-conscious form of Marine Lieutenant "Iron Fist" Fullbody by the collar.
"Sanji!" Patty roared, his refined demeanor vanishing instantly. "What in the hell are you doing?! That's a customer!"
"He was a customer," Sanji corrected, taking a long drag from his cigarette. "Now he's just a fool who wasted good soup."
"You can't just beat up every customer you have a disagreement with!" Patty yelled.
Fullbody, dazed but arrogant, managed to slur, "You'll… you'll pay for this… I'll have this whole establishment shut down…"
"Oh?" Sanji's eyes turned cold. "If you plan on doing that," he said, his voice a low threat, "then I guess I can't let you leave here alive."
The other chefs, seeing the murderous glint in Sanji's eyes, rushed forward and grabbed his arms. "Sanji, stop! Don't kill a Marine!"
It was at that exact moment of peak tension that the ceiling exploded.
CRASH!
Luffy and Zeff came crashing down from above, landing in a heap of splintered wood and plaster right in the middle of the dining hall, still yelling at each other.
"I TOLD YOU, ONE YEAR!" Zeff roared.
"NO WAY, PEG-LEG!" Luffy yelled back.
Zeff got to his feet, brushed himself off, and his attention was immediately drawn to the scene with his sous chef. He saw the struggling Sanji, the terrified chefs, and the beaten Marine. With a sigh of pure exasperation, he moved.
KICK.
A single, powerful kick from his peg leg sent Sanji stumbling back, forcing him to release Fullbody. He then turned his attention to the Marine.
"Get out," Zeff commanded.
Fullbody scrambled to his feet, his face a mask of terror and humiliation. "You… you're all insane! This isn't a restaurant, it's a pirate ship!" With that, he stumbled out of the entrance.
Outside, a subordinate rushed to Fullbody's side. "Lieutenant, sir! The prisoner… he's escaped!"
"What?!" Fullbody snapped. "That Gin guy? How? There were seven men guarding him!"
"They couldn't stop him, sir!"
Fullbody scoffed, trying to regain some semblance of authority. "Don't be ridiculous. We found him starving to death on a derelict ship. He hadn't eaten in three days. How dangerous can he be?"
"But sir, please forgive me—!"
The Marine's plea was cut short by a gunshot.
BANG!
He collapsed to the ground. Standing behind him, a pistol still smoking in his hand, was a gaunt man with piercing eyes and a bandana covering his face. It was Gin, the escaped prisoner.
He walked past the stunned Fullbody and into the Baratie, his boots clomping on the floor. He kicked a chair around, sat down, and propped his feet up on the table, an act of supreme arrogance.
The other customers recoiled in horror, recognizing the infamous "Man-Demon" Gin of the Krieg Pirates. Patty, however, walked up to his table, a professional smile plastered on his face.
"Welcome to the Baratie, esteemed guest. What can I get for you?"
"Bring me your best steak and a bottle of wine," Gin ordered, his voice a dry rasp.
Patty's smile didn't falter. "An excellent choice, sir. Of course, as is standard for new customers, will you be paying up front?"
Gin's arrogant expression turned cold. He leaned forward. "I don't have a single Beli to my name." He then patted the pistol on his hip. "This is my payment. You can bring me the food now, or you can have a taste of lead later. Your choice."
Patty's professional mask shattered instantly, replaced by a look of pure rage.
"A threat? In our house? You dare disrespect the Baratie and try to get a free meal?!"
He then proceeded to beat Gin to a bloody pulp. The customers who had been terrified of Gin moments before were now cheering wildly as Patty, the refined host, brutally stomped on the starving pirate. It was a display of the restaurant's violent, unforgiving code: if you can't pay, you don't eat. You get a beating instead.
With a final, contemptuous kick, Patty sent the unconscious Gin flying out of the restaurant doors. In the chaos, Fullbody made his quiet escape.
Outside, Gin lay in the dirt, beaten, humiliated, and still starving. The world was a cruel, unforgiving place.
The back door of the restaurant opened. Sanji stepped out, holding a plate of steaming hot seafood pilaf and a glass of water. He placed it on the ground next to the defeated pirate.
"Here," Sanji said, his voice back to its usual, bored tone. "Eat up."
Gin stirred, his eyes opening to slits. He stared at the food, then at Sanji, suspicious. "Why? Are you pitying me? Is this some kind of trick?"
"I'm a cook," Sanji said simply, lighting a cigarette. "I cannot stand to see a hungry person. My job is to feed them. That's all."
He turned and walked back inside, leaving Gin with the meal. Hesitantly, then frantically, Gin began to eat. He shoved the food into his mouth, his body shaking from a combination of weakness and overwhelming flavor. And then, he began to cry. Deep, wracking sobs of a man who had been pushed to the absolute limit and was now being shown an unexpected, unconditional kindness.
"It's… so good…" he wept, the tears mixing with the rice. "It's the best food I've ever had in my life…"
Luffy had been watching the entire scene from the hole in the ceiling. He had seen the brutality of Patty, a man who would beat a starving person for being unable to pay. And now he had seen the quiet compassion of Sanji, a man who would defy his own restaurant's code to feed that same starving person. He understood.
A wide, knowing grin spread across his face. He looked over at Zoro and Usopp, who had joined him on the deck.
"I've found him," Luffy said, his voice filled with a quiet, certain excitement.
"That's our cook.