Luffy, having witnessed the entire exchange from the hole in the roof, was beaming. The sight of a cook who valued feeding the hungry above all else—above rules, above payment, above personal safety—had struck a deep chord within him.
"That food was like a miracle," he said to Zoro and Usopp, his voice filled with awe. "It literally saved his life!"
He leaped down into the dining hall, landing right in front of the surprised sous chef.
"YOU!" he declared, pointing a finger at Sanji. "You're amazing! I've decided! You're going to be the cook on my crew!"
Sanji just took a long, slow drag from his cigarette, completely unfazed by Luffy's explosive enthusiasm. "My name is Sanji. And the answer is no."
"But why not?!" Luffy whined.
"I have my reasons," Sanji said, blowing a smoke ring. He then looked at Luffy and Zeff, who had just come down to assess the situation. "Before you ask, this old geezer used to be a pirate himself. A pretty nasty one."
He gestured around the chaotic but lively restaurant. "This place, the Baratie, is his treasure now. And all the cooks here? They're all ex-pirates, former marines, bounty hunters… ruffians and outcasts from all over the seas. We're the only ones tough enough to handle the kind of customers that drift in from the edge of the Grand Line."
He smirked. "The last set of waiters we hired all quit after a week. Couldn't handle the occasional brawl."
A lightbulb went off in Luffy's head. "Oh! So that's why the old man wants me to work for a year! He needs a new chore-boy who can take a punch!" He turned back to Sanji, his resolve unbroken. "That's even better! You're tough AND you can cook! You have to join us!"
"I told you, I can't leave this place," Sanji said, his voice firm, but with a flicker of something else—sadness, perhaps—in his eyes. "I have a debt to repay to that old geezer. I'm not going anywhere."
Before leaving, Gin gave Luffy one last piece of advice. "Straw Hat," he said, his voice grave. "Don't go to the Grand Line. I haven't seen much of it myself… but the things I have seen… it's a place that swallows pirates whole. A paradise for monsters, and a graveyard for dreams. A man like you… you shouldn't go there."
In the hot, chaotic, and testosterone-fueled kitchen of the Baratie, a furious argument was brewing.
Carne, another of the fighting cooks, slammed his fist on a cutting board, confronting Patty.
"Are you an idiot, Patty?!" he yelled. "That was 'Man-Demon' Gin! An officer of the Krieg Pirate Armada! You don't just beat up and throw out one of Don Krieg's men!"
"He couldn't pay his bill," Patty shot back defensively. "What was I supposed to do, give him a free meal? That's bad for business! It would make us look weak!"
"Weak?!" Carne grabbed Patty by the collar. "Don Krieg commands a fleet of fifty ships! An army of five thousand men! He's the most infamous and ruthless pirate in the entire East Blue! Do you really think he's going to care about our 'business principles' when he comes here looking for revenge?!"
Patty shoved him off. "Let him come! We're the fighting cooks of the Baratie! We've chased off plenty of pirates before! If you're too scared, you can quit, just like all those useless waiters did!"
"That's what you told them, isn't it?" Carne snarled, the two chefs now nose-to-nose, ready to trade blows.
Before their argument could turn physical, a heavy thump echoed through the kitchen as Zeff's peg leg hit the floor. His presence alone was enough to instantly quell the violence.
"Enough," he growled. "Get back to work. A customer is an enemy, but a hungry person is a guest. Don't ever forget that."
His words seemed directed at both Patty's brutality and Sanji's clandestine act of kindness.
Outside, Sanji watched Gin's small boat disappear over the horizon. He took the plate he had used to serve the meal and, with a casual flick of his wrist, sent it skimming across the water before it sank into the depths.
"No proof," he muttered to himself, hiding his compassion behind a mask of cool indifference.
Zeff's voice boomed from the doorway. "Luffy! Sanji! Stop slacking off and get back to work!"
Inside the kitchen, Luffy proudly declared his new role. "Alright! Chore-Boy Luffy is on the job!"
His first task was to wash the mountain of dirty dishes. He tried to be efficient, stretching his rubbery arms to grab the entire stack at once.
CRASH!
A symphony of shattering porcelain echoed through the restaurant.
Patty, his face twitching, pointed a meaty finger at the door. "OUT! You're a waiter now! It's less destructive!"
Luffy emerged into the dining hall, a small notepad in his hand, only to find Zoro, Usopp, and Nami sitting comfortably at a table, enjoying some drinks.
He exploded. "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING, RELAXING?! I'M STUCK WORKING MY BUTT OFF TO PAY FOR THE DAMAGE I CAUSED!"
Just then, Sanji glided into the dining hall. His eyes immediately locked onto Nami, and his entire demeanor changed. The cool, tough-guy cook vanished, replaced by a love-struck, wiggling noodle of a man. His eye turned into a heart.
"Oh, my beautiful Nami-swaaaan!" he cooed, sliding up to their table. "To see your radiant beauty is to see the sunrise over a sea of honey! But alas! Cruel fate has placed these two vulgar obstacles between us!" He gestured dramatically at Zoro and Usopp.
Zeff appeared out of nowhere, standing right behind Sanji. "If you want to go be a pirate and chase after some girl, then go," he said gruffly, his voice laced with cynicism. "We don't need a lovesick sous chef who can't focus on his work."
Sanji's love-struck expression flickered, replaced by a look of conflict, but he didn't move. He wouldn't leave. Zeff just grunted and walked away.
Far out at sea, a massive, intimidating galleon, its prow adorned with a fearsome, golden lion's head, cut through the waves. This was the Dreadnaught Sabre, the flagship of the Krieg Pirate Armada.
Gin knelt on the deck before his captain, a hulking man encased in ornate, golden-spiked armor. His face was scarred and cruel, a picture of ruthless ambition. This was the fleet admiral, Don Krieg.
"I have found it, Don Krieg," Gin reported, his voice weak but filled with a fanatical loyalty. "A place where we can rest, resupply… and take what we need."
He looked up at his captain. "I can take you to the sea restaurant… the Baratie."
Don Krieg's lips curled into a cruel, predatory smile.
"Excellent. Set a course."