When everyone looked in the direction of the commotion, they saw a young man in a crisp suit and tie with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, slowly lowering his leg from where he had just delivered a powerful kick.
The most striking feature on his otherwise clean-cut face wasn't his arrogant expression, but rather the distinctive curly eyebrow that spiraled like a mosquito coil above his right eye—the one not hidden beneath his thick blonde hair.
"What's your problem, you little brat? It's your restaurant that's unsanitary—there are bugs crawling around in my rice! Shouldn't you be compensating me instead?"
A disheveled man with a bruised and bloodied face had fallen to the floor, clutching his chest while yelling hysterically at the blonde-haired chef.
Then he simply sprawled out on the ground dramatically, shouting pitifully to everyone within earshot: "Come and see how this establishment treats its customers! There's something wrong with their food, and when you complain, the chef beats you up!"
"Sanji! What have you done now? How can you treat our customers like this? The customer is always right! I've told you this countless times..." A muscular, bearded man wearing a chef's uniform came rushing over, shouting angrily at the young blonde.
But before he could finish his lecture, Sanji had already slipped away with the fluid grace of a trained dancer, leaving the burly chef—Patty—to roar in frustration: "At least listen when I'm talking to you!"
Immediately changing his expression to a professional smile, Patty turned to the fallen troublemaker: "Welcome to Baratie, valued customer."
"What kind of welcome is this? Give me my money back right now!" The scruffy man pointed accusingly at the alleged bugs in his plate and the fresh bruises on his face, slamming the table for emphasis.
Patty raised his hand and scratched his head thoughtfully, bowing slightly as he asked with deceptive politeness: "I do apologize, sir, but I need to ask—do you actually have any money?"
Realizing he had successfully drawn the attention of nearly everyone in the restaurant, the slovenly man smiled inwardly while continuing to shout with full confidence and righteous indignation:
"Why should I need money? Is this how you treat customers in this pathetic excuse for a restaurant? Pay me back immediately!"
"Ah, I see. Got it." Patty nodded as if suddenly understanding the situation completely. Before he finished speaking, he raised both hands high above his head.
WHAM!
Patty's massive fists crashed down on the scammer's skull, instantly flattening him against the floor with tremendous force.
Patty glanced down at the now-motionless troublemaker, casually cracking his knuckles. "If you don't have money, then you're not our customer, and you're definitely not always right."
"Well done, you bastard cook!"
The other diners seated at nearby tables and the various chefs moving throughout the restaurant all cheered in unison.
Apparently, such scenes were hardly uncommon at the Baratie sea restaurant.
"Beautiful ladies, please ignore that rude fool over there. How may I assist you today?"
Sanji appeared before Carina in the same spinning, theatrical manner that Cavendish might employ, with literal heart-shaped pupils gleaming in his eyes.
"Eh? That expression, those eyebrows..." Carrot studied Sanji's distinctive features with obvious curiosity.
Sanji turned his attention to the young mink girl with a charming smile. "What's wrong, my adorable little sister?"
Carrot tilted her head slightly in thought, taking a moment to search her memory before speaking slowly: "Well, it's nothing really. I just feel like I've seen someone with similar features in North Blue..."
"Ahem! You must be mistaken, little sister." The moment Sanji heard the words "North Blue," his smile froze completely and he interrupted with obvious urgency.
Almost simultaneously, Jerry placed his hand gently on Carrot's head, stopping her from continuing that particular line of conversation. "Alright, Carrot, let's find a table and get some food."
"Okay! I want to try some carrot-flavored meal!" Carrot didn't fully understand the sudden tension, but she raised her hand obediently and announced her culinary preferences with enthusiasm.
Sanji glanced at Jerry with careful assessment. While he couldn't be certain whether Jerry's interruption had been coincidental, he genuinely didn't want to hear anything more about North Blue or his family connections.
Nodding slightly to Jerry in acknowledgment, Sanji smiled once again and enthusiastically led the ladies toward an available dining table.
Jerry noticed that the other men in his crew all wore expressions of resigned acceptance, so he casually twirled his fishing rod's round float and chuckled good-naturedly: "Ha! Well, let's go find our own seats."
He naturally understood that this was simply Sanji's characteristic behavior—the cook showed no interest in male customers when beautiful women were present. With lovely ladies requiring his attention, the lecherous chef couldn't be bothered greeting men like themselves.
Despite this obvious slight, Jerry's group of male crew members still attracted considerable attention throughout the restaurant.
Among the male pirates in their group, Jerry considered himself the only truly normal-looking person. Deuce was relatively ordinary as well, though he did wear that small mask covering only his eyes at all times.
Cavendish, with his appearance that perfectly matched the aesthetic preferences of most women in the pirate world, could effortlessly draw female attention wherever he traveled.
Skull always wore his complete skeleton costume, and when he stood next to Brook, from a distance they looked like two animated skeletons moving in peculiar ways.
This unique visual combination appealed to people of all ages and backgrounds—they were either terrified by the sight or couldn't help but stare in fascination, even if they considered themselves normal.
In addition to these distinctive crew members, there was also Kotatsu the large cat and Farul the white horse who always accompanied them. Kotatsu walked alongside little Bonney, while Farul remained perpetually at Cavendish's side.
Jerry led his friends to their designated seating area and began the routine process of ordering food.
"Hello there! Please bring me a cup of black tea and some cheese-based snacks. I need to maintain my bone health, yohohoho!" Brook requested his usual preferences for tea, milk, and related dairy products with characteristic enthusiasm.
"Then please bring me a rose-themed dessert!" Cavendish seated himself with practiced elegance, gesturing for Farul to settle down as well. Under the admiring gazes of numerous women throughout the restaurant, he coquettishly ran his fingers through his long, curly hair.
This display of vanity undoubtedly made many young ladies' hearts flutter like trapped butterflies. They whispered excitedly among themselves:
"Oh my! Is he a prince from some exotic kingdom? He's absolutely gorgeous!"
"Am I dreaming? My heart is racing! Kyaa!"
Sanji had just finished serving drinks to Carina's table when he overheard these same beauties—who usually flirted shamelessly with him—suddenly changing their tune completely. He immediately flew into a jealous rage: "Hey! You pretty boy! You're really pissing me off..."
BANG!
Before Sanji could finish his indignant outburst, he was suddenly sent flying across the dining room.
A powerfully built elderly man materialized in Sanji's previous position.
He wore an enormously tall chef's hat that nearly touched the ceiling, his golden beard was braided into twin pigtails, and he was lowering his wooden prosthetic right leg while standing there and bellowing: "Sanji! You little brat, control yourself!"
Completely ignoring Sanji's distant complaints of "you damn geezer," the man approached Jerry's table with a welcoming smile.
"I'm the owner here—Zeff. You're 'Leviathan' Jerry, aren't you?"
"I've heard plenty about you. Famous throughout the Grand Line, but somehow you've returned to the Four Blues."
Upon hearing this recognition, Deuce and the others who had been chatting quietly suddenly fell silent, watching Zeff carefully to gauge his next move and attitude.
However, Jerry simply grinned with casual confidence. "Hello, Boss Zeff. I've heard of you as well. I trust you won't refuse to serve food simply because of a customer's... reputation?"
Zeff's mustache twitched as he laughed heartily: "Hahaha! Of course not! Everyone who enters here is our customer. Just order whatever strikes your fancy!"
"Hey, old man, what's going on? Are these guys particularly important?" Sanji had appeared at Zeff's side and leaned close to whisper urgently in the older man's ear.
But Zeff didn't respond directly—he simply waved his hand dismissively. "Get back to work! Tell the kitchen staff to move quickly and don't neglect our guests."
After glaring briefly at Cavendish, then glancing toward Carina and the other ladies, Sanji reluctantly turned and headed toward the kitchen.
"Don't pay attention to that fool. Apart from some questionable habits, he's actually an excellent sous chef in our restaurant." Zeff nodded apologetically toward Cavendish before turning back to Jerry.
Jerry waved his hand with tolerant generosity. "It's perfectly fine. I understand completely. We also have someone who harbors unrealistic fantasies about ladies."
"Eh? Mr. Jerry, are you referring to me? I believe you've all misunderstood my intentions. My requests of ladies are always perfectly polite and gentlemanly in nature." Brook hurriedly waved his skeletal hands while explaining with utmost seriousness.
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