Don Krieg knelt, his head bowed.
"Please," he begged, "give me food."
This was the man who was once the second most feared pirate in the East Blue, a brutal and bloody tyrant whose name was used to scare children at night.
And now he was on his knees, begging like a common vagrant.
The bizarre scene left everyone in the restaurant completely confused.
"What in the world could have happened to a fleet of 5,000 men to end up like this?"
"Is that really the terrifying Don Krieg? He looks like a beggar."
"But they say he's a monster who'd do anything to get what he wants. If the chefs save him, won't he just turn on them?"
"You're being too naive," another diner scoffed. "This is the man who killed his own commander just to rise through the ranks. Gratitude isn't in his vocabulary."
The chefs were having their own heated debate.
"Let him starve out there! It'd be a favor to the rest of the world!" one of them yelled.
But it was too late.
Sanji had already brought a plate of hot food out to Krieg, who immediately began to devour it like a wild animal.
The other chefs screamed at Sanji, but he wouldn't listen.
For him, a cook's duty to feed the hungry was absolute.
The moment Krieg finished his meal and felt his strength return, he struck.
He sent Sanji flying with a single punch, then threatened the other chefs.
"Prepare food for one hundred of my men, now!" he roared. "And then hand over this ship! It belongs to me!"
Insidious, cruel, and ungrateful.
He was exactly the monster everyone said he was.
…
Ray, Luffy, Zoro, and the others were still at their table, watching the whole scene unfold.
"That ungrateful bastard is so hateful," Usopp whispered. "You three should go take him out."
Luffy remained silent, his eyes fixed on the unfolding drama.
Ray's attention, however, was already two kilometers away. With his Observation Haki, he could sense an incredibly powerful aura lingering out on the ocean.
So, he's here, Ray thought. Hawkeye.
…
Sanji, after being knocked down, simply lit a cigarette.
"Prepare food for 100 people," he ordered the other chefs.
Patty and Carne immediately protested, but Sanji just yelled back, "Isn't it our job as cooks to feed anyone who's hungry?!"
Just as the argument was getting heated, the head chef, Zeff, appeared and sided with Sanji.
Defeated, the other chefs went to the kitchen.
Krieg recognized the old man.
"You're 'Red-Leg' Zeff."
For a moment, he was intimidated, but then he noticed Zeff's prosthetic leg.
He's a washed-up cripple, Krieg thought, his fear turning to arrogance.
"After you bring out the food, all of you will get off this restaurant," Krieg declared. "This ship is mine. Anyone still here in half an hour is an enemy of the Krieg Pirates!"
With that, he turned and walked back toward his galleon.
…
In less than ten minutes, all the customers had fled the Baratie.
But none of the chefs left.
They stood their ground, armed with kitchen knives and meat cleavers, ready to die for their restaurant.
Sanji noticed that Ray and his crew were still sitting at their table, looking completely unfazed.
"Hey, you guys! Why are you still here?" he asked. "This has nothing to do with you."
Zoro just smirked. "Whether we get involved or not is up to our captain. Me? I'm just waiting for someone."
Luffy adjusted his hat.
"I work here now," he said with a grin.
Ray didn't say anything, his expression hidden behind his mask.
After a moment, he spoke. "You should all get out of here. If you stay, you'll get caught in the crossfire."
The chefs immediately started shouting that they would never abandon their restaurant.
Ray simply said, "I've said my piece."
In the end, Luffy made a deal with Zeff.
If the chefs couldn't handle it, the Straw Hats would step in, and in return, Luffy's debt would be cleared.
"Hehehe, then leave it to us!" Luffy said, his grin widening.
…
As they waited, Zoro suddenly recalled Ray's ominous warning.
"Ray, why did you say they'd get caught in the crossfire?"
"You'll see," Ray replied simply.
His attention wasn't on Krieg at all.
It was on Mihawk.
And he was 100% certain that when Zoro inevitably lost to the world's greatest swordsman, he would have to step in.
Since joining the crew, he had come to see Luffy and Zoro as his partners.
He wouldn't stop Zoro from risking his life for his dream, but if his partner was about to be killed, he would fight back, even if it was against an opponent he might not be able to beat.
The "crossfire" he was talking about wasn't from Krieg.
It was from his fight with Hawkeye.
…
The half-hour was almost up.
Zoro began to warm up, planning to use the Krieg Pirates as a warm-up for his real opponent.
Luffy looked out at Krieg's massive ship, a wide grin on his face.
Then he remembered something and turned to the bounty hunter duo.
"Johnny, Yosaku, go get the Merry and move it somewhere safe."
Nami and Usopp wanted to go too, but Ray stopped them.
"You've been training for a while now," he said. "It's time for some actual combat."
The two of them slumped down by the restaurant door, nervously waiting for the fight to begin.
At that moment, Ray suddenly stood up.
"Luffy, I'm leaving this to you. I have something to take care of."
"No problem, we can handle it!" Luffy replied.
With that, Ray walked toward the stairs leading to the top floor of the Baratie, a fierce fighting spirit beginning to build around him.