The half-hour was up.
Standing at the bow of his ship, Don Krieg issued the command.
"Men! Kill every last one of these chefs, seize this ship, and we're on our way to the Grand Line!"
"OOOOOH!" his underlings roared, charging down from the galleon like a pack of wolves.
Gin hesitated, but after a fierce glare from Krieg, he too joined the battle.
…
On the Baratie's side, Patty and Carne had raised the ship's "fins," creating a makeshift fighting platform.
The chefs stood ready, armed with everything from meat cleavers to frying pans.
The two sides clashed instantly. Despite looking tough, the chefs were quickly overwhelmed.
"Hahaha! You're just cooks!" one of the pirates mocked. "We're pirates! We live for this!"
Patty and Carne exchanged a look and retreated into the restaurant.
Sanji watched, holding back.
The enemy's officers hadn't made a move yet, and he needed to save his strength.
From the start, the battle was completely one-sided.
Ray, who had already taken his position on the restaurant's rooftop, watched the chaos below, a thoughtful expression on his face.
According to my memory, he thought, Hawkeye should have shown up by now and sliced Krieg's ship to pieces. Why the delay? Is he just watching?
No matter. What's meant to come will come.
…
As the chefs were about to be completely defeated, Sanji could no longer stand by.
With a series of spinning handstand kicks, he sent a dozen pirates flying off the platform.
His intervention gave the chefs a chance to regroup and fight back.
Just then, a strange, turtle-like man covered in steel shields emerged from the sea.
This was Pearl the Iron Wall, an officer of the Krieg Pirates.
Alongside him was Gin, now wielding two massive, spiked tonfas.
"Sanji-san," Gin said, "I'm grateful for the meal. If it weren't for Captain Krieg's orders, I wouldn't be doing this. Please, just surrender."
Sanji lit a cigarette.
"I will never let anyone destroy this restaurant," he said, settling into a fighting stance.
"No matter who they are."
With Sanji occupied, the chefs were once again at a disadvantage.
Patty and Carne, who had gone to get the Baratie's cannon, saw the situation and had to return to the fight.
"Leave the guy with the iron balls to us!" they yelled to Sanji.
"You take the turtle!"
....
The battle raged on.
Sanji quickly overpowered Pearl, knocking him to the ground in just a few moves.
Patty and Carne, however, were sent flying the moment they clashed with Gin, both knocked out cold.
Distracted by his fallen comrades, Sanji let his guard down for a split second—long enough for Pearl to land a heavy blow to his head, leaving him dazed.
It looked like the chefs were done for.
Ray, however, wasn't worried.
He knew this was the cue for the Straw Hat Crew to finally join the party.
…
Luffy grinned.
"Alright, guys. Our turn."
Zoro gripped his swords and followed right behind him.
Nami pulled out her staff, positioning herself at the restaurant's entrance to block any pirates who broke through.
Usopp hid by a window, ready to provide support with his slingshot.
Chouchou trotted forward, keeping pace with Zoro.
Krieg looked down at them from his ship, his expression full of contempt.
"And who the hell are you supposed to be, getting in the way of the great Don Krieg?"
Zoro, Nami, and Usopp were all taken aback.
'Wait, this guy doesn't recognize us?'
Zeff, the head chef, was surprised at first too.
The Straw Hats were the hottest topic in the East Blue right now.
But then he realized—Krieg and his men had just barely escaped the Grand Line with their lives.
They probably hadn't had time to read a newspaper.
A smirk appeared on his face.
This was going to be interesting.
…
Zoro intercepted Pearl.
With a fierce roar, Chouchou transformed into his five-meter-long dog demon form, his terrifying presence alone sending a wave of fear through the pirate crew.
Meanwhile, Luffy strode toward Sanji, who was now lying unconscious at Gin's feet.
Even though the pirates didn't recognize them, the appearance of the Straw Hats, especially the giant demon dog, completely changed the battlefield.
As the pirates started to back away from Chouchou in fear, Krieg shot one of them dead.
"Anyone who retreats will die!" he bellowed. "Are you really scared of a single animal?!"
Intimidated, the pirates realized that facing Chouchou might be better than facing their captain's wrath.
With renewed battle cries, they charged.
…
Zoro looked at Pearl and smirked.
"Don't disappoint me." He didn't even bother with his bandana, drawing only two swords.
Enraged at being looked down on, Pearl charged, swinging his massive shields to smash Zoro's head.
Zoro sidestepped easily, and one of his swords flashed out, leaving a deep gash on Pearl's exposed shoulder.
"Bastard!" Pearl roared, ignoring the pain as he leaped into the air to crush Zoro from above.
Zoro just smiled.
This time, he didn't dodge.
He crossed his swords and met the attack head-on, stopping the massive officer in mid-air.
Pearl was now stuck, balanced precariously on Zoro's blades.
"If this is all you've got," Zoro said, "then let's end this."
With a powerful shove, he sent Pearl flying.
As the officer got to his feet, bleeding from his nose, he completely lost his temper.
All of his shields burst into flames.
"Damn you, green-hair! I'll kill you!" he screamed, charging forward like a flaming meteor.
Zoro just looked bored.
"So your ultimate move is to light yourself on fire? How disappointing."
"Two-Sword Style: Rhino's Return!"
Zoro thrust both swords forward, his body low to the ground like a charging rhino.
The two collided in a shower of sparks.
"You rushed right into the fire!" Pearl screamed. "Aren't you afraid of getting burned?"
"The pain from these flames is nothing," Zoro said coolly, "compared to Ray's daily training."
"And your shell has too many openings!"
With that, the shield on Pearl's chest shattered, and Zoro's swords plunged deep into his abdomen.
Pearl's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed, defeated.
Zoro sheathed his swords and turned away.
…
Nearby, Luffy had already pulled Sanji to his feet.
He looked at Gin, who was still standing guard.
"Aren't you going to help your friend?"
Gin just shook his head. "You can't beat Captain Krieg. As for me… I just want to be the one to bury my benefactor, Sanji."
Hearing this, Luffy glanced at Sanji.
"Krieg is yours," Sanji said, lighting a cigarette. "I'll settle things with Gin here."
Luffy was quiet for a moment.
He then adjusted his straw hat and said to Sanji.
"Don't die. You're my cook, after all."
Sanji looked annoyed but didn't argue.
He just prepared for his fight with Gin.
With that, Luffy clenched his fists and looked up at Krieg.
"Ready, you heartless bastard gorilla?"