Big head, thick neck—either a wealthy man or a cook.
Red-Leg Zeff's neck was indeed thick; his head was normal-sized, but he was extremely emaciated.
Looking at the skull-like profile, Shanu observed carefully for a while before he could barely match this person's face with the memory he had.
How pitiful… he didn't even know how long Zeff had been starving. In the original timeline, it seemed Zeff and Sanji had endured 85 days before being rescued—Shanu should have arrived earlier, right?
Shanu thought for a moment, bent down, and casually grabbed a bunch of food from the ship, heading toward Zeff.
Having taken over a million berries in cash from the secret room, Shanu had splurged when leaving Asakura Island, also stocking tens of thousands of berries' worth of food.
He had thought it was too much—two people couldn't finish it in a month—but now it finally came in handy.
"Junichi," he reminded, not forgetting about Sanji, "take some food too. Check around for anyone else; if there's anyone, help them out."
"Understood, Boss!"
…
The wind and rain grew heavier.
Almost upon reaching him, Zeff finally vaguely noticed the footsteps behind him.
"Hey, kid…"
Zeff still stared into the distance, eyes shadowed beneath his brows. "Why are you here? Didn't we agree? One of us watches over one side, and only call me if a ship comes…"
Thump!
A packet of food was tossed, rolling down the rocky slope to Zeff's feet. The old man glanced over at the noise, froze, and couldn't look away.
"Bread?"
He reflexively reached out but immediately stopped, forcing down a swallow, sitting upright with a cold laugh:
"What? You think I'm giving you too little, so you came to demand more?"
"I already told you, I'm an adult, my appetite is many times bigger than yours, so naturally I need several times the food! I don't even have enough for myself, don't expect me to share with you!"
Shanu's forehead creased in frustration.
Damn it, this stubborn old man—who are you showing your pride to? I know that bag next to you is full of treasure! You've got time to secretly drool, having an internal moral struggle, but you couldn't glance at who really brought the food?
A mischievous thought struck him. Instead of speaking immediately, he continued tossing food one by one.
Thump!
"Cookies?" Zeff blinked in surprise.
Thump!
"Canned luncheon meat?" His eyes widened.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Dried meat, chocolate, compressed rice balls… even fruits like oranges and bananas—Shanu's tossing accelerated, and in no time, a small mountain of food formed before Zeff.
"…This, this…"
Zeff was speechless. Even a fool would understand—someone capable of producing this much food couldn't possibly be Sanji.
Gurgle, gurgle~
His empty stomach made noise just then.
Zeff tore open a bread bag and devoured it like a maniac. Within moments, he had consumed a large bag, then immediately grabbed the next one.
Cough, cough, cough!
A swollen clump of dough got stuck in his throat; he pounded his chest, the sound echoing against his ribcage.
"Here, next one."
Shanu handed him a water bottle. Zeff tilted his head back and drank fiercely, the water mingling with the bread crumbs running down his beard, possibly with tears mixed in.
When he finished, Shanu tossed a can of luncheon meat.
"Food… food… food!!!"
The old man held the can high, inhaling its aroma. "Real food… what a wonderful smell and taste…"
Snap! Zeff dug his nails into the can, prying it open single-handedly. The lid cut into his hand without his noticing. He scooped out the dark-red meat and shoveled it into his mouth, eyes squinting in enjoyment.
"Slow down, don't choke again."
Shanu sighed lightly, sitting on a large rock behind him.
Suddenly, he felt something unpleasant under his hand. Fumbling, he pulled out a filthy, severed foot, rotting and oozing pus, stinking horribly.
"…"
Shanu gagged, nearly tossing it into the sea, but then realized something. He glanced at Zeff, still devouring food, and quietly activated the sacrifice function.
[Sacrifice: Red-Leg Zeff's severed foot]
[Quality: Epic]
[Value: 2000 points]
[Appraisal: The severed foot of the great pirate Red-Leg Zeff, who once dominated the East Blue with his masterful kicking skills and survived a year-long voyage in the Grand Line. Stranded on this island, he gave all the food to Sanji and cut off his right leg as sustenance. Sanji was saved, and Zeff, realizing he could no longer roam the seas, passed on his dream of ALLBLUE to Sanji.]
The part above the ankle was gone—probably eaten completely by Zeff.
The remaining rotted portion, though, was repurposed to provide a hefty number of points.
Shanu didn't immediately close the system panel. He stared at the appraisal text, unusually silent for a while.
"This thing…"
He suddenly smiled, extending his empty right hand, letting the rain wash the grime from his palm. "Came close to making me shed a lot of tears back then."
A scene from distant memory replayed before him—a subtle, bittersweet feeling.
When the rain washed his hand clean, Shanu turned to see the small pile of food nearly gone.
Zeff had stopped eating at some point, holding a half-eaten rice ball in one hand, supporting his forehead with the other, body trembling, back to Shanu.
And now he was crying?
"Shameful, shameful…"
Noticing Shanu's gaze, Zeff turned his head. Though grinning, tears streamed down his face. "Benefactor, this is the best meal I've had in my life. I thought I was going to die… I was doomed…"
Suddenly, Zeff flipped over, knelt in the rain, and slammed his forehead to the ground in a loud kowtow to Shanu.
When he stood, his forehead was red and swollen, but he seemed not to notice, bowing again with force.
"Not necessary, not necessary."
Shanu hurriedly reached out to help him up—one person bowing alone isn't fair! I haven't even thanked him for the two thousand points he gave me for free!
"Benefactor, there's also a companion. I have another companion!"
But Zeff still knelt, grabbing Shanu's pant leg and pleading, "A blonde kid is also on this reef, starving for dozens of days like me. Please, benefactor, save him too!"
How had this old man been starving so long, and his grip was still this strong? Shanu felt like his pants were being pulled down and quickly lifted him.
"It's fine. I came with my companion too. Don't worry—I had him go look for other survivors just before coming here. He should find the kid you mentioned soon."
"That's good… that's good…"
Zeff finally relaxed, sitting back down, glancing at Shanu gratefully before resuming his frantic eating.
Shanu, meanwhile, looked toward the area where the boat had run aground, puzzled.
Wait…
Where's Sanji?
Junichi—what's he doing? The reef isn't even that big. How hard could it be to find a grown man? Nothing for so long?
"Uh… Boss?"
At that moment, Junichi's hesitant voice came: "Can you come here?"
"What's up?"
Shanu immediately got up and walked toward the figure in view. "Did you find him?"
"…Well, it's not convenient to talk here. Come with me first."
Junichi forced a laugh and led Shanu to the boat.
Under Shanu's baffled gaze, he swallowed nervously, squatted, and lifted the boat just a few centimeters, revealing a small figure in a chef's outfit underneath.
"Here… found him… just… a bit squished…"