Alan reopened the box, picked up the captain's pirate coat, and stood up.
Whoosh!
Shaking off the pirate coat with a rustle, Alan put it on and walked to the corner of the room to look in the mirror.
Damn, so handsome.
A smile involuntarily spread across Alan's face.
As a captain, not having a pirate coat still felt a bit lacking.
Being stylish was a lifelong pursuit. Once he got rich, he would have to custom-make a few high-class pirate coats.
...
Two days later.
The sky was gray, with thin clouds drifting since morning.
At the top of the ship's deckhouse, Alan lay in a chair, enjoying the cool breeze while smoking a cigar.
A small round table and two loungers had been placed here by his subordinates at his request.
He liked the wide view and came up here from time to time.
Gradually, fine rain began to fall, and cool drops touched his face.
Alan closed his eyes while continuing to smoke without reaction.
Until a voice of excitement came from the lookout at the top of the mast.
"I saw the ship that looked like a fish! It's the ocean-going restaurant, Baratie!"
Hearing this, the pirates below rushed out onto the deck in anticipation.
Alan slowly opened his eyes, sat up, and looked into the distance. On the sea floated a three-story, blue, giant fish-shaped cruise ship, drifting with the waves.
Without a doubt, it was the ocean-going restaurant, Baratie.
Around Baratie were about ten ships of various sizes, including a warship.
On the bow deck, the pirates grabbed the railing and leaned forward to look.
Seeing the conspicuous green warship, the passion they had just felt instantly fizzled out.
"A warship, huh..."
"Plan failed..."
"My feast..."
A row of pirates drooped their heads in disappointment, bodies hanging on the railing, looking utterly dejected.
Alan: "..."
Since Kuro left, they had to be cautious whenever encountering the marines.
Especially against a deployed warship, which almost always carried a fully organized marine crew, not to mention the two rows of cannons whose firepower far exceeded that of the pirate ship.
There was no chance for a direct boarding attack.
At a hundred meters, you relied on luck; at a hundred meters or less, you relied on whether your fate was strong enough; at fifty meters, you prayed the opposing gunners suddenly went blind.
With such a firepower gap, it was no wonder they had no fighting spirit left.
On the deckhouse, Alan crouched, leapt powerfully, and flipped onto the bow's cat head.
Seeing him appear, the pirates quickly turned and looked.
"What do we do, captain?!"
"We can't see the number and don't even know which branch it is."
"Should we just leave and come back another day?"
The pirates spoke one after another.
"You want me to retreat?"
Alan's eyes were disdainful. Hands in pockets while standing tall at the bow, he grinned and said, "Who do you think I am? Bring the ship closer!"
"This..."
"Captain!"
The pirates looked shocked, unable to believe their eyes.
The black cloak flapped in the wind. At this moment, Alan's figure looked so imposing in their eyes.
So much so that they were moved to tears.
"This feeling..."
"We're back, everything's back, brothers!"
"No more being hunted by the marines everywhere!"
"Uwaaa!! Captain!!"
...
The ship sailed with the wind and arrived at the giant fish-shaped cruise ship. Then they lowered the sails, dropped anchor, and docked seamlessly.
"Let's go, brothers! It's time to eat!"
Alan raised his right fist and shouted while leaping onto Baratie's deck with Sham and Buchi.
Behind him, all the pirates… remained frozen in place.
Alan turned back and saw their actions; he couldn't help but angrily shout, "What the hell are you doing!!"
"This... That..."
"Cough, cough... The ship needs someone to guard it..."
"Yeah, yeah, after all, the warship is nearby..."
The pirates on the ship mumbled, all looking guilty while turning their faces away.
"Tch, they're like dogs, never even getting a chance to eat hot shit; I'm not taking them, a bunch of cowards, let's go!"
Alan cursed angrily, then he turned and headed toward the ship tower.
Sham and Buchi followed closely behind.
...
Meanwhile, inside the simply and elegantly decorated restaurant, around twenty tables were scattered with guests.
A man with blonde hair and spiral eyebrows, dressed in a black suit, carried a serving tray while walking gracefully down the aisle.
Suddenly, some noise seemed to come from outside the door.
Sanji looked over with disdain: "So noisy, looks like another difficult customer came. I don't welcome those bastards who disturb a lady's meal."
Then he walked straight into the hall, approaching a table with a man and a woman seated.
Placing the dessert-laden tray down, he first introduced the dishes to the guests.
Then, ignoring the burly man beside the woman, he elegantly bowed to the fair-faced woman.
Sanji bowed like a gentleman, smiling slightly, and said, "This dessert is presented for your cuteness. Please enjoy it slowly and feel the love contained within."
"Ah... Th-thank you, thank you very much."
Tashigi said shyly while holding her glasses firmly and repeatedly bowing and thanking him.
The man beside her, however, seemed utterly indifferent, a wisp of cigar smoke curling from the corners of his mouth.
Seeing that Sanji still had no intention of leaving, Smoker finally spoke calmly: "You don't need to serve here; go back to your work."
"Huh? Serve? Are you misunderstanding something, stinky smoker?"
Hearing this title, Sanji's face immediately darkened.
He turned to Smoker and pinched the cigarette in the other party's mouth with his two fingers and said disdainfully, "With the smoke this thick, people might think I'm cooking here. Don't you know smoking is banned in restaurants?"
Smoker: "..."
Seeing the cigarette in Sanji's hand, Smoker instinctively clenched his fist while a vein bulged on his forehead.
"Wait, Captain Smoker!"
Thinking Smoker was about to make a move, Tashigi hurriedly stood up but bumped her head on Sanji's jaw.
Bang!
"Ah!"
Her glasses fell to the floor with a clack sound.
Tashigi panicked and repeatedly bowed in apology: "Sorry! I didn't mean to! I'm really sorry!"
"No... It's okay... Your glasses are here."
Sanji held his aching jaw and picked up the glasses for Tashigi.