"And compensation!"
Another figure, bald and bulky with unusually thick wrists, stepped forward.
Patty shouted while pointing at Alan and Smoker, who Alan was holding: "You broke so many plates, the floor, and this fish tank!"
"Do you know how much damage you caused? Pay up, bastards! Not a single penny less!"
"Pay up?"
Facing Patty's accusation, Alan scoffed: "Hehe, saying it out loud might scare you."
His gaze swept coldly across all the chefs. His expression changed, and he raised his hands emotionlessly: "I have no money."
"What's scary about that!!"
The chefs all rolled their eyes while glaring viciously.
Only the bald chef, Patty, held his head in both hands and shouted in terror: "What?! This guy has no money, so we're supposed to bear all the losses ourselves?!"
"Is that the important thing!!"
All the chefs bared their teeth and shouted angrily at Patty.
At that moment, a figure walked in from the restaurant door.
Sanji held a cigarette in his mouth while gazing coldly on Smoker: "I checked. Your men just fainted; nothing serious happened."
"And you."
Sanji came beside Zeff and then looked at Alan.
He held the cigarette between two fingers while exhaling a smoke ring, and said casually: "Just like that old guy said. Those who came to eat may stay. Anyone here to cause trouble..."
"Next, let us be your opponents."
His gaze turned colder.
The chefs tightened their grip on their weapons while staring at Alan.
Alan couldn't help glancing at Sanji, afraid he would add another, please give me a face comment.
"I can stop if I want, but I have one question."
Alan scanned the scene, lifted Smoker, pointed, and blinked: "Can the Marines pay for the damages? He started it, you all saw that, right?"
"You're still worrying about this!!"
Sanji and the chefs rolled their eyes while glaring at Alan again.
Only Patty rubbed his large hands happily while nodding with a satisfied smile: "Hahaha, of course, of course. I saw it too. The Marines started it first."
"You just want the money, right!!"
The chefs turned their heads, baring teeth, shouting at him angrily.
...
Alan punched the soaked Smoker, sending him flying toward Tashigi.
Tashigi hurriedly drew her sword and stepped forward to catch him, placing him on the ground to check his injuries.
"Captain Smoker! Are you okay!"
"Cough... Cough... I'm fine..."
Smoker weakly raised his hand, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, gritted his teeth, and glared angrily at Alan with a look of unwillingness.
Alan ignored him, picked up Nanashaku Jitte that had fallen to the ground, left the messy area, and walked straight to a sturdy table while muttering under his breath: "Nowadays, the Marines don't even work properly, just causing trouble all day, even affecting other people's restaurants. The atmosphere is really bad."
Smoker clenched his teeth in anger and tightened his fists, intending to fight again.
But he was blocked by Sanji.
"You should be glad you're still alive. That guy is strong. Anyone smart would know what to do."
After saying this, Sanji turned and walked away while waving without looking back: "Don't forget you have such a cute subordinate. Forget about compensation, just leave here."
"You bastard!"
Smoker clenched his fists, his gaze showing some resistance.
If it came to another round, he believed he wouldn't lose, as long as he was careful about the opponent using seawater.
But what the waitress said wasn't wrong either; the opponent was strong.
If he didn't entangle with him and instead targeted Tashigi or his other subordinates, he admitted he would be helpless.
Smoker grabbed the table to support himself, tore off his wet, thick marine coat, revealing his muscular torso covered in scars.
His gaze moved to the distance, and finally, he looked at Alan for a moment.
"Let's go."
Smoker's face was dark as he turned toward the restaurant door.
"Y-yes!"
Tashigi picked up Smoker's marine coat and held it in her arms, then stood and told Sanji they would take responsibility for the restaurant's damage caused by the battle, before hastily following Smoker's footsteps.
Outside, they immediately saw a dozen or so marines lying across the deck in disarray.
Smoker turned his head and looked in the other direction. The warship showed no signs of movement; it seemed no one had noticed the battle here yet.
"Silently taking down more than a dozen well-trained marines... That guy is way too strong."
Tashigi frowned, secretly alarmed.
She hadn't even heard a single shout or gunshot inside the restaurant, which gave an idea of how fast the battle had ended.
Tashigi ran up, helped a marine to his feet, and checked for life signs before finally letting out a sigh of relief.
Looking at the scene, Smoker fell silent.
Recalling the fight just now, although it lasted less than five moves, the opponent's martial arts almost completely overwhelmed him.
Smoker couldn't help but think of instructor Zephyr from training days at headquarters.
He couldn't judge whose martial arts were stronger. The opponent's methods were clearly different from the Marines', but they were definitely not weaker than the top martial artists at headquarters.
It was just that the opponent hadn't yet mastered Haki; otherwise, he might have been able to compete with even a Rear-Admiral at headquarters.
"Let's go back to the ship and call people to clean up the scene."
Smoker said coldly while walking past the fallen marines straight toward the warship.
As long as they were still at sea, they would meet one day again. Next time, he would definitely put him in prison!!
...
Inside the restaurant.
After all the commotion just now, the fat sheep... No, the customers had almost all fled.
Alan wasn't in a hurry. The restaurant received many customers daily; there was no need to worry about not having a fat sheep delivered to his door.
To minimize losses, today he would wait until Smoker and the others left.
Alan had Sham and Buchi sit with him, then picked up the menu to look at it.
"Hey, you there, little guy, yes, you, the curly-browed waiter, come take the order."
Alan waved to Sanji, leaned back in his chair, then beckoned to Buchi with a finger.
Buchi immediately understood, smiled, and courteously took out a cigar, clipped the tip, lit it, and handed it to Alan in one smooth motion.