On the open sea floated the Going Merry, and right in front of it lay another ship that looked twice as big.
The vessel was three stories tall, its first deck crowned by a fish-head figurehead at the bow.
Each of the second and third decks boasted a veranda, while the first deck featured a broad platform, on which four men and women were currently standing.
"Is this the place you mentioned, Luffy?"
"Yeah, Zoro. It's the floating restaurant Baratie."
"The restaurant's looks are kind of…"
"I like it because it stands out."
"It's massive, isn't it, Usopp?"
"Well… the bigger a ship, the steadier it is."
"You need something at least this big to build a restaurant at sea."
"Think we could recruit a cook here?"
"It'd be great if it was someone who lives up to that amazing kitchen Merry and I built."
"Hey guys, was the meat stir-fry I slaved over that unpalatable?"
"It was tasty."
"But…"
"We've been eating it every day for the past three days out here."
"Sorry… the only dishes I can make are meat and veggies stir-fried with salt and pepper."
"So it was just you and me handling the cooking, right?"
"Nami, how can you gouge us so much for each meal?"
"That's why you suggested coming here. I'm always busy checking the course, so cooking is such a pain."
"By the way, if you're known as a pirate crew's cook, you'll be treated like a pirate—who'd want to board a ship like that…?"
Bang!
At that moment, the restaurant's door in the center of the deck burst open with a loud crash.
Three men and a woman came dashing out, sprinting toward Luffy and his crew.
"Get out of the way, you lot!"
"Wait, hold on…!"
Luffy grabbed Nami around the waist with one arm and stepped back from them, and they raced past Luffy's crew and leapt onto a ship just a bit smaller than the Going Merry.
Luffy eyed their greasy hair, ragged clothing, and the ship they'd boarded.
Running from a restaurant usually means thieves or dashers—and since they didn't take anything, they're probably dashers.
"Luffy…"
"Ah, are you okay, Nami?"
"Uh… y-yeah, I'm fine! We didn't even bump into them…!"
"Zoro and Usopp seem okay too."
Usopp was clinging to Zoro, arms wrapped around his head and legs pinching his armpits.
"I'm the one who's not okay because of this coward, Luffy! Get off me, Usopp—it's annoying!"
"Hehehe… sorry, Zoro."
"Me too… okay, Luffy, let go now."
"Okay, Nami."
Just after Nami and Usopp backed away from Luffy and Zoro, a man emerged from the restaurant doorway.
He was a man with a shaved head and a scruffy beard, and he shouted at the couple who had just raised anchor and sailed away.
"Hey, you freeloaders! If you eat, you gotta pay!"
"We're sorry! We got caught in a storm, and everything but us got swept away!"
"Thank you for the meal! Someday, we'll definitely repay you for what we ate!"
"Pay up right now! I've got your faces seared into my memory, so when I see you again, you'd better be ready to die!!!"
As their ship drifted away, the furious man caught sight of Luffy's crew and instantly broke into a grin.
"Ahem… welcome, customers!"
"Table for four?"
"Uh, excuse me, do you… have any money?"
He looked them over, clearly unimpressed by their shabby attire.
Luffy reached into his coat, pulled out a thick wallet bulging with bills, and held it up.
"We've got money, so stop thinking the worst and just show us to a table."
"Right away, folks, I'll show you to your table!"
Luffy and his crew followed the man as he opened the door and ushered them into the restaurant.
Inside, many patrons sat at round tables, while ornate decorations dangled from the ceiling and walls.
"Give us this whole section, from here to here."
"That much?!"
"Luffy, order some wine."
"Let's do three bottles, Zoro. Then add three bottles of the cheapest wine."
"Sir, um, about the money…"
"Seriously, should I just pay in advance so you don't hit me? Or would you rather I eat it all and pay after?"
"I-I'm sorry, I got a bit touchy thanks to what I saw earlier…"
"Double the price of everything you ordered, and double the portions too."
"Understood!"
I'm the kind of guy no one wants to mess with, but why is this straw hat so scary?
That kitchen chef blowing a fuse was scary, but this guy might be even scarier. I hope customers don't dash here…
After thinking about Luffy, the man headed up the stairs wrapped around a central pillar on the first floor.
Usopp looked around at the surrounding customers before turning to Luffy and saying,
"Our outfits do stick out compared to the other guests. That's probably why he was acting that way."
"Still, even after seeing our money, he still doubted us."
"I don't mind being treated like a beggar, but I hate it when you guys have to go through that."
"Luffy, you're really… do you need to be so humble…?"
After hearing Luffy's words, the three of them smiled, and then Nami spoke up.
"By the way, Luffy, do you always eat this much?"
"Usually, I eat about two-thirds of what we just ordered. But since we're here at a restaurant, I'll eat more."
"Still, that's a lot."
I think I know why I'm such a glutton now. Because I'm the original protagonist who got reincarnated, and I'm some kind of monster that grows at super speed.
In the original story, the protagonist became one of the world's top ten powers before reaching adulthood.
At another table, one of two men in suits hurled a plate of food at his companion's face.
Seasoning splattered on his face as the second man returned the favor, and the two began a raucous fight, but Luffy kept his thoughts going.
Of course, Luffy went through countless life-or-death situations, but even so, his growth rate was incredibly fast.
Still, eating is a pleasure, so I don't mind. The only problem is I might spend all our money on food…
Thud!
As he was thinking, Luffy glanced towards the table where the scuffle had taken place.
"I don't care whether you two fight or not."
There, the two troublemakers lay face-down on the floor, blood trickling from their faces, as another man looked down at them and spoke.
The man had tousled blond hair and a handsome visage, and curiously, his eyebrows curled inward like snail shells. He was dressed neatly in a black suit. Surveying the dishes and food scattered on the floor, he said,
"No matter what excuse you two had, it's no reason for the food we prepared to be thrown away."
"Sanji! Stop it already!"
"If you beat them any more, you'll kill them!"
"What are you doing, Sanji!!!"
Just then, the man who had taken their order came down the stairs and shouted,
"Did you beat up the customers again?!"
"Shut up, Patty. These guys started the trouble and insulted our cooking."
"Even if they're customers, you gotta teach them a lesson if they cross the line."
"How many times is this now?!"
"Am I the only one who does this? You all do it sometimes too!"
"We only do it to guys who dine and dash!"
"And you were the one who served the ones who dashed earlier too!"
"Well… how was I supposed to know if a customer would dash or not?"
"We've been working here together for years—don't you know that? You pretended not to notice last time too and just served them!"
"…Patty."
Sanji glared at Patty and said,
"Have you ever been starved to the point of death?"
"What?!"
"Do you know how terrifying it is to be in the middle of the open sea with nothing to eat or drink?"
As he spoke, silence fell over the restaurant.
While everyone stared at them, the two now-rising men spoke.
"Hey, spiral-eyebrow guy! Do you even know who we are?!"
"Yeah! We're nobles from the Orphan Kingdom!"
"A restaurant that treats guests like this will be reported to the Marines and torn down…!"
"Tear down this restaurant, you say… well then, I won't spare you a bit!"
"Huh…?"
"Someone stop Sanji!"
From the second-floor stairs came,
"Sanji! You again!"
He was an elderly man wearing the typical long, rounded chef's hat and white coat. His yellow beard matched his wild hair and was split into two long braids, and below his right knee he sported a wooden prosthetic leg.
"Chef!"
"Old man Chef Zeff…"
"Are you planning to destroy my restaurant?!"
Sanji growled,
"Damn old geezer, you're still kicking about!"
"Hey! Are you the head chef here?!"
"Do you see what that guy did to us?!"
"You lot better quiet down and get out!!!"
Bang!
Zeff struck Sanji and another chef, sending them crashing to the floor, then fired the two would-be attackers like a human cannon toward the restaurant's front doors.
"As the rumors say, the Baratie chefs are tough."
"You all are so cool!"
"This place really delivers on the entertainment as well as the food."
The assembled diners gave a round of applause, cheering at the scene.
From a table some distance away, Zoro called out,
"Luffy, if those guys are nobles from the Orphan Kingdom…"
"That's the nation on the island where I was born, but there's a big mountain between there and our village, so we don't pay each other any mind."
"It's not that big, yet it has a nobility class between royalty and commoners. Those two were nobles from that country."
"Still, they seemed to have money and backing, yet that spiral-eyebrow guy laid hands on them."
"This place is more fun than I thought. From the fish-shaped ship to the chefs' antics."
"No wonder I suggested we come here."
Sanji was one of the top three strongest members in the original story, and he was the cook.
After the shipwright Usopp, the cook is the most important role in life at sea, and Sanji's cooking skills were said to be top-notch, separate from his natural strength.
Zoro and Usopp can't cook at all, and I only know one dish. If we leave it to Nami, all our shared pirate funds would end up in her pockets.
He's got a bit of a difficult personality, but I'd love it if he joined our crew if possible…
As Luffy pondered, Sanji appeared in the distance, and the moment he locked eyes with him, he said,
"Wow, what a beauty~!"
"Wow~ who ordered this much…!"
"Here—this goes to that table. I'll bring it over."
"Hey, Sanji…!"
"Your food is here, everyone."
Sanji took the trays of food from the second-floor server and, using just one hand and propping another tray with his leg, set the dishes down one by one on Luffy's table with unwavering balance.
"Thank you, Chef."
"Thank you? No, the honor is mine for getting to meet such a beautiful lady~♡."
Luffy watched Sanji's hearts-for-eyes turn toward Nami and thought,
Right, Sanji's problem was he's a total pervert for women.
Badly so.