The salt spray stung Johnny's eyes, but he refused to blink. Perched on the jagged ocean rock—the same one Luffy used for his haphazard target practice—he felt the weight of the entire sea on his shoulders.
"He's not gonna make it," Johnny whispered to the wind, his voice raw. "Yosaku… he's fading. I can see it."
Below, on the *Going Merry's* deck, Yosaku lay shivering, his skin pale and gums bleeding. Luffy poked his cheek curiously.
"Is he dying?" Luffy asked, his head tilted.
"Don't say that!" Johnny shouted from the rock, his fists clenched. "He's my partner!"
Nami sighed, pushing past Luffy. She knelt, examining Yosaku with a practiced eye. "He's not dying. He has scurvy. His body's screaming for vitamins." She stood, hands on her hips. "Luffy! Usopp! Feed him those limes in the galley. Now."
"Aye, aye, Nami-sis!" Usopp saluted, already scrambling.
Luffy just grinned. "Shishishi! So he just needs food? I get that!"
Within hours, color returned to Yosaku's face. By sunset, he was on his feet, bowing deeply before the Straw Hats.
"You saved my life," Yosaku said, voice thick. "I am Yosaku, and this is my brother-in-arms, Johnny. We are… *were*… bounty hunters."
Johnny joined him, head lowered. "We owe you a debt."
"Debt?" Luffy scratched his nose. "We're just hungry. Speaking of which…" His stomach growled like a sea king. "We NEED a cook!"
Nami nodded, tapping her navigational charts. "A pirate crew without a proper cook is a crew destined for scurvy, malnutrition, and *my* utter frustration."
Johnny and Yosaku exchanged a look. "We know a place," Johnny said, a spark returning to his eyes. "A few days from here. Near the entrance to the Grand Line. It's not just any restaurant… it's the *Baratie*. A floating seafood restaurant shaped like a giant fish. They say the chefs there are artists… and warriors."
Luffy's eyes turned to stars. "FOOD! AND A COOK! SET SAIL!"
---
Three days later, the magnificent Baratie came into view—a grand, multi-storied ship shaped like a leaping fish, sails billowing like fins. It was a marvel of engineering and appetite.
But their approach was marred by another ship flying the Marine insignia. On its deck, a broad-shouldered Marine officer with immaculate uniform and polished buttons held the hand of a blushing young woman.
"Iron Fist Fullbody," Yosaku hissed, pulling Johnny behind the *Merry's* mast. "He's a monster. Broke my sword with one punch last year."
Johnny trembled, tears of shame welling. "We're hiding from a Marine while sailing with a pirate crew that's barely a week old… How did we fall so far?"
Fullbody's sharp eyes found them anyway. A cruel smile played on his lips. "Well, well. The failing bounty hunter duo. Still scraping the bottom of the barrel, I see."
"You—!" Johnny surged forward, but Yosaku held him back.
"Don't! He'll kill us!"
Fullbody chuckled, dismissing them with a wave. "I'm off-duty, entertaining a lady. Consider this a warning. Interfere with my evening, and I will redecorate this deck with your teeth."
Luffy, who had been watching quietly, frowned. "You guys suck at being bounty hunters."
"Luffy!" Nami snapped.
But the insult was already swallowed by a new threat. As Johnny stumbled back, a stack of wanted posters fluttered from his pocket. One landed at Nami's feet. She picked it up, and her breath hitched. Her face drained of color, her eyes locked on the face printed on the paper—a face that wasn't Arlong's, but seemed to strike a deeper, more personal terror.
She didn't notice Fullbody's change of heart.
"Actually," the Marine said, his voice dropping its pretentious charm. "Pirates in the vicinity of a Marine officer is a public nuisance. Lieutenant! Load the cannon. Sink their little dinghy."
"What? You said—!" Johnny cried.
The cannon roared.
"LUFFY!" Usopp screamed.
Luffy didn't hesitate. He inhaled, his chest swelling to impossible proportions. "Gomu Gomu no… BALLOON!"
The cannonball struck his rubbery torso and rebounded with a metallic *BOOM*.
"Send it back!" Luffy grunted.
The ball shot toward the Marine ship—then veered wildly, arcing through the air.
Nami looked up from the wanted poster just in time to whisper, "Oh no."
The errant cannonball smashed directly into the majestic stern of the Baratie, exploding wood and splinters into the twilight.
Silence. Then, from within the floating restaurant, the sound of shattering plates and a unified gasp of horror.
---
Inside the Baratie's elegant dining room, Fullbody had been attempting to regain his composure. He swirled a glass of red wine under his date's nose.
"Note the oak, the boldness… a true vintage," he said smugly. He took a sip, and his smile froze. This was *not* the expensive vintage he'd ordered.
A blonde waiter with a cigarette dangling from his lips and a permanent look of mild annoyance stood nearby. "Is there a problem, sir?"
"This wine," Fullbody spat. "It's wrong. Are you the sommelier?"
The waiter—Sanji, the sous chef forced into waiter duty as punishment—blew a smoke ring. "No. I'm the guy who swapped your order. You ordered a showy, overpriced wine to impress your date. I brought you a *good* wine. Less pretentious, better pairing with the sea king carpaccio."
Fullbody's face purpled. His date giggled behind her hand. "He's got you there, darling."
The humiliation was still burning when the entire restaurant shook. The cannonball impact reverberated through the hull. Chandeliers swayed. A plate clattered to the floor.
Every patron turned, not to Fullbody, but to the gaping hole in the wall.
Through the smoke and debris, a figure descended from a rope on the *Going Merry*. It was a boy in a straw hat, looking sheepish.
"Uh… sorry about your wall!"
From the kitchen doors, a thunderous roar erupted. A towering man with a braided red beard and a peg leg stormed out. Chef Zeff. His single eye locked onto Luffy with the intensity of a hawk.
"YOU," Zeff boomed, his voice silencing the room. "You damaged my restaurant. My life's work."
Luffy rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, my bad. I'll fix it!"
"Fix it?" Zeff took a step forward, the air growing cold. "You will fix nothing. You will *work*. You will work off every single berry of the damage you've caused. You will scrub, peel, and sweat until your debt is paid. Or," he said, his gaze sweeping to the Straw Hats' ship, "I will seize your vessel and sell your crew into servitude to pay for it."
Before Luffy could answer, a smooth voice cut through the tension.
"Now, now, old man. No need for threats."
Sanji stepped forward, placing a fresh ashtray on a nearby table. His eyes, however, weren't on Zeff or Luffy. They were on Nami, who had just stepped through the hole in the wall, the wanted poster still clutched in her shaking hand.
Sanji's annoyed demeanor melted. His eyes became hearts. He floated across the room, taking her hand.
"Mellorine~" he crooned. "Such a beautiful flower has blessed this wrecked restaurant. Are you hurt? Can I get you anything? A cocktail? My heart?"
Nami, pale and distracted, didn't even seem to see him.
But Fullbody did. The humiliated Marine saw his chance. He stood, cracking his knuckles, the metallic clink of his iron fist attachments echoing in the quiet room.
"This chaos ends now," Fullbody declared, pointing at Luffy. "Pirate. You've assaulted a World Government-affiliated establishment. I am placing you under arrest." He then turned to Zeff. "And you, restaurateur, for harboring known criminals." Finally, his gaze landed on Sanji. "And you, you insubordinate waiter, for impeding a Marine officer. I'll crush you all."
He assumed his fighting stance, the polished plates on his fists gleaming. The diners recoiled. The Straw Hats tensed.
Sanji sighed, a long drag on his cigarette. He gently placed Nami's hand down and turned. The lovestruck expression was gone, replaced by a cold, focused calm.
"Old man," Sanji said, not taking his eyes off Fullbody. "You handle the debt collector. I'll take out the trash."
He took one last puff, dropped the cigarette, and crushed it under his heel.
**"This is a kitchen," Sanji said, his voice low and dangerous. "And you are about to learn why you don't start a fight with the chef."**
Fullbody charged with a roar, his iron fist aimed to shatter Sanji's skull.
Sanji didn't move.
He simply lifted his leg.
The last thing everyone saw was a blur of black and the whistling sound of air being split—before the deafening CRACK of impact.
Fullbody's iron-clad fist stopped dead, caught in the vise-like grip of Sanji's single, raised foot.
The Marine's eyes bulged in shock. He couldn't move an inch.
Sanji leaned in, smoke from his recently discarded cigarette still curling between them.
**"The special tonight," Sanji whispered, a deadly smile touching his lips, "is *Marine*."**