Inside the restaurant, the thick scent of blood hung heavy in the air.
However, the suffocating pressure that had gripped the room vanished along with Don Krieg's life. Viktor slowly reeled in the chilling killing intent radiating from his body.
Turning his head, his eyes—now returned to their natural dark hue—looked toward the still-smoking Sanji with a playful glint.
"How does it feel, Mr. Cook? This is the man you were willing to risk your life to protect."
Viktor gestured toward the headless corpse on the floor.
"Faced with me, the one who wanted to kill him, he was too terrified to move—he even begged for mercy like a dog. But faced with you, the one who wanted to save him and feed him, he didn't hesitate for a second to choose betrayal and a sneak attack."
"It's what they call—bullying the weak while fearing the strong, repaying kindness with enmity. That is the true nature of a pirate. That," Viktor said, his voice dropping an octave, "is the taste of reality."
Sanji remained silent for a moment. He didn't show any of the regret or anger Viktor might have expected.
Puff...
He took a deep drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaled a ring of pale smoke. His gaze remained steady, unshaken by the brush with death he had just experienced.
"As long as he ate, it's not a joke," Sanji said. "For a chef, there's no greater satisfaction than seeing a guest lick the plate clean."
He glanced at the body on the floor, then back at Viktor, his tone softening slightly. "But I recognize your way, too. If it's a beast that bites the hand that feeds it, then putting it down is the right call. Thanks for the save."
"Shishishi!"
Luffy, who had been watching from the sidelines, tilted his head and broke into a brilliant grin. "What's this? You guys actually get along great! I thought you were really going to kill each other for a second! Made me worry for nothing!"
"HUH?!"
Viktor and Sanji locked eyes for a split second before turning in perfect unison to roar at Luffy: "WHO GETS ALONG WITH HIM?! ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!"
Luffy shrunk his neck back at the combined shout but continued to scratch his head, looking completely unconvinced. "See? That kind of synchronization... that's exactly what I mean by getting along!"
On the second-floor balcony, Zeff stood with arms crossed, his gaze deep as he watched the scene below. He stared at the black-haired youth, Viktor, and murmured under his breath:
"That red-eyed brat... he acts with such chilling decisiveness. He has more resolve than most real pirates I've known."
His gaze then shifted to the three youths bickering below, and a faint, almost imperceptible smile touched his lips.
Then, his face hardened again, and he unleashed a thunderous snort at the chefs who were still standing around in a daze.
"Hmph! Hey! You useless lot, what are you standing there for?!" Zeff's roar made the ceiling tremmble.
"Get down there and clean this mess up! The blood, the trash... do you want my restaurant to stay open or not?! Do you want to scare all the customers away?!"
"YES!! BOSS!!"
The chefs snapped into action. Though their hearts were still racing, the Boss's wrath was clearly the scarier threat.
They began scrambling—uprighting chairs, comforting terrified guests, and sweeping up the remains of the meal.
As for the body...
"You... you go move the head!" Patty, pale-faced, poked Carne with a large fork.
"Bastard! Why me?!" Carne's sunglasses were crooked as he pushed Patty back. "You do it! Weren't you bragging about being the bravest yesterday? Do it now or the Boss will flip!"
"I... I'm not going near that..."
While the two were busy passing the buck, a weak voice interrupted them.
"Please... let me do it."
Gin stood up with trembling legs. He looked at the mangled remains of Krieg, his eyes filled with a mixture of grief and profound confusion.
As a subordinate, he felt he should seek revenge. But as a man, he couldn't blame Viktor—he had seen Krieg's vileness and Sanji's grace with his own eyes.
Moreover, he knew Viktor could kill him without breaking a sweat.
"This is... my final responsibility."
Gin turned toward Luffy and Sanji and, without hesitation, dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead to the floor. The sound of the impact was dull and heavy.
"I am sorry... and, thank you."
Under the complex gazes of everyone present, Gin gathered Krieg's head and began to drag the massive, broken torso toward the exit. He stumbled with every step, his silhouette looking utterly desolate as the rays of the setting sun bathed his back in a lonely orange glow.
Sanji leaned against the railing, watching Gin's retreating figure. His lips moved, but no words came out.
Exhale... He blew out another cloud of smoke, his eyes turning melancholy. "Man... I hate this world."
Cough, cough...
Viktor had just looked away from Gin when a thick cloud of second-hand smoke hit him square in the face. He waved the smoke away, coughing and narrowing his eyes at the blonde cook.
"I'm starting to think you really do want to smoke in the ocean, you curly-browed bastard. You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
Sanji's "brooding artist" persona shattered instantly. He glared back, a vein popping on his temple. "You! Stop ruining the mood!"
Just then, the restaurant doors swung open again.
"Hey! Luffy! What happened here? There was so much noise!" Usopp appeared at the door, draped in bags and looking around cautiously.
When his eyes landed on the horrific, fan-shaped bloodstains on the wall, his eyeballs nearly popped out. "WAAAH!! So much blood!! Is someone dead?!"
Behind him, Zoro entered with his usual stoicism. He scanned the wrecked restaurant, his hand resting casually on his hilt, before his eyes landed on Viktor. "Heard some commotion from the ship. Looks like it's already over?"
"Ah, Zoro! Usopp! You're here!" Luffy waved cheerfully.
Meanwhile, outside the restaurant.
Aboard Don Krieg's massive, tattered galleon, the scene was a literal purgatory. Hundreds of skeletal, starving pirates lay strewn across the deck, lacking the strength to even move a finger.
"Ah... so hungry..." "Water... give me water..." "Why isn't Admiral Krieg back yet? If he doesn't come back soon, we're really going to die..."
One pirate near the railing summoned the last of his strength to pull himself up. He wanted to look for any sign of Krieg or food.
However, as he looked out over the sea where the mist was finally clearing, his pupils shrank to pinpricks. His skeletal hands began to shake violently.
On the calm sea, a small boat shaped like a coffin was drifting slowly toward them. Sitting upon it was a man with a massive black blade on his back and eyes as sharp as a hawk's.
It was the Demon who had destroyed their fleet of fifty ships in the Grand Line single-handedly.
"Guh... a-ah..." The pirate let out a desperate shriek, using every last bit of energy to scream to his comrades: "RUN!!! THE DEMON... THE DEMON FOLLOWED US!!!"
But it was too late.
The man slowly drew the black blade from his back. With a casual, effortless swing—
SHING—!!!
Two suffocating green shockwaves of compressed air sliced through the ocean like a knife through butter, hurtling toward the galleon. There was no resistance.
BOOM!!!
With a deafening crack of splintering timber, the massive three-decked pirate ship was sliced cleanly into three segments in an instant! Giant plumes of water erupted as hundreds of weakened pirates were dumped into the freezing sea along with the wreckage.
"The ship was cut in half!!" "Help! Save me!!" "Why?! Why did you follow us all this way?!"
The man, the World's Greatest Swordsman—Dracule "Hawk-Eye" Mihawk—had arrived.
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