In the spacious dining hall—
At this very moment—
Most of the diners had stopped eating.
They were watching, like spectators,
Focusing their attention on Sanji, who was arguing with a customer.
The lavishly dressed woman looked around.
Noticing everyone watching them, she curled her lip in disdain.
Suddenly, a wicked idea came to her.
She dumped the half-finished fried rice on her plate right onto the floor in front of Sanji.
Sanji's eyes widened in shock.
Then the woman stomped twice on the fried rice,
Smirking wickedly, she said,
"Aren't you the one who can't stand people wasting food?
Why don't you eat the rice off the floor?
I paid for it, after all—
Think of it as my treat. Don't be shy."
"You…" Sanji trembled with anger.
"Oh my, my," the woman feigned surprise,
"What, all you know how to do is talk big?
Say one thing and do another—how disappointing.
Next time, don't demand others to do things you can't even do yourself!"
Her words drew laughter from some of the surrounding crowd.
Though a few thought she went too far,
None of them stepped forward to stop her.
Sanji stared at the trampled, filthy rice on the floor.
His clenched fists loosened, tightened again,
Loosened, and clenched once more.
At last, he took a deep breath and asked,
"If I eat the rice off the floor—will you finish the food on your table?"
The woman narrowed her eyes and ground the rice even more beneath her heels.
"Fine," she sneered. "If you eat the rice on the floor, I'll eat everything on the table."
"You said it."
With that, Sanji crouched down,
Scooped up the dirty rice with his hands,
And actually shoved it into his mouth.
"Mama, is that guy stupid?"
The woman's son pointed his spoon at Sanji and laughed.
"Hahaha! He actually ate the rice from the floor. Is he a beggar? Hahaha…"
At this moment,
Some of the surrounding diners began to murmur:
"What kind of person bullies a kid like that?"
"No way… He actually ate it?
I thought he was just bluffing."
"Hey, lady—he did eat the rice off the floor.
Now it's your turn to keep your promise and eat your food."
"Yeah, eat it. Keep your word."
The woman bit her lip,
Her expression stiffening as the murmurs grew louder.
She stood up, trying to drag her son out.
"Come on, she promised the kid and now she's going back on her word? That's low."
"Exactly—right in front of her kid, too.
What a terrible example."
"Just eat it. He ate dirty rice you stepped on.
You're getting the better deal here."
The crowd's remarks echoed in her ears like needles.
Furious, she looked down at Sanji,
Still crouched, still eating the rice she had stomped on.
Gritting her teeth,
She grabbed the rice her son had spilled on the table,
Shoved it into her mouth in a few bites,
Then grabbed her son's hand and stormed off.
As she left, she muttered,
"What a trashy restaurant. You brat—just you wait!"
On the other side—
Lin Mo casually drank while picking at two side dishes,
Observing Sanji from a distance.
To many, it probably seemed pointless for Sanji to argue over such a trivial matter.
Even more pointless to eat food that had been stomped on.
But if Sanji could simply ignore things like this—
Then he wouldn't be Sanji.
After all, two things he couldn't tolerate most were:
Wasting food, and harming women.
So everything Sanji did was within Lin Mo's expectations.
Just then—
Patty came out of the kitchen with a huge tray of desserts, grinning.
When he saw what was going on with Sanji,
His face darkened immediately.
He quickly delivered Garp's dessert,
Then walked behind Sanji and grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up.
The mother and son who had wasted the food were long gone.
Patty didn't know the full details of what had happened between them and Sanji,
But he saw the mess of trampled fried rice on the floor,
And a grain still stuck to the corner of Sanji's mouth.
That was enough for him to get the picture.
"Let go of me, you bastard, Patty!"
Sanji struggled hard.
But at nine years old,
He was no match in size or strength for the brawny Patty.
No matter how much he flailed,
He couldn't break free from Patty's grip.
Patty slammed a fist onto Sanji's head:
"Brat! You must've been fighting with a customer again!
Do you know how many customers you've driven away this month?
We've lost so much money because of you!"
Sanji snapped, "Money, money, money! That's all you care about!
Can money fill a stomach!?"
Patty gave him another smack:
"Running a restaurant is about making money!
No money, no ingredients! Idiot!"
Still lecturing him, Patty dragged Sanji toward the kitchen.
"You freeloading, good-for-nothing brat—
Go wash dishes!"
"Shut up! You stinking cook!"
"What was that!? You want to be a damn cook, and you're calling me one!?"
Meanwhile—
Lin Mo silently watched Patty haul Sanji into the kitchen.
He had come here to complete his sign-in mission.
Clearly, Baratie was only a dining ship for customers.
There were no guest rooms available—
Unless he worked here…
He considered it,
Then immediately dismissed the idea.
Working for someone else? Never. Not in this lifetime.
There was one other option:
Talk to Baratie's captain and head chef—Zeff.
Based on his experience in Shimotsuki Village,
Talking to Zeff might trigger a mission progression.
Thinking this, Lin Mo finished the last bite on his plate,
Drained the last drop of wine from his gourd,
And was just about to go upstairs to find Zeff—
When suddenly—
From the side, Garp tossed a donut toward him.
Lin Mo leaned aside, caught the donut with ease,
Then looked at Garp speechlessly.
"Ahahaha!" Garp roared with laughter.
"Nice reflexes, kid.
Ever thought about joining the Navy?"
…Huh?
Just like that?
A completely random invitation?
"No," Lin Mo replied flatly.
Then tossed the donut back.
Garp caught it and took a bite, still laughing:
"Wasting food's against the rules on Baratie, y'know."
Lin Mo was speechless.
You were the one who threw it first!
Garp laughed even harder:
"Hahaha! Don't be so quick to decide, kid—think it over."
Though Garp often acted silly,
As a Vice Admiral whose strength exceeded that of an Admiral,
His eye for people was razor-sharp.
From the moment he first saw Lin Mo,
He knew this quiet boy was no ordinary kid.
One of the things that impressed him most…
Was the wine Lin Mo drank.
It didn't smell strong—
But that faint cherry blossom fragrance and the unique grains used…
Told him this wine came from the Isshin Dojo in Shimotsuki Village.
Garp had visited that dojo years ago during a mission.
Koushirou hosted him, and served that exact same brew.
When Garp left, he even tried to get more from Koushirou,
But the man wouldn't part with even one more gourd.
Yet now—this kid had an entire gourd of it.
Which meant—Koushirou thought very highly of him.
The other thing that impressed Garp
Was the small sailboat moored outside—
A design unique to Windmill Village.
He recognized it instantly.
That's why he asked Lin Mo if he came here alone.
When Lin Mo said yes—
It all clicked.
That boat was his.
And then, recalling his phone call with Shanks,
Where Shanks mentioned a little brat who might shake the world someday…
Now Garp was almost certain—
It was this kid.