The person who walked in was Captain Fullbody, dressed in a suit and accompanied by a lady.
He held his head high, looking down disdainfully at the other diners, standing in place as he waited for a server to show him to his seat.
Unfortunately for him, the entire sea restaurant had already entered special mode, and almost all available staff had been sent to the kitchen.
So Captain Fullbody stood there like a fool for quite a while.
It wasn't until the surrounding people started giving him strange looks that he became embarrassed and angry, shouting,
"Hey! Where are the waiters in this restaurant!? Is this how you treat important guests?"
Hearing the commotion outside, Sanji came out carrying a plate of creamy baked lobster.
But he chose to deliver the dish to Naruto's table first.
"Please enjoy."
Perhaps it was the first time he'd seen old man Zeff treat someone so seriously, even Sanji was unusually polite.
Normally, he only acted this gentlemanly toward ladies.
"Oh, this looks great! I'll savor it!"
Seeing the half-meter-long lobster, Naruto's face lit up with excitement as he cut off a piece with a knife and fork and tasted it carefully.
Perhaps approving of Naruto's table manners, a faint smile flashed across Sanji's face, but it quickly turned sour as he looked at the still-noisy navy captain.
"Sir, please don't make a scene here."
"Huh!? What did you say? This is just a sea restaurant..."
Fullbody's attitude only got worse, poking Sanji in the chest with his finger.
Sanji glared coldly at him, barely holding back his temper.
"Yes~ sir, I'll show you to your seat."
At that moment, a chef who looked like Popeye ran out from the kitchen, smiling obsequiously, and pushed Sanji aside.
"Tsk."
Seeing head chef Patty take over dealing with the captain, Sanji gave up on beating the guy and turned to go back to the kitchen.
When he turned around, he noticed that Naruto's plate was already completely empty.
So fast!
Sanji was dumbfounded, watching Naruto gently wipe his mouth with a napkin. Only then did he understand why old man Zeff was acting like he was facing a great enemy.
Meanwhile, after ordering, Captain Fullbody looked impatiently around the restaurant, not relaxing until the people who had been mocking him with their eyes looked away.
"Hmm? Kid, why do you look so familiar?"
He now noticed Naruto at the next table.
But Naruto couldn't be bothered to acknowledge the navy captain, instead focusing on savoring Baratie's special white wine.
"Damn you..."
Just as the captain was about to cause trouble, a navy sailor rushed in, panicked.
"Bad news, Captain Fullbody!"
"A crew member from the Krieg Pirates we captured has escaped!"
"What!?"
The captain jumped up, his face full of disbelief.
"That guy went three days and nights without food! Wasn't he about to die?"
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, and the sailor who'd brought the news fell.
A man with a bandana, holding a pistol, his face pale but fierce, slowly walked in.
The diners, having heard what the sailor said, all looked over in fear and worry.
Gin walked past Captain Fullbody, completely ignoring the man who claimed to have captured him, and sat down at an empty table.
"Hey, you have food here, right? Bring it out, quick."
Chef Patty came to serve him, still with a sycophantic smile.
"Of course, sir—but do you have money?"
"Hmm?"
Gin's face grew even fiercer, raising his gun to Patty's head.
"Don't waste my time. Do you want to eat bullets?"
"If you don't have money, you're not a customer."
Before Gin could react, Patty's fist, heavy as an anchor, smashed into him. In just a few hits, the once-fierce pirate was beaten nearly unconscious.
The crowd cheered.
Captain Fullbody took the chance to slip out unnoticed.
And Naruto?
He was still enjoying the new dishes brought to his table, completely ignoring the commotion around him.
It wasn't until four more people entered the restaurant that he casually lifted his eyes, glancing at a straw-hatted boy among them.
Luffy, Usopp, Zoro, and Nami entered to see the diners cheering, a little confused, and sat at a recently vacated table.
Luffy, eyeing Naruto's feast at the next table, couldn't help but shout,
"Meat! Food! I want meat!"
"Shh! Luffy, keep your voice down."
Usopp gestured for silence, afraid someone would recognize them as the ones who'd just deflected a cannonball this way.
Luckily, the Baratie chefs didn't seem to have noticed.
Soon, food was served to their table.
Thanks to the sponsorship of Miss Kaya, the richest person in Syrup Village, and the former Black Cat Pirates, they were well-funded.
"Wow, so good! Delicious!"
Sanji brought out more dishes, looking disdainfully at Luffy, who was stuffing food into his mouth with his hands—a stark contrast to the gentlemanly Naruto next door.
But soon, Sanji's attention was caught by the beautiful orange-haired girl in Luffy's group.
"Oh~ Ocean, thank you for today's encounter!"
"Love! Go ahead and mock me for not being able to bear this pain~"
He knelt on one knee, presenting a fresh rose to Nami.
The awkward scene made everyone else stop eating.
Only Luffy, unaffected, kept shoveling food into his mouth.
"Damn, this guy eats so fast!"
Luffy's competitive spirit was sparked as he noticed Naruto's incredible eating speed.
No matter how much he stuffed his mouth, he couldn't keep up.
With the same giant grilled octopus, Luffy had just started on two tentacles when Naruto was already wiping his mouth.
This almost magical eating style drew the attention of others, including Sanji.
Watching the two gluttons eat, Sanji's face turned grim.
Damn, there's no time to waste here.
"Beautiful lady, please wait for me, I'll be back soon~"
He sent Nami another wave of affection, then hurried back to the kitchen.
But as he grabbed his spatula, he remembered something, quietly took out a plate, and quickly made seafood fried rice.
Bang!
Gin, who'd been thrown outside the kitchen, heard something hit the ground and looked up.
"Eat."
Sanji lit a cigarette, leaning on the railing and looking out at the sea.
"Shut up and go away."
"No matter how down and out I am, I won't accept handouts from others."
Gin, clinging to his last shred of pride, forced himself to resist the aroma of the fried rice.
"Take it away!"
"Stop talking nonsense, just eat. To me, anyone with an empty stomach is a customer."
With that, Sanji turned and walked back into the kitchen.
"If you want to die for your pride, that's your business. But if you eat and survive, you can see a new tomorrow, right?"
With those words, Sanji closed the kitchen door, unwilling to waste more time on Gin.
The bandana-wearing pirate Gin sat in silence for a while, then quietly picked up the still-steaming fried rice.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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