Baratie.
The restaurant's kitchen had been bustling since morning.
Fire blazed on the stovetops, the clatter of pots striking spatulas rang out nonstop, and the smell of roasted meat, warm soup, and freshly baked bread filled the room. The cooks moved briskly back and forth, shouting orders at each other without ever pausing their work.
In the middle of all that chaos, a young man in a straw hat stood with a white apron tied around his waist.
Luffy crossed his arms over his chest and grinned widely.
"I'm Luffy! Starting today I'll be working as a waiter here! Please take care of me!"
Nobody turned around.
Everyone stayed busy with their own tasks.
Luffy blinked a few times.
"..."
Since no one paid him any attention, he pulled up a chair, sat down comfortably in a corner of the kitchen, and started watching the cooks work as if he were enjoying a show.
A moment later...
"Oi!"
One of the cooks finally turned to look at him.
"If you've got nothing to do, go wash dishes, busboy!"
"Yes, sir!"
Luffy immediately got up and walked over to the sink.
The sound of running water began.
A few seconds later...
Crack!
A plate shattered.
Luffy stared at the broken pieces for a moment.
"...Oops."
He picked up the next plate.
Crack!
The second plate broke too.
Meanwhile, the cooks kept working while chatting.
"Where's that damn Sanji off to again?" Patty asked while peeling an apple.
"Probably flirting with some woman," one of the cooks answered.
"I honestly still don't agree with him being made sous chef."
"What else can we do? He's worked here the longest."
Crack!
The sound of a breaking plate rang out again.
Then followed by...
Crack!
Smash!
Patty stopped what he was doing.
The whole kitchen fell silent.
He slowly walked toward the sink.
There, Luffy was still busy washing dishes, humming softly to himself.
Beside him...
A pile of broken plates had grown into a small mountain.
A vein immediately twitched at Patty's temple.
"You bastard..."
"How many plates have you broken so far?!"
Luffy scratched the back of his head.
"Ah... sorry."
"I didn't count."
"That's not what I meant!" Patty snapped.
"You should feel guilty!"
Patty let out a long breath, trying to calm himself down.
He grabbed a mop and handed it to Luffy.
"Forget it."
"Just mop the floor."
"Yes, sir."
Luffy obediently took the mop.
But after only a few steps, his eyes landed on a piece of roasted meat that was already plated and ready to serve.
"Hmm..."
Without thinking twice...
"Hap!"
He popped it straight into his mouth.
"Oi! Don't take the food!" one of the cooks shouted.
Another cook's eyes went wide.
"Wait... isn't that the main dish for a customer?!"
Still chewing, Luffy just nodded innocently.
"Oh... sorry."
He hurried to put the plate back down, but his palm accidentally touched a still-blazing hot pan.
"Ssss!"
"Ah! Hot!"
Luffy reflexively jumped, shaking both hands wildly.
He ran around the kitchen.
"Water! Water!"
Crash!
A stool toppled over.
Clang!
Several pots rolled across the floor.
Crash!
A stack of plates came tumbling down again.
In an instant, the Baratie kitchen descended into chaos.
"Grab him!"
"Don't let him in there!"
"Oi! My soup!"
"The stove! The stove!"
The cooks ran around trying to save their dishes while Luffy kept spinning around looking for somewhere to cool his hands.
A little while later...
Luffy was sitting outside the kitchen.
His legs dangled loosely in the air.
Patty stood in front of him, gripping both of Luffy's cheeks.
The big man's forehead was covered in veins.
"Listen carefully!"
"You have exactly one job now!"
"Taking orders."
"All you have to do is ask what they want to eat, then write it down."
"Understand?"
Luffy's cheeks were still stretched sideways.
"Y-yes, sir..."
Patty let go, exhaling a tired breath.
"Don't come back into the kitchen."
After making sure Luffy really understood, Patty turned and went back inside.
Luffy rubbed his still-stinging cheeks.
"Hmm..."
He started walking through the restaurant carrying a small notepad.
"Being a waiter's exhausting too..."
He let out a soft sigh.
"So this is what Coby went through, huh."
He hadn't gotten far when...
"Yo, waiter!"
A very familiar voice called out.
Luffy turned around.
At one of the tables by the window, Nami, Zoro, Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku were enjoying a spread of dishes covering their table.
Luffy's eyes went wide.
"Geh!"
"You guys..."
Usopp grinned mischievously while shoveling food into his mouth.
"I heard you have to work here for a whole year."
Zoro smirked along with him.
"In that case... we could redraw your pirate flag, couldn't we?"
Johnny held back a laugh.
"That's a great idea."
Yosaku nodded seriously.
"Let's make it look cooler while we're at it."
"What?!"
Luffy immediately ran over to their table.
His gaze, though, stayed fixed on the spread of food.
Steak, grilled fish, warm soup, salad, bread...
His stomach growled instantly.
"You ordered all this... without even inviting me?!"
"That's so cruel!"
Nami shrugged casually.
"You're working."
Usopp smirked.
"Waiters aren't allowed to steal from customers."
Luffy shot him a sharp look.
"I never steal!"
Everyone turned to look at him at the same time, saying nothing.
"..."
Luffy looked away.
"Well... maybe just once."
Zoro chuckled softly.
"You haven't even worked a full day and you're already causing trouble."
The whole table burst into laughter, while Luffy could only let out a long sigh, staring enviously at the food in front of him.
Nami slid a plate that still had food on it toward Luffy. Standing right beside her, Luffy immediately grabbed the plate and fork and started devouring the leftover meat.
Within seconds, the plate was cleaned out. Luffy set the empty plate on the table and reached for more food. Just as he was about to eat it, something suddenly came back to him.
"Oh right... I already found a cook for our ship."
Zoro, leaning back casually in his chair while sipping his drink, raised an eyebrow.
"Who?"
"A blond-haired cook wearing a black suit," Luffy answered between bites. "He's an amazing cook, you know!"
Usopp pointed toward a man in a black suit who was busy flirting with a woman not far from their table.
"You mean that guy?"
Luffy glanced over briefly while popping a piece of lobster into his mouth.
"Yeah, that's him."
Zoro looked over at the blond man too. He rubbed his chin, recalling how easily the guy had beaten Fullbody.
"He does look strong. But are you sure he'll want to join us? What if he refuses?"
"That's not a problem..."
Luffy set his empty plate back down on the table, then grinned with full confidence.
"If he refuses, well, I'll just refuse his refusal."
"...And here I was thinking you might actually say something smart."
Usopp shook his head with a sigh.
Nami had almost wanted to say something too, but she held back. She just let out a quiet breath. After all, she'd already decided she would be leaving them soon.
Luffy glanced at Nami for a moment. The girl's mood felt a little different than usual.
"..."
Feeling his gaze, Nami turned to him.
"What is it?"
"Ah... nothing. It's nothing."
Luffy turned his focus back to the food.
That was when Sanji noticed Luffy was there. He opened his mouth, about to call him back to work, but his gaze suddenly stopped on Nami.
His eyes instantly turned into hearts.
Without wasting a second, he ran over to Nami, dropped to one knee before her, and held out a single rose.
"Ah, how blessed is the sea that carried me to such a beautiful day! Oh, my darling... I cannot bear this suffering. Laugh at me if you wish. I would gladly become a devil or a pirate, if only I could have the chance to sail alongside a woman as beautiful as you! Oh... how tragic my fate, that such a great obstacle stands between us!"
Nami sat frozen for a moment, trying to process what had just happened. But a moment later, a sweet smile bloomed on her face. "Really?"
"Ah... how beautiful!" Sanji exclaimed, his eyes shaped like hearts.
"Is the obstacle you mean... me, Sanji?"
The deep voice made Sanji whip around.
Zeff strolled toward them, unhurried.
Sanji's expression instantly soured.
"Ugh... that damn old geezer."
"This is a good opportunity. Why don't you just go be a pirate with them? You're not needed at this restaurant anymore."
Sanji spun to face Zeff, a vein twitching at his temple.
"Hey, you damn old man! I'm the sous chef here! What do you mean I'm not needed anymore?!"
"You cause too much trouble. Always falling head over heels for every woman you see, to the point most of the guests feel uncomfortable."
Zeff kept going without giving Sanji a chance to interrupt.
"You can't even cook a decent dish. You're nothing but a burden to this restaurant. The other cooks don't even like you. So go. Become a pirate or whatever else, I don't care."
Sanji lost his patience completely. He grabbed Zeff by the collar.
"So that's what you've really wanted to say all this time?! I can ignore all your nagging, except when it comes to my cooking! I don't care about anything else, but don't you dare insult my food!"
"How dare you grab the head chef by the collar, you idiot."
Zeff pried Sanji's hand off his collar, caught the young man's wrist, and simply flung him toward Luffy and the others' table.
Crash!
The table collapsed instantly. Luckily, everyone had already finished their food, so only the table itself was smashed to pieces.
"Damn it..." Sanji grumbled.
Zeff just scoffed before turning to walk away.
"Kick me out all you want! But I'll still be a cook here, you understand?! Until the day you die!"
Sanji shouted at Zeff's retreating back.
"Hah! I'm not going to die! I've still got a hundred years left in me!"
Zeff shot back without turning around.
Sanji stood there gritting his teeth, muttering curses at Zeff under his breath. After setting the fallen table back upright, he finally walked off, trying to calm himself down.
Usopp nudged Luffy's arm lightly and whispered,
"Hey... are you sure he's actually going to join? Looks like he really intends to stay here until that old man dies."
Luffy looked back and forth between Zeff and Sanji a few times. A relaxed smile still lingered on his face.
"Don't worry. He'll join for sure. I already have a way to pay off my debt to that old man."
"Really?" Usopp asked, still sounding doubtful.
"Yep."
Which meant there was only one problem left to solve now, Luffy thought quietly to himself, glancing at Nami, who had been unusually silent this whole time.
***
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