Location: East Blue.
The sea restaurant Baratie, a famous floating paradise of gourmet cuisine.
To call it a "restaurant" wasn't quite accurate. The entire structure was actually a massive ship, refitted into a grand dining vessel.
At both ends of the ship, there were huge fish-shaped figureheads, giving the restaurant its distinctive, whimsical appearance.
The name Baratie was known far and wide. Guests from every corner of the sea came to dine here in endless waves.
Because of that, the place was almost always packed. Anyone of high status who wished to eat here had to make a reservation long in advance.
After all, this restaurant's reputation wasn't limited to the East Blue.
Even in the other three seas, and on the Grand Line itself, many praised its incredible dishes, spreading tales of its flavors far and wide.
On most days, Baratie was filled with nobles and wealthy patrons, the air thick with perfume and fine wine.
But today... things were different.
No one knew why the heavens seemed to favor this restaurant so much, enough to make this place the stage for such chaos to come.
And this story began two days earlier, when a Marine warship docked here to enjoy a meal.
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That day, as usual, the waters around Baratie were crowded with small boats and pleasure yachts.
But suddenly, a massive warship appeared before them all, dwarfing every vessel nearby.
The smaller boats looked like children's toys compared to it, pathetic and fragile.
This warship was a Marine vessel assigned to Captain Fullbody by headquarters. His mission was to deal with troublesome pirates across the East Blue.
Fullbody, however, had a habit of mixing work with pleasure to soothe the bitterness of being treated like a servant by his superiors.
After capturing Gin, the chief officer of the Krieg Pirate Fleet, he arranged to meet the daughter of a wealthy family here at the famous Baratie for a romantic lunch.
What he didn't expect, however, was that the restaurant's staff would threaten him,
and worse, that Gin would escape from the temporary cell aboard his ship.
The one who had saved the starving Gin was Sanji, Baratie's assistant chef, who couldn't stand to see anyone go hungry because of his own painful childhood.
And thus, the story began there.
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Two days later, at the same sea restaurant,
"Hey! Look at that!"
The peaceful murmur of diners enjoying their meals was shattered by a sharp cry of alarm.
Elegant guests frowned in irritation, their refined dining mood disrupted by the outburst.
"What... what is that!?"
Another startled voice joined in, louder and more panicked.
In an instant, the entire room turned curious.
After all, one person acting like a fool was madness, but two? That was worth watching.
Following the direction of the pointing fingers,
Everyone gasped.
A silver spoon clattered onto the floor, ringing out sharply.
Its owner, a beautiful woman, ignored her own manners and appearance, staring in terror out toward the distant sea.
Out there, a dark shadow loomed, massive and menacing.
"I-It's... it's the Krieg Pirates! The Dreadnaught Sabre!!"
Someone with experience recognized the gigantic ship immediately, their voice trembling with fear.
"What?!"
"You mean that Krieg?! The ruler of the East Blue?!"
"Yes! It's their ship! I'd recognize that flag anywhere!"
"The skull, between its ribs, those two hourglasses! It's them!!"
"Damn it! Why are they here?!"
Panic spread through the dining hall like wildfire.
Guests shouted and screamed, scrambling for the exits, desperate to flee before disaster struck.
For the name Krieg wasn't infamous without reason.
His reputation was built with blood, and every drop had painted his image as a monster ruling the East Blue.
"What's going on out here?! Why so noisy?!"
The door separating the kitchen from the dining hall suddenly swung open, pushed by a thick, hairy arm.
Out stepped Patty, Baratie's cook-waiter-fighter hybrid.
He flexed his thick wrists and roared as he walked in, looking ready for a brawl.
But the moment he saw the crowd of frightened diners, his expression flipped instantly to a greedy, servile grin.
"Ah, good sirs! What seems to be the trouble?"
"Is our food not to your liking, perhaps?"
It was hard to imagine that such a burly, brutish man could smile like a street vendor trying to charm his customers.
The result was... unintentionally comical.
But Patty didn't care.
He stepped forward, eager to see what had caused all this commotion.
The noise didn't die down in the slightest, it grew even louder, spilling chaos through the hall.
The ruckus quickly reached the kitchen, disrupting every chef at work.
One by one, the chefs, each looking more dangerous than the last, emerged, their faces fierce and eager.
"What's going on?! What happened?!"
One particularly nosy cook grinned with excitement, clearly hoping for some trouble to break the monotony.
To them, a scuffle was a welcome distraction. After all, most of them used to be pirates.
For these rough ex-criminals, a chance to stretch their muscles and unleash a little violence was the best kind of entertainment.
"I-It's... it's the Krieg Pirates!!!"
A trembling customer stammered the words, barely coherent.
"W-What?!"
Patty's grin vanished. His eyes widened like a startled bull's, his voice quivering as he shouted:
"You mean the Krieg?! The ruler of the East Blue?!"
"Y-Yes... that's him..."
The terrified guest collapsed to the floor, staring blankly as the massive ship drew closer.
"Damn it, Patty! This is your fault! You hit one of their men yesterday, didn't you?! They're here for revenge! You'd better drive them away!"
One of the cooks turned on him, shouting in fury, taking the chance to vent his frustration.
Patty's face went pale. Cold sweat poured down his skin as he grabbed his head in panic.
"W-What the hell?! That's Krieg! He commands five thousand men! You think he'd come all the way here over one crewman?!"
"But he's here, isn't he?!" another chef snapped, pointing toward the horizon.
There was no mistaking it, it was Krieg's ship.
"Old man..."
Despite the chaos, Sanji calmly lit a cigarette, exhaling a thin stream of smoke as he turned to the peg-legged Zeff.
"Don't you think something's off?"
"That ship... looks like it's falling apart."
"Hm...?"
Zeff crossed his arms, thoughtful rather than panicked, his eyes fixed on the enormous vessel drawing near.
"To damage a ship of that size so badly..." he muttered, "No human could've done that."
"It must've faced some kind of disaster at sea."
BOOM!
Before the two could analyze further, the restaurant's main doors burst open.
Warm sunlight spilled in, stretching two long shadows across the polished floor.
"S-Sorry..."
"Could you... give us some water... and food..."
Leaning weakly against Gin, the once-mighty Don Krieg looked nothing like the fearsome warlord of the East Blue.
He spoke politely, his voice frail.
"I have money... huff... whatever it costs... I'll pay..."
"Please... give me something to eat..."
He was so weak that no one would've been surprised if he collapsed right then and there.
THUD!
Sure enough, his body went limp, crashing to the floor with a heavy bang. His head hit the ground hard.
"Captain!"
Gin shouted in alarm, rushing to his side to check on him.
Before anyone could process the bizarre scene, a youthful, energetic voice came from the doorway.
"Ah~ what's all this, then?"
Footsteps followed, firm yet unhurried. Several figures appeared in the sunlight.
Luffy stepped forward, glancing briefly at Krieg's motionless form before completely ignoring him, as if he were part of the floor.
He and the Starry Sky Pirates entered the restaurant and sat casually around a large round table.
Only Koby seemed curious, his eyes darting between the fallen Krieg and the anxious Gin.
"Hey! Waiter~"
Zoro leaned back lazily, resting one arm on the chair while snapping his fingers with the other, grinning.
"Ah, ah!"
Snapped from his daze, Patty hurried over, still trembling.
"Y-Yes, sirs. What would you... like to order?"
But as he spoke, his eyes drifted toward Brook, and froze.
He wasn't seeing things.
That was a skeleton.
A moving, talking skeleton.
Cold sweat drenched him instantly, soaking his clothes as his teeth began to chatter.
W-What kind of people are these...?!
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