Chapter 127: Eat, Sleep, Beat Up Sanji!
The Going Merry sailed smoothly across the East Blue.
Three days had passed since leaving Clockwork Island.
The nautical chart showed that Reverse Mountain, the entrance to the Grand Line, was not far ahead.
And over these three days, the Straw Hat crew had cultivated a new "team tradition."
"Food's ready—!"
Sanji's voice rang from the kitchen, accompanied by an enticing aroma.
Everyone on the deck immediately gathered around.
Lufia stretched her rubber arm, snatching the largest piece of meat from the platter first;
Nami sat down gracefully, accepting the special salad Sanji handed her;
Usopp rubbed his hands together, his eyes fixed on the roasted meat;
Zoro stumbled out of the cabin, rubbing his sleepy eyes;
Ralph was the last to arrive, still holding the recently modified Pistol in his hand.
This should have been an ordinary scene.
But today was a little different.
"Well," Ralph holstered his gun, his gaze sweeping over everyone before finally settling on Sanji, "as agreed, the after-meal activity begins."
Sanji's smile froze for a moment but quickly returned, even carrying a hint of provocation:
"Bring it on! Let the storm rage even fiercer!"
This referred to the recently introduced, time-limited "Eat, Sleep, Beat Sanji" activity.
Proposed by Ralph, it had received unanimous praise from everyone.
Sanji untied his chef's apron, revealing the white shirt underneath, already stained with red, blue, yellow, and green splotches.
He stood in the center of the deck, hands in his pockets, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, striking a "come at me" pose.
The rules were simple: until they reached Reverse Mountain, everyone could attack Sanji in any way they liked.
But only with special paint pellets.
These were made by Usopp using paint, flour, and a small amount of adhesive. When they hit someone, they left bright-colored marks but caused no real harm.
At worst, it was an insult; at best, a joke.
Sanji himself had volunteered—because during the battle on Clockwork Island, his performance had been the worst.
Although he and Nami were captured together, Nami, after being captured, managed to help them turn the tide by pretending to surrender and using her staff's self-destruct function.
In contrast, Sanji might have been too unlucky, making it difficult for him to showcase his strength.
No helping it—such is the cruel sea!
And since it was agreed upon beforehand, Sanji willingly accepted the punishment, even taunting Ralph, thinking such a penalty was too light.
But Ralph calmly said:
"The purpose of punishment is to make you aware of your mistakes and improve, not to inflict heavy injuries. And..."
He paused, revealing a meaningful smile:
"If Lufia were to hit you with paint-dipped fists, or if Miss Nami were to beat you with her newly made Clima-Tact—in your eyes, wouldn't that be a reward?"
Sanji's eyes turned into hearts:
"N-nonsense! Punishment from Miss Lufia and Miss Nami is essential motivation for me! Bring it on even harder!"
"So," Ralph clapped his hands, "the main participants in the punishment will be us three guys. Usopp and I will use the special pellets, and Zoro..."
Zoro stepped forward from the side, holding three wooden swords, a poorly concealed smirk on his face:
"Ralph is so kind, even preparing wooden swords just to avoid hurting you, you damn cook."
"Who's afraid of you, you moss-head!"
Sanji immediately bristled, "Use real swords if you dare! See if I even flinch!"
Ralph shook his head:
"Getting hit or enduring isn't skill—not getting hit is. Sanji, you can use your kicks to block, but you can't counterattack. As for Zoro..."
He looked at Zoro and added:
"You can only use wooden swords, but you must avoid direct clashes with Sanji. There are three wooden swords in total. If Sanji kicks and shatters all of them, you lose your participation rights."
Zoro's grin widened.
He picked up a paint can and carefully coated a wooden sword with green paint:
"No problem at all, shit cook. Get ready to be turned into a zebra."
"Enough talk!"
"Then..."
Ralph took a step back.
"Begin."
And so, the punishment game began.
For the next three days, no matter what Sanji was doing, he could be subjected to "paintball attacks" from his companions.
Cooking, swabbing the deck, even going to the bathroom.
The rules allowed him to block or dodge with his kicks, but he couldn't counterattack.
Usopp's slingshot, combined with bizarre tactics, hit its mark at least five out of ten times.
His pellets could curve, split, or suddenly change speed mid-air, leaving Sanji with no way to defend effectively.
Meanwhile, Ralph began his marksmanship training.
With his beginner-level Shooting skill and the performance of his homemade mechanical pistol, plus the element of surprise from ambushes, he managed to land about one or two shots out of ten.
But that was enough to make Sanji uncomfortable.
Bullets on the open sea are meant to kill.
When a blue pellet struck Sanji in the back, his expression turned serious:
"If someone in a real fight ambushed me like Ralph, I'd have been dead several times over."
This realization made him take the training even more seriously.
Under this high pressure, his Observation Haki gradually showed signs of awakening—he could predict the trajectory of the pellets, and the precision and speed of his kicks improved significantly.
On the other hand, there was Zoro.
To compensate for Zoro not learning anything in the previous special training, Ralph increased the difficulty for him.
He could only use wooden swords and had to avoid direct clashes.
Of course, there were many ways to solve this.
Zoro could use more refined sword techniques to evade Sanji's blocks and strike his body.
Or he could comprehend Armament Haki, directly turning the wooden sword into a Black Blade.
Either way would be progress.
On the first day, Sanji kicked and shattered the first wooden sword.
On the second day, the second wooden sword was also destroyed.
By the third day, Zoro stood on the deck, gripping the last wooden sword.
Raising the wooden sword, Zoro's gaze grew focused.
Then, in an instant—
Zoro swung the wooden sword down.
The green paint didn't splatter but condensed along the blade's edge, transforming into an arc-shaped trajectory as he struck. It flew at a speed far exceeding that of freely falling paint and slashed across Sanji's chest!
"Thud—!"
Sanji was sent flying backward, only stopping when he crashed against the ship's railing.
A tear appeared in the clothes over his chest, revealing a faint red mark on the skin beneath.
He looked down, then back up at Zoro, his eyes filled with shock.
"Was that just now...?"
Zoro was also taken aback.
He looked at the wooden sword in his hand, then at the mark on Sanji's chest, a flicker of understanding in his eyes.
"A flying... slash?"
The deck fell silent for a few seconds.
Then, Sanji got up and brushed off his clothes.
"Moss-head... you've gotten stronger."
Zoro grinned:
"What, scared?"
"Scared?"
Sanji lit a new cigarette and took a deep drag.
"I'm thrilled! Finally, a worthy opponent!"
From that day on, Sanji voluntarily requested to increase the intensity of his punishment.
He no longer merely defended himself, but began attempting counterattacks during the gaps between his blocks.
Of course, he couldn't attack his companions, but he could strike the incoming bullets and slashing paint, using his kicks to create air currents that disrupted their trajectories.
Pressure breeds motivation.
On the final day, Ralph noticed that Sanji's movements had suddenly become faster.
And Reverse Mountain was about to appear before their eyes.