"Huh? Who's that old man?"
Hearing Zeff's voice, Goku looked up, a bewildered expression on his face.
"Could he be..."
Nami scrutinized Zeff's appearance as a theory formed in her mind.
'This person must be the owner of the Sea Restaurant Baratie!'
"Old geezer, what do you mean you don't need me?" Sanji said through a puff of smoke, looking thoroughly annoyed.
"I'm the sous-chef here!"
"So what if you're the sous-chef? We have plenty of those. Once you're gone, someone else can take your place in a heartbeat," Zeff said bluntly.
He had been there since Sanji began fawning over Nami like a love-struck fool and had overheard their entire conversation.
Seeing that Goku and Nami didn't mock Sanji's dream but instead invited him to join them even more earnestly, he knew that Sanji—who had been stuck here for years without a chance to reach the Grand Line—had finally found his opportunity.
To him, Sanji was no different from his own son; he naturally didn't want the boy to leave.
But what he wanted even less was to see Sanji spend his whole life running the Baratie by his side, unable to chase his dream or live out his prime in a way that mattered.
That was why he was being so harsh now, even trying to drive him away by belittling his role.
"What use is there for you to stay? You throw yourself at every woman you see, and your cooking is absolutely atrocious. You're completely expendable."
"Since that's the case, you'd be better off joining them. It'll save me from having to look at you."
Sanji clenched his fists, the veins on his forehead throbbing with indignation.
"You shitty old man! Don't push your luck!"
"Say what you want about anything else, but I won't let you insult my cooking!"
"Listen up! I'm going to be a chef here forever, and I'm never leaving!"
Gritting his teeth, he turned and prepared to storm up to the second floor to have it out with Zeff.
But before he could take more than a few steps, Goku's clear voice called out from behind him, "Um, Sanji, is your food really that bad?"
Sanji whipped his head around to see Goku looking at him with a pure, innocent gaze, while Nami was beside him desperately covering Goku's mouth with an awkward laugh.
In an instant, his erupting fury got stuck in his throat.
After freezing in place for a couple of seconds, he walked back, picked up the menu from the table, scanned the marks on it, and asked, "Is this what you want to order?"
Nami nodded. "Yes, and for the steaks, we'll take ten..."
She glanced at Goku and ultimately changed her mind.
"No, make it fifty portions."
"Fifty portions? Are you sure?" Sanji asked, sounding skeptical.
"That's right, fifty. Don't let Goku's small size fool you; he has a massive appetite."
"I see."
Sanji nodded, closed the menu, and turned to walk away.
"Just you wait. I'll let you experience for yourselves exactly what level my cooking is at."
As a chef—and one who took immense pride in his culinary skills—he would never allow anyone to doubt his talent!
Watching him leave, Nami breathed a sigh of relief and then gave Goku a sharp rap on the head.
"Goku! Don't you know asking something like that is really offensive?"
Goku clutched his head and argued, "But I wasn't the one who said it! That old man did."
"How do you know what he said is the truth? Besides, even if it were true, you can't just ask it like that," Nami said, her voice filled with exasperation.
'As the sous-chef, Sanji shouldn't be that bad,' she thought to herself.
'If that's the case, why did the old man say Sanji's cooking was terrible?'
'Could it be...'
A guess flickered in her mind. She looked up, but Zeff was already nowhere to be seen.
...
After the two of them waited idly for a while, Sanji pushed a cart over and placed several steaks on their table.
"Your steaks are ready."
Goku's eyes lit up, and he began to drool instantly.
"Wow! This looks delicious!"
Without bothering to cut the steak into small pieces to savor them, he grabbed a whole slab and stuffed it into his mouth.
Less than two seconds later, he gulped it down.
"It's so good!" He looked at Sanji and gave him high praise before looking confused again. "Your food is so tasty. Why did that old man say it was bad?"
Sanji was left stunned by Goku's exaggerated eating style. Hearing the question, he snapped out of it, lit a cigarette, and said expressionlessly, "Who knows what that shitty old man is thinking."
Nami had also cut off a small piece and was chewing slowly.
Soon, she wore the same delighted expression as Goku.
"In my opinion, your cooking is among the best I've ever tasted."
Hearing a compliment from a beautiful woman, Sanji immediately lost his composure. With hearts in his eyes, he leaned toward Nami, clasped her hands, and said excitedly, "Miss Nami's praise is like a spring of water nourishing my parched soul! I'm so happy!"
Nami sighed. 'I shouldn't have said anything...'
Goku quickly demolished several steaks. While eating, he said with his mouth full, "Shanji, your food is sho delicious. Are you sure you can't join ush?"
He was becoming more and more eager to have Sanji join them. Just thinking about being able to eat Sanji's food anytime while sailing the seas made him incredibly happy.
Hearing this, Sanji quickly returned to normal. He took a puff of his cigarette and slowly exhaled. "No. I won't leave this place."
"There are still a few things from your order being prepared. I'll go check on them. Enjoy your meal."
With that, he left.
Goku watched his retreating back and looked at Nami, troubled. "Nami, why do you think he won't agree?"
"He probably has a reason he needs to stick to," Nami said, shrugging.
At this rate, it looked like they probably wouldn't be able to recruit their third companion.
After that, the two stopped talking and focused on the food as it arrived.
Goku's astonishing eating speed and appetite gradually drew the attention of the surrounding diners.
"How terrifying. How much has that kid eaten? Christine, you must never be like him when you grow up, okay?"
A noblewoman covered her mouth and earnestly lectured her child, thinking to herself that her child must never eat that much—it would be so embarrassing.
"Hmph, eating like a starving ghost. I wonder what kind of family raises a child like that."
A nobleman, acting all dignified and elegant, frowned, looking disgusted by Goku's eating habits.
...
The unfriendly whispers grew, but Goku didn't care at all, focusing solely on the feast.
Nami, however, couldn't take it. She slammed her fork and knife down with a loud clack, looked around, and snapped with her hands on her hips, "What are you looking at? What's the noise for? Have you never seen someone eat before? Since when does eating a meal give you a superiority complex!"
"Hmph! What a vulgar woman."
"Forget it, forget it. Ignore them. Let's just eat."
After being scolded by Nami, the people finally looked away and stopped paying attention to them.
Nami angrily cut a piece of steak and said to Goku, "Goku, aren't you angry? Those people were saying such things about you."
Goku looked up and blinked. "I'm not angry. Why should I be?"
Seeing his carefree attitude, Nami smiled helplessly. "Sigh, you're right. There's no point in getting upset with people like that. I wish I could be as oblivious as you."
Just then, a woman sitting by the window caught a glimpse of something outside. Her face went pale with terror, and she screamed.
"Pirates! Pirates are coming!!"
—
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]