While they were enjoying one of the best meals they'd had in a long time, a sudden loud crash echoed from the restaurant entrance.
Everyone turned.
A beggar had stumbled in—a starving pirate named Gin. His clothes were torn, his body thin, his eyes hollow with hunger. He collapsed to his knees and begged for food.
The diners looked at him with disgust.
Some chefs clicked their tongues in annoyance.
"Do you have money?" one of them asked sharply.
Gin shook his head.
That was enough for another chef to kick him toward the door.
"Get out!"
But one chef stepped forward.
Sanji.
Without hesitation, without asking for payment, he placed a full plate of food in front of Gin.
Luffy watched closely.
Gin trembled. Drool ran from his mouth, his nose dripping, but the moment he tasted the food, his face twisted with pure relief. He ate like a man saved from death.
When he finished, Gin bowed deeply.
"Thank you… I won't forget this."
Then he left.
Luffy's eyes sparkled.
That's it, he thought. I'm recruiting that guy.
Not long after—
The doors burst open again.
Gin returned.
But this time, he wasn't alone.
Behind him stood a towering man clad in heavy armor, weapons gleaming under the lights.
Don Krieg.
The infamous pirate with a bounty of 17 million Berries.
Panic erupted instantly.
"D-Don Krieg?!"
"The pirate admiral?!"
"Why is he here?!"
Krieg sneered and slammed his weapon into the floor.
"Food," he demanded.
Everyone froze.
Feeding Don Krieg was like feeding a tiger—but Sanji didn't hesitate.
He brought out food.
Other chefs grabbed him.
"Sanji, stop!"
"You'll get us killed!"
But Sanji shook them off.
"A starving man comes to a restaurant," he said firmly.
"A cook feeds him. That's it."
Krieg devoured the meal.
The moment his strength returned—
BAAAAM!
He kicked Sanji across the floor.
Weapons unfolded from his armor as he laughed.
"Hah! Now that's better."
Zeff stepped forward, dragging a massive sack of food behind him.
Krieg's eyes widened.
"Well I'll be damned. Red Foot Zeff. Still soft as ever."
He laughed loudly.
"When I come back, this place better be empty. We're taking this ship as our own!"
Gin tried to speak—but Krieg punched him hard.
"Know your place."
Gin clenched his teeth, lowering his head, and followed his captain in silence as they returned to their fleet.
Chaos followed.
Diners fled.
Chefs panicked.
Zeff turned to his crew.
"Pack your things and leave."
"No!" they shouted.
"This is our home!"
"We'll protect it—even if it kills us!"
Zeff smiled.
"Don't die, idiots."
Nearby, Nami, Zoro, Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku watched the tension rise.
Luffy suddenly raised his hand.
"Hey! If I beat them, does my debt get paid?"
Zeff blinked.
"…You're still here?"
"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed.
"Guess I can't leave yet—I'm still recruiting a cook!"
Zeff knew exactly who Luffy meant.
Sanji.
But before anything else could be said—
They saw it.
Don Krieg's massive, broken fleet surrounding the Baratie.
The war for the floating restaurant had begun.
♤
Everyone took a deep breath, bracing themselves for the coming battle—
Shiiiiiiiiiiing.
The sound sliced through the air.
In the next instant, Don Krieg's fleet was cut cleanly in half.
Silence fell like a guillotine.
Ships split from bow to stern, steel and wood parting as if they were paper. One by one, the pirates screamed as the remains sank into the sea.
All eyes froze on the impossible sight.
Zoro's eye narrowed.
Then they saw him.
A small, coffin-shaped boat drifted calmly between the wreckage. A massive black cross rested against it like a throne. A man stood tall upon it, wearing a wide-brimmed black hat, a thin mustache, and eyes so sharp they seemed to pierce the horizon itself—
Hawk Eyes.
"D-Dracule Mihawk…" someone whispered.
The Strongest Swordsman in the World.
Don Krieg clung desperately to floating debris, rage twisting his face.
"You again?!" he roared.
"We ran all the way to the East Blue and you still followed us?! What did we do to you, you bastard?!"
Mihawk glanced at him, utterly bored.
"Nothing," he replied calmly.
"I was merely passing time."
That was all.
Then—
His eyes shifted.
He felt it.
A sharp, blazing fighting spirit.
Mihawk's gaze locked onto one man.
Green hair. Three swords.
Zoro slowly drew his katana—then placed one between his teeth.
The air itself seemed to tighten.
Luffy went still.
Johnny and Yosaku's faces drained of color.
They knew what this meant.
This wasn't recklessness.
This was Zoro's dream standing right in front of him.
Zoro stepped forward.
"I'm Roronoa Zoro," he said, voice steady.
"My goal is to become the greatest swordsman in the world."
Mihawk raised an eyebrow.
Zoro pointed his blade straight at him.
"Fight me."
For the first time, Mihawk smiled.
Meanwhile—
Unnoticed by everyone caught in the moment—
Nami moved.
She slipped away quietly, her heart pounding as she headed toward the Going Merry.
I don't have time, she thought.
This isn't about them…
Her fists clenched.
It's about my village.
About what I have to protect.
She had to run.
And she had to do it now.