On the other side, Don Krieg had finished luring his crew to attack the Baratie and claim it as their own. Even if some of his crew tried to state that the Grand Line could be filled with monsters like Hawk-eyed guy, he kept denying it. Lastly stated that Mihawk clearly had a devil fruit like the straw hat-wearing kid, who was coming out of the Baratie and bickering with Zeff and a blonde.
He was sure that Zeff's log books contained a way to fight against those freaks in the Grand Line and even some information about the One Piece, which was enough to energize his crew and follow his command without a question.
"Charge forward men!" Don Krieg roared stopping the bickering between the three- Sanji, Zeff, and Luffy- and making them pay attention to him. "Let's take over that restaurant!"
"They're all fired up to fight!" Luffy stated with a wide grin and cracked his knuckles.
"Where's Patty and Carne?" Sanji asked ignoring the sadness that he was feeling deep within his heart. He just can't believe he was used as a bargaining material. But he owes his life to Zeff...
"They're busy with battle preparations." A cook stated with a feral grin. "Those guys sure are reliable in times like these."
"Only in times like this," Sanji repeated. "You better go to the control room and open up the 'fins'."
"What?!" The cook asked with wide eyes. "That'll give our enemies a better foothold."
"The geezer won't shut up if we destroy his restaurant," Sanji said poking his tongue out at the man.
"You said something, brat?" Zeff asked looking at Sanji's antics.
"Yeah, I said you won't stop sprouting nonsense!" Sanji retorted, angry about the conversation they had earlier. He doesn't want to leave him.. the one whom he still needs to pay his debt.
"Hand that ship to us, you pathetic cooks!" The pirates yelled making their way to the Baratie.
"Let's make this at least fun!" Luffy said, holding the railing and running back to stretch his arms and give him enough space.
"Gomu gomu no Rocket!" He flung himself to the Krieg pirates, making them panic. But Luffy didn't give them enough time as his arms stretched again in a practiced motion, flinging the pirates back to the deck or the ocean with his next attack, gomu gomu no scythe.
"That kid ain't bad!" The cooks cheered looking at the number of men who had just fallen straight to the ocean or just had blacked out.
"That's the power of a Grand Line pirate?!" Sanji asked in shock. He hadn't believed the kid much when he had stated that he was from Grand Line, but he couldn't ignore the fact anymore. On top of it, the kid clearly looked unwell.
"I'll send ungrateful crooks like you flying!" Luffy hissed, baring his teeth at Krieg while punching away a pirate who had raised his sword at him. Honestly, he looked like a kitten wanting to bite someone.
Krieg laughed as he saw the teen fight his men, and how good his crew was acting on fainting on the kid. His crew, obviously, can't be weak enough to go down with a punch from the kid. So, he was quick to realize that his men were following in his footsteps to show the teen the power of the Krieg Pirates.
"What's a little brat gonna do against me in a place where you can fall anytime in the ocean?" Krieg asked with a smug grin on his face. Moreover, he can see the teen stumbling on his legs a few times. That sure was an advantage for him to grab.
"I'm not a brat! I'm a pirate! And the ocean is my," The brat gave him a smile that became too feral and disturbing for Krieg's liking. "Home!"
For the first time in his life, Krieg felt that he should not fight with someone, moreover that someone was a mere kid, who looked pale. A simple brat with dreams far bigger than his very own size. The feeling that he got as the kid came near him told him to run but Krieg being the stubborn and arrogant one denied it. He is not running from a mere kid. He won't ever run away!
He is the strongest in the East Blue and soon will be the strongest in the whole world. The greatest pirate who will ever live. He can't be scared of a kid. So, he prepared himself to beat the kid into a bloody pulp. To make an example out of him of what happens when someone challenges the great Don Krieg. The pirate fleet admiral of-
He couldn't even finish his thought before a punch came straight at him, shattering his trusty armor which he had thought would never break. He was in shock for a second, unable to comprehend or prepare for an attack as a sharp, stinging pain made him throw up his blood and collapse on his knees. It hurt, it hurts so much... Why does it hurt? His armor should have been able to survive the punch. It was just a measly punch by a child, a child who looked on the edge of fainting.
It wasn't long before he was kissing the ground with a sharp howling pain coursing through his body. He could feel the pain, so terrible. He has never experienced anything like it before and the fact that it was from a kid, was more unbelievable.
But no one had paid attention to the fight which was lucky for Don Krieg. His reputation won't be crumbling to dust for a moment. All he needed to do was get up and show the kid that he was not going down with a punch. He has just underestimated him... But the blackness in his vision refused to let him stand. So, after a little struggle, he lost to the darkness which engulfed him whole.
A few seconds earlier(just before Luffy was about to leap to Krieg)
"GET THE HELL OUT OF OUR WAY IF YOU DON'T WANNA DIE!" Patty's loud voice came, making the pirates ready for what was about to come.
"Baratie's naval weapon! Sabagashira No.1 is ready!" Carne yelled the next. That caught the attention of all the pirates except for two who were bickering and preparing to fight.
Patty and Carne were riding on a fish boat which had multiple cannons located in its mouth and had come out of the Baratie. The two cooks were having some difficulty paddling it and turning in different directions, but were able to control it soon enough and hence had the pirates who were swimming, to run for their lives.
The fish cannon boat was firing on the little wrecked parts of the remains of the Krieg's ship, destroying the foothold of the pirates.
"Open the fins!" A cook shouted, catching the attention of almost every pirate except two who had pounced on each other.
The water level in the ocean suddenly rose making a gurgling sound and drowning the sound of the armor breaking into pieces, and soon a platform followed. The cooks didn't want to fight inside their home, less have it destroyed as collateral.
The cooks of Baratie marched on the new platform holding their weapons and looking ready to fight, to protect their homes.
"Just what the hell can a couple of measly cooks do, against us pirates?!" The Krieg pirates yelled gaining their footing on the platform.
"Don't you dare look down on us, cooks!"
"C'mon! Show 'em the power of the fighting cooks!" Patty yelled, encouraging the cooks, as he continued to paddle their little boat.
"But where the hell is he?!" Carne whispered yelled making the Krieg pirates turn their attention to the two cooks, who looked ready to crush them.
"I bet he is hiding in his hide 'cause of us!" Patty said proudly. "Hey, Krieg! You bastard, where the heck are you, you chickening out or what?"
That made the fight in the Baratie, where the cooks were fighting against the Krieg pirate fodders come to a halt. No one had noticed when Krieg had disappeared but the cooks couldn't care less about it when they already had problems on their plate. The pirates were their main problem.
"What's with Don?" A Krieg pirate asked another, looking nearby for their captain only to see him nowhere. "I have never seen him vanish mid-battle."
"Shh!" Another pirate shushed the other man who was blabbering. "Don Krieg is the strongest pirate, he sure is testing us. We should not disappoint him."
"Or rather he is on his foul play again and wants to catch someone off guard." Another pirate pointed out making the other two nod. "We should make sure that his plan works and not gather too much attention on him."
"Patty! He is not anywhere!" Carne yelled. "That coward sure is good at hiding!"
"How dare you call our captain a coward!" Some of the Krieg pirates started getting agitated and a group of five pirates together stopped the little fishboat boat Patty and Carne were riding on.
"Crap! They stopped it!" Patty yelled in shock and started pressing buttons which would lead to the firing of the cannons but it didn't happen in time.
"Don ain't got time to play with the likes of you!" A pirate yelled as the strength of the five pirates sent them flying off to the Baratie.
"All talk and no backbone," Sanji said with a sigh, taking out his cigarette from his mouth. "Useless bastards...!"
"Crap! We're gonna crash into the restaurant!" Carne yelled holding onto his seat as if his life depended on it.
Sanji jumped from his place and kicked the fish cannon boat flying straight away from the geezer's treasure, sending it straight to the platform.
Luffy, who was leaning on a broken mast and looking at Krieg, feeling the pain of the man, turned away from him and looked at Sanji when he felt that something interesting would be happening. His instincts were correct when he saw Sanji jumping higher than a normal person could and kicking away the fish cannon boat (which made Luffy jump up in excitement at the cool ship) straight to the platform that had appeared out of nowhere for Luffy.
Luffy whistled, clearly impressed at the display of strength his cook showed while the cooks in Baratie were clearly in shock.
"He kicked it?" Some of the pirates asked in shock, but Patty and Carne were angry, at least by face. They accused Sanji of trying to kill his side. And the audacity of Sanji not even denying it, made them angrier and sprout profanities which marked them as pirate cooks.
Patty and Carne weren't even able to finish with Sanji, as thumping sounds came. They turned back to witness Krieg pirates having already finished their fights with their cooks.
"Powerful?" A voice came taunting Patty and Carne who were just telling Sanji of how powerful they are. "Even if you hold weapons, a cook is still a cook. So why don't you scram back to other kitchens on land?"
"Don't compare us to other pirates you've crossed before," Another Krieg pirate stated. In front of them were the cooks lying on the ground, all wounded. "We're pirates of Don Krieg, the ruler of the East Blue."
"Shit! These guys are strong," One of the cooks said, trying to get up.
"Are you gonna let them beat you that easily?" Patty asked angrily.
"And you call yourselves fighting cooks?" Carne joined the fray.
"So what if you're fighting cooks?! We fight for a living!" The pirates said charging towards Patty and Carne, who beat them to the ground. Some of the pirates who were back started sweating and stepping back from the duo. But Patty and Carne were unfortunately not able to take on the show as a weird guy knocked them out on the deck.
"Haha! Behold!" The man, known as Pearl, who was ridiculously armed with an iron shield laughed. "My invincible iron wall."
"Pearl!" The pirates yelled in excitement.
"Hahahahahaha!!! You won't be standing after my lethal punch!" Pearl said holding the iron shields in his hands. "You just got a good taste of my special 'pearl present!"
"Hey look! This guy's got a damn fine set of knives on him! Heh heh! This knife should cut better than mine," A Krieg pirate said crouching down to Patty and trying to get the knife, but the man didn't let it go, even if it was making him bleed.
"Let go!" The pirate yelled. He was about to speak more but was unable to when a kick landed square on his face throwing him afar from the cook to his fellow members and then straight to Pearl's iron shield. Sanji took a swig from his cigarette and launched himself to the man who clearly wanted a fight. Then the next on his list was the weird Pearl guy. He better leave the Baratie or he would kill him.
On the other side, Luffy found some pirates lingering in the Merry.
"Don't you dare step on our home!" Luffy shouted as he flung himself to the Merry taking out the pirates to the ocean. They were not worth his time. He wanted to see the fight between Sanji and the guy with Pearl on his forehead, who was panicking due to his face getting bloodied by Sanji. His cook sure was strong.
Due to Luffy's anger, he wasn't able to witness the change in the situation. Gin holding Zeff as a hostage to stop Sanji. But as soon as he came out of the ocean, wet, he noticed it. It was cheating. He was angry that Gin was acting like this to stop Sanji.
Luffy landed on the platform and walked through the fire as if it was nothing. "Why do you lie, Gin?" Luffy asked when Gin threatened to blow off Zeff.
"Wait!" Sanji held him back, holding his arm. "Let's see what he has to say."
"You want to save this man, don't you Sanji?" Gin asked, holding his pistol just on Zeff's head, and his other hand holding the broken peg leg of Zeff. "Then leave the ship!"
"Leave this ship?" Sanji asked chewing the end of his cigarette. "As if!"
That caused the cooks of the Baratie to panic. They didn't want Zeff to die 'cause of Sanji provoking Gin. But the most shocking was when Sanji asked Gin to shoot him instead of Zeff.
"Are you stupid?" Luffy asked grabbing Sanji's collar, feeling that Sanji was not kidding about dying in place of Zeff. "Don't you dare die!" Luffy yelled.
"Whatever!" Sanji said not removing his eyes from where Zeff, his father figure, was held captive.
In their argument they missed Pearl getting up and aiming straight for them.
"LUFFY! LOOK OUT!" A shout came, making Luffy instantly duck, pulling Sanji with him, to avoid Pearl's attack. That sure would have let his secrets be spilled, now that his blood is turning more golden. But he doesn't have time to dwell on those thoughts.
"Thanks, Nami!!" Luffy shouted back.
"Don't ya dare move, if you want the geezer to live," Pearl shouted banging his iron shield, wanting to smack Sanji, but Luffy wouldn't let it happen.
Luffy raised his fist to knock the guy, only to be stopped by Sanji again.
"Don't lay a finger on him, kid!" Sanji said standing still with a scowl on his face, waiting for his head to be banged by Pearl. He didn't care as long as the geezer and his treasure was saved.
"But why?" Luffy asked angrily. He respected his crew mates decision but this was stupid. As stupid as Nami hesitated to ask his help to free her village.
"'Cause that damn geezer is held at gunpoint by him," Sanji said gritting his teeth. That Pearl guy was just inches into banging him and yet he was not scared.
"Are you stupid?!" Luffy asked punching the pearl guy away, making Sanji widen his eyes in horror and look at Gin, who looked as shocked as him.
"Why?! Do you want the geezer to die?!!!!" Sanji asked grabbing Luffy's collar, his face scrunched in anger.
"You are damn stupid!" Luffy said jerking the hands of Sanji from his collar. "Do you think Gin will be doing it in reality?!!!" Luffy asked, shocking Gin who was unable to do anything.
"Do you think the old man wants you to die?!" Luffy shouted once more.
"You don't even know what the significance of kindness I received! What do you know about this restaurant?!" Sanji yelled back.
"So, you are gonna die for a restaurant?! Are you dumb?"
"What was that?"
"Dying isn't something you should do to repay kindness! That's not the old man saved you for on that lonely cliff!"
That hit Sanji. He had never told anyone how bad their starvation period was on that lonely and hopeless cliff.
"Old man didn't save you that night in the storm for you to die! He didn't give up his leg for you to walk towards your death!"
"H-How do you know?" Sanji asked, his face shadowed by his bangs. There were gasps from the cooks as they realized that everything that was being said was the truth.
"Mom told me how stubborn you are! How you can't see the reality behind the old man's words! How you won't leave the old man to pursue his and your dream!" Luffy shouted, not realizing what he was doing.
"I don't know who your mom is, but I do know that I can't leave the old man. He has done and given up on lots of things for me... His strength! His dreams! I took everything from him." Sanji said chewing his cigarette angrily. Angry at himself. "That is why I don't want him to lose anything else."
"Damn, pipsqueak!" Zeff gritted his teeth. He was embarrassed for a moment when he realized that his façade was see-through by the little brat and whoever his Mom was. But he had known from the moment he had set his eyes on the brat, that he was special. Special like some in the Grand Line who were born with gifts from God itself.
"It's not time to ramble about the past!" Zeff finished.
"Shut up!" Sanji yelled. "And I told you to not treat me as a damn kid anymore!"
"Please Sanji...!" Gin said shadowing his eyes, and his hands trembling. "I don't to kill you. Please leave the ship. I don't want to kill my savior. I don't want Don to kill you!"
"Your captain is down, Gin! You better leave your nonsensical act." Luffy stated glaring at the guy, who was trying to muster up his courage to pull the trigger.
As if a bomb had been dropped, everyone turned towards Luffy and in unison shouted, "What?!"
"Krieg lost..?" Gin asked his eyes shadowed by his bandana. "As if that could ever happen... He's the supreme ruler of the seas..!"
"Nuh-uh! He is just a weakling, relying on external strength," Luffy replied, with his hands on the back of his head.
"How dare you brat sprout such nonsense!" The Krieg pirates yelled at Luffy.
"Our Don is invincible! The strongest one in the East Blue!" Another Krieg pirate yelled.
While some of the Krieg pirates were shouting profanities, some began searching for their Don. It didn't even take a minute for them to find the bloodied body of Krieg on a floating wreck.
"DON!!!" A Krieg pirate yelled, eliciting a stir from said man.
"What..?!" Gin asked listening to the horrified screams of his fellow mates, who were slowly surrounding a body.
"When the hell did his armor shatter?!"
"How did he get this horrifying wound?!"
"It doesn't look good at all!"
Gin's hands dropped the gun by themselves, once he saw Don Krieg standing up, looking unconscious and howling. The cobweb wound in his chest looked horrifyingly life-threatening.
"WHAT THE HECK?!?" Gin shouted, rushing to his Don. "WHO DID THIS?!!"
"Oops?" Luffy said nonchalantly, admiring the work he had done on the pirate captain. "I overdid it?"
The cooks' sweat dropped at the words of the teen, while Sanji rushed to Zeff's side to get him up. Nami who was watching everything felt a lick of hope in her heart. She had seen Luffy fighting, his selfless actions, and his care for people who were not even in his crew yet. He was different. Different from the other pirates she had ever encountered. Maybe... just maybe... he can defeat him.
"I'M THE STRONGEST!" The defeated Don Krieg yelled loudly, snapping everyone's attention to the man who was bleeding heavily and was standing only due to his madness.
"NO ONE DARES TO GO AGAINST ME!" Don Krieg's eyes settled on the brat who had defeated him with a single punch. "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOURSELF AS?!!"
Don Krieg snatched the guns from his crew and started shooting at Luffy, who was dancing through every one of them, surprising everyone in the vicinity.
"You will die!" Sanji yelled in panic. The brat could have been lucky one time, but the next? No one can guarantee! "Your luck can't be good every time!" Even if Sanji was saying those words, deep down he felt that he should worry about Krieg and not about Luffy, who was closing in on Krieg with each bullet that was shot towards him by a horrified and mad Krieg.
"Damn it!" Sanji gritted his teeth when Luffy jumped off the Baratie platform stumbling a bit and to the platform where Krieg was standing alone, having thrown his crew offboard when they were trying to hold him down. "With this lethal wound even, he is impossible to beat!"
"Nah, the kid will win," Zeff said with confidence.
"Luffy will win," Two voices joined them and it was of none other than the orange-haired girl and the long-nosed boy.
"How the heck is he supposed to win when that man is using those weapons and when the kid is himself not in a good condition?!" Sanji asked irritatedly, not taking his eyes off the fight. Luffy was jumping over the cannons which were being thrown at him.
"Don Krieg!" Gin's voice came as he jumped to intervene in the fight. "You lost! Please stop it! You are only aggravating your wounds!!!"
"I'VE WON EVERY SINGLE BATTLE I'VE BEEN IN! IT'S IMPOSSIBLE FOR A BRAT TO DEFEAT ME!" Krieg yelled, throwing blood from his mouth.
"You are not the strongest," Luffy said calmly, coming to a halt. His hat shadowed his eyes as he said the next words. "You relied on the number, on weapons, but never on strength. There are pirates far more dangerous than you in the Grand Line."
His hat lifted to show his eyes, freezing Gin for a moment, before he realized what would be happening if he didn't intervene. He stood in front of Krieg, not allowing the punch to come which was pulled back to hit Krieg.
"Stop it," He pleaded to the kid, believing for the first time that he could kill Don. He punched Krieg in his wound, knocking the man unconscious. "We have lost."
"Battle commander!!!" The Krieg pirates yelled.
"Let's retreat for today and start anew," Gin said lifting Krieg on his shoulder. Luffy nodded. He didn't like letting go of people who would hurt others the chance they got. But he believes in giving chances. So, he let them go. He jumped back to the Baratie platform and walked towards Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and Zeff with his hands on the back of his head and a grin on his face.
"Thanks for everything, Sanji!"
Luffy caught the words of Gin as he started commanding the crew to leave.
"Don't come again," Sanji said waving off the man while supporting Zeff.
"Hey, Luffy!" Gin said looking over his shoulder to the kid who halted and turned his head slightly to look at Gin. "Let's meet again out on the Grand Line."
"Sure!" Luffy said giving his signature smile.
"You still gonna go there?" Sanji asked curiously.
"When I think about it, there is nothing else that I want to do," Gin replied. "This time I will do things in my way. We will get stronger before we enter the Grand Line once again, till then goodbye!"
"Goodbye!" Luffy waved off energetically. He could have recruited Gin for his crew but he knew where his loyalties were. He started walking towards his friends who were waiting, but all of a sudden they felt too far away. And why were they moving up and down or left and right?
Nami was happy that the fight was over. Finally, she can flee. Luffy was safe and Zoro would recover soon. So, it's time for her to leave. She was about to leave when all of a sudden Luffy fell in the water. This idiot! It was not a time to take a dip, even if he was improving in his swimming.
On the other hand, Usopp felt it funny when Luffy fell into the ocean. Luffy sure knows how to surprise others, but still, something felt off to him and he couldn't pinpoint why.
Meanwhile, Sanji watched as Luffy fell straight into the ocean. He had read about devil fruit eaters when he was a kid and he knew that they couldn't swim in exchange for their abilities. So, without hesitation, he dove in to save the kid who had saved Baratie and Zeff's life.
On the surface, Zeff was shocked when he saw the orange-haired girl and the long-nosed boy not move an inch when the kid fell.
"Why did you two not go to save the brat?" Zeff asked confused. He had seen the crew caring for each other, especially the little brat, but he didn't realize that they were ready to leave the kid to die in the ocean. Were they also devil fruit eaters?
"Couldn't he swim back?" Usopp asked confused. He had heard Luffy pestering Zoro about taking him to swim, so he was quick to realize that Luffy always could. So, he would be able to come back on his own. Why would he need to be saved when he knows to do it by himself? After all, Luffy was strong.
"Don't you know devil fruit eaters can't swim?" Zeff asked, realizing soon enough that people in East Blue don't know that. So, he opted to explain it despite the shocked face of the orange-haired girl whose nails were digging into her palms.
"Those with special abilities obtained from devil fruit are hated by the sea and as a curse they sink in the ocean like an anchor." Zeff completed, not getting the horrified expression of the orange-haired girl, who looked ready to say otherwise but stopped herself.
A few moments ago, when Sanji dove in to rescue the idiot, he panicked. 'Cause he couldn't find the brat anywhere. It was as if the brat had vanished. But he decided against giving hope and dove further down. He swam and swam, feeling himself getting at the edge. He needed oxygen but he couldn't get to the surface without the kid. Miss Nami would be upset and he could not let that happen!
After a few more seconds of searching, he finally found the brat lying at the bottom of the ocean, cradled by the sea grass. His mouth was wide open indicating that the brat had inhaled sea water. It wasn't good. Sanji picked up the boy, suddenly feeling that he was a lot heavier than he looked, but that was not enough to make him give up. He started swimming upward to the surface despite the feeling that something was not allowing him to.
With a gasp he came to the surface, holding the dripping kid. He pressured the stomach of the teen wanting the water he had inhaled to be thrown out.
"Has he drank seawater?" Nami asked in a low voice, taking a step closer to where Sanji was trying to bring Luffy back to consciousness.
"Damn it," Usopp cursed when Sanji answered Nami's question with a yes. "If I had known that Luffy didn't know how to swim, then Great Usopp would have brought him up faster than you did!" Usopp said trying to defuse the situation, but sadly it didn't work. No one even blinked an eye at his lie.
"Bring him in," Zeff said with a sigh. They needed to help their savior after all. Also, the cooks looked like they could take some rest.
"On it," Sanji replied without retortion. He picked up the teen who didn't throw a single drop of seawater from his mouth and was apparently breathing, which was a miracle itself. Miss Nami even got up on her knees to follow him, only to be halted when Luffy's hand dropped and held the hem of Nami's t-shirt.
"D-Don't.. g..o," Luffy said in a weak voice, his face scrunched in pain. Nami couldn't move. She couldn't do anything until a moment later when Luffy's hand fell back swinging back and forth as Sanji took him to the room where Zoro was.
Nami couldn't bring herself to leave anymore. Not after hearing a sad, wavering, and lonely voice from the energetic, charming, and adorable teen. She couldn't will herself to even move. Her hopes to leave the crew and return to her village were crushed.
"He will be okay," Usopp said planting a hand on Nami's shoulder. Nami nodded wiping the stray tears which leaked from her eyes.
"Yes, he is Luffy after all," Nami said as she and Usopp followed Sanji slowly.