In the year 1510 of the Sea Calendar, in the Kingdom of Goya, Windmill Village.
"Hey! Zyhark, is the fried rice with egg ready today?"
A little brat kicked open the wooden door of the restaurant and swaggered in.
The brat, dressed in a short-sleeved shirt with an 'X' pattern and bright red shorts, was skinny with short black hair.
His arrogant demeanor was somewhat out of place on his childish face, yet it carried an inexplicable charm.
This little brat is the grandson of the naval hero Garp, Monkey D. Luffy.
At the restaurant's front desk, a handsome man in a light blue short-sleeved shirt took his feet off the table.
Zyhark, walking past several neatly arranged tables, reprimanded little Luffy with a headache: "Luffy, how many times have I told you, this is a restaurant where you need to pay, not your house."
Luffy patted his chest, promising cheerfully: "Ah, don't worry, today's bill is on me!"
At this time, he did not yet have the scar under his right eye that he wanted to show off as a mark of a pirate's courage.
"...You said the same thing yesterday, and after eating, you ran off to raid bird nests."
Zyhark spread his hands in resignation, his words filled with deep grievances, "Running off is one thing, but you even lured the bird-nest's guardian red-haired monster bird here, causing chaos in my shop!"
Hearing this, the once arrogant Luffy lost his confidence, slumping his face to one side.
Acting stubborn.
After a few seconds of thought, Luffy raised his head again and said with a carefree laugh: "When I become a great pirate like Shanks and the others, I'll definitely pay you back!"
"With your skills, you can't even raid a bird's nest properly. Even if you became a pirate, you'd only get beaten up," Zyhark laughed.
"You bastard! How dare you look down on my dream!!"
Luffy's teeth turned into saw blades, and he clenched his fists, furious.
Zyhark then brought over a cup of juice and placed it in front of him: "Here, have some juice."
Luffy immediately smiled brightly, gulping down the juice, "Hehe, thanks, you're actually quite nice."
"That'll be 50 Berries."
"You bastard, that's so expensive!!!"
In the end, Zyhark couldn't resist Luffy's persistent pleas and went to the kitchen to fry an egg fried rice.
After a whirlwind meal, Luffy vanished in a flash, off to play somewhere unknown.
Zyhark wouldn't really hold it against the kid, chuckling before sitting back at the restaurant's front desk.
By now, it was dusk, and the gentle sunset light streamed through the half-open wooden door, adding a hazy color to the empty restaurant.
Zyhark casually picked up a can of cola, took a sip, and looked out at the street outside, the world of pirates, lost in thought.
Having crossed over to the world of One Piece for a year, he went from being completely clueless to taking root in Windmill Village. Using his cooking skills from his old world, he became a restaurant owner accepted by the villagers.
He had thought about using his comprehensive knowledge of the One Piece world to make a name for himself in this sea full of heroes, but lacked the courage to drift in a barrel like Luffy or the luck to meet a freebie like Zoro, the three-sword-wielding swordsman at the start.
In a world where power is supreme, relying solely on foreknowledge to make a stand among monsters of the sea felt overwhelming.
Reflecting on the hardships he had faced, Zyhark sighed softly.
"Considering the current income of the restaurant, even including borrowed money, it will take another month to gather three million Berries to make a wish..."
Yes, as a transmigrator, although he didn't have a simple and crude system tied to him, he had a unique "cheat" of his own.
It was a wishing pool in the depths of his mind that, under certain conditions, allowed him to summon warriors from other worlds!
The condition for summoning his first companion was three million Berries.
Thinking of having a powerful companion in a month, Zyhark's handsome face couldn't help but reveal a sense of anticipation.
Then, he might be able to leave Windmill Village and start a grand adventure in the pirate world!
As he pondered, three carpenters wearing vests entered the restaurant.
"Boss, we're starving after a day's work. Do you have any new dishes today? Bring them out for us to try!"
The carpenters found a corner and sat down, clearly regular customers.
"You guessed right, I did develop a new dish today, braised monster bird meat."
Zyhark smiled, stood up from the front desk, and after receiving the customers' interest in trying something new, he went into the kitchen to get busy.
Minutes later, he brought out a plate of fragrant braised bird meat, along with white rice and several side dishes.
"It smells so good!" The three carpenters drooled over the bird meat.
"Try it, it was caught yesterday, the meat is absolutely tender and delicious," Zyhark said with a smile.
"Let's eat!"
The carpenters eagerly tasted the bird meat, their faces filled with satisfaction and joy, feeling as if all the day's fatigue had been swept away.
In fact, Zyhark's cooking was not considered top-notch in his hometown, but it was quite good in the world of One Piece.
If it weren't for capturing the villagers' stomachs and his friendly demeanor, how could he, a foreigner, be accepted in just a year?
"Do you need drinks? I can get them from Makino's bar," Zyhark casually asked.
Makino's bar, where the Red Hair Pirates often drank, was just across from the restaurant.
He didn't sell alcohol in his restaurant, though it was profitable, because he wouldn't do such a foolish thing.
Of course, this was also because of the good relationship between Makino's bar and the Red Hair Pirates.
Over time, Zyhark and Makino's bar got along well. Sometimes, when the Red Hair Pirates came back from the sea, they would come here to eat and drink.
Bang!
The carpenters were about to answer when the restaurant's door was suddenly kicked open.
"Speaking of drinks, I'm thirsty too. Bring us a few cases!"
Looking over, a group of mountain bandits wearing white clothes and bandanas entered in a single file.
The leader, wearing a brown coat, carrying a long sword at his waist, and with a sleazy and arrogant look, stood in front of Zyhark with a cunning gaze and swagger.
"Consider the cost of the drinks as interest on the eighty thousand Berries you owe me, what do you think, my dear Zyhark boss?"
Zyhark calmly faced the menacing Higuma, known among as the "Mountain Bandit King."
"A few days ago, you borrowed money, and now you're here to collect interest?"
The story goes back a week, when Zyhark, in a bid to hasten the summoning of a companion from the wishing pool without wasting more time in Windmill Village, took a gamble and approached the nearby mountain bandit gang for a loan.
If he could secure a loan of one million Berries, added to the money borrowed from the villagers, he would have enough to meet the wishing pool's requirement of three million Berries and initiate the summoning right away.
However, even after offering his restaurant as collateral, he could only secure eighty thousand Berries from Higuma, the leader of the mountain bandits. This meant he had to wait another month to gather the remaining twenty thousand Berries to fill the shortfall.
Of course, compared to the fierce and ruthless Higuma, the Red Hair Pirates stationed in Windmill Village might have been a more appropriate source for a loan, but Zyhark chose not to approach Shanks.
The reason was simple: borrowing money from someone as terrifyingly powerful as Shanks meant it had to be repaid.
"I'm only interested in collecting the interest early. You got a problem with that?" Higuma's disdainful gaze bore down on Zyhark.
Driven by profit, the bandits were willing to lend money, eyeing the high interest it would accrue.
With this excuse, they felt justified in coming over to eat without paying, without worrying about causing trouble that could raise their bounties.
After all, they considered it Zyhark's debt to them. "The time isn't up yet; I won't be paying you any interest."
Higuma was taken aback by Zyhark's refusal to meet his demand for interest right then and there. "Kid, do you know who you're talking to?"
Higuma's mocking smile faded as his gaze turned ominously cold.
He chuckled darkly, turning to his henchmen, "Trash this place. Show this guy what happens when you mess with us!"
"Understood, boss!"
The bandits quickly spread out, grabbing tables and chairs to start their rampage. Such actions were routine for them, accustomed to brutality and bloodshed.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of furniture being smashed filled the restaurant, turning the once tidy space into a mess of dust and debris.
The three carpenters, having come for a meal, fled in panic, scrambling out of the restaurant at the sight of the violence.
Watching the bandits' wanton destruction, Zyhark's eyes grew colder.
Facing the amused gaze of the bandits, he turned and grabbed the nearest wooden stool.
Higuma, ready to draw blood from the bold Zyhark, paused when Zyhark swung the stool and smashed it on the ground in front of him with a loud "crack," surprising the bandits who stopped their vandalism momentarily.
"Go on, smash it! Why stop now? Destroy the whole restaurant if you're so capable!"
"Threatening me, huh? Keep it up! If this restaurant goes under, I won't pay back a single Berry!"
Zyhark glared, rage and hysteria evident on his handsome face, as he shouted at Higuma.
Caught off guard by this unexpected defiance, Higuma and his men halted, their actions frozen mid-air.
"What's this? Trying to threaten me?" Higuma's voice turned dangerously low.
"It's you who's threatening yourself! I rely on this restaurant for income. If you wreck everything, how am I supposed to continue?!"
Zyhark stepped forward, fearless, "Enough talk. Take my life if you want, but then we're even."
Indeed, Zyhark's only source of income was the restaurant. Destroying it would leave nowhere to collect the debt.
Realizing the logic in Zyhark's argument, Higuma began to see that his typical tactics of intimidation and violence were ineffective against this debtor.
Killing Zyhark would mean losing the eighty thousand Berries he had loaned out. After a moment of contemplation, letting Zyhark continue running the restaurant seemed to be the most prudent choice.
Faced with a man who seemed unafraid of death, Higuma, for a moment, regretted his decision to lend money at high interest rates.
"Fine, you'd better have the money next month, or you're dead!"
Weighing his options, Higuma eventually decided to back down. Sheathing his sword, he signaled his men to leave.
"Wait!" Zyhark called out to him.
"What now?" Higuma turned, his expression colder than before.
Zyhark, knowing full well the principle that the borrower is servant to the lender, pointed to the damaged furniture and calmly said, "Compensate."
(End of Chapter)