Cough!
Krieg coughed up a mouthful of blood, clutching his abdomen as he forced himself to stand despite the pain.
In that moment, only one thought occupied his mind...
How could a mere kid be this powerful? It didn't make any sense!
But...
There was no time to dwell on that question.
Because Sanji, now engulfed in flames, was already charging at him again.
Boom!!!
The roaring flames surged forward like a massive dragon, its gaping maw swallowing Krieg whole.
Determined to end this charade at the Baratie and get back to business, Sanji unleashed all his strength.
Everyone present—whether pirate or Baratie staff—stopped what they were doing and watched in awe.
The searing flames lit up the sky, as though a volcano had erupted from the depths of the ocean.
"Flambé Shot!"
"Wait...wait!!!"
Feeling the unbearable heat closing in, Krieg frantically tried to stop Sanji's attack with a desperate shout.
But it was futile.
Stopping a full-force attack mid-strike? Impossible.
"Damn it!"
Seeing Sanji's attack coming, Krieg panicked and quickly deployed his defensive gear.
"Spiked Armor!"
With a sharp *clang*, an iron wall bristling with giant spikes sprang up from Krieg's golden armor, shielding him completely.
The spikes were deadly; if Sanji continued his charge, he'd surely be impaled by them.
"Let's see you get through this!" Krieg sneered, hatred and murderous intent burning in his eyes.
As a notorious pirate in the East Blue, he couldn't afford for anyone to witness him being humiliated like this. His reputation was on the line.
He glanced at the onlookers, a sinister idea forming in his mind.
Maybe he should just poison everyone here!
But...
Sanji, poised to strike, raised an eyebrow at Krieg's smugness.
Hearing Krieg's confident taunt, a puzzled look crossed his face.
"Does this idiot not realize metal conducts heat?"
Sanji muttered, baffled by Krieg's flawed logic.
Did he really think he could withstand the flames by hiding inside an iron box?
That thought flickered briefly in his mind.
But Sanji didn't hesitate—he poured even more energy into the flames swirling around him, focusing it all into his right leg.
"It's over!" he declared.
With a low growl, Sanji's fiery kick shot forward, the dragon of flame roaring as it swallowed Krieg and his spiked armor.
Boom!!!
The fire dragon's jaws clamped down, engulfing Krieg and his iron defenses.
The intense heat rapidly turned the metal into a molten red mass.
Inside his iron cocoon, Krieg fell silent.
Boom!!!
As the unbearable heat pressed in, Krieg suddenly realized...
When he designed this armor, he hadn't accounted for fire-based attacks.
And now, his golden armor was acting as the perfect conductor of heat.
Before he could think of a way out, the scorching heat invaded his mind.
"No!!!"
With a final, desperate scream, Krieg succumbed to the pain that consumed his body. The lack of oxygen in the enclosed space made it worse—his eyes rolled back, and he passed out.
…
…
Meanwhile...
Torchic was also not to be underestimated.
Seeing Gin's hammer miss, a cunning light sparkled in its eyes.
"Chii!"
With a sharp cry, it summoned starlike flames around its body, glowing brilliantly.
Using its Blaze ability, Torchic increased its speed, preparing to unleash a super-fast fiery strike on its foe!
Whoosh!
A streak of red light tore through the air, homing in on Gin.
Although Torchic wasn't as powerful as the bloodline-awakened Sanji, it had just reached level 15.
But even so...
Gin was no match for it.
Bang!!!
The fiery strike hit Gin squarely, sending him flying across the deck.
"It's over!"
In an instant, Gin realized he was completely outclassed.
Resist?
How could he possibly resist?
They weren't even in the same league!
Acknowledging this, Gin, though still conscious, decided to play dead.
What's the point of continuing?
At that moment, the spiked armor that Sanji had attacked could no longer withstand the high-temperature flames. The metal layers cracked like an eggshell...
Revealing an unconscious Krieg.
"Captain Krieg…"
Seeing his boss defeated, Gin sighed deeply, mourning silently.
He had heard rumors about those dimensional merchants, who valued money above all else.
Now both his head and the Captain's had a bounty on them, courtesy of the Navy.
Even if they survived, they'd likely spend the rest of their lives in prison.
Sadly...
Gin had never repaid the leader for saving his life.
As memories flashed through Gin's mind like a spinning lantern, the ruthless warrior felt a rare moment of tenderness.
Clop, clop…
The sound of footsteps echoed closer.
So, this was the end?
Even though he had taken so many lives, when his turn came, Gin found himself reluctant to leave this beautiful world.
But…
he had done terrible things, and this was his fate.
Gin slowly closed his eyes, accepting the judgment that awaited him.
But then...
Sanji's voice cut through the silence.
"Hey, how long are you planning to fake being dead?"
"..."
Gin opened his eyes in confusion and found Sanji and Torchic standing beside him.
Sanji looked mildly irritated.
Torchic's face was full of complaints, as if it were annoyed that Gin had given up so quickly—it hadn't had enough fun yet.
"This…"
Gin stammered, unsure of what they planned to do with him.
But then Sanji pulled something white from his pocket and tossed it at Gin's face.
In a stern tone, he said:
"Get up. You think you can just die after scaring away our customers!?"
"From today onward, all you Krieg Pirates are going to stay at Baratie and work as handymen!"
"Get used to it, and maybe, just maybe, you'll make it as my kitchen helper."
"..."
Handyman? Kitchen helper?
A flood of question marks filled Gin's head. He couldn't process it all at once.
But one thing was clear from Sanji's tone...
It seemed he and his Captain would live.
…
…
Watching Gin's bewildered expression, Sanji snickered to himself.
It just so happened that the old man was worried about staffing the new branch...
Who would've thought hundreds of workers would show up today!
Not only was the manpower issue solved for this branch...
But it seemed they had enough for the second, third… and so on!
And as for these pirates trying to invade Baratie…
Well, that didn't bother Zeff or Sanji one bit.
After all, no one working at Baratie had come through formal hiring channels.
They were all pirates and thugs who'd been beaten into submission by Zeff.
Baratie was already a haven for scoundrels.
Now, it just had a few more.
(End of this chapter)