GIVE UP ON THAT SEA

Inside the Baratie dining room, Don Krieg stands tall, addressing Zeff. Krieg says, "So you were alive, Red-Leg Zeff... The peerless captain and cook of his own pirate crew." Zeff, standing calmly in his chef's uniform, replies, "So what if I'm alive? It's got nothing to do with you. As you can see, I'm living as a mere cook now." Luffy, Sanji, and the other Baratie cooks watch the exchange closely. Krieg, carrying a large sack of food over his shoulder, looks down at Zeff with a confident smirk.

Krieg continues his speech, looking amused. "Hahaha... Interesting to hear it put that way... But from the way I see it, you're living as a cook not by choice, but because that's the only thing you can do." Zeff remains silent, his expression stern. Krieg points out, "With the way you are now, you can't wear your infamous 'red shoes.'" A dramatic silhouette illustrates Zeff in his prime, delivering a powerful kick that shatters the ground. Krieg describes the legend: "To speak of Red-Leg Zeff, is to speak of the master of kicking who refused to use his hands in battle! The pirate whose destructive kicks could pulverize bedrock, and leave a clear imprint even on steel!"

The focus shifts to Zeff's peg leg. Krieg says, "Your nickname 'Red-Leg' refers to your legs, that would be dyed in the blood of your enemies after a fight." Krieg looks at Zeff with a smirk. "Though I've heard from rumours that you died during a shipwreck, it seems that you've managed to survive, though at the cost of one of your precious legs. With one of your legs gone, you shouldn't be able to fight anymore." Sanji listens, his face showing a mix of shock and concern. Zeff holds up his hands, unbothered. "I may not be able to fight anymore but I can still cook as long as I have these hands. But just what are you getting at exactly?"

Krieg points a thumb at himself, grinning confidently. "Red-Leg Zeff, you're a man who once braved the waters of the Devil's Hideout, the Grand Line itself! Not only that, you returned without injury. You must've kept a log during your time in Grand Line. So what I'm getting at is... Hand over that log to me!" Luffy, standing nearby, looks excited and asks, "Cool, you've been to Grand Line, old man?" Zeff confirms, "Yes. You are certainly correct to assume that I kept a log, and I indeed have it to this day." Zeff's expression hardens as he refuses. "But I shan't hand that over to you. That log is the pride of me and my men who bravely ventured Grand Line together. It's much too valuable to give to the likes of you!"

Krieg raises a massive fist, his expression darkening. "Then I'll just steal it from you! It's true that I came back defeated from Grand Line...! But even so, I'm still the mighty Don Krieg!" Luffy watches him intently. Krieg continues, his face intense. "That ocean shrouded by darkness, the mention of which alone causes weak men to tremble in their boots...! I had enough power to conquer that sea! Enough manpower! Enough ambition! I simply did not know enough... The only thing I lacked was information! That was my only flaw! Which is why I'll steal your travel log and this ship!" The Baratie cooks look on nervously.

The Baratie cooks erupt in anger, shouting at Krieg. "Like hell we'll let you! If we lose this ship, we've got nowhere to go!" "That's right! All the cooks here were chased out by other restaurants before finally finding their home in this place!" "Owner Zeff is the only one who accepted us as chefs! He's our saviour!" "We ain't letting you pirates steal our home away!" Suddenly, Krieg slams his fist down, creating a massive shockwave that knocks the cooks off their feet. "Silence! The difference in strength between you and I is clear as night and day! I even proved it to you just now! Don't you dare forget that I'm the strongest!" Krieg points to himself with a fierce glare. "Once I obtain Zeff's travel log, I'll reassemble my pirate fleet, and find One Piece to become the greatest pirate of this era!"

Luffy steps forward boldly, pointing directly at Krieg with a serious expression. "Hold it right there! The one who'll become Pirate King is me." The entire room falls silent in shock. Sanji stares at Luffy, wide-eyed. The cooks panic, yelling, "W-what did that errand boy say just now!?" "Hey, stand back down kid! Or you'll be killed!" Luffy breaks into a wide, confident grin. "I'm not standing down, especially on this point!"

Krieg glares down at Luffy, his face shadowed and menacing. "Did you say something, little brat? I'll be nice enough to let your comment just now slide..." Luffy smiles back, unfazed. "It's fine, you don't have to let it slide. I was only stating the truth." Krieg steps closer, his expression deadly serious. "This ain't a game." Luffy replies simply, "Of course." In the background, the cooks whisper frantically among themselves. "Did you hear that just now? Even Krieg couldn't make it in there!" "I won't say anything bad so let's just give up on going to a place like that!" "Just keep your mouth shut."

At a nearby table, Zoro sits with his hand resting on his sword hilt, smirking. Usopp sits across from him. Zoro asks, "You planning to rumble, Luffy? Need a hand?" Luffy looks over his shoulder at them. "Oh hey, Zoro, Usopp. No it's fine, you can just stay sitting down." Krieg throws his head back and laughs uproariously. "Ha.. Ha ha ha! Ahahaha! Those are your crewmates? A rather small bunch, aren't they!?"

Luffy holds up two fingers, correcting Krieg. "What're you talking about!? I've got 2 others as well!" Usopp points at himself, sweating slightly. "Hey, you just counted me in, didn't you?" Krieg's demeanor instantly shifts to pure rage. He yells, "Don't joke with me, punk! Even my fleet of 50 ships and 5000 pirates, were utterly decimated by that devilish sea in just 7 days only because we lacked information!" The cooks are horrified by the revelation. "S-seven days!?" "The entire Krieg pirate fleet was annihilated in just a week!?" "J-just what exactly happened to them!?" "D'you hear that just now!? 50 ships gone! In just a single week!" Zoro grins, intrigued. "Heh, sounds interesting." Krieg glares at Luffy. "Even as a bluff, your comments just now show how completely ignorant you are to reality! If there's one thing I hate, it's empty boasting like yours! Keep saying that and I'll kill you right on the spot once I get back from unloading this food!"

Krieg turns his back, gripping his large sack of food. "I'll give you a little extension. I'm going to go give this food to my subordinates, and then return back here. As for the rest of you... I'd suggest you leave this place within that time if you don't want to die. The only things I need are this ship and Zeff's travel log." Krieg walks out the door of the Baratie. "If any of you still feel like dying even after I warned you, then so be it! I'll bury you to the bottom of the sea for eternity!"

Outside, Krieg's massive, heavily damaged galleon floats on the sea next to the Baratie. Inside the restaurant, Gin is on his hands and knees, bowing deeply and crying. "Sanji... Please forgive me! I had no idea... No idea at all that this would happen...! I..." Zeff looks down at him calmly. "There's no need for you to apologize. The cooks of this restaurant acted out of their own free will, and this is the result of that." A cook in the background says, "Sir!" while another looks confused, saying, "Huh?".

The Baratie cooks angrily confront Zeff and Sanji. "Sir! How could you of all people side with Sanji on this!?" "Just what's the meaning of this!?" "That's right! He's the one to blame for all this!" "He just wants to destroy this restaurant that's so important to you, sir!" They turn their anger towards Sanji, who is sitting on the floor. "Sanji! Were you planning on using this mess we're in to become the next head chef!? Or have you just completely lost it!? Which is it!?" Zeff suddenly shouts, "Silence, you numbskulls!" Zeff's expression turns grave as he addresses the cooks. "Have any one of you ever been hungry enough to die...? Do any of you know just how terrifying and painful it is, to be stuck in this ocean, deprived of food and water!?" Sanji is shown covering his face with his hand, looking deeply affected by Zeff's words.

Zeff continues his stern lecture. "If you've got time to be crying over spilt milk, then just leave this place using the back door!" Patty and Carne stand firm, gripping their large weapons: a giant fork and a meat mallet. Patty says, "Wha... What do you mean, sir!? I'm... I'm gonna stay here. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I just left without a fight." Carne agrees, "...Same here. This is the place I live and work at. Not like I've got anywhere else to go to..." Gin looks up from the floor, pleading. "W-what're you all doing!? Haven't you realized how powerful the Don is by now!? You need to run away!" Sanji lights a cigarette and looks down at Gin. "Hey, Gin... Let me tell you something. It's my duty as a cook to feed anyone who's starving."

Sanji exhales smoke, his expression cold. "But the ones who're coming to attack this ship are those who've already been fed. So you better not complain when I kill them." A close-up shows Sanji's intense, shadowed eye. "If someone is planning on stealing this ship, then I'll kill that person without a second thought, even if it's you. Got that?" Patty yells at Sanji, gripping his giant fork. "Hmph. You save a person only to kill him afterward? Some guy you are." Sanji replies without looking at him, "Shut up, you shitty cook."

Back at their table, Usopp leans back in his chair, pointing at Sanji. "Hey! What do you think about him? Pretty good, right?" Zoro, resting his arm on the table, replies dismissively, "Who cares about him! If we don't get out of here soon..." Usopp panics, "Calm down. Our enemies are wounded pirates." Luffy smiles confidently. "That's right. And besides, I have to fight with that guy. If he truly is strong, then he and I are going to butt heads eventually anyways!" Luffy then turns his attention to Gin. "Oh that's right, Gin. HM? You said you didn't know anything about the Grand Line. But didn't you guys go there?" Gin sits on the floor, clutching his head in distress. "What I don't know is the truth... I just can't believe it... I just don't know if those 7 days we spent in Grand Line was real or just a nightmare... I'm still wrestling with it in my mind......He just appeared all of a sudden..."

A dramatic flashback panel shows a massive, dark silhouette of a man wielding a giant sword, effortlessly slicing through Krieg's pirate fleet. The ships are shown breaking apart in the turbulent sea. Gin's face is shown in a state of absolute terror, sweating profusely. "To think all 50 ships of the Krieg pirate fleet, were destroyed by a single man...!!!" Back in the present, everyone reacts with extreme shock. Sanji drops his cigarette, Zeff looks stunned, and Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp yell in disbelief. "WHAT!?" "The entire Krieg pirate fleet was crushed by a single man!?" "Impossible!"

The flashback continues, showing the devastated remains of Krieg's fleet sinking into the ocean amidst a violent storm. Gin narrates, "While we still had no idea what was going on, our ships sank one by one... And if it weren't for that storm that whisked us away, even our main ship would've sunk..." In the present, Gin is trembling on the floor, overwhelmed by the memory. "I don't even know how many of our ships managed to survive... It's just too terrifying to believe as real...! I don't even want to think about..." Zoro's face is shown in a tight close-up, sweating and looking incredibly intense. Gin continues, "That hawk-eyed man whose glare is sharp enough to kill a man...! I don't! I don't want to think about him!" Zoro reacts with a shocked, "WHAT!?"

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