Gin brought Krieg to the Baratie. This fleet admiral, once renowned throughout the East Blue, wore golden armor but looked pathetic, with bandages on his head, looking like he was about to starve to death.
Although Gin carried considerable money this time, the Baratie's cook Patty still refused to treat him and the notorious Krieg as customers, declaring he would contact the Marines to deal with them and absolutely would not give them anything to eat.
To survive, Krieg actually knelt down and begged the restaurant staff for food, vowing earnestly that once full, they would leave without harming anyone or causing trouble—even leftovers would do.
Seeing Krieg stoop so low, Gin felt deeply pained, his eyes turning red.
"Boss! Don't do this! You shouldn't have to lower your head to others! That's not something you should do!"
After saying this, Gin also knelt down and knocked his head heavily toward Patty.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Gin's head slammed extremely hard into the floorboards as he kept kowtowing. Soon, blood from his head soaked into the light gray headscarf with blue stripes tied around his forehead. Yet he didn't stop, continuing to kowtow to Patty and the others, begging them to give Krieg food.
In the end, it was Sanji who kicked away the Patty blocking him and gave Krieg something to eat. Though Sanji's actions were opposed by many, he did it anyway. In his view, he would feed anyone who was hungry.
While Krieg was filling his stomach, Tom and Usopp were chatting outside the restaurant, while Zoro remained inside drinking.
"Is that the ship of the so-called 'Strongest in the East Blue'? It's so dilapidated. Far worse than our Going Merry," Tom said, looking at the massive ship with a black panther figurehead moored not far from the restaurant. It was a huge three-decker vessel that looked battered to ruin. The ferocious panther-head figurehead was missing a piece, even the Jolly Roger fluttering on the mast was so tattered it was unrecognizable. The hull itself was cracked apart, as if about to break into several sections. At first glance, it seemed to have encountered some terrifying natural disaster.
"Of course! Our ship was a gift from Kaya. It's absolutely the best," Usopp said, then became frightened.
"But they're known as the strongest pirate group in the East Blue! We should take the chance to run away quickly!"
"Calm down. That Krieg doesn't seem so impressive. If it really comes to a fight, he's no match for us," Tom said, feeling exasperated that Usopp's legs were shaking when nothing had even happened yet.
"Where do you get that confidence? He has a fleet of fifty ships!" Usopp said, placing a hand on Tom's shoulder and whispering.
"Aren't you the one with eight thousand elite subordinates? What are you afraid of?" Tom said, laughing at Usopp.
"That's right! Speaking of my eight thousand elite soldiers who dominated the seas, back when I led them invincibly..."
Usopp began boasting proudly, but before he could finish, Tom asked, "Where's Nami?"
"Hey! Listen to me properly!" Usopp complained, then continued, "Nami went back to the ship. Probably preparing to slip away at any time. I'd like to stay on the ship too. Feels safer."
Just as Tom was about to say something to Usopp, he heard Gin's voice from inside the restaurant:
"Boss! That's not what you said earlier! You said you wouldn't target this restaurant! And that cook is my benefactor!"
It turned out that after eating his fill, Krieg had knocked away the cook who gave him food—Sanji—shocking everyone present. Gin couldn't help but speak out to stop him.
Ignoring Gin, Krieg reached out, grabbed his shoulder, and squeezed hard, making Gin scream immediately. Then Krieg swept his cold gaze across the restaurant patrons and said, "This restaurant is really nice. I'm taking this ship."
Clearly, Krieg saw the sea restaurant's ship as suitable and wanted to take it by force, as his own ship, the Dreadnaught Sabre, was too wrecked to sail properly. He needed a new vessel. Furthermore, Krieg planned to disguise it as a sea restaurant after seizing it, using it to approach enemies unexpectedly and eliminate them—his mind full of underhanded schemes.
Krieg also forced the restaurant chefs to prepare food for one hundred people to save his injured and utterly weakened subordinates.
Sanji complied and went to the kitchen to make enough food for a hundred, only to be surrounded by the restaurant's other chefs, who pointed guns at him, preventing him from doing so. Patty and the others shouted angrily at Sanji, questioning why he would help a hopeless and cold-blooded villain like Krieg.
Sanji took a drag from his cigarette and said,
"Don't you understand? Giving food to those who want to eat—that's what a cook is!"
The chefs were struck speechless by Sanji's words, but Patty still took Sanji down, accusing him that if he hadn't saved Gin that day, this trouble wouldn't have happened. He forbade Sanji from causing more chaos again.
Seeing only one enemy—Krieg—Patty took out a hidden cannon and fired a shot at him. However, Krieg took the cannonball head-on, completely unharmed due to his steel armor.
The restaurant chefs, seeing the cannon useless, were shocked, but not afraid. They all charged at Krieg with weapons, only to be easily defeated by him.
Tom watched the entire process. This Krieg was covered in weapons and wore armor that could withstand cannon fire. Fighting him would indeed be somewhat troublesome, but not impossible to handle.
Usopp hid behind Tom, his teeth chattering.
Seeing Sanji's attitude toward the hungry, Tom somewhat understood why Luffy wanted to invite this woman-obsessed, curly-browed cook to join them. That guy's stubbornness and conviction toward certain beliefs were no less than anyone among them.
Tom had heard Luffy say that Sanji wanted to find the legendary sea that contained ingredients from all four oceans but, for some reason, never agreed to set sail.
"You people dare disobey my orders? I am the strongest in the world!" Krieg shouted darkly.
"I have arms of steel stronger than anyone's, armor made of Damascus steel harder than anyone's, and diamond fists capable of destroying anything! Added to the powerful weapons I carry, my fifty-ship fleet, and five thousand men, I have never been defeated! I am the strongest overlord of the East Blue!"
"So awesome! How could we possibly beat him?!" Usopp screamed while holding his head.
"Idiot. He's just bragging. If that were true, wouldn't he be invincible?" Tom thought, watching Krieg flaunt his golden armor and the shining diamonds on his gauntlets. His words were so exaggerated, he was practically labeling himself the number one in the world. He really was arrogant to the extreme.
"Oh, he's just talking big. Scared me," Usopp said, letting out a breath of relief and wiping the cold sweat off his forehead.
"Are you two doubting my strength?" Krieg's face darkened as he looked at Tom and Usopp.
"I just dislike boastful, arrogant, and untrustworthy jerks like you," Tom had just said this to Krieg when Usopp behind him asked, "Are you talking about me?"
Tom sweatdropped completely.
Usopp, don't lump yourself into that! I never said you were like that. How gloomy does your self-esteem have to be to assume that?
"Why are you looking at me with that vicious glare? Want to fight? I'm not afraid! I won't hold back!" Usopp said bravely to Krieg, then quickly stepped back several steps, waving his fists at Tom instead and shouting, "Go on, Tom! Beat him up!"
"If you really want to beat him, do it yourself," Tom said, a thick line of frustration forming on his forehead.
"You're looking for death!" Krieg was clearly enraged. His diamond-studded gauntlet fist swung toward Tom.
"Are those diamonds even real?" Tom said, sidestepping the attack, grabbing Krieg's fist with his left hand, and tapping the diamonds a few times with his right hand.
"All the weapons and armor on me are the real deal! Who do you think I am? Someone who would use fake garbage?" Krieg, further angered by Tom's words, swung his right arm forcefully, flinging Tom aside.
"I see. You do have great physical strength. But in terms of raw strength alone, you're not as strong as me," Tom said, taking out the fishing rod from his right arm sheath.
"Tom, are you okay alone?"
"Need help?"
Luffy and Zoro, sitting at a dining table, asked upon seeing Tom in a fight.
"No need! I can handle it!" As soon as Tom said this, Luffy and Zoro turned around—one continuing to stuff his face, the other drinking cup after cup, not caring about Tom at all anymore.
"Ahahahaha! Are those your crewmates? All four of you look weak and fragile," Krieg said, glancing at Luffy and the others—only two sitting alone—and burst into mocking laughter.
"What are you talking about? We have two more crewmates!" Luffy held up two fingers, pointing out the error in Krieg's words. The other two he mentioned included Nami, who wasn't present.
"Why are you counting me in?" Sanji, sitting on the ground, said to Luffy.
"I don't care how many of you there are! You're all useless trash!" Krieg said to Tom. "It seems you're determined to make trouble. But someone like you... are you even a pirate?"
"Of course I'm a pirate. And right now, I'm going to do what pirates often do—steal stuff!" Tom said, extending his fishing rod.
Usopp behind him looked shocked and asked, "You're not really planning to rob the man called the overlord of the East Blue, are you?"
"Is there any doubt? The diamonds in his gauntlets look nice. I plan to take them," Tom said. This statement not only stunned Usopp but also left the Baratie chefs and customers petrified.
"That guy's a madman! He actually wants to steal from Krieg!"
"A no-name pirate crew dares target the strongest pirate in the East Blue? And with so few people? What can they do?"
Amid the stirring commotion, Usopp asked Tom, "Why are you stealing his diamonds?"
Gin, lying on the ground, looked at Tom, remembering a few days ago when he was eating the food Sanji gave him. Luffy had come out, and through conversation, learned that Luffy and the others were preparing to head for the Grand Line, with Luffy's goal being Pirate King. At the time, recalling the terrifying things they encountered in the Grand Line, Gin had wondered what kind of crewmates Luffy had.
Now, Gin finally understood deeply what Luffy's crewmates were like. This guy's courage was boundless!
Didn't he know that in the East Blue, Krieg was the strongest pirate who had never been defeated?
"Nami's mood has been bad these past few days, right? I want to give her the diamonds I steal. Maybe it'll cheer her up," Tom stated truthfully. He saw the diamonds on Krieg's gauntlets were quite large and probably valuable—perfect for giving to Nami. That's why he asked Krieg to confirm if they were real. If they were fake, he couldn't be bothered to fight, lest he give them to Nami only to get beaten up by the woman.
"In that case, I support you! Nami's temper has been terrible these days. If she's in a good mood, our days on the ship will be much better," Usopp said, firmly taking a stance upon hearing Tom's reason. He had been beaten at least seven times by Nami these past few days and was truly suffering.
"That's a pretty good idea. I'm impressed you came up with it," Zoro said, taking a sip of wine, looking pleased. It seemed he also hadn't escaped being beaten by Nami recently.
"You're so smart! Are you a genius?" Luffy said, eyes wide, excited and amazed. Just yesterday, he had been beaten and knocked into the sea for snoring louder than Tom. He had truly suffered enough.
"It's nothing. I'm just a little bit smarter than you guys. Ahahahaha!" Tom said, scratching his head proudly. He had been suffering the worst these days. The slightest mistake, and Nami wouldn't let him off. To escape this nightmare, he didn't care who Krieg was.
If Fullbody hadn't slipped away so fast, Tom might have gone to loot his ship again.
"What?! If it can make that beautiful and charming lady happy, then I must steal those diamonds too!" Sanji said upon hearing Tom, standing up to walk toward Krieg.
Zeff behind him said, "Have you decided to be a pirate with them already?"
Hearing Zeff's words, Sanji froze, then slowly sat back down on the ground, lowering his head and saying nothing.
"You're not joking with me, are you?" Krieg said, seeing Tom wanted to steal his belongings for what seemed like an absurd reason—stealing his gauntlet diamonds just to make a woman happy. This made Krieg think Tom and the others were utter lunatics.
"If you're willing to give me that diamond-studded gauntlet voluntarily, that would be the best. Then I won't have to beat you up!" Tom said seriously to Krieg.
"Are you their captain?" Krieg asked, stepping forward.
"No. The captain is the guy with the straw hat. On the ship, I'm just a fisherman," Tom said, sweeping his rod at Krieg. "Seems you don't plan to hand over the diamonds I want. Then I'll just have to use the pirate's way and take them!"
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T/N :
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