Gin brought Don Krieg to the floating restaurant, Baratie.

Once a feared admiral of a massive fleet in the East Blue, Krieg now wore his signature golden armor — but his current appearance was pitiful. His head was wrapped in bandages, his body gaunt, looking as if he were on the brink of starving to death.

Although Gin had brought quite a bit of money this time, Baratie's chef, Patty, still refused to treat him and the infamous Don Krieg as guests. He even declared that he would call the Marines to deal with them and would never give them so much as a scrap of food.

To everyone's shock, Krieg actually went down on his knees, begging for food. He swore that once they ate their fill, they would leave immediately, wouldn't harm anyone here, and wouldn't cause trouble — even leftovers would be fine.

Seeing Krieg humble himself so much made Gin's eyes burn red.

"Boss, you don't need to do this! You don't have to bow your head to anyone — that's not who you are!"

Gin then knelt as well, bowing heavily toward Patty.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Gin slammed his forehead against the wooden floor with all his strength. Before long, blood seeped through his light gray headscarf with blue stripes, but he didn't stop. He kept bowing, desperately begging them to give Krieg food.

In the end, it was Sanji who kicked Patty aside and handed Krieg something to eat.

Although many strongly objected to Sanji's actions, he still did it. In his eyes, if someone was hungry, no matter who they were, they deserved to eat.

While Krieg was stuffing food into his mouth, Alex and Usopp were outside the restaurant chatting. Zoro, meanwhile, was still inside drinking.

"So this is the ship of the so-called ruler of the East Blue? Pretty pathetic. The Going Merry is miles better."

Alex eyed the massive vessel anchored not far from Baratie — the one with a panther-shaped prow.

It was a huge three-deck warship, but in terrible condition. The fierce panther figurehead had a broken corner, the pirate flag was tattered, and the hull was cracked as if it might snap in half. It looked like it had gone through some terrifying disaster.

"Of course! Our ship was a gift from Kaya — she gave us the best."

Usopp, however, quickly turned pale. "But they're supposed to be the strongest pirate crew in the East Blue! We should run while we can!"

"Calm down. From what I've seen, Krieg isn't that impressive. If it comes to a fight, he's not our match."

Alex felt speechless seeing Usopp's legs trembling when nothing had even happened yet.

"Where do you get that confidence? He commands fifty ships!"

Usopp leaned closer, whispering.

"Aren't you the one with eight thousand elite troops? What's there to be afraid of?" Alex smirked.

Usopp puffed up proudly. "That's right! Back when I commanded my eight thousand men, I—"

"Where's Nami?" Alex interrupted.

"Hey! Don't cut me off!" Usopp pouted. "She went back to the ship. Probably ready to set sail at any moment. Honestly, I'd rather be there too — it feels safer."

Before Alex could reply, Gin's voice erupted from inside:

"You didn't say this earlier, Boss! You promised not to touch this restaurant — especially since that chef is my benefactor!"

Turns out that right after eating, Krieg had punched Sanji away, shocking everyone. Gin tried to stop him, but Krieg ignored him, gripping Gin's shoulder painfully before declaring coldly:

"This ship's not bad. I'll be taking it."

His own warship, the Dreadnought Sabre, was practically falling apart. Krieg's plan was to seize Baratie, disguise it as a floating restaurant, and use it to get close to enemies before striking — all while forcing the chefs to cook for his starving, wounded men.

Sanji went to prepare food for a hundred people, but the other chefs drew their pistols and surrounded him, demanding to know why he would help someone as cruel as Krieg.

Sanji took a drag from his cigarette and replied, "Don't you get it? A cook feeds anyone who's hungry. That's what it means to be a chef."

Though his words silenced the room, Patty still knocked him down, blaming him for bringing trouble by saving Gin in the first place.

Seeing Krieg alone, Patty fired a hidden cannon at him. The shell hit directly — but Krieg's steel armor left him completely unharmed.

The chefs charged in with weapons, but Krieg easily knocked them aside.

Alex, watching from outside, sized him up — fully armed, wearing armor that could withstand cannon fire. Fighting him would be tricky, but not impossible.

Usopp hid behind Alex, teeth chattering.

Watching Sanji's unwavering resolve, Alex began to understand why Luffy wanted him on the crew. For certain ideals, Sanji's determination rivaled any of them.

Luffy had told Alex before that Sanji was searching for the legendary All Blue, the ocean with every ingredient from all four seas — though for some reason, he refused to set sail.

"You dare defy me? I'm the strongest in the world!" Krieg bellowed.

"I have the mightiest steel arms, Damascus steel armor harder than anything, diamond fists that can crush anything, and enough weapons to destroy it all! With my fifty ships and five thousand men, I've never been defeated! I am the supreme ruler of the East Blue!"

"How are we supposed to beat someone like that?!" Usopp screamed, clutching his head.

"Idiot. He's just bragging. If it were all true, he'd be invincible already." Alex shook his head at Krieg's over-the-top boasting.

"Oh… so he's just talking big. Phew…" Usopp wiped the sweat from his brow in relief.

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