Chapter 362: Gathering at Baratie: Storm on the Horizon

“Sanji! Get back here and start serving!”

Standing on the second floor, Zeff didn’t even spare a glance at Luffy’s group. He just turned and walked away.

“No matter what you say, I’m not joining your pirate crew.”

“Goodbye.”

Sanji turned down Luffy’s invitation with a gentle refusal, catching Luffy mid-sentence.

“Hey Luffy, what do you think of Sanji as a person?”

Ye Fan watched Sanji’s retreating figure before moving closer to ask Luffy.

“Oh, he’s a great cook! I’ve decided—he’s joining our crew for sure.”

“Well, if that’s how you feel, don’t worry. Just wait here a couple more days, you’ll get your answer.”

As Ye Fan looked at Sanji’s blond hair, an odd image of ghostly blue flames flickered through his mind.

Weird. That reaction caught him off guard. Maybe he was just overthinking things. Hopefully, some troublemaker with a motorcycle wasn’t revving outside Sanji’s house.

“What? Really, Ye Fan? Are you serious?”

“Alright then. We’ll wait right here for two days. That chef is ours.”

Luffy’s beliefs were as stubborn as ever. In his book, anything he wanted to do was as good as done.

“If that’s the captain’s order, we’ll wait here a bit longer. Maybe we’ll even run into Hawk Eyes.”

Honestly, Zoro was still hoping he’d get a shot at meeting the legendary swordsman. Rumor had it Hawk Eyes showed up in these waters pretty often. Maybe today would be his lucky day.

“Ye Fan, hand over the money! Shopping time!”

Nami was sharp as ever. She’d noticed her strength grew faster the longer she stayed on the ship, and she was pretty sure Ye Fan was behind it.

Only Ye Fan insisted everyone drank a cup of that crystal-clear water on schedule every day.

Every time she finished it, Nami could feel herself getting stronger. Now? She could probably knock out a hundred of her old self with ease.

“Don’t blow it all at once! We still need to save some for our bottomless pit of a captain.”

“Hahaha!”

“Yeah, but if I were captain, I definitely wouldn’t let him eat that much.”

Looks like Usopp still wasn’t ready to give up on the idea.

With laughter and banter, the group made their way back to the dining table.

……

After hours sailing at sea, Gin finally reached a battered, nearly destroyed ship.

The vessel stretched nearly 200 meters long and about 70 meters wide—an absolute behemoth. Its hull was scarred from past battles, planks stripped away to reveal gaping wounds, as if bearing silent witness to all its storms.

Pirates were sprawled across the deck by the hundreds, faces hollow and drawn. Sun and salt had toughened their skin, but their eyes were filled with only exhaustion and despair.

One glance told the story: long weeks at sea with no food or water left their crew gaunt and skeletal.

Their clothes were tattered, some unable to even cover themselves fully, so they’d wrapped their bodies in whatever scraps they could find.

Thump, thump, thump…

Footsteps echoed crisply across the deck as Gin strode forward with determination, stepping over the hopeful eyes of the pirates and stopping in front of Krieg.

“Gin, did you get any food?”

Krieg’s raspy voice echoed across the empty deck.

The words made the pirates around them stagger to their feet, clinging to each other with eyes full of desperate hope as they looked at Gin.

If they couldn’t find food or water soon, this ship would be their grave.

“Captain Krieg, I found a floating restaurant, but… can we get what we need without hurting anyone there?”

Gin knew all too well how ruthless Krieg could be, so he tried to plead before things got out of hand.

After all, Sanji and Luffy had saved his life. He couldn’t bear the thought of his saviors meeting a bitter end.

“Not a problem, as long as we get fed.”

With Krieg’s promise, Gin finally went to the bow to point the way, steering them toward the Baratie.

He missed the cold, cunning glint that flashed in Krieg’s eyes.

….

“Ye Fan, how much longer?”

“Think Luffy can really talk Sanji into joining us?”

Usopp muttered his complaint while fiddling with his sniper rifle.

If Ye Fan hadn’t promised they’d only wait two more days, they wouldn’t have been sitting around this long hoping to recruit Sanji.

That sniper rifle in Usopp’s hands was actually a gift from Ye Fan, just so Usopp could finally live up to his title.

“Relax, just a little longer. Oh—wait, scratch that. I meant today’s the day.”

As he spoke, Ye Fan suddenly sensed something and turned, eyes trailing toward the entrance.

Far off, a tattered pirate ship was slowly heading their way.

At the front was Gin, along with the captain of the Krieg Pirates.

It’d taken them three days to get to the Baratie because, even though it didn’t always move, the floating restaurant sometimes drifted with the currents and never stayed in one spot for long.

“Captain, there’s the Baratie up ahead.”

Hearing Gin, Krieg pushed himself up from his seat, stepped to the railing and trained his gaze on the floating restaurant in the distance. “Then let’s pick up the pace.”

Thanks to Gin’s efforts, they’d caught plenty of fish while at sea, but with no fresh water, the crew remained exhausted. Many had fallen ill from vitamin deficiencies, but at least no one had starved—yet.

“Is it a fight?”

“I swear I just felt a dominating blade aura!”

Zoro, who’d been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he stared hard at the stern of that massive ship.

Thanks to the boost from the Great Revitalizing Pill and constant meditation, Zoro’s skill now equaled half a year of training. Sensing the easy-going presence of Hawk Eyes trailing that ship was child’s play.

But he still hadn’t awakened Armament and Observation Haki, so he couldn’t be certain it was Hawk Eyes out there.

“Alright, guys, get our captain. Trouble’s coming.”

Ye Fan jumped to his feet and called out without thinking.

That distant pirate ship was the Krieg Pirates’ vessel, and right behind it was Hawk Eyes. Looked like their adventure here was heading toward its finale.

Nami and Usopp bolted upstairs when they heard Ye Fan’s warning—Luffy was still pestering Sanji to join the crew.

“Sanji, just become part of my pirate crew!”

“Be my crew’s chef! And you want to see the All Blue, don’t you?”

“Trust me. The only place to find that legendary sea is in the New World.”

That tidbit had actually come in a roundabout way from Ye Fan.

As for Luffy—his big promises always rolled off the tongue. Lying came as naturally as breathing for him.