"!"
Zoro's focus peaked.
He didn't even have time to think. Acting purely on instinct, he drew his sword and blocked.
Clang!
The crisp ring of metal striking metal exploded through the room.
A tremendous force poured down the blade. Zoro's feet carved two deep grooves across the wooden floor as he was driven back again and again.
His arms trembled. The power behind that slash had far exceeded the limit of what he could withstand.
Fortunately, the slash didn't seem particularly sharp. It felt more like a greeting.
Otherwise, with his reaction just now, he probably would have been cut clean in half at the waist.
He stumbled back, about to be thrown into the restaurant wall.
A tall blond figure appeared silently behind him.
A large hand reached out and firmly pressed down on his shoulder.
"Alright, alright. Since you know each other, be a little civilized when you catch up."
The speaker's voice was lazy, carrying a faint smell of tobacco, "No fighting in the restaurant."
"Put me down!"
A faint trace of cigarette smoke drifted into Zoro's nose. Like a cat being grabbed by the scruff of its neck, he struggled wildly, trying to break free.
In the middle of struggling, he finally turned his head and got a clear look at the newcomer.
It was an absurdly tall blond young man.
He was well over two meters tall, dressed in a neatly tailored black suit. A long lock of blond hair almost completely covered his left eye.
A cigarette hung from his mouth, and his whole body gave off a laziness that seemed to come from the bone.
"Alright, alright. Down you go."
Sanji casually let go, dropping Zoro onto the floor with a thump.
Actually, even if he hadn't stepped in, nothing would have happened to Zoro. Kuina had obviously held back.
Still, as the nominal owner of this restaurant, he had to pick a suitable moment to show his face.
And that moment had looked just right.
"And who are you?"
Usopp spoke up at just the right time.
His eyes met Sanji's, and a hint of amusement flashed through Sanji's gaze.
Usopp naturally gave him an opening.
Although he used to follow Shirahoshi around, he wasn't on bad terms with Sanji.
To be honest, he had wanted to follow Shirahoshi, but she had never thought much of him.
So the people he spent the most time with were actually Ace's and Sanji's group.
"Me..."
Sanji took the cigarette from his mouth, slowly blew out a smoke ring, and grinned, "My name's Sanji. Just an ordinary chef."
"A chef? Great!"
Luffy raised his hand and laughed, his eyes curving into crescents.
"I want delicious food!"
He had actually already stepped in front of Zoro, ready to help.
But Nami had gently tugged at his sleeve and quietly told him this was Zoro's own dream.
Luffy froze for a moment, then obediently stepped back.
A dream? Of course you had to chase it yourself.
Still, if Zoro needed help, he would definitely rush in.
There was no question about it.
"Whatever you want to eat, just tell me."
Sanji grinned, showing a mouthful of white teeth. Without ceremony, he slung one arm over Luffy's shoulder, hauled the limp Zoro up with the other, and half-pushed, half-dragged them both into seats at the dining table.
"Don't worry. Since you've come to my place, I'll make sure every one of you leaves too full to walk."
"Grilled meat! Grilled meat!"
Luffy laughed as both hands started drumming on the table. He was practically drooling onto the tablecloth.
"No problem. I'll get you the best grilled meat in the restaurant."
Sanji burst out laughing and tilted his chin toward a passing waiter, giving him a signal.
The waiter in the white uniform recognized him, instantly straightened his back with a sharp gasp, nodded repeatedly, then turned and sprinted toward the kitchen.
He looked like someone had just kicked him from behind.
"Huh?"
Tilting his head, Luffy blinked at Sanji, "Aren't you going to cook?"
"Haha! I'm the best chef in this restaurant."
Sanji put the cigarette back in his mouth, blew out another smoke ring, and lazily leaned back in his chair, "You poor kids can't afford the price for me to cook. Let the old man make it for you."
"I don't want that!"
Luffy immediately shook his head like a rattle drum and slapped the table.
"You're the best chef! I want to eat food you make!"
"..."
He shouted so loudly that nearly half the restaurant immediately turned to look.
Actually, most of those eyes had already been watching this table.
Most were curious.
A few openly looked down on them.
Nami felt her temples twitch. Her face burned with embarrassment, and she almost wanted to cover it with a napkin.
She glared at Luffy, then at Usopp, hoping he would hurry up and smooth things over.
After all, the loud, ill-mannered guy yelling in the middle of the restaurant was their captain.
'How embarrassing!'
Way too embarrassing.
It would have been one thing before, but this time her acquaintances were here.
When Usopp didn't react, Nami could only step in herself.
"Alright! Alright! We..."
"Tsk! Tsk!"
A teasing female voice drifted lazily from the neighboring table, cutting Nami off, "As expected of a backwater place."
The speaker wore an exquisitely tailored black dress.
Her long purple hair rested loosely on her collarbone, and her figure was impossibly curvy.
Holding a wine glass, she lightly tapped the rim with her crimson-painted fingernails, the corner of her lips curling into a meaningful smile.
"People from little places really don't know proper manners. They actually dare make such a fuss and ask His Excellency's son to cook for them."
The sarcasm in her voice was unmistakable.
Nami's mouth twitched.
She turned and glared openly at the woman.
Pressing her lips together, she silently mouthed the words, 'Carina, you bitch! I'll remember this.'
Still, what the woman had just said genuinely surprised her.
She turned to look at Sanji.
'His Excellency's son?'
Who would have thought?
The hero from that legendary story she'd heard about was actually sitting right across from her, smoking and joking around with them.
Rosse was such a dignified man.
How did his son turn out like this?
Thinking about it, her luck hadn't been as good as Usopp's.
Back when His Excellency Rosse had been choosing the God-Chosen Princesses, her adoptive mother, her older sister, and her best friend had all been selected.
She had been selected too.
But for the sake of freedom, she had turned the opportunity down.
Even so, deep down, she'd never really disliked the World Government.
After all, the village that had become a living hell under the Arlong Pirates had ultimately been saved by the World Government.
Only later did she learn that the whole world had been peaceful and prosperous, while only the East Blue had deliberately been left as a lawless land.
When she found that out, her feelings had become incredibly complicated.
"Tsk! Tsk! Carina."
Sanji rubbed his temples with a headache, the hand holding his cigarette full of helplessness.
"Even if you're one of Father's women, do you have to expose me every chance you get? At least let me pick the right moment to reveal my identity."
Originally, he'd planned to keep his identity hidden and sneak into the Straw Hat Pirates to have some fun.
But thanks to this lady opening her mouth, that plan had fallen apart on the spot.
Well, no helping it. He'd just have to join them directly.
"Hey!"
At that moment, Zoro suddenly spoke.
His eyes were fixed on Sanji, burning with fighting spirit, "You said you're the son of His Excellency Rosse. Then you should be pretty strong, right?"
"How should I put it...", Sanji smiled lazily.
Holding the cigarette between his fingers, he slowly lowered his free hand onto the table.
It was an utterly ordinary movement.
His hand descended, about to touch the tabletop.
But, just as his fingertips were about to make contact, a sword suddenly appeared out of nowhere in his empty hand.
BANG!
Sanji rested his hand on the table, and the famous sword with its pure white scabbard and plum blossom tsuba struck the wood with a crisp sound.
"Wado Ichimonji!"
Zoro's eyes looked to his waist as he shot to his feet.
The chair behind him scraped backward.
Instinctively, he reached for his waist.
Empty.
There was nothing there.
Only then did he realize the sword he'd just sheathed had disappeared.
A swordsman couldn't notice when his own sword was taken?
This wasn't just a gap in strength anymore.
It meant he wasn't even qualified to call himself a swordsman.
Zoro's face instantly turned pale.
His right hand, still gripping empty air, trembled slightly as he froze in place, his breathing growing ragged.
"You still haven't improved, Zoro."
At the table by the window, Kuina let out a quiet sigh.
The next moment...
Whoosh!
She vanished from her chair.
Tap!
A breeze brushed across everyone's faces.
It was the aftershock of the clash.
When the breeze faded, Kuina was already standing steadily beside Zoro.
In her hand was Wado Ichimonji's scabbard.
Across the table, Sanji still had the cigarette in his mouth. His now-empty hand was resting against the cigarette's tip, as if putting it out.
The entire exchange had taken less than half a breath.
But aside from Usopp, no one present had managed to see how the two of them had moved.
Nami and Luffy still had their mouths hanging open, as though someone had secretly fast-forwarded time.
"Here," Kuina smiled and handed Wado Ichimonji back to Zoro.
"Don't let anyone take it again. I won't give it back to you more than ten times. You still have eight chances left. I told you before, didn't I? You're not suited to be a swordsman. You're still too inexperienced."
Zoro silently accepted the sword.
But, holding it in his hands, he felt none of the joy of getting it back.
Instead, he felt humiliation that cut straight to the bone.
His own sword had been taken with ease.
Then the opponent he'd always wanted to defeat had personally handed it back to him.
The humiliation almost burned him to ashes.
Zoro bit his lower lip hard and stood frozen, wishing he could disappear into a crack in the ground.
Just then...
Bang!
"You bastard! Don't bully my crewmate! And don't you dare deny his dream!"
Luffy slammed both hands onto the table and shot to his feet.
The cups on the table jumped from the impact, sending tea splashing everywhere.
He puffed out his cheeks and glared angrily at everyone there.
Seeing how furious he was, the people in the restaurant who knew the truth all looked a little surprised.
But not that surprised.
After all, you couldn't become a Child of Destiny without some real ability.
"Oh?"
Kuina smiled as she turned toward Luffy, openly sizing him up.
There wasn't the slightest sign that she took the angry boy in front of her seriously.
Folding her arms, she leaned lazily against the table, "So, how exactly do you plan to stand up for your crewmate?"
She was Gion's disciple.
Not a disciple in name only, but Gion's true personal disciple, trained by her own hands.
As Rosse's most beloved woman, Gion's strength and status were beyond comparison.
Rosse valued Aizen's talent, but when it came to affection, Gion and Stella had always ranked first.
And Rosse happened to be a very selfish man.
As Gion's only disciple, there was no way Kuina could be weak.
Besides that, she had another identity.
Shirahoshi's personal CP0 bodyguard.
As long as Shirahoshi traveled officially, Kuina would always accompany her.
In a sense, she also represented Shirahoshi's will.
So when facing someone like Luffy, she genuinely looked down on him.
It wasn't because he lacked potential or had a bad personality.
It was because someone destined to become nothing more than a piece on the chessboard only stirred an indescribable sense of pity deep inside her.
"I'm going to..."
Luffy grinned, his dark eyes shining brightly.
"Knock you flying!"
The answer was simple and direct.
He didn't give Zoro any chance to stop him.
In fact, before Zoro could even get out the word "Wait," Luffy had already thrown his punch.
Actually, the person he'd wanted to hit first had been Sanji.
After all, Sanji was the one who'd taken Zoro's sword.
But instinctively, he found the way Kuina was looking at him especially annoying.
He'd seen that look on many people's faces before.
It was the look of someone treating him as a joke.
Treating his dream as a joke.
He hated that look more than anything.
"Ahhh! Gomu-Gomu no..."
Luffy's arm swelled and stretched in a bizarre way, pulling back like a spring until it reached its limit.
"Pistol!"
Whoosh!
The punch howled through the air, rushing straight toward Kuina's forehead.
But, faced with the fist, Kuina didn't even bother to dodge.
No, she didn't even blink.
Bang!
The punch landed squarely on her forehead.
But there was no blood.
Not even a red mark.
Even the short strand of hair hanging over her forehead wasn't disturbed in the slightest.
Kuina hadn't even used Armament Haki.
There was simply no need to dodge an attack like this.
Back when she first began training, the blows her body endured on the very first day had been far stronger than this.