Chapter 44: Krieg Pirates -42
"No... I still have to go to sea with everyone. I just have to endure it a little longer, just a little longer!"
Luffy kept convincing himself in his heart, but the drool had already begun slipping uncontrollably from his mouth.
He had already realized that the waiter serving him was none other than the main character—Monkey D. Luffy.
At first, it was exhilarating to be served food by the famous Straw Hat boy—one of the future Four Emperors, possibly even the Pirate King himself.
But that feeling vanished the moment he saw the drool flowing from Luffy's mouth like a leaky faucet.
Peter tore off a chunk of identified sea beast meat, chewed it twice, and swallowed it down.
He glanced at Luffy with a look of annoyance—his drool was about to drip onto the plate—and snapped at him angrily:
"Hey, waiter! Watch your drool! If you dare let it fall into my food, I'll kill you on the spot!"
Luffy stood dumbly in front of Peter's table. He heard the words, wiped his mouth indifferently, and swallowed hard.
"I'm not a waiter. I'm the man who will become the Pirate King—Monkey D. Luffy."
"A Pirate King doesn't drool all over other people's plates."
Peter sneered, twirling a big ball of stir-fried noodles on his fork and shoving it into his mouth. After chewing, he squinted in satisfaction, which made Luffy nearly lose his mind and leap over the table for the food.
"What are you staring at? Can't you see I'm almost done eating? Go bring more!"
Luffy wiped his mouth again, then turned around reluctantly to resume his "job."
"Hey, waiter! The empty dishes on my table are in the way. Clear them, will you?"
"Hey, Straw Hat boy! Bring me another bottle of wine. Make it good. And I'm not paying!"
"Hey, Pirate King! Where's the soup I ordered? Go get it now!"
…
At the neighboring table, Nami, Zoro, and Usopp all had their faces buried in their hands, as if they were too embarrassed to face anyone.
"This idiot... what the hell is he doing? Did he forget he's a pirate?"
That was the thousandth time Zoro had complained about his crew.
A dumb captain, a money-loving navigator, and a boastful sniper.
Why had he even joined this crew in the first place? Did it really have a future?
Usopp and Nami had both buried their faces in their plates and gone silent.
Usopp was too shy to speak, worried that he'd attract the attention of Peter, who seemed incredibly dangerous.
As for Nami, she was terrified that Carina might realize the boy being ordered around by her servant was actually her own captain.
She cast a sneaky glance toward Carina, who was chatting and laughing with Robin. Nami couldn't imagine how badly she'd be mocked if Carina found out the truth.
Carina sensed someone was staring at her, and turned cautiously.
When she saw that it was the annoying Nami, she snorted in disdain and raised her glass with a smug look.
And the wine that shimmered in her glass was no ordinary drink—it was high-quality red wine, worth 600,000 to 700,000 Bellys per bottle. Something a poor thief like Nami could never afford to taste in her life.
Nami clenched her fists, resisting the urge to slap Carina, and turned back to her plate.
"So full of herself! When did that sly fox become this arrogant?"
Carina... just wait. You'll pay for this—no doubt about it.
Usopp glanced sideways and was so shocked that he almost spat out his food.
On the hard wooden tablecloth, Nami's sharp fingers had carved five distinct claw marks.
Usopp swallowed nervously and silently prayed for the poor soul who had offended Nami.
…
While everyone in the restaurant was captivated by "The Great Glutton" Peter…
No one noticed a huge warship with a tiger's head slowly approaching the restaurant.
The warship stopped outside Baratie, just as Nami turned toward the window to escape Carina's smug gaze.
"Wait!! What's that?! What's with that flag?!"
When she saw the flag—one she'd only seen in the newspapers—her face turned pale in an instant.
Finally, her scream caught the attention of the other guests.
And when they all looked out the window, their reactions were even more intense than Nami's.
A plump merchant staggered back, tripping over a chair and crashing to the ground.
But he didn't care about the pain. He simply pointed toward the window with trembling fingers and shouted:
"It's the Krieg Pirates! I'm not mistaken! That's the flag of the Krieg Pirates—the ones who slaughtered an entire trade ship from our Chamber of Commerce!"
"Oh my God! Their captain Don Krieg is here! A terrifying man with 5,000 men under his command. He's the ruler of the East Blue!"
"Why… Why are the Krieg Pirates here?!"
Just the flag was enough to freeze everyone's blood inside the restaurant.
Even the chefs upstairs who heard the commotion peeked down the staircase.
And when they heard that the Krieg Pirates had arrived, their expressions changed and they quickly withdrew to alert the other chefs in the kitchen.
"It's just a broken ship, what's there to be scared of?"
At first, Mikita thought someone important had arrived. But when she stood up and looked out the window, she frowned in disappointment and said with disdain:
"Yeah, why is Krieg's ship broken? All that's left is a bare hull."
Mikita's words snapped the others out of their panic. Slowly, they began to notice something they had missed.
In fact, what had arrived wasn't even a ship—it was more like a floating frame barely staying above water.
The sails were completely torn, the hull cracked in every corner, and it looked like it might sink at any moment.
As the murmurs of speculation grew louder, a long black shadow passed by the window—everyone froze in place.
Peter paused slightly and glanced sideways at the door.
"Krieg is the real unlucky one here."
And when that door opens... the events will unfold just as they did in the original story.
But Peter had no intention of getting involved with such a side character. He took a calm breath and expanded his awareness... and sure enough, he sensed a powerful presence rushing toward Baratie.
"Huh? Why is there someone else behind him? Who could it be?"