章 26: Chapter 26: Battle For The Baratie
Third Person's PoV
Out on the massive sea, the weather was great. The seagulls were flapping their wings happily and the many species of fishes were also swimming cheerily. The sea waves were also calm as they rippled rhythmically.
All of this were true, except for at a certain floating restaurant.
If one took a closer look, they would find two sea vessels close to each other. One looks exactly like a fish, while the other is nothing but a soon-to-be fish habitat.
Some of the Krieg pirates already boarded the Baratie, while others still remain on the pieces of driftwood. They all had a goal in mind...steal the Baratie and force the cooks off of it.
This was the case for the pirates, however, all of them remained glued to where they were at. Not just them but the cooks also didn't make a move.
The reason? It's simple...they all saw the fight between Zoro and Mihawk, and heard the conversation that went on afterwards.
Something like this was not an everyday occurrence in the East Blue. Heck, it probably doesn't even happen in Paradise.
Everyone witnessed the infamous Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro, who is known all throughout the East Blue as a killing machine or a demon, lose pathetically against someone.
That someone isn't just any average joe. No, he is the world's greatest swordsman, Hawkeye Dracule Mihawk.
Some of them had already expected him to lose, but not in the way that he did. It was clear that none of them had any idea of how wide the world is or what the peak of strength really means.
To their increasing shock, someone else actually dared to challenge Mihawk who became a death god in their eyes. Nobody knew the identity of the new challenger so they couldn't help but ridicule him in their hearts.
"What an idiot..."
"Didn't he see how badly Zoro lost?"
"What can a no name like him possibly achieve?"
Roronoa Zoro is known pretty well in the East Blue as a terrifying swordsman, but he still lost like that. Now, someone else that none of them had an inkling about was stepping up. They all thought that he was only looking for his death or he lost his mind. Even Zeff couldn't help but feel that something was off.
They were once again shocked by the content of their discussion. All of the cooks and pirates stared dumbly at the leaving backs of Josh and Mihawk who are chatting nonchalantly as if they were old acquaintances.
"Men! Beat those cooks and steal our new ship. We'll get our revenge on Hawkeye after this!" Everyone was brought out of their shocked state by a loud order that came from none other than Don Krieg.
"Aye aye, captain!" A pirate grunt responded after a momentary pause.
The pirates and cooks alike instantly snapped out of it as they once again charged at each other.
To the cooks of the Baratie, this fight was big enough to change their fates. To them, the restaurant was something much more than a mere workplace. As important as the place that brings you food to the table is, the Baratie had a higher place in their hearts than that.
The floating restaurant Baratie was their home, as well as the place they could all be themselves.
Most of the employees are rather rough, so to say. They all were deemed unworthy of being chefs in the eyes of their previous employers and were kicked out. This was especially true for Patty and Carne.
They were fired for violence in the workplace and somehow managed to find their way to the Baratie.
At the restaurant, they weren't restricted, nor were they fired simply for their bad behavior. They were respected instead. It's a bit odd but the truth nonetheless.
At least once a week, someone, mostly pirates, would cause trouble in the restaurant. Prompting the cooks to take the matters into their own hands since the marines weren't always around. After a bit of time defending themselves, the chefs realized they didn't need the protection from the marines. This was how the cooks of the Baratie became known as fighting chefs of the sea.
"There is no way we are simply handing the restaurant over!" A chef loudly shouted as he clenched the giant fork in his hands. The man was preparing himself for a fight with his life on the line to protect his home.
"Yeah! You're going to have to go over my dead body if you want the Baratie!" Another chef yelled out. All of the people on their side felt the same.
Zeff stood there with his arms crossed. His face remained indifferent as his gaze swept over the backs of Dracule Mihawk and the mystery youngster. His sight then turned to his employees.
On the outside, Zeff maintained his calm and indifferent expression, but in his heart, he couldn't help but feel prideful. The snot nosed brats that he picked up were willing to put their lives on the line and fight for his property.
After losing a leg by saving Sanji back when he was nothing but an ignorant child, Zeff placed all of his dreams and hopes on opening a restaurant on the sea that allows anyone and everyone to dine there.
To see his employees defend something that was precious to him made him feel warm inside.
The cooks and pirates finally reached each other and started fighting.
On the Coffin Boat,
Mihawk placed himself back to the position he was usually in while drifting at sea, however, he wasn't as relaxed as when he previously showed up to finish off the last ship that escaped him.
His body was sat up a bit more but Mihawk still had his legs crossed and his hands linked together on his knees.
Josh sat himself in front of Mihawk. He had no choice but to hunker down on the even floor because there was no other raised platforms on the small boat, except for the railing.
"Here." Josh said as he tossed the bottle he had in his right hand. It was expertly caught by Mihawk without even looking at it. "Just watch the show and enjoy yourself." He added.
Mihawk eyed the bottle in his hand and popped the cork off. He proceeded to give the content a whiff. The swordsman was slightly surprised by the smell that entered his nostrils.
Mihawk had tasted all sorts of wine across the world. From all over East Blue , West Blue, North Blue, and South Blue, and even from Paradise and the New World, so he was very knowledgeable. He could usually tell the quality of the alcohol from the initial scent. According to his sense of smell, the bottle of wine before him was one with a very high quality.
Mihawk initially just wanted to humor Josh and then leave. He had high standards when it came to wine, so Mihawk wasn't really expecting much when he was offered.
He was willing to entertain the kid because of his captain's relationship with Akagami Shanks. They were old buddies. Even though they mostly just fought when they saw each other, they also partied wildly afterwards. Somewhere along the road, Shanks and Mihawk bonded through their battles and they each felt close to one another, even though it went unexpressed.
Mihawk finally took a small swig of the wine as a test to confirm his thoughts. He couldn't help but widen his eyes a little more and give a curt nod. This wine was indeed one of the best tasting wine he had ever drank before.
Mihawk felt a little glad that he decided to stay and listen to Josh. The wine could be considered an absolute delicacy for people who are wine lovers. The alcohol content was a little high for simple drinking but the overall taste and feeling it gave was mesmerizing.
Mihawk only felt this way after drinking a few bottles of some of the world's best alcohol.
To clarify, the wine was a myriad of colors, looking like a liquid rainbow and contained bits of various types of delicious fruits that are grown and nurtured meticulously. This is a complete contrast to the simple looking bottle that one might find everywhere else in the world.
Josh sat there and watched silently at the ongoing chaos. This matter didn't really interest him much. The only things he might be able to look forward to in the future are the anticipated fight with Mihawk and maybe meeting Dragon.
As he sat there observing, he could feel a shadow approaching from behind the rubble. This shadow was just a no name grunt of the Krieg pirate so his interest died down quite a bit.
From the corner of the slowly sinking wood that used to be their pirate ship, a man was stealthily preparing to ambush the "unsuspecting" Mihawk and Josh. If he was somehow able to catch them off guard and injure or possibly kill them, not only will he become famous in the case of Mihawk, his captain would also be willing to give him some sort of reward once everything settled.
With these thoughts in mind, the pirate tried his best to conceal his presence and quietly drew out his pistol.
"Aim carefully...carefully.." he whispered to himself for some encouragement. The greed in his eyes could even be seen by a blind person. Just when he was about to pull the trigger and gain fame and riches, a devastating blow was struck at him.
Unknown to the man, Josh wasn't even bothering to pay attention to him after one glance. Mihawk couldn't be bothered to give the man a glance at all as he was busy amercing himself with the show put out before him and the wine offered to him by Josh.
The pirate's greedy eyes when looking at the both of them was displeasing to Josh so he shot a simple lighting at him and instantly put him out for good. The attack was nothing but a small current of electricity and wasn't even worth naming.
"A devil fruit." Mihawk raised one eyebrow curiously. His interest in Josh growing by the second. Not only did he possess the Haoshoku, he could even control it. There was no doubt in Mihawk's mind that the man knew the other two forms of haki as well.
Then there was the wine. From his own extensive knowledge and experience, Dracule Mihawk never came across a drink that looked, tasted, or even smelled like it before. The question of where he got it from couldn't help but arise.
Now, Josh even showcased a devil fruit. Although the exact nature of the abilities granted by the fruit was unknown to him as he only witnessed a small portion of it, the ability seemed to be quite a powerful one.
The kid became more and more interesting as Mihawk learned more about him. He even thought that Josh wouldn't be so different compared to the average pirates in the New World, maybe even more formidable. Thoughts of actually accepting the challenge came to his mind as Mihawk took his time enjoying the alcoholic beverage.
"Wouldn't you like to know.." Josh just smiled. The plan seemed to be taking effect as he noticed Mihawk's growing interest. Josh's plan was simple, if Mihawk wasn't interested in him, then he'll get him to be and act indifferent about it to raise it even higher.
Hopefully, one final nail would seal the deal and Mihawk will just have to give in and fight him.
"BAAAAM!!!" Just then, a very loud noise caught Josh's attention and when he turned around, a smile was instantly placed on his face.
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