Pirate: My Piltover technology is far ahead!

Chapter 403 So many curled eyebrows, are they your relatives?

Although she nearly died from the insurmountable staircase back then, she turned misfortune into blessing after having her spine replaced.

The growth-type prosthetic body improved her physical condition, smoothing out the physiological differences to some extent. In terms of swordsmanship, Kuina was no worse than Zoro, thus beginning her winning streak.

As they grew older, simply practicing in the dojo was no longer enough to meet their developmental needs, and in the entire dojo, only Koushirou could continue to spar with them.

Under these circumstances, the two began to go out for trials.

According to Koushirou's prediction, as long as they don't encounter any reclusive old monsters, there shouldn't be any problems operating in the East China Sea.

Although pirates always mock the East Blue as the weakest sea, this weakness is a symbol of peace. Trials here are much safer than trials in the New World.

However, there was one thing that Koushirou didn't expect: he underestimated Zoro's sense of direction.

This sense of direction seems to possess some kind of mystical power. Whether in the wild or at sea, at the dock or in an alley, or even inside a building, Zoro can accurately deviate from his destination.

If it weren't for Kuina following him, Zoro would never have been able to return to Shimotsuki Village after his first voyage.

Things aren't much better now. If Kuina isn't careful, Zoro will definitely get lost and turn around to ask Kuina why she's gone.

Because of his amazing ability to get lost, their journey was delayed. They should have returned to Shimotsuki Village long ago, but now that they had boarded the wrong ship, they had no idea where they were.

"Young men! Our ship is heading to the Grand Line, since it's impossible for you two to change course. However, we'll soon arrive at a floating restaurant, where you can disembark!"

That place is considered a well-known restaurant in the East China Sea; many ships pass by there. You should be able to find your way back from there.

The two did not engage in a new duel; the ship's captain had explained the situation to them before their duel began.

"Okay, thank you for your help."

Under the captain's questioning gaze, Kuina calmly sheathed her sword, then pulled Zoro to give the captain a slight bow.

Before long, a ship that was more rounded appeared on the sea.

Because of the relatively stable marine environment, Sihai has a large number of restaurants of all sizes, but not many are famous.

This floating restaurant, named Baratie, is considered one of the best among floating restaurants, attracting many visitors, including naval personnel who frequently come here.

Its owner is Red-Leg Zeff, the former captain of the Chef Pirates, who chose to leave the Grand Line after experiencing its dangers.

After luckily leaving the Grand Line, Zeff didn't encounter Sanji, but he still managed to open the restaurant as an able-bodied person, making it his new profession.

Because of the prevalence of piracy, Baratie specifically recruits "bastard chefs," each with a temper just like the pirates.

In a normal restaurant, such chefs would be a problem, but Zeff is able to keep them in check. In order to deal with the passing pirates, the chefs also need to have a certain level of combat ability, so such chefs are more suitable for this place.

Some customers come here specifically to watch the brawl between pirates and chefs; this battle has even become Baratie's signature "performance."

The trade-off is that the staff here are very unreliable, usually working part-time. Even though the wages are not low, many people are scared away by the sight of fighting.

When Zoro and Kuina arrived at the restaurant, a battle had just taken place.

The fight didn't cause any major problems, but the waiters were all scared away. Now, everything from taking orders to cooking and serving is done by the chefs themselves.

"Welcome! Do you have enough money with you?"

The customer is king, provided that the king has money.

The chefs at Barratier all adhere to this principle: guests who cannot afford to pay are not within their service scope.

Wealthy guests can experience the most exquisite service.

"Of course, I'd like to ask, is there a boat that goes to Shimotsuki Village from here?"

"Um...excuse me, where is this Shimotsuki Village you mentioned?"

The chef who greeted them was named Paddy. When he saw the thick wad of banknotes in Guina's wallet, his face lit up with a smile, but unfortunately, he had never heard of the village before.

"Is there... somewhere around here, or are there any boats going to this area?"

"Hmm... This route isn't unpopular, but we're a restaurant here, and I'm not sure when a ship going that way will pass by. We do have rooms for you to stay overnight, but they're not cheap."

"If we have a boat, that's good. We can afford to pay for a few days' accommodation."

After setting sail, the two became bounty hunters. Although the average bounty in the East Blue is low, the number of bounties is quite large. They had several million Berries on them, which was enough to make a normal living.

"Leave it to me, I'll find out if there's a boat going there. So, would you two like to rest or have a meal?"

"Take us to see the rooms, we need two."

"No problem, please follow me."

While Paddy was doing these things, other people were eating in the restaurant. Bepo was engrossed in eating, while Sanji was thinking about how to prepare the dishes.

"The well-done seafood steak locked in all the juices, the aroma of the marinade and butter was just right... the smoky flavor and the saltiness of the lemon salt... how did they achieve this texture..."

"Hey kid, are you here to eat, or to study the recipes?"

Just then, Zeff arrived with a bowl of freshly made hot soup. Hearing Sanji guess most of the recipe, Zeff became somewhat interested in the young man.

"I'm a chef too. When I eat something delicious, I inevitably wonder how it was made. If it's convenient, could you sell me the recipe?"

Sanji ignored Zeff's tone and said quite sincerely that he wanted to buy a cookbook.

"...No need, you've already figured it out yourself. It's just that the way this pork chop is pounded is a bit special, which is why the meat has this texture."

Through eye contact with Sanji, Zeff felt a pure sense of learning, which even reminded him of his own years learning to cook when he was young. Therefore, he directly asked Sanji what he was curious about.

"Oh, I see. I never thought of this method before..."

Sanji wanted to say something more, but Zeff returned to his kitchen without saying a word, as if he didn't want to talk to Sanji anymore.

Sanji had planned to talk to the strange old man later, but Bepo, who had been engrossed in eating, suddenly looked towards the entrance of the restaurant.

"Sanji, do you have many relatives?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Did mead get you drunk? I don't have any relatives. Mr. Oran adopted me back then..."

"But those people have the same curly eyebrows as you."

Sanji was interrupted once again, but this time he was a little flustered.

From the moment he arrived in Piltover, no, to be precise, from the day he left Germa, he abandoned everything in Germa.

He has direct blood relatives, but this blood relationship has long been severed. Neither the Vinsmoke nor Germa has any relation to Sanji.

Aside from a very few people in Piltover, most people didn't know about the relationship between Vinsmoke and Sanji. Bepo's words made Sanji feel a little uneasy.

At this moment, he was facing away from the entrance. When he looked in the direction Bepo was pointing, he saw several different colored hairstyles and the same curly eyebrows.

At the same time, the group that had just entered the restaurant also saw Sanji. As if they had found something amusing, they ignored the chef's greeting and went straight to Sanji.

"I thought I was seeing things. It really is you. I can't believe you're still alive."

Niji, with his blue hair, pulled out the chair next to Sanji and sat down beside him, even putting his arm around Sanji's shoulder, giving the impression that they had a very good relationship.

"We were all shocked the day you disappeared. I'm serious, we still talk about our missing brother from time to time."

They were discussing how to leave Sanji's body to rot in the wilderness, and where would be the most exciting place to die!

Red-haired Ichiji pulled out the chair on Sanji's other side, speaking in the happiest tone while saying the most ruthless things. Sanji seemed to ignore them, silently eating the remaining steak on his plate.

"Are you guys here to fight?! Even if you're his brothers, I won't hold back for saying things like that!"

"Bepo! This is my business, don't interfere!"

Bepo, sitting across the table, sensed the malice of these people and was about to stand up for Sanji when Sanji stopped him.

"sorry..:"

"Oh, this bear can talk? I thought you had a pet bear, but it turns out you're from the Mink Tribe. What, did you run into such a useless guy in the Mink Tribe?"

Bepo's pessimistic nature led him to instinctively apologize, but the green-haired Yonji seized the opportunity.

He directly mocked Sanji.

As he said this, Yuji picked up a plate of untouched fried cheese, but spat it out after only taking one bite.

"Your taste is declining too; you actually like eating this kind of greasy, sticky stuff..."

"Apologize to my friend, and then eat up what you threw up."

Sanji's tone turned cold as he picked up a napkin from the table and wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth.

"Apologize? What nonsense are you talking about? Have you forgotten how you used to be beaten so badly you could only beg for mercy..."

Boom!

The knife in Sanji's hand flew towards Yonji, and with a muffled thud, it bounced to the side, leaving a scar on Yonji's face.

"This time I used the back of the knife. If you don't apologize, I don't know what I'll use next."

"You bastard, how dare you lay a hand on me?!"

Sanji's attack did not cause any real damage to Yonji. As cyborgs of the Vinsmoke family, Sanji's brothers all have very special bodies, with unique exoskeletons.

Let alone this kind of injury, even if your head is knocked askew and your hands and feet are twisted into a pretzel shape, it can heal itself like metal.

It was precisely because Sanji understood this that he taught the other party a lesson in this way.

But in Yuji's view, it was not like that at all. A "good-for-nothing" who could only be bullied since childhood actually dared to fight back, which was the greatest insult to him.

They were only here to carry out a mission. According to Germa's consistent operating principle, the reason for the war was irrelevant. Whoever was willing to pay, they would do their best to ensure the target's victory.

They were only here for a temporary rest, and they still had missions to do afterward, but Yonji had already put all of that out of his mind and kicked at Sanji without a care.

Seeing Yonji kicking at him, Sanji reached for his waist, grabbed the weapon along with its sheath, and casually blocked Yonji's attack.

"How is that possible?!"

Big Mom knew Sanji because Lyriana personally took him to Whole Cake Island to learn skills. Apart from that, Sanji's reputation was not particularly outstanding.

Germa, assuming Sanji is a dead man, certainly wouldn't waste their energy on this.

The power Sanji is displaying now makes Yonji feel like it's not real.

His bloodline factor was the Green Winch, the strongest among them, yet his angry kick was so easily blocked.

"I didn't want to fight you in the restaurant, but you've gone too far!"

Although he parried with his weapon, Sanji was now a dual-wielder, and his other sword slashed at Yonji as well. Amid the gasps of the other guests, Yonji was sent flying through the doorway by Sanji's blow.

"Bepo, pack up the rest of the food for me as a late-night snack. I have some personal business to take care of."

Sanji had no intention of stopping yet. He stood up and walked towards the direction where Yonji had been knocked away.

Yonji's head was still embedded in the deck outside the door, and Ichiji, seeing that Sanji wanted to continue, also joined the battle.

"What are you pretending for?! We're brothers in name only, and you're doing something so shameful in public! You're a disgrace to the Vinsmoke family!"

"Being part of this family is a disgrace to me! He has no respect for food, casually insults other people's friends, and makes jokes about other people's shortcomings."

Our thoughts have been diametrically opposed since long ago!

"What you're saying is nothing but the nonsense of a weakling. I've never been able to understand you since then."

A king should have the ways of a king. We are royalty, and these are only natural rights. You're the one who doesn't understand, Sanji!

Thump...thump...

After Ichi finished speaking, two heavy thuds sounded as Sanji's sword sheath fell to the ground. It wasn't some kind of weight training exercise.

"Then let's see who the weakling really is, Cuoyuqie!"

As Sanji's blade thrust forward, Zoro, who was fast asleep in Baratie's guest room, suddenly opened his eyes, his swordsman's instincts calling out to him.

Following his instincts, Zoro walked towards the restaurant ahead...