Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

Even though the East Blue is the most "peaceful" place on the surface, it is still rife with pirates, and occasionally pirate crews set their sights on the "barat restaurant" Baratie.

"Humph!"

Zeff released the chef by the collar, turned and walked downstairs, his angry expression clearly showing that he was now taking his anger out on the people who had attacked the "Sea Restaurant" Baratie.

……

The sound of being hit by a cannonball naturally reached Arn's room, causing Reiju, who was playing the violin, to pause slightly.

"I'm sorry, sir." Reiju quickly apologized to Arn after realizing what had happened.

As a performer, interrupting a performance due to external interference is clearly disrespectful to the listeners, and it also shows that Reiju, as a performer, was not fully focused and immersed in the performance.

"fine……"

At this moment, Yann had already sensed the presence of Sora and Luminosity, and realized that this "lively" scene was probably caused by the Straw Hat Pirates.

"Thank you for your performance, Reiju. Let's have dinner first," Yann said.

“Yes, sir, I’ll have Sanji bring the dishes up right away,” Reiju said.

"No!"

Yaen stood up from the sofa and said, "Let's have dinner at the restaurant downstairs today."

Soon after, when Yan arrived at the restaurant downstairs, the Straw Hat Pirates had already started ordering food, looking ready to go all out. Zeff, on the other hand, was counting a stack of Berries.

Clearly, it was Kong and Ying who used their inherited "money power" to easily subdue Zeff. Otherwise, even with the combined wealth of Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp, they could only afford to wash dishes for Zeff to compensate for Baratie's losses.

Almost instantly, Sora, Luminous, and Nami also noticed Aon's appearance, but they never expected him to be here.

Of course, it was different from the subtle surprise that Sora and Nami experienced.

When Ying noticed Reiju, who was following Aon and seemed to be chatting and laughing with him, Ying's smile that had just blossomed almost instantly turned black, and her gaze toward Aon suddenly became more terrifying.

'As expected, this father is an absolute bastard; he's changed fathers again!!!'

Feeling Ying's gaze, which seemed to be constantly cursing him, Aon was slightly bewildered. Then he realized that Ying seemed to have misunderstood something, and said to Reiju with a mix of amusement and exasperation.

"Alright, Reiju, I've kept you occupied for several days now. You've worked hard. I'll just sit here at the restaurant from now on, you don't need to keep me company."

Reiju hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, sir. But please feel free to let me know if you need anything."

Arn smiled and nodded at Reiju to indicate that he understood, then gave Ying a subtle, innocent look.

Seeing this, Ying turned her head away with a hint of embarrassment, as if she couldn't see Yann.

Watching Ying's seemingly coquettish yet awkward movements from afar, Ya'en smiled helplessly, a strange sweetness welling up inside him.

'Indeed, my daughter is the cutest in the world...'

As Aon took his seat, Sanji began to serve him the dozen or so dishes that he had specially prepared for this occasion. Although each dish was only a bite-sized portion, they looked exceptionally exquisite and delicious, exuding an enticing aroma.

Immediately, as dish after dish was served, it completely attracted the attention of Luffy, who had just finished ordering. Luffy even stretched his head quite a bit over Yann's table, drooling uncontrollably.

"Wow, these dishes all look so delicious..."

As he spoke, Luffy almost instinctively stretched out his hand, which was five or six meters long, toward the dishes on Yann's table.

"Snapped!"

The next moment, Sanji kicked Luffy's hand away with a smooth kick, raised his eyebrows, and said with dissatisfaction.

"Please do not disturb this gentleman's meal, sir."

"Hey……"

Seeing this, Luffy couldn't help but shout in dissatisfaction, "I arrived at this restaurant earlier, why was he served first? I want some too!"

[Chapter 709. Seven Hundred and Ten: "Hawk Eye" Mihawk!!!]

With a touch of gentlemanly elegance, Sanji carefully placed the dishes in front of Aon before standing up, pinching the cigarette butt between two fingers, glancing at Luffy, and then speaking.

"These dishes are special for this gentleman. Your meal is being prepared urgently by the kitchen. Please wait patiently..."

As he spoke, Sanji casually glanced towards Luffy's table, and his eyes immediately lit up when he saw Nami, with two pink hearts popping out uncontrollably.

The next moment, Sanji appeared beside Nami, holding a rose in his mouth. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly noticed Ying on the other side.

'So...so beautiful!'

Sanji was instantly and completely stunned by Hotaru's appearance, his expression even becoming somewhat blank.

However, Sanji frowned slightly and subconsciously pressed his chest, surprised to find that he did not feel any attraction to Hotaru.

'Am I... not good enough?'

Sanji, who was perfectly aware of his own personality, suddenly panicked, then glanced in Nami's direction, and a feeling of love welled up inside him.

'Hmm? It seems I'm working again...'

Then, Sanji glanced at Ying again, and his eyes, which had been filled with pink hearts, returned to normal.

'no?'

'OK?'

'no……'

For a moment, Sanji's head kept turning back and forth between Nami and Sparkle, and his eyes kept switching between normal and pink heart states.

Finally, after trying more than ten times in frustration, Sanji muttered dejectedly.

"Oh no, how come I can't feel any attraction to beauties other than Reiju? Is there something wrong with me?"

"Cough cough..."

Just then, Yann, who had witnessed Sanji's series of strange actions, coughed a few times, which startled Sanji back to his senses.

"Oh no, it's almost cooked too long..."

Immediately, disregarding his own ailments, Sanji rushed towards the kitchen.

The Straw Hat Pirates members also looked bewildered and began to discuss it in hushed tones.

"What a strange guy..."

"But the dishes you just served all looked delicious."

"There's only one thing that's certain: that guy is absolutely lecherous..."

"But when he looked at Ying, his eyes seemed perfectly normal, which was really strange."

"Why is it strange? Is Ying really that pretty?" Luffy asked with a hint of doubt, causing the others to twitch involuntarily.

However, Aon, who was slowly enjoying his meal, roughly understood the reason for Sanji's problem.

That feeling is probably similar to how Sanji wouldn't feel any attraction to Reiju. So, as someone who has a bloodline and physical structure highly similar to Reiju, Ying would also not make Sanji feel any attraction.

Just then, a sudden gunshot rang out, drawing the attention of everyone in the restaurant.

Then a tall, thin pirate with a withered face, who looked as if he hadn't eaten for a long time, slowly walked in from the front and sat down in the seat closest to the door, speaking in a commanding tone.

"Anything is fine, just hurry up and bring me something to eat."

Meanwhile, in the otherwise silent restaurant, a few guests recognized the pirate's identity and began discussing it with a hint of fear.

"That guy... that guy wouldn't happen to be the 'Demon' from the 'Krieg Pirates,' would he...?"

"Hmm...it really is that guy, 'Demon' Gin, the combat commander-in-chief of the 'Krieg Pirates'!"

"Why is he here? Didn't this guy just head to the Grand Line with the Krieg Pirates not long ago?"

"Oh no, this is a pirate with 1200 million Berries! Could it be that they've got their eyes on Baratie?"

……

However, things took an unexpected turn. After the Baratie chef politely confirmed that Akin had no Pele on him, he unhesitatingly threw the seemingly weak and hungry Akin out.

Then, under the watchful eyes of the Straw Hat crew, Sanji, who had served the last dish to Yann, instead gave Gin a free plate of fried rice. Taking this opportunity, Sanji and Luffy had a real conversation, passionately sharing their ideals.

'Being young... is so wonderful...'

Yaen watched all of this silently, lost in thought.

At my age, I can no longer so frankly and childishly proclaim my dreams in this way.

'However, the fact that Akin appeared here so coincidentally, just like in the original trajectory, means that 'Hawkeye' Mihawk must be very close too, right?'

Thinking of this, Yann's eyes narrowed slightly.

The reason why Yann deliberately stayed in Baratie was not simply to enjoy the food and become obsessed with Reiju's music, but to prevent Mihawk from appearing.

As a man still widely recognized as the "world's greatest swordsman," Mihawk's strength truly stands at the pinnacle of the world.

Contact with an enemy like Mihawk would be of considerable benefit to both Zoro and the entire Straw Hat Pirates.

The only potential problem is that Mihawk might have a moment of weakness and wipe out the Straw Hat Pirates, who have only recently set sail.

Although, based on the information that Yann already knew, it was almost impossible for Mihawk, who was Shanks' close friend, to do such a thing, it was not Yann's style to hand over the choice to someone else.

and so……

As for the so-called "demon" Akin from the East Sea, or the East Sea Admiral Krik who arrived later, they seemed to have no effect on Aen whatsoever.

until...

"boom!!"

With a deafening roar, Krieg's massive pirate ship, comparable to a naval warship, was suddenly cleaved in two, revealing Hawkeye Mihawk sitting on a small raft in a breathtaking display.

Former "Seven Warlords of the Sea", "World's Greatest Swordsman", "Hawkeye" Mihawk!

While most people were gripped by immense fear and shock at the sight of Mihawk, Zoro, whose body was trembling slightly, became thoroughly excited.

'The appointed time has arrived so quickly, Kuina…'

Even though Zoro has realized from Sora that there is still much he needs to master in the East Blue, and that his swordsmanship is still incredibly far from being the strongest in the sea.

How could a man who is determined to pursue his dreams possibly hesitate and waver about his life at this moment?

Without the slightest hesitation, Zoro resolutely drew his sword towards "Hawkeye" Mihawk, launching a swordsman's challenge.

[Chapter 710. I will reclaim this power!]

The clash between Zoro and Mihawk...

No, to be more precise, it was just a prank.