Krieg slowly walked up behind Sanji.
Seeing that Sanji's body still hadn't moved, and recalling the terrible wounds he had just suffered,
Krieg assumed the cook had already given up resistance.
With a rough, calloused hand, Krieg reached straight for Sanji's head, intending to end it once and for all.
"No... no! I won't hand over this restaurant! I won't, "
"I won't!"
Sanji suddenly roared, as if some pact had been carved into his very soul. A mysterious power surged through his body in that instant.
With a powerful kick from his back leg, Sanji threw himself forward into a somersault.
His strong leg curved like a silver crescent moon, slicing through the air and kicking squarely into Krieg's unguarded, massive chin.
The explosive force sent Krieg flying three meters into the air before gravity, aided by the centrifugal pull of Sanji's black shoe, hurled him down violently.
BOOM!
Under his massive weight, Krieg's body crashed through the deck again, splintering wood and sending shards flying in all directions amid a rising cloud of dust.
Maybe… even if Baratie survives this disaster, even if Krieg doesn't manage to take it over…
It's hard to say when this restaurant will ever open again.
By now, Baratie's entire side deck was nearly destroyed, riddled with craters and scars. The patched planks were already loose, creaking and unstable.
The only real way to repair it now would be to rebuild it from scratch.
"Ugh…"
Krieg grunted in pain, pressing his dislocated jaw back into place with a heavy crack.
With a wet ptoo!, he spat out two bloodstained teeth, his face dark with rage.
"Captain Krieg!"
A group of pirates cried out in shock, staring in disbelief at their fearsome leader, laid low by a single kick from Sanji.
But Sanji, burning with the strange fire of his resolve, ignored them completely.
He glanced toward the dying Patty and the other wounded chefs.
Then, with a fierce stomp, his legs shattered the planks beneath him into a spiderweb of cracks.
His entire body shot upward, becoming a streak of black light that soared toward Pearl, who stood beside the fallen Patty.
Sanji blazed across the air like a comet of flame, his power undiminished.
With teeth clenched and eyes blazing, he kicked fiercely toward Pearl's massive chest shield.
His legs pressed together midair, like a meteor falling into a planet, sparks bursting from the friction.
BAM!!!
The "comet" struck, and the iron shield beneath it deformed inward under the crushing force.
At its breaking point, the metal burst apart, scattering heavy fragments across the floor.
"Urgh…"
Pearl's eyes rolled white. He didn't even have time to be flung away, his body trembled as though torn apart from within. His pupils quivered, then dulled completely.
A thick plume of black smoke spilled from his mouth, as if his insides were burning.
With a thud, he collapsed to the floor.
The round shield in his hand rolled across the wooden planks with a clatter, finally stopping at Krieg's feet.
Krieg bent down, blood still dripping from his mouth, and picked it up. His teeth gnashed together as he snarled:
"Gin! Kill Zeff, the barefoot old man!"
"What?!"
"B-but…"
Caught off guard by the sudden order, Gin stammered:
"But… Captain Krieg! Weren't we, weren't we just going to take the ship?!"
"That was before!"
The fire in Krieg's eyes blazed no less fiercely than Sanji's.
He had planned to spare them, but that blonde cook had the nerve to attack Pearl!
To Krieg, that was the ultimate insult!
Utterly unforgivable!
This time, he would show no mercy.
He would kill everyone!
========
Under the order, Gin gripped his flintlock tightly, eyes locked on the back of Zeff's head.
He hesitated, glancing at the furious Krieg, then at Sanji, who was equally enraged but also desperate.
For a long moment, Gin couldn't move. He just stood there, trembling.
"What are you waiting for, Gin?! Kill him!"
"I… I…"
Gin pulled the hammer back, but his finger wouldn't move. His lips trembled, tears streaming down his face.
Finally, with a broken sob, he dropped the gun and cried out:
"I-I'm sorry, Captain Krieg! I can't do it! I can't!!!"
"Damn you!"
Krieg's shoulder armor lifted open, revealing the barrel of a massive, high-tech cannon. It aimed straight at Gin.
"Gin! Are you betraying me?!"
"N-no, Captain! That's not it!"
At the word betrayal, Gin panicked, but still didn't raise his gun. Instead, he shouted desperately:
"They, they saved our lives, Captain!"
BANG!
A burst of blood sprayed out. Gin clutched his bleeding shoulder, but his expression didn't change, still filled with sorrow and confusion.
BANG!
Another shot tore into him, blood flowing freely from the wound.
Krieg ground his teeth, furious, but as his top combat officer, he couldn't simply kill Gin.
Snarling, he finally spat, "Fine then! I'll do it myself!"
Krieg turned the gun downward, aiming it at Zeff's head.
But before he could fire, Sanji, seeing that Gin wouldn't harm Zeff, summoned his strength once more.
His feet struck the ground in rapid bursts, his speed blurring as he charged toward Krieg, shouting:
"Then you can die instead!"
"Black Leg Style"
His legs swung high as he leapt into the air, ready to stop Krieg.
But Krieg's lips twisted into a cruel smile, his eyes glinting with cunning.
His other arm rose suddenly, palm aimed toward Sanji.
By the time Sanji realized something was wrong, it was already too late.
A steel net shot from the mechanism in Krieg's arm, tangling Sanji in midair.
Krieg was alive today because of his treachery and trickery!
Thud!
Bound tightly by the net, Sanji crashed to the floor, unable to move an inch.
"Tch."
Krieg stepped over calmly, pressing his boot on Sanji's head. From his waist, he drew a pistol and pointed it at Sanji's skull.
"Die, you damn cook!"
"Ara~ ara~"
"If you'd just behaved from the start and handed over the ship, none of this would've happened…"
Zoro strolled out from the restaurant, tapping his shoulder with Wado Ichimonji, looking utterly indifferent.
Behind him came Brook, Nami, Usopp, and Koby, lining up one after another, gazing at the battered Sanji.
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