Want to read ahead? Join my Patreon for only $7 to get early access to upcoming chapters!
> > Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations <<
----------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 38: Krieg's Attack
The next day.
Baratie Restaurant.
Bang!
The peaceful morning was shattered by an unwelcome guest who kicked open the door.
The newcomer was over two meters tall, muscular, and wore a black cloak.
As soon as he entered, he scanned every corner of the restaurant with an aggressive gaze, as if he already considered this place his spoils of war.
"Guest, if you don't have money to pay for your meal, we will not provide any service!"
Several chefs noticed the disturbance and rushed out of the kitchen with weapons in hand.
The sea area where the Baratie was located was close to the Grand Line, which was one of the most rampant areas for pirates and villains in the East Blue.
To establish themselves in this place, the chefs of this restaurant were naturally no ordinary people; their combat skills were in no way inferior to most pirates.
Several burly chefs surrounded him, seeing that this customer was clearly not a regular, and said in a warning tone:
"Get out! You're not welcome here!"
Boom!
Before the words had even faded, the chef who had just spoken was severely injured. His eyes rolled back as he was sent flying, spitting blood!
"What?"
The remaining chefs were stunned, looking at the "unwelcome guest" on their shoulders with surprise and fear.
Just now, a barrage of bullets had poured down like machine-gun fire!
"Nice restaurant, this ship is mine."
The "unfriendly guest's" voice was deep and oppressive.
He spread his arms, threw off his cloak, and revealed a suit of heavy, shining golden armor that covered his entire body. His shoulders, arms, and waist were covered with countless black gun barrels and cannons.
This guy is here to rob us!
"D*mn it, you think you're the only one with weapons?!"
The remaining chefs recovered from their initial panic, their anger flaring, and raised their guns, pulling the triggers!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In an instant, guns and cannons fired simultaneously, and several bullets and missiles shot out, instantly engulfing the man!
"Hit!"
The chefs were excited to see their bullets and missiles hit the "bad guy" square in the chest.
But their excitement didn't last long, and their expressions soon froze.
A dense sound of metal colliding rang out, and sparks flew from the golden armor.
All the bullets and cannonballs fired were deflected, as if hitting an indestructible wall, without harming the enemy in the slightest!
"You think such a tickling attack can break my 'invincible armor'? Dream on!"
Chief Krieg laughed wildly, deflecting all the bullets, then took a step forward and slammed his hands into the faces of the two chefs beside him.
Clang!
Two muffled thuds accompanied by pained groans, he violently slammed the two chefs to the ground. The hard wooden floor shattered, sending splinters flying everywhere!
"Leader! You promised you wouldn't touch this restaurant!"
Just as all the diners and staff were stunned.
Another figure rushed in from the door, tightly grabbing Krieg's thick arm.
His face was familiar; it was Gin, the pirate Sanji had saved with fried rice yesterday.
The "Leader" he spoke of was none other than "Leader" Krieg, whose bounty was as high as 17 million Berries.
With five thousand subordinates and fifty pirate ships, he was the largest pirate crew in the East Blue.
"Gin!"
Krieg impatiently swung his arm, throwing Gin away with immense force, like tossing a sandbag.
"You naive fool, just stand there and watch me take this ship, and then we'll return to the Grand Line!"
Half a month ago, Krieg led a fleet of fifty pirate ships into the Grand Line.
Within just seven days, most of them were annihilated by one of the Seven Warlords, "Hawk-Eye" Dracule Mihawk. Only the flagship, the Dreadnaught Sabre, escaped the Grand Line.
His previous ship was also on the verge of disintegration. He came to the Baratie not only to find food, but also to seize a new ship capable of carrying his ambitions!
"Hawk-Eye! I never provoked you... Just you wait, after I take this ship and replenish my forces, I will definitely come back for revenge!"
Krieg's eyes were filled with hatred; that man had destroyed everything he had with just one sword.
But he didn't think that man was invincible.
When they entered the Grand Line, they were unfamiliar with the terrain and encountered a storm. It was then that the man, Hawk-Eye, took the opportunity to attack.
Therefore, Krieg was not entirely convinced.
"Oh? You said you've seen Hawk-Eye? What did he do to you?"
Suddenly.
A slightly lazy voice suddenly rang out, breaking the almost static, tense atmosphere in the restaurant.
Krieg was startled by the voice and looked in its direction.
Not far away, a green-haired swordsman and a boy in a straw hat were sitting at a table.
The two of them stared at him intently, without a trace of fear on their faces, but rather... a curious expression?
Krieg narrowed his eyes, sensing that these two were no ordinary people, and said coldly, "Kid, this is not something you should know?"
"Oh."
The green-haired swordsman shook his head slightly upon hearing this, a sarcastic smile playing on his lips. "Even if you don't say it, I can probably guess... you were chased back from the Grand Line by him, right?"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Before the words had faded, Krieg raised his hand, and the muzzles on his shoulder fired a spray of sparking bullets!
"Gum-Gum Balloon!"
To Krieg's surprise, before the green-haired swordsman could make a move, the straw-hatted boy beside him suddenly took a deep breath, and his entire body instantly expanded into a huge ball, as if being inflated!
All the bullets hit that elastic rubber body and immediately bounced back at an even faster speed!
"What?!"
Krieg's eyes widened in shock, and he quickly raised his armored arms to protect himself.
Fortunately, his armor was also extremely sturdy, and the bullets bounced off as soon as they hit him.
"You're... a Devil Fruit user?"
As the smoke cleared, Krieg's face gradually emerged from the haze, his gaze fixed warily on the straw-hatted boy.
"Who... are you?"
"My name is Monkey D. Luffy. I'm a rubber man who ate the Gum-Gum Fruit, and I'm going to be the King of the Pirates!"
The boy in the straw hat stepped onto the table, his voice confident and resounding, echoing throughout the restaurant.
"A rubber man?"
Krieg frowned. As the hegemon of the East Blue, he naturally knew about the existence of Devil Fruits. His tone became serious. "So... you guys are pirates too?"
"That's right!"
Luffy responded decisively.
He looked Krieg, who was dressed in exaggerated golden armor, up and down, and asked with great curiosity, "You just said you went to the Grand Line, so why are you back now?"
Although Luffy knew almost nothing about navigation, he knew that the "One Piece" he was looking for was on the Grand Line.
So, after finally meeting someone who had been to the Grand Line, they naturally wanted to ask for some information.
"The Grand Line..."
It would have been better if this hadn't been brought up. As soon as the words fell, Krieg's face instantly became extremely ugly, his eyes filled with deep fear and regret. "If we had been more prepared, if we had gathered more information about the Grand Line before setting off... we wouldn't have ended up in such a wretched state!"