"Hey, hey, hey, Junzi, you're being impulsive again!"
Ian promptly stopped Junzi, his smile as gentle as a boy next door. "Don't always shout about fighting and killing. The game hasn't even started yet, so calm down."
"Yes, Young Master." Junzi reined in his killing intent and took a step back.
Seeing this, Sanji no longer remained silent. He stepped forward and calmly said, "If I win, will you let everyone here go?"
"Of course!"
Ian smiled and nodded. "As a Celestial Dragon of noble blood, this Young Master naturally keeps his word. As long as the Sea King rice bowl served later doesn't have green onions, I will not only spare all of you but also give you a welcoming gift!"
With that, Ian pulled out a gold-plated pistol from his Huai. "This is a sidearm that I had the scientists at Marine Headquarters custom-made with great expense. Over the years, no less than a thousand Celestial Dragons have died by this gun, and everyone in Mary Geoise knows of its existence. As long as you hold it, not only will the Mary Geoise Divine Squad obey your commands, but the Marine Admirals will also rush to your side at the fastest speed after you pull the trigger, to protect you!"
Sanji nodded, full of confidence. "Okay, I accept this wager!"
He wasn't interested in the gift Ian had prepared; he only hoped that Ian would honor the wager and spare Baratie if he lost.
Of course, he trusted the kitchen staff to follow Ian's previous instructions and not add green onions, garlic, or cilantro.
He was sure to win this wager!
Time flew by, and as flames billowed from the kitchen, delicious food was continuously brought to the table.
These were the dishes prepared for Ian's three maids.
Ian had to admit one thing: the culinary skills of this sea restaurant were truly excellent, which was evident from the reactions of the three maids.
One must know that the three maids were once noble daughters and royal princesses. What kind of delicacies hadn't they tasted? Having served by his side all these years, they had sampled all the world's finest foods, making their palates extremely discerning.
But as the dishes kept coming out of the kitchen and onto the table, the three maids ate with expressions of pure rapture, which was enough to show that the chefs had pulled out all their secret culinary skills!
Of course, the current situation didn't allow them to hold back.
If the three maids weren't satisfied with their meal, their heads would be on the line!
However, although the three maids were eating with expressions of pure rapture, Ian's Sea King rice bowl was still not brought to the table.
Ian wasn't in a hurry, because he had already used Observation Haki to listen to the conversations in the kitchen. The sea restaurant didn't have any Sea Kings, so the kitchen staff either had to find a way to catch one immediately or use sea beasts as a substitute.
For the few chefs in the kitchen, going to catch a Sea King immediately would be tantamount to seeking death, unless Zeff, the restaurant owner who had once entered the Grand Line for a year, personally intervened.
But even if Zeff personally went, Sea Kings weren't something you could just encounter. After all, this was the East Blue, not the Calm Belt. Even with the strength to defeat a Sea King, it would be impossible to find one in a short amount of time.
This meant that the Sea King rice bowl that would be served later was not actually made from a Sea King!
Thus, even if the rice bowl didn't have green onions, garlic, and cilantro, the sea restaurant would not escape this calamity.
Sure enough—
Just as Ian was starting to get impatient, Patty came to Ian's opposite side, carrying a fragrant rice bowl.
Before Patty could even set the rice bowl down, Sanji quickly reached out and took it to examine it.
Seeing that the rice bowl had no green onions, no garlic, and no cilantro, he secretly let out a long sigh of relief. Then, holding the bottom of the plate with one hand, he politely bowed and said, "Lord Ian, this is your Sea King rice bowl. No green onions!"
After speaking, Sanji steadily placed the rice bowl in front of Ian.
"How dare you!"
Junzi stepped forward again and said coldly, "You should address the Young Master as Lord Ian!"
"Stand down!"
After scolding Sanji, Junzi picked up a spoon and tasted it herself.
It wasn't that she was rude; it was that she needed to ensure the rice bowl wasn't poisoned.
After chewing for a while, Junzi faced Ian and bowed. "Young Master, the food is safe."
Ian nodded, then scanned the plate, grinning. "Not bad, not only are there no green onions, but no garlic or cilantro either! You win!"
Seeing Ian's reaction, Sanji said with neither arrogance nor humility, "I hope Lord Ian will keep his promise."
"Of course," Ian smiled and nodded, then picked up another spoon.
"Hmm?"
Just as he took a bite of the rice bowl, Ian's brows suddenly furrowed. Then, to Sanji and Junzi's surprise, he abruptly stood up, his gaze fixed on Patty, "How dare you try to fool this Young Master!"
"This Young Master ordered a Sea King rice bowl, not a sea beast rice bowl!"
Before his words finished, Ian casually picked up his gold-plated sidearm and, without hesitation, pulled the trigger, aiming at Patty's forehead.
"Bang—"
A gunshot rang out. Patty, who had never expected Ian to discover that the dish was not a Sea King rice bowl after just one taste, instantly widened his pupils. His body stiffened abruptly, and a cloud of blood mist rose from the back of his head.
Before Sanji, Junzi, and the three maids could react, Patty fell straight down, his eyes wide open.
The sudden scene left Sanji completely frozen on the spot.
Although Junzi also hadn't expected Ian to suddenly shoot the chef, she had served Ian for nineteen years and was long accustomed to his rapid changes in demeanor. As Patty fell to the ground with a thud, she decisively released her Devil Fruit ability. With a flick of her sleeve, a bandage-wrapped arrow shot out, piercing Sanji's left shoulder with lightning speed. The powerful impact sent Sanji flying several meters away, where he collapsed.
Carne and Zeff, who were in the kitchen, rushed out one after another, in a desperate hurry.
When they saw Patty lying in a pool of blood and Sanji flying backwards, Carne's anger instantly surged. Grasping the cleaver in his hand, he roared at Ian and Junzi, "Damn Celestial Dragons, I'll kill you!"
"Carne, come back—"
Zeff, whose reason had overcome his hatred, spoke out in time to stop him, but he was still a step too late.
The moment Carne charged at Ian with his knife, the crisp, piercing gunshot rang out again.
The next second, Carne, who had just charged out with his knife, fell heavily to the ground, his eyes wide open, instantly dead.
At the same time.
Ever since Ian's ship crossed the Calm Belt and entered the East Blue, Vice Admiral Gion's warship had been secretly following, maintaining a certain distance.
After the dark red luxury ship stopped, the warship also slowed down on the sea a thousand meters away and slowly approached the sea restaurant.
When the warship sailed to a distance of less than three hundred meters from the sea restaurant, the sudden gunshots from the direction of the restaurant immediately made Gion's heart tense on the warship's deck.
"Vice Admiral Gion, gunshots came from the sea restaurant. Should we move closer?"
A subordinate officer quickly came before Gion, saying urgently, "Could it be that Lord Ian is... indiscriminately killing people in the restaurant?"
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Gion stood up with her sword and came to the bow of the ship, saying in a deep voice, "Have you found information on this sea restaurant?"
"I've found it!" The subordinate officer took out a document and continued, "The restaurant owner's name is Zeff, the same name as Zeff, the captain of a pirate crew called the Cook Pirates from back then."
Gion's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "That ruthless great pirate 'Red-Leg' Zeff from ten years ago?"
"It's not yet confirmed if they are the same person!" The subordinate officer shook his head and continued, "However, according to the information I found, several chefs at this sea restaurant were once notorious pirates in the East Blue."
Hearing this, Gion no longer hesitated and immediately commanded, "Move closer."
—