[55] The Journey to the East?! (2)
Chapter 55: The Journey to the East?! (2)
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Vinsmoke Sanji. Though now he just went by ‘Sanji’ as the Vinsmoke name disgusted him. Today, due to a lack of workers, Sanji was not only doing his job as a Cook, but he was also acting as a Waiter.
He couldn’t fathom why he, the sous chef of the restaurant, had to do it. Not that he was complaining as long as pretty ladies came to the restaurant.
Indeed, like usual, Sanji treated the female customers with kindness and grace, while giving the male customers looks full of disdain and jealousy. He was a little disappointed that not many female customers have been coming recently, though he told himself all ladies were pretty.
“Oi, is the Honey Garlic Glazed Salmon done? The customer’s waiting.”
Sanji walked inside the kitchen and asked with his hands in his pockets. The cooks looked at him and then turned away to focus on their cooking. Sanji felt a little irritated at not being answered, but that just meant the dish wasn’t done yet.
“I’ll need another two minutes and fourteen seconds, come back then. Also, stop smoking while in the kitchen!”
The head chef of the restaurant, Jeff, notified Sanji just as he was about to walk away. Though he didn’t even look at Sanji, solely focusing on the dish, Sanji didn’t mind. It just showed his devotion to cooking, and Sanji respected it.
Deciding to go out and tell the customers to wait for a bit longer, Sanji walked out of the kitchen. His eyes casually wandered as he walked, not really putting effort into reaching the destined table (as the customers were male) and just slowly wandering.
It was then that he paused in his spot. Looking at the gate of the restaurant, he couldn’t help himself.
The cigarette hanging from his lips fell as the door fully opened to reveal the figure of a woman. His mind was boggled as she approached, his thoughts started to wander to a future where he and she would be married and have kids, as the black-haired woman closed in.
She had raven hair resembling the darkness of the night, and a shade of purple sunglasses covered her ringed blue eyes. Her nose was sharp, while her chin was oval and sweet. Wearing a purple shirtdress that hugged her curves dangerous and seductively, the woman wore a hat and looked as if she had fallen from the sky.
‘Holy Moly!’
Sanji couldn’t help but exclaim in shock. That woman was gorgeous! How could a woman so perfect be real? Was he dreaming? Was this an illusion?
As if to mock him, a sweet jittering voice called him behind him.
“Hey, Robin! Here, come, this seat is empty!”
Sanji’s head snapped to the side to focus on the source of the voice. The voice sounded like a fifteen, at most sixteen, year old girl—his senses said—but as his eyes focused on the source, all sort of logic seemed to leave his body as his heart was once again stolen.
This girl must have entered the restaurant while he went to the kitchen, otherwise, there was no way he wouldn’t notice a person of such royal and dignified beauty.
With wavy blue hair that flowed down to her back, the girl had light brown eyes that seemed to attract all the light of the world to her. Her facial features were that of a dignified princess, noble yet sweet, as she waved her hand at the coming ‘Robin’.
Sanji’s jaws dropped. How were two fine women such as them together?! How had their presence together not broken this reality?
For once, it wasn’t just him gawking. The others in the restaurant, the customers and workers alike, stared at the two girls with awe-struck faces.
Then, as if that wasn’t enough either, someone else entered through the doors.
“Ah, Vivi, you shouldn’t come running to unknown places.”
The woman named ‘Robin’ said to the blue-haired girl named ‘Vivi’, Sanji noted. As Robin walked to Vivi, all of Sanji’s mental notes scrambled. He was about to go run to them and ask for their orders, but the door opened and another beauty walked in.
“Hey, ugh, you two, how could you leave us behind?!”
This woman sounded a little annoyed, but that too was music to Sanji’s ears. With short blonde hair in a curly bob-cut, she wore a crown made of flowers in her head.
Her green eyes were like pearls shining at the bottom of the ocean. Yet, her body was a bombshell that almost didn’t match the innocence of her smile, the lustrous feeling only expanded with the jewelry and light purple robes she was wearing.
Sanji couldn’t take it anymore. With shaky knees, he fell on his back and hit his head as blood was gushing out of his nose.
“Ah, that Sanji lost his consciousness! Somebody quickly stop the bleeding!”
* * *
While Baratie workers tended to Sanji in the background, the three girls gathered together near a table that was beside the window.
Vivi tilted her head as Mikita closed up on her and Robin.
Vivi said, “Hey, Mikita. Where is Hashirama? Wasn’t he with you?”
“I don’t know, there is a chef outside and he won’t let him in with Karoo. Says such big pets aren’t allowed.” Mikita sighed.
As if summoned by their talking, the blonde waiter who was being taken away by two people, suddenly jumped awake and rushed at the three ladies. With his eyes seemingly heart-shaped, he spoke to the ladies.
“You guys’ pet? Who dares to block that cute creature? Ah, please make yourselves comfortable, I will go bring your pets right away~”
Saying so, the blonde cook with one of his eyes covered by hair, rushed out of the gate.
“Huh? What’s wrong with him?”
“Wasn’t he injured just now?”
“I think he is a weirdo.”
The girls gossiped, but thankfully Sanji was gone by then before he could hear the words that were sure to break his heart.
* * *
Naturally, Sanji composed himself when he stepped outside the door. He was hoping to meet another gorgeous lady with the group’s pet, but sadly, it was a guy. Sadly, the guy was handsome too.
Arguing with one of the remaining cooks in the restaurant, Kyoji, was the handsome young man with green eyes and black hair tied behind him.
The young man stood beside a massive duck, who Sanji would have had the urge to cook if he didn’t know it was a pet to those ladies. Now, Sanji only stared at the young man as he contemplated.
‘Tch. Which of them is he dating? Or perhaps is he just a friend? Maybe one of their brothers? He has black hair like ‘Robin’, and green eyes like ‘Mikita’. Huh. Yup, he must be a brother to both of them…. Though I am not sure about ‘Vivi’. Further observation is required.’
In any case, given he was a brother to at least two of them, and he seemed younger than Sanji himself (despite being a few inches taller), Sanji supposed he should treat him well. After all, for all he knew, this guy could be his future brother-in-law.
“Hey, Kyoji.”
Sanji called, waving his hand and approaching the gathering. Kyoji turned to Sanji as a smile bloomed on his face—he finally saw someone reliable who could reject the customer properly. Because no matter how much Kyoji tried, with his short stature, the young customer didn’t take him seriously.
However, Kyoji’s expectations were shattered when Sanji came close and slapped him behind his head.
“You punk, why are you being disrespectful to a customer? Didn’t I tell you before that the customer is never wrong? Go back to the kitchen, shoo.”
“….”
Kyoji nearly cried, but he held it in and walked away. Sanji looked at the young man who smiled.
“You’re with the three ladies, right? You can bring the cute duck inside.”
“Ay, thanks. I was wondering if I and my group should leave since you won’t allow Karoo in. Ah, this cute duck is called Karoo.”
The young man said, pointing at the duck who smartly greeted him with a nod, surprising Sanji. Then the young man raised a fist in the air.
“I am Hashirama, by the way. Thanks, once again.”
Seeing ‘Hashirama’s’ raised fist, Sanji paused. Hesitating, he hit the fist with a bump and nodded with a smile.
“It’s Sanji. Just Sanji.”
* * *
In the meantime, on the New World side of the Grandline, something was brewing. Something that’d be a huge obstacle to the crew in the future.
“So Bellamy hasn’t reported in a week?”
Former Celestial Dragon, one of the current Seven Warlords of the Sea, Don Quixote Doflamingo said as he sat on a throne.
Before him stood his subordinate, Trebol. The mucus-human had a snort coming out of his nose like usual as he nodded and reported.
“Ne, that’s what happened, Doffy.”
“Hn,”
Doflamingo wore a serious grin as he scratched his chin.
“Odds that he betrayed me are low. He isn’t the type. So was he killed? But there was no report on it.”
“Ne, Doffy. I have a guess.”
Trebol spoke, skeptical. Seeing Doffy’s nod, he continued.
“You have seen it too, right? The news of ‘Hashirama Senju’. He also has a bounty of 100 million, the first case in history where the first bounty is in 9 digits. Does the name ‘Senju’ ring any bells?”
Doflamingo frowned, looking a little confused.
“Are you implying his relation with the Vice-Admiral that Vergo reported? Ah, what was it? Tsunade Senju? That gorgeous Vice-Admiral? Are these two related? Wait-”
As he spoke, mid-sentence, a sense of realization hit him. His eyes shook a little behind his glasses.
“Ah. I get it now. The Senju ship we destroyed 18 years ago. We couldn’t string it together with the Tsunade woman, due to the lack of evidence, rendering the chances of it being a mere coincidence. But, now…”
Doffy stretched his words, as Trebol filled in the next parts.
“Ne, wasn’t there a kid who was born that day on the ship? This Hashirama fellow is 18 years old. The odds that he is that same brat from back then, and this Tsunade is that blonde girl from back then is very high. Ne, I think it was this Hashirama who took out Bellamy. It’s a wild guess, but is it a coincidence that Bellamy disappeared right around the time Hashirama set sail?”
Silence fell in the room, as Doflamingo rubbed his chin. Soon, a wide and evil grin erupted on his face as he chuckled.
“Fuffuffuffu… It’s funny, isn’t it? Trebol, contact Vergo. If I knew this before, I would have told him to eliminate Tsunade, but now that woman should be equal to Vergo in strength, so fighting her isn’t a good choice. Tell Vergo to go to Jaya, instead.”
“Ne, isn’t that where Bellamy was last spotted?”
“Yes. Tell Vergo to ask everyone around in Jaya, beat them up and kill them if necessary, but he must learn about the current position of that Senju boy. We need to eliminate him right away, before he can grow any further and come for revenge, and Vergo is strong enough for that job.”
Donqixoute Doflamingo didn’t like unfinished jobs. It always led to misery. For a boy who defeated a warlord at the age of 16, tricks or not, it wouldn’t be smart to allow him to grow any further.
In the meantime, how should he initiate a meeting with that Tsunade? She too, after all, was an unfinished job. Though Doflamingo doubted if he had the self-control to just kill her.
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[1] There are three beautiful images in this chapter, don’t forget to join our discord to check them out!
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Master4thWall Note: Hashirama wanted to avoid Doffy for now, but what choice did he have if the Joker came to him on his own?
Q- Can Doffy beat a woman who beat Enel? As a physically strong user of armament Haki, it’d be like fighting a mini Garp the Fist.
Q- Will Hashirama help Sanji’s goal to be brother-in-law of him?
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