CHAPTER 6 - BARATIE: A TASTE OF TROUBLE
The vast, cerulean expanse of the East Blue stretched before them, a canvas of endless possibilities. Or, if you were Luffy, a liquid buffet that stubbornly refused to yield any actual food. Adam, meanwhile, was trying to ignore the rhythmic rumbling of his Captain's stomach, which sounded suspiciously like a dying sea beast.
"Are we there yet? I'm starving! I can smell meat!" Luffy declared, his rubbery arm stretching wildly towards the horizon, as if he could snatch a phantom steak out of the very air.
"Captain, unless your nose can detect a perfectly seared rib-eye from several miles away across open water, I think that's just the scent of despair emanating from your stomach," Adam replied, adjusting the slightly damp collar of his jacket. "Though, I suppose that could be considered a form of meat. A very, very sad meat."
Zoro, as usual, was either meditating or napping, slumped against the mast in a position that would send any chiropractor into a weeping frenzy. Nami, on the other hand, was meticulously polishing a handful of Beri, her eyes gleaming with an almost unsettling fervor. "She's like a dragon, but instead of hoarding gold, she hoards fiat currency. And instead of breathing fire, she breathes furious accusations about my accidental pyromania. It's truly endearing."
"When are we going to find a place to trade these?" Nami muttered, more to herself than to them, clutching a small, leather pouch that Adam knew contained the last remnants of her un-charred savings.
Adam leaned in conspiratorially. "You know, Nami, if you keep fondling your money like that, it's going to develop an inferiority complex. It needs to be spent! Experience the world! See a few exotic ports! Perhaps buy a really ostentatious hat that screams 'I have too much money and zero fashion sense!'"
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: NAMI][LIKE METER: 10%][HATE METER: 30%][ACQUIRABLE SKILLS: BASIC NAVIGATION, CARTOGRAPHY (ADVANCED TECHNIQUES)]
"Thirty percent hate. She's definitely feeling the burn. And 'Advanced Techniques' for cartography means she could probably map out a secret underground lair from memory. Useful. Very useful for when I need to hide my secret snack stash from Luffy."
Suddenly, a massive, ornate ship appeared on the horizon, but it was no ordinary vessel. It was shaped like a gigantic fish, with a grand, two-story restaurant perched atop its back. The Baratie. Adam's eyes lit up.
"Aha! There it is, Captain!" Adam pointed dramatically. "The legendary Baratie! A floating temple of gastronomy! Where the food is so good, it might actually convince Zoro to stay awake for more than five minutes!"
Luffy's eyes, previously dull with hunger, snapped open like floodlights. "MEAT! I smell meat! Really good meat!" He launched himself onto the deck, doing a happy dance.
They docked their small boat alongside the Baratie, an impossible feat of naval engineering. The air was thick with the rich scent of cooked food – a symphony of spices, grilled fish, and roasted meats that made Adam's stomach do a delighted little flip.
As they stepped onto the deck, they were immediately greeted by the sight of a man with an impossibly long, braided eyebrow, a cigarette dangling casually from his lips. He was impeccably dressed, despite the slight smudge of flour on his cheek. Sanji. The future chef. And a walking, talking embodiment of chivalry and explosive leg power.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: SANJI][LIKE METER: 0%][HATE METER: 0%][ACQUIRABLE SKILLS: NONE]
"Zero percent. Good. A fresh canvas. This is going to be interesting. He's either going to love my witty banter or try to kick my teeth in for being disrespectful. Fifty-fifty, really."
Sanji, however, immediately ignored Luffy and Zoro, his eyes locking onto Nami. He floated towards her, practically glowing. "My dear lady! Welcome to the Baratie! You are a vision of beauty, a blossoming flower in this harsh, pirate-infested sea! May I offer you something to drink? Perhaps a refreshing fruit juice, squeezed by my own loving hands?"
Nami, unaccustomed to such overt adoration, blinked, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks. "Oh! Um, thank you!"
Adam cleared his throat loudly. "Ahem. While I appreciate your, shall we say, enthusiastic welcome, Mr. Eyebrow, you seem to be overlooking the rest of us. You know, the people who actually sailed the boat here. And, more importantly, the person who will be paying for the food."
Sanji turned to Adam, his adoration for Nami instantly replaced by an icy glare. "And who, pray tell, are you, you insolent weed? Do you not understand the concept of a lady's first impression?"
"Adam," he replied, giving a slight, mocking bow. "Vice-Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. And a connoisseur of fine dining, provided it doesn't come with a side of patronizing flirtation. Though I admit, your eyebrows are quite... curly. Is that a family trait, or a fashion statement?"
Sanji's cigarette nearly fell from his lips. "You... you dare insult my eyebrows?!"
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: SANJI][LIKE METER: 0%][HATE METER: 10%][ACQUIRABLE SKILLS: BLACK LEG STYLE (BASIC KICKS - 10% EFFICIENCY)]
"Ten percent hate! Yes! My reputation precedes me. 'Black Leg Style (Basic Kicks - 10% efficiency)'? So I can probably kick a pebble with slightly more force than usual. Excellent. Very useful for... well, for kicking pebbles."
Just then, the head chef, Zeff, a burly man with a distinctive peg-leg, stomped out of the kitchen, radiating an aura of no-nonsense authority.
"What's all this ruckus?! Sanji! Get back to work! And you, straw hat! If you're here to eat, then eat! If you're here to fight, then get out!" Zeff barked, his voice like gravel.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: ZEFF][LIKE METER: 0%][HATE METER: 0%][ACQUIRABLE SKILLS: NONE]
"Zero percent for Zeff. He's a tough nut to crack. But I'm nothing if not persistent. Time to make a memorable first impression. A very, very messy first impression."
Adam spotted a large tray of freshly prepared, intricately plated dishes sitting on a nearby service cart, ready to be delivered to customers. And, conveniently, right next to it, was a large, heavy-looking bucket filled with dirty dishwater.
"Oh, the possibilities. The glorious, glorious possibilities. It's like the universe is handing me a giant, sparkly, 'press here for chaos' button."
He winked at Sanji. "You know, Mr. Eyebrow, I heard a rumor that the food here is so good, it makes people literally jump for joy. Is that true?"
Before Sanji could respond, Adam 'accidentally' tripped over his own feet, arms flailing wildly. His right hand, seemingly on its own accord, swung out and knocked the bucket of dirty dishwater directly onto the pristine tray of dishes. Splish, splash, splatter. Fine dining instantly transformed into culinary catastrophe. The beautifully arranged dishes were now a soggy, greasy mess, covered in soapy suds and bits of forgotten food.
A collective gasp swept through the Baratie. Zeff's good eye twitched. Sanji looked like he was about to spontaneously combust.
"OH MY GOODNESS!" Adam exclaimed, his voice dripping with faux horror. "How clumsy of me! I am so, so terribly sorry! My apologies, chefs! I seem to have... redecorated your appetizers with a rustic 'industrial waste' theme. I assure you, it was a complete accident! I swear on my grandmother's favorite teacup!"
Zeff's face was turning a shade of purple that no sane human being should ever achieve. "YOU! YOU IDIOT! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THAT COST?!"
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: ZEFF][LIKE METER: 0%][HATE METER: 20%][ACQUIRABLE SKILLS: RED LEG KICK (UNSTABLE)]
"Twenty percent hate! Excellent! And 'Red Leg Kick (unstable)'? So I can probably kick with fire, but it might just extinguish itself immediately. Still, a fiery kick! The sheer theatricality of it is worth it."
Sanji, meanwhile, had lunged at Adam, a furious kick aimed at his head. Adam, with surprising agility (and a healthy dose of pure, unadulterated luck), dodged, rolling under the table.
"Woah there, Mr. Eyebrow! A little aggressive, aren't we? It was an accident! An unfortunate, dishwater-soaked, appetizer-ruining accident!" Adam called out from under the table.
Luffy, surprisingly, was not angry about the ruined food. Instead, he was laughing his head off. "Shishishishi! That was funny, Adam! You're so clumsy!"
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: MONKEY D. LUFFY][LIKE METER: 40%][HATE METER: 0%][ACQUIRABLE SKILLS: GUM-GUM PISTOL (STABLE), INCREDIBLE OPTIMISM]
"Forty percent like from Luffy. And 'Gum-Gum Pistol (stable)'! Yes! Now I can actually stretch my arm without it flopping like a wet noodle. This is going to be great for reaching that remote."
The Baratie descended into chaos. Chefs, angered by the ruined food, began to bicker with each other. Customers demanded refunds. Luffy, spotting a fresh platter of seafood, decided now was the perfect time to start eating. Zoro, finally awake, just watched the unfolding mayhem with a bemused expression.
"You know, Captain," Adam said, emerging from under the table, brushing invisible dust off his jacket. "For a floating restaurant, this place has a remarkable talent for generating land-based chaos. It's almost poetic."
Despite the initial anger, the incident inadvertently served as a chaotic, yet effective, icebreaker. The Straw Hats were quickly hired by Zeff to work off the damages, with Luffy assigned to dishwashing (a job he excelled at, mostly by stretching his arms to clean entire stacks of plates at once) and Zoro assigned to heavy lifting (which mostly involved him getting lost on the way to the storage room). Nami was put to work waiting tables, where her charm briefly outweighed her mercenary tendencies. Adam, naturally, was assigned to "customer relations," which mostly meant keeping him away from anything breakable.
Adam observed Sanji closely. The chef's precision in the kitchen, his elegant fighting style with only his legs, and his absolute devotion to women. He saw the subtle hints of the underlying kindness beneath the hot-headed exterior, and the fierce loyalty he held for Zeff and the Baratie. "He's a good guy, Sanji. A bit of a pervert, sure, but in this world, that's practically a virtue. At least he's not trying to blow up an entire village for money. Yet."
Later, as a form of apology (and a subtle psychological operation), Adam approached Nami, who was still fuming about her chocolate coins.
"Nami," Adam said, producing a perfectly formed, golden chocolate coin from his pocket. "I believe this belongs to you. I found it... uh... adhering to a very enthusiastic pigeon. It seems even birds have a sweet tooth for your ill-gotten gains."
Nami snatched the coin, examining it suspiciously. "This is chocolate!"
"Indeed!" Adam beamed. "A rare, artisanal chocolate coin, forged in the fires of a thousand sugar refineries! Worth far more than mere Beri in terms of sheer caloric delight! Consider it an investment in your happiness. And a subtle hint that perhaps, just perhaps, money isn't the only thing worth pursuing. Though I admit, a good chocolate coin can be surprisingly persuasive."
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: NAMI][LIKE METER: 10%][HATE METER: 35%][ACQUIRABLE SKILLS: BASIC COOKING SKILLS (THEORY)]
"Thirty-five percent hate. Still strong. But 'Basic Cooking Skills (Theory)'? So she can probably read a recipe without setting the kitchen on fire. Excellent. My plan to turn her into a well-rounded human being is slowly but surely working. One chocolate coin at a time."
Adam watched as Nami, despite her indignation, bit into the chocolate coin, a flicker of genuine pleasure crossing her face before it was replaced by her usual scowl. "Progress. Small, delicious progress."
He knew the arrival of Don Krieg was imminent. And with it, the emotional rollercoaster that would define Sanji's decision. Adam was ready. He had his own chaotic contributions to make, of course. But this time, his chaos would serve a higher purpose: ensuring Sanji, the pervy, kick-ass chef, joined their crew. And maybe, just maybe, making Zeff slightly less furious with him. Probably not.