Alex had barely stopped trading blows with Sanji when a blood-covered marine burst through the entrance of the Ocean Mountain Restaurant, panic written all over his face. He stumbled up to Fullbody, who was still slumped on the floor, and blurted:

"Captain Fullbody! Bad news! That subordinate of Krieg's we finally managed to capture — he's escaped!"

"No way! Where would he even get the strength? Three days ago, when we caught him, he was nearly starved to death! We haven't given him a single bite since — how could he possibly have the energy to escape?"

Fullbody, still sore from the brutal kick Zeff had given him earlier, had been stewing over the thought that this floating restaurant was practically a pirate ship. He'd been planning to report it to his superiors so it could be properly "cleaned up." But before he could dwell on it for long, this shocking news landed on him like a cannonball.

When Alex heard the marine's words, he immediately thought of the pirate he'd seen tied to the ship's mast on the navy vessel earlier.

It didn't surprise him much that the man had escaped. The moment Alex had looked into his eyes back then, he knew the guy's will to survive was fierce — not the type to sit quietly and wait for death.

"Krieg's subordinate?"

"Isn't that from the so-called strongest pirate crew in the East Blue?"

The restaurant's patrons erupted into murmurs of panic at the marine's words, exclaiming in alarm.

"Weren't there plenty of guards on board? How could he still get away?"

Fullbody rounded on the bloodied marine.

"Explain yourself! How did this happen?"

"Because someone threw every single one of our crew into the sea! By the time we climbed back on board, Krieg's man was gone."

As the marine at the door said this, his eyes suddenly landed on Alex. His expression turned to horror.

"Captain! That's the guy who attacked our ship!"

"What?! You're telling me he single-handedly threw our entire crew into the ocean?"

Fullbody stared at Alex in shock.

"If you're unhappy about it, you can try to arrest me," Alex said, casually loosening his shoulders. "But the one left lying on the floor in the end… will be you. So, Captain Fullbody — are you going to make a move?"

"Waaaah!!"

The seated marine captain broke into a cold sweat. Letting out a startled yell, he scrambled backward on hands and feet, retreating like a terrified crab.

His pathetic display drew more than a few looks of open disdain from the restaurant's customers.

"How can he openly provoke the navy like that?" Usopp whispered, his knees shaking, to Zoro.

"We're pirates," Zoro replied. "If he acted timid in front of the navy in public, that would be weird."

Zoro didn't see anything wrong with Alex's behavior. The marine had already pointed him out; slinking away would've been the real embarrassment.

Nami, watching Alex's back, couldn't help noticing that he seemed more and more assertive — a far cry from when she'd first met him.

"How did you even end up causing trouble on a navy ship?" Luffy asked from beside him.

"Because you rammed me into it," Alex said irritably.

"Ohhh, that makes sense. I was wondering why you disappeared earlier. I thought you'd snuck into the restaurant ahead of us to eat."

Unbelievable. You slam me into a warship, don't even realize it, and then casually assume I was sneaking food?

Alex's face darkened. Fullbody, seeing the change in his expression, nervously shuffled his butt even farther away.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out. The restaurant instantly filled with screams as everyone stared at the marine who had just been standing at the entrance — now lying in a widening pool of blood.

Through the doorway, a man stepped inside, a pistol still in his hand. He walked slowly, but the chilling aura radiating from him was enough to keep ordinary people rooted to the spot.

"Is he a pirate?" Luffy asked.

"Most likely. I've met him before," Alex replied with a nod. The newcomer was indeed the prisoner he'd seen on the navy ship.

As Gin — that was his name — passed by Fullbody, Alex noticed the marine captain trembling visibly.

The surrounding customers, seeing Gin kill without even blinking, fell into a terrified silence. The air in the restaurant grew heavy and still.

"This is a restaurant, right? Whatever you've got, bring it out — fast."

Gin picked an empty table, dropped into a chair, and planted his feet on the tabletop. He spoke lazily toward Sanji and the other staff.

Paddy, grinning, went over to serve him — apparently unconcerned by the man's pirate status.

But once Paddy realized Gin had no money, his attitude flipped instantly. He barked at Gin to get out and smashed the pistol pointed at his head.

When Gin, weakened to the point of propping himself up on the floor, tried to stand, his stomach let out a loud growl.

Paddy responded by beating him down again and throwing him out of the restaurant.

"This is a customer-first restaurant! Penniless pirates don't even get leftovers. If you're not a customer, get lost!"

Fullbody, fed up with the strange atmosphere, left soon after.

As Gin lay outside, Alex saw Sanji take a drag from his cigarette and head toward the kitchen. A short while later, Sanji emerged with a fragrant plate of fried rice, and Luffy followed him out with a grin.

"What are you thinking about?" Nami asked, noticing Alex's strange look.

"That curly-browed chef… I think he just went to feed that pirate Paddy kicked out," Alex said.

"What's so strange about that? He's a good guy. He even said I can eat here for free," Nami replied with a smile.

Inside, she added smugly to herself: Let's see if you ever dare yell at me again. This new chef treats me way better than you do.

"Free food? Then what are we waiting for? Let's order all the best dishes here!" Alex's eyes lit up, and he dragged Nami to a large empty table, waving Zoro and Usopp over.

Nami could only stare speechlessly as Alex buried himself in the menu, ordering left and right, completely missing the subtext in her earlier words.

Hearing "free food" was enough to get Usopp and Zoro grinning as they called for a mountain of dishes, leaving only Nami sitting there looking out of place and quietly exasperated.

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