Chapter 9: East Blue Arc: Famous Cook! Sanji of the Sea Restaurant!

"If it isn't Johnny!" Zoro recognized the bounty hunter who had jumped onto the Going Merry.

"Zoro-aniki!" Johnny gasped. "Why are you doing on a pirate ship like this?"

"Is something wrong?" Zoro asked. "Yosaku isn't with you?"

"Does Zoro know that guy?" Usopp inquired as he, Sasha and Nami peered through the port-hole.

"What's going on?" Nami wondered.

"Yosaku is..." Johnny teared, as he and Zoro peered over the ship to see Yosaku lying on the boat attached to the ship.

"He's sick?" Zoro echoed after they brought Yosaku on-board and Johnny related what happened.

"Although he is full of life up until a few days ago, now he keeps getting pale suddenly and then fainting" Johnny sobbed. "I have no idea what's causing it. In the end, his teeth fell out and his old wound opened up and he started bleeding. I didn't know what to do anymore, so we were on a rocky island letting him rest quietly. But then, a cannonball came flying from this ship."

"We're sorry!" Luffy and Usopp apologized in unison, recalling that it had been them who test-fired Going Merry's cannon.

"Sorry doesn't cut it..." Johnny muttered. "Isn't that right, partner? Aniki, is he going to die?"

"Men," Sasha sighed, approaching the gathered males with Nami in tow. "Why do they just jump to conclusions without checking the facts first?" opening her medical equipment, she brought a tongue depressor and pulled Yosaku's mouth open. She then pulled up one of Yosaku's eyelids to examine the eye. "Just as I thought." she nodded. "Aniki, Usopp." she went into doctor mode. "Bring out the limes we have in storage. It's scurvy." she explained as Luffy and Usopp cut up the limes and dripped the juice into Yosaku's mouth.

"Scurvy?" Johnny echoed.

"If we weren't too late, he'll be fine in just a few days." Sasha assured.

"Really, ane-san?" Johnny teared. "Ane-san, is he really...?"

"Please stop calling me that." Sasha muttered. "In the past, it was considered a hopeless disease that came hand-in-hand with sea journeys. Then, it was discovered that the cause was simply due to a deficiency of plant-derived nutrients. And since ships on the past didn't carry fresh fruits and vegetables since they weren't storable... you two are overdoing it!" she exclaimed, seeing Luffy and Usopp stuff the limes into Yosaku's mouth. "And there's no way you can recover this quickly!" she shouted at the two cheering partners once Yosaku was up and about.

"Sorry for not introducing ourselves first." the duo declared.

"My name is Johnny." Johnny stated.

"I'm Yosaku." Yosaku added.

"The pirate bounty hunter duo." the pair chorused. "We used to be colleagues of Zoro-aniki. Glad to make your acquaintance."

"I never thought that I'd see you guys here." Zoro noted.

"But again, we're surprised." Yosaku admitted. "We never imagined that the pirate hunter Zoro became a pirate."

"Hey, partner..." Johnny gaped when Yosaku fell over.

"Get him on the bed." Sasha instructed. "Doctor's orders." she glared.

"This is a lesson." Nami remarked, taking note in the log book.

"Yeah, there're pitfalls like this when you travel on the sea for a long time." Zoro agreed.

"Which means on a ship we have to consider the distribution of nutrients using limited kinds of food." Usopp added.

"When we think about it carefully, it's a necessary ability." Nami concluded.

"Okay then, a seafaring cook!" Luffy decided. "Let's go find a seafaring cook."

"If you're looking for a cook like that, there's a perfect place for that." Johnny interjected. "But this place is close to the Grand Line, and you hear rumors about the hawk-eyed man you've been looking for." he stood before Zoro. "We'll head north-northeast. Our destination is the Sea Restaurant, Baratie."

"What the..." the awakened Yosaku gasped when he saw the arriving navy ship pass the Going Merry. "At a place like this... a Navy ship..."

"Surely, they're not gonna shoot at us, are they?" Usopp gasped.

"What an unpleasant bunch we've run into." Zoro snorted.

"When did they..." Nami stammered.

"I've never seen that pirate flag." Fullbody noted, walking out to the deck. "I'm Iron Fist Fullbody, Lieutenant at Navy Headquarters. Who's your captain? Come out and state your name!" he ordered.

"I'm Luffy!" Luffy shouted. "We just made our pirate flag the day before yesterday."

"You're just..." Fullbody scoffed. "You two over there." he spotted Johnny and Yosaku. "I remember seeing you before. If I remember correctly, you're a bounty hunter duo going after small fish. So you finally got caught by pirates. That's a laugh." he mocked.

"You think small-time bounty hunters would go after these guys?" Johnny snapped, flinging the bounty notices he had in hand to the ground.

"They're an eyesore. Sink them." Fullbody instructed his crew.

"What is this..." Nami asked, spotting Arlong's wanted poster on top of the pile.

"We're in trouble!" Usopp gaped as the ship's cannon was directed at them. "They're aiming at us."

"Water Dome!" Sasha's protective water barrier was raised around Going Merry just as the cannon fired.

"Leave it to me!" Luffy shouted. "Gum-Gum Slingshot!" he extended himself catching the cannonball just before it hit Sasha's shield and sent the iron ball flying towards Baratie's roof.

"Idiot." Sasha muttered, as Luffy slumped onto Going Merry's figurehead.

"What's taking Luffy so long?" Usopp wondered after Baratie's chefs took Luffy on-board the floating restaurant. "Maybe they'll make him do chores for a month or so."

"He should've made it the Navy's fault instead of being so foolishly honest." Nami sighed.

"Well, that's aniki for you." Sasha stated. "Honest to a fault."

"Rowdy customer?" Sasha guessed, hearing the crash when the group used Johnny and Yosaku's smaller boat to row over to the floating restaurant.

"A fight?" Zoro questioned, opening the wooden door to the restaurant.

"Don't... waste food." Sanji glared at Fullbody, holding the Navy officer by his throat. "At sea, provoking a cook is the same as committing suicide. Remember that."

Why is someone from the North Blue here? Sasha's eyes widened, recognizing Sanji's facial features.