Just as the bullet was about to strike Sanji
A single chopstick suddenly appeared, hitting the bullet dead-center on its side, redirecting its path. It grazed Sanji's hair and embedded itself into the wooden wall behind him.
"Oh? Looks like you've got quite a soft heart after all," Garp said with a cheerful smile, eyes twinkling as he looked at Lucas Moore, now holding only one chopstick.
Lucas used that final chopstick to spear the last remaining pan-fried dumpling on his plate. He popped it into his mouth, chewed slowly, then swallowed with leisure.
The man leading the group, furious at the interruption, barked, "Who did that? Whose chopstick was that? Get the hell out here now!"
Lucas calmly finished his breakfast with a sip of wine, then hooked the gourd back onto his belt.
He rose to his feet and started walking, step by step, toward the main entrance toward the cluster of pirates.
"That kid... what's he doing?"
"He shouldn't go over there! Those are dangerous pirates they'll kill him!"
"Hey, brat! Sit back down!"
The voices of concerned customers rang in his ears, but Lucas acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, continuing forward.
Garp watched him with an amused smile.
He wasn't worried in the slightest about Lucas.
It was those pirates he felt sorry for.
"Boss Qiang, let me take care of this brat!" said a pirate with a blue bandana, brandishing a cutlass as he sneered and charged at Lucas.
Lucas sidestepped effortlessly, evading the clumsy strike with ease.
"Damn it! You're dead, brat!" the bandana-wearing pirate roared, pouring all his strength into another fierce slash.
Lucas dodged again, casually, then spun and delivered a sharp chop to the man's back with the edge of his hand. The pirate crashed to the floor.
Boss Qiang narrowed his eyes when he noticed the wooden sword hanging at Lucas's waist. He sneered, "Playing the mysterious act, huh? You little runt I'll send you straight to hell!"
With that, he raised his pistol and fired several rounds at Lucas.
"Lucas, look out! Get down!" Sanji shouted, panicked.
But Lucas vanished in a flash, dodging all the bullets with a burst of speed, and reappeared right in front of Boss Qiang. In one swift motion, he kicked both of Qiang's knees out from under him.
The pirate lost his balance and hit the floor hard.
"Damn you, brat! Do you even know who I am?" Boss Qiang shouted as he sprang up again. "Get him, boys! I want him dead no remains!"
"Yes, Boss Qiang!"
Chaos erupted inside the restaurant.
A swarm of pirates charged at a boy barely ten years old.
Lucas simply watched them with cold indifference.
He flexed his legs.
Then he attacked no fancy moves, just swift, precise, clean kicks aimed at their waists, chests, ribs, and pressure points.
One after another, the pirates dropped to the ground, groaning in pain.
Lucas coolly scanned the floor covered with his defeated foes.
He stepped over them, heading toward the exit, and just before walking out the door, he left behind a single line:
"If you hit the right spot, even a weak strike can bring your enemy down."
For a moment, the restaurant fell into stunned silence.
Then it exploded with cheers.
"Whoa! That kid's amazing he took down all those pirates by himself!"
"Maybe those pirates were just weak? Haha! Still, the kid's no joke."
"But what did he mean by that line just now?"
"No clue, but man, that was incredible!"
Garp had wondered at first why Lucas hadn't used his sword, or those impressive kicks he had shown in yesterday's sparring match with Zeff. Why go through the trouble of using only basic strikes?
Then his eyes shifted to Sanji, who stood trembling at the top of the stairs.
Recalling the line Lucas had spoken before leaving, Garp suddenly understood: "Hah... this kid really is something."
Sanji wasn't trembling from fear.
He knew exactly who that last line had been meant for.
And understanding its deeper meaning had shaken him to the core.
As Lucas boarded his boat, a mechanical chime echoed in his mind.
"Ding! Kick technique guidance complete. Check-in progress +20%. Current total progress: 70%."
No reward.
Still, he was fine with that. Only 30% to go this Baratie mission was going smoothly.
Lucas untied the ropes from the deck.
Then he set course once again for the Calm Belt.
By sunset, when he returned, the naval dinghy that had been moored nearby was gone.
Garp had left.
One less nuisance. Lucas was quite pleased.
He tied up his small boat.
Then tossed a large octopus he had brought back to the kitchen.
Just as he was about to leave, a group of chefs led by Patty blocked the kitchen doorway.
Patty grinned. "Lucas, the boss said you're only staying here temporarily. But with skills like yours, why not stick around and work with us long-term?"
"No," Lucas said flatly. "I can't cook."
"That's okay! We can teach you."
"Yeah, yeah! We didn't see what you did, but if Patty says you're good, you must be real strong."
"Come on, stay! It's not like you've got anywhere else to go."
What the hell was with these guys?
Lucas looked at them, speechless. "I'm a traveler. I've got a lot of places to go. I won't stay anywhere long-term. I'm not interested in being a chef. If you've got time to waste trying to recruit me, you'd be better off honing your cooking skills."
"Aw, turning us down just like that?"
"You could've at least been polite about it, man..."
"Hey! What are you all doing? Are those dishes finished yet?" Zeff's voice rang out from outside the door.
The chefs scattered like mice before a cat, rushing back to their stations.
Zeff stared at Lucas expressionlessly. "Come with me."
Lucas calmly followed him to the outer deck.
After a long silence, Zeff finally spoke. "Thanks for what you did this morning."
"No problem," Lucas replied simply.
Zeff continued, "And with Sanji... you talked to him, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
"I don't know why you'd help that brat, but... thank you."
"It's nothing."
"Heh." Zeff gave a small chuckle. "I heard what they said to you earlier. You really have no intention of staying?"
"None."
"Garp's gone. So, when are you planning to leave?"
Lucas thought for a moment. "Soon."
Just as he finished speaking, a chef rushed up from the stairs, having just delivered a dish.
"Boss! We've got trouble! That pirate Krieg the one with fifteen ships he's here!"
"What?" Zeff's brows furrowed.
"He says he's here to settle the score with Sanji and Lucas!"
"Hmph! The nerve!" Zeff's face darkened. "Let's go. I want to see what this Krieg's made of, daring to cause trouble at Baratie."
In Lucas's memory, Krieg and Zeff weren't supposed to meet until ten years later when Luffy arrived at the restaurant.
So why was Krieg showing up now?
Just as he was about to head downstairs with the others, something in the corner of his eye caught his attention.
A pirate ship was approaching Baratie across the sea.
Lucas stared at its flag in surprise.
A skull over crossed bones... with an upward-curving crescent-shaped mustache behind it...
Wasn't that the mark of the Whitebeard Pirates?
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