Chapter 302: Paying the Bill

Ian didn’t know if the Baratie restaurant often witnesses this kind of fight between chefs and customers. Because when Sanji, Patty, and the others besieged Ian, the other guests in the restaurant were not scared away at all, but they were very excited, watching from their seats.

However, to their surprise, the fighting chefs of the Baratie restaurant, which impressed most customers with their fierce fighting power, failed to suppress the young man who ate several dishes without paying, even when they attacked him together…

At this time, the restaurant’s owner, Zeff, appeared, and with his arrival, the spectators were more excited.

“Ow! Boss Zeff is out!”

“That young man doesn’t seem to be that lucky, he will probably be kicked to death by his legendary leg!”

Some knowledgeable guests have heard of the name “Red Foot Zeff”, especially those regular visitors. They all knew that Zeff stepping out wasn’t only to stop the fight, because for this kind of scums, he was merciless.

Therefore, the restaurant customers intended to keep waiting for the show.

As soon as Zeff appeared, Patty and the others backed down. Only Sanji, who was knocked down by Ian’s sudden blow, covered his stomach and climbed up, planning to rush again…

But at this time, Zeff violently raised his peg leg, and kicked the back of Sanji’s head.

Sanji’s head was like a big hammer, falling down directly to the wooden floor!

Zeff is a man who claims to be able to destroy a boulder with his leg and leave a footprint on steel. Even with a missing leg, his kick can’t be underestimated… A second later, a big bag popped up on Sanji’s head, and blood flowed out from his nose… he turned around and said angrily: “Old Man! What are you doing!?”

Zeff snorted coldly, and said: “Are you that stupid, don’t you know when to retreat!”

Then he looked around at Patty and the rest of the chefs, and cursed, “And you bastards! Is that how you treat your guests? Where are your manners!?”

Patty and the others were confused by his scolding, and they didn’t understand what happened to their Boss. Can these freeloaders be called guests?

But Zeff ignored their gazes, walked over, and said to Ian: “I’m sorry for such a treatment, these idiots are too rude!”

Ian looked at him, and said in annoyance: “What the heck, your staff didn’t even allow me to explain? Although I forgot to bring any money with me, who told you that I wouldn’t pay my bill!?”

Sanji had already stood up again at this moment, lit a cigarette again, and said to Ian: “Are you willing to wash dishes and do chores?”

Ian hasn’t spoken yet, but Zeff glared at Sanji and shouted, “Shut up!”

Then he turned back to Ian and said, “My beloved client, this meal is my treat!”

As soon as this was said, not only the customers in the restaurant, but even Sanji and Patty were stunned. Did boss Zeff just give someone a pass for paying the bill!? This is a joke, right!?

Is this really the boss Zeff we all know!?

Sanji and the others locked their gazes at Ian, looked up and down at him, but no matter how they look at it, Ian’s age wasn’t even close to the Old Man’s…

It was Ian who reacted this time by tilting his head: ‘Did Zeff recognized me… even though I’m not wearing my hat, huh, I’m still the same person whether I’m wearing it or not! Or is it the bandage and the bell on my wrist that gave me away!?’

Sure enough, Ian noticed that Zeff’s eyes were fixed at the bell on his wrist.

So shaking his head, Ian said: “No, I will pay for my meal, but it’s not too much to wait a moment, right?”

Hearing what Ian said, Zeff didn’t insist anymore. He sat down at a chair near Ian’s table and turned to Sanji. “Go get some dessert!”

Sanji looked astonished. ‘What do you mean by this? Is he really asking me to bring a dessert to this scumbag?’

After he gave a command to Sanji, he turned and asked Ian: “How come you are back in the East Blue?”

That’s right, Zeff did really recognize Ian. As once a famous pirate hunter in this area, to one of the great newcomer pirates, Zeff’s knowledge was not comparable to that of Sanji or Patty. He was sitting in the kitchen, when the fight started, but then he heard a crisp ring of a bell coming from the outside! First, he was stunned, then he was confused. He quickly came out to have a look… After seeing Ian’s figure, he instantly understood that the outcomes won’t be too good, so he immediately stopped Sanji and Patty.

Although the name of the newly joined Shichibukai, Ian, has spread throughout the entire East Blue, after all, many people only know him from the picture on his wanted poster. The black-and-white version of his photo, which was similar to a sketch, has only his head portrait, not his whole figure. Many people have never seen the real Ian, nor expected him to suddenly return to the East Blue, so how could they identify him in this condition?

Moreover, although many people have the knowledge about the existence of the new Shichibukai, they don’t really understand what they are capable of…

Only Red-Leg Zeff, who has returned from the Grand Line, can understand what being a Shichibukai stands for…

What he is most gratifying for is that Ian wasn’t easily agitated and has not yet demolished the entire Baratie restaurant!

Of course, because of Ian’s age, Zeff couldn’t show too much respect for him, but he also expressed his willingness to treat him as a respectful guest and used these words to reveal his goodwill.

After hearing the question, Ian just said: “I’m just passing by!”

Then, Ian asked back: “Does your restaurant receive a lot of pirates on a daily basis?”

Zeff nodded, and said: “That’s right, and not all of them are here for food, especially in recent days! So please understand their actions…”

Ian didn’t care, and said: “Since pirates come here for troubles all the time, then we are good…! The next group of furious pirates who would appear nearby will have to face my wrath, I will seize their goods and pay for the meal, is that ok with you?”

Zeff didn’t expect that Ian would pay the bill in this way! After thinking about it, he said: “I don’t mind, as long as you are happy!”

After that, he got up and left, leaving the clients in the restaurant whispering, wondering what made Zeff’s attitude change all of a sudden, while Sanji, Patty, and the other chefs look at each other in dismay and didn’t know what to do…

However, at this moment, another roar of their boss came from the kitchen: “You bastards, don’t you have jobs to take care of!?”

Patty scratched his bald head and had to turn around and leave, so did Sanji, but when he was about to walk away, Ian reminded him, “Don’t forget my dessert!”

As he heard this, he faltered, frowned, put his hands in his pockets, and walked back to the kitchen without answering Ian’s words.

Ian didn’t bother, raised his legs on the table, and leaned on the back of the chair, waiting with a peace of mind.

In general, Ian doesn’t have the habit of defaulting. Although the charges at the Baratie restaurant were very expensive, in Patty’s words, the total was 90,000 Berries. On this sea, there was no shortage of pirates with respectable bounties, especially around this Restaurant. It’s very likely that they will soon come around. If he captures one or two Pirates, then he can exchange their treasures or bounties for the bill…

Having said that, this may be fate and destiny. Ian used to be a pirate hunter in the East Blue. However, when he came back this time, he didn’t expect that the first thing he would do was his old job…

And now, there were a few Pirate-like guys in Baratie. Ian couldn’t help looking at them. He doesn’t know if these guys have any bounty. ‘Should I catch them to pay off my debts?’

Those pirates noticed Ian’s sharp gaze, but this guy just faced so many chefs of the restaurant alone, and the Boss Zeff treated him softly. These pirates didn’t know where this young man came from, so they didn’t dare to provoke him at all, therefore, they paid the bill and sneak out.

Ian looked at their outfits and the weapons in their hands and found that these guys might be just some minions, so he didn’t care about them.

Just at this time, a light sound came from his table, and it was Sanji placing the dessert, which was a very delicate chocolate cake. After putting down the plate, he sat in front of Ian, dangling a cigarette, and said to Ian with some doubts: “Who on earth are you?”

Ian pulled the plate and started eating the cake with a fork. “Your boss didn’t tell you?”

Sanji shook his head, and said: “The old man is so mysterious, he didn’t say a word after entering the kitchen…!”

Ian nodded lightly. It seemed that Zeff is still quite intelligent. Although he recognized Ian, he didn’t reveal Ian’s identity without his consent. Ian was very satisfied with this, so he slowly ate his cake, and ignored Sanji’s question.

The restaurant was very crowded, and soon, Sanji was summoned to welcome new customers, but Sanji kept always paying attention to Ian while walking around the restaurant.

When Ian finished the cake, he gave him a cup of tea, and just sat down again, while the mysterious person drank it slowly.

As a result, this wait lasted for more than two hours, which made Ian a little frustrated… Didn’t he say that recently many pirates come by this place? Why haven’t I seen any for so long? Am I going to have dinner here, too?

Just as Ian was thinking like this, he faintly heard a rumbling sound.

Huh? Is this the sound of cannons firing? Ian’s spirit got refreshed, and he immediately walked out of the restaurant and stood at the fence, looking around.

On the sea to the south of Baratie, the shadow of two ships appeared. The front one was a ship with a pirate flag, while the other was a marine battleship.

“Heehaa, here I come!” Ian exclaimed with excitement, while rubbing his hands… What Zeff said was true, pirates appear so often in this area.

Just as Ian was about to set off, he suddenly heard a discussion coming from the side.

After hearing the sound of the cannons, many clients came out to see what’s going on. Then he heard their comments: “That Battleship must be a ship of Loguetown marines, right?”

“I’ve heard that the frequency of Loguetown marine’s recent arrest of pirates is quite high!”

“It’s a good thing to have such high frequency! Do you think it’s better for this Blue to have lazy marines like they used to be?”

“Hey, I’m sure that this is the result of that powerful lady who just joined Loguetown’s marines!”

“Yeah, I heard that during this period, a female marine led a strong team to hunt pirates! Moreover, every time she’s dispatched, she comes back victorious… Loguetown Marine Base recruited some powerful people this time…”