Chapter 40

"Cough, cough!"

Ron emerged from the cabin, hands behind his back, appearing to wander around. "Do we have enough food and water?" he inquired.

Hearing this, Tashigi and Nami turned their attention to Makino, responsible for the provisions. Makino nodded and responded, "No, there isn't much food and water, there is only just enough for a few days."

"It seems that a sea restaurant is up ahead near our location. Let's head there for a meal today!" Ron gazed at the sea, where a faint black dot, a massive ship, became visible to his sharp eyes.

"Sea Restaurant?" Tashigi's eyes brightened. "I've heard the food there is exceptional!"

"Hmm," Makino added with a smile, "The chef there is rumored to have arrived from the Grand Line, so his craftsmanship must be remarkable."

"Wow, a chef from the Grand Line!" Kaya exclaimed with amazement. "Ron, since the food is said to be delicious, can we eat there today?"

"I've decided, we'll have dinner there. Let's have the restaurant prepare some food for us, so we don't need to go to Logue Town for supplies. The Navy there doesn't seem to welcome me either," Ron said, shrugging.

Tashigi rolled her eyes, thinking, "Not only are you unwelcome, but the Navy also hates you!"

With an order from Ron, the Merry sailed toward the Sea Restaurant.

At the restaurant called Baratie, Ron entered the grand establishment with a group of girls.

"The ambiance is splendid!" Kaya remarked, linking her arm with Ron's as she observed the restaurant's dining environment.

"It truly lives up to its reputation as the famous sea restaurant in the East Blue," Makino agreed.

"Haha, thank you for the praise ladies!" A tall chef approached with the menu, wearing a smile. "Welcome to Baratie restaurant. Please take a seat."

The chef also a waiter guided Ron's group to a table.

As Ron sat down and began ordering, the responsibility of selecting the food naturally fell to him as the captain.

"Alright, all of this, and add this for me too!" Ron casually gestured at the menu.

"Hahaha, no problem at all!" The chef, delighted at the substantial order, estimated the meal expenses to be tens of thousands of Baileys at least. It seemed Ron's crew was well-off.

"Wait a moment, we're preparing your dishes!" The chef was about to leave, but Ron interrupted, "Hold on, we're running low on food and water on our ship. Could your restaurant help us prepare some?"

"Oh, this..." The chef was stunned and said, "I have to ask the boss!"

"Okay, I'll wait!"

After a while, Baratie's boss, Red Leg Zeff, approached, smiled at Ron, and inquired, "Your Excellency, do you need me to prepare food and water for your ship?"

"I'll pay good money for the goods," Ron took a glance at Zeff. This guy was the teacher of the Straw Hat Pirates chef, Sanji. Sanji was probably still here as a chef. However, Ron didn't need Sanji to join his pirate crew. Considering Sanji's wolfish demeanor, he probably wouldn't be able to resist these beautiful girls surrounding him!

As soon as Ron mentioned Sanji, he spotted a teenager with curly eyebrows approaching.

"Gentlemen, there is absolutely no problem providing food and water; consider it done!" Sanji patted his chest and said. He then placed a few goblets in front of Nami, Kaya, and Tashigi. The red wine in his hand swiftly poured into the glasses of the women while he spoke, "It's a great honor to see four such beautiful ladies today. Well, ladies, a toast!"

"Well... okay." Kaya and Makino were momentarily stunned, smiling with some embarrassment. They were completely unaware of what the blonde boy meant. On the other hand, Tashigi and Nami smiled and did not hesitate to raise their glasses for a toast.

Ron was exasperated. The girls get glasses, and he gets left out? Sanji gave four glasses of red wine to the girls and prepared one for himself, completely forgetting Ron.

"Cough, cough!" Ron coughed unhappily. "Well, hurry up and serve us food, and start the preparation of food and water!"

Ron casually pulled out large stacks of money, resembling about a hundred thousand. "This money should be enough, right?"

"Huh! It's more than enough!" Zeff seeing Ron's displeasure slapped Sanji on the head. Ron was a distinguished guest! How could he let Sanji act in such a way?

"Here it comes, here comes the delicacy!" Several waiters brought over delicious food and placed it on the table in front of Ron.

Zeff smiled and said, "These are our famous dishes served only at Baratie. Care to give it a try?"

"Absolutely!" Ron couldn't help but smile when he saw Sanji being led aside by Zeff.