Obligation

"Repay me? Hah! Don't overreact, Sanji! I'm not unfortunate enough to let a kid protect me. " Zeff smirked at him. Sanji snorted and loosened up his tie.

"Who's overreacting? If you hadn't lost that leg, these chumps couldn't have hurt you." Sanji argued back.

" Why? Why are you doing all of this, Sanji?" Gin asked. Sanji looked at Pearl who started getting up.

"I'll kill you, dickhead!!! You made me bleed!!" Pearl shouted crazily as his nose, mouth and forehead were bleeding. Some of his teeth were missing too.

Sanji smirked, noticing Pearl's injuries. "You're not invincible at all." He taunted.

"You still want to act cool?! Let me tell you now! This restaurant is closed! And it will become a pirate ship!!" Pearl started causing friction sparks to ignite his body with a defensive layer of intensely hot flames.

"Now I'm Fire Pearl!!!!!" Pearl declared crazily as a yellow orange fire covered his iron plates and gauntlets.

"Fire Pearl Daitokuten!!!" Pearl threw flaming pearls at Sanji. Sanji did some impressive flips to dodge them.

The flames on Pearl's armor started spreading quickly onto the porch they were standing on and was getting stronger quickly.

"Shit! Stop the fire!!" One of the chefs shouted. Pearl laughed.

" Hahahaha!!!! You can try to counter if you want the old man to die!! " Pearl shouted as Sanji growled and charged towards him.

"Tch! Fire Pearl Present!!!!" Pearl shouted before punching Sanji straight in his face with his flaming gauntlet.

Sanji spat out some blood and had a large burnt mark on his right cheek. He tumbled back and slammed into the wooden railing.

Luffy gritted his teeth and raised his right foot high up into the air. "Gomu Gomu no....." He muttered while everyone looked on in shock at what he was doing.

"WAR AXEEEEEE!!!!!"

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!*

Luffy's axe kick destroyed the entire porch. Sanji was blasted back by the shockwave the kick created. He looked at Luffy who was looking at Sanji with a serious face.

"You idiot! What are you thinking?!" Sanji shouted.

"I am going to destroy this ship." Luffy declared seriously, making the chefs gasp in horror.

" You're too much!!!" They shouted angrily at him. Sanji angrily grabbed Luffy's shirt collar with his right hand.

" Oi! Are you serious?! Do you know why I've stayed here all along?!"

" I know and I don't care. We'll just destroy this ship, and their goal cannot be accomplished." Luffy replied to her.

" Do you know how much I owe this place and it's importance? You don't understand at all, rubber man!! " Sanji asked him. Luffy grabbed his right hand and pushed it away.

" So you want to die for this restaurant? You're an idiot, Sanji! " Luffy insulted.

" What did you say?! " Sanji was clearly offended. Luffy grabbed him shirt collar and pulled Sanji closer to him.

" You're not repaying him by dying, stupid!!! He did save you for you to just throw your life away! He saved you yet you want to die!! The old man's right! You are a weakling, Sanji!!" Luffy shouted. Sanji growled and grabbed his collar with his left hand.

" So do you have a better idea!?"

"I just told you mine!!"

" Both of you will die now with Fire Pearl!!! " Pearl shouted and charged towards them. Suddenly, Gin dropped his double-barrelled shotgun and charged towards Pearl. He was holding a special pair of tonfa weighted with metal spheres and large spikes on it.

*PSSH!!!*

With one hit, Gin shattered the front metal plate on Pearl. The tonfa also pierced Pearl's stomach and made the large man spit out blood.

"Sorry Pearl, but I'm going to end Sanji's life with my own hands." Gin looked at Sanji menacingly. Luffy's smirked.

"Then I guess you don't need Pearl anymore." Luffy muttered.

*SHIK!!!*

Luffy suddenly appeared in front of Pearl and used Shigan, stabbing a finger through his heart.

Pearl slumped down immediately and died. Luffy pulled out his finger and pointed at Gin. "Gin, what do you fight for?" Luffy asked him seriously. Gin hardened his gaze.

" I fight for Krieg. I will go through the depths of hell with him and I will carry out any orders he gives, no matter how brutal or ruthless it is." Gin answered fiercely. Luffy smirked.

" What if I told you that Krieg was already dead from the start? " Luffy asked him, horrifying Gin to the core.

" Wh-what? Impossible! Krieg could never lose!" Gin shouted looked around, looking for his captain. Krieg was nowhere to be found.

" Tell me the truth now, Gin. Are you truly loyal to him? Or are you just scared of his power and what he can do? " Luffy asked him seriously. Gin stepped back.

" What are you planning Mugiwara?!" Gin shouted.

"Nothing, just answer the goddamn question." Luffy replied immediately.

" I.... I..... " Gin dropped his pair of tonfa and clutched his head.

"You know, Gin. I could use someone like you in my crew. Loyal, honorable and strong. Instead of charging at us, you charged at Pearl. That must mean something. " Luffy stepped forward and started walking to him.

" Tell me Gin, what kind of personality does Krieg have?" Luffy asked him. Gin looked up.

" I.... He..... refuses to learn from his mistakes or even accept them. He uses underhanded tactics. He has..... a superiority complex. He will stoop to the lowest of the low, just so he can win. He rules his crew with fear, me included. Is that enough?"Gin asked him. Luffy grinned.

" That would do. Now tell me what you actually think of him. Do you actually have genuine respect for him? " Luffy asked. Gin stayed silent. Luffy then stretched out his right hand.

"Join my crew, Gin." Luffy grinned at him. Gin widened his eyes in shock.

"What?! Why would you say that?! I'm the enemy—

" Because I think you'd be a good addition to the Straw Hat Pirates. And someone like you shouldn't work for Krieg." Luffy kept grinning confidently at him.

"And if you join us, you can actually go to the Grand Line successfully. We have a goddess of a navigator. We have the best sniper in the East Blue and we're about to have one hell of a cook too. So, what do you say? " Luffy asked him.

Gin kept looking at the hand. Somehow someway, he felt that he had to shake it. Joining him felt right for some reason.

Gin slowly raised his right hand. But suddenly he jumped into the sea and started swimming away.

"I would never betray my captain you bastard!!" Gin shouted while swimming away to God knows where. Sanji blinked repeatedly and looked at Luffy who had the same blank expression as he did.

"What the fuck did I just witness?"

To be continued.....