OPSR: Chapter 09 (Patreon)

“How the hell does business improve so much now that you’re back? We’ve barely had any customers since you’ve been gone, now the place is packed.” I picked up two plates to take out to a table as I explained to him. “Because this looks like a trap to anyone with a brain. Who puts a restaurant by the sea? So when they see an old man with a deep scowl on their face, they promptly run away. But if they see a young, cheerful boy giving them a smile and a wave, they think it’s safe enough to give a shot.”

I brought the food out, pricing was still in flux, because it was hard to charge what we wanted as the place was still so unknown. Zeff didn’t want to lower the quality by making cheap dishes, but those are the only things that sell right now, and that would be the case for at least the next year or so while we made a name for ourselves.

I made my way in the back again to grab the next set of plates as Zeff continued a different few-line conversation. “How do you know so much about business? Your skill set is all over the place.” “It comes with my training to be the ruler of an island. I needed to know how to spot a bad deal or make a bad deal sound good. Since our food is already a good deal, it’s just getting the notice out on it so people know about it; that’s why I left the advertising up in every bar on every island I stopped at.”

Taking the food out again. I put it down while asking. “Evening, you lovely couple. I see that we have a marine as one of our guests. I’d just like to let you know, Marines get a twenty-five percent discount.” The man was a higher-up, most likely a retired Marine, here with his wife. He gave me a smile as I walked to the counter and grabbed a pitcher of orange juice to refill another guest's glasses.

“Everything delicious so far?” “Yes, this juice is very good.” The beautiful woman complimented the orange juice, which led me to talk about it more. “It’s freshly picked and squeezed with only the best oranges. Wave me over if you need a refill.” Going into the back again, I picked up a broom and started sweeping as I heard the bell above the door chime, signaling that someone else had come in.

I rushed out to greet them. “Good evening, sir. How may I help you?” I greeted him, but could tell just from his appearance that he wasn’t here to eat. “Hello. I heard this is one of the best new restaurants around, and I’m looking for a job.” “Alright, head through that back door there and into the kitchen to talk to the boss. Please wash your hands if you put you right to work.”

Everything seemed to be working out, at least for the moment; our business was already succeeding.

…

“You’re heading out again? Is this going to be a common thing?” “Well, we got more help now, and you’ve seen how fast I’m improving. I need to buy some other things now that we’re finally settled.” It had already been a few months, and I was feeling stir-crazy on the ship. I wanted to get to an island and just run around for a day to wear off some of the energy I had.

Zeff began training me as both a chef and in his kicking fighting style. It wouldn’t even take me a year to completely master his kicking techniques, and no more than two to master his cooking techniques. It took the original Sanji eight to do both, meaning my ability to learn was easily fourfold better than his. I was at about the same level of strength, but without the knowledge, I would just fight like a brute. I still planned to train my strength before Arlong arrived, but I needed to make a few pit stops and plan for the future before he was freed. I would know when to start watching out for him once Jinbei became a Warlord.

Seeing his(now her) bounty poster was possibly the biggest surprise yet. Did that mean Brooke and Franky were also girls in this universe? What about Chopper? I wasn’t sure, so far it’s only been a single direction change of male to female. I was waiting for the shoe to drop on the opposite end. Was Handcock a male in this universe? I wasn’t sure; she hadn’t become well known enough to become a warlord yet, and wouldn’t for the next few years.

The same went for Kuma; he’d be the last warlord as the system was still being created. It was odd thinking about the order, but also weird that Gecko Moria, Mihawk, Crocodile, and Hanafuda were all recruited at the same time. Hanafuda would be kicked out after Ace smacks him around, then Kuma would replace him. At least that’s what happens in the first timeline.

Did it suit me to beat up one of the warlords to replace them? Crocodile was already working as the hero of Arabasta; it wouldn’t be for a few more years when he’d finally put his schemes into play. It didn’t make sense to knock him out until then, because it would leave Vivi’s home island less defended. I petalled my way to Loguetown first. That was my first pit stop to check for the barrier fruit.

It was the least likely one for me to find, but it could already be on the island, waiting for someone to find it, hence why I was going to look for it. It was also another island I hadn’t visited yet, and taking a longer break this time, I wanted to visit all the islands that had potential devil fruits, because finding them now would make my job easier in the future.

I felt good, happy to finally make it onto land after being on the sea for so long. I don’t understand how people are fine with it. The boat would need to be ten times the size it was for me to feel comfortable living there for any long period of time. Zeff refused my idea of driving the boat around from island to island, even though it made the most sense to me.

He wanted a fixed location, but how fixed could it be on the open sea? It made more sense for it to become a welcome surprise for most islands, but he fought me every step of the way. My first stop was the weapon shop with the cursed sword. Making my way around, I saw a familiar face. It would still be years before Smoker was moved here, but Tashigi grew up on the island.

The resemblance was less obvious than Zoro made it out to be. They were two completely different people, and I could tell Kuina would look different than her once she was finally grown. They could pass as relatives, though, like distant cousins. She was currently wiping dirt off her glasses, her knees were covered in scrapes and bruises from how clumsy she was, and the sword she held looked gigantic for her size.

It was designed for a full-sized person after all, and she was a ten-year-old child. She stood in front of the weapon store I was going to, though. I politely asked. “Hey, can you please move. I’m going into that store you’re blocking.” She looked at me, then behind her, before jumping up and quickly moving to the side. Before she could run away in embarrassment, I asked. “Hey, that looks like a good sword. Can you come in and make sure I don’t get tricked by this old man?”

She followed me in, and I repeated the same story that played out with Zoro in the original, except this time, the sword wanted to cut. It slammed off my arm, leaving behind a loud clank from my exoskeleton. I started laughing and openly mocked the sword. “Hahaha! You’re going to have to try harder than that to cut me, you stupid sword. I’ll take this one, please.”

Even though the situation played out differently, besides the Sandai Kitetsu, he also offered me the Yubashiri, and who was I to say no to two swords far better than the zero I had?