Baratie Arc: Part V

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So now that we’ve gotten Zoro’s epic moment of character arcing and Sanji’s past done, it’s time to pull ourselves back to the main story. In this part, we really see the inner workings of Sanji, we explore control in great detail, and we have some pretty epic moments in between.

Usopp, Zoro, Yosaku and Johnny have gone after Nami at Luffy’s behest, Mihawk has dis and dismissed Krieg, and the storming of the Baratie is about to begin.

We open with Kreig making the most out of a bad situation. He says that losing their ship to Mihawk is no big deal because they were planning to take the Baratie anyway. One of his crew comment on how it is a goofy ship:



And here we see him going with his old deceit. Yes with a ship like Baratie might allow you to sneak in close to other ships to ambush them. It may even keep you from a shichibukai’s attention. However, there is nothing that ship can do against storms or the weather of the Grand Line. Or about other pirate ships who set their minds on attacking. Moreover, it’s effectiveness is going to wane over time as people come to recognize the ship and it garners a certain reputation. On top of that, even if he took the Baratie, escaped cooks could tell Marine officials what it looked like. In the long run it’s not a very effective plan. Though his first goal, as he states in the subsequent panels, is rebuilding his crew. Crew which serve as tools to him.

One of the poor bastards brings up the thought: What if we run into someone strong like Mihawk again and Krieg shoots him, saying obviously a normal person couldn’t have cut that ship apart and that Mihawk must have been a DF user.



This line is just interesting from a worldbuilding perspective. In the East Blue we’ve seen (and will see) three people with Devil Fruit power. Barring any unknowns on Shanks’ crew. Luffy has one, but it was brought by the outside by Shanks. Buggy has one, also someone coming from the outside. Smoker has one and who knows where he got it but Marines are a different beast. This says, at least as far as Krieg knows and in the sea of the East Blue, DF powers are rare to non-existent. Perhaps that’s part of the reason why they call it the weakest of the blues.

(Though of course DF powers are not the be all and end all of strength as we see. Just looking at Garp, Zoro, Sanji tells us that much. Hell Garp now could likely make Krieg go home crying)

Krieg goes on to say that even Luffy with his weird rubber powers will be just another pirate on the Grand Line. And then this.



Ah no. Nope. Sorry. Bzzt. Wrong. Nothing can help you on the Grand Line but yourself, as we’ve established. And probably a log pose. But Krieg is looking for the easy answer. The one that will help him win no matter what. Also I love the guy in the rose shit in the background who looks like a cousin to Zoro. And the guy wearing a pineapple hat. (Marco fan? Is that you? –squint-) He goes on to say that there may even be information of the one piece in Zeff’s log, inspiring the crew to thinking he has all the answers and so, reinvigorated, they’re going to attack.



I love how excited Luffy is about the upcoming battle, charging up with the emotions of the others. Besides which, Zeff has promised Luffy if he fights these guys, he doesn’t have to stay a full year. Zeff is a pretty smart guy, all told. It’ll blow half the budget just to feed him.

I also love how Sanji remains collected. He is in his element after all. Just another pirate fight. He makes sure all his pieces are in place, or at least knows where they are…




And takes the lead. He makes sure he is controlling the flow of the battle, giving Krieg and his men a place to fight on Sanji’s own terms. He wants to protect the inside of the restaurant because the inside would be more expensive than the outside to fix. Also, of course, the inside of the restaurant is the heart of the restaurant and if they can keep those guys out all the better for him.

But his exchange with Zeff is really cute reading between the lines. Though it’s in Sanji’s heart to protect the restaurant, he can’t say it, of course, so he implies that he’s just doing it because Zeff would be annoying otherwise. (Not that he’ll get mad. Not that he’ll be upset. Just annoying). Zeff plays his role by asking Sanji to repeat what he just said, since he can’t let the old geezer (or probably crap cook) line go by without comment. It’s expected he’d react to it and so he does. But look at that smirk. He knows Sanji’s game. Sanji repeats what he said, again reiterating that is in no way under no circumstance doing this at all for Zeff’s benefit.

Also there’s very much a sense of Zeff letting Sanji take charge. (which we’ll see more of later) Zeff should be the one in the lead, it’s his restaurant. But he knows how much it means for Sanji to defend it. I think also he’s letting Sanji do it to let Sanji have experience in it, to show Sanji he trusts him with it, and can you imagine how much it’d rub Sanji the wrong way if he had to take orders from Zeff? They would both rub each other the wrong way.

At any rate, Luffy goes sailing toward the Krieg Pirates with a rocket and knocks a whole bunch of them over by stretching his legs out and lands on a broken mast jutting out of the water. The cooks (and Sanji though he’s repressing it a bit) are shocked at how well Luffy can kick ass /use his ability since, thus far they’ve just seen him breaking dishes/ stealing food.




Yeah from a tactical standpoint, it’s a pretty dumb situation to end up in. But it’s a bad idea to think that where Luffy is, is where he will stay. This shows though that Krieg can see the weaknesses of other and has some strategy himself. Luffy may not know Krieg’s weakness, but he knows his own and admits to it, but says what he can do. And I like that. On the outset it seems kind of dumb like ‘why tell him that? He’ll just use it to his advantage’. But on the other hand it’s not like Krieg doesn’t suspect, and if Luffy can’t beat him with that weak point then he can’t beat him at all.

Also note? Ungrateful. Remember gratitude is a huge thing in this arc and that’s definitely a thread we’ll pick back up here.

Patty and Carne, reliable as they are, man the Sabagashira #1 (or the Mackerel Head #1) that makes up the Baratie’s head and is also a weapon. Luffy thinks it’s cool as shit as Luffy do.
Just to point out as much as they bitch at each other and call each other names, they still work together. Which somewhat mirrors a later relationship. /coff/


They fire a shot at the wrecked ship while Stitchstache opens the fins.



That’s just a cool ass shot of under the water. But it also shows you just how prepared they are to fight pirates. They already have these fins in place to provide a space to fight ‘em. They know how to use the weapons they have on hand. Silly looking restaurant it may be, but underestimate it and get your ass kicked. Same goes for Sanji. There is nothing worried about him there. No sweat. No veins. No lines. Even his shoulders are relaxed. Though he’s definitely ready for anything.




Luffy enjoying the hell out of the awesome things in life as he do… And Krieg once again seeing how things could work to his advantage. He can suss out why they are doing it and what use it could have to him.

The Krieg Pirates attack saying they’ll definitely win against lousy cooks. The cooks say not to underestimate the cooks of the sea as they return the charge. Patty and Carne in the Sabagashira #1 charge Krieg head on in a bold move. Annd this happens:



Yeah. He is a pretty strong dude. Physically anyway. And I would certainly put him in the top tier of East Blue pirates (that we’ve met) in terms of pure physical strength.

Krieg says he will be the one who will control the seas (Luffy says: Hey, no, that’s me! D:< ) and that he doesn’t have time for their games—and he chucks the Sabagashira back at the restaurant.



Firstly, how stupid a move Is that, Krieg? You’re showing off how strong you are, yes, but if it hits, you’re gonna break the thing you’re trying to take over.

Sanji is smooth as shit here, and also an asshole, but kind of right. They talk big but at the end of the day they’re nothing but two guys stuck in a giant flying mechanized mackerel head. A weapon out of you control comes back to bite you in the ass.



Also, yeah, Krieg is in the top tier strength-wise? But he’s not alone. Sanji’s up there, too, and in a one on one fight where Krieg couldn’t use any tricks? Maybe he wouldn’t lose but the win would be a million times harder to come by. Krieg is a little freaked out by Sanji’s strength, too. I don’t think he realized the level he was dealing with before now. But Sanji… he looks so good when he’s smirking. There’s nothing but confidence in his gaze. Like I said, his element completely.

The fish lands in the water, the Krieg Pirates are astonished:



The fact that Krieg knows what it is means that Sanji is pretty damn good at it… Not that we had any doubts. Zeff is pretty inscrutable here, but I think he’s mostly just watching to see how the situation progresses. And I kind of headcanon he’s silently analyzing the kick and Sanji’s strength himself. Of course Luffy is impressed by this but not super impressed. (the other translation I have says way to go!) which tells me that while he’s like woah, Sanji is pretty strong! Which he is. He’s at a level, say, 9 to Luffy’s 11.


Ugh. I really hate the use of “retard” here.

But aside from that, I love how Patty and Carne still think they are hot shit. And they are! Probably the strongest fighters in the restaurant under Zeff and Sanji, but act like much hotter shit than they are. Either way, whether for the good of the restaurant or not, all they can do is bluster at Sanji. Sanji, of course, isn’t about to lose his own posture thinks about this for a second and says ‘yeah’. They’re alright and more than alright if they can stand and yell at him so he gives back as good as he gets by needling them in a single word. That’s precision for you.

Tough though as the Baratie cooks may be, the Krieg Pirates are strong and have knocked most of the cooks to the deck.



These Krieg Pirates definitely live up to their reputation—but key thing here is Patty and Carne encouraging the others. On the one hand, this is great! It shows camaraderie and how much they believe in their fellow cooks. And how much inspiration their fellow cooks take from them. But—Sanji can’t say this. If he did, most likely it would only be taken as snide and derisive rather than a rough “we can do it” sort of thing. It underscores how much he’s not part of them—nor can he really be so long as they view him as competition. True, that aspect has changed a little now that they know a little of why Sanji might do what he does, but those sorts of barriers don’t come down over night.

The Krieg Pirates say so what? You’re just cooks. We fight for a living.



Patty and Carne really shine here. Again they reiterate how much the Baratie means to them. Zeff gave them freedom to be who they are in both fighting and cooking. They’re pirates in just about everything but name (and that they don’t pillage and/or break the law) Most importantly the Baratie is home to them> They are going to fight their hardest for their home and the only place where they feel they belong. Which again, underscores that Sanji doesn’t belong and doesn’t even really feel like he belongs. As much as he may care for Zeff, the Baratie is not where his heart is.

Patty and Carne send some of the Krieglings flying with their intensity—

And Pearl shows up and sends them flying back with his own brand of strength.



And I’m just going to leave this here. Pearl has an ‘invicible iron wall’, and indeed it’s part of his name. His entire outfit is composed of shields. Remember that.

Patty and Carne are knocked down pretty hard. One of the cooks is worried and asks if they are alright. And… as much as Sanji doesn’t belong to them? And as much as they bluster at each other and don’t get along for the most part? As one of the Kriegling’s tries to steal Patty’s cooking knife.




Sanji will defend and protect what is important to them when they can’t do it themselves. (with a Don)
He sends a bunch of guys smacking into Pearl and then this:




Sanji is an ideal cook. His life and passion is wrapped around what it means to be a cook, what is important to a cook, and not just himself cooking, but what it means to others and how important it is to others. He knows how important that knife is. He makes sure Patty has it back and explains why it is important, saying in a roundabout way that he won’t tolerate anyone else taking it from him. Both the kick and the explanation showed the manifestation of his will.

Also the big thing? A knife may be an ideal thing to a cook. It may be their soul and passion and Sanji is defending it yes. But they sure as hell didn’t defend his ideal to feed anyone. Yes, it was pragmatic at the time—but they still would have rather shot at him then let him go through with it. But this doesn’t matter to Sanji. That was then, this is now and of course he’s going to fight for them and what is important to them.



Also, of course, what he’s saying is ‘die’ but of course we know he means that Patty can take a rest now. He’s done enough and Sanji can handle the rest. Words in the Baratie almost always carry another meaning.

The Krieg pirates mock Sanji. Sanji kicks their ass. Then he faces Pearl.




Now I’ve heard criticisms that Sanji does use his hands to fight. Especially in a kick course. But we’ll look at the placement of his hands when it comes to it. What I think he really means is he can’t fight with them as in, he can’t punch. Hands flat or using them to support your weight is one thing, but if you punch someone there’s a very real chance you could break or skin your knuckles. I’ve never tried cooking with a broken hand before but I can’t imagine it’s easy. A cook needs free movement and motion in his hands.

Also? He is protecting his hands because he is a cook. A cook is almost everything he is. Almost everything he identifies as. And has since he was ten years old.



Pearl is protecting… his entire body. Why? Well he doesn’t really say but there’s the sense that Pearl is protecting his body because he’s trying to preserve himself. There is no sense of forward momentum, just that he is this barrier that can’t be broken and he takes pride in that. Which is fine in and of itself.
Well and this:



Pearl is quite proud of his fashion sense! Though that’s difficult to mock as so is Sanji. Sanji is just more subtle about it.

Though this panel mostly because Luffy is so ‘buzuh’ about it. XD Raised as he was in a rough and tumble way, I think this is the first time he’s encountered a glitzy flashy enemy and can’t figure out his deal. Like, what’s stylish got to do with anything? You’re weird.

Of course Krieg, not warning Luffy but mocking him because, look at that smirk. He’s sure he’s got this in the bag.

Krieg knocks Luffy back with a spiked ball on a chain…not sure what to call that. Sanji goes back to attack the invincible iron wall pearl who no one can hurt and hasn’t bled once and:



Dramatic irony with a Gannn. Just goes to show that things can be unpredictable. No armor or shield is perfect. (and really, has no one ever attacked him from the side before?). It leaves him with a little nosebleed and the Krieg Pirates start freaking out about him bleeding while Krieg himself has this to say:



He knows what dumbasses his crew are. He knows what’s about to go down and that things are going to get out of hand and go against them. Strong the Krieg Pirates may be but they are a hot mess. Literally.



Here we see fear again and it’s a huge contrast between Pearl and Luffy/Sanji. Pearl is freaking out merely at the thought of what might happen. He means, these guys are dangerous! If they can make me bleed they might be able to kill me! I need to take preventative measures! The moment his safe sphere is shattered he goes into that. Pearl strikes me as a heavily traumatized dude. (Though who isn’t in this manga, I mean really) But the pearl shields are only an illusion of strength and protection. All he can do is hide behind them but just because they are strong doesn’t mean he is.

And Luffy and Sanji? Donn’t really get the big deal. You know they’ve both lost more blood than that in the same amount of time. It’s such a great contrast from fear to calm, just wondering what is up with him.
But also a great contrast to the fight later.

At any rate Pearl starts banging his shields together frantically. The cooks are wondering about it while the Krieg Pirates and even Krieg himself tell him to calm down.



Again, so much fear here. I mean I’m not going to look down on the guy for lighting a fire to protect himself from wild animals. But it’s like he never learned how to fight them either, just to keep them at bay the best he could. And he hasn’t progressed from that. Right now? He’s not even fighting. He’s protecting himself from the terror he thinks will happen. He doesn’t care about their objective. He doesn’t care about his crew or his capain. He’s just saying I don’t want to die! Brought from fear from getting a nosebleed. And it wasn’t even a precise strike. No one got under his guard and hit him. It was just an accident that he hit himself. Basically he’s afraid for no damn reason but builds up the terror in his mind to unreal proportions.

He’s freaking out. Throwing fire pearls everywhere. Setting the fin on fire and sending the Krieg’s pirates jumping into the water for safety.



Krieg? Doesn’t do a damn thing. Other than trying to convince him to stop once, he just stands over there and watches him go. For the most part of the fight Krieg is like this, at a fair distance. He hasn’t taken on the Baratie Cooks (outside of shooting them), he hasn’t taken on Sanji (except in a surprise attack) and is keeping a fair distance from Zeff. Though there is a reason for this which we’ll explore later.

In the midst of this chaos, Sanji is keeping his calm but is mostly just annoyed and Luffy XD is an idiot. Burnt rubber <3

At any rate, Pearl thinks he is safe now that he has fire because fire is surely making him invincible.



At the end of the day? When things are at their most tense? Patty does care. I think aside from Zeff, Patty cares for Sanji the most. As much flak as I’ve given him, this definitely needs to be said. Also, Pearl?



Fire ain’t gonna do shit.

But let’s go over this a bit.

Pearl was terrified because of what he thought would happen.

To counteract that he created fire to make others too afraid to go near him.

He reacted to fear by creating fear but—

There’s shit he can do if someone is not afraid. Sanji is not only in his element around fire, he has something to protect greater than himself.

Sanji ducks under Pearl’s guard, hammers him in the face with a heel, sends him flying back. We take a moment to appreciate this panel:



Huehuehuehue darn tootin’, son. ~~He’s sexy and he knows it.~~

/coff

Moving on.

Pearl gets back up, sends more fire pearls flying at Zeff.



You know Zeff isn’t going to run away. He isn’t going to move from that spot. You can see the manifestations of his will in the lower left. But look at his position. He is standing guard at the archway to the restaurant. The Baratie is his dream and he will let Sanji fight for it, but he is damn capable of protecting it himself. In fact, it could even be said that Sanji’s presence stirs up trouble. When Sanji’s present? The cooks are riled and aggressive because he’s aggressive toward them. He has a high position for seemingly no reason and there is competition but no competition. So it’s possible that the cooks, Patty in particular, is more aggressive than he would be. When Zeff is there? Calm freaking efficiency. He inspires calm. He inspires confidence. I don’t know if the cooks would be quite that wtf if Zeff had fed Krieg’s men without Sanji in the Baratie.

Not saying that the Baratie would have been better off without, of course, because without Sanji, the Baratie would not exist.

At any rate, Zeff calmly puts out the fire pearls with the wind from his own gddmn peg leg because he is just that much of a badass and when people react with shock?



(inner Zeff) I’m not that old, you little bastards.

But right here you have a contrast. Pearl who is young, seemingly invincible, gets all bent out of shape because of a little nosebleed that wasn’t even due to a direct hit.

Zeff who is an older guy and has a peg leg, sees what’s coming and deals with the circumstances, working with what he has with confidence and poise.

Anyway, everyone is impressed and/or terrified by his old man strength as they should be. Krieg has had enough of this bullshit and decides to sink the fin before Pearl burns down the whole restaurant. He sends the giant spiked ball on a chain flying at them.



I love this. Sanji has pretty much entrapped himself in flames as this huge chain ball is flying at him. He’s got no time even to think to move. Pearl is rightfully terrified of that thing flying at them. Sanji too has the ‘oh shit that’s going to hurt’ look. And here comes Luffy busting through the flames. Not to save the fin, but to save Sanji from being crushed. He’s not afraid of fire either when it comes to the important things, like protecting the person that he cares about. It hurts, too! I mean, yeah, it’s fire so of course, but he goes through that pain willingly to Gum Gum no Bazooka the giant spiked ball of death away.

Krieg has the ‘urk’ face he sports through much of this fight. The ball hits a mast which cracks and splits over Pearl’s head.



Ouch. You know for all that Krieg uses them as tools, the crew seems pretty invested in each other. They seem pretty upset that Pearl has been conked on the head and out cold. Granted these men have just gone through hell and back, but they’re a pretty emotional bunch. You know who else is emotional? We’ll see him in just a few seconds.

But first:



Krieg, please. Your crew has done more than you have to shake this shit down, and willingly at that, bolstered by the shared dream. Granted there’s a fear of getting shot by you in there; but after you expalined Zeff’s log book is a sort of Grand Line for Dummies, they charged right ahead. Not only did they take down the cooks which you didn’t take down all the way the first time—they are the ones putting their lives on the line while you hang out in on a bit of flotsam and look annoyed at them. Shut up, in other words.

And then this:



Well, shit.

First of all, I love Luffy and Sanji’s reaction to the noise of the wood being broken “gaki!” and the subsequent yell. Luffy’s eyes just widen and Sanji just looks at him like, did you hear what I hear? But it pings both of their attention, aware of the situation around them as they are.

Though we’ll leave aside Gin’s motivation for a moment (since it’s stated quite clearly that he doesn’t want to kill Sanji) let’s look at what else is being said here.

1) Much in the same vein as “the weapon you lose control of will come back to bite you in the ass” is “the people you lose track of will come back and bite you in the ass” They took for granted that Gin was still in the restaurant. They also took for granted that he was on their side since all he seemed was distressed and apologetic. And not one of them saw this coming.

2) That “ahhh”? That was Zeff being completely taken by surprise to have his peg leg snapped off. Up til now we’ve seen him be a badass. Even to axing off his own leg with a rock. But right now he’s completely vulnerable and even he knows it. This is kind of foreshadowing the Grand Line where even the slightest miscalculation can be fatal. You can never take for granted your own safety or strength because it can be gone in an instant and the tables can be turned.



Luffy is just instantly angry at this. He doesn’t really know what it’s about, all he can see is the old guy he likes in immediate danger from the hands of someone else. There is no quiet watching this time, just immediate anger. Though he is also sweating so there seems to be a bit of hesitation even now.

Sanji is interesting because he looks a little angry but more startled and confused than anything. It looks like a betrayal but he can’t believe someone who was so grateful to him before would do a thing like this—yet there is Zeff lying on the ground and that kind of makes him instantly angry, too, even though he’s not really sure how to process what the hell just happened.



Gin just sort of hammers in the point here. And you know? He’s not wrong. Gin has Zeff at a supreme disadvantage, since Zeff cant/won’t use his hands for fighting and all the strength is in his kick, halved already by the peg leg which is now broken. Gin knows how to read a situation, see his adversaries vulnerabilities and exploit them.



While Luffy definitely does have a wait and see policy, that does not apply to A) people he cares about getting hurt and B) people he cares about getting bullied. He recognizes Zeff can’t do anything in this situation. He sees that Zeff is hurt. The guy he owes and who a lot of people like and who makes tasty food. Luffy likes him, and likes him more than Gin so whatever Gin’s excuse, Luffy doesn’t care.

Sanji is keeping the cool head here. Mostly I think he’s asking due to the fact of Gin’s words. Gin asked Sanji to please stop fighting because he didn’t want to end up killing him. He also explained his own advantage in the situation, acknowledging Zeff’s former strength but saying the guy has no chance. So because he’s coming at this from an almost humble, yet sensible angle; a gun pointed to Zeff’s head aside, Sanjis’ giving Gin a chance to say his piece. Plus, again, I think he likes Gin and out of respect for that, he lets Gin speak.




Let’s pedal back a little and look at Gin’s motivations now. Why is he saying this? Honestly, I don’t think he gives a rat’s ass about the ship. He just knows that Krieg wants it and he believes unshakably in Krieg’s strength. He also knows that Krieg is a man of limited patience and the longer they stretch this out, the greater the chance Krieg is going to crush everyone. Just telling Sanji to leave isn’t going to work and would disrespect his pride as a fighting man, something Gin understands. So he’s showing that he’s in a position of dominance here. That he’s the strong one. But rather than making himself look strong and Sanji look weak, he’s giving him a chance to honorably back out by saving someone he cares about.

Sanji on the other hand is having none of it. Now, looking back we know why he doesn’t want to leave the Baratie and why he wants to protect it. And yeah he could say: ‘yeah okay I’ll leave it’ to throw Gin off his guard and maybe get a shot at him. But of course he won’t and we know he won’t because he is an idealist. And right now his ideals are tied into those of a cook (i.e. feeding anyone who is hungry) and the preservation of the Baratie. Even agreeing for one second, even as a lie, would be the equivalent of him taking a step back. Much like Zoro, that’s just not something he’s going to do. He refuses to lose any ground.

Though that being said, this isn’t a conscious decision. I think he just heard the request and immediately his gut reaction was to say no fuckin’ way or as if, which basically amounts to the same thing.

Also I love how as much as Pearl’s crewmates seemed concerned for him, they also recognize how much of a loose cannon he is. Since, as we’ve seen, a loose cannon can be detrimental to both sides.

Krieg reacts to this statement that Sanji’s not going to leave but it’s just in little attention lines. The cooks tell Sanji not to provoke Krieg which is just a hallmark of a bully. We’ll come back to that concept later.

Before that, we have another little dominance battle.



Sanji is working on multiple levels here.

First, he’s telling Gin and the enemies: I don’t give a shit about this tense situation and I’m not afraid of you so I’m just going to talk directly to Zeff like I usually do.

Second, he’s telling Zeff: I’m concerned about you, asshole, not that I’d ever admit it so let me be abrasive at you instead. But it’s just the normal level of abrasiveness they’ve always had.

Third, sort of subconsciously he’s saying: You were strong once, but you’re old and I’m young and now I’m stronger than you so you sit there and I’ll save your ass.


And Zeff is not just throwing back a quip to continue the game. No, he’s really annoyed at this, basically shooting Sanji down and saying: Don’t be so cocky. You’re a thousand years too young to say something like that to me. Anyone can be taken by surprise like this, no matter how strong you are. Don’t forget that I’m the old experienced vet and you’re just a wet behind the ears eggplant who doesn’t know his ass from his elbow.



This is pretty self explanatory, Sanji getting pissed at what Zeff said and what he meant. And he’s not just annoyed but actively pissed. He’s even got a vein and everything. But because Zeff is someone who respects and fills a parent role in everything but name, it’s more like –well what he says. I’m not a little kid so stop treating me like one!

The cooks in the water tell Sanji that this isn’t the time for this and ‘are you trying to kill owner Zeff?’ and the next instant:




Sanji retakes control of the situation. Though this is not about showing Zeff up or showing what an adult he’s become. To him, this is the only viable solution to solving the problem. He’ll just take the hit instead.



Sanji’s ‘whatever’ is not bravado. He might die, he might not, and for himself pursuing his dream he might hesitate. But when it comes to the sake of others, he is brave and self sacrificial. Though this is also a posture because if he’s going to face death, he’s not going to face it down but on his own terms and standing straight. And Zeff is even more irritated, like what the hell are you doing you brat? Also the cooks are astonished. They can’t believe it either. They can’t believe what a self-sacrificial nature he has. It’s like what they thought before of him feeding everyone and willing to die for it was out of a kind of stubborn pride, the truth of it is partly pride but mostly but standing by his convictions as hard as he can stand by them.




Gin is completely flummoxed by this. He’s a survivor, too, and has probably never seen someone sacrifice so much of themselves for someone else before. If it’s just getting into a little trouble, that’s one thing. But willing to die? For someone like Gin who puts all his strength into surviving, that’s near incomprehensible.

Pearl gets up and:



Gin has lost control of the situation. Pearl has set the terms and Gin can’t back out of it without looking weak himself. It’s the most logical outcome, the way Krieg Pirates fight, he can’t change his mind or renegotiate or anything. Being caught surprised and being as divided as he is, the decision to what happens next is taken entirely out of Gin’s hands.

Pearl wallops Sanji a good one and sends him crashing into a railing. Luffy calls out his name, probably the first time he’s said it.



And goes right away to punch the crap out of Pearl right back. Because when it comes to a situation where his friends are hurt, he can only see who hurt him and wants to hurt them right back just as hard. But Sanji stops him right in his tracks and explains the situation to him. I love how Luffy’s pissed at him for not dodging. He knows Sanji could have and done more but he’s like: How dare you let yourself get hurt like that! No one hurts my nakama, not even my nakama!



And even though Sanji is getting the crap beaten out of him, he shows that its something he is allowing to happen by speaking in a rough tone. He’s saying he’s the one still in control of this situation, it’s up to him whether Gin shoots or not.

Gin is just breaking, frantic to get him off the ship so he doesn’t end up having to shoot Zeff because he really does owe Zeff and he likes Sanji and why can’t Sanji just agree. It’d be better in the long run and save everyone’s lives. But Sanji is an idealist and a dreamer and he will protect the ideal and dream even at the risk of everyone’s lives. Though in this case they can at least swim away if they choose. They won’t though. Sanji really does stand at the cusp of the decision whether the cooks retreat or fight on.
Sanji’s says this ship is the geezer’s treasure and:




Man, Sanji was so good at pretending to like Zeff that even the cooks were fooled. Again though it’s the push and pull of their relationship. Sanji won’t get too close and Zeff won’t let him get too close and they’re both content that people think this way because it’s none of their business.

Also Sanji in that upper left panel… angled, his back to the wall, his fist clenched but down—he’s really angry at himself. Even after all this time he still blames himself completely for taking away from Zeff the things that are most important to Sanji. Strength. Dreams. (also there is the manifestation of his will shown through the panels—showing that even though it isn’t his fault, he believes it is with all the strength of his being)

And how did he do this? How it is his fault?

Sanji existed in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just by confronting Pirate Zeff and “provoking” him, just like the Baratie Cooks told him not to do with Krieg.

And one could say ‘oh that’s false drama since it’s obviously not his fault’ which is isn’t, but partly Sanji has a good dose of survivor’s guilt, but mostly Sanji is all about personal control and confidence. He dresses the way he does to make a statement. He talks the way he does to make sure that he doesn’t give one iota more than he wants to. He controls the situation in the restaurant to his own ideals and even tries to control Zeff and be the dominant one on more than one occasion and Zeff always has to one up him. But he had this confidence and control even aboard the Orbit when he was telling those guys, cooks who were his seniors, don’t eat this and here is why.

So of course he decided to go out there and confront Pirate Zeff. He controlled that situation and put it on his own terms. It was his fault he got kicked and couldn’t move. So it followed it was his fault Zeff came and saved him and his fault that Zeff cut off his own leg. Because, I believe, Sanji views Zeff from his own frame of reference. Zeff is a cook, like Sanji is, and is ruled by his passions, like Sanji is. So Sanji falling in the water left Zeff no recourse but to do what he did.

Likewise, Gin is surprised, because he viewed Sanji from Gin’s own frame of reference and thought Sanji was like him. A fighter with a good heart who cares for his immediate crew but understands superior strength and acts accordingly, moving sensibly to accommodate the superior strength to his continued survival (and the survival of crewmates)

Again, likewise, the cooks viewed Sanji from their own frame of reference and thought Sanji was just like them. A rough guy who was gunning for promotion just like the rest of them and had no more attachment to the Baratie than they did. (not to say they don’t have a significant attachment but it’s not quite as strong as Sanji’s) Much of the reason for the strife was because Sanji got away with so much and disrespected Zeff so much even though, as they understood it, Zeff did for him what Zeff dif for the rest of them.

Luffy, of course, views Sanji from his own frame of reference but when Sanji moves outside of that frame of reference and Luffy doesn’t understand –i.e. not dodging, he asks. He comes to understand Sanji for himself rather than assuming Sanji is just like Luffy 2.0.

Zeff, of course, has come to know Sanji better than Sanji knows Sanji. And he really hates this because it’s a big problem with Sanji and control.

Firstly, for Zeff? While Sanji wants control, Zeff has control. He has just as much as he wants and knows how to take over a situation, knows how to let a situation be, and has wisdom and knowledge to keep things at a steady calm. But because he has control, he takes responsibilities for his own actions. He is not as driven by his passions as Sanji is. He knows when to move forward, but if it came to a knife in his chest, he would back away before it touched his heart. Because, you know, leg gone or not, if he had Sanji or Zoro or Luffy drive, he could have gone right back onto the Grand Line and found a way or died trying. But he is not interested in that and not as ambitious and that’s okay.

Secondly, Zeff has a sense of what people need to feel confident and secure. Sanji was a kid on his own and had just suffered a traumatic experience. In that way, Sanji needed to feel he had at least a little control of the situation. But he also needed to get stronger if he wanted to go to the Grand Line and find the All Blue. Zeff kept just as much control over the situation for Sanji to feel like he was safe in the hands of an adult, but allowed Sanji some control of his own (like commenting on his early smoking but not stopping it). He also, I feel, keeps the antagonism up both because of deeper “how do you emotions” but also because it made Sanji fight harder and gave him a sense of rivalry and something to prove.

To bring it to the present, something that has been building up since before Luffy arrived at the Baratie, Sanji’s been bucking for more control and more freedom. For the sake of the Baratie Cooks and customers, Zeff has had to keep him in line. But the more Zeff clamps down, the more Sanji wants to prove that he can’t and the harder he bucks. Here is the culmination of this. Sanji feels that he has far more control of the situation than Zeff does. He is finally an adult. Additionally, having more control means that he is on the top, the one to take responsibility and keep Zeff and his dream safe since Zeff can no longer do it himself.



But make no mistake; Sanji’s desire comes from a good place. It comes from a deep compassionate place. Even if he’s wrong or misunderstood, his desire for Zeff’s dream to continue is genuine and strong and filled with love for the old man and what he believes in.



And here, Zeff is trying to wrest the control back into his hands by being abrasive. Saying I’m still the adult here. You don’t get to make these decisions. And also he’s trying to tell him in “Ancient History” that Sanji doesn’t need to feel responsible for what Zeff did or the Baratie. Even if Sanji blames himself and Zeff can’t stop him, he can at least forget the debt since it’s long been paid and no longer matters. Because he really doesn’t want Sanji to die here stupidly.

Sanji doesn’t get past the pipsqueak part, really. He’s even crying a little in frustration. Like stop trying to protect me! What the hell are you going to do, old man, but get killed?! I won’t let you get killed! Let me save you like you saved me!

Patty calls out a warning but it’s too late. Sanji is whacked hard by Pearl again.



Luffy is freaking livid but his hands are tied so long as Gin has a gun to Zeff’s head. Gin himself is not happy with this but is caught and can only watch. Kreig is immaterial really, but his expression says “hmph, finally”

But the important part of this is Pearl, grinning cocky like he won a point. Pearl feels in charge of this situation because he feels he has the control. It’s the illusion of control because it’ll only last as long as it’s allowed; but because he feels he has control, he feels invincible and that he can say shit like that. He’s really powerful so long as someone gives him the advantage and that’s how some bullies operate.

Pearl jumps to land on Sanji and smash the shit out of him. Luffy, frustrated as hell, looks at Gin.



First thing Luffy sees? The reason that his hands are tied. The gun at the back of Zeff’s head.
Luffy, furious, calls Gin out on his shit—and though I think Gin comes from a good place in his intentions just as much as Sanji (in that he’s doing none of this for Krieg’s benefit.) His justifications…
This is how we fight. They are not strong because they fight well, but because they attack people’s vulnerabilities. But he is in no way proud of this, he’s basically saying, you have no right to complain about this because this is what we do!

Secondly, he’s blaming Luffy and everyone who stood up to them for still standing up to them. If they’d just gave into Krieg, none of this would have happened. They should have just turned over and done what they were told. So they have no one to blame but themselves.

And then the truest part of Gin shines through. Just get out and it’ll be okay, damnit! Stop making this so hard on yourselves! He’s desperate to get them off this boat.

Pearl crushes the shit out of Sanji. The cooks are frustrated and feeling useless that they can’t do anything but sit here and watch him get trashed. They ask him why the hell he owes Zeff so much. There’s a break for backstory and then we see Sanji getting knocked around some more.



Luffy can’t stand this. It’s really upsetting him and the fact that he can’t do anything about it. He’s just as frustrated as the rest of him. Which goes to show you can’t win every fight by just punching someone, because here? It ain’t gonna work.




And then this—Luffy gets an idea. That is an expression he got directly from Ace and I won’t let anyone tell me different. Except for the lines under the lip. It’s significant because Luffy figures, since everyone wants the ship and that’s the sole reason for Krieg to be even hanging around, he’s gonna break it. But it’s going to suck because he knows how much Sanji has put into it and how much he is willing to die for it. Luffy doesn’t like the idea of destroying something that means so much to Sanji and the cooks but he’s going to do it.

To sum up he sees a hard solution and is going to do it, though he's not at all happy with having to.

Pearl says: Feel free to fight back unless you feel like killing the old man!

Mocking them just to be an asshole and lording over them his tenuous position.



I love love love this. It’s such a small gesture, but Sanji is looking at Zeff, remembering who it is he is getting beat up for. Because it’s not about the Baratie, not really. It’s not even about his debt. It’s all about Zeff. Zeff’s dreams. Zeff’s hopes. Zeff’s life. Tell me that Sanji doesn’t love the hell out of Zeff and I’ll tell you you’re wrong. It’s just, not everyone is that good at love.

Luffy Gomu Gomu no Ax’s the ever loving hell out of the fins while Cooks and Krieg pirates alike are all: OMFG are you nuts?

The fins are in shambles (heh) Cooks and Pirates sprawled everywhere. Krieg snarls that Luffy is a brat and gives Gin an order to blow Zeff’s head off. And Gin’s reply?



He does not want to do this. He just wants to get them off the ship. That’s it. This is the start of Gin being at war with himself. He can’t do such a horrible thing to Sanji, not to his benefactor who saved him when no one else would. Who saved Krieg. Who is the sole reason they are even alive right now to fight them. But neither can he be a Krieg Pirate because he can’t follow Krieg’s orders. He wants to have it both ways. Repay Sanji by giving them a chance to live, still be a Krieg Pirate which is as much his identity as Sanji is a cook, but he just can’t do it.

Luffy points out that he didn’t touch any of Krieg’s men, just broke the fin, which takes some damn precision I might add. Sanji asks what the hell he’s doing and:




This is significant. It seems simple but it’s not because it shows Luffy is the game changer. He has the freedom and the strength to sink the ship. In an instant he takes control of the situation away from everyone… and if he had gone through with it, would have opened up choices for everyone whether to flee or fight since what had been anchoring them in the situation would have been gone.

Cooks and Krieg Pirates alike freak out over this announcement, both in tones of Hell No! Krieg roars at Gin to blow Zeff’s head off already. Which, honestly would have ended the Krieg Pirate fleet then and there because Sanji and Luffy would have had the freedom and the anger to wail the ever-loving shit out of him and his pirates and Sanji likely would have killed him or at the very least made Krieg wish he were dead.



Sanji’s about to strangle Luffy himself. Luffy tells him his plans straight away, showing he thought this through and it’s the best solution he can see for the best overall outcome. Moreover this gives Gin the time to think and the space to breathe, because if Luffy’s going to destroy the ship anyway, then blowing Zeff’s head off will do no good. And Zeff? He’s smiling. Though the mark between his brows tells me he’s resigned to having the Baratie be destroyed if he must. Though part of it is because he thinks this kid really gets it. He gets what’s really important.



Sanji in the left, I love Odacchi’s expressions. He’s angry and fierce and sweating, trying to impress upon Luffy the importance of the Baratie without even having the words to do it with. But I want to reinforce the idea that it debt it may be, but it’s not just debt. It’s affection and love and fear and responsibility and control all rolled into one.

And speaking of control, Sanji is struggling to get it again. He had his hand on Luffy’s shoulder, holding him there, one hand in his pocket, dominance, strength—trying to get Luffy to understand by the force of his will. But Luffy breaks his control just like that by knocking Sanji’s hand away. He’s not going to be strongarmed into Sanji’s way of thinking because he has his own ideas and utter confidence in what he believes. Also he has experience of his own and is far enough removed from the situation to understand



And look, Luffy is yanking the control back and taking command of the situation, being the dominant one. He’s yanking Sanji by the collar, getting into his personal space and yelling at him. He has the control, too, because Sanji is leaning back, a little angry and some of that is reactive anger to a possible attack, but shocked, too, at the outburst and anger. As much anger as when Luffy flew at Mihawk after Zoro was hurt but this time he has the hat on. This is anger tempered by what he learned from Shanks.

Also, just to point out, for Luffy it’s not about a need to control or dominate. It’s a need for Sanji to understand. To get it. It’s instinctive rather than intentional. But at the same time he’s reacting to Sanji’s own personality and ways of doing things.



Firstly, Luffy is the best one to say this because he’s been in a similar situation, he knows how it feels to be guilty about someone saving you as he was wailing, upset over Shanks’ lost arm. But the biggest difference between the situations is that Shanks and Luffy were friends before it happened. And Shanks is a guy who is good with words and emotion and meaning. He said: “It’s nothing… It’s just an arm… As long as you’re alive.” Shanks saved Luffy because he cared about him and gave him the hat because he believed in his dream. Zeff and Sanji share the same dream. Zeff saved him to keep him alive to find his dream because Zeff believes he can do it.

But also because the biggest picture here is that the Baratie is a treasure, but why it is a treasure is because of the cooks that work there and the customers that come. A destroyed Baratie can be rebuilt. A dead friend cannot be replaced.


And further, in Luffy’s mind, when someone saves your life—the best way you can pay them back is to keep on living. Zeff didn’t save Sanji’s life so that Sanji could help with the Baratie, nor be tied to it. He saved Sanji’s life because Sanji had the same dream. Because he wanted Sanji to find the All Blue. But most of all, because he wanted Sanji to keep on living. In that way, a debt like that can only be repaid by staying alive and living your life the best you can. Throwing it away is about the same as ducking out of it because you can’t handle the weight of it.



Sanji grabs him back, because it’s the only way he knows how to deal with so much negative emotion and frustration. He doesn’t know how to resolve this crisis but he’s sure as shit not going to let the Baratie be kicked down. He doesn’t want to die, of course not, he’s a survivor, but he doesn’t know what the hell else to do. Also I believe that Sanji’s stubbornness in not sacrificing the Baratie is because if it’s destroyed, rebuilt or not, it’s a loss for him. Everything he’s worked for and gotten stronger for would be a moot point.

Also, again, he is not the kind of person that can step away from the dagger, even if he’s not strong enough to deflect it.

Pearl tells them to stop fighting (because he is clueless about the true nature of the argument) and says that it’s only their misfortune to have the Krieg Pirates as enemies.



Even Pearl knows what a cheap shot this is. But of course he does because these are the Krieg Pirates and they can only find their strength in cheap shots and taking advantage of weaknesses.

I love the sense of movement here, though. Pearl rushing at them, Sanji and Luffy (who had been still grabbing eachother’s collars a moment before) are already parted and preparing themselves for Pearl’s charge. Luffy shifting back with a more open stance, his hands free. Sanji more closed off with his hands in his pockets but still instinctively ready to move or kick if he must. Also I love the moment that Gin moves which is shown not by him moving, but his absence and the dropped gun. He finally sees his opening and how he can resolve the situation in his own way.



For all his crying and pain, this is the Gin that is normal. He is about to crack the hell out of Pearl’s shield with his tonfa, but there’s a determined expression on his face. His eyes are shadowed, emotionless. He’s going to do this and not regret it and Pearl can’t believe this is happening.



And he doesn’t hold back. Now that he’s set on a course he just hammers straight through without hesitation. Pearl’s invincible wall isn’t quite as invincible as he’d hoped. Either Gin knew just where to hit it or he’s strong enough that it makes no difference. But note the hit. The focus of it is the stomach, where, if you’ve seen much anime/manga, is the traditional spot to hit someone just to get them out of the way. It isn’t cruel or rough, but a precise strike, doing just as much damage as he wants and no more than that. That is true strength.

Of course Luffy and Sanji are shocked at this because –well what the hell does it mean? Has he switched sides? Why is he hitting his nakama? Neither of them can parse this. I love Sanji’s expression which is a crossed between shocked/angry/ and stressed. Like he has no idea what is going on. He’s having a hell of a day, really.



So, right away, you see a huge difference between the Krieg Pirate crew and the others we’ve met so far.
It’s difficult to say with the Alvida pirates whether they got along or not. But Coby was part of their crew and they did nothing but use him.

For the Buggy Pirates, they partied together, but weren’t willing to sacrifice themselves for Buggy and there was dissension among the ranks, at least insofar as Cabaji and Mohji are concerned as they are each jostling for a position.

For the Kuroneko pirates, where Jango was concerned about his own life and the life of his crew, they didn’t seem to show much concern for one another except after they’d been defeated and were helping each other back to the ship.

Right away, though, we see the Krieg Pirates are concerned about one another. They know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Gin apologizes for hitting Pearl and explains why he did it. This way, too, Pearl getting hit sets the responsibility and blame firmly on Gin’s shoulders. The Krieg Pirates, too, are freaking over this and not just in shock. That forefront man is holding his head like he can’t believe it and the other guy with the spikey hair just looks sad and depressed about it. They are a tighter laced crew—though certainly not because of Krieg.

Krieg takes the hit as a personal affront. He doesn’t care that Pearl was hit. He doesn’t care about Pearl as a person. All he cares about is that Gin is betraying him. It’s like Krieg considers his subordinates as part of his armor that he can discard at will. Also it says something that Krieg’s first reaction is to assume that he’s been betrayed. As if he can’t even trust Gin to be completely loyal to him. Which makes sense as he’s not loyal to any of them.

He gives Krieg his apologies, though and asks Krieg to allow him:




Since he can’t repay his debt to Sanji by helping him live by getting them all off the ship, he’s going to at least give him a fair fight. I’m sure he thinks he’s going to win it, too. But at the very least getting killed in a pitched battle is better than getting killed because you’re unable to move. In other words, he’s giving Sanji the opportunity to actively fight for the sake of the Baratie. He’s taking the responsibility solely on himself.

Themes:

One of the major themes of this part is control. Who has it, who doesn’t, and how they implement it. So we’ll spend a large chunk of the themes section discussing it.

Control is Key. Tied into the idea that precision is better than flailing around, the one who has control has an upper hand on the battle. Running alongside this, control is difficult to maintain—especially when you are fighting for it.

Firstly, let’s define control as: Getting what you want on your own terms.

Now, let’s take a look at three different kinds of control that are represented.

Control via Reputation/Emotional Manipulation: This is the most difficult form of control to maintain because if you are intimidating people through what they think of you, you always have to be what they think of you. Krieg has strength, yes—but the only way he can really get what he wants is by leaning heavily on his reputation. Two parts ago we saw this through his screaming at people who he was in order to get his way. If that didn’t work, shooting them and hoping they were intimidated. We see the same thing in this part, shooting people when they try to slip from his control. Then, when force doesn’t work, he goes into emotional manipulation. This will be easy, he says. And so they go forward.

But Krieg only has as much control as people give him.

His men give him control over their lives. Partly out of intimidation, partly out of a shared goal, but they allow him to have it. Can he hurt them? Yes. But en masse even he cannot take them all on.
The cooks give him control by constantly saying: Don’t provoke him! Don’t provoke him! Can he hurt them? Yes. But they have more fight in them than he does. If it were just him vs them, he could not take them all down.
That’s not to say it can’t be insidious.

Gin uses the emotional manipulation side of the control. He counts on Sanji’s feelings for Zeff to control the situation, and do an extent, it works. However, it only works halfway. Sanji gives him (and via Gin, Pearl) control in the sense that he won’t fight back so long as Gin doesn’t pull the trigger. But he stands defending the Baratie. Likewise, Gin point blank refuses to listen to Krieg’s orders to blow Zeff’s head off, and instead once again chooses the terms of battle.

Control via Strength: Again, difficult to maintain because you have to consistently be stronger than anyone around you. This is how Luffy gains control of the situation, however temporarily, (by smashing the fins) and how Sanji gets his own way (for the most part). The Baratie cooks listen to him because they don’t want to get kicked out of the way. And they do get kicked, see: Patty. Because he is the strongest, even if Sanji can’t set all the terms of battle, he doesn’t have to get rolled over either.

As I said, he submits to a thrashing, but doesn’t leave. However, this control only lasts as long as you are the strongest. Luffy is stronger than Sanji. (Esp as Luffy is practically impervious to blunt force trauma) If he wanted to, he could break the Baratie like matchsticks and there is little Sanji could do about the situation. And, like the previous control mentioned, strong as he is:

Sanji only has as much control as people give him.

This is evident when Sanji tries to feed Krieg’s men. The cooks may be intimidated by his strength, but they will stand up to him as hard as they can if it means enough. And again, most of his control was given to him by Zeff. Zeff allowed him to act as he pleased (to a point). Allowed him to make his own way and fight everyone, even though it was a situation that created drama in the restaurant and kitchen. He also allows Sanji to completely take over the defense of the Baratie. Likewise, Pearl only has the upper hand in strength because it was given to him, but it was easily taken away by Gin.


Shared Control/Control via Trust: Both aspects of control are folded into this and Zeff is a master of it. Remember how easily he made the cooks fall in line just by his presence? How did that happen?

Well firstly, reputation. Though reputation garnered not through strength, but through skill. Zeff is the head chef for a reason. He knows what he’s doing. The cooks trust him to know what he is doing.
Additionally, they know that he is working with their best interests at heart.

He shares the control, allowing them to be who they are and trusting that they know what they’re doing in terms of cooking and that they work with the restaurant’s best interest at heart.

So that way, everyone is fighting for the same thing. For the same goal, but also each other, because they are all responsible to look out for one another and are all able to grow stronger to do so.

This is the strongest because it is not reliant on one person to always be on top. Zeff can have moments of weakness. He can do things that the cooks don’t agree with. But because they admire, love and respect him, they give him the control without him having to ask for it or fight for it.

Even Krieg uses this to an extent. He lets the men fight for him after all, ostensibly trusting them to be efficient at it. The difference here is, Zeff is looking out for the well-being of others as well as himself and thus generates loyalty. Krieg is only looking out for himself and so has to continually struggle to maintain it by being the best.

Coming from that…

Control is Responsibility:

The one who has the most control becomes the one most responsible because they call all the shots. Since Krieg is the ultimate head of the Krieg Pirates, if he should die, where would they go from there without strong leadership? For the Baratie, should Zeff die… well since everyone shares control and loves and respects the foundations the Baratie worked upon (because they were loved and respected themselves), the Baratie would continue on.

When we first start this part, Sanji operating from the control Zeff gives him. (and via Zeff the Baratie Cooks) He does have responsibility for the Baratie’s well being, but it is shared among the other cooks and Zeff himself. When Zeff goes down, though, Sanji takes control and now the full weight of everything is on his shoulders. He’s responsible for the safety of the Baratie, the safety of the cooks, the safety of their livelihood, and he literally holds Zeff’s life in his hands.

Krieg has the continual responsibility of being the best and the strongest no matter the situation. He cannot show vulnerability (unless he disguises it as a manipulation or trick). He must always be in charge. Always be right. Always be the one to shine. The moment he doesn’t? The men could turn on him or leave. Due to his reputation and need to maintain it, he also has to be above everyone else he ever meets. So this is why he attacked Mihawk. Though I seriously think he thought he could shoot the guy, just letting Mihawk go would have made him look weak. Granted he didn’t go all out attacking Mihawk as he could have been and framed it in a way that made it look like Mihawk simply “got away”.

Standing against Bullies

Can be damn hard. It’s easy to say, oh the Baratie cooks don’t have to give Krieg control, or, the Krieg Pirates should figure out they could take him on—but who wants to get shot and killed? Hell, who even wants to be beaten up? Standing against bullies is a long hard road, and if they are physically stronger than you or there are more of them than you, you can expect to get beat up a lot. Also there is no guarantee of winning. As much as the Baratie cooks don’t want Krieg to be provoked, they fight their hardest for what they believe in and what they want to protect. And yet, they don’t succeed. In the end they can only watch hopelessly from the water.

Even the strongest aren’t immune to it, especially if they are driven by a love for others. Sanji is kept from fighting because of the love for Zeff. Luffy is kept from going all out because of Sanji’s love for Zeff, and is often manipulated into anger by the unfairness of how the people he cares about are treated. Neither of them can win. Neither of them do win. Sanji wouldn’t have let Luffy break the Baratie and Krieg wanted Zeff dead the moment he realized the ship was in danger. Either way, one or the other was going to lose something precious.

But sometimes it only takes one person to change the tide. Gin bravely stands up for what he feels Sanji deserves, that is, a one on one fight—and so alters everything. Because of his choice, he takes the pressure of Zeff’s life off Sanji’s hands—and perhaps even the Baratie itself—so Sanji is only responsible for his own life, relying just on his strength to beat Gin or to die trying. Gin gives him a measure of control and allows for the situation to progress how it does.
Which just goes to show it takes more than one person to save the day.

Viewing Others from Your Own Frame of Reference: Much like judging by appearances is a bad assumption to go on. In this case, however, Sanji believes he knows what Zeff wants most and what Zeff most wants to preserve. He may have found out different had he asked (though of course that may be beyond impossible for their relationship), but even when Zeff kept telling him to stop—Sanji was too stubborn to understand the truth.

Though it is likely because he is too close to Zeff. That they are so alike and he owes the man so much that he believes that Zeff is just as willing to sacrifice as Sanji is (and Sanji won’t allow it). The difference here is, while Zeff is self-sacrificial, it is always toward life. Yes, he gave up his leg for Sanji, but he gave up his leg so he himself could eat (himself /coff). Likewise, he was willing to sacrifice the Baratie because then Sanji would live.

Likewise, Gin viewing Sanji from his own frame of reference made Gin underestimate just how far Sanji was willing to go. Gin is a survivor, too, and believes that, rather than standing up to someone stronger than you, you live longer if you bow to it. Which is partly why he was relegated to begging food from Patty, even with a rebellious look on his face.



Characters:

Sanji: Is an asshole, but also a deeply deeply caring person. Misguided as he may be and as much pride as it might entail, he’s so dead set on preserving the Baratie just for Zeff’s sake. Because Zeff saved him. Because Zeff gave him opportunity. There are no ulterior motives in him protecting it as full force as he does. His outer iron shell is as much about protection of this emotion as it is about presentation. He cannot appear weak in any sense. He needs control. But the outer shell does not stop him from being compassionate towards just about everyone. He’s a bitch and a half to Patty, but he preserves his knife. Gin flat out betrays his trust, but he lets Gin have his say. He had no reason to trust Krieg, yet fed him just because he was starving. As much as it is a cook’s ideal, it is also about this need to not see anyone hungry regardless of who they are/what they might do.

But his iron shell is authentic, too and as much a part of him as his compassion. He cannot and will not back down once has decided on something—even if that action may risk the life of others. Still—Sanji will risk himself and put his life on the line for the sake of anyone he cares about, despite possible pain or death. But he will fight hard. He will fight as hard as he can because if someone tries to hurt those he cares about? He won’t hold back a single notch. He doesn’t go out of his way to kill, but I think that if he had to actually kill someone in order to protect those whom he cared for, he absolutely would.

Also, to reiterate, this is the section where Sanji grows up. He goes from being protected child, to young adult with the weight of the world on his shoulders. And while the weight is lessened, he will always be stronger than Zeff at this point and will always know it. And so how can he continue on the Baratie? What could his position be? His pride is very much evident and finally surpassing Zeff it will always be in his mind—but he won’t take Zeff’s dream from him by taking over head chef position. By growing up, his future has become uncertain. … But as we’ll see in some minor flashbacks later, Sanji has always been in a hurry to grow up.

Luffy: Really understands the big picture and takes his time to figure out a solution. He’s reckless, yes, and there’s plenty of trial and error—but he isn’t so reckless as to risk the lives of people that aren’t his. In other words, he’s not going to just recklessly attack Pearl and get Zeff shot. Instead after some consideration he breaks the fins and is set out to break the ship, removing the thing that they were fighting over. Granted, succeeding may have gotten Zeff shot anyway but Luffy is decisive. Once he makes a decision he goes through with it without equivocating on what might happen after.

In other words, he takes a calculated risk. Because Luffy, much like Sanji, much like Zoro and even Usopp to an extent, can’t not fight. If people he cares about are getting hurt, he has to do something. He is unable to not act, for better or for worse.

Also importantly, Luffy may have the strength to take control in most situations—but in most situations, he doesn’t want it. He doesn’t care about control. He wants to have fun. What he’s most interested in are giving people the freedom of choice. It was why he stopped Johnny and Yosaku—not that he wanted Zoro to die, but respected his choice to put his life on the line.

Breaking the Baratie would likewise open a whole avenue of choices that weren’t there before. For instance, while Sanji seemed to be able to control how he died, it was a choice made under duress. Zoro didn’t have to fight Mihawk. He could have just stared at him across the way while melodramatic 80s hair ballads played softly in the background. But he decided, this is a thing I’m going to do come what may (though in his case “come what may” was more “win this sucker”) so Luffy allowed him to do it. Sanji only got to choose who would be the one to die until Luffy stepped in—which gave Gin time to think and opened choices for him.

Gin: Struggles because he is so intensely loyal. It’s not because Krieg has proven his strength that Gin believes Krieg is the strongest. After all, he’s seen Krieg weak with hunger. He’s seen Krieg bow his head. But because he is so loyal to Krieg, he cannot see the man as anything other than the strongest in the world—and believes in his dreams completely. But he also has growing loyalty to Sanji, borne out of gratitude and just a like for the man. His threatening to kill Zeff was showing Sanji how strong and unbeatable they were, and giving him a chance to escape gracefully for the old man’s sake. When Sanji didn’t take that opportunity, Gin gave him an opportunity to fight and die gracefully. He’s loyal to his nakama, too, in as much as he is rough with Pearl, he is no more rough than he has to be.

Gin is strong and I don’t mean physically. Once he makes a decision he stands by it. He decided that he would help Sanji, and so he would—even if it meant going against Krieg. We’ll see more of this later on of course, but he ultimately decides to go his own way even though Krieg told him twice to shoot Zeff. In this way he is a dangerous man to Krieg. Not just because he stands up for what he believes in, but because the men admire and respect him. If he wanted, I have no doubt he could take over.


Kreig: Inasmuch as he uses emotional manipulation to get his way, he really believes in what he says. That Zeff's log book will help them. That they will be able to conquer the Grand Line just by deceiving their way through it. He really believes all the answers to the problems can be found in someone else's experience, but sometimes, and especially on the Grand Line, there are not answers.