Chapter 23: Red-Leg Zeff
A big head and a thick neck, if not a tycoon, then a cook.
Red-Leg Zeff's neck was indeed thick, but his head was a normal size; he was just emaciated.
Looking at that skeleton-like profile, Shane had to observe for a while before he could vaguely match the man with the face in his memory.
What a miserable state. I wonder how long he's been starving... In the original timeline, I think Zeff and Sanji were stranded for 85 days. I should have arrived earlier, right?
Shane thought for a moment, then bent down and casually picked up a pile of food from the boat, walking towards Zeff. He had taken over a million in cash from the secret room, and when he left Cherry Blossom Island, he had generously stocked up on tens of thousands of Belli worth of food. He had thought he bought too much for two people to finish in a month, but now it was coming in handy.
"Junichi," he didn't forget about Sanji, "you take some food too. Go look around for anyone else. If you find someone, give them a hand."
"Understood, Boss!"
The wind and rain grew stronger.
He was almost right in front of him before Zeff finally, hazily, noticed the footsteps behind him.
"Hey, kid..." Zeff still stared into the distance, his eyes under his bangs seemingly covered by a layer of shadow. "What are you doing here? Didn't we agree? We each watch one side, and you call me if a ship comes..."
Plop!
A packet of food was tossed out, rolling down the rocky slope to Zeff's feet. The old man glanced over at the sound, and his eyes froze, unable to look away.
"Bread?"
His hand instinctively reached out, but then it paused. He forced himself to swallow his saliva, sat up straight, and sneered, "What, you think I didn't give you enough food, so you've come back for more?"
"Didn't I tell you? I'm an adult. My appetite is several times bigger than yours, so of course I need several times the food! I don't even have enough for myself! Don't you dare expect me to share any more with you!"
Several black lines appeared on Shane's forehead.
Damn it, this old man. Who is he trying to act tough for? Don't I know that the bulging bag next to you is filled with nothing but treasure?
You have time to secretly drool and have a moral crisis, but you can't even be bothered to turn around and see who this handsome savior is.
A mischievous idea sparked in his mind. He didn't speak right away, but instead continued to toss the food in his hands over, one item at a time.
Plop!
"Cookies?" Zeff was startled.
Plop!
"Canned luncheon meat?" The old man's eyes widened.
Plop! Plop! Plop!
Dried cured meat, chocolate bars, compressed rice balls... even fruits like oranges and bananas. Shane threw them faster and faster, and in no time, a small mountain of food had piled up in front of Zeff.
"...This... this..."
Zeff was speechless. Even the biggest fool would realize by now that the person who could produce so much food couldn't possibly be Sanji.
Rumble, rumble~
His empty stomach chose that moment to make a noise.
Zeff suddenly tore open a bag of bread and began to eat ravenously. In just a few bites, a whole bag of bread was down. Then he immediately grabbed the next one.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
A clump of bread soaked in saliva suddenly got stuck in his throat. Zeff pounded his chest hard, creating a dull thud against his protruding ribs.
"Here, catch."
Shane handed over a water canteen. The old man immediately tilted his head back and chugged it down. Murky water mixed with bread paste trickled down his beard; who knows if there were tears mixed in as well.
When the water was gone, Shane took the canteen back and tossed him a can of luncheon meat.
"It's food, it's food... IT'S FOOD!!!"
The old man held the can high, looking at it again and again. "It's real food! What a wonderful aroma and taste..."
Crack. Zeff dug his fingernails directly into the can and pried it open with one hand. He didn't even notice when the lid cut his hand. He dug out a chunk of the dark red meat and stuffed it into his mouth, swallowing greedily, his eyes squinted in pure bliss.
"Slow down, don't choke again," Shane sighed softly and sat down on a large rock behind him.
Suddenly, he felt something uncomfortable under his butt. He reached down and pulled out a dirty, severed foot. It was already rotting and oozing pus, emitting a foul stench.
"..."
Shane gagged, nearly throwing the thing into the sea. But he quickly realized something. Glancing at Zeff, who was still eating desperately, he secretly initiated the sacrifice.
[Sacrifice: "Red-Leg" Zeff's Severed Foot]
[Quality: Epic]
[Value: 2000 Points]
[Appraisal: The severed foot of the great pirate Red-Leg Zeff. He once awed the East Blue with his exquisite kicking techniques and even survived a year in the Grand Line. After being stranded on a deserted island, he gave all the food to Sanji, cutting off his own right leg to eat. Sanji was thus saved. Knowing he was no longer qualified to sail the seas, Zeff passed on his dream of finding the ALL BLUE to Sanji.]
The part above the ankle was gone, probably eaten clean by Zeff. The remaining part was rotten and spoiled, but it was a perfect way to make use of waste, providing him with a considerable amount of points.
Shane didn't close the system panel right away. He stared at the appraisal text, falling into a rare silence for a good while.
"This thing..."
He suddenly smiled, extending his empty right hand and letting the rain wash away the grime. "Speaking of which, this story made me cry quite a bit back then."
A famous scene from a distant memory was replaying right before his eyes. The feeling was quite surreal.
By the time the rain had washed his hand clean, Shane turned his head. The small mountain of food was more than half gone. Zeff had stopped eating at some point. One hand clutched a half-eaten rice ball, the other rested on his forehead. His back was to Shane, and his body was trembling.
Why is he crying now?
"I'm ashamed, so ashamed..."
Sensing his gaze, Zeff turned his head. He was grinning widely, but tears streamed down his face uncontrollably. "Benefactor, this is the best meal I've ever eaten in my life. I thought I was going to die, that I was done for..."
Zeff suddenly turned over, knelt in the heavy rain, and kowtowed deeply to Shane. When he got up, his forehead was red and swollen, but the old man seemed not to notice and continued to kowtow forcefully.
"It's not necessary, really."
Shane quickly reached out to help the old man up. It's not fair for you to be the only one kowtowing. I haven't even thanked you for the free 2000 points yet!
"Benefactor, my companion! I still have a companion!" But Zeff remained kneeling, clutching his pant leg and pleading, "There's a little blond brat, he's on this reef too, and he's been starving for dozens of days just like me! Please, benefactor, save him too!"
How is this old man so strong after starving for so long? Shane felt like his pants were about to be pulled off and quickly yanked them up.
"It's alright. I came with a companion too. Don't worry, before I came over, I already had him take food to look for other survivors. He should be able to find the kid you're talking about soon."
"That's good, that's good..." Zeff finally relaxed with a sigh of relief. He sat back down on the ground, and after giving Shane a grateful look, he buried his head and continued to eat ravenously.
Shane, however, looked back in the direction where they had run aground, a little puzzled.
Wait a minute... Where's Sanji? What is Junichi doing? This reef is tiny. How can it be so hard to find a living person? It's been ages and there's no sign of him.
"Uh, Boss?"
Just then, Junichi's somewhat guilty voice called out. "Can you come over here?"
"What's wrong?" Shane immediately got up and walked towards the figure that had appeared in his line of sight. "Did you find anyone?"
"...Well, it's not convenient to talk here. Come with me first."
Junichi gave a dry laugh and pulled Shane all the way to the side of the boat.
Under Shane's confused gaze, he swallowed hard, crouched down, and with all his might, lifted the boat up by a few centimeters, revealing a skinny figure in a chef's uniform underneath.
"Here he is. I found him. It's just... he's a little flat..."