One Piece Chapter 044

Cover

Storyline

Luffy negotiates with the owner of the baratié, Zeff, how long he must work there to pay his debt. Luffy wants to work for a week at most, Zeff demands either a year or a leg from Luffy. The latter, of course, disagrees with both. Zeff then attacks Luffy.

Meanwhile, Sanji, who continues to hold the beaten Marine Lieutenant Fullbody as he wastes food, is told by the Cook Patty to let go of the guest or no one will be coming soon. Sanji lets go of him and begins to argue with Patty. Fullbody, sitting slumped on the floor, announces that he is going to close up store. Sanji wants to kill him, as he wants to prevent that from happening.

The other cooks at the restaurant struggle to hold back Sanji, who is about to pounce on Fullbody. Suddenly, Luffy and Zeff fall out of a hole in the ceiling. Zeff has kicked Luffy through the floor. Zeff kicks Sanji for attacking guests again. He then kicks Fullbody to make him leave.

Suddenly one of Fullbody’s men appears and explains that the “cursed” prisoner has escaped. Fullbody says that this is impossible, because he is only skin and bones and much too weak to escape, but Fullbody’s man is already shot from behind. The fugitive then sits down on a chair and demands something to eat. Patty refuses him because he has no money. The guest wants to pay with lead and holds a gun to the cook’s head. Patty is not impressed by this and throws the hungry criminal out.

Sanji gives the pirate lying in front of the baratié something to eat, which he gratefully accepts. Luffy has observed the scene and decided: Sanji will be the Cook of the Straw Hat Pirates.

Miscellaneous

• In addition to the chapter cover, the chapter in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine and 1st Log had two other color pages. In the fifth anthology of the saga, titled Whose Hour Is Now?, however, they were printed in grayscale.
• The chapter cover had a numbering error in the magazine version. It was erroneously numbered “45” instead of “44”.