Zeff

As a pirate, Zeff was fierce and uncompromising, willing to rob civilians without hesitation and commanding great fear from even his own crew. However, even at this stage, he was an idealistic sea cook at heart, believing in the fabled All Blue and deeply valuing food—to the point of violently forbidding his men from stealing any during raids. During his time as a castaway, this idealism rose to an incredible compassion, leading him to sacrifice all his available food—and his prized leg—to ensure the young Sanji’s survival. In his “retirement” as the Baratie’s owner and head chef, Zeff remains hot-tempered and stern, frequently and humorlessly disciplining not only his own staff (Sanji hardest of all) but customers who annoy him. So too, however, remains his compassion, determined to spare even the most dangerous and irredeemable men from the starvation he once suffered. Due to his great compassion, Sanji even believed that Zeff would be completely disgusted with him if Sanji had chosen to abandon his biological family to die by Big Mom’s hands and even laugh at their demise despite how corrupt his family was along with the fact they had coerced Sanji by threatening Zeff’s safety. At one point, Zeff stated that he disliked children. Whether this is true of him, or whether it was simply made up to persuade Sanji to join the Straw Hats remains to be seen; however, given his father-son relationship with Sanji, he certainly appears to have made the latter the exception to this aspect about him. Zeff also holds a strong sense of chivalry toward women, believing it is a man’s duty to spare them all physical harm. As this includes his usual disciplinary methods, he has steadily refused to hire any female staff for the Baratie.

Zeff first met Sanji when his crew was raiding the cruise ship Orbit that Sanji was an apprentice cook on. This first impression led Sanji to despise the pirate captain, but Zeff alone did not laugh at the young boy’s dream of finding All Blue, which he shared, and a reason he saved him from being dragged overboard by a tidal wave. After the two became stranded on an island, Zeff gave all the rations he could find to Sanji, while keeping a larger bag of treasure for himself, without letting the boy know what was in it, and ate his own leg to compensate. Sanji would have let Zeff die on the island, but after finishing the rations and trying to take what he believed to be a larger bag of food from the pirate, only to realize the sacrifice he made, Sanji came to respect him. While Zeff was always harshly critical towards Sanji, whom he calls “Little Eggplant” (ちびナス, Chibinasu?, “Little Brat” in the English dub); He did this to make Sanji into the great chef and tough fighter he is now.

Despite objecting to it at first, Sanji seems to come to understand what Zeff was up to. Zeff also seems to be responsible for Sanji’s strict code of never using any form of violence against women, threatening to beat up Sanji or even castrate him if he ever forgets this. Zeff raised Sanji as his adopted son, as he believed it was his duty as Sanji’s caretaker to instill knowledge in him, including helping him develop his cooking skills and teaching him the value of a cook’s hands. Sanji’s signature fighting style was developed as a result of this teaching, which included Zeff beating him up whenever he threatened his hands in combat. Despite deeply caring about Sanji as his own son, Zeff tends to get particularly irritated with Sanji’s lustful weakness towards beautiful women.

When Sanji was a kitchen boy in Baratie, he would be instantly love struck by attractive female customers and end up making mistakes in his job such as dropping a dish. Zeff even once angrily kicked Sanji in the face for his unrepentant perverted behavior. While Zeff seems to spend most of his time (besides cooking) provoking Sanji into leaving the Baratie, most see this as an attempt to encourage Sanji to leave so he could fulfill the dream that he and the old pirate shared together nine years ago. This shared dream proves to be a very deep and private connection between them, as the other Baratie cooks had no idea as to why Sanji remained at the Baratie, despite his constant bickering with Zeff. When Sanji finally set out to pursue their common dream, Zeff found himself crying, and he was overjoyed to hear that Sanji had a bounty even when his face was drawn hilariously. During the Whole Cake Island Arc, the Vinsmoke Family threatened to kill Zeff if Sanji refused to cooperate with the wedding with Charlotte Pudding. Sanji, seeing Zeff as the father figure that Vinsmoke Judge failed to provide, could not defy his birth family in fear for the head chef’s life. However, after Sanji rescued his father and siblings from Big Mom’s clutches, Sanji explained that he did not want Zeff to be disappointed before disowning Judge once again, making him promise never to interfere in his life nor threaten Zeff as well.

Baratie Cooks

Zeff has also earned the respect from the other chefs of Baratie, as everyone there would stay and fight against the Krieg Pirates, and they were visibly upset that Gin would break Zeff’s peg leg and hold him hostage.

Monkey D Luffy

Right after meeting him, Zeff forced Luffy to work as a chore boy on the Baratie as payment for the damage inflicted by unintentionally deflecting Fullbody’s cannonball into the roof of the restaurant. However, Luffy’s tendency to eat food meant for customers and clumsily breaking every dish that he was supposed to be washing was causing more trouble than help, and Zeff did not hesitate to accept Luffy’s offer of dropping the debt in exchange for defeating the Krieg Pirates. Zeff was impressed by Luffy’s determination and thought he would make it to the top in the Grand Line. Luffy understood how Zeff saved Sanji (comparing to how Shanks saved Luffy at the cost of his arm), and berated Sanji for nearly throwing it all away by being willing to die. After Krieg was defeated, Zeff wanted Luffy to forcibly take Sanji away with him, but Luffy politely declined, stating that while he wanted Sanji as his ship’s cook, he would only accept Sanji if he agreed to leave the Baratie with him. When the Big Mom Pirates and Vinsmoke Family held Zeff’s life hostage against Sanji, Luffy claimed that he would not let them harm the head chef nor the others at Baratie.

Enemies

Krieg

Hoping to rebuild his fleet after it had been devastated by Dracule Mihawk, Don Krieg attempted to capture the Baratie and obtain Zeff’s log book from his days as a pirate. Krieg even ordered his crew to attack the Baratie despite the fact that they felt gratitude towards Zeff and the chefs for feeding them.

As the founder and head chef of Baratie, a famous sea restaurant of the East Blue, Zeff is a master chef who possess an extremely high level of skill in cooking. He is also the one that taught Sanji all his culinary skills and knowledge about cooking. He was able to skillfully cook enough food to feed one hundred men of Krieg’s crew singlehandedly within a short period of time. According to himself, Zeff has culinary experiences that extend from the four seas to the Grand Line and Sanji is still an amateur compared to himself.

Physical Abilities

Zeff possesses extraordinary leg strength. He could easily break through rock and leave footprints on hard iron and overpower all his enemies effortlessly. Even after his amputation, he is able to swing his peg leg with enough force to produce an air-current that can extinguish a half-dozen burning projectiles in mid-air. He also remains extremely agile despite his age, often enhancing his kicks with elaborate jumps. Zeff also has immense stamina and endurance, managing to survive 85 days without any sustenance apart from rainwater and his own severed leg.

Black Leg Style

In his prime, Zeff was renowned as a master of extremely powerful kicks. Because of the immense power of his lethal kicks, his shoes were often coated in the blood of his enemies – hence his “Red-Leg” epithet. Even with a peg leg, Zeff can still fell a grown man with one kick, and even stagger Luffy despite the Gomu Gomu no Mi’s natural protections against blunt trauma. According to Sanji, the force of Zeff’s kicks far surpass Kuroobi’s 40th-level Fish-Man Karate; after sustaining a “Hundred Tile True Punch” from the latter, he claimed that Zeff’s kicks would qualify as “400th-level” by the same metric. Notably (and despite training Sanji against the same), Zeff is also capable of hand-based attacks such as body-throws and punches. However, he has only been seen using these to discipline Sanji, rather than in genuine combat.

Weapons

During his initial meeting with Luffy, Zeff brandished a hand-saw that he “proposed” to sever Luffy’s leg with. It is unknown if he has ever seriously used this device, for combat or any other purpose.

Eventually, he led his crew into the treacherous waters of the Grand Line to pursue his dream of finding All Blue; though they survived a year’s voyage little worse for wear, they found no hint of the legendary ocean, and quietly returned to the East Blue. Shortly after, the Cook Pirates raided a cruise ship under a brewing storm. Overseeing the raid (and quick to punish any man who stole food instead of valuables), Zeff was surprised to find a young kitchen boy named Sanji trying to fight back, even withstanding a kick from Zeff himself. Despite the pirates’ jeers, Sanji voiced his own dream to find All Blue; seconds later, the storm intensified and swept him overboard. Impulsively, Zeff dove after the boy, narrowly missing a rogue wave that smashed and sank both ships.

When the storm calmed, Zeff had successfully rescued Sanji, and salvaged two bags from the ships’ remains: one of food, one of gold and jewels. Together, they were stranded on a small, rocky island otherwise devoid of life. While Sanji immediately blamed him for the situation, Zeff gave all the food to the boy, lying that the treasure-bag held his own portion. They then split into two camps on opposite sides of the island to watch for potential rescue; once alone, Zeff severed his right leg with a jagged rock and used it as food. Unfortunately, months passed without any rescue. On the seventieth day, all his food long-eaten, a half-delirious Sanji entered Zeff’s camp to take the “remaining” food by force. Shocked to find what Zeff’s bag actually held, and what the old pirate had eaten to survive, he collapsed in tears. Near-dead himself, Zeff explained their shared dream of All Blue; together, they vowed that if they left the island alive, they would open a sailing restaurant that could feed any hungry seafarer. Against all odds, the two castaways managed to survive another fifteen days until a passing ship found and rescued them. Once recovered, Zeff spent all his remaining loot to launch the restaurant-ship known as the Baratie, Sanji staying on as his first employee and protégé. Over the next nine years, Zeff taught the boy all he knew about cookery, combat, and chivalry towards women, while growing the Baratie’s personnel and reputation until it was famed among civilians, Marines, and pirates alike.

East Blue Saga

Baratie Arc

When Luffy came to the Baratie after accidental damage to the restaurant from the cannonball he repelled from Fullbody’s ship, Zeff forced him into labor as a chore boy for a full year to pay for the damages. However, Luffy continuously messed up in his chores. Soon, Don Krieg attacked the Baratie. Zeff offered Krieg the food and water he had demanded in exchange for Krieg to leave the restaurant. However, Krieg took the food but also demanded they turn the Baratie over to him as he planned on using it to sail the Grand Line and attack other ships.

Zeff graciously accepted Luffy’s offer for his debt to be repaid in exchange for Luffy’s help against Krieg, so Luffy would not cause further accidental harm to his restaurant. Later after Pearl almost accidentally burned down the restaurant, Gin took Zeff hostage to prevent any further potential problems. Gin ordered the cooks to lay down their weapons or he would murder Zeff. Sanji refused, telling him that he would not allow any more harm to come to Zeff as he owed the man for taking everything from him earlier. Sanji then revealed their past and how Zeff had attacked a ship he was working on as a small boy.

As Luffy battled, Zeff told Sanji that he believed Luffy would win. He told him that only those who have no fear of death on the battlefield can truly call themselves the strongest. As Luffy refused to give in, he delivered a crushing blow to Krieg at the expense of sending himself into the ocean. Zeff explained to Sanji that Luffy is a true warrior without fear. As an afterthought, he told Sanji that Luffy would die as he cannot swim. Sanji could hardly believe how callous Zeff was to wait to share this information as he dove in to save Luffy, the restaurant’s savior. After the battle, Luffy continued to press Sanji to become his chef on his journey to the Grand Line. Sanji continued to turn him down as he told Luffy he must remain to repay his debt to Zeff. Zeff overheard Sanji’s commitment and later after Luffy declined his offer to forcibly take Sanji with him, Zeff encouraged Sanji to leave the restaurant and pursue his dream for both their sakes. Sanji finally agreed and the two barely exchanged any emotions, despite their long history. As Sanji’s ship pushed off, Zeff wished him luck. Sanji broke down in tears and bowed in respect as he bid farewell to his previous life as a Baratie cook and began his new one as a Straw Hat Pirate.

Water 7 Saga

Postenies Lobby Arc

After Sanji got his first bounty, Zeff and his chefs were so overjoyed that they would tell customers that Sanji came from the Baratie in an attempt to give the restaurant more popularity (although the crying laughter was more likely attributed to Sanji’s horribly drawn portrait).

Fishman Island Saga

From The Decks Of The World

Two years later, Zeff read the newspaper about the Straw Hats’ return while his office was being remodeled.

Whole Cake Island Saga

From The Decks Of The World The 500000000 Man Arc

After the events at Dressrosa, Zeff and the chefs of the Baratie received Sanji’s new wanted poster, with Zeff pondering on the reason Sanji’s bounty claim was changed to ‘Only Alive’.

Whole Cake Island Arc

While Zeff is not actually present in this arc, he receives constant mention from Sanji as one of his main personal motivators to accept his arranged marriage to Charlotte Pudding, otherwise the Big Mom Pirates and the Germa 66 would target the Baratie. However, after Big Mom betrayed the Vinsmokes and Germa 66, they let go of the Baratie. The Gally Pirates visited the restaurant and demanded food. Even though the other chefs wanted to kick them out, Zeff cooked a meal for them, declaring that he would feed anyone who wishes to eat.

Final Saga

Egghead Arc

Zeff and Patty listened to Vegapunk’s worldwide broadcast.

In the anime, Zeff offered to give Luffy his log book that records the days he spent on the Grand Line, but was turned down because Luffy wanted to have his own journey rather than copy someone else’s. In the manga, when the chefs of Baratie pretend that they hated Sanji’s soup and start pouring it out or breaking their soup bowls in disgust, Zeff breaks his bowl as well. In the anime, he criticizes the chefs for their actions and states that they shouldn’t waste a single drop of soup and finishes his serving of Sanji’s soup before insulting it.

Liveaction Differences

In the live-action series, Luffy does not physically damage the Baratie; instead, Zeff indentures him as a chore boy for ordering meals without any means to pay. He is also the one in charge of tending to Zoro’s wounds after his fight against Dracule Mihawk. Later, after Luffy and his friends leave the Baratie, Monkey D. Garp visits the restaurant with his Marine subordinates, recognizing Zeff for having been a pirate some time ago. Garp asks him about Luffy, to which Zeff tries to pretend that he doesn’t know who he’s talking about, after which he offers Garp to eat at his restaurant. After offering the vice admiral a specially reserved wine, Zeff begins to talk to Garp about what things were like in their generation when they were both younger men, commenting that at one point in his past he was in the brig of a Marine ship, and also telling an anecdote about how he hunted a wild boar in Jaya, which he ended up cooking. When Garp begins to get impatient because he wants Zeff to tell him what he knows about Luffy, Zeff sees that they have both observed that the boy is very similar to Roger in his attitude. Once Garp is about to leave to find Luffy, Zeff tells him that he won’t be able to stop his grandson’s aspirations. When Luffy receives his first bounty poster, Zeff hangs it in the Baratie as an ‘Employee of the Month’ photo.