"Oh, really? Lead the way and take me to that renowned chef you were talking about," Rody replied with interest.
"..."
A while later, the mayor led Rody and his group to a butcher shop and pointed to a tall woman with pink hair and a red dress, saying, "Mr. Murderer, this woman claims to be the best chef in the East Sea."
Hearing the mayor's words, the pink-haired woman turned around and began to dance. When she finished, two men jumped up beside her.
One was short, with a face longer than a melon, and the other was a fat man with nostrils larger than anything Rody had ever seen.
"Miss Carmen is the best chef in the East Sea. She doesn't claim to be old."
"I am Master Carmen's first disciple, Leo," said the short man, with a face longer than a melon.
"Master Carmen has defeated many chefs in the East Sea." "I'm Master Carmen's second disciple, Jose," said Jose with a big nose, showing a handful of photos in his hand, all of defeated chefs.
At that moment, the pink-haired woman raised the fan with the word "food" written on it and said, "I'm the number one chef in the East Sea, Flame Carmen, hahaha!" The woman laughed and twirled in the air, before becoming dizzy and falling heavily to the ground.
Carmen's apprentices, Leo and Jose, caught it with great skill. Judging by their skill level, they must have done this many times.
Everyone in the room remained silent, visibly stunned by the performance. Rody rubbed his eyebrows without saying anything. What a strange thing to say. However, as strange as she was, this woman named Carmen must be a good cook.
After all, not just anyone can defeat so many chefs. After observing Carmen unconscious, Rody had no interest in talking to his two strange-looking apprentices. He signaled to Sebas, who was standing behind him, to bring Carmen and her two apprentices aboard.
"Okay, we'll buy some supplies and then we'll leave. No need to be so nervous, old man," Rody said with a wave of his hand to let the anxious mayor leave.
The mayor bowed deeply and left immediately; every second he spent with Rody shortened his already short lifespan.
Rody and Nami bought some food and the town specialty, heart-shaped mangoes the size of grapefruits, as well as the drawings, pens, and ink Nami needed to draw nautical charts, and then returned to the ship.
…
In the conference room on the first floor, Rody was reclining in a large armchair waiting for Carmen. After a while, Carmen opened the door to the room and approached Rody.
"Greetings, Mr. Rody." Carmen bowed slightly and greeted Rody.
"Oh, do you know who I am?" Roddy asked indifferently, looking at Carmen curiously.
Carmen replied, "Yes, the reward is 50,000,000 million Berries, the killer, Rody."
"Do you know why I brought you on board?"
"I know. His steward told me about going to the Grand Line. I can grant his request, but I have two conditions," Carmen replied firmly.
"Tell me about it!" Rody replied matter-of-factly.
"I hope to compete with a chef in culinary skills in the East Sea and find the ALL BLUE sea on the Grand Route. That sea area brings together ingredients from all over the world and is every chef's dream location."
"Well, it doesn't seem like a difficult request, but what if I don't accept?" Rody asked Carmen jokingly.
"If that's the case, even if you kill me, I won't be the chef of your ship." Carmen looked at Rody with a firm expression.
"If you don't understand the weight of death, it's best not to use the word death lightly." "But if you want me to grant your requests, it's not impossible. I can give you a chance. Just take one step toward me. With just one step, I'll agree." Looking at Carmen resolutely, Rody put aside his mockery and glared at her with cold eyes.
Hearing this, Carmen, with a resolute look, took a step forward and prepared to approach Rody. However, just as she lifted her foot and crouched down,
SWISH
SWING
A dense series of wounds suddenly appeared one after another on his body. Carmen looked at Rody and knew that this was his ability. The pain from his wounds and the flowing blood told her that he would die if he continued.
Watching Rody's indifferent expression, Carmen slowly closed her eyes, and scenes of herself practicing cooking for the past ten years surfaced in her mind. The past ten years of practice had left her unable to explain why she learned to cook.
She only knew that cooking was an inseparable part of her being. Suddenly, Carmen's raised foot fell forward, but the expected injury didn't occur. Her foot went limp and fell in front of Roddy.
"I promise," Rody said slowly as he looked at Carmen, who was falling in front of him.
Carmen sighed in relief upon hearing this. However, seeing the small wounds on her body, her eyes filled with tears, and she felt like crying.
There is no woman in the world who doesn't love beauty, and a beauty like Carmen, who loves to dance, is no exception. Furthermore, Carmen is proud of her beauty.
With so many wounds on her body, even if they healed, they would still leave ugly scars. How could she dance with so many scars?
Thinking about not being able to dance in the future, Carmen, who loved to dance, felt that her future life would be bleak; she would definitely die.
Seeing Carmen's eyes fill with tears and her tears pouring down her face, Roddy placed his hand on her shoulder and activated the reversal technique. In an instant, the wounds on Carmen's body healed rapidly.
Carmen looked at the healed wounds in disbelief. She couldn't help but reach out and touch one of the scarred areas. It was soft and smooth, with no trace of a scar.
She couldn't help but smile and shed tears: "Okay... okay, there's no scar."
Suddenly, she felt warmth on her shoulder. It was Rody's hand. It turned out her clothes had been ripped by Rody's attack, but she was so excited about the healing that she ignored Rody's large hand on her shoulder.
Carmen's cheeks flushed slightly. She hurriedly pulled Rody's hand away, stood up, and was about to run. At that moment, Rody covered her with his coat.
"Let me try your food today," Roddy shouted to Carmen, who was hurriedly running out of the meeting room in her coat.
Outside the meeting room, Sebas, holding a tray of juice, smiled as he looked at Carmen, who was wrapped in a coat given to him by Rody and hurriedly ran out of the meeting room.
NIGHT
Roddy sat on a large chair in the ship's restaurant. The table was laden with sumptuous food.
The steaming pot gave off a rich aroma and was sparkling clean. The food also looked very good, and people felt appetizing just by looking at it.
"Rody, this meat is delicious." Nami took a piece of sea beast meat from the steaming pot and offered it to Rody.
Rody opened his mouth and took the still-steaming sea beast meat Nami handed him, chewing it carefully and savoring it. It was soft and delicious, and chewed easily. The meat was so good overall that you could still feel its tender texture.
Satisfaction instantly filled his mouth.
Roddy took a piece of sushi and took a good bite. The freshness of the seafood and the sweetness of the rice filled his mouth with a rich flavor.
How could the sushi from his previous life compare to this? It couldn't possibly have so much flavor and so many nutrients, right?
After taking another big sip of wine, Rody couldn't wait to go to the Baratie seafood restaurant to taste the food made by Sanji and his master, Red Leg Zeff.