NOTE
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Here's today's chapter. By the way, would you like me to change the protagonist's name?
If so, let me know in the comments. I apologize for any grammatical errors; English isn't my native language, so there might be some mistakes!
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Rody's indifferent words sent chills down everyone's spines. Zeff, the person involved, seemed unfazed. His wrinkled, elderly face reflected indifference, as if he didn't care about losing his other leg.
Sanji, hearing Rody's words, clenched his fists tightly and bit down hard on the cigarette between his lips. Although Rody sensed the boy's nervousness, an unwavering determination shone in his pupils.
Sanji couldn't allow Zeff, his benefactor, who had amputated one leg to survive, to lose the other because of him.
He took a deep breath upon seeing the Baratie group's concern and said firmly, "Don't worry, I'll win without a doubt. I won't let the old man lose another leg!"
"..."
After writing the rules of the competition, Sanji and Carmen went to the kitchen to prepare the ingredients and begin the competition. There was no need to go out and buy more ingredients. Being an extremely famous place in the East Blue, Baratie Restaurant's ingredients were very complete.
"Rody, do you think Carmen can win?" Nami asked curiously, as she watched Carmen and Sanji begin preparing the ingredients they would use.
Rody seemed to think for a few seconds and replied, "Hmm, maybe Carmen won't win this time."
"Oh, really?" Nami blinked, looking at Rody curiously, as if to say, "Explain it to me, explain it to me, and don't leave me wondering."
Seeing this, Rody gently shook his head. "You'll understand in a bit. It would be bad to ruin the fun, Nami, so bear with me!"
"Hmm, naughty boy!" Nami snorted and stopped talking. Seeing Nami's reaction, Rody felt helpless, but said nothing.
Rody wasn't lying when he said Carmen would lose to Sanji. If he's not mistaken, Sanji had beaten Carmen countless times in the original play, so it's likely this will happen again today. But hey, this time it doesn't matter if Carmen wins or loses. Just as he promised before, he brought Carmen here in order to fulfill his promise to her.
It's just to fulfill Carmen's wish to be able to leave the East Blue for the Grand Line without any hassle. Besides, to be honest, Rody can't wait to taste how delicious Sanji's cooking is.
"Hey, is this a restaurant? Can I have a barrel of gas?" Bumblebee shouted to the chefs.
"..."
As soon as Bumblebee finished speaking, a commotion broke out among all the Baratie chefs.
"It talks... it talks... damn it, the motorcycle talks!"
"I was wondering why you brought a motorcycle that can walk like a human into the restaurant. Turns out it's alive!"
A chef frowned and said, puzzled, "But it's strange that motorcycles can talk. It shouldn't be real, right?"
"Hmm, who knows? That aside, this is a restaurant, not a mechanic's shop." One of the chefs suddenly remembered Bumblebee's request and said strangely,
"Enough! Go get him a barrel of gasoline and bring it to him. No matter who you are, as long as you're hungry, we'll make sure you're full." Zeff looked at Bumblebee curiously. Although he had sailed on the Grand Line, Zeff swore he'd never seen a talking motorcycle.
"Understood, Chief Chef Zeff!" all the Baratie chefs shouted in unison upon hearing his orders, and set about getting a gallon of gasoline.
A while later, one of the chefs brought the gasoline to Bumblebee.
Bumblebee took the gallon of gasoline and began drinking the sweet elixir!
GHOO
GHOO
"Ah, I've recharged my batteries!" Bumblebee shouted happily, satisfied with this gallon of gasoline.
"Bumblebee, I've been meaning to ask you for a while: what does it feel like to drink gasoline? Does it have a taste?" Nami asked, confused and interested by Bumblebee's reaction.
"Hmm, if I could describe it, it would be like the orange juice Miss Nami and Captain Rody enjoy!"
Nami was stunned by Bumblebee's response; she honestly couldn't understand how such good orange juice could compare to a gallon of gasoline. "It's amazing!"
"Do you need anything else to eat besides gasoline?" Nami asked again.
"Hmm, it's not that necessary, but it would be even better if there were special energy stones."
"Okay, okay, let's start the cooking contest," Rody interrupted the kids' conversation. He was afraid that Bumblebee, this strange motorcycle boy who looked nothing like the Bumblebee from the movies, would start talking nonstop.
Watching the competition between Sanji and Carmen, Sanji chopped the vegetables and put them in the pot like a normal chef, but very seriously and carefully, while Carmen maintained her usual passionate cooking style, with peculiar dances and other strange things.
Seeing the serious Sanji and the eccentric Carmen, Rody was speechless. Why are they so different? He wouldn't lose face over Carmen's performance, right?
After a while, Sanji and Carmen finished preparing the dishes.
Sanji prepared a plate of fried rice, which was indistinguishable from regular fried rice, but gave off a delicious aroma that everyone could clearly smell.
Carmen, meanwhile, prepared barbecued turkey, a sea creature unique to the West Blue. It's completely red and looks very much like a cow, but it can dive into the sea—an extremely strange animal in Rody's opinion.
Rody first picked up some pieces of meat with chopsticks and tasted them. The flavor was similar to what Carmen had prepared on the ship, but the texture was more complex. Rody savored the food a little and commented, "It's definitely very good, Carmen! You've improved!"
"Thank you... thank you, Captain!" Hearing Rody's praise, Carmen began to spin around eccentrically, very pleased with the praise.
Rody used a spoon to taste Sanji's fried rice. As it entered her mouth, she could taste the soft rice grains, without any stickiness. The diced meat was fried to perfection, neither too old nor too tough. In short, the flavor was truly delicious.
"What do you think? Which one is better?" Nami gulped as she looked at the food in front of her.
Rody looked at Nami, whose face was eager to try the food. He handed her the spoon and said, "Try it too. I think the fried rice this guy named Sanji makes is better."
"But of course, Carmen's barbecue is also very good." Nami looked at Carmen and quickly added, afraid that Rody's words would upset her.
Nami tried a bite of each dish, and to be honest, although she didn't want to admit it, Sanji's dish, the one with the curly eyebrows, was a little more delicious than the turkey prepared by Carmen, just a little.
"Well, even though I love meat and don't prefer dishes like fried rice, this fried rice tastes a little better," Nami said cautiously, afraid of upsetting Carmen.
"Captain, after hearing what you said, I really want to eat it, but I'm a motorcycle and I can't eat these foods from you humans," Bumblebee said somewhat regretfully.
"Ha, Bumblebee, you don't have to feel bad, because we can't drink gasoline either. Only you can drink gasoline, and we can't," Nami consoled him.
Rody looked at Carmen with interest and said, "Do you still want to know the result?"
"No need." Looking at Sanji, who was taking a deep breath and lighting a cigarette, Carmen sighed helplessly and said, "I lost again!"
"I've been honing my cooking skills over the years just to keep up with you."
But it seems I forgot long ago that if you want to make truly delicious food, you have to take every ingredient seriously.
"This time you win, Sanji." Carmen's voice sounded somewhat dejected, and her face looked somewhat sad. Seeing such a dejected beauty's face, Sanji felt as if hundreds of sharp needles were piercing his heart. He wanted to comfort Carmen, but held back his impulses. After all, there was a Rody there. He was afraid that if he did anything, this lunatic would cut the entire Baratie Restaurant to pieces.
The next moment, Carmen's face became firm and fearless, and she said confidently:
"But don't get too excited too soon, because I'll follow Lord Rody and sail to the Grand Line to find the ALL BLUE that every chef in the world dreams of. I'll communicate and learn from more chefs. Then we can have another cooking competition.
I know you haven't forgotten ALL BLUE. This time I'm one step ahead, and you have to catch me quickly. Don't fall behind, Sanji, hahahahaha!"
Carmen flew up to the ceiling, spinning. Leo and Jose rushed to catch her, causing her to fall dizzy. Seeing Carmen, who had fainted again, Rody felt helpless: "Is this woman an idiot?"
"Looks like Chef Zeff's leg is safe."
"Yes, Chef Zeff won't have to walk on crutches anymore," the restaurant chefs smiled at Zeff.
"Mmm, "Shut up, idiots. Why don't you clean up the food left on the table?" Zeff shouted angrily and embarrassed.
"Okay, old man, I'll compensate you for those who ran away without paying. Let me try your food!" Rody said, looking at Zeff with a smile.
"Old man, ask all the chefs in the restaurant to prepare a portion of your specialties. I'll pay double for each dish!"
Soon, the chefs finished cleaning the restaurant and served Rody delicious dishes. After tasting them, Rody had to admit that this meal was, without a doubt, the most sumptuous and delicious he had tasted since coming to this world.
"Your cooking skills are really good, old man. I'm very satisfied today."
"I don't know when I'll be able to taste the food you cook again." Rody reached out to take the treasure bag Sebastian Tian had given him and placed it on the dining table. He turned around and left with everyone.
Carmen looked at Sanji before leaving and said reluctantly, "Come on, Sanji. See you next time. I won't lose to you again."
Sanji watched Rody's group leave while taking a deep drag on his cigarette. Zeff, from the faint glow in his pupils, could tell the brat was eager to get back to sea.
"You want to go, Sanji?" Zeff asked sarcastically to lighten the mood.
"Who wants to leave? You old bastard!" Sanji turned and headed to the kitchen to wash the dishes.
"Well, that guy's not the one you should be following," Zeff said, shaking his head as he watched Sanji's back. Honestly, Rody was too murderous. He knew Sanji well, and Rody's ship wasn't suitable for someone like Sanji.
…
ONE DAY LATER
After losing to Sanji in the cooking contest, Carmen felt a little depressed, but after trying the chefs' signature dishes at some restaurants in the East Blue,
she regained her usual enthusiasm and studied how to improve her cooking skills.
On the deck, Rody played with a Den Den Mushi confiscated from the Krieg Pirates. Den Den Mushi were alive and needed to be fed like animals. This was what Rody thought as he fed the Den Den Mushi with interest.
Rody knew that the most distinctive Den Den Mushi in the original work were those that people decorated according to their preferences, but he didn't know if this appearance changed on its own or if the user had to modify it according to their preferences.
Rody played with a pink Den Den Mushi that could communicate between islands. Among the types of Den Den Mushi that exist, the one that interests Roddy the most is the video Den Den Mushi.
for example:
Is the Den Den Mushi video projection in high definition? Can Den Den Mushi suffer from nearsightedness?
Can the projection continue even if the person suffers from nearsightedness? What does the projection look like after the nearsightedness?
All of this aroused Rody's interest.
Sebas Tian approached respectfully and, with a slight bow, said to Rody, who was playing with Den Den Mushi, "Mr. Rody, Loguetown is up ahead."
Hearing this, Rody looked ahead and glimpsed the island of the beginning, as it was known. He had already explored the entire East Blue, and there was nothing left to see. It was time to discover just how interesting the Grand Line was.