[A/N: I want to make big chapter but it is basically impossible when you have fun]
Chapter 62 – "A Pinch of Chaos, A Dash of Fire"
**Sunny's POV**
The smell of sizzling butter, grilled fish, and a dozen exotic spices wove through Loguetown's central market like an invisible net, snaring every hungry soul within a three-block radius. The crowd was *massive*: a roaring, laughing, flag-waving, pan-clanging sea of people crammed shoulder-to-shoulder around a makeshift outdoor arena. Children perched on parents' shoulders, waving paper fans with Sanji's face crudely doodled on them. A group of Marines in the back row looked torn between duty and drooling. Somewhere, a street band had started an impromptu drum solo using overturned buckets. One guy had a tattoo of Sanji's swirling eyebrow on his bicep. Commitment.
And right at the blazing heart of it all… stood **Sanji**.
Sleeves rolled to his elbows, cigarette dangling like a fuse, eyes narrowed with the intensity of a man who'd just declared war on flavor itself. Flames licked the edges of his portable stove, reflecting in his polished shoes. He flipped a fillet with the grace of a dancer.
Beside him, **Nojiko** adjusted her navy-blue apron (tiny tangerine prints, because of course), calm and graceful like a goddess of flavor who'd decided to slum it with mortals for the afternoon. Her blue hair shimmered under the midday sun, catching light like the sea at noon. She diced herbs with a rhythm that could put metronomes to shame.
"Oi, oi, Sunny," **Aqua** whispered beside me, tilting her head with the boredom of someone who could literally *summon* dinner from the ocean in two seconds flat. "They're taking this cooking thing *way* too seriously. It's just fish. I could have a school of tuna doing backflips through the harbor right now. UmU~"
I chuckled, leaning against a barrel of pickled radishes. "You could, but where's the *drama* in that? No crowd, no flames, no Sanji yelling about love."
**Lucy**, however, was practically vibrating over the counter, eyes gleaming like a kid who'd discovered the world's biggest candy store. "No, no, Aqua, this is *important*! Cooking battles are *sacred*! Food is passion! Pride! Flames of the soul! The sizzle is the heartbeat of the universe!"
I blinked. "Lucy… you once burned *instant ramen* so badly it achieved sentience and tried to escape the pot."
Her jaw dropped in theatrical betrayal. "That was a *tactical error*! The stove was possessed! Also, the noodles were clearly in cahoots with the smoke alarm!"
Aqua snorted so hard she nearly inhaled her own hair. "Possessed stove. Sure. Next you'll say the soy sauce staged a coup."
"Don't give it ideas," Lucy hissed, clutching her straw hat like a shield.
Nojiko glanced over crowd (me)— and her knife slipped, sending a carrot flying into Sanji's forehead with a *thunk*. "Focus, partner!" Sanji yelped, rubbing the spot.
Nojiko's face went *nuclear*. "S-Sorry! I was… distracted!"
Her eyes darted to me. I waved. She squeaked, dropped her ladle, and *accidentally* set off the fire alarm with a splash of hot oil.
{ego}: *Someone's got it bad.*
[system]: UmU~ Nojiko.exe has stopped working. Reboot with tangerine juice~♡
---
**🍳 The Great Loguetown Cooking Contest! 🍳** **Host: The Legendary Chef Carmen**
**Prize: The Grand Bluefin Firefish!** *(A species so rare, it glows red when angry, tastes like heaven, and allegedly grants the winner "eternal culinary luck.")*
---
**Usopp** had somehow commandeered the announcer's stage, standing on a crate with a microphone the size of his torso and a pirate hat three sizes too big. It kept sliding over his eyes, but he powered through like a trooper.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, AND THOSE WHO HAVEN'T EATEN YET—WELCOME TO THE GREATEST COOK-OFF IN EAST BLUE HISTORY!"
His voice cracked mid-sentence like a teenager's, but the crowd roared anyway, waving signs that read *"MARRY ME SANJI"* and *"FOR THE QUEEN NOJIKO "*. One guy in the front row had a tattoo of Sanji's swirling eyebrow on his bicep. Commitment.
"On the left," Usopp bellowed, sweeping an arm dramatically, "we have the one and only **BLACK-LEGGED SANJI**, fighting for love, flavor, and the smiles of all beautiful women!"
Sanji twirled his knife like a baton, catching it behind his back. "—And **Nojiko**," he added quickly, shooting her a *purely platonic* grin. "My *sister-in-arms* in the kitchen, the tangerine-scented *genius* who—"
Nojiko sweatdropped, flicking a parsley leaf at his forehead. "Just don't burn the sauce again, *colleague*."
"NEVER!" Sanji declared, clutching his chest like she'd stabbed him. "My sauce is *perfect*! Like my *Love* for you—*eternal*!"
Usopp pointed to the right with flair. "And in *this* corner—**CARMEN**! The Iron Chef of Loguetown! She's cooked fish so good, even the *Marines* beg for leftovers! Rumor has it her secret ingredient is the tears of defeated rivals!"
Carmen—a towering woman with a chef's hat shaped like a flaming volcano—flipped her pan dramatically. A pillar of fire erupted behind her like a special effect. "Prepare yourself, curly-brow! Today, you lose your pride, your fish, *and* your dignity!"
Sanji's eye twitched. "Lady, the only thing burning today is *your* chances."
The crowd *oohed*.
---
**Cut to: The Other Side of the Market**
Lucy, Aqua, and I were still crammed at the front of the crowd—Lucy on tiptoes, Aqua floating an inch off the ground because "heels are for mortals," and me trying not to get crushed by a very enthusiastic grandma waving a "SANJI 4EVER" flag.
That's when the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. A faint tingle—like someone's gaze was *glued* to my spine with industrial-strength adhesive.
Aqua's expression shifted instantly, her lazy smirk vanishing. "Someone's watching. And not in the *'I-admire-your-handsome-face'* way. More like *'I'm-about-to-ruin-your-day'* way."
Lucy turned her head slowly, plastering on a sweet, terrifying smile. "Oh, really? Maybe it's another fangirl of Sunny~ UmU~" She batted her eyelashes at a random passerby, who promptly dropped his takoyaki.
I sighed, rubbing my temple. "Lucy, I'm telling you, ever since that 'Cutest Man on the Sea' bounty, people stare weirdly at me. Yesterday a kid asked for my *autograph on his sandwich*."
"Can you blame them?" Aqua teased, leaning in so close her breath tickled my ear. "You *do* have a face that could crash economies. And start religions. And—"
Before I could retort (or blush myself into a coma), the crowd suddenly *parted* like the Red Line itself had rolled through.
A familiar voice barked, "You three! **Stop right there!**"
Striding through the gap was a tall woman with glasses, short brown hair, and a glare that could slice bread. Marine swordswoman. Justice-obsessed. Terrifyingly earnest.
**Tashigi.**
She pointed her blade *directly* at my nose. "You're part of the Straw Hat crew! You're under arrest for—"
Lucy cut her off with the innocence of a kitten. "For being too cute?"
Even Aqua snorted, covering her mouth. "Oh, she walked *right* into that one."
Tashigi flushed crimson, steam practically whistling from her ears. "N-No! For—**stop mocking the law!** Property damage! Public disturbance! And—" She faltered, glancing at the crowd now filming with den-den mushi. "—and *excessive adorableness in a restricted zone!*"
Lucy leaned toward me, whispering loud enough for half the market to hear, "Sunny, can I… tease her a bit more?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"…UmU…"
---
**Meanwhile, Back on the Stage**
Nojiko's knife slipped *again*. This time, it launched a cherry tomato straight into Sanji's eye.
"GAH! MY VISION!"
"Focus, *partner*!" Nojiko squeaked, her face now the color of the tomato.
"I—I mean, *teammate* Stop flirting with the fish! Sanji blinked the tomato juice away.
"I'm not flirting! I'm *seducing* the flavor!"
Usopp (voice cracking again): "Wha—wait, are those *Marines* chasing Sunny again!?"
The crowd gasped in unison as they noticed Smoker's smoke cloud billowing in from the left and Lucy's shouting from the right. Carmen's flame erupted sky-high like a volcano; Sanji's sauce splattered dramatically across the counter; Nojiko ducked just in time as a pan flew overhead like a frisbee.
"FOCUS, SANJI!" she yelled, grabbing a ladle like a weapon. "I *AM* FOCUSED! I'M COOKING UNDER PRESSURE!" "THEN TURN OFF THE FIRE!"
"I CAN'T! IT'S THE *PASSION*! THE *SOUL*! THE—"
Aqua (yelling from across the plaza): "UmU! He's literally going to burn down Loguetown!"
Sanji (tears in his eyes): "IT'S CALLED *FLAMBÉ*, YOU HEATHENS!"
Nojiko glanced at me again. Her eyes widened. She *tripped* over her own apron strings, faceplanted into a bowl of batter, and came up with a perfect mustache of flour.
The crowd *lost it*.
{ego}: *She's in love and she's DYING.*
[system]: UmU~ Nojiko's heart rate: 180 bpm. Cause: Sunny's face. Solution: tangerine-flavored CPR~♡
---
The chaos hit critical mass when Lucy—ever the strategist—*jumped* onto the execution platform to avoid Smoker's reach, yanking me and Aqua up with her like we were luggage.
"Lucy, what are you—"
"Strategic advantage!" she grinned, striking a pose. "Also, *great view*! UmU~"
Aqua facepalmed so hard it echoed. "We're literally standing on the spot where the *Pirate King died*."
Lucy blinked. "Oh. Oops." She waved cheerfully at the crowd below. "Hi, history!"
Smoker's smoke rose higher, wrapping around the platform like ghostly vines. "End of the line, Straw Hats."
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Guess Loguetown isn't as peaceful as I thought."
Lucy smiled wickedly, cracking her knuckles. "At least it's never boring."
Aqua smirked, water condensing around her fingers like liquid diamonds. "Want me to drown him?"
"No, no drowning. Yet."
"Yet?"
"…UmU~