Late that night, one hour after the lights-out signal had blown.
Inside the Marine base kitchen.
Sizzle—
Large slabs of sea beast meat sizzled loudly on the high-temperature iron plate. The fat was rendered out, releasing a delicious, roasted aroma.
Aiden skillfully sprinkled spices and coarse salt over the meat. The rich scent of the meat instantly and aggressively filled the entire kitchen.
Aiden had just finished the first portion of "Thick-Sauce Sea Beast Rice."
The thick meat patties, seared to a golden-brown crisp, were sliced into bite-sized strips and layered over crystal-clear white rice. Then, he drizzled his special thick sauce over the top.
The sauce seeped through the texture of the meat and into the gaps between the grains of rice.
That captivating smell—a mix of meat, fat, and savory sauce—made Smoker's Adam's apple bob up and down frantically.
He couldn't wait and leaned in close.
However, he didn't start eating immediately. Instead, he picked up an empty food container next to him and clumsily started stuffing the freshly cooked meat and rice into it. His movements were extremely awkward.
"Hey, hey," Aiden glanced at him and couldn't help but tease. "You haven't even eaten yet, but you're packing a meal for someone else? Being this helpful... does Hina know?"
"Shut up!" Smoker's face turned bright red as he argued back stubbornly. "Hina... Hina is the one who came up with this plan! I obviously can't forget her contribution!"
As he spoke, he carefully closed the lid of the food container and pushed it to a safe spot.
"That woman nagged about this all day. If I don't bring her a portion, she'll annoy me to death tomorrow."
After finishing that, Smoker finally picked up his own portion. He sat down like a starving wolf, burying his face in the large bowl and making muffled, hungry noises.
Aiden smiled as he watched him eat like he had been starving for years.
He had actually thought about whether he should invite the "Golden Retriever" from next door to join them. After all, that guy seemed pretty nice.
But to his surprise, Rosinante had seriously declined. He said he thought the Marine cafeteria food was already delicious enough.
Seeing that, Aiden didn't push him.
"Just eat," Aiden laughed. He neatly placed the meat patties from the iron plate onto his own plate and sat down to eat as well.
His movements were polite, but he ate at an incredibly fast speed.
"Hmm, the heat was perfect," Aiden nodded with satisfaction.
He really had to thank that pirate who provided him with these cooking skills. Although he couldn't remember the pirate's name anymore, it was true that a chef who couldn't cook wasn't a good pirate.
"I wonder," Aiden thought as he cut a piece of meat. "That curly-browed kid who dreams of finding 'All Blue'... will his cooking skills in the future be as good as mine are now?"
The days of "hellish training by day, secret cooking by night" passed by in the blink of an eye. A month had gone by.
Under Zephyr's brutal drills, the entire recruit camp had completely transformed.
The physical strength and willpower of all the new recruits had been raised to an entirely new level.
Training for the "Six Powers" (Rokushiki) was now in full swing. Most people were still at the beginner stage—their "Soru" could only let them dash three to five meters, and their "Geppo" only allowed them to kick the air two or three times.
However, there were also those with extraordinary talent who had already mastered all Six Powers.
Shooting and swordsmanship were also mandatory daily classes.
Among them, the most popular class for all the male Marines was undoubtedly Commodore Gion's swordsmanship guidance.
This future Admiral candidate was both heroic and full of charm.
Even when she just casually swung her sword, her unique charm—a mix of faint perfume and the scent of steel—was enough to make these hormone-filled recruits turn red in the face.
A few fearless guys would even get into fistfights just to grab a front-row spot to be "guided" (or rather, beaten up) by her.
Meanwhile, the "Midnight Cafeteria" trio had long since established a perfect, unspoken routine.
Hina used her sharp mind to map out the logistics and intelligence network. She knew everything from the patrol schedules to the inventory of high-grade ingredients. She even knew exactly which piece of meat was meant for which officer.
Smoker acted as the group's security guard and porter. He used his Smoke-Smoke Fruit powers to cover Aiden's movements and carried the ingredients back.
And Aiden was the absolute core and soul of the group. Using his irresistible cooking, he had completely won over these two future pillars of the Marines.
It was another night with a whistling cold wind.
Inside the kitchen, however, it was steaming hot and as warm as spring.
Aiden and Smoker were sitting in front of a simple stove.
On the stove was a huge, deep iron pot. This was Aiden's creative meal for the night—Hotpot.
In the pot was a soup base that Aiden had brewed using sea beast bones and his own secret spices. Right now, it was boiling violently.
The surface of the soup was bright red, with countless dried chilies, peppercorns, and spices floating in it.
The aggressive, spicy, and numbing aroma mixed with the rich scent of beef tallow. It created a storm of flavor that felt almost solid. Just smelling it was enough to make one's pores open up and mouth water uncontrollably!
On the table in front of them, there was a mountain of sliced top-grade sea beast meat "borrowed" from the cold storage. The snowflake-like marble texture was clearly visible.
There were also neatly rolled meat slices, various washed vegetables, and fresh seafood caught that day.
"Hah—!"
Smoker was shirtless. He took a big gulp of sake "borrowed" from the head chef.
The steam from the pot made him huff from the heat, and his face was flushed with pure satisfaction.
"So good!" He used his chopsticks to grab a large bunch of meat slices soaked in the spicy soup. He stuffed them into his mouth and spoke while chewing. "Seriously, Aiden, I feel like your skills... have gotten even better."
He gestured with his hands. "A month ago, the rice bowls you made were already the most delicious thing on earth. But how can this hotpot... be this good?!"
"Really?" Aiden slowly swished a meat slice in the soup and also took a sip of alcohol. "I think it's just that tonight's ingredients are especially good."
"No, no, no," Smoker shook his head with a rare serious look. "The ingredients are good, but your skills have definitely improved... Do you even push yourself this hard in cooking?"
After living together for a month, Smoker's initial guard against Aiden was gone. Although he was still sharp-tongued, he truly considered Aiden a friend.
"Seriously, Aiden," Smoker looked at him sideways. "You really are like a monster. The amount you eat every night could last me three days. How do you have no body fat at all? And... I feel like you're getting stronger and stronger."
Aiden heard this but didn't say a word. He quietly glanced at the system panel that only he could see.
Character Status
Name: Aiden
Age: 16
Rank: Sergeant
Physical: Advanced
Talents: Voice of All Things, Life Return
Skills: * Swordsmanship (Master)
Marksmanship (Master)
Six Powers / Rokushiki (Advanced)
Stealth (Advanced)
Combat Techniques (Master)
Cooking (Master)
Navigation (Advanced)
Haki: * Observation / Kenbunshoku (Peak)
Armament / Busoshoku (Master)
Sin Points: 180,237
Equipment: Skillful Grade Blade x1, Fine Firearm x1, Storage Ring, Small Weather Jug
The "Small Weather Jug" was an item the system had refreshed last month. It wasn't expensive, but the effect was interesting—it could change the weather within a one-kilometer radius.
Aiden thought it might be useful in the future, so he bought it.
The training for the Six Powers over the past month had been difficult for others, but it was zero effort for Aiden.
With his superior physique and his Peak-level Observation Haki, he mastered all six techniques to the Advanced level almost as soon as he touched them.
And Life Return was a top body control technique that naturally developed once a person reached a high level of training in the Six Powers.
Why do I eat so much? he thought to himself. It's because I can use Life Return to perfectly convert everything I eat into energy and stamina storage...
"I guess... I just have a good metabolism," Aiden said casually to brush him off.
"Tch." Smoker obviously didn't believe him, but he didn't ask more. He just raised his glass. "Whatever! Come on, a toast to our great Head Chef Aiden!"
"To our endless supply of ingredients," Aiden laughed and raised his glass too.
Just as their glasses were about to clink in the air—
"Who is there?!"
A crisp, pleasant, yet very authoritative female voice suddenly rang out from the shadows of the kitchen entrance!
The drunken look on Smoker's face vanished instantly. The glass he had just raised fell into the pot with a loud splash.
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