One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

"Is it possible that Blackbeard is Rocks' son? And is Shanks the son of that old bastard Grimm?"

"I don't know! Don't ask me anymore! It's so annoying! I still have to go to a meeting with Xiao He to prepare for the upcoming war. You should go back to your little girlfriend and stop bothering me!"

In the square, Luo Xia watched Zhan Guo's hurried departure, feeling quite displeased.

Those old guys from the Warring States period, one after another, all they know how to do is speak in riddles.

He claimed to know nothing when asked, whether he genuinely didn't know the secrets hidden within Blackbeard, or whether the matter was too complicated for him to handle.

In short, Rorschach got nothing out of the question and decided to give up. He turned around and went back to Akainu's house in Marineford.

From afar, he saw a pretty figure standing outside the courtyard waving in his direction.

"Brother Rorschach! Dinner's ready! I made your favorite sea king meat steak."

Rorschach's eyes lit up at the mention of sea king meat steak.

He rubbed his rumbling stomach and ran over quickly.

"Hibari, how did you know I was hungry?"

Rorschach instinctively reached out his hand, and Lark naturally reached out and took his outstretched hand.

The two entered the courtyard hand in hand, and Luo Xia saw a large round table in the courtyard filled with all kinds of delicious food, making his mouth water.

Lark said smugly, "You forgot that when I was a recruit at Marineford, I specialized in navigation. The distance from Marineford to Tassan Island, even just considering the straight-line distance, is over 500 miles. Brother Rorschach, you made the round trip, and you had to go through battles along the way, so you must have used up a lot of energy and of course you'd be hungry. So..."

"hateful!"

Rorschach suddenly choked up.

Yun Que asked, bewildered, "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong, Brother Luo Xia?"

"No, I'm just too touched. Such an understanding, gentle and considerate little lark is simply the ideal wife and mother I've always dreamed of."

Yun Que blushed shyly when she saw Luo Xia give her a thumbs-up.

Luo Xia couldn't stand the girl's blushing and shy appearance, so he immediately reached out and pulled Yun Que, who was blushing and burying her head, into his arms. Before she could react, he kissed her delicate face hard.

"This is my way of thanking you, please accept it."

He rubbed the lark's head vigorously, like petting a cat, before grabbing a large meat chop from the table and stuffing it into his mouth, then began to eat voraciously.

The lark, her face flushed red as if it were about to bleed, stood frozen in place, like a block of wood.

"Delicious!"

"It's just the most ordinary sea king meat steak, but it's become so delicious under your cooking, Hibari."

"The meat is crisp yet tender, with a juicy exterior and a crispy interior. You can't smell the aroma from a distance, but once you take a bite, the rich flavor of the meat explodes in your mouth, making your mouth water. The thin, crispy skin and the tender, juicy interior make it impossible to stop once you start eating. I just want to stay immersed in this ultimate deliciousness forever."

"Hibari, I think your cooking skills have completely surpassed Uncle Denor's. You are definitely the best chef in the Marine Headquarters."

Poor Lark, amidst Rorschach's surprise attack and subsequent barrage of praise, stood there like a wooden statue for over ten minutes, utterly ashamed.

When she finally managed to suppress her joy and shyness and mustered the courage to look up, she saw Luo Xia comfortably burping while rubbing his belly.

"Ok?"

Lark paused, then turned to look at the table in front of Rorschach.

Then she pouted in annoyance.

"Brother Luo Xia, you...you're bullying me again! I spent over an hour preparing this meal, and you ate it all without me even taking a bite!"

The large round table, which had previously been piled high with all sorts of delicious food, now only had a stack of empty plates left.

Luo Xia got up with a grin, took her little hand, and walked towards the kitchen with practiced ease.

"Isn't it because your cooking is so delicious, Hibari? I couldn't resist and ate it all without realizing it. Here, I'll make you some fried rice."

"Hmph, you said the same thing last time." Yun Que turned her head away angrily.

"Don't be angry, the fried rice is delicious."

A dozen minutes later, in the headquarters' high-level conference room.

"So, that's why you brought the fried rice to the conference room?"

Sengoku stared at Luo Xia, who was using a large spoon to distribute fried rice to everyone, with a dark expression on his face.

Lark was responsible for following him and distributing plates and chopsticks to everyone.

A plate and a pair of chopsticks were placed on the table in front of Sengoku by Hibari, whose face was slightly flushed. Then, Rorschach filled a large bowl of golden fried rice with a large ladle and poured it into Sengoku's plate.

Rorschach then filled the bowls in front of Garp, Aokiji, Vice Admiral Tsuru, and Brennan with a large bowl before putting down the empty iron pot.

Seeing that everyone in the conference room was looking at him strangely, Luo Xia remained calm and naturally pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Why are you all staring at me? Eat up, this fried rice is delicious, I cooked it myself. You guys are something else, having a meeting and not even eating. Thinking about all those worries without eating is a waste of your brain cells."

The Warring States period was speechless.

He readily picked up his chopsticks, grabbed the plate of fried rice, and started shoveling it into his mouth.

“Rorschach is right, let’s all eat. We need to eat before we have the energy to discuss things.”

Lieutenant General He chuckled and began to eat as well.

"It tastes good. I didn't know you had this skill, Rorschach. You can open a restaurant in Marineford after you retire." Aokiji took a big bite and ate with relish.

Brannew looked left and right, holding his chopsticks, a little embarrassed to start eating.

"What's wrong? Is it not to your liking, Brannew? Should I go and get you some other food?"

Luo Xia asked considerately.

Brannew was so frightened that he quickly waved his hands.

"No, no! I'm very satisfied! Lieutenant General Rorschach, I'll eat now."

After saying that, he buried his face in the fried rice in front of him and began to devour it.

While eating, they kept praising Luo Xia's cooking skills, making Luo Xia feel embarrassed.

Rorschach's interruption instantly dispelled the tense and solemn atmosphere in the conference hall.

Sengoku clearly sensed that everyone's tense spirits had relaxed considerably.

He glanced sideways at Luo Xia, who had a smile on his face, and snorted inwardly.

That bastard Luo Xia finally did something to ease his mind.

The fried rice was indeed delicious; after finishing a bowl, Zhan Guo was still somewhat unsatisfied.

"It smells so good! I can smell the fried rice from far away. Is there any more, little lark? I haven't eaten all day and I'm starving."

Karp's slightly hoarse voice came from outside the conference room.

"Grandpa Garp! We're out of fried rice, but I'll go make some more right now."

The lark hurriedly got up.

"Then I'll trouble you, little lark." Garp smiled and found a seat.

"I'll go help too."

Luo Xia picked up the large iron pot beside him and stood up.

Then, another ten minutes or so passed.

In the clean, brightly lit, and tidy high-class conference hall, Sengoku, Garp, Aokiji, and the others each had a large iron basin filled with fried rice in front of them.

The aroma of fried rice filled the entire conference hall, and everyone continued their discussion while eating heartily.

"First, we need to gather elite marines from all over the world. How should we select these elites? Secondly, we need to consider the security of the branches without elite personnel after the elites from all over the world are gathered by headquarters. Especially in the New World and Paradise, the risk of trouble will greatly increase if the branches are not guarded by mid-to-high-level combat forces."

Brannew looked at the documents in front of him and spoke in a serious and methodical manner.

He did not ask for more rice.

Although I wasn't full, everyone present was a big shot, and they could do whatever they wanted, so I still needed to know my place.

"To prepare for a battle against the world's top pirate crew, the marines participating in the battle must be at least lieutenants or above in the headquarters."

Zhan Guo shoveled a large mouthful of fried rice into his mouth and mumbled something indistinctly.

"The rank of lieutenant at headquarters is too low. Marines below the rank of colonel, unless they are New World marines who have been tested by a lot of war, do not actually have much combat power. I think it would be better to set the requirements at the rank of colonel and above, so as to face this war with an absolute advantage of elite troops."

Garp shoveled large mouthfuls of fried rice into his mouth, which didn't stop him from expressing his opinions at all.

"If the minimum requirement for participation in the war is set at the school level, where do you get the 100,000 elite troops you mentioned?"

Don't forget, the Whitebeard Pirates had at least 50,000 members. And that figure was from a year ago.

Since Charlotte Linlin died, many pirates who couldn't survive in Totto Land have gone to join Whitebeard.

According to our intelligence gathered in the New World, the Whitebeard Pirates now have a total of at least 60,000 members.

And this doesn't even include other new world powers that might join the war.

Lieutenant General Tsuru looked at the documents in his hand and spoke softly.

Luo Xia frowned slightly and tapped the table in front of him, drawing everyone's attention.

He looked at the puzzled Sengoku and the others.

"I say, whose idea was it to gather 100,000 elite troops and have a big battle in such a cramped place as Marineford?"

Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged glances, instinctively looking towards the Warring States period.

Sengoku blushed and coughed, saying, "So what if there are 100,000 elite troops? Didn't you hear what Xiaohe said? The Whitebeard Pirates have at least 60,000 members. To ensure the greatest possible victory, the more troops we gather, the better."

"So they crammed 100,000 people into this tiny place called Marineford, let Whitebeard wipe out 20,000 with a single air blast, and then had tens of thousands killed by the blast from our own top-tier combat power?"

Luo Xia looked at Sengoku like he was an idiot, making Sengoku lose face. He stiffened his neck and asked Luo Xia a question.

"Then tell me how to arrange it!"

Rorschach pushed aside the large stack of documents that Brannew handed him and looked at everyone present.

"I know Whitebeard is strong, and the Whitebeard Pirates are strong too. But if we have to make such a big fuss just to deal with one of the Four Emperors' crews, then our Navy, which claims to be the world's hegemon, is just too trashy."

"That's not how it works. Our main goal is to minimize the losses, and we also need to consider unexpected situations that might arise during the battle, such as other pirates coming to cause trouble."

Warring States interjected.

"Let me finish."