A cook, vice-captain of the Rocks Pirates?

Gatz felt his pent-up rage subside, and his power became more solid and controllable.

Silver felt a closer connection to his surroundings; the silence was no longer simply a matter of concealment, but a state of near-control.

"Gurgle! That's great! After a fight, having a meal like this is one of life's greatest pleasures!"

Newgate downed the large bowl of soup in one gulp and exclaimed with satisfaction.

Just as everyone was enjoying the feast of victory, a newsbird flapped its wings and flew in through the blasted-open skylight of the fortress, dropping a copy of the latest newspaper onto the table.

Silver picked up the newspaper, glanced at it, and handed it to Locke.

The front page of the newspaper featured a desolate photo of the G-8 fortress billowing thick smoke.

Below the photo are several crooked portraits, clearly hastily taken.

Lox, Newgate, Gats, Silver, Dorrum, and... a child carrying a food box with a blank expression.

The headline was written in the most eye-catching and sensational font:

[Shocking! The rookie pirate crew Rocks captures the unyielding fortress G-8 in a single day! A disgrace to the Navy!]

Rocks looked at the newspaper, then at the bounty of 150 million Berries marked below his own photo, and a smug smile spread across his face.

"Hahaha! Looks like we're famous now, guys!"

……

The fall of G-8 Fortress was like a bombshell, creating towering waves on the calm seas of the world.

The message was relayed back to Marineford at top speed.

The atmosphere in the marshal's office was so heavy it was almost palpable. The then-marshal, an elderly man with a goatee and sharp eyes, slammed the report in his hand heavily on the table with a loud bang.

"Bastard!"

His roar made the whole office buzz.

"G-8! The so-called invincible steel fortress! Stationed with tens of thousands of elite troops and hundreds of heavy cannons! It was actually breached in a single day by a rookie pirate crew that we'd never heard of before?! Where is that good-for-nothing Will?! Where is he?!"

Standing opposite him was a young man in a white suit, wearing a cloak of justice, with a somewhat cynical look on his face.

With a rice cracker dangling from his mouth, crunching away, he was none other than Monkey D. Garp, the future naval hero who would dominate the seas.

"Reporting to the Marshal."

Karp mumbled, "According to the report from the soldiers who escaped, Lieutenant General Will was flicked away with a finger and is still stuck in the wall. It is said that he is not in any life-threatening danger, but his self-esteem has been devastated."

"One finger?!"

The marshal's eyes widened even more.

"Garp! Are you kidding me?!"

"I'm not joking."

Garp's expression also turned serious, and he swallowed the senbei in his mouth.

"That Captain Rocks and that man Edward Newgate are monsters among monsters."

"Moreover, their crew members were no pushovers either. According to the description, their strength increased inexplicably during the siege, almost as if... as if they were possessed by something."

The marshal fell silent, his brow furrowed as he looked at the newly updated bounty posters on the intelligence report.

Rocks D. Giebeck, 150 million Berries.

Edward Newgate, 120 million Berry.

The giant anchor Gatz, thirty-five million peles.

Silver the Ghost, 30 million Berries.

Iron Wall Dolum, 15 million peles.

There was another thing that he couldn't understand the most.

Gourmet Raine, bounty of 5 million Berries. Note: This person is extremely dangerous and is suspected of possessing some kind of Devil Fruit ability that can enhance his companions through cooking. The photo shows a child carrying a food box.

"Strengthen your companions through cooking..."

The marshal muttered to himself, "When did such a strange ability appear on this vast sea?"

Chapter 36 White Storm

The other side of the world, the new world.

On a massive, whale-shaped pirate ship, a tall, blond-haired, and imposing man was reading a newspaper and letting out a hearty laugh.

"Roger! Come quick! There are some interesting fellows out on the high seas!"

A man wearing a straw hat and a confident smile approached. He looked at Rocks in the newspaper, and his eyes instantly sharpened.

“Rocks D. Giebeck… I’ll remember that name.”

In an instant, the world's attention was focused on the Rocks Pirates, who had just stepped onto the stage and announced their arrival in the most flamboyant and domineering way.

Meanwhile, the main characters of the incident had already set sail and left the G-8 fortress that they had turned upside down.

The ship has been urgently modified by Dorum using materials he had captured, and it is now completely new.

Not only were several heavy cannons added, but the hull was also covered with a thick layer of alloy armor, making it look like a steel hedgehog armed to the teeth.

Inside the cabin, everyone was excitedly gathered around the newspaper with their own bounty posters printed on it.

"Hahaha! Thirty-five million! I'm a big shot now!"

Gatz held up the newspaper, grinning from ear to ear.

"Iron Wall Dorum... Hmm, I like that nickname."

Dorum stroked his beard with satisfaction.

Only Raine, looking at the somewhat blurry photo of himself carrying a food box, along with the title of "gourmet" below, showed a hint of helplessness on his usually calm face.

"Captain, where are we going next?"

Silver finished organizing the intelligence files and looked at Lockes.

The G-8 battle, while bringing them great fame, also meant they would become a thorn in the side of the World Government and the Navy, making their upcoming voyage even more dangerous.

Locke tossed the newspaper aside, his face showing no satisfaction, but rather a burning ambition.

"G-8 is just the beginning, a megaphone to tell the world we're here."

Lox laughed and said, "It's time to leave, my men, let's go!"

With Rocks's command, the Rocks Pirates turned their ship around again and left the area.

After leaving the G-8 branch area, the weather on the Grand Line became increasingly unpredictable.

One moment the sun is blazing, the next a storm could break out.

But after Dorum's radical modifications, the new Locks, equipped with alloy armor and heavy cannons, was no longer the dilapidated ship that could fall apart at any moment.

Like a rampaging steel beast, it easily tore through giant waves and moved forward steadily.

Life on the ship was exceptionally pleasant thanks to ample supplies and the presence of Renn.

Gatz's favorite thing to do every day is to pester Newgate to do his spiritual practice.

Although Newgate could pin him to the ground with just one finger every time, he never tired of it.

Under Newgate's guidance, he became increasingly adept at using his strength, and his punches even carried a faint aftershock.

Silver often engaged in a battle of breaths with Rocks.

He tried to find a weakness in Rocks's aura, which was as terrifying as an abyss, which allowed his Observation Haki and stealth skills to improve at an astonishing rate.

Meanwhile, Ryan was studying the standard naval recipes captured from G-8 and ruthlessly modifying them.

Using the most ordinary ingredients, through ingenious combinations and the secret enhancement of an endless supply of seasoning bottles, he created incredible functional dishes such as combat biscuits that could increase leg strength by 30% and seaweed soup that could temporarily improve night vision.

This deepened the crew's awe of their head chef to an even higher level.

In their eyes, Renn was no longer a chef, but an alchemist in chef's clothes.

On the tenth day of the voyage, as we passed through a sea area, the sky was shrouded in thick, leaden thunderclouds, and daytime was like dusk.

The air was filled with a damp, burnt smell with an ionized odor.

Streaks of lightning, like silver snakes, streaked through the distant clouds, occasionally illuminating the sea in a ghastly white light, followed by muffled thunderclaps that sent shivers down one's spine.

"Hold on tight!"

Dorum roared at the top of his lungs, clinging tightly to the rudder, battling the increasingly raging waves.

Just then, a massive storm of unprecedented scale and without warning suddenly descended!

The sky and the sea seemed to be connected in an instant.

The torrential rain poured down like a celestial river overflowing its banks, instantly blurring everyone's vision.

Giant waves, tens of meters high, crashed against the ship like moving mountains, emitting a sickening groan.

"Damn it! It's the White Storm! The legendary natural disaster of the Grand Line!"

As Dorum looked at the massive waves crashing down like a white wall, despair appeared on his face for the first time.

"Gurarararar! Interesting!"

Newgate was not surprised but delighted. He walked to the bow of the ship and punched the giant wave in front of him.

"Air shock!"

An invisible shockwave spread out, and the enormous wave, which was powerful enough to swallow everything, was forced open with a huge gap, allowing the ship to pass through unscathed.

Rocks used his gravitational abilities to stabilize the ship, preventing it from capsizing in the raging currents.

Just as everyone was working together to fight the natural disaster, a figure that should never have been there suddenly entered their field of vision.

At the heart of the storm, a woman stood atop a massive, island-like pink object.

She was a very beautiful woman with a great figure, but she was exceptionally tall, even half a head taller than Gatz.

She had long, fluffy pink hair, and at that moment she was grinning, revealing a set of white teeth, her eyes gleaming with excitement and greed.

She carried a huge spiked mace on her shoulder.

The pink object beneath her feet seemed to be some kind of living cloud, carrying her through the storm as if walking on flat ground.

"Then...what is that?!"

Gatz looked at the woman laughing loudly amidst the lightning and felt his worldview being challenged once again.

The woman had clearly noticed them too; she licked her lips, her huge eyes gleaming with the light of someone seeing a new toy.

She commanded the clouds beneath her feet, ignoring the raging storm, and flew straight toward Lox's ship.

boom!

Her massive body landed heavily on the deck, causing the entire ship to lurch downwards.

"You guys... look quite interesting!"

The woman's voice was loud and sharp, carrying an undeniable air of willfulness.

"This ship, and the food on board, are mine from this moment on!"

Carrying her spiked club, she scanned everyone on the ship, her gaze finally settling on Lox and Newgate, her eyes gleaming with even greater greed.

"And you two look very strong, perfect for my collection!"

Both Rocks and Newgate's expressions darkened.

They sensed a powerful and chaotic aura emanating from this suddenly appearing woman, an aura no less formidable than their own.

This is a monster of the same level.

"Hey, woman."

Lox spoke slowly, his voice icy.

"Are you giving orders to my crew and property?"

The air seemed colder than the surrounding storm at that moment.

The woman grinned, revealing a naive yet cruel smile.