A cook, vice-captain of the Rocks Pirates?

The happiest person on the ship was undoubtedly Dorlum.

Like a patient who had a terminal illness but was suddenly cured, he stroked every smooth instrument panel on the bridge, kissed the rudder that gleamed with metallic luster, and kept muttering to himself.

"Perfect keel counterweight... seamless welded alloy armor... dual-core power reactor plus wind-driven jet system... God, I feel like I could drive it straight up to the Red Line!"

His dazed expression gave Gatz goosebumps.

Chapter 45 The Strange Sea

Rocks stood at the bow of the ship, facing the sea breeze and looking down at the white waves torn apart by the warship, his face showing undisguised arrogance and satisfaction.

This ship is the true vessel that can carry his ambitions.

"captain."

Raine's voice came from behind.

Lockes turned around and saw Ryan standing behind him, holding a menu.

"The equipment in the new kitchen has been tested and debugged."

There was a hint of barely perceptible excitement in Raine's tone: "To celebrate the housewarming, tonight's menu is a feast for the conquerors."

Lox raised an eyebrow: "Oh? How domineering?"

"The main course is the entire spine of an A5-grade armored bull from the G-5 icehouse, grilled at the temperature of volcanic rock and then drizzled with a sauce made from the century-old rum and thirty spices from that place. I call it the King's Spine."

"The soup is made by simmering seven kinds of top-quality seafood, including snow crab, deep-sea lobster, and iridescent clams, together with the head of the bluefin tuna from before, and using the Milky Way Ink to enhance the flavor of the soup."

"There's also Rainbow Paradise Island, a dessert made with Lingling's favorite glowing berries and Sky Island honey."

With each dish that Ryan named, Locke's Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.

He knew this was more than just a celebratory dinner; it was a declaration of Ryan's superb culinary skills on this brand-new stage.

That evening, an extremely luxurious banquet was held in the warship's spacious restaurant.

When the King's Spine, cast in gold and exuding a deadly aroma, was brought to the table, and when the pot of seven-colored broth, brimming with umami and seemingly containing the entire ocean, was unveiled, everyone went wild.

With the combined benefits of the essence of food and top-quality ingredients, streams of energy, purer and more abundant than ever before, flow into everyone's body.

They instantly replenished the physical strength they had expended in the G-5 battle, and even felt that their power, catalyzed by the battle and the delicious food, had broken free of its cocoon again, reaching a completely new level.

Of course, Ryan's experience points also increased rapidly, although he was still a long way from advancing to the next level of cooking skills.

At the end of the banquet, Lox raised his glass, his gaze sweeping over each of his companions.

"We have the world's strongest ship, the world's best chef, and..."

He paused, then grinned: "A bunch of the most lawless bastards in the world!"

"My lords! Cheers to our new home, to the great empire we are about to embark on!"

"cheers!"

……

At the same time, Marine Headquarters, Marinevando.

The atmosphere in the marshal's office was so heavy it could drip water.

Fleet Admiral Kong slammed a newly arrived urgent intelligence report onto the table with a loud bang.

"Bastard!"

His roar made the whole office buzz.

"G-5 Fortress fell within three hours! Commander Bastel is seriously injured and unconscious! Most importantly... the Navy's top secret, the latest experimental warship, the Behemoth, designed with Dr. Vegapunk's assistance, has been stolen by a group of pirates!"

Standing opposite him was a young man in a white suit, with a rice cracker in his mouth and a nonchalant expression.

He was none other than the future naval hero, Monkey D. Garp.

"Reporting to the Marshal, according to the survivors' descriptions, the captain of that group of pirates was a man named Rocks."

Garp munched on a senbei cracker and mumbled something indistinctly.

"Moreover, their ship also has a huge woman who can control fire and lightning, and a white-bearded man who can shatter space."

"Rox...it's Rox again!"

Steel Bone Sky's fists clenched so tightly they cracked. He stared at the photo of the man laughing wildly in the intelligence report, his eyes flashing with an unprecedented killing intent.

He knew that an unprecedented era of terror, capable of shaking the rule of world governments, had officially begun, accompanied by the stolen behemoth.

On the vast ocean, the jet-black warship named Beast is carrying a group of future sea rulers, braving the storm, and setting sail headlong towards the new world...

On the sixteenth day of their voyage, the Behemoth entered a strange sea area.

There was no wind, the sea was as smooth as a mirror, but the sky was shrouded in a thick, leaden-gray fog, with visibility less than ten meters.

The surroundings were deathly silent; there were no cries of seabirds, no movement of fish, as if one had stepped into the graveyard of the world.

"Something's not right about this place."

Gatz, carrying the anchor, looked around warily. He felt an uncomfortable, sticky dampness in the air.

Dorum gripped the helm tightly, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"The record pointer has malfunctioned, and the magnetic field here is completely chaotic! It's like we're trapped in an airtight box!"

Just as everyone was on guard, Silver on the lookout tower suddenly spoke, his voice as calm as ever, yet carrying a hint of barely perceptible gravity.

"A ship has been spotted directly ahead."

Everyone perked up and looked toward the bow of the ship.

In the thick fog, a blurry black dot slowly emerged and gradually became clearer.

It wasn't a big ship; it was just an ordinary-looking, small, single-masted fishing boat.

A man sat at the bow of the boat, holding a simple fishing rod, fishing leisurely, seemingly oblivious to the strange surroundings.

He was wearing a faded linen jacket, his hair was tied messily at the back of his head, he had stubble on his chin, and a huge gourd of wine hung from his waist.

He looked like the most down-on-his-luck fisherman, but both Rocks and Newgate's eyes darkened at the same time.

They could sense that the seemingly ordinary man possessed a terrifying power within him, as restrained as an abyss yet as explosive as a volcano ready to erupt at any moment.

That wasn't murderous intent, but a pure, unadorned power that had been forged through countless trials and tribulations.

Hey! You boat in front! Who are you?!

Gatz shouted at the top of his lungs, trying to dispel his unease with volume.

Upon hearing the sound, the man lazily raised his head, revealing an ordinary, even somewhat dejected face.

He seemed to have just woken up, yawned, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and then his gaze swept over the massive hull of the Beast before finally settling on the kitchen chimney.

He sniffed hard, and his eyes suddenly lit up. The sharp glint in his eyes contrasted sharply with his dejected demeanor.

"It smells so good..."

He muttered to himself, then stood up abruptly, put away his fishing rod, and gave Lox and the others a simple, honest smile.

"Um... brothers, could you please do me a favor and ask for some food? I've been lost in this godforsaken place for days, and I've run out of the food I brought."

Gatz and Dorum exchanged bewildered glances. Was this guy out of his mind?

Upon seeing a massive, dark ship in this eerie sea, clearly not a friendly vessel, the first reaction is not to run away, but to beg for food.

Chapter 46 Wang Zhi

Lockes looked at him with interest, but said nothing.

Just then, a deafening roar came from the seabed, and the calm sea surface exploded!

A sea monster, over a hundred meters long, resembling a giant python, with a ferocious single horn on its head, burst out of the water, opened its blood-red maw, and devoured the fragile fishing boat!

"careful!"

Gatz exclaimed in surprise.

However, the man didn't even turn his head; he simply waved his hand impatiently, as if shooing away an annoying fly.

There was no deafening roar, nor any earth-shattering shockwave.

An invisible, extremely refined slash flashed past the simple fishing rod in his hand.

The next second, the massive body of the arrogant sea king suddenly stiffened, and then it split neatly in two from head to tail.

The incision was as smooth as a mirror, and the blood and internal organs burst open with a bang after a delay of a fraction of a second, staining the surrounding sea surface blood red.

one strike.

Instant kill.

A deathly silence fell over the deck of the Beast.

Gatz's mouth was wide open enough to fit a dinosaur egg, and he didn't even notice the blueprints in Dorum's hand fluttering to the ground.

Even the usually composed Silver tightened his grip on the spear slightly.

A hint of seriousness appeared in Newgate's usually somewhat languid eyes.

"Gurarararar... What an interesting fellow."

The playfulness on Lockes' face vanished, replaced by excitement.

The man acted as if he had done something insignificant. He glanced at the sea king he had split in two and shook his head regretfully: "What a pity, the flesh is too tough and has a fishy smell. It's not tasty."

Then, he turned his gaze back to the behemoth, his smile growing even brighter, even carrying a hint of ingratiation.

"Um... brothers, can we get some food now? I smell meat on your ship, it smells like... roasted pork leg marinated in honey?"

His words shocked the Rocks Pirates once again.

The roasted pork leg was made by Raine yesterday, using pork captured from G-5, and infused with honey from the Sky Island and a type of Flame Flower that can only be found on certain islands.

Most importantly, they were still at least several hundred meters away from the fishing boat, separated by thick fog. Did this guy have a dog's nose?!

"What's your name?"

Lockes spoke, his voice carrying a barely perceptible hint of appreciation.

The man scratched his messy hair and smiled憨厚ly, "My name is Wang Zhi."

"Wang Zhi?"

As Lox read the name aloud, he suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Alright! Wang Zhi! You can have food, but only if you can take one punch from me!"

Before he finished speaking, Rocks' figure had already disappeared from the bow of the ship. The next second, he appeared in front of Wang Zhi's small fishing boat and threw a heavy punch wrapped in Conqueror's Haki straight at Wang Zhi's face!

Faced with this earth-shattering punch, Wang Zhi's simple smile vanished instantly.

He neither dodged nor avoided the punch, but met it head-on with his own.

There were no weapons, no Devil Fruit abilities, just a clash of pure Haki and power.

boom!

The two fists collided in mid-air, instantly tearing open a huge hole in the surrounding thick fog, and pressing a bottomless whirlpool into the sea beneath their feet.

The small fishing boat was reduced to dust the moment it collided with the object.

Wang Zhi's figure flew backward, taking seven steps on the sea surface, each step causing the sea to explode, before finally stabilizing himself.

Rocks was also shaken and forced to take a half step back.

Wang Zhi shook his slightly numb fist, looked at Lockes, and his eyes flashed with an astonishing fighting spirit: "You're strong! But, can you let me eat something before we fight? I'm starving."

Lox stared at this powerful figure with his peculiar style for a moment, then burst into another earth-shattering laugh.

"Hahaha! This is interesting! This is so interesting! Ryan! Let's eat! Prepare the most luxurious feast for our new partner!"

Wang Zhi finally got his wish and boarded the Beast.

The first thing he did after boarding the ship was not to continue his unfinished duel with Rocks, but to head straight to the kitchen.

When Raine placed a steaming bowl of flaming honey roasted pork leg rice, drizzled with a secret sauce, in front of him, the powerful man who had just displayed the demeanor of a grandmaster instantly transformed into a wild beast that hadn't eaten for three days and three nights.

He devoured the food, leaving the plate spotless, and finally let out a long, satisfied burp, exclaiming sincerely, "Delicious! This is the best pork rice I've ever eaten in my life!"