A cook, vice-captain of the Rocks Pirates?

No one mentioned the captain's position anymore, and no one clamored to conquer the world.

That bowl of porridge allowed them to temporarily escape the shadow of Rocks' death and the uncertainty about the future, forcing them to confront their deepest desires and pain.

Lingling sat in the corner, hugging her knees. Her face, which always wore a greedy and willful smile, now revealed a rare vulnerability.

She thought of the nun, of Elbaf, and of the warmth she thought she had long forgotten, the warmth of family.

But soon, that vulnerability was replaced by an even stronger ambition.

She looked up at Raine, her eyes filled with complex emotions: "Kid, your cooking... is really quite good."

This was the first time she had genuinely praised Ryan.

"but."

Lingling stood up, dusted herself off, and the domineering aura of a future queen returned to her.

"What I want is not memories, but the future."

"A country where I can do whatever I want, where I can eat all the world's delicacies, and where all races can live in peace under my feet!"

She stopped looking at Newgate and instead turned her gaze to the vast, boundless sea.

"There's nothing I want here anymore."

Linlin turned around and said to everyone, "From today onwards, I, Charlotte Linlin, am leaving the Rocks Pirates. I am going to establish my own pirate crew and my own country!"

After saying that, she summoned Zeus directly. His huge body leaped up and flew away into the distance without looking back.

"Goodbye! Goodbye! A bunch of pathetic wretches who only know how to dwell on the past! Next time we meet, I'll be the queen!"

Her signature laughter faded into the distance on the sea, taking with it the last vestige of the pirate crew's past arrogance.

Lingling's departure was like toppling the first domino.

Flameflower also stood up. She walked up to Rein and gave him a deep look.

"Thank you for the porridge. It reminded me of some things I should forget, but can't forget."

Her voice was still clear and cold, but it had lost some of its icy chill that kept people at a distance.

"However, my journey should come to an end now."

She glanced at Newgate, then at the others: "You monsters are not suited for a woman like me who just wants to find a quiet place to die."

She leaped onto a floating plank and, with her superb physical skills, rode the waves, drifting away in the opposite direction from Lingling.

Her silhouette remained aloof, but no longer so lonely.

Hey! Why did you all leave?!

Gatz panicked: "Aren't we comrades?"

"Gu la la la la..."

Newgate let out a deep laugh, walked over to Gatz, and patted him on the shoulder: "Gats, all good things must come to an end."

"Lox is dead, and it's time for us monsters, who were brought together by him, to go and find our own place."

Chapter 97 The Ship About to Fall Apart

Newgate's gaze swept over the remaining Silver and Dorlum.

What about you? What are your plans?

Silver paused for a moment, polished his spear until it gleamed, and then stood behind Newgate.

“I owe the head chef a meal, and I’ll follow him until I pay it back.”

His reasoning was simple and direct.

Dorum, clutching the fragment of the Azure Dragon's keel, cried out, "Where...where can I go? My biggest dream in life was to build the world's strongest ship. Now that the ship is gone, I'm homeless..."

"Brother Whitebeard, if you still plan to go to sea, please take me in as a useless shipwright. I can do anything!"

Gatz scratched his head and walked over to Newgate: "I'll follow Whitebeard too! As long as there's fighting and meat to eat, that's all that matters!"

In the end, apart from Lingling and Flameflower who left, everyone else chose to follow Newgate.

Looking at his family members, who were disheveled but whose eyes still burned with fire, Newgate felt an unprecedented sense of responsibility welling up inside him.

He is no longer the Edward Newgate who only knew how to drink and fight; he is now the backbone of a group of people and the head of a family.

He walked up to Ryan, the boy who had remained calm throughout.

"Ryan."

Newgate's voice was incredibly solemn: "Thank you."

"I just did what I had to do."

Ryan answered calmly.

"Gulalalalal, you always talk like that."

Newgate burst out laughing.

"So what about you? What are your plans? Are you thinking of opening a restaurant, or..."

Raine raised his head and looked at the man in front of him, the world's strongest man who would one day support countless people with his back. A slow smile appeared on his lips.

That smile was confident and profound.

"I?"

Ryan's gaze passed over Newgate and fell upon the rising sun, a sun brimming with infinite possibilities.

"Of course I'll follow you."

"Because the finest ingredients of this era are still hidden in the most dangerous places."

He paused, his eyes gleaming with a chef's longing and ambition for his ultimate dream.

"Moreover, I promised the captain that I would use my cooking to present him with a feast that would make even the gods tremble."

"Although the captain is no longer here, this agreement is still valid."

"only……"

Ryan's voice became lighter, even carrying a rare touch of humor.

"The main characters of the feast have changed from one to a group."

"I've already decided on the menu for the Whitebeard Pirates' first family dinner. Let's start by hunting a legendary Sea King that will fill all of our stomachs."

An era has come to an end.

But a new, more magnificent era, forged by food and family, is slowly unfolding alongside this dilapidated wreckage and the lingering warmth of that pot of congee...

……

Seven or eight days adrift at sea would be a despairing journey that would crush the will of an ordinary person, but for the monsters on this wrecked black behemoth, it was more like a short but oppressive vacation.

However, the departure of Lingling and Flame Flower was like removing two pillars, making the already shaky wreckage appear even more desolate.

They took away not only top-tier combat power, but also the last bit of arrogance and obsession belonging to the Rocks era.

The remaining group—Newgate, Gats, Silver, Dorum, and Ryan—five very different men, formed a somewhat awkward new group.

The atmosphere was no longer tense, but shrouded in something heavier—confusion.

The captain is gone, the ship is gone, and the monsters that gathered together because of Lox's ambition are now like a flock of fledglings driven from their nest, looking around blankly, not knowing where to fly.

Finally, one evening, this oppressive silence was broken by a heart-wrenching wail.

"It's over...it's all over...this time it's really going to fall apart..."

Shipwright Dorum, a man who was always worried, was now holding a piece of the keel of the Azure Dragon, which had been pulled from the sea and broken in two, and crying like a three-hundred-pound child.

Pointing to the wreckage at his feet, groaning under its own weight, he cried out to the crowd, "Look! Look at this! This ship, the culmination of my life's work, it's about to break down!"

"The port side alloy armor plate developed more than three hundred micro-cracks in the explosion at God Valley, and now every wave is exacerbating its metal fatigue!"

"The energy shield generator at the bottom of the ship has long since burned to scrap metal. We don't even have the most basic defense now!"

"The most crucial thing is the keel! If the keel breaks, a ship without a keel is like a person without a spine! If another big wave comes, we'll all be fish food!"

Dorum's lament was like a bucket of cold water, waking everyone from their fantasies about the future and forcing them to confront the harshest reality before them.

They don't even have a single ship that can navigate safely right now.

"It's noisy."

Newgate frowned and gave a low growl.

Although he was also upset, as the new leader whom this group had tacitly agreed to be, he had to remain calm.

He walked to the edge of the wreckage, stepped on it, and felt the fragile tremors beneath his feet. His expression darkened.

Dorum was not exaggerating.

This pile of scrap metal really won't last much longer.

"Then...what should we do?"

Gatz scratched his head, realizing for the first time the seriousness of the problem.

He may not care about wealth or fame, but he cannot be indifferent to a ship that can provide him with enough to eat and sleep in.

"How about... we find a deserted island and I build a new one?"

Dorum wiped away his tears and tentatively suggested, but his tone was full of uncertainty.

Shipbuilding requires a lot of timber, tools, time, and most importantly, a safe and undisturbed environment.

And now, they are highly sought after by navies and bounty hunters around the world.

"That's too late."

Silver's voice came from the shadows, as calm as ever.

"I just found something in the sea. It's a Navy tracking mine. Although it's an old model, it means our position has been exposed."

This news was like a boulder thrown into an already turbulent lake, creating ripples everywhere.

The navy's encirclement has been quietly set in motion.

"Damn it! These navy lackeys are really persistent!"

Gatz angrily slammed his fist on the deck, and the already fragile deck cracked open with a loud snap, causing him to quickly withdraw his hand.

The atmosphere was extremely oppressive at that moment.

With pursuers ahead and no way to retreat behind, the very ground beneath their feet was about to sink.

This is absolutely desperate.

"Gu la la la la..."

Just then, Newgate's laughter broke the silence.

His mountain-like body rose to his feet, his eyes showing no trace of despair, but rather burning with fierce fighting spirit.

Chapter 98 Eye of the Storm

"That's more interesting! If we were to get away so easily, we would be underestimating the navy!"

He looked around at his new family and said in a loud, booming voice, "If we lose a boat, we'll steal one! If there's no road, we'll fight our way through!"

What are we lacking right now?

Newgate looked at Dorlum.

"A ship... a ship that is strong enough, fast enough, and powerful enough to carry all our dreams!"

Dorum answered instinctively, the shipwright's spirit rekindling in his eyes.

"it is good!"

Newgate slapped his thigh: "Then let's go steal the best one!"

He walked to the middle of the crowd, his gaze sweeping over the mine Silver had just retrieved from the sea, which bore a clear marking—G-1.

"Branch G-1"