Capable Tahm Kench

"Oh~ Isn't this His Cobra? Long time no see, you've gotten so rounder!"

On Alabasta's grand royal yacht, Ma Qiao met the long-lost King Cobra.

Compared to his previous appearance, Cobra was noticeably fatter.

His head was large and his neck was thick, stretching out the wrinkles on his face.

"Snort!"

Cobra looked at the little scoundrel Ma Qiao, who was holding hands with Vivi, and tried hard to suppress the urge to hit him, letting out a slight snort through his nose.

At the same time, he also saw the several burly men standing behind Ma Qiao.

Graves, Jax, Xin Zhao...

Aside from Jhin, the Virtuoso who remained hidden in the shadows, the mere presence of Ma Qiao's three bodyguards behind him immediately exuded an aura of authority.

But...

Cobra glanced at Crocodile behind him and immediately felt confident.

This is the unruly and arrogant Shichibukai.

Once upon a time, when Crocodile first arrived in the Alabasta Kingdom, Cobra did not welcome him.

The Shichibukai are essentially pirates recognized by the World Government, posing an uncontrollable and dangerous factor for the Alabasta Kingdom.

Later, Crocodile relentlessly hunted down pirates, spreading his fame and making the people of Alabasta regard him as a hero.

Cobra had no choice but to acquiesce to his existence, but the two still didn't interact much.

Only now, through a series of unexpected events, has Cobra discovered that this man's heart is so warm.

He wasn't a cold-blooded pirate, but a very reliable brother.

This is the hard-earned wisdom gained from countless dungeon runs where I got wrecked and then rescued by Crocodile.

"Don't be so cold-hearted, we're all involved in the G50!"

Ma Qiao patted Cobra on the shoulder and handed him a cigarette.

Hua Zi is a high-end cigarette in the Short-Lived Ghost series, and Crocodile silently swallowed.

After working for the Alabasta royal family, Crocodile's financial crisis was alleviated to some extent. However, unless he goes back to the pirate business, it will be difficult for him to live the extravagant life he used to live as a mere laborer.

However, the Hua Zi that Crocodile longed for was disdainfully pushed away by Cobra:

"I don't smoke; it's bad for your health. When I'm unhappy, I like to cook myself a bowl of noodles."

"Don't joke around, Karoo wouldn't eat the noodles you cooked... Uh... I mean, as His Majesty the King, he's definitely not good at cooking..."

Vivi covered her mouth to hide her embarrassment.

"You're mistaken, little girl."

Crocodile glanced at Miss Father's Day, whom he had personally promoted, sighed, and said:

"His Cobra is a very skilled cook. He apprenticed under Master Tahm Kench and is an excellent chef..."

"Tahm Kench?"

Ma Qiao was stunned. What good deeds had Tahm Kench done during the time he had been working to rebuild the Goa Kingdom?

Now, there's no need to hold back against Crocodile.

Ma Qiao snapped his fingers, and Tahm Kench immediately used Teleport to appear on the deck.

Ma Qiao now has dozens of heroes under his command, and he's not a peeping tom, so he doesn't have the energy to keep an eye on what each hero is doing all day.

As a result, Tahm Kench's attire nearly made Ma Qiao choke on his own saliva.

This guy was dressed in a respectable suit, wearing a top hat and a monocle, looking every bit the part of a capitalist with his chubby, round figure.

To be honest, Ma Qiao remembered that he had made him wear this outfit before, but back then it was just a disguise. Now, Tahm Kench's demeanor perfectly matched the clothes.

Before Ma Qiao could even ask a question, Cobra respectfully greeted, "Hello, Principal Tahm Kench!"

Tahm Kench ignored him and instead bowed even more respectfully to Ma Qiao:

"Boss Ma Qiao, what can I do for you?"

Ma Qiao pointed at his attire. "Brother Tahm Kench, aren't you going to explain what's going on here?"

"Ah... this..."

Tahm Kench stretched out his clam claw and touched his bald, blue forehead:

"Boss, didn't you tell us before that we should find a way to improve employment in Shurima, so I..."

Thanks to Tahm Kench's explanation, Ma Qiao finally learned the whole story.

New East Frog Vocational Technical College is the school that Tahm Kench started with a loan from Big Bird Bank.

At first, it was just a cooking class taught by him personally, but later, various disciplines such as hairdressing, nail art, equipment repair, and Rek'Sai operation were developed one after another.

In present-day Shurima, apart from Shurima University, which is officially established by the Big Bird Consortium, New East Frog Vocational Technical College is the largest, most comprehensive, and has the largest number of students.

As a result, Tahm Kench became a renowned social activist, educator, and, of course, capitalist.

On the Shurima wealth list, Tahm Kench ranks second with 7.9 billion Beli.

"Seventy-nine billion Beli?"

Ma Qiao almost bit his tongue. "Is vocational education really that profitable?"

"This is all thanks to your excellent policies, Boss Ma Qiao!"

Tahm Kench gave a thumbs up and analyzed seriously:

"If it weren't for you, Boss, establishing the Shurima - Syrup - Cocoyasi -Goa- Shandora Mutual Economic Assistance Organization, revitalizing the economy of the Shurima region, solving people's food and clothing problems, and giving a large number of young people hope to get rich through labor, how could anyone be willing to invest money and time to learn a skill?"

"If it were still under the rule of that incompetent King Cobra, everyone would probably still be busy struggling to survive. Even if they wanted to learn a skill to support their families, they would only choose the traditional apprenticeship model instead of spending money to go to school for education."

"In short, that King Cobra is utterly useless. I suggest he abdicate immediately and hand over the entire Alabasta to you, Boss. That way, Alabasta will definitely become the world's number one power, surpassing Mary Geoise!"

Tahm Kench was still showering Tahm Kench with compliments.

Cobra's face grew increasingly dark.

"Ahem, ahem, I'm sorry to say, but I'm in very good health and don't want to resign yet!"

"Huh? You're Cobra?"

Tahm Kench asked in surprise, "Aren't you Nicholas?"

"Ahem... I had to use a pseudonym back then in order to learn how to cook..."

Cobra is an old-fashioned man who still holds his mentor in high esteem.

He earnestly assured Tahm Kench, "In the past, I certainly haven't fulfilled the responsibilities of a king, but I've already discovered the secret to economic development. Rest assured, I will soon be able to improve Alabasta's economy and enable my people to live prosperous lives!"

As he finished speaking, a mysterious, knowing smile appeared on Cobra's face.

For no apparent reason, Ma Qiao felt a chill run down his spine, a premonition that things were about to go wrong.

Thinking about it carefully, at this moment, except that he's not bald, Cobra's expression and smile are exactly the same as those of a certain Principal Chang when he's eager to try out micro-management.

Ma Qiao could only pray silently for the people of Alabasta.

In August, the weather grew increasingly hot.

Even sailing on the high seas, the heat remains unbearable.

Ma Qiao thought he could get free travel expenses, but he soon realized he was too naive.

Can you believe that the Royal Alabasta cruise ship doesn't have air conditioning?

Ma Qiao had to pay for a Big Bird air conditioner using Hextech himself.

In order to provide energy for the air conditioner, a gas-fired internal combustion generator had to be installed.

We've really lost a lot of money, both inside and out.

However, Cobra is, after all, his future father-in-law, so he should still show his filial piety.

At most, we'll repay her using special techniques after Vivi comes of age.

Throughout the journey, Crocodile kept saying that he had finally gotten rid of those two old guys, Garp and Zephyr, but in reality, he would appear in front of the computer on time every night when he went to run dungeons.

Cobra kept pestering Tahm Kench to teach him the secrets of cooking.

And you know what? Cobra actually has a real talent for cooking.

He used to be a bad cook, simply because he hadn't met a good teacher.

He did indeed develop an interest in cooking when he was still a prince.

However, even a simple fried egg he made would be hailed as a culinary prodigy by the palace maids and guards. Under such circumstances, his final culinary skills were naturally less than satisfactory.

Nowadays, strict teachers produce outstanding students.

Tahm Kench is really strict with his students, unlike Ma Qiao, who at most would just spank Vivi's bottom.

Once Tahm Kench discovers that Cobra is being lazy or dull, he immediately Tongue Lash abuse, leaving Cobra covered in bruises.

With such rigorous instruction and excellent demonstrations, Cobra's culinary skills improved by leaps and bounds.

In Ma Qiao's opinion, Cobra's cooking skills are already half as good as Sanji's.

Sanji's cooking skills can be described as a gift from God.

Compared to the Straw Hat Pirates, who were constantly getting beaten up in terms of strength, Sanji's cooking skills and Nami's navigating skills were practically maxed out when they were in the East Blue. They crushed almost every challenger they encountered along the way.

Therefore, when Ma Qiao said that Cobra's cooking skills were half of Sanji's, it was definitely not a derogatory term, but rather a very high compliment.

Of course, Tahm Kench, being a strict teacher, was still not satisfied. His lisp and chasing after Cobra around everywhere had become a daily routine on the ship.

The weather was getting hotter and hotter, and the air conditioner saved Ma Qiao's life.

Fortunately, as August was drawing to a close, the destination of this journey, Mary Geoise, was finally in sight.