Kayou Joins

Roy paid no attention to those clowns. Compared to good food, this was nothing more than a minor interruption. In the arena, Kayou's dish was nearly complete, yet not the slightest aroma had escaped. Rather than feeling disappointed, Roy grew even more eager.

Legend had it that only the most elite chefs could prevent even a trace of a dish's essence from leaking out during preparation. Only when the dish was fully complete would its fragrance erupt in full force. That was the finest cuisine in the world.

The competition had begun, and the judges had taken their seats. Some of the dishes prepared by the other chefs were sent to the judges' table, while the rest were fought over by the audience. Yet everyone tacitly avoided Kayou's station.

It couldn't be helped. Kayou was notorious, and the judges were only human. If Kayou's food was brought before them, should they eat it or not?

If they ate it, another one of them might go mad. If they refused, they would be breaking the rules. Better to pretend he did not exist.

Roy did not neglect himself while waiting. He had long since procured food from several chefs considered the top contenders and was enjoying it. After all, he was the sort of person with a bottomless appetite; even if he ate here for a full day and night, it would not be a problem.

"Finished."

While Roy was still stuffing his face, he suddenly heard a deep voice from ahead. Kayou had finally finished his dish, while all the other chefs had completed theirs long ago.

After all, even with dishes of the same quality, eating one first and another later produced entirely different experiences. Leaving aside preconceived impressions, the fullness after finishing the first dish alone was enough to lower one's expectations for the second by a level. That was why the chefs present had all prepared early and chosen dishes that did not take too long to make.

Roy set down the baked flatbread in his hand and walked up to Kayou. He discovered that the food Kayou had spent most of the morning making was actually sashimi. Given his miraculous knife skills, sashimi should not have taken long to prepare. Could there be some hidden trick to it?

"You want a taste?" Kayou looked at Roy's appraising expression, a teasing smile curling across his lips.

"Naturally. With fine food before me, would it not be one of life's greatest regrets if I could not taste it?"

Kayou merely shrugged indifferently, and Roy did not mind.

The sashimi on the plate was crystal clear and glittered beneath the sunlight. Like the most exquisite work of art, it left one reluctant to touch it.

Roy picked up a slice and placed it in his mouth. An ultimate sensation exploded across his palate. Sashimi prized freshness and tenderness above all else, and what Kayou had made pushed both qualities to their absolute limits. Then came the endless flow of juices over his tongue, making him reluctant to swallow.

At first, Roy had found it strange. Ordinary sashimi usually came with accompanying condiments, but it turned out Kayou had completely incorporated the seasonings into the sashimi itself, merging them into one.

Moreover, rather than overwhelming the sashimi, the seasoning brought out its own flavor even more perfectly.

"Phew, not bad. It's perfection. This sashimi is absolutely the finest food I've tasted in all these years, bar none." Roy sighed sincerely, without the slightest exaggeration.

Kayou's pupils contracted at that, before a smile appeared on his face. "You're quite impressive too. I never expected someone to truly eat my Strange Sashimi without experiencing any hallucinations."

"I think I understand why everyone who ate food you made went mad. Supreme deliciousness really does make people lose themselves, unable to break free." After tasting it, Roy had indeed sensed the hallucinogenic quality born alongside the flavor. It was beneath the notice of a master of dreams like him, but to most people, it was no different from poison.

He figured King was probably the only one on his ship capable of resisting such temptation. The boost Observation Haki gave to the soul was no joke; even Patch might still fall a little short.

In truth, there was nothing wrong with Kayou's food itself. It was simply too delicious—so delicious that people could not pull themselves away, preferring to remain forever in that instant of enjoying the food. But that was unavoidable. Like tasting fine wine, one was bound to get thoroughly drunk.

What was surprising was that the sashimi Kayou made was harmless to the human body. It could even strengthen one's physique to a certain degree, though such an enhancement was negligible to Roy.

"Of course. How could mediocre people enjoy such supreme delicacy? Weaklings who become lost in food and cannot pull themselves free are unworthy of enjoying true cuisine."

Roy was starting to understand Kayou's culinary philosophy. This guy really was rather extreme; it could be said to be the complete opposite of Sanji's.

Still, Roy did not care. Those with real ability naturally had the right to be arrogant. Forget the fact that Kayou's cooking could temper one's will and strengthen the body—the supreme taste alone was enough to make Roy want to tie him up and bring him aboard.

"Let me introduce myself again. I'm Roy, captain of the Phantom Sword Pirates. Are you interested in conquering these seas with me?" Roy decisively extended the invitation.

Kayou raised a brow, clearly somewhat surprised by Roy's offer. After pondering for a while, he said, "You are a true strong man. Only someone like you is worthy of enjoying the food I make, so I accept."

"Hahaha, good! You won't regret your decision today." Roy was overjoyed. He had finally talked a top-tier chef into joining his ship.

Kayou bent slightly at the waist in salute, signaling his submission. He clearly understood the rules of the sea as well.

"This Gourmet Competition looks like it's about to decide a champion. Don't you have any thoughts about that?"

"Ah ha, it's just a boring competition. I only came to see how capable this year's champion was and whether they would be as useless as the ones from previous years. But since I've met you, Captain, I have no interest in playing around with them anymore," Kayou said nonchalantly.

King, standing nearby, could only twitch at the corner of his mouth. How vicious. If they had not come today, some champion probably would have gone mad again. But then, they were villains of the sea to begin with, so perhaps there was nothing wrong with that.

"The Marines! So many Marines are coming!"

"Run! The Marines suddenly showing up can't mean anything good! Everyone, scatter and run!"

There were naturally more pirates than just Roy's group in Gourmet Plaza. The sudden appearance of the Marines threw the pirates who had been enjoying the food into disarray. They cried out helplessly like ants on a hot pan.

"Tsk, tsk. These Marines moved pretty quickly. I wonder whether they're throwing a fit because I humiliated them, or because their own interests were affected?" Roy said with great interest, utterly unconcerned by the chaos around him. From the moment he had sent Patch to take out that Big Backhead, he had known this would happen.

King stood calmly behind Roy. Without Roy's orders, he could not even be bothered to act. Patch, on the other hand, looked eager to have a go. That group of self-proclaimed "great pirates" worth ten million Beli had not even been enough to warm him up.

Even Kayou, who had only just joined them, wore an expression as though he were watching a show. He did not care about the Marines' intimidation in the slightest. It could be said that this entire group was utterly lawless.

After all, most pirates believed that running immediately upon encountering the Marines was only natural. Facing them head-on brought no benefits; even if they won, it would only invite an even harsher Marine crackdown.