Cooking Talent

On the azure sea, Doflamingo lounged lazily in a deck chair, his eyes closed as though asleep. In reality, he had immersed his consciousness in the Illusion Space.

This was Paradise, the first half of the Grand Line. With Doflamingo's abilities, as long as his luck was not utterly terrible, he could basically run wild here without obstruction. That was why he had the leisure to immerse his consciousness in the Illusion Space.

Since he had no intention of going somewhere as dangerous as the New World, he could only stay here in Paradise and have some fun with minor pirates.

Beside him lay Kikyo. Not only was she lying there comfortably, but she also had a parasol over her head and even a glass of fruit juice prepared at her side.

Then again, it was only because freaks ran rampant in the Pirate World, and the gap in individual strength was simply too vast, that the only requirement for high-ranking officers was the ability to fight. Otherwise, with the way they acted, they would have long been kicked out of the Navy as disgraces to the military.

Inside the Illusion Space, Doflamingo stared excitedly at the pearl on the ground, which gleamed with an unusual light.

This time, his luck had struck again. Another Skill Pearl had dropped from a short Blood-colored Puppet.

He reached out, clenched it in his hand, and absorbed it. After the whole process, Doflamingo opened his eyes in the real world, wearing a bewildered expression.

He turned to glance at Kikyo beside him, casually picked up her fruit juice, and took a sip.

"Eek! What are you doing?" Kikyo immediately jumped up and asked angrily.

Doflamingo ignored her completely. With a complicated expression, he muttered, "The oranges are fairly fresh, and they're much sweeter than ordinary oranges. That's probably because of this world's influence."

"But the seeds weren't removed before squeezing, leaving behind a slightly astringent taste."

"And sugar was added, completely ruining the natural flavor. It also wasn't allowed to rest..."

Halfway through, his expression abruptly changed. He hurled the orange juice onto the deck. "I don't want to become a Dragon Chef! Why am I paying attention to all this?"

That was right. The Skill Pearl he had absorbed this time contained culinary talent. Judging from the fragmented memory images, it was even the legendary culinary talent of Cooking Master Boy!

"Damn it, this Skill Pearl was useless!" Doflamingo's face was full of frustration. Having hope first and then being disappointed was even more infuriating than never having any hope at all.

"???" Kikyo stared at Doflamingo in confusion. Seeing his angry expression, even the irritation she had felt vanished in fright, and she shrank back slightly. "Um... was the orange juice not good?"

Doflamingo rolled his eyes. He was rather speechless toward his little Navigator. Did she really think he was like this because the orange juice tasted bad?

"Lieutenant Commander Steve, a Pirate Crew has been spotted ahead! It should be the Smoke Pirates we're pursuing!" A voice came from the lookout.

"Not bad luck. We finally caught a big fish!" Upon hearing the news, Doflamingo's gloom faded somewhat. He drew Chidori and prepared to go cut some people down.

The Smoke Pirates' Captain, White Smoke Clark, was a Logia user with the Smoke Fruit.

That was right—the very same Smoke-Smoke Fruit Smoker would have in the future. Apparently, even if he had not run into Doflamingo, this guy probably would not have lived much longer.

Logia users had never had low bounties. On top of that, Clark was no harmless fellow. He had committed countless acts of rape, murder, and plunder. As a result, his bounty had reached 220 million Beli, making him the pirate with the highest bounty in the first half of the Grand Line.

Doflamingo had rushed here immediately after receiving Navy intelligence, allowing him to intercept Clark in advance. Part of the reason was that his ship was small and fast, while another part was the credit of his little Navigator.

It had to be said that this little Navigator truly was a genius. By tracking all kinds of currents and wind directions, she increased the ship's speed by at least thirty percent, allowing them to catch up with the Smoke Pirates ahead of every other Navy vessel.

"Lieutenant Commander Steve, what should we do? Should we keep the Smoke Pirates in sight and wait for reinforcements?"

At his side, Doflamingo's second-in-command, Navy Petty Officer Kaufmann, offered his suggestion.

Doflamingo glanced at him but said nothing. As an ordinary low-ranking Navy officer, this Navy Petty Officer clearly had no idea just how strong Doflamingo truly was.

There was no point in merely telling him. He had to see it with his own eyes.

"You all wait here first." Doflamingo took off the cumbersome coat of justice he wore and loosened up a little. "Once I give the signal, come over and support me."

"Huh?" A trace of confusion appeared on the Navy Petty Officer's face. Before he could ask anything further, Doflamingo leaped into the air and charged toward the Smoke Pirates with Geppo.

When the Smoke Pirates spotted the small Navy warship Doflamingo was aboard, they had no intention of avoiding it. Instead, they charged straight at it.

After all, this ordinary small Navy warship was highly deceptive. It looked as though it was led by nothing more than an ordinary Navy lieutenant, so the Smoke Pirates naturally had nothing to fear.

"Once I destroy another Navy warship this time, my bounty should rise quite a bit more, right?"

On the pirate ship, Clark, the Captain of the Smoke Pirates, stood at the very front of the deck. He wore an eyepatch, had a mouth full of rotten teeth, and looked every bit like a pirate. In the middle of his pleasant fantasies, he suddenly heard sharp popping sounds from the sky.

His entire body trembled. The sound instantly reminded him of a Navy Captain who had chased him relentlessly through West Blue.

"Geppo? That's not something an ordinary Navy soldier can learn. Just who is the opponent?"

When he had first eaten the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, Clark had once thought himself invincible. He had indulged in rape and plunder throughout West Blue, only to be taught a harsh lesson by a Navy Captain there who had mastered Armament Haki. If he had not escaped quickly, he might have left his life behind in West Blue.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid." Clark forcibly calmed himself. "Knowing Geppo doesn't mean anything. As long as he can't use Armament Haki, he is definitely not my opponent."

"Even if he can use Haki, it's nothing. I've learned Haki too, and with the Smoke Fruit ability, my chances of winning are very high now."

Just as Clark was psyching himself up, a Flying Slash over ten meters long, shaped like a crescent moon, descended from the sky and instantly cut the Smoke Pirates' ship in two.

"What the hell was that?"

"Help!"

"It's a swordsman! A Great Swordsman! Everyone, run for your lives!"

The Flying Slash came far too quickly. Clark did not have time to react before the entire ship split in two, its cross-section incomparably smooth.