Competition

"Brat, my other leg is still pressing down on you."

"Don't worry, you old geezer."

"We'll win."

Sanji and the awakened Carmen headed to the kitchen to prepare the ingredients. The Baratie restaurant was very well-stocked.

"Rody, do you think Carmen can win?"

"Difficult."

Carmen had lost to Sanji in the original story, but it did not matter this time. This was merely to fulfill one of Carmen's wishes, and he would also get to taste delicious food. Rody was greatly looking forward to Sanji's cooking.

"Hey, is this a restaurant? Can you bring me a barrel of gasoline?" Windfire Wheel shouted at the chefs. (This was the author's own added setting.)

"It... it talked! The motorcycle talked!"

"I wanted to ask earlier—why did they bring along a motorcycle that could walk? So it was alive."

"But a motorcycle that can talk is way too strange."

"Also, this is a restaurant, not an auto repair shop."

"Alright, go get it a barrel of gasoline. At our sea restaurant, no matter who they are, as long as they're hungry, we must make sure our guests leave full." Zeph gave Windfire Wheel a curious glance. Even though he had sailed the Grand Line, he had never seen anything like Windfire Wheel.

"Yes, Head Chef."

After a while, the gasoline Windfire Wheel had asked for was brought over. "Ah, my energy is fully restored!" Windfire Wheel cried out comfortably.

"Windfire Wheel, I've been wanting to ask—what does drinking gasoline feel like? Does it have a taste?" Nami asked curiously.

"Pretty much like that cola you humans drink!"

"That's really amazing."

"Other than gasoline, do you usually need to eat anything else?"

"Not really, but it would be even better if I could get some special energy stones."

"Alright, alright, they're about to begin the cooking competition." Rody cut off their discussion.

They watched Sanji and Carmen compete. Sanji chopped vegetables and cooked as naturally as any ordinary chef, but he was extremely serious and meticulous. Carmen, meanwhile, retained her usual passionate style when cooking.

"Please enjoy."

Before long, Sanji and Carmen had each finished their dishes. Sanji had made a plate of fried rice. It looked no different from ordinary fried rice, yet a delicious aroma wafted from that seemingly simple dish. Carmen had made grilled Fire Bull meat. Fire Bulls were a special kind of sea beast unique to the West Blue, completely red and very similar in appearance to cattle.

Rody first picked up several pieces of Fire Bull meat with his chopsticks and tasted them. The flavor was about the same as what Carmen had cooked aboard the ship, but the texture had more depth. Rody commented, "You've improved."

He scooped up a spoonful of Sanji's fried rice. The moment it entered his mouth, he could feel that every grain was distinct, without the slightest clumping. The diced meat had been cooked perfectly as well—not tough, not hard. The taste was absolutely beautiful.

"So, which one tastes better?" Nami swallowed as she looked at the food before her.

Rody handed the spoon to Nami. "You should try it too."

"I think the fried rice made by this Sanji tastes a little better."

"Of course, Sister Carmen's grilled meat is also very good." Nami glanced at Carmen and hurriedly added.

"Mm. Although I'm a meat lover and don't particularly favor foods like fried rice, this fried rice really is more delicious."

"Captain, hearing you talk about it makes me want to eat some too. But I'm a machine person—I can't eat the food you humans eat." Windfire Wheel looked regretful.

"Windfire Wheel, you don't need to feel regretful, because we can't drink gasoline either. Only you can drink gasoline, and we can't experience its taste." Nami comforted him.

Rody looked at Carmen. "Do you still want to hear the result?"

"No."

Looking at Sanji, who had let out a long breath and was lighting a cigarette, Carmen sighed. "I lost."

"All these years, I kept honing my cooking skills because I wanted to stand on equal footing with you."

"I had long forgotten that to make truly delicious food, you need a heart that treats every ingredient with sincerity."

"This time, you won."

"But don't get happy too soon, because I'll follow Lord Rody and sail to the Grand Line. I'll find the All Blue that every chef dreams of and learn through exchanges with even more chefs. Then, we'll compete in cooking again."

"I know you haven't forgotten the All Blue either. This time, I'm taking the first step. You'd better catch up soon—don't fall behind, ahahaha..."

Carmen spun up into the ceiling. Leo and Jose hurriedly went to catch the dizzy Carmen as she fell.

Looking at Carmen, who had gotten herself dizzy again beside him, Rody was full of helplessness. "Is this girl an idiot?"

"Looks like Head Chef Zeph's leg is safe."

"Yeah, Head Chef Zeph won't have to walk with crutches under both arms anymore," the restaurant chefs said to Zeph with smiles.

"Shut up, you idiots! Why aren't you cleaning up the food the guests left on the tables?" Zeph shouted irritably at the chefs.

"Alright, old man, I'll cover the bills for those people who skipped out without paying."

"Let me taste your cooking!"

"Old man, have every chef in the restaurant make one of their signature dishes. I'll pay double for every dish."

Before long, the chefs had cleaned up the restaurant, and dish after dish of delicious food was brought to the table before Rody. This meal was undoubtedly the most lavish and delicious one Rody had eaten since coming to this world.

"Old man, your cooking really is excellent."

"I was very satisfied today."

"I just don't know when I'll get to taste your cooking again." He took the bag of treasure Mike handed him, set it on the dining table, then turned and left with the others.

Before leaving, Carmen glanced at Sanji. "Keep it up, Sanji. Next time we meet, I won't lose to you again."

"Are you leaving, Sanji?"

"Who's leaving, you old bastard?!" Sanji turned and headed for the kitchen.

"Fine by me. That guy isn't someone you should follow." Watching Sanji's back, Zeph shook his head.

A day later, Although Carmen was somewhat dejected after losing the cooking contest to Sanji, after tasting the signature dishes prepared by the sea restaurant's chefs, she regained her usual enthusiasm and began studying in the kitchen, thinking of ways to improve her cooking.

On the deck, Rody was fiddling with the Transponder Snails seized from the Krieg Pirates. Transponder Snails were all living creatures and needed to be fed like animals. In the original story, many of the more distinctive Transponder Snails had been decorated according to their owners' preferences.

The one in Rody's hands was an ordinary pink Transponder Snail, capable of communication across islands. Of all the Transponder Snails, the one Rody was most interested in was the Video Transponder Snail. For instance, was a Video Transponder Snail's projection high-definition? Could Transponder Snails become nearsighted? If they did, could they still project images? And what would a nearsighted projection look like?

Mike said to Rody, who was fiddling with the Transponder Snail, "Lord Rody, Loguetown is straight ahead."