Gluttonous Feast

"Hehe, what do you think? Pretty amazing ability, right?" Gato waved a hand in front of Zeff, who was still frozen in shock. Seeing no response, he simply walked off on his own.

"Oh, right. I want half of that Sea King you cooked!"

Zeff, who had been stunned just moments ago, flew into a rage. "What kind of nonsense is that, you brat?! Can you even finish that much? At most, you get a tenth!"

"Huh? Don't run! Stop right there! You brat, explain yourself!"

"Have you heard? A grand banquet will be held at Baratie tomorrow!"

"Baratie?"

"Idiot, the famous floating restaurant Baratie!"

"Oh! That Baratie with the finest chefs? What kind of banquet are they holding?"

"Don't be too shocked when I tell you. They caught the largest Sea King in the East Blue—an entire one! It'll be the centerpiece of the banquet."

"What? Amazing! The finest chefs cooking the finest ingredients—this is practically a dream feast!"

"Yeah, but unfortunately, only truly important figures can attend this banquet."

The very day he acquired the Lord of the Coast, Zeff announced through the newspaper agency that Baratie would be holding a grand banquet. There would be only one star of the feast: an entire Lord of the Coast. The date was set for the following day.

Though this newspaper agency was merely a subordinate branch of the one in the New World, with its reach limited to the East Blue, its influence was not to be underestimated.

The newspaper agency also attached great importance to such a major social event. The two sides hit it off immediately, and the news was rushed into publication that very day.

In the calm and peaceful East Blue, this was already an event with far-reaching impact.

For Zeff, holding this banquet would be the most important moment of his career as a chef. If it proved a great success, his reputation would no longer be limited to the small East Blue.

Gato had given Zeff the opportunity to become famous across the seas, so no matter how much Gato ate, Zeff would not truly object. Whether he ate more or less was ultimately just a matter of money.

An opportunity to become a world-class chef was not something money could buy.

He simply could not stand Gato's smug, insufferable look after getting his way. Kaguya felt exactly the same.

But he had no time to bicker with Gato now.

To make this banquet a success, he would have to devote all his energy to it. He planned to go ashore and rest properly for several days as soon as it was over, regardless of whether it succeeded or failed. He would not receive guests again for a while.

In order to fully bring out the Lord of the Coast's flavor, Zeff did not sleep a wink that entire night, his mind filled with thoughts of how to cook the enormous creature.

The following evening, the banquet began as scheduled. By then, Baratie was surrounded by several rings of ships, more than a dozen in total.

By this point, the guests had mostly boarded Baratie.

The formerly spacious floating restaurant now appeared extremely crowded, with people packed everywhere. Fortunately, Baratie had undergone temporary renovations, removing many partitions and other components that did not affect the ship's structural strength, making the place seem much larger.

The long-prepared feast was about to begin, and Zeff, who had been busy for a full day and night, stepped onto his stage.

"Everyone! I'm delighted that you could come here. Here, we all have only one identity: diners. I believe Baratie will allow all of you to experience the true essence of fine cuisine. I won't waste any more words—enjoy the gifts of the sea!"

The curtain behind Zeff slowly parted, revealing an entire Lord of the Coast, red from head to tail, coiled behind it. Its enormous, ferocious crocodilian head stared fixedly at the guests present.

That crocodilian head alone was nearly several meters tall, not to mention the rest of its body. Such a savage monster drew shrill cries from some of the ladies present.

Their male companions hurriedly comforted them. Had this giant beast been alive, all the guests here combined might have been nothing more than food for it. Now, however, it was merely a slab of meat on a cutting board.

"That's right, this is the largest Lord of the Coast in the East Blue! Magnificent, isn't it? In order to preserve its wild beauty, we carefully designed the cooking process without damaging its overall structure."

"But don't worry. Every part of it is edible. I guarantee this will be a feast of flavor you'll remember for the rest of your lives. Now, let us begin!"

Zeff said no more. After all, he was not the star of today's event, and he had already completed his work as a chef wonderfully.

The moment Zeff announced that they could enter, the venue immediately stirred into commotion.

These guests were all prominent figures in the East Blue in their daily lives, yet now they no longer cared about keeping up appearances. They surged toward the space behind Zeff in a mad rush. If the chefs who had finished their work had not maintained order, the chaos would likely have been even worse.

"What an incredible masterpiece!"

Baratie's chefs had actually chosen to cook the entire creature whole, completing a grand and intricate undertaking.

Only when he got closer did Gato notice that the Lord of the Coast's thick, hard scales had long since been removed. He had not even realized it when looking from afar earlier.

That was because Baratie's chefs had used exquisitely skillful knife work to carve lifelike scales into its flesh. If its meat had not been more translucent than its scales, he might not have noticed either.

Even Gato, who had fought it at close range, had nearly failed to notice that anything was unusual about those "scales," let alone the other diners who knew nothing of the situation.

"So... so incredible. These scales are edible too? Mmm... They're just scales, so how can they taste this good?!"

A guest nearby exclaimed exactly that.

But once they finished eating the outer layer of "scales," they would eventually realize that what they had actually eaten was the Sea King's flesh. By then, they would have no time to marvel at it—they would be utterly conquered by the supreme delicacy.

The Lord of the Coast spiraled continuously upward. Along both sides of its body, broad, winding platforms resembling slides had been built, rising upward in curves. They both held its body in place and allowed guests to stand on them while taking food.

The guests climbed onto the platforms with the utensils Baratie had provided, choosing whichever parts they wanted to eat.

By then, Gato had already used the advantage of his fast eating. The instant he stepped onto the platform, he cleared out all the meat around him. Before many people could even react, Gato swept past them like a whirlwind, snatching away the meat they had been eyeing for ages.

Many people glared furiously at those beside them, assuming the meat had been snatched by the people nearby.

If fighting had not been such a waste of time, and if they had not worried that others would use the chance to keep climbing and eat even more meat, these people would have already come to blows.

Little did they know that the true culprit had long since rushed farther up, always one step ahead, eating the freshest delicacies first.

And so, while the others had only climbed halfway up, Gato had already reached the top of this tower of food. Patting his swollen belly, Gato declared himself very satisfied.

"This is wonderful! How did that old man Zeff come up with such an amazing idea? I really want to capture him and make him my personal chef!"