Be Rigorous, Be Scientific

Boom! Boom!...

Dark clouds blanketed the sky, with lightning flashing and thunder roaring.

Amid the howling gale, torrential rain came pouring down.

Sandersonia stood atop the mast. As she watched the distance, she shouted to the three people on deck:

"Judging by what I can see, a massive sea-current whirlpool will appear ahead. Adjust the sails and let the ship sail on a broad reach!

We can't get sucked in, or the ship will be destroyed and we'll all die!..."

Amid the raging wind and rain, Marigold turned the helm while Sephiroth and Hancock each stood on one side of the mast, quickly loosening the ropes and adjusting their lengths.

Under the fierce wind, the sails immediately shifted their angle.

Rain sharp as blades lashed against them, rapidly draining the four people's body heat, yet none of them hid in the cabin to escape the rain.

In a situation like this, a moment's carelessness could mean the ship's destruction and everyone's death. No one could possibly slack off now.

After sailing for quite some distance, the temperature suddenly plummeted. Sleet began to fall from the sky, with the occasional hailstone mixed in.

Gradually, the rain weakened and the wind eased, but heavy snow began to swirl through the air. It was as though they had entered the depths of winter, while the ship settled into steady sailing.

Only then did the four of them finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Achoo!"

Sephiroth suddenly sneezed. He rubbed his nose and muttered:

"The summer weather suddenly turned into winter...

The weather of the Grand Line really is unpredictable!"

The storm had passed, and Sandersonia jumped down from the mast as well. Smiling, she said to the other three:

"We've entered a winter sea region now. Aside from the bitter cold, the winds and waves here are relatively much smaller, so we can rest for a while."

Nine slave traders had once lived aboard this ship.

Therefore, the four of them had ample water, food, and warm clothing.

After searching through the cabins for a while, they quickly found thick cotton-padded clothes.

Although the three girls were somewhat disgusted that the clothes had been worn by men, they had no choice but to obediently put them on to stay warm.

Of the three girls, Hancock was probably the most resistant. She merely draped a black fur cape over herself and did not even change out of her soaked clothes underneath.

In such freezing temperatures, she was still wearing wet clothes. He had no idea how she could bear it...

Sephiroth picked through the wardrobe in the crew's lounge. After putting on a blue padded coat and a pair of black padded trousers, he walked into the kitchen and began preparing dinner.

Boa Hancock crossed her arms and leaned against the kitchen doorway. She looked at him in surprise.

"Huh!?... Sephiroth, you can actually cook?"

At those words, the boy immediately paused while peeling potatoes. He looked up in surprise.

"Isn't cooking a basic life skill?

Why do you look so shocked...?"

"Ah! Well... is that so? But I think cooking is really hard!

I either burn things, leave them undercooked, or add too much salt... That's why Sandersonia and Marigold won't let me cook...

Even though I'm quite interested in it."

"..."

Sephiroth glanced at the future Pirate Empress Boa Hancock. In the end, he forcibly suppressed the urge to complain and merely said:

"You'll be fine if you practice more in the future..."

"By the way, aren't you going to change out of those wet clothes underneath?

You'll catch a cold and get sick like that, won't you?"

Only then did he notice that beneath the fur cape, the black-haired girl before him was still wearing a soaked red short top and skirt.

Boa Hancock blinked her large eyes curiously.

"What does catching a cold and getting sick feel like?

I've never experienced it in my whole life..."

Sephiroth: "..."

The boy thought about it carefully. The physical qualities of humans in the world of the Pirate King did indeed seem rather different from those of ordinary people in his previous life...

Not to mention freaks like Whitebeard, who could still go berserk after losing half his head.

Even weaklings like Usopp, who in the early days would suffer full-body fractures and massive blood loss at the drop of a hat, could recover completely after some time without any lingering problems...

Some nameless extras were even slashed several times in a row, spraying blood everywhere as though it cost nothing, yet they still survived. After some time, they would recover and be as good as new!

As a clinical medicine graduate, Sephiroth felt that this was simply unscientific!

Hm!?... No, that's not right! Different worlds may have different laws. Without conducting research, I can't jump to conclusions so easily. Be rigorous, be scientific!

Under Sephiroth's busy hands, beef stew with potatoes, stir-fried pork with cabbage, braised fish chunks, and tomato egg soup were brought out one after another and placed on the dining table.

The tempting aroma of the dishes made the three girls sit around the table, swallowing their saliva as they stared eagerly.

When he brought out the final dish, braised pork, from the kitchen and called, "Dinner's ready!", The three Boa sisters could no longer suppress their cravings. They immediately picked up their chopsticks and began eating with gusto.

Hancock picked up a piece of fish and put it into her mouth. As she chewed, she moaned:

"Mmm! So delicious..."

After the green-haired Sandersonia tasted the stir-fried pork with cabbage and savored its perfectly judged heat and flavor, she could not help sighing:

"Sephiroth, are you a professional chef?

Your cooking is much better than the Kuja Pirates' chef!

That guy makes nothing but huge pots of boiled food every day. He just throws in some salt and oil, maybe adds a few spices at most... The taste is so bad it almost makes me throw up!"

The boy smiled first, then shook his head.

"Thank you for the compliments!

But... I'm not a chef. I'm a doctor!"

"A doctor with such excellent cooking skills? That's simply unbelievable..."

Marigold picked up a piece of potato with her chopsticks and put it into her mouth. Its melt-in-the-mouth texture, combined with the rich broth and beef flavor, left her almost intoxicated.

"Well! That's a long story..."

A hint of nostalgia flashed across Sephiroth's face. He subconsciously reached into his pocket, intending to light a cigarette.

When his hand came up empty, he remembered that the original owner of this body had been a good kid who did not smoke. He could not help letting out a slightly disappointed sigh.

The reason he had become such a good cook actually began with a cadaver dissection class...

He could still remember that thick stench of decay, as well as the cold corpse beneath his rubber gloves...

After suppressing his nausea and finishing the dissection, he had no appetite for several days. Especially whenever he saw meat, he felt the urge to vomit.

But...

Perhaps he had simply been too hungry. Hunger overcame the shadow in his heart.

At that time, after barely eating for several days, he happened to pass a roadside barbecue stall. Drawn in by the smell of grilled meat permeating the air, he completely cast thoughts of cadaver dissection out of his mind and feasted at the stall.

Ever since then, he seemed to have developed an obsession with good food. He became a foodie, going from eating out to cooking for himself.

Before he knew it, he had acquired excellent culinary skills!

After dinner, it was already too dark, and snow was still falling from the sky.

This was the unpredictable Grand Line, so for safety's sake, Sandersonia decided to stop sailing and drop anchor.

After discussing it, the four decided to divide into two groups of two, with each group taking one night watch.

That way, everyone would have enough time to rest while also guarding against any sudden trouble at sea.

Tonight, Sephiroth and Hancock would stand watch...