Duel Begins~ (Third Update, Please Recommend.)

Just how much Loa could eat was something even he himself probably did not know. After all, he could no longer be called human; he was a humanoid dragon. Thinking about how he could gorge himself every night—no, feast and drink to his heart's content—filled Loa with anticipation for the evening's duel.

The afternoon training was far more varied than the morning's. Since the Navy had to fight pirates, combat skills such as hand-to-hand fighting and swordsmanship also required extensive practice.

Inside the hand-to-hand combat training room.

Loa absentmindedly pummeled the sandbag in front of him, making it burst with sharp popping sounds. One moment he used his fists, the next he sent it flying like a cannonball with a whip kick, occasionally slurping at the saliva gathering at the corner of his mouth.

Seeing this, the major general was quite dissatisfied with Loa's lackadaisical attitude, but he did not say much. At his rank, he had long since received some internal information.

Loa's close-combat performance was rough, but his overall physical qualities and Devil Fruit abilities were both formidable. Recruit Camp training no longer had much effect on him, and they had only refrained from giving him separate, heavier training in order to keep things fair for everyone else.

The place he should have gone was the Elite Camp directly overseen by Zephyr. That group known as monsters were his true peers. His stay in the Recruit Camp was merely to give him an excuse for promotion and let him pass the practical combat assessment.

At last, the instructor gave the order to dismiss.

Word of Loa's duel with Ms. S from the cafeteria leaked out, and the Recruit Camp recruits were all excited. Every day was filled with repetitive, exhausting training; now that something entertaining had suddenly happened, everyone naturally threw themselves into it with enthusiasm. A crowd soon surrounded Loa and escorted him to the cafeteria.

Zephyr had not remained at the Recruit Camp that afternoon. He had just gone to Sengoku's office to confirm matters regarding the recruits' practical combat assessment a month later. On his way home, he passed by the Recruit Camp and happened to see Loa being surrounded by a crowd as he entered the cafeteria.

"What are those brats up to now?"

The cooks had moved aside the cafeteria tables, leaving only two in the middle. One held tableware, prepared for Loa's meal later. The other was covered with ingredients and cooking equipment. Ms. S would prepare the food on the spot, ensuring the duel was fair and open.

Ms. S stood with her arms folded, a ladle in one hand and a spatula in the other. Seeing Loa enter surrounded by the crowd, she wore a confident smile.

"You can still admit defeat now. Otherwise, when you can't eat anymore later, you'll really embarrass yourself in front of all these people."

Loa walked up to stand opposite her, tied a napkin around his chest, and looked at her with fighting spirit blazing in his eyes. "Enough talk. Kiss—cough, cough—serve the food!"

"Hmph, you've got guts!"

A middle-aged chef stepped forward and stood between them, holding a ladle like a microphone. "First, welcome, everyone, to this duel. If anyone is hungry, we have curry prepared over there, so please help yourselves. Now, I'll announce the rules."

"First, during the match, if Mr. Loa leaves even one serving unfinished, he may not eat the next serving. At the same time, Ms. S may not make food so awful that it fails to meet a chef's standards. If either side breaks a rule, the match ends."

"Second, Ms. S must finish the first serving within five minutes of the timer starting. Otherwise, she will be deemed to have forfeited."

"Third, neither side may interfere with the other in any form or for any reason. Otherwise, the match ends."

"The winner will be determined as follows: when Mr. Loa finishes the last serving on the table, if Ms. S's next serving has not yet come out of the pan, Mr. Loa wins. If the remaining food on the table exceeds one-third of the food already served, and the number of remaining servings is at least five, or if Mr. Loa can no longer eat, Ms. S wins."

"Do either of you have any objections?"

"No."

"Neither do I."

Hearing Ms. S's words, Loa gave her a disdainful look. "Why don't you pick some easier dishes to make? Otherwise, you won't be able to keep up."

"Hmph! Arrogant brat!" Ms. S shot back without giving an inch. "Even if I make the cafeteria's regular meals, the one who can't keep up will only be you!"

"We'll see who laughs last!" Since the world of One Piece had no creatures called donkeys, Loa had no choice but to alter the wording of that saying.

As long as the meaning got across.

In any case, Ms. S had been provoked. She picked up a potato and nodded to the middle-aged chef acting as referee. "Enough nonsense. Let's begin!"

"Alright, alright." The middle-aged chef wiped away some sweat, then solemnly raised the utensil in his hand.

! ! 1! Clang! The match~~~ begins! With the crisp ring of metal striking metal, the contest officially began.

Ms. S flourished her knife. With every swift motion of her hand, she rapidly chopped up a huge basket of potatoes.

"So fast! As expected of Ms. S. You couldn't develop hand speed like that without decades of practice."

"Exactly, and look—the potatoes are all the same size, and they've even been peeled! Incredible!"

Listening to the discussion from the nearby commentators, Loa grew serious as well. He circulated the magic power within his body, making his stomach secrete large amounts of acid, and carefully watched Ms. S's movements. This old woman can't be underestimated!

Ms. S expertly chopped vegetables, tossed the wok, and stir-fried. In less than four minutes, plate after plate of neatly arranged dry-fried sea beast meat was placed before Loa.

The air was filled with the rich aroma of meat. The onlookers greedily sniffed the air, their stomachs beginning to rumble.

"Please enjoy!"

Ms. S spoke briefly, then turned back to prepare the next dish.

"Oh!"

Loa picked up a plate of dry-fried sea beast meat. Without even using chopsticks, he poured it straight into his mouth. He barely chewed a few times before an entire plate of food had vanished into his stomach. Then he picked up the next plate and repeated the same motion.

"This brat was holding back at lunch." Seeing Loa eat so boldly, Ms. S's gaze sharpened. She turned the heat to its highest setting and sped up her movements.

"So, so amazing. Both of them are."

"Yeah. I never expected Loa to be able to eat this much. At lunch, I thought someone was joking."

Almost at the instant Loa finished the last plate, another row of grilled meat skewers was placed before him. He and Ms. S exchanged a glance, and both of their expressions grew grave.

"He's not easy to deal with~" This brat. This old woman.

The match continued at a fever pitch. The watching recruits cheered while eating curry, and under Loa's influence, their appetites had grown huge as well.

Zephyr stood outside the window, watching the lively scene within. Several times, he wanted to rush in and teach those undisciplined brats a lesson, but he held himself back every time. In the end, he relaxed into a smile and shook his head. "Forget it. Let them have their fun. Who wasn't young once?"

Then he turned and left, his shadow stretched long, long behind him by the setting sun.

The people inside had no idea that Zephyr, the iron-faced instructor, had just been outside. Otherwise, they would have scattered like birds and beasts already. How could they still be cheering so excitedly for both sides?

As time passed, the competition reached its most intense stage. Loa's speed began to slow, while Ms. S was drenched in sweat from exhaustion. She avoided using energy-consuming techniques like tossing the wok whenever she could.

A group of cooks busily cleared away the empty bowls and plates from Loa's table, all of them looking at him with admiration.

For a chef, what could feel better than seeing the food they made eaten completely clean by a customer? At that moment, Loa earned the respect of every chef in the Recruit Camp cafeteria. That was probably something he had never expected.