"Brother Vic! I never knew you had such a skill! This cooking is truly beyond my reach. All my decades of cooking have been for nothing!"
Kokoro sighed deeply. After so many years of cooking, her style had basically become fixed, and the taste was only passable, not bad.
But Vic is at the absolute top level. Others just rely on experience to cook, but he just uses a cheat code to cook by following the answer. Who can compare to that? It's like a dimensional reduction attack.
"Hehe! I know the ingredients and cooking time better, so it tastes better. If you like it, have some more! Here, the pork bone is ready too, try some!"
Vic smiled at Kokoro's praise, but his heart remained unmoved. He was already used to such praise; everyone who had eaten his cooking had praised it, and all of it was genuine. He was well aware of his own culinary skills.
Tom didn't say a word. He ate whatever was on his plate, even chewing and swallowing the bones from the meat.
The giant toad, Yokozuna, is indiscriminate in its eating habits, consuming whatever Tom eats, showing absolute trust in Tom. Iceburg, on the other hand, refuses to eat anything; Franky eats whatever is on his plate.
Vic didn't mind and still put some food on his plate. Kokoro ate very elegantly this time, slowly savoring the rare delicacy.
Vic kept unleashing his Observation Haki, not just for the sake of grilling meat, but also to find Rebecca as soon as possible.
Although he arrived in Water 7 in an instant, it took him a while to find an available dock, and then he ended up here with Tom.
Vic estimated that Rebecca should be arriving soon at her pace. If he didn't tell her where he was as soon as she got to the island, she would probably sulk there again. Although she was easy to coax, there was no need for that.
Without keeping Vic waiting long, Rebecca appeared within his Observation Haki range. Vic used Thousand-Li Sound Transmission to tell Rebecca his location and then stopped paying attention. At this moment, Tom also snapped out of his reverie.
"Hmm? What's so delicious? Did Brother Vic make it?"
After Tom regained consciousness, he smacked his lips with a look of lingering satisfaction. As Fish-Man, he possessed incredible bite force, and having been in a state of unconsciousness, he had simply tossed the food into his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it. Although the food was in his stomach, a lingering taste remained in his mouth.
"Yes! Vic's cooking is absolutely amazing, Mr. Tom. You should definitely try it. I noticed you seemed a bit distracted earlier; you might miss your chance!"
Kokoro explained it to Tom, and there was a hint of a reminder in her words.
"Yes, Mr. Tom! Vic's barbecue is so delicious, the best I've ever had! Why don't we have their warships docked at the shipyard? The shipyard's just sitting there anyway, and we can enjoy this delicious food a few more times!"
Franky now admires Vic even more. Apart from his master Tom, he has never met anyone as capable as Vic, so naturally he hopes that Vic can stay for a few more days.
Vic, at just the right moment, placed a piece of meat on Tom's plate. He had also noticed Tom's earlier smug, almost obsessive, expression. How could anyone eat his food and remain completely unmoved?
" Mr. Tom! Stop eating! What's so good about roast meat? You won't starve if you don't eat it!"
Iceburg was excited to see Tom awake. He had always felt that Vic had some ill intentions and was plotting something! Although the aroma of the roast meat made his mouth water, he managed to restrain himself with great willpower!
If Vic knew what he was thinking, he would definitely say, "Your sixth sense is really accurate, your Observation Haki talent must be pretty good. I have ulterior motives! I want to see the Pluton Blueprints!"
" Iceburg! It's alright, Brother Vic means no harm, I can sense it. Eat with confidence, I'll try it again!"
Tom ignored Franky's words but comforted Iceburg instead. He said that his two apprentices had completely opposite personalities, and it didn't matter if Franky ignored him; he wouldn't care. Iceburg was rather sensitive and only cared about those he approved of.
Without cutting the steak, Tom simply skewered the whole steak from the plate and put it in his mouth.
That was indeed a taste he had never experienced before, making him forget about the Sea Train and the ten-year promise for a moment. It took him a long time to come to his senses from the aftertaste and make a decision in his heart.
"Brother Vic! Your barbecue is absolutely amazing, I can't forget it after just one bite. I've agreed to your request for the warships to dock at our shipyard, but I have one condition!"
After Tom made up his mind, he spoke to Vic, but his two disciples became excited as soon as he finished speaking.
" Mr. Tom! We can't agree to his request! This man's background is unknown; what if he has some ulterior motive..."
Iceburg was the most agitated and had been firmly opposed to the idea. He had been so focused on learning shipbuilding that he hadn't paid any attention to the news, and he was completely unaware that Vic had appeared in the newspapers. Water 7 a mixed bag of people from all walks of life, so he had always been wary.
"Great! Brother Vic can stay. After the Aqua Laguna have passed, I'll take you to see the weapons I made; you'll definitely love them!"
Franky was overjoyed that his master had agreed. Not only would he get to eat delicious food, but he might also be able to sell the weapons he made to supplement the workshop's income.
" Mr. Tom..." Kokoro was also somewhat worried, but she respected Tom's decision.
Tom didn't reply to his disciples, but simply smiled and patted both of them on the head, waiting for Vic to recover.
"I wonder what Mr. Tom's conditions are? As long as they're not unreasonable, I can agree to them."
Vic didn't know what Tom had come up with, but he didn't care about paying a price as long as it could solve the problem.
Vic guessed that Tom's Workers was probably short of funds and wanted to collect some rent from him. Judging from their meals, they were living frugally. Anyway, he didn't have much else, but he had more money than he could spend.
"The condition is simple: you'll prepare our food while your warship is docked. If you agree, you can bring your warship in."
Tom didn't recognize Vic at first, but after Vic introduced himself, he vaguely remembered him. It wasn't until he had hidden the Pluton Blueprints and relaxed that he remembered seeing Vic's name in the newspaper.
Then he spent some time finding the newspaper he had kept because it was related to Red-Haired Shanks.