When Bellemere and her two daughters saw Genzo exhaling a powerful, ox-like breath from his nose, they exchanged glances and burst into laughter. Genzo also laughed, tears welling in his eyes!
He felt no less gratitude towards Vic, but being a reserved man, he didn't express it! As the group laughed, the doctor and villagers also joined in the laughter. Today, the situation was indeed out of danger, something to be happy about.
After laughing, Bellemere thanked the villagers who had come to help and sent them home. Most of the villagers were injured, and it was also time for lunch, so they didn't stay any longer. Only Genzo was unwilling to leave.
Seeing the four people, who looked like a family of four, preparing to go back inside for dinner, Genzo felt a pang of jealousy, but Bellemere didn't invite him.
It wasn't that Bellemere didn't want to invite him; she had only prepared enough food for three people and was already planning to give her portion to Vic. Naturally, she couldn't let the two children go hungry, so she could only ask Genzo to make do. As for the two children, they were happily eating the Soul Fruit and naturally had no time to pay attention to Genzo.
"Sir, you should go get treated first. You're still bleeding. Get bandaged up before you come back for dinner. They don't have enough food for us right now. I'll go and make some more."
Seeing Genzo hesitating on the side, Vic smiled and said, " Genzo is a really good person. He takes care of the two little girls like a father. Vic admires him."
"Okay! I'll go right now." Hearing that there was food to eat, Genzo was as happy as a child and ran back to the village to find the village doctor.
" Mr. Vic! You can cook?"
Bellemere found it hard to believe. Did a strong person like Vic really need to cook for himself? Shouldn't he have someone to cook for him? Whether he's a Marine or a pirate, there's never a shortage of people to serve the strong. That's why she was so surprised. This is too down-to-earth.
"I know a little! I know a little!"
Vic didn't say that he was too picky about food, that he was used to his own cooking, and that other people's cooking was only good for filling his stomach.
After saying that, Vic carried the two little girls into the small house, placed Nami and Nojiko on chairs by the dining table, and then went to the kitchen.
Bellemere's life had always been very frugal, so there was basically no extra food in the kitchen, and they rarely ate meat. The mother and her two daughters were all very thin, so after Vic glanced around the kitchen, he directly took out some Sea Kings meat from his dimensional space.
At this moment, Bellemere also walked into the kitchen. She knew all too well what the kitchen was like, so she was very embarrassed, but she was still incredulous when she saw the pieces of meat on the cutting board!
Where did this come from? Vic doesn't seem to have anywhere on his body that could hide such a large piece of flesh. However, she didn't ask any further questions; they had only just met and weren't that familiar with each other yet.
Bellemere, who had intended to help, was unable to do so. Vic was far more skilled at cooking than her, his knife skills were superb, and he chopped vegetables in one smooth motion, making them look beautiful, fast, and delicious.
What would have taken her over an hour to prepare, Vic finished in less than half an hour. Nami and Nojiko had already finished their Soul Fruit and were staring intently at the kitchen, drooling.
They hadn't tasted meat in so long, and with Vic's cooking skills, it was simply irresistible. Soul Fruit was delicious, but it was vegetarian; how could it compare to the allure of meat?
When Vic brought out the dishes, Genzo walked in, his body covered in bandages. If it weren't for his uniform, he would have looked like a mummy.
Genzo ignored the strange looks they were giving him, his eyes fixed on the steaming food on the table. They were all ordinary people; they had never smelled such a delicious aroma before. This was the meat of Sea Kings, something ordinary people couldn't catch, and couldn't afford even if they wanted to eat it. With Vic's culinary skills added to it, it was an even more rare and delicious treat.
"Everyone, come to the table! Food isn't just for looking at, let's dig in and eat to our hearts' content!"
Vic greeted everyone with a smile, as if he were the host. But that was inevitable; wherever Vic was, he was always the center of attention. Vic had prepared a lot of food, enough for ordinary people, but he himself had a big appetite and could choose whether or not to eat this meal.
"Delicious! So delicious!"
"It's delicious!"
After Genzo and the others started eating, praise kept reaching Vic's ears. Vic just smiled and took small sips, mostly drinking Bellemere's homemade orange liqueur.
Although it was made by Bellemere using unsold oranges, it had a unique flavor. During the meal, the group became quite familiar with each other and learned each other's names. Although Vic already knew who Vic was, and the two adults also knew who Vic was, Vic pretended not to know.
Nami and Nojiko genuinely didn't know who Vic was or what he did, but Vic had saved Bellemere's life and the entire village, and now he was cooking delicious food for them. In their hearts, he was the kindest person imaginable.
The two little ones were very close to Vic. They didn't know that Vic's appearance had changed their fate, but Vic already held a place in their hearts.
As Vic watched the four of them happily enjoying their meal, he had many thoughts running through his mind. If he hadn't arrived in time, the ending would probably have been the same as in the original story, and the current joy would have been completely reversed. He would have then killed Arlong's Crew to avenge Bellemere, but the regret would have been irreparable!
In the end, these are all ordinary people, and two of them are children. Faced with sudden changes, they have no ability to change or resist the oppression and persecution. Without external intervention, Nami will never be able to get rid of Arlong's Crew, Cocoyasi Village!
The external force now is Vic, while in the original work it's Luffy, but that's eleven years later. This is the original sin of weakness; the weak cannot decide their own fate, it all depends on the mood of the strong. So, if you want to control your own destiny and prevent such tragedies from happening to yourself and your loved ones, you must be strong enough, and he is the one who carries that burden.
" Nojiko, Nami! What do you want to be when you grow up? What are your dreams?"
After the meal, everyone was satisfied, and their stomachs were bulging. Nami and Nojiko took Vic to a grassy cliff by the sea. The scenery there was beautiful; they could see the village and their family's Orange Grove in the distance, and the vast ocean stretched out in front of them!
Vic lay on the grass, hands behind his head, looking up at the sky and asking, "The timeline has moved forward several Vic. I wonder if Nami has set her mind on her dream yet? I don't want her arrival to cause a genius navigator to change her dream."
For example, if Nami decides to become a female warrior by practicing martial arts after seeing how powerful Vic is? Or a female swordsman? If so, Vic would have made a huge mistake, and Nami's top-notch talent would have been wasted.
This world has no shortage of female warriors and swordswomen. Nami is neither more nor less important. However, there are very few top-notch navigators, especially navigators who can lead the future Pirate King to Laugh Tale!
This concerns Vic's plan, and he certainly doesn't want it to change. If Nami's dream really changes, then he'll have no choice but to change his plan. Nami live peacefully in Cocoyasi Village wouldn't be bad either.