A cook, vice-captain of the Rocks Pirates?

He closed his notebook, looked up, and gazed at his family members, who had become stronger and noisier because of a meal.

He glanced again at the distant sea of ​​thunderclouds, which had returned to calm and even let in a sliver of sunlight, and a barely perceptible smile appeared on his lips.

This is the kind of voyage he wanted.

It is filled with the unknown, danger, challenges, and... the most exquisite delicacies.

……

The aftertaste of the Thunder Dragon Eel feast is far more lingering than imagined; it's not just a feast for the senses, but more like a thunderous baptism from the inside out.

In the following days, the legend of the Thunder King unfolded almost daily on the deck of the New Moby Dick.

The shipwright Dorum suffered the most, finding that in addition to repairing the ship's hull, he now had an additional arduous task—acting as a human lightning rod.

"Gats! How many times have I told you! Don't burp towards the mast!"

Dorum's roar ripped through the sky as he rushed forward like a gust of wind, tragically blocking the mainmast with his work clothes made of special insulating material.

The next second, a thick arc of electricity shot out from Gatz's mouth and struck Dorum precisely on the back, making him shudder and his hair stand on end, emitting a wisp of smoke.

"Uh... I didn't mean to."

Gatz scratched his head, looking completely innocent, while letting out an electric burp.

"Hahaha! Dorum, your new hairstyle is way more stylish than your old receding hairline!"

Oden clapped his hands and laughed. He had just finished his training, and fine silver arcs of electricity were wrapped around the blades of his two famous swords, Ame no Habakiri and Enma, adding a touch of destructive aura to their already sharp edges.

His understanding of swordsmanship has now reached a whole new level, and he has even begun to try to combine the ferocity of lightning with the suppleness of flowing cherry blossoms to create a new sword technique that can make enemies feel a tingling pleasure from the inside out.

Chapter 198 Target—The Sea of ​​Time Stop!

Dorum was on the verge of tears. He took out his notebook and, with trembling hands, wrote down a new entry.

"The risk of carbonization of the mainmast has increased by 30%, and the shipwright's mental injury assessment has reached the critical threshold. It is recommended to apply for workers' compensation, or to seal Gatz's mouth with seastone before the next meal."

Newgate leaned back on his throne, watching his sons, who had become even more mischievous because of a meal, and let out his signature, satisfied laugh.

This vibrant, noisy atmosphere is the kind of home he wants.

Ryan leaned against the kitchen window, calmly watching everything unfold, his notebook scribbling away rapidly.

[Ingredient Name: Thunder Dragon Eel (Perfect Grade)]

[Cooking method: Thunderous Hot Pot.]

[Post-meal feedback: All crew members experienced an approximately 30% increase in reflexes and a 15% increase in strength. They also gained a lightning affinity constitution for seven to ten days, enabling them to release electrical energy on a small scale.]

[Side effect assessment: The rate of abnormal damage to the hull has increased by 200%, the shipwright's mental state is on the verge of collapse, and internal conflicts within the team have significantly increased... entertainment value.]

[Overall assessment: This is a top-tier strategic food source with high risk and high reward. It is recommended to use it with caution until the ship undergoes a complete insulation upgrade.]

He closed the notebook, walked over to Newgate, and unfolded the somewhat worn nautical chart of ingredients again.

"Captain, we've already tasted the power of lightning."

Raine's finger swept across seas teeming with exotic creatures, finally landing on a nearly forgotten corner at the edge of the map, marked with a huge question mark and a distorted clock.

"My next destination is here."

Newgate's gaze followed his finger, and a hint of curiosity and seriousness appeared in his hawk-like eyes.

"Oh? The Sea of ​​Time Stop? That place is no benevolent place. It is said that some ships that have ventured in have reappeared as decaying ghost ships, while others have turned into infants in swaddling clothes along with their crew."

"Legend has it that it is a graveyard of time, where even the passage of time is swallowed up by some unknown entity."

Newgate's voice was deep, clearly indicating that he had heard of this area.

"exactly."

The light in Raine's eyes shone like a gourmet discovering the unknown: "According to scattered records in ancient documents, that sea area is inhabited by a mythical ingredient called the Time Snail."

"Time Snail?"

Gatz and Oden were immediately drawn to the strange name.

"Ah."

Renn nodded.

"The creature itself is not aggressive, but its shell continuously absorbs and stores the surrounding flow of time."

"It is said that the time stored in the shell of an adult Time Snail is enough to allow the seasons of an island to cycle through in a single day."

"Because its meat has been aged for many years, it develops a very unique, mellow taste, like a fine vintage wine. More importantly..."

Raine's tone took on a barely perceptible heat: "Eating its flesh can allow a person's body to return to its peak state in a short period of time."

Back to the peak!

This statement was like a depth charge dropped into a calm lake, creating ripples on the deck.

Gatz and Oden didn't quite understand the deeper meaning of the sentence; they just thought it sounded impressive.

But Newgate and Dorum, these no-longer-young men, suddenly felt a sharp pain in their chests.

Newgate subconsciously touched his chest, which bore the marks of years of fighting, and his deep eyes shone with an unprecedented light.

Back to the top?

The one who could fight Roger and Garp to a standstill in God Valley, the one who could single-handedly contend with the entire Rocks Pirates?

This temptation was far more deadly to him than any treasure or throne.

"Hahaha! This is interesting! So interesting!"

Oden was the first to jump up. He drew his twin swords and excitedly said, "A snail that can make people young? If I eat it, will I be able to stay at my prime forever?"

"Idiot, that thing is definitely not easy to deal with."

Marco slapped the back of his head, but his eyes also gleamed with curiosity.

"Gulalalalala..."

Newgate watched his sons get excited again over an ingredient they hadn't even seen yet, and his own pride was completely ignited.

He rose from his throne, his mountain-like figure exuding an undeniable aura of dominance.

"Alright! Now that our head chef has chosen the longevity-enhancing tonic, we should naturally bring back the main course!"

Newgate made the final decision.

"My men! Set sail! Destination—the Sea of ​​Time Stop!"

"Oh oh oh oh oh!"

……

The voyage to the Sea of ​​Time is fraught with unknowns.

That area of ​​the sea was not marked on any official nautical chart. All that Rein had was a fragmented ancient map of ingredients, which only marked the approximate location and some vague warnings, such as "Do not trust your eyes, do not dwell on the past."

The New Moby Dick sailed away from the Sea of ​​Thunderclouds and entered a relatively calm sea area.

The tedious voyage began again, and the aftereffects of the Thunder Dragon Eel gradually subsided.

Gatz no longer easily let out electrified burps, and the arcs of electricity on the Oden sword disappeared without a trace, which greatly relieved Dorum. He felt that a few strands of his hair had grown back in the past few days.

Life on the ship returned to its usual noisy routine.

Oden has recently become obsessed with a board game that doesn't exist in Wano Country—chess.

Of course, it's his heavily modified version.

He had Dorum make several sets of giant chess pieces using the remaining Wapo metal and shape memory alloy on the ship, and then used the entire deck as a chessboard to play a real-life game against Gatz.

Gatz's king was himself, carrying an anchor, while Oden's king was himself, carrying two swords.

As for the other pieces, they were played by the ordinary crew members on the ship who were bored out of their minds.

The rules of this chess duel, which is full of violent aesthetics, are simple and brutal—to capture a piece is to beat up the opponent's crew members who play as pieces and then throw them into the sea.

"General! Gatz!"

Oden commanded his crew, who were playing the role of knights, to tear a hole in the defenses of the castle, played by Gatz, with a standard Sun-shaped leaping slash.

"Damn it! My castle!"

Enraged, Gatz roared and swung the anchor, ignoring all the rules, and smashed it at King Oden, calling it: "Change of Kings - Meteor Storm!"

Chaos erupted on the deck again, with Dorum's heart rate and repair cost estimates both soaring.

And Teach, still perfectly played his obedient and sensible role.

He never participated in these high-level games, but quietly served tea and water to everyone on the sidelines, always wearing that innocent yet ingratiating smile on his face.

He would applaud Oden's brilliant ideas, and pretend not to see Gatz cheating, then conveniently hand the stunned crew members a special energy drink made by Rein that could quickly restore their strength.

Chapter 199 Giant Turtle

On this day, the New Moby Dick sailed into a peculiar sea area.

The sky was no longer simply azure, but presented a magnificent and unique color, like the intertwining of sunset and dawn, half warm orange-red and half cool indigo, the dividing line as clear as if it had been cut by a sharp blade.

The sea was also clearly divided, with one side turbulent and the other calm, as if two completely different worlds had been forcibly spliced ​​together.

"My God...where am I?"

Dorum stared at the surreal scene before him, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the ship's rudder tightly.

"It seems we've... arrived at our destination."

Raine's voice came from behind him.

Almost the instant he finished speaking, all the clocks on the ship, whether it was the most sophisticated marine chronometer in Dorum's control room or the decorative pocket watch made of a sea king skull hanging from Gatz's waist, began to spin and whirl wildly in an extremely bizarre way, finally coming to a complete stop amidst a tooth-grinding clicking sound.

Then, something even stranger happened.

The steaming hot meat bun that Oden had just taken out of the kitchen cooled rapidly in his hands, hardened, grew green mold, and finally turned into a handful of black powder that slipped through his fingers.

It took no more than three seconds.

"My...my meat bun!"

Oden was dumbfounded; he felt as if his heart, like that meat bun, had shattered.

"Don't touch anything!"

Renn's voice rang out just in time.

"We have entered a region where the flow of time is unstable, where time is chaotic and it randomly accelerates or decelerates on objects."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the rust on the surface of a shell that had been left behind on the deck began to peel off rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, leaving it shiny and new as if it had just come from the factory.

"Hahaha! This is so much fun! This place is so much fun!"

Instead of being afraid, Oden was so excited that he danced around.

"So, can I see my future self here?"

"You are more likely to see yourself as a newborn."

Ryan calmly poured cold water on the situation.

Just then, the calm half of the sea suddenly exploded!

A monster, the size of a small island and resembling a giant sea turtle, with a mountain range made up of countless weathered rocks and ancient shipwrecks on its shell, broke out of the water.

Its two enormous eyes were filled with an ancient and desolate stillness, as if they had witnessed the passage of millions of years.

It slowly opened its abyss-like maw without making a sound, but an invisible, terrifying suction force that seemed to pull away time instantly enveloped the entire New Moby Dick!

Under this suction force, Dorum was horrified to find that his already thinning hair was turning gray at a visible speed, and several more wrinkles had appeared on his face.

"My youth! It's sucking away my youth!"

Faced with the terrifying suction force that could devour time itself, the rest of the crew on the New Moby Dick showed no panic; instead, they were all filled with excitement.

Gatz shouldered the anchor, eager to get started.

"This guy's shell looks really hard! I wonder how many of my cuts it can withstand!"

Oden gripped his twin swords, his eyes gleaming with excitement.