A cook, vice-captain of the Rocks Pirates?

The dreamlike defense that existed between reality and illusion completely vanished, revealing a solid body that looked like it was cast in gold and had a metallic texture.

It woke up.

He was abruptly woken up by a chili pepper from Ryan.

"Hahaha! It worked! This guy finally got up!"

Newgate burst into laughter.

"Now, it's time for us to treat it to a real breakfast!"

Once awakened, the griffin is far more terrifying than when it is asleep.

It no longer uses those bizarre rule-based abilities, but instead displays the most primal and pure power of the Sky Overlord.

With a flap of its wings, the swirling winds it created were like countless invisible blades, slicing the surrounding crystalline rocks into pieces.

Its lion-like maw opened, and what it spewed out was no longer hypnotic sound waves, but a golden destructive beam that was condensed with enormous energy and was comparable to an admiral-level attack!

"Good timing!"

Joz roared and charged forward again.

This time, without the interference of the laws of dreams, his indestructible diamond body finally unleashed its true power.

boom!

The destructive beam struck Joz squarely in the chest with a deafening roar, but only left a charred mark on his brilliant diamond surface, failing to cause him any damage.

"My turn!"

On Vista's twin swords, the power of Ryuo surged. He seized the gap in the griffin's attack, his figure as swift as the wind, and two sharp slashes landed precisely at the base of the griffin's wings.

clang!

Like the sound of metal clashing, Vista's slash only left two shallow white marks on the surface.

"This guy's feathers are harder than steel!"

A serious expression appeared on Vista's face.

"Its weakness lies beneath the soft downy fur on its belly!"

Raine's voice came again, like the calmest narrator, providing the most precise strategy for this battle.

"Marco! Distract its vision!"

"Joz! Hold it down!"

"Vita! Prepare your strongest slash!"

"Roger that!"

The three responded in unison, their tacit understanding honed over years of fighting side by side reaching its peak at this moment.

Marco transformed into a phoenix, circling back and forth in front of the griffin, its blue flame feathers scattering like celestial flowers, constantly disrupting the griffin's vision.

Joz seized the opportunity to grab the griffin's two hind legs from below, channeling all his strength into his arms. No matter how the griffin struggled, it was as if it were being clamped in iron pincers and could not move.

"Now!"

Vista seized the fleeting opportunity, channeling all his domineering aura into his twin blades.

"Rose Blossoms - Ultimate Technique - One Sword to Overwhelm the City!"

A dazzling sword light, condensed to its fullest extent and seemingly capable of splitting the sky in two, slashed precisely at the griffin's soft belly!

puff!

This time, without the protection of its hard feathers, the griffin's abdomen was unsurprisingly ripped open with a huge gash, and golden blood gushed out like a fountain.

With a mournful cry of despair, the sky overlord that had ruled the floating islands for thousands of years crashed to the ground, its massive body losing all traces of life.

The battle ended, and the group finally reached the summit.

Enveloped in a rainbow-colored mist, an orchid of extraordinary beauty was quietly blooming.

Its petals are translucent, as if made of frozen rainbow, swaying gently in the breeze, constantly releasing a mesmerizing mist that evokes the most beautiful memories in people's hearts.

Raine carefully stepped forward and used a specially made crystal container to collect the legendary Rainbow Mist Orchid along with the soil around its roots.

……

That evening, a unique feast unfolded once again on the back of the ancestral giant tortoise.

Raine didn't cook with the griffin's meat. In his opinion, the creature's meat had become tough and dry due to its long slumber, and had lost its best flavor.

He used a peculiar creature called the "longing fish," which he collected during the day and which floated in the sea of ​​clouds, as his main ingredient. This fish has no taste, but it can perfectly absorb and present the flavors of other ingredients.

Then, he carefully plucked a few pollen grains from the rainbow mist orchid and sprinkled them into the simmering fish soup.

When the pot of Rainbow Soup, with its dreamlike iridescent sheen, was served, everyone was drawn to its gentle and nostalgic aroma.

After finishing a bowl of soup, I didn't gain any strength.

But everyone's face was adorned with an incredibly happy, childlike smile.

Gatz recalled the scene from when he was a child, when he first secretly stole a whole roasted pig from the richest man in the village—a scene filled with a guilty conscience yet immense satisfaction.

Dorum saw the joy he felt when he was young, building his first small wooden boat that could be launched into the sea and setting sail in the sunset.

Newgate saw the boundless longing for the future in the heart of a man sitting alone by the sea after the Battle of God Valley, deciding to build a home that truly belonged to him.

This is a baptism of the soul.

With this dish, Ryan healed the subtle wounds and regrets left on each of them by the past years, making their hearts more transparent and the bonds of this family even stronger.

"Thief, hahahaha..."

In the corner, Teach sipped his soup, and images also surfaced in his mind.

In an unknown, dark corner, a similarly thin boy was clutching a tattered Devil Fruit illustration book tightly to his chest, his face bearing the same greedy and longing smile as it did now.

"Dreams... will never end..."

He muttered to himself in a low voice.

Chapter 217 An Old Acquaintance, Charlotte Linlin

After the banquet, the ancestral giant tortoise set off again.

Its enormous body slowly descended from the sea of ​​clouds, returning to that azure, real sea.

The ancestral giant tortoise ignored the wind and waves, and was unafraid of the undercurrents. Like a moving continent with its own will, it glided smoothly on the blue sky.

The crew had long been accustomed to this luxurious mode of sailing and had even begun to feel that it was a bit too comfortable.

Gatz's daily practice changed from waving the anchor on the deck to practicing diving on the edge of the island.

Of course, his meteor-like entry into the water always elicited Dorum's heart-wrenching roar and a slight, hiccup-like sway from the progenitor turtle.

Rennes remained the same Rennes, calm and focused, as if all the noise and commotion outside had nothing to do with him.

He devoted most of his time to studying the Heart of the World.

Under the gentle life-giving heat of the Phoenix Flame, the seven-colored light within the Heart of the World became increasingly solid, and even began to emanate a faint energy full of creative energy.

Raine tried using this energy to water an ordinary spice flower on the island, and overnight the flower grew petals as clear as crystal, and its fragrance became purer and more lingering.

This discovery thrilled him and filled him with endless imagination about his future culinary journey.

And so, in a somewhat mundane yet comforting atmosphere among family members, they sailed for nearly three months.

On this day, when the ancestral giant tortoise slowly sailed into a brand new sea area, everyone was stunned by the sight before them.

The seawater in this area is no longer simply azure, but presents a magnificent pink color, like a strawberry milkshake, and there is even a thin layer of sweet-smelling mist floating on the surface.

The air was filled with an intensely sweet aroma, a blend of cake, candy, and cream; just one breath was enough to send your blood sugar soaring.

"My mother..."

Gatz lay on the edge of the island, his huge nostrils snorting like a blower, his saliva flowing like a small waterfall, dripping directly into the pink sea below and creating ripples.

"This...this sea...smells even sweeter than Chef Renn's birthday cake!"

"Gurarararar! Interesting! What an interesting place!"

Newgate also stood up. His Observation Haki, as deep as the ocean, allowed him to clearly sense that every corner of this sea was filled with an incredibly vast life energy, but that energy carried a peculiar rhythm belonging to the soul level.

However, at that moment, Renn's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

He caught a whiff of something familiar yet somewhat strange in that sweet fragrance.

It was a flavor that mixed domineering, greedy, willful, and a hint of... old grudges.

"captain."

Ryan's voice was calm, but carried a hint of warning: "It seems we've trespassed on the territory of someone we know."

Almost the instant he finished speaking, a gigantic, magnificent ship, resembling a moving cake castle, slowly sailed towards them on the distant horizon.

On the sail, a pirate flag with a grinning skull and crossed candy canes fluttered in the wind.

At the bow of that ship, a massive figure, as large as a mountain, stood silently with its arms crossed.

Even from a great distance, everyone could still feel the terrifying, almost catastrophic, oppression emanating from that figure.

"Ugh... I smell a scent that's both nostalgic and incredibly repulsive..."

A sharp yet authoritative female voice echoed across the sea like rolling thunder, clearly reaching everyone's ears.

"is her?"

Newgate's pupils contracted sharply as he stared at the familiar yet unfamiliar figure in the distance, a complex expression on his face.

Gatz and Silver were also taken aback. Although they didn't recognize him immediately, judging from Newgate's solemn expression and the terrifying aura emanating from him, he was definitely a monster of the same level as them.

The cake ship approached at a speed disproportionate to its size, eventually stopping less than a kilometer away from the progenitor tortoise.

The group finally got a clear look at the woman at the bow of the ship.

She was an enormous woman, perhaps no longer worthy of being called a woman, but rather a moving pink mountain of flesh.

She wore a huge pink dress, her face was covered in heavy makeup, and her long pink hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall.

Her mouth stretched into a wide grin, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, and her eyes were filled with undisguised greed and savagery.

The hat on her head and the clouds at her feet were both living beings with self-awareness; one was like the sun, radiating scorching heat, and the other was like a thundercloud, flashing with dangerous lightning.

"Charlotte Linlin..."

Newgate slowly uttered the name.

This guy, who was once his partner in the Rocks Pirates, left after the Rocks Pirates were destroyed and later formed his own pirate crew.

For many years, Charlotte Linlin and her pirate crew have been renowned on the high seas, but they have never encountered her.

I never expected to meet you here in this way.

However, the Lingling before them was completely different from the female crew member they remembered, who was just as strong but still had a slender figure.

Now, she has truly become a middle-aged woman in the truest sense.

"Newgate? What the hell are you doing here, you bastard?"

Lingling's gaze swept over the moving land of the Primordial Giant Tortoise, a hint of greed flashing in her eyes, but it ultimately landed on Newgate, her tone unfriendly.

“I was going to ask you that too, Lingling.”

Newgate said in a deep voice, "Is this your territory?"

"That's right! This is my country, Totland! A gourmet utopia where all races of the world can live together in peace!"

Lingling spread her arms wide and said in a boastful tone.

Just then, several small figures peeked out from behind her, curiously observing the group of uninvited guests opposite her.

They were children who looked only a few years old, but each of them was strangely shaped and full of inhuman features.

The boy in the lead was a little taller, with short red hair. His mouth was covered by a huge scarf, revealing only a pair of incredibly sharp eyes that were scrutinizing everyone.

Beside him, a tall, thin boy with a long tongue was licking a giant lollipop that was taller than him, a playful smile on his face.

There were also several smaller children, some with three eyes, and some with arms that could be stretched out at will, like rice cakes.

Katakuri, Perospero, Daifuku, Owen... these future Sweet Commanders who will shake the New World are currently just a group of little kids following their mothers around, full of curiosity about the world.