A cook, vice-captain of the Rocks Pirates?

"Raine, from today onwards you are mine! I'm going to keep you in my Kingdom for the rest of your life, and make me the most delicious desserts in the world every day!"

These words made the atmosphere tense again.

"Lingling, have you forgotten? He's the head chef on my ship."

Newgate's voice turned somber.

"So what! So what?"

Lingling swallowed the rest of the soufflé in one gulp, and her queen-like domineering aura returned to her face.

"I don't care whose side he is, from this moment on, he's mine! Anyone who dares to take him from me, I'll kill them!"

"That depends on whether you have the ability."

Newgate slowly stood up, his terrifying aura rising once more.

Just as a major battle over the cook was about to erupt, Ryan calmly spoke up.

"Ms. Lingling."

Ryan's voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"If you want me to cook for you, that's fine."

"Oh?"

A hint of joy flashed in Lingling's eyes.

"However, I have my own rules."

Raine's tone remained calm, yet it carried an undeniable power of law.

"If you want to become my customer, you must first become our friend."

"friend?"

Lingling scoffed, "On this vast ocean, there are only interests, no friends."

"That's a pity."

Renn shook his head.

"It seems that the dessert you just had was the last time in your life you would have the chance to taste my cooking."

After speaking, Ryan actually turned around and began to slowly tidy up his kitchen utensils, as if preparing to end the banquet.

Chapter 220 New Neighbors

This action completely stunned Lingling.

As she watched Ryan's resolute back, and savored the exquisite taste of the meal that had just been so delicious it had elevated her soul, she was torn between her inner turmoil and her own desires.

On one hand, there was her dignity and pride as a great pirate.

On the other side, there was that damned, irresistible temptation of delicious food.

Finally, after struggling for a full minute, Lingling gritted her teeth and squeezed out a sentence.

"Okay... I promise you! From today onwards, we're friends!"

She emphasized the word "friends," clearly showing her disdain for the word, but for the sake of the food, she still chose to compromise.

The Whitebeard Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates, two future Yonko (Four Emperors) forces, have surprisingly formed an extremely fragile and bizarre friendship because of a dessert.

The creator of all this was simply a chef who wanted to cook quietly.

The very act of Charlotte Linlin uttering the word "friend" is full of drama.

Newgate looked at her expression, which, though compromised, still screamed "I am the queen, and I make the decisions," and couldn't help but burst into laughter again.

He knew that this so-called friendship was more fragile than the shell of the ancestral tortoise beneath his feet, and could be blown away by a gust of wind.

"Now that we're friends, it's time to try the main course."

As if oblivious to the undercurrent of tension between the two, Ryan brought out the pot of Rainbow Soup of Longing that he had just cooked, serving a bowl to everyone present, including Lingling and her group of little brats who were staring longingly at them.

The soup has a vibrant, multicolored hue, and its aroma is gentle yet filled with a sense of nostalgia.

This time, Lingling didn't wolf down her food like before.

She imitated Newgate, taking small sips to savor it.

The warmth of the sheep's home reappeared before her eyes, but this time, the scene no longer made her feel pain and vulnerability; instead, it brought a sense of relief and warmth.

"Mmm...Raine, you're a monster."

Lingling put down her bowl, and for the first time, her eyes no longer held greed, but instead held a genuine, equal scrutiny.

"Each each other."

Ryan responded calmly.

The meeting, which was full of tension, finally came to an end in a peaceful yet eerie atmosphere.

Lingling didn't leave immediately; she seemed to have developed a strong interest in the ancestral giant tortoise, this mobile gourmet island.

Over the next few days, she actually acted like a guest, showing her children around the island.

Of course, her tour was also full of BIG·MOM's unique characteristics.

When she sees a river flowing with honey, she will lie down and drink her fill; when she sees a hill that looks like a biscuit, she will unceremoniously take a big bite out of it.

Her children also completely let loose.

Perospero discovered a candy tree that bore candies of all flavors, and he hung on it all day long, refusing to come down.

Daifuku and Owen became interested in food creatures that could move on their own, and the two brothers teamed up to stage a daily farce of chasing after live desserts.

Only Katakuri remained calm beyond his years. Instead of playing around, he often sat alone on the edge of the island, gazing at Rein's kitchen from afar, as if trying to see something through the rising smoke.

In the past few days, Ryan reciprocated by preparing afternoon tea for these special guests several times.

Each dessert was exquisite, leaving Lingling completely satisfied and temporarily forgetting her intention to steal someone away.

The members of the Whitebeard Pirates gradually got used to the presence of these new neighbors.

Gatz even had a unique contest with Katakuri—to see who could finish a whole mountain of cream puffs specially made by Rein the fastest.

As a result, Gatsu won by a narrow margin, while Katakuri revealed for the first time his mouth, which was covered by a scarf and had hideous fangs, and... his comical appearance of being covered in cream because he ate too fast.

This made him both ashamed and angry, and he didn't speak to anyone for three days, only silently venting his emotions with donuts.

This brief peace created an unusually harmonious atmosphere on both ships, even giving the illusion that the two pirate crews were about to merge.

However, everyone knows that this is just an illusion.

Newgate and Linlin, two beasts with the same domineering presence, are destined to take different paths.

They may sit together temporarily because of good food, but they can never walk side by side forever.

Sure enough, on the evening of the fifth day, this tranquility was broken.

A reconnaissance ship flying the flag of the Big Mom Pirates sped by, and a senior officer wearing a chef's hat and with a long nose rushed up to Linlin in a panic.

"Mom! Something terrible has happened! That bastard Kaido of the Beasts attacked our Cake Factory Island on the edge of the New World while you were away!"

"Kaido?!"

Lingling's face instantly darkened, and a terrifying killing intent erupted from her, as if the surrounding air had been frozen.

"That idiot who only knows how to drink and fight dares to mess with my cake factory! He's asking for death!"

Lingling's eyes burned with raging fury, and Prometheus and Zeus above her head also became violent once again.

"Men! Get ready to go! I'm going to twist off that bastard Kaido's horns and use them as decorations for my new cake!"

Lingling roared as she gave the order.

Newgate looked at the furious Lingling without saying a word, and just silently drank his wine.

He knew that this brief friendship had come to an end.

However, just as Lingling was about to board the ship and leave, Ryan suddenly spoke up.

"Wait a moment."

Lingling turned around and asked impatiently, "What else is it, kid! My cake factory is about to go bankrupt!"

"Kaido is very strong, and his pirate crew is known for their tenacious vitality. Even if you win in a head-on confrontation, you will inevitably pay a heavy price."

Ryan analyzed calmly.

"So what?!"

"I have something here that might be of help to you."

As he spoke, Ryan took a small package wrapped in special oil paper from his food box and handed it over.

"This is……"

Lingling took it with a puzzled look.

"I call it the Berserk Battlefield Energy Bar."

Raine explained, "Made with the heart of a Blazing Mammoth and Boiling Blood Grass, it can greatly enhance the user's strength and explosiveness in a short period of time, but the side effect is... that you will only want to eat spicy food for the next three days and lose interest in sweets."

Lingling: "..."

She looked at the still-warm energy bar in her hand, then at Raine's calm and expressionless face, and her expression became extremely conflicted.

Strength and dessert were the two most important things in her life.

And now, this man is actually asking her to choose between the two.

This is absolutely the devil's deal.

Chapter 221 A Chef's Ambition

"Hey, hey, hey! You little brat, are you trying to negotiate with me?"

A dangerous glint flashed in Charlotte Linlin's eyes. She gripped the small energy bar, and a terrifying burst of Conqueror's Haki appeared in a flash, freezing the surrounding air.

However, Renn remained calm and composed, as if the aura that could make even a lieutenant general tremble was merely a gentle breeze brushing against his cheek.

"This is not a condition, it's a deal."

Ryan calmly corrected, "A deal between friends."

He paused, then added, "Of course, you can also choose not to and go head-to-head with Kaido. After all, a cake factory can be rebuilt, but if some of your capable subordinates lose their lives as a result, it's not something that a few cakes can make up for."

Ryan's words struck Lingling's weak spot precisely.

Although she was tyrannical and capricious, she had an extraordinary obsession with the kingdom she had built and the children with special abilities.

She can tolerate her own failures, but she absolutely cannot tolerate any loss to her collection.

Looking at the energy bar in her hand, and then at the children not far away who, though young, had already shown great potential, Lingling's heart began to tip wildly.

Finally, she gritted her teeth and stuffed the energy bar into her mouth.

An indescribable, explosively spicy flavor instantly exploded in her mouth!

The feeling was like swallowing a live, erupting volcano!

"Oh oh oh oh oh!"

Lingling's body jolted violently, and a visible, dark red energy burst forth from her. Her massive body seemed to expand even further, brimming with an unprecedented sense of power.

"So spicy! So good!"

Lingling's face contorted with a mixture of pain and excitement.

"I feel like... I could send Kaido flying with one punch!"

"But... why can't I think about Mapo Tofu and Boiled Fish right now... what's a cake? Can you eat it?"

Lingling's sense of taste and appetite were forcibly distorted in the face of Raine's cooking.

"The deal is done."

"In exchange for the formula for this energy bar, and a supply of ten bars per month for the rest of the year," Raine said calmly.

"What is that?!"