A cook, vice-captain of the Rocks Pirates?

In the very center of the kitchen, five enormous, transparent containers, resembling hibernation pods, were soaking five kinds of unheard-of magical ingredients that emitted different lights.

There are fruits that shine like a burning sun, mushrooms that pulsate like solidified lightning, and a strange plant that is completely black and seems to absorb all light...

"This is our kitchen."

The blond Five Elders' voice carried a hint of haughty arrogance.

"Every ingredient here is enough to drive the outside world crazy, and every piece of kitchenware here represents the highest level of technology in the world."

"Now, you may begin your performance, Master Chef."

They wanted to see what this brat, whom even Lord Im looked up to, could create with these top-tier resources.

Ryan ignored their boasting and simply walked in with calm steps, like a king surveying his territory.

Gatz, Joz, and Marco followed him in, standing in a triangular formation behind Rein, like three silent guardian deities. The invisible pressure they exuded made the CP0 members responsible for monitoring feel a chill run down their spines.

"These kitchen utensils are all show and no substance."

Renn glanced at the high-tech equipment and calmly gave his assessment.

"True cuisine cannot be separated from the temperature of the flame and the touch of the chef's hands; cold machines produce only soulless food."

He walked up to the five enormous containers, his gaze sweeping over the five magical ingredients, and for the first time, a genuine, chef-like fervor appeared in his eyes.

"The ingredients are good, but unfortunately, they were stored incorrectly."

Renn shook his head.

"Soaking them in this lifeless nutrient solution will only cause their core life energy to continuously leak out, which is a waste of resources."

These merciless comments made the Five Elders' faces grow increasingly grim.

"You sharp-tongued brat!"

The five elders holding the knife said coldly, "I want to see what kind of things you can make from this trash that you've despised to be worthless!"

"It's very simple."

Ryan turned around and looked at them calmly.

"Five guests, five different constitutions, naturally require five different dishes."

He stretched out his finger and pointed at the five elders in turn.

The first one refers to the Five Elders with swords.

"Your sword intent is too sharp, harming both yourself and others. You need a dish that can harmonize metal and fire to nourish it."

The second one is the blonde Five Elders.

"You, having held a high position for many years, have an overheated temper and excessive worries. You need a dish that can calm your mind and soothe your nerves."

"And you..."

Ryan's gaze lingered on each of the Five Elders for a moment, clearly seeing their deepest physical hidden dangers and needs.

This divine insight stirred up a storm in the hearts of the five elders.

This young man saw not only their bodies, but also their souls!

"Alright, diagnosis complete."

Ryan clapped his hands as if he had only done a trivial thing.

"Gats, smash that Sun Fruit open for me."

"Joz, use your diamond body to grind that lightning mushroom into powder."

"Marco, use your flames to burn away the excess impurities in that dark plant."

Ryan's instructions were concise yet filled with unquestionable authority.

A culinary show filled with violent aesthetics, performed exclusively by divine chefs in the kitchen of the world's highest authority, has officially begun.

Gatz roared excitedly, and using the incredibly hard sun fruit as a coconut, he anchored it down. The fruit split open, and golden juice splattered everywhere.

Joz then placed the mushroom containing violent lightning energy on his diamond-like arm and easily ground it into the finest powder, as if he were scrubbing it in the bath.

With a gentle sweep of Marco's Azure Flame Wings, the dark plant exuding an ominous aura let out a mournful cry. All the negative energy was burned away by the pure life fire, leaving only the purest energy crystals.

The Five Elders and the surrounding CP0 members watched as these monsters treated top-quality ingredients like toys with such brutality, their eyes twitching wildly.

They had a premonition that this meal would probably be the most expensive, and also the most... nerve-wracking, meal they had ever eaten in their lives.

The atmosphere in the Five Elders' private kitchen became unusually eerie because of Raine's unconventional cooking methods.

There's no smoky atmosphere like in a traditional kitchen here, only the soft hum of an energy field in operation, and the rhythmic roar of Gatz cracking walnuts... no, cracking fruit.

Chapter 235 Custom-made dishes for the Five Elders

Renn's movements were fluid and graceful, full of a certain mysterious rhythm.

Instead of using those fancy fully automatic cooking machines, he had Gatz place a huge iron pot, made of shape memory alloy by Dorum and brought from the progenitor tortoise, on the energy field.

"Turn the temperature to the highest setting, and then, use all your strength to rhythmically pound the bottom of the pot."

Rein gave Gatz his first command.

"Alright! Head Chef!"

Gatz responded excitedly, and he used the huge anchor as a drumstick, beginning a passionate "drumming" performance on the bottom of the giant pot.

Each strike contained his domineering and tyrannical aura, which miraculously resonated with the pot and the energy field, causing the temperature inside the pot to rise rapidly in an irregular, pulsating manner.

"This is... the random forging method?"

The five elders holding swords looked at Gatz's haphazard tapping with a hint of surprise in their eyes.

That is a secret technique that only the legendary blacksmiths of Wano Country can master, which uses irregular hammering to unleash the deepest potential of metal.

This chef actually used it in cooking?

Ignoring their surprise, Raine mixed the lightning mushroom powder that Joz had ground with several other spices that had a calming effect, and then put it into the pot.

Under that pulsed high temperature, the mushroom powder is instantly activated, and the violent lightning energy becomes gentle, blending perfectly with the aroma of spices to release a unique, invigorating yet calming complex fragrance.

"Alright, Gatz, stop."

"Raine said calmly."

He scooped out the fried powder, then put the dark plant crystals purified by Marco and several nourishing herbs into the pot. This time, he had Marco simmer them over a low flame with the Phoenix Flame.

The azure flame of life gently enveloped the bottom of the pot, its pure life energy completely purifying the last trace of savagery in the dark plants, leaving only the purest energy that could nourish the soul.

Throughout the cooking process, Ryan was like a top-notch artist, perfectly blending the two diametrically opposed forces of violence and tenderness, destruction and creation.

The five elders watched in silence. They had lived for hundreds of years and tasted all the world's finest cuisines, but they had never seen such an unconventional cooking method.

This is no longer cooking; it's practically a performance art piece filled with philosophical contemplation.

Finally, after nearly an hour of violent and aesthetic cooking, five seemingly ordinary dishes, yet radiating a strange light, were served to the five elders.

Each dish is precisely tailored to the individual's physical condition.

What was given to the Five Elders with their swords was a bowl of crystal-clear golden soup, made by simmering the pulp of the Sun Fruit with a mineral salt that could neutralize sharpness, called Sun Wheel Soup.

The golden-haired Five Elders received a deep, obsidian-like pastry made from dark plant crystals and calming herbs, called Tranquility Cake.

The other three dishes were also very targeted, each one seemingly a magic elixir tailored specifically for them.

"Please use it."

Raine said calmly, as if he had just cooked a simple home-cooked meal.

The five elders exchanged glances, each seeing a mixture of solemnity and anticipation in the other's eyes.

Without further hesitation, they slowly picked up their cutlery.

The Five Elders with their knives were the first to scoop up a spoonful of the Sun Wheel Soup and put it in their mouths.

The moment the soup entered his mouth, all the expressions on his face, which resembled withered tree bark, froze instantly.

A warm yet domineering energy, as pure as the sun, instantly exploded within his body!

He felt as if his body, which had become somewhat cold and withered from years of practicing the ultimate swordsmanship, had been infused with a new vitality, and every inch of his meridians and every drop of his blood was cheering.

Even more strangely, he felt that his first generation Kitetsu, which always exuded an ominous and resentful aura, had become much more docile under this warm energy, and the demonic aura on the blade had subsided somewhat.

However, just as he was marveling at the miraculous effect, a completely different feeling welled up from the depths of his soul.

He seemed to see himself in his youth, at the moment when he first grasped the first generation Kitetsu and vowed to cut off all injustice in the world.

The sword intent at that time was pure, sharp, and full of vitality.

Compared to now, his swordsmanship, now eroded by power and time, leaving only coldness and ruthlessness, seems so... pathetic.

This bowl of soup not only nourished his body, but also revealed the rust in his heart.

Not only him, but the other four members of the Five Elders also showed extremely complicated expressions after tasting their respective dishes.

Without exception, they all felt an immediate improvement in their strength, their physical injuries were healed, and their mental fatigue was swept away.

At the same time, they were also touched by the pure will contained in the dish, which made them see their long-forgotten past and their souls corrupted by power.

This is no dish; it's clearly five potent medicines that work on the soul!

"Good...good food!"

The blond Five Elders put down the calming cake in his hand and looked at Rein with an extremely complicated expression.

"You not only healed our bodies, but also...examined our souls."

"I'm just a chef."

Ryan's answer remained the same.

"I'm only responsible for presenting the most authentic flavor of the ingredients. As for what you taste, that's your own business."

These words plunged the five elders into silence once again.

Looking at the young man before them, whose calm demeanor seemed otherworldly, they felt a chill, a chill that emanated from the depths of their souls, for the first time.

This man wasn't using force to fight them; he was using a higher dimension, a way they couldn't understand, to dismantle their rock-solid will to rule.

His threat was a thousand times more terrifying than the pure destruction of Rocks.

A long, suffocating silence fell between those in power.

The five elders sat there quietly, savoring the dual impact on their bodies and souls brought about by the five dishes.

They felt as if they had experienced a long and real dream, in which they rediscovered their original aspirations that had long been worn away by time and power, only to be pierced and wounded by the coldness of reality when they woke up.

This feeling gave them both an unprecedented sense of comfort and a sense of shame and fear at being seen through.

“Raine…”

The tallest of the five elders finally spoke, his voice no longer as majestic as before, but instead carrying a hint of barely perceptible hoarseness and weariness.

"Your cooking truly lives up to its reputation."

He looked at Renn, his eyes filled with an extremely complicated expression: "Tell me, what do you want?"

He knew that the other party had gone to great lengths to come here not just to fulfill the so-called cooperation agreement, nor to show off their culinary skills.

This young man must have a deeper purpose.

Chapter 236 Raine's Demand

"It's very simple."

Raine calmly met his gaze, as if she had expected him to ask that question.

"I need something, something that you can only find here."

"what?"

Raine didn't answer directly; he simply reached out and lightly touched the empty tabletop.

An invisible sense of food spread out, creating a clear, three-dimensional image on the tabletop using light and shadow.

That was a tree.

A colossal tree, so enormous it seemed to stretch across the heavens and the earth.