The Great Voyage: The Props Master on the Straw Hat Ship

Sanji's tone grew increasingly serious, "This guest, I assure you, I strictly adhere to the requirements during the tasting, and I'm several times stricter than the average chef!!"

He spoke with his back straight and his tone firm; he had indeed always acted in accordance with those requirements.

However~

"But as far as I know, any chef who is truly devoted to cooking would never do anything that would harm their sense of taste and smell."

Link immediately pointed out Sanji's flaw, "If I'm not mistaken, Mr. Chef, you're smoking, aren't you?"

One-hit kill! A clean KO!!

After Link finished speaking, the resolute expression on Sanji's face froze.

Indeed, as Link said, he was smoking, and had been doing so for a long time.

The harmful substances contained in tobacco also have a certain impact on the sense of taste and smell.

Sanji himself was well aware of this, and he immediately fell silent.

Because on this point, he truly cannot refute it.

"That's why I feel it's such a pity, Mr. Chef."

Seeing Sanji's silence, Link shook his head.

Sanji's serious attitude towards chefs, cooking skills, and food is absolutely beyond question.

However, it was just being serious.

Sanji's two biggest dreams are to find and go to All Blue, and to visit the women's bathhouse.

One is the ingredients, and the other is the woman; it's not about becoming the world's number one chef.

This shows that his attitude towards cooking is still somewhat weak.

Otherwise, they wouldn't come into contact with cigarettes, which damages the sense of taste and smell, and is the last thing a chef should come into contact with.

"It's true that I'm lacking in this area..."

After a brief silence, Sanji slowly spoke, "But please rest assured, the taste of the food is absolutely perfect."

I believe that.

Link picked up another crab cake with his fork. "The taste says it all."

Then his other hand suddenly pressed down on a rubber hand that had run into his plate.

"I'm talking about Luffy..."

Link looked over with a half-smile, "Aren't you overreaching a bit?"

He said with a forced smile, "As the captain, you wouldn't even steal food from your crew's plates, would you?"

"I can't help it, it's just too delicious!!"

Luffy didn't hold back his praise for the food, nor did he notice Link's dangerous smile and eyes.

Then, her eyes lit up as she looked at Sanji, who was standing there.

"Your cooking skills are simply unparalleled, you did an amazing job! Would you like to join us on a voyage and become our companion?!" This sudden invitation is very much in line with Luffy's style.

"I'm sorry, but I'm the sous chef here, and it's impossible for me to go out to sea with you as a chef."

Sanji refused without even thinking.

"No way! The sea is so much fun! Come join us and become pirates, let's go on an adventure on the Grand Line!!"

"I said I'm not going, and that means I'm not going! Are you pirates? I'm not going with you!!"

"Sanji!!"

Suddenly, a majestic voice rang out from the spiral staircase on the second floor.

040 You want to challenge us to a cooking contest? [Thanks to April's Ideal and 2209.. for the monthly tickets!!]

"You got into a conflict with a customer again?!"

A figure with two golden braids, wearing a very tall chef's hat that looked like it could be used to hit people, and with a distinct wooden prosthetic leg on his right foot appeared there.

"How many cases is this this week?"

The owner of the sea restaurant, Sanji's mentor in kicking techniques and cooking, Zeff who once challenged the Grand Line and emerged unscathed, and whose legwork is said to leave a mark on steel, all wore a stern expression.

He doesn't look like the kind of stern old man who's easy to get along with.

"I didn't, you old geezer."

As he spoke, Sanji instinctively reached for a cigarette and lit it.

But when he thought of what Link had told him before, he paused and silently put the cigarette back in his hand.

His entire behavior was observed by Zeff.

"You idiot, you only ever cause trouble for others!!"

Squeak, squeak.

Zhepna's wooden feet stepped down the stairs, one step at a time.

"I'm sorry, everyone. This idiot can be quite unreliable sometimes. I hope you don't mind."

“It’s alright, he didn’t do anything. He’s just the deputy head chef here. So, sir, are you his superior?”

Luffy glanced at Zeff, then at Sanji who had taken a step back, and blinked.

“Yes, what does this guest want to say?” Zeff said.

"Is such that……"

Luffy rubbed his hands together and chuckled:

"I think he's pretty good, and I want to recruit him to our ship as a pirate. I wonder if you, Elder Chef, could let him go?"

曜?

Link looked at Luffy with some surprise after hearing his words.

It's rare to see Luffy so organized and knowing exactly who his target is.

It's probably mostly related to cooking. This guy can solve math problems incredibly fast whenever it's related to food.

After sleeping for three days, it took me three seconds to realize that I had missed fifteen meals, even if we count five meals a day...

"You want to take this good-for-nothing junior away?"

Although Luffy's words were so forceful, he wanted to take away the restaurant's most important second-in-command besides the head chef.

However, Zeff did not fly into a rage; he simply looked calmly at Luffy with his weathered eyes.

"Although I am also very reluctant for him to continue to stay here and ruin my restaurant, it is a joke for you to think you can take him away with just empty words, sir."

"I……"

Just as Luffy was about to say something, Link pulled him aside from behind.

"Head Chef, how about this?"

Link stepped forward with a smile, "Since this is a restaurant, let's let our cooking skills speak for themselves."

"Your restaurant sends one of its best chefs to compete with us in cooking. If we win, we can take him home, how about that?"

"Huh? A cooking competition?"

Whether it was Sanji, who was about to lash out, or Paddy and the other chefs who had gathered around to watch the spectacle, they were all stunned at this moment, looking at Link strangely as if he were an overconfident mayfly.

"You want to have a cooking competition with us?"

Even Zeff was slightly taken aback.

When he realized Link wasn't joking, his expression slowly darkened.

"Don't joke around, kid. This is the best floating restaurant in the entire East China Sea. You want to compete with us in cooking?!"

Zeff was almost amused by his own anger, feeling that Link was being far too arrogant and ignorant.

"You are welcome to try it and see the results."

Link, however, remained completely undisturbed, continuing to chuckle softly:

"Anyway, this is your home turf, Chef, and as a restaurant, I don't think you would refuse a challenger if they came to visit, right?"

"Of course!"

When Paddy mentioned cooking skills, he crossed his arms and looked extremely confident.

"Baratie, who bears the name of a warrior, will not refuse any challenger, let alone a contest of culinary skills!!"

Although Zeff didn't say anything, he conveyed the same meaning.

He looked at Link and said, "Kid, we accept your challenge and your bet!"

His golden beard swung back and forth, exuding powerful confidence.

"I'm saying, consider other people's feelings, don't just casually use me as a gamble!!"

Sanji objected when he heard this; he didn't want to be used as a bargaining chip.

Zeff seemed not to hear: "Kid, you win, we give up Sanji, but what if you lose? We can't just make a deal for nothing, can we?"

Sanji, annoyed: "Hey! Hey! Hey!!"

“If you win, I will allow him the opportunity to have dinner with that lady.”

Link pointed at Nami while glancing at Sanji.

Sanji: "??!!!! [Heart]!"

Nami, who was watching the show nearby, immediately spoke up when she heard Link suddenly point his finger at her.

She was about to angrily refuse when she saw Link turn his face:

"If we lose, I will hand over the financial control of the ship to you."

"...Compete well, and good luck!!"

Nami immediately fell silent, then returned Link a sweet smile.

Then she winked at Sanji, "Have a good competition, sous chef! I'm really looking forward to dinner with you!!" She also understood Link's unspoken meaning: it was just an opportunity, and she could easily get away with it.

Sauron: "..."

Usopp: "..."

You clearly crave control of the finances, don't you...?

The two looked at each other in silence, their faces blank with disbelief.

041 You clearly just want to eat... [Thanks to 苦无1412 for the 588 reward!!]

Bang bang bang! !

Sanji's heart was pounding, and he felt like his bones were melting because Nami had "favored" him.

"Yosh, I accept this challenge!!"

A flame called "love" seemed to ignite behind him, making his blood boil and his fighting spirit soar.

Of course, the most important thing is that Sanji is very confident in his cooking skills.

"I will never lose!!"

"Is everything alright, Captain?"

After making his arrangements, Link finally looked at Luffy.

"Of course, no problem! This is all for our future chef partners!!"

Luffy nodded firmly, then casually wiped the waterfall of drool from the corner of his mouth.

"You were clearly looking forward to the food, weren't you? Your eyes practically turned into meat!"

A group of chefs who were watching were all complaining.

"The parties involved and our captain have both agreed, so it's settled then."

Link smiled. "The one who came out to compete on our side is, without a doubt... myself."

During this time, Link paused and looked back, only to see Zoro, Usopp, and the others at the table, all tacitly drinking their drinks and turning their heads away in silence.