Chapter 348: Vinsmoke, Who Will Cook?

When the Sunny set sail again, there were two more people on board.

One of them had a jaguar's face, with golden fur spotted with black marks, long wavy golden hair that covered his left eye. He wore a green jacket, a deep green cloak, and looked like a wandering swordsman.

Pedro, with a bounty of 382 million Berry, was the leader of the Mink Tribe's White Whale Forest Swordsmen in Zou and a reliable assistant to Nekomamushi. Familiar with Whole Cake Island, he volunteered to guide the Straw Hat Crew, making him a high-level member of the Four Emperors' crew. 

In fact, he had once defeated Baron Tamago of the Big Mom Pirates in single combat. Among the Mink Tribe, his strength was second only to the Kings of the Cats and Dogs.

The other: a rabbit-headed clash!! "Who told you to eat my carrot—"

Rabbit biting!! "You're gonna die! Let go!!"

Looking at Charlotte, who was fighting with Luffy, Roman calmly waved his hand while explaining information to everyone. 

"Calm down, you two. If you've got too much energy, go train in the room." 

"Charlotte, if you keep this up, I'll send you back."

"Nooo!" 

The bunny girl, who had just been 'darkened' a moment ago, suddenly knelt in front of the jaguar with tears in her eyes. 

"Wanda won't forgive me..."

Knowing the consequences and still sneaking away? This is why people don't learn. Of course, Roman had already noticed the bunny girl sneaking onto the ship. 

Despite her rabbit-like appearance—two long ears, a fluffy round tail, a small slender body, long sexy legs, and an adorable look—Charlotte was actually strong! Especially when in her 'Moon Lion' state, she could hold her own against a high-ranking Four Emperors member, so Roman chose to turn a blind eye.

"Anyway, Sanji's background starts with the 'Germa 66'... you've all heard of that organization, right?"

"Hey, isn't that a manga story?"

"Zola, who can walk on the sea, leads a team of robots and seagulls to fight the evil 'Germa 66'..."

Usopp looked starry-eyed. 

"'Warrior of the Sea Zola' was a must-read manga for me!"

The war between the assassin group Germa 66 and the hero of the sea was a very famous manga in the North Sea, even Nami, from East Blue, had heard of it. 

"No, actually, 'Germa 66' is real. Sanji is part of this legendary organization!"

This made even Luffy listen seriously to Roman's explanation. 

"In the North Sea, there was a royal family called the 'Vinsmoke Family.' They once ruled the entire North Sea for 66 days through force. But they were eventually overthrown because the World Government wouldn't allow such a powerful nation to exist..."

That's right, this is the true history. If not for the World Government's support, how could the other royal families of the North Sea have possibly competed with the Vinsmoke family? As for the manga published afterward, it was just a little trick by the World Government to smear their opponents.

"The Vinsmoke family is now a 'nation' without land, relying on ships carried by giant snails to form a 'moving castle.' Their income comes from fighting as 'mercenaries' for other countries. Even so, the Vinsmoke family still has the right to attend the World Government meetings."

"Roman, what does this have to do with Sanji?"

Roman looked up at the sky, wondering how anyone could expect Luffy to understand the concept of 'information.' This was meant for everyone else, not for the captain who only needed to focus on eating and fighting.

"It's simple. Sanji's full name is 'Vinsmoke Sanji.'"

"Which means, he's actually a prince of the 'Germa 66' Vinsmoke family."

"Wait... Sanji is a prince?"

"Although he's quite the gentleman, being a prince is...?"

"How is that possible? That perverted cook a prince? Then I must be a king!"

Roman glanced at Zoro, who seemed dismissive.

One shouldn't speak so carelessly. Zoro, you could very well have some hidden identity revealed one day—after all, even Roman, a Celestial Dragon, is sitting here. What's impossible? 

"Anyway, the Vinsmoke family is planning to marry into the BIG MOM Pirates. Their status as a 'World Government allied nation' will likely be revoked by the World Government. If you look at it this way—"

"Unless the benefits of the marriage outweigh the power of being a 'World Allied Nation.'"

Robin picked up the conversation.

"And in most cases, the power of the BIG MOM Pirates would be the reason, right?"

"Exactly," Roman nodded and continued as others looked on, confused.

"As far as I know, the Vinsmoke family plans to use the marriage to gain the power of the BIG MOM Pirates and then launch a large-scale attack on the countries in the North Blue, to restore the glory of their 'Germa Kingdom.' And this time—"

"It certainly won't be as short-lived as the 66 days. Unfortunately,"

"They're making a deal with the devil!"

The Vinsmoke family wants to use the BIG MOM Pirates' power, but they don't realize that the other side also wants to take them over. As soon as the Vinsmoke family steps onto Totto Land's territory, they'll be trapped!

Although Sanji's father, Vinsmoke Judge, is fairly strong, with two older brothers, a sister, and a younger brother all at the level of the Four Emperors' officers, they still can't match up to the enormous BIG MOM Pirates.

Just the Three Sweet Commanders alone are more than the Vinsmoke family can handle, not to mention 'Big Mom' Charlotte Linlin!

"Anyway, this marriage is very suspicious."

Of course, Roman couldn't directly say, "The Vinsmoke family plans to marry off their useless son, Sanji, while Big Mom has plans to absorb the Vinsmoke family." So he just provided some basic information: "If Sanji were really a 'prince' of the North Blue, there's no reason he'd end up working at a restaurant in East Blue. And the family members he mentions all the time are always 'old man Zeff.' He probably doesn't have a good relationship with the Vinsmoke family. Now, suddenly, they're forcing him into this marriage, which feels..."

"Just like those princesses who are sent off for political marriage!"

Nami propped up her chin, deep in thought.

Although this world isn't strictly patriarchal, if there are extra daughters, political marriages still happen.

"Ah~~ forget it!!"

While the group was seriously analyzing the information, an untimely growl came from Luffy's stomach as he laid on the deck.

"I'm so hungry, when's lunch ready, Sanji, Sanji—"

"…Stop shouting, Sanji's already gone and got married."

"Aaaaaah!!! No! I can't! I'll starve without Sanji cooking for me!"

Are you a child?! 

Looking at Luffy rolling around and making a scene on the deck, Pedrol from the 'Jaguar Mink Tribe' couldn't help but sweat. A pirate captain like this... really... really...

"Forget it, I'll go cook."

Roman stood up. Back when they were in East Blue before Sanji joined the crew, it was Roman who did the cooking. And as for the cooking skills of the Straw Hat Crew... well, most of them were barely able to cook anything that wouldn't kill you, and the rest were just average. Besides, "It's been a while since I cooked, so I kind of miss it."

Half an hour later, after rolling up his sleeves and entering the kitchen...

"Delicious! So delicious!"

"The taste is really good~~"

"Not bad at all, if you opened a restaurant, it would definitely be popular."

"Rarely do we get to taste Roman's cooking; it has a unique flavor..."

Amidst all the praise, there was one voice that stood out.

"What's this? It's not as good as what Sanji makes."

?! Luffy, you fool!

As everyone stood there speechless, sure enough, Roman, who was serving the food, turned dark.

"Eat if you want, don't eat if you don't!"

I actually... cooked myself, and now you're being picky? "Fine, starting tomorrow, everyone will take turns cooking until we get Sanji back!"

"Nooo!!" X5 Everyone immediately broke into tears.

As for the Straw Hat Crew's cooking skills... most of them could only manage to make something that's "edible." Even Nami, Robin, and Usopp—yes, the multi-talented Usopp was one of the few people in the crew with decent cooking skills besides Sanji and Roman—could only cook simple home-style dishes.

For example, Nami was good at making orange marmalade roast duck, Robin was skilled at stews and fried rice, and Usopp was an expert at frying fish and chips. As for the rest:

Franky was used to cutting meat into chunks and then roasting it with fire—basically a "barbecue"; Brook's cooking was putting all the food on a sword and grilling it—"kebabs"; Chopper only knew how to make fruit juice, and Zoro was good at sashimi—basically just slicing raw fish and eating it! As for Luffy, he only knew how to cook in an iron pot. And just like the goblins in fantasy novels, he'd throw anything into the pot, making a "dark dish." You shouldn't expect it to taste good; Luffy didn't even eat it himself! "We're done for, we'll starve to death before we even reach Whole Cake Island~~"

"So sad~~ although I can still move as long as I have cola!"

"Sanji, I miss you so much!"

"Hmph."

It's not that their cooking was actually inedible, but after being spoiled by Sanji's amazing cooking, eating their own food felt like chewing on wax. And although Roman wasn't as skilled as Sanji, Roman was still talented in his own right.

Roman's cooking was above average, and for a while, he had tried to mimic Sanji's dishes to improve his control. While the results were always a little off, everything—temperature, ingredients, timing—was spot on, and it could definitely be considered a rare treat. But then...

"Stop fighting..."

Faced with the rabbit girl Carrot's pleas, everyone surrounded Luffy and started beating him up! Captain? Bah,

Captain? Punch!

"You don't know our cooking skills?"

"Who told you to speak up! Are you cooking for us?!"

"Forget it, if Luffy ever cooks, I won't eat. I'm afraid my stomach can't handle it..."

Ah... Pedrol, the Jaguar Mink: 

I'm in awe!

The crew collectively beating up the captain... Is this the Pirate King?

——————

(End of this chapter)

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