Chapter 20: Everyone’s Progress

After taking another tour of the Unfettered under Master Yorl's guidance, Lind and his group decided to return to their base. The remaining work was left to Master Yorl, and in twenty days, they would return to collect the ship.

By the time they arrived back at the base, it was almost time for dinner. Lind sent the others to the training ground while he made his way over to the cooks.

The so-called "cooks" weren't professionals. They were simply crew members who had experience preparing meals on their previous ships, so Alison had assigned them kitchen duties.

Watching them fumble around the kitchen in a flurry of activity, Lind frowned.

'I put so much effort into designing this kitchen, preparing all kinds of cooking utensils and seasonings, and these guys are just wasting them!'

"Ahem!" Lind cleared his throat, trying to get their attention.

"Captain!"

"Boss!"

Noticing his presence, the cooks quickly greeted him.

"For the next while, I'll be teaching you some basic cooking techniques. You better learn well and not embarrass me!" Lind picked up a kitchen knife and continued, "First, let's start with knife skills—specifically, how to handle Sea King meat."

"Hande, give me that piece of meat in front of you. I'll demonstrate."

"The key to handling Sea King meat is…"

Lind proceeded to explain knife techniques, heat control, seasoning, and various cooking methods such as frying, stir-frying, stewing, boiling, and roasting.

"That's all for today. Each of you will be responsible for making a dish to put what you've learned into practice," Lind said as he put down the pan.

"Don't worry, I'll be here to guide you!" Seeing the group still in shock, Lind reassured them.

"Alright, get started!"

The cooks snapped out of their daze and quickly racked their brains to recall the cooking techniques Lind had just explained before getting to work on the Sea King meat.

Lind had already expected their performance, so he patiently guided them through the process. Fortunately, though their cooking skills were mediocre, they weren't complete novices, making Lind's job somewhat easier.

Cooking for over a hundred people—especially pirates with massive appetites—was no small task. Even though the cooks were in good physical condition and could handle multiple pots at once, preparing dinner still took considerable time.

Luckily, Lind had designed the kitchen to be spacious enough. Otherwise, the limited space would have slowed them down even more.

After nearly two hours, including Lind's instructions, dinner was finally ready.

As for the taste—it wasn't a world-class delicacy, but it had at least reached the standard of large-scale kitchen cooking from Lind's past life. Compared to their previous meals, which barely consisted of anything more than cooked ingredients, the improvement was dramatic.

After sampling each dish, Lind estimated that in just a few more days, these cooks would be fully capable of handling the Seventh Division's meals.

As for finding a true successor to his own "Hilt Family Cuisine," that would depend on talent and fate.

For now, Lind's only expectation was that they could handle the crew's daily meals, essentially taking on the role of a large-scale kitchen staff.

In the dining hall, the crew was visibly surprised by the stark contrast in quality compared to yesterday's meal. Clearly, they were satisfied.

Some pirates even started shouting, "Long live the Boss!" and "Captain is amazing!" as their sense of belonging to the team grew stronger.

Lind simply felt that he was doing what any good leader should.

But to these pirates—who lived by the sword and were used to brutal, selfish captains—Lind was a rare kind of leader.

He provided them with good living conditions, well-equipped training facilities, and personally guided their training.

Now, he had even stepped into the kitchen to teach the cooks how to improve their meals.

Combined with his overwhelming strength and gentle demeanor, Lind was undeniably the ideal boss—even if his kindness seemed at odds with the pirate lifestyle.

Watching his crew enthusiastically pledge their loyalty, Lind felt truly pleased.

He made a silent decision in his heart: as long as none of them betrayed him or committed unforgivable acts, he would nurture them rather than treat them as expendable pawns.

Twenty Days Later

Over the past twenty days, every member of the Seventh Division had made significant progress.

First, the five cadres had undergone major improvements thanks to the continuous effects of the Dragon Banana. Their physical attributes had all advanced to the next level.

Their combat skills had also improved considerably under Lind's guidance. He estimated that each of them had now reached the level of an average Marine Vice Admiral.

After a few more battles at sea, they might even reach the strength of elite Vice Admirals.

Next were the regular crew members.

Over the past twenty days, aside from correcting their training methods and combat techniques, Lind's biggest focus had been teaching them the Six Powers of the Marines.

He specifically prioritized "Soru" and "Geppo," which every member had now mastered.

They had also gained varying degrees of proficiency in the other four techniques.

With optimized training methods and an unlimited supply of Sea King meat, everyone's physical strength had seen tremendous growth.

Although they couldn't compare to the officers who had been eating Dragon Bananas, their improvement was still astounding.

Currently, all 92 of his regular crew members had reached the level of Marine officer ranks.

With mastery of Armament and Observation Haki, exceptional physical attributes, and the addition of the Six Powers, they had become one of the strongest military units in the world.

Finally, there were the cooks.

Thanks to Lind's dedicated instruction, they had all passed his training five days ago.

They had now reached the level of a first-rate kitchen staff, and Lind could finally trust them to handle the team's meals.

As for Lind himself, at his current level of strength, it was difficult for him to improve rapidly.

Unless he mastered advanced Haki techniques or developed high-level sword skills such as "Tekkai" or "Flying Slashes," his progress would be slow.

These things required either time and experience or the stimulation of high-intensity battles.

Having only been in this world for just over two years—and training seriously for an even shorter period—Lind was already proud of his achievements.

There was no rush.

The God Valley Battle was still a few years away.

By then, Lind was confident he would reach Admiral-level strength.

And once the Rocks Pirates disbanded, he would become a legendary pirate in his own right.

Standing in the training ground, watching his rapidly growing crew, Lind felt a rare moment of emotion.

It had been nearly three years since he arrived in this world, and he had finally built a foundation strong enough to survive.

With his growing power and influential connections, he now had a real chance to navigate this dangerous world.

The only remaining uncertainty was the great disaster looming on the horizon.

In his previous life, One Piece had never reached its conclusion.

Theories suggested the world would be flooded as the sea levels rose, but Lind had no way to confirm it.

Even if it were true, how severe would the flooding be?

Would he be able to survive it?

The only thing Lind could do now was maintain his sense of crisis, keep improving his strength, and—most importantly—not rely on the idea that "Nika" would fix everything.

If he could clear the game early, he would.