Squeak—
At first, Luca only heard a slight sound, insignificant amid the roar of the machinery. But then, continuous noises emanated from various parts of the equipment, and at the same time, the room's temperature rose rapidly. At this point, Luca fully realized what had happened.
"It's over..." The current situation was no longer under his control. Later, the person in charge of the equipment under his jurisdiction would be punished for such a serious flaw.
Visibly, cracks appeared on the machine's parts.
Bang—
Whoosh—
Some unknown part was suddenly ejected, carrying terrifying kinetic energy across Luca's cheek.
Puff—
Blood spurted from his face. Luca finally reacted when he felt the warmth, suddenly opening the door and rushing to the deck. Let's worry about the future later! The most important thing now is to escape!
BANG!!!
Shortly after Luca ran out, accompanied by an explosion, the warship, which was originally moving rapidly, ground to a halt.
*******************************************
"You're quite capable." Looking at the cloud of black smoke rising in the distance and the suddenly stopped warship, Nia patted Gray on the shoulder, praising him.
"Hahaha, I also destroyed a warship!" Law's face darkened.
"Anyway, we've successfully completed the supply mission. Now let's head straight for the Grand Line!" After losing power, it was impossible for the warship to catch up with the Polaris by sailing.
Rhodes clapped his hands, and after everyone focused on him, he raised his fist. "Well, let's have a party to celebrate our entry into the Grand Line and the arrival of our new partners!!"
"Oh!!"
A moment later, Rhodes looked at the pile of food in front of him, a bitter expression on his face. "Chef! I need a chef!" They still hadn't found a chef, so for the banquet, all they could serve was the food prepared by Gray's automatic food processor.
"Really? You don't even have a chef?" Genos handed a portion of fried chicken to Cici and looked at Rhodes in disbelief. What kind of pirate crew did I join? When sailing on the sea, chefs are very important, especially on the Grand Line. A chef not only has to calculate the food consumption on the ship and make good plans to ensure enough food during the voyage, but also has to ensure the crew's nutritional intake to avoid seafaring diseases like scurvy.
"Let me make a cameo appearance." Seeing Cici eating happily, Genos stood up, took off his windbreaker, put it aside, and rolled up his sleeves.
"Hey! You can cook too!" Rhodes looked at Genos in surprise, and the others all gave him disbelieving looks.
"What are you looking at? I live alone, so it's normal for me to be able to cook."
"No, I can't," Nia shook her head.
"Sorry, there are three of us and a bear, and none of us can cook," Bepo stated, speaking for Rhodes and the other two.
"I have a food processor, why should I cook?" Gray looked at the food he was tired of eating and put it down as if nothing had happened, deciding to wait for Genos's meal.
"I do, but they're tired of it," Penguin, who only knew how to cook fish, raised his hand but still couldn't connect Genos with cooking. He was deeply impressed by this new partner! Whether it was his invincible posture with a circle of Marines lying around him, or the monster-like features he showed when fighting with Gula just now, Penguin couldn't imagine him cooking.
"Hmm~Hmm~" Shachi's mouth was full of food.
"Let me be clear in advance, I only know how to cook barbecue." As he said this, Genos had already skillfully lit the grill and started to prepare the ingredients quickly.
"Wow!"
"Amazing!"
"What beautiful knife work!"
Everyone surrounded Genos, watching his smooth movements and exclaiming in amazement.
Oh~ The corners of Genos's mouth lifted slightly, and his hands moved even more skillfully.
"Tasty!"
"Tasty!"
"Great! Genos!"
The Secret of Life Return
As he heard the praises from his companions, the smile on Genos's face grew wider. However, as time passed and the amount of food he handled increased, the smile on Genos's face could no longer be maintained.
"I said..." Genos stopped grilling, slowly blew out a smoke ring, and looked at Rhodes, who was still eating in front of him. "Is your stomach a bottomless pit?" Half an hour ago, everyone else had already eaten their fill, except for Rhodes, who was still eating. Even if Genos used his super-fast grilling speed, he couldn't keep up with what Rhodes consumed.
"Hahaha, I couldn't control myself for a moment," Rhodes smiled sheepishly. In his hand, he was holding a long sword that he had snatched back from Onigumo. With the help of his "Knight Never Dies Barehanded" ability, Rhodes had already mastered the secret of "Life Return" and had just practiced it by consuming a large amount of food.
The so-called Life Return is a special ability developed after training the body to the extreme and thoroughly mastering the "Six Powers" of the Navy. With the ability to return life, one can freely control one's body, hair, and internal organs. This is an ability or state that allows one to fully master their own body and control the conversion of body energy. And Vice Admiral Onigumo, who had fought with Rhodes before, was an expert in this field. By using the weapon that Vice Admiral Onigumo had been using for many years, Rhodes was able to feel the other party's years of experience in using it and replicate it on himself. With the help of this trial version of Life Return, Rhodes quickly digested the large amount of food he had just eaten and controlled the energy taken in by digesting the food, slowly recovering some minor injuries his body had suffered in the previous battle.
"But your craftsmanship is really top-notch!"
"The craftsmanship is another matter." Genos glanced at Rhodes's still flat stomach, a hint of inquiry in his eyes. "I don't know how the previous supplies were calculated, but if you eat this much for every meal, I don't think the food on our ship will be enough to support us to enter the Grand Line."
"Don't worry, I just ate a little more because I just went through a big battle," Rhodes explained, noticing Genos's curiosity. "As for why my stomach hasn't changed even though I ate so much, it's because of an ability called Life Return."
"You can control your body to enhance your digestive ability and quickly recover from your injuries." Several people's eyes lit up simultaneously.
"But I have only mastered it in its infancy. I will teach you when I have mastered it thoroughly." Rhodes added, "However, if you want to learn this move, you must first train your body to a level beyond the limits of ordinary people."