For the next round, three chefs brought out nearly ten dishes at the same time.
The Nyaban Brothers were moved by the sight; they could finally get a bite to eat.
The three of them had just taken a few bites.
"Wait a minute. Who made these two dishes?"
Allen called out to the chef who had just walked away.
The three chefs turned around and saw Allen's expressionless face.
"These... were made by Sanji and Head Chef Zeff."
"Um... is there a problem?"
The three chefs shrank back and stammered.
They weren't afraid of ordinary pirates, but a pirate who could pin Captain Smoker to the ground and brutally beat him was another matter entirely.
Seeing Allen's expression, they started to panic a little.
Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened.
"No problem at all. Please pass on a message for me: this pan-seared steak and egg custard are absolutely perfect."
After saying that, Allen went back to eating on his own.
This made the three chefs let out a sigh of relief. They wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads and chuckled awkwardly.
"As long as you're satisfied. I'll pass it on to them for you."
Returning to the kitchen, the three truthfully relayed Allen's praise.
The corners of Sanji and Zeff's mouths curled up slightly.
"Heh, I guess he has some taste."
"Quite rare for a pirate, indeed."
Sanji and Zeff were undoubtedly the best chefs here.
But the others weren't bad either. Being able to accurately pick out the dishes made by those two proved that Allen's taste buds were truly discerning.
"Speaking of which, I know of the Nyaban Brothers, but what's the deal with that guy?"
One chef mentioned casually.
Soon, another chef chimed in, laughing,
"Hehe, my dish is ready. Watch me go up and ask him in a bit."
"Idiot, I advise you not to look for trouble."
"Exactly. If you get beaten up later, we'll have to go save you."
"Don't worry, don't worry. That guy doesn't look like he's hard to talk to."
For them, who used to be pirates but now faced stoves all day,
Whether it was chatting, arguing, or fighting, occasionally dealing with pirates was an amusing pastime.
And so, through the chefs taking turns serving dishes, Allen and his two crewmates slowly began to communicate indirectly with the kitchen.
During this time, Allen would occasionally be picky.
For the most part, he could accurately point out the flaws in the dishes. Of course, there were also times when a chef would refuse to accept the criticism and rush out, red in the face, to argue with Allen.
Allen didn't coddle them; he would shout at the top of his lungs and curse right back at them.
The Nyaban Brothers watched in a daze. The two were clearly a bit surprised, never expecting their captain to actually be a gourmet.
They were different. For them, every dish only had the distinction of being "delicious," "very delicious," and "so delicious I wouldn't let go even if you slapped me."
In short, it was just delicious.
Although something unpleasant had happened when they first arrived, it quickly dissipated during the noisy dining experience.
An entire menu wasn't actually absurdly large; after all, this was a steak-themed restaurant.
Yes, the sea restaurant was actually a steak-themed restaurant. Although there were various Western-style seafood dishes, there weren't that many overall.
Allen and Buchi both had huge appetites. Only Sham was truly stuffed; the other two were still left wanting more right up to the end.
"Ah! That was so satisfying, hahaha-hic!"
Buchi patted his bulging belly in contentment and let out a burp.
Allen pinched his nose and fanned the air with a look of disgust.
After finishing the battle at the dining table, Zeff led a few chefs out of the kitchen to routinely ask for feedback on the meal.
And to collect the money while they were at it.
The bald Patty rubbed his large hands together and leaned forward with a cheeky grin.
"Thank you for your patronage. The total is 280,000 Berries, but we'll just charge you 300,000."
"..." Allen was left speechless.
He couldn't even be bothered to retort. He took out a stack of Berries and placed it on the table, while Patty stepped forward to count the money, calling him "boss" with every breath.
It was only at this moment that Allen finally revealed his true purpose. He smiled and said,
"Sanji and Boss Zeff, right? Your cooking skills are pretty good."
The Nyaban Brothers stared at Allen, anticipating what words their captain would use to win them over.
Instead, they saw Allen flash a cheeky, toothy grin and laugh.
"You two should come be pirates with me."
*'That's way too blunt!!!'*
The Nyaban Brothers' eyes nearly popped out of their heads in shock as they screamed internally.
Zeff and Sanji looked astonished. The air suddenly grew quiet for a moment.
"Tch, what a joke."
Sanji turned and walked away. He lowered his head to light a cigarette and said without looking back,
"Hurry up and leave now that you're done eating. I'd have to be sick in the head to agree to become a pirate."
"Good grief, young people these days really have a huge prejudice against pirates. They don't understand the romance of a pirate at all,"
Allen shook his head and sighed. Sanji's reaction was entirely expected. He put his smile back on and turned to look at Zeff.
"What about you, boss? I heard you used to be a famous pirate. Any interest in coming out of retirement to see the sights of the Grand Line with me?"
"You're going to the Grand Line?"
"We're going to the Grand Line?" they both yelled in unison.
Hearing this, Zeff froze for a moment.
The Nyaban Brothers also froze.
Sanji, who was leaning against the doorframe smoking, couldn't help but turn his head to look over.
"Wait, wait, wait! You're not joking with us, are you, Captain?"
Sham couldn't help but press his hands against the table and stand up, his expression panicked.
"That's known as the pirate graveyard! The Grand Line, where once you enter, you can never return!"
"Yeah, Captain! I've never even heard of a pirate going to the Grand Line and coming back alive. You can't be serious, Captain!"
Buchi chimed in fearfully.
Based on the situation over the past two days, they thought they had followed the right person and could finally live a good life.
It turned out an even bigger pit was buried right here waiting for them!
In response to the brothers' words, Allen simply counted on his fingers.
"People who have been to the Grand Line and returned alive to the East Blue? Let me see..."
"Pirate King Roger, Marine Hero Garp, Red-Haired Shanks..."
"Now that you mention it, it seems there really aren't many who came back, though quite a few are living comfortably in the Grand Line," Allen said thoughtfully.
Seeing his reaction, Zeff couldn't help but take a few extra glances at him and said,
"It sounds like you know a thing or two about the Grand Line?"
"Ah, I was a petty officer at Headquarters who applied to come to the East Blue as a commissioned officer. Although I traveled through the Calm Belt with the warship, I've also participated in a few operations in the Grand Line."
Allen nodded.
The lack of information in this world was incredibly exaggerated. One of the main sources of information for ordinary people was newspapers.
Although the World Economy News Paper wrote and distributed the newspapers, the printing process in the middle was controlled by the World Government.
What news was printed and what wasn't was entirely up to them. The information ordinary people could see was only what the World Government wanted them to see.
The information about the Grand Line, which many pirates in the East Blue considered secret knowledge, was actually just commonplace in the eyes of Marines from Headquarters like Allen and Smoker.
Even the most basic navigational tool like the Log Pose was something very few pirates in the East Blue had ever heard of.
"Marineford, huh... No wonder..."
Zeff's expression seemed emotional, his gaze distant, as if recalling a certain past.
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