If the previous "Boon of the Feast" passively enhanced his comrades, now, with the "Soul of the Feast," Ren could actively and precisely design their power. Ren could become a true war chef.
"Hey! Chef Ren!" Gatz's loud voice pulled Ren back from his mystical state. He poked his head in, his face full of anticipation. "When's breakfast? After fighting that big monster, my stomach's growling again!"
Ren turned his head, looked at Gatz's hungry face, then at the increasingly clear steel fortress on the distant horizon. A confident, even playful, smile appeared on his calm face. "Breakfast?" Ren's voice was not loud, but it reached the ears of every crew member. "After we conquer G-8. But before that..."
He picked up a piece of the most ordinary beef from the cutting board, a strange light flashing in his eyes. "I can prepare a few special pre-battle snacks for you all, to help you... warm up properly."
Rocks and Newgate exchanged a look, a hint of surprise in their eyes. They both keenly sensed that this little Head Chef seemed to have undergone some astonishing transformation in that instant.
At the G-8 Marine fortress, the so-called unsinkable steel bastion was now on high alert. The alarm from the watchtowers shrieked across the sky. Countless marines, under the command of their officers, rushed to the cannons and defensive walls. A forest of black cannon muzzles was aimed at the single, slowly approaching ship.
In the command tower, the G-8 Branch commander, Vice Admiral Gion, held a pair of binoculars, his brow tightly furrowed. "One ship? Just one ship?" he muttered to himself, his face grim. "Rocks... Edward Newgate... what are these monsters planning?" He couldn't figure it out, but his beast-like intuition told him this was no reckless suicide attack. The calmness of the enemy was itself the most terrifying form of pressure.
"All hands, on high alert! No slackening! The moment they enter the A-3 firing range, commence saturation bombardment!" Gion ordered in a low voice.
On the sailing ship targeted by countless cannons, the atmosphere was the complete opposite of the tension at G-8. It was almost... leisurely. The crew were all gathered at the kitchen door like a group of hungry chicks, eagerly watching the small, busy figure inside.
Ren stood at the stove, his movements completely different from before. If the old Ren was the epitome of precision and efficiency, the current Ren's every move was filled with an indescribable rhythm. Ren wasn't cooking; he was creating, dancing with the souls of the ingredients.
He took a high-quality piece of beef, previously seized from the Marines. He didn't cut it with a knife but gently tore it along the grain with his fingers, and the whole piece separated perfectly. Ren infused a wisp of his will, a pure "Soul of Rage" that craved battle and destruction, into the beef. Instantly, the color of the beef became a deeper red, as if lava were flowing within it. Ren placed it on a scorching hot griddle for only three seconds, just enough to form a thin, seared crust, then immediately picked it up and skewered it.
"Gatz, yours." Ren handed the seemingly ordinary, even somewhat rare, beef skewer to him.
Gatz took it and swallowed it in one bite without hesitation. The next second, his eyes shot wide open. His muscles bulged and swelled at a visible rate, and his skin took on a faint red glow.
"ROAR!"
Gatz couldn't help but let out an inhuman roar. He felt as if a ferocious beast had taken up residence in his body, every muscle fiber screaming for destruction and carnage! "Power! I feel endless power!" He clenched his fists, and the air around them boomed.
Next, Ren took a small piece of the Thunder Abyss Leviathan's flesh and soaked it in ice water, making it crystalline. He infused it with the "Soul of Silence." The fish meat seemed to lose all presence, becoming like a transparent jelly. "Silver."
Silver took the paper-thin slice of fish and placed it in his mouth. It melted instantly, tasteless. But the next second, Silver's figure blurred and his aura completely vanished, as if he had merged with the air. If you weren't looking directly at him, you would never know he was there. "This is..." Silver's eyes were filled with shock. He felt as if he had become one with his surroundings.
Dolum received a biscuit that was as hard as a rock, made from a mixture of special mineral powder and flour. Ren had infused it with the "Soul of Fortitude." Dolum took a bite. With a loud CRUNCH, he felt like he had nearly broken a tooth, but then a thick energy flowed through his body. He tapped his chest, and it made a metallic clang. "My body... it's like it's turned to iron!"
Finally, Ren reheated a small pot of concentrated broth left over from cooking the Leviathan. He didn't infuse it with any specific soul, but rather his own understanding of battle itself. The soup became crystal clear, yet seemed to contain a universe of stars. "Rocks. Newgate."
They each took a bowl and drank it down. The moment the soup entered their mouths, they both felt that their already supreme Haki had been set ablaze, becoming more condensed, more ferocious, and more effortlessly controlled.
"Gurararara! Interesting! This feeling is very interesting!" Newgate laughed.
Rocks looked at Ren, his gaze so hot it could melt him. "Ren, you've given me another tremendous surprise."
This was the terrifying power of Master-Level Cuisine. A simple pre-battle snack had instantly boosted the entire Rocks Pirates' combat power by several tiers.
At this time, the ship had entered the A-3 firing range of the G-8 fortress. "Fire!" Vice Admiral Gion's cold voice came through the Den Den Mushi, reaching all the gunnery stations.
BOOM!
Over a hundred heavy cannons roared at once. Countless cannonballs formed a dense net of death, descending upon the small sailing ship. Faced with this all-destroying attack, Rocks slowly walked to the bow. He glanced at his crew, whose auras were now surging, their will to fight boiling, then at the so-called unsinkable fortress. Then, he let out a world-scorning, wild laugh.
"Wahahahahaha!"
"Alright, boys! Let the world hear our voice!"
"Tear this piece of scrap metal apart for me!"
-------
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