I agreed to win with Roger, but the guy I met was too young Chapter 019

On the other side, Rhett had used his blood mist to set up a simple open-air kitchen, with Navy cooks assisting him.

Before, Rhett had always been the assistant, but it seemed the Pirate King’s culinary methods consisted only of grilling meat.

Rhett really couldn’t stand it anymore. He brought out the delicacies of the Great Dragon Nation, and with a slight display of his skills, he secured his position as head chef.

Scarlet mist flexibly rolled in his hands, even precisely controlling the heat.

“Mr. Rhett, this red mist, it really isn’t poisonous, is it?” a new Navy mess hall recruit cautiously asked.

He had heard that Mr. Rhett’s mist could melt people; surely doing this was fine, right?

Rhett smiled and waved his hand. “Don’t worry, it only looks red; it’s not poisonous.”

As he spoke, he flicked a finger, and the blood mist wrapped around a handful of spices, evenly sprinkling them over the grilled meat. The aroma instantly burst forth.

“Wow!” The Navy soldiers exclaimed in unison.

Sambel and a few Marines surfaced from the sea, clutching several lively, large fish. “Good haul today!”

He watched the Fish-Man easily leap ashore and skillfully process the seafood.

“Want to try some Fish-Man sashimi?” Sambel grinned, revealing sharp teeth. “Guaranteed fresh.”

The Marines naturally gathered around.

“We’ve long experienced Mr. Sambel’s knife skills.”

“Really, when I go back home and want sashimi, I can never find any as delicious as Mr. Sambel’s.”

“Then I am truly honored. Don’t worry, we caught a lot of fish today; we’ll make sushi for everyone later.”

“Hooray!”

Elliot sat nearby, lightly plucking his instrument’s strings, and melodious music echoed on the beach. Several young Navy soldiers unconsciously nodded to the rhythm, some even humming softly.

“Hey, you’re Marines!” Ensign Lott reminded them, his face flushed. The pirate barbecue he had just eaten made him a little embarrassed.

“What does it matter!” Jabba laughed heartily, slapping his shoulder. “Music doesn’t distinguish between justice and evil!”

On the other side of the beach, several Navy soldiers surrounded Bulma Marine, curiously examining the unique equipment on her person.

“What is this?” a soldier asked, pointing to a device at her waist.

“Oh, this?” Bulma Marine explained with a smile. “It’s a climate regulator I modified myself. It can control wind direction in a small area.”

“That’s amazing!” the Navy soldiers exclaimed.

Rhett looked at this absurd yet harmonious scene and couldn’t help but shake his head and chuckle. “If the World Government saw this, they’d probably go crazy.”

Rayleigh had walked up beside him at some point, holding a cup of sake. “Garp’s unit has always been like this. They pursue us not out of hatred, but simply because of their positions.”

Just as he spoke, a loud “boom” suddenly echoed from afar—the aftershock of Roger and Garp’s battle had collapsed another section of the cliff.

Everyone looked up for a moment, then tacitly returned to their own business.

Rhett smiled, shook his head, and turned back to preparing ingredients.

“Mr. Rhett…” a tender voice sounded.

Rhett looked down and saw a Navy apprentice who looked only about seven years old. Perhaps he couldn’t be called a Marine; the Navy had age restrictions. He might be a talented young man Garp found somewhere. Really, Garp was treating chasing Roger as a practical training course for the Navy.

The little Marine was eagerly staring at the grilled meat in his hand.

“Want some?” Rhett raised an eyebrow.

The little Marine nodded vigorously.

Rhett smiled, used the blood mist to wrap a perfectly grilled steak, and handed it over. “Be careful, it’s hot.”

“Thank you!” The little Marine took the steak, eagerly took a bite, and squinted his eyes in happiness.

Rayleigh watched this scene and softly said, “Sometimes I wonder what this world would be like without opposing stances.”

Rhett looked at the two still fiercely battling in the distance, then at the strange peaceful scene before him, and softly replied, “Probably just like this.”

Six days later,

The sea was dyed gold. The food on the barbecue grill was replenished again and again, and sake barrels were emptied one after another.

When the last ray of sunlight disappeared below the horizon, the sounds of battle in the distance finally ceased.

Roger and Garp, bruised and battered, walked back arm-in-arm, both showing signs of injury but with satisfied smiles on their faces.

“Starving!” Roger shouted, rushing towards the barbecue grill.

Garp snatched the entire roasted lamb leg that the Navy mess hall had just finished grilling. “This is mine!”

After the banquet,

Garp stood on the gangplank of the warship.

He turned back and glared at Roger, who was gnawing on a grilled fish bone, gritting his teeth.

“Next time… I’ll throw you into Impel Down!”

Roger, mouth full of food, laughed indistinctly. “Kuhahaha! You’ve said that many times!”

Garp “tsk’d” and turned to leave, but suddenly stopped, reaching into his embrace—his expression changed drastically.

“Roger!!!” He roared, turning back sharply. “Where are my senbei?!”

Roger blinked, spread his hands innocently. “What senbei? I don’t know anything? You probably left them on the ship, hahahahaha.”

But the bulging package in his embrace completely betrayed him.

Garp’s forehead veins throbbed, and his fists cracked, but in the end, he just let out a heavy “hmph” and turned to jump onto the warship.

“Set sail!” he ordered furiously.

The Navy soldiers hastily pulled up the anchor, and the warship slowly sailed away.

Rhett stood by the ship’s rail, watching the gradually departing warship, and suddenly noticed—the Navy soldiers on the deck were secretly waving at them.

The young Navy apprentice even shouted with red eyes, “Mr. Rhett! Next time—next time I’ll treat you to Navy-special grilled meat sauce!”

Rhett couldn’t help but smile, and also raised his hand to wave, but he didn’t respond.

Rayleigh stood beside him, gazing at the departing warship, and softly said, “Garp’s men are indeed just like him. You have to say, that’s Garp, hahahaha.”

Sambel was counting today’s “spoils”—several sets of Navy uniforms (for rags), a box of seasonings (picked up along the way).

Elliot strummed his instrument, humming an improvised tune: “~Marines and pirates~ grilling fish together~ tomorrow’s newspaper~ headlines so funny~” (Snow Leopard, shut up!)

Rhett wasn’t worried, because he had already killed all the seagulls near this island, which was why the World Government hadn’t felt anything was amiss for so many years.

After all, the fights were real, and the injuries were real.

Roger grinned and approached, pulling out half a bag of senbei from his embrace. “Come, come, share and share alike! Garp is really stingy, asking me for half a bag of senbei.”

Rhett looked at the joyful crowd. This is how it should be. This damned world, those damned Celestial Dragons!