Chapter 146: Sanji: Is My Cooking Still Not Good Enough?
By evening,
Sanji collapsed on the floor, leaning against a cupboard.
Looking at the now-empty pantry, he finally showed a defeated expression.
"That little girl… is she a Sea King in disguise?"
Lighting a cigarette, his trembling fingers placed it between his lips.
After changing back into his waiter uniform, Sanji tidied himself up and returned to the dining area, heading to the table of his two special guests.
"It was an honor to serve you both. May I ask—how was everything?"
For a skilled chef, being able to cook without restraint for guests who could keep up was something truly satisfying.
Especially when they gave direct praise for the food.
He wore a proud expression, with a hint of anticipation, as he looked at the porcelain-doll-like, white-haired girl—Afu—who was about to respond.
"Delicious."
Afu gave a sincere reply.
Though it wasn't as good as the special dishes her master had crafted using rare ingredients, within the context of the Pirate World, this was undoubtedly the pinnacle of ordinary food.
Sanji's smile stiffened.
She said it was delicious, yes—but her tone suggested she wasn't fully satisfied.
Could it be there were chefs in the East Blue who could prepare even tastier dishes than him?
Fang Yi smiled and said, "Don't take it personally. The little one has tasted special foods that can't be compared to this world's cuisine. As Baratie's sous-chef, your culinary skill is good enough that even pirates in the New World would fight to have you cook for them."
When Afu whined or craved certain foods, Fang Yi would occasionally use a tiny bit of source energy to recreate dishes from his memories.
Those meals came from special worlds governed by culinary laws and infused with origin energy—obviously not something ordinary Pirate World food could compare to.
That would be unfair to any chef.
"Even if it were one of the Yonko, I wouldn't cook for them."
Sanji frowned and said, "But guest, your comment about incomparable special food—I can't just ignore that."
No chef with true spirit would overlook criticism of their skills.
Fang Yi admired the curly-browed Sanji.
What the Samsara Game needed most were people with passion—people willing to act on that passion.
In the restaurant,
several regulars and off-duty kitchen staff overheard Sanji and gathered around.
"Sanji, the sous-chef? Someone said his cooking isn't the best?"
"I'm a renowned East Blue food critic, and I've never tasted better food than at Baratie."
The regulars looked confused.
This was the first time they'd heard someone suggest that Baratie's sous-chef didn't cook the best food around.
Patty, the rough-looking former pirate and now head of Baratie's security, narrowed his eyes and asked, "You two guests—are you dissatisfied with the food?"
He scrutinized them.
Plenty of people had complained about the food in the past—mostly cheapskates who tried to eat for free by picking a fight.
Fang Yi and the porcelain girl didn't look like freeloaders.
But this was the sea. Anything was possible. You couldn't judge by appearances.
"Patty, calm down with your pirate act."
Sanji gave him a glance and said calmly, "Feeding the hungry is a chef's duty. But I'm genuinely curious—
Is my cooking really lacking?"
It wasn't just Sanji wondering.
Everyone else in the restaurant was asking the same thing.
Was there really a chef in the East Blue better than Sanji?
"Forgive me, you've misunderstood. I wasn't questioning your cooking at all…"
Facing so many eyes, Fang Yi kept his smile and clarified:
"Your skill is excellent—truly the limit of what ordinary chefs can reach. But that's also your ceiling. The higher realms of cooking… are not something you can achieve yet."
Silence.
The regulars who loved Baratie's food began to frown.
That was too arrogant.
It was like calling Sanji a novice, his dishes cheap, and unworthy of someone with refined taste.
And by extension, insulting all of them too.
"Bastard, are you trying to cause trouble?"
Patty had been holding back, but now he couldn't anymore.
This guy acted like he'd tasted divine cuisine and now looked down on everything else.
Just as he stepped forward to throw Fang Yi out—
"Patty, stand down."
"You're the sous-chef here, but this concerns Baratie's reputation. Are you really trying to stop me?"
Patty, already known for his violent temper, was ready to beat someone—even a guest.
"This meal is on the house. Let me see this 'higher realm' of cooking."
Sanji took a deep breath.
The man's words were outrageous, yes. But… a part of him believed it.
If he didn't look into it, he might regret it for the rest of his life.
Patty's face turned red with rage. He tore off his pink scarf and grabbed Sanji by the collar. "Five hundred seafood fried rice dishes, two hundred bowls of chowder, two whole giant fish, four luxury-grade cows—do you know how much that costs?!"
Just the ingredients were worth two or three million Berries—enough to throw a small pirate feast with booze and meat.
"At market price, that meal would be five million Berries."
Fang Yi roughly calculated the bill and asked, "To taste food from a higher realm takes a steep price. But for a sample, five million is just enough. Do you agree?"
Culinary skill was classified as a life skill in the Samsara Game.
Training it required tens of thousands of reward points. A few hundred points wouldn't even cover the loss from failed dishes.
But buying the food directly was… just barely affordable.
Patty was about to explode. He kicked Sanji hard and yelled, "You idiot! You really believe this guy? You're gonna pay five million Berries for what's probably a damn lie!?"
"Such a clumsy lie. I might believe there's a better chef out there, but a difference in 'realm'? That's nonsense!"
The regulars and kitchen staff all tried to talk Sanji down. Some even glared at Fang Yi.
In the world of pirates, the idea of 'realms' applied to strength.
Like the gap between rookie swordsmen and swordmasters.
If someone was said to be on a different cooking realm than Sanji… how powerful would they have to be?
Could they resurrect the dead with their food?
"I agree."
Sanji ignored the warnings.
He looked at the mysterious man in front of him.
Maybe he was a liar. Maybe he was just bluffing.
But the moment he heard about a higher realm of cooking…
He had to know.
Like hearing a tale of the All Blue,
even if it was just a rumor, he couldn't ignore it.
Fang Yi smiled. "In that case, allow me to serve you personally."
He lifted a silver plate from the table—one that hadn't been touched—and covered it with a dome-shaped lid.
"Please, enjoy."
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