Chapter 68 The Eternal Spirit Blade Displays Its Power, Astounding EveryoneSanji instantly transformed into a blur, his speed almost teleporting, appearing before the broad-bladed Eternal Spirit Sword in the blink of an eye.
He carefully extended his hands, his movements as gentle as if cradling the face of his first love.
"Idiot! You just tossed this priceless treasure onto that filthy deck?"
Sanji trembled with heartache, roaring at Luffy, "As a chef, a knife is life! How can you not cherish your own manhood!"
Then, like a freak, Sanji pressed his face against the blade, lovingly stroking the Eternal Spirit Sword's cold edge.
Luffy, watching Sanji's entranced, even slightly creepy, expression, couldn't help but shudder, goosebumps rising on his arms.
No wonder that curly-browed guy never gets along with women; it seems the pots and pans in the kitchen are his true love, aren't they?
Your so-called "liking beautiful women" might just be a smokescreen to cover up some kind of peculiar fetish!
That's right! There's only one truth, and that's definitely it!
For the next few minutes, Sanji went completely into a frenzy, like a country bumpkin who'd never seen the world before, touching this pot and banging on that bowl.
He forcibly suppressed his heart, which was about to leap out of his throat, and asked Luffy in a trembling voice, "This treasure...where did you get it?"
Luffy, seeing Sanji's near-stroke-like excitement, cleared his throat, feigning composure: "Um, it's borrowed. It's only valid for seven days, and I have to return it after that."
"What?! Are you kidding me?!"
Upon hearing this, Sanji exploded, his voice instantly rising eight octaves: "How can such a divine artifact be borrowed? How much? Name your price, I'll sell everything I own to buy it!"
"Do you have the money?"
Luffy's abrupt question killed the conversation instantly.
Sanji: "..."
The air suddenly went silent, so awkward it was almost unbearable.
"I can borrow from loan sharks!" Sanji forced out through gritted teeth.
Luffy rolled his eyes dramatically at the curly-browed man, utterly disregarding his image. "Come on, I couldn't afford that even if I sold you. Instead of wasting time talking nonsense, you should use this time to cook some delicious meals. These are legendary kitchen utensils, with built-in cheat-like abilities."
Sanji's heart shattered into a QR code upon hearing that these things had special functions: "What special effects? Tell me!"
Luffy pointed to the knife Sanji was clutching tightly: "That's called the Eternal Spirit Blade. It was originally a divine artifact sealed in a culinary holy land like the Daxian Temple in Guangzhou. It's a top-tier artifact specifically for processing seafood."
Luffy paused, his tone becoming mysterious: "Its ability is insane. It can instantly restore ingredients that are completely dead and have lost their freshness to their fresh, live state as if they were just slaughtered."
"What?!"
Sanji was completely stunned, staring at Luffy with suspicion, as if looking at a conman spouting nonsense.
"What nonsense are you spouting? How can seafood frozen solid possibly regain its freshness?"
Sanji admitted that the knife in his hand was indeed terrifyingly sharp, but this claim, defying common sense, sounded more fantastical than a myth.
"Don't believe me? Practice makes perfect. Why don't you try it and see?"
Luffy shrugged nonchalantly, sporting an arrogant "believe it or not" attitude.
Sanji rolled his eyes, annoyed. "Fine, I'll try it. This knife is indeed good, but turning a dead fish into a alive one? Dream on!"
The surrounding onlookers, hearing Luffy's astonishing statement, curiously gathered around, staring intently at the legendary pile of kitchen utensils.
"Luffy, are you sure you're not joking?" Nami blinked her big eyes, scanning the pots and pans.
"Sanji just went to get the ingredients, didn't he? The moment of truth has arrived."
Luffy chuckled, his face radiating confidence.
Soon, Sanji pulled a frozen salmon from the freezer, its body covered in a layer of white frost.
He curled his lip, a skeptical expression on his face, and lightly sliced the fish with his Eternal Spirit Sword.
Without any resistance, the sharp Eternal Spirit Blade sliced through the hard, frozen fish in two as easily as cutting tofu.
Zoro's sleepy eyes lit up instantly: "Great swordsmanship! I wonder which is harder, my Wado Ichimonji or this!"
Sanji, upon hearing this, unleashed a torrent of abuse at the green-haired guy: "Get lost! Don't compare your piece of junk to a divine sword! A chef's knife is sacred; it's for creating delicious food!"
Luffy nodded repeatedly beside him: "That's true. If this knife were stained with human blood, it would be ruined, completely devoid of its spirit."
Sanji gave Luffy a disdainful look: "Talking like it's the truth, all that talk. Look at this salmon, has anything changed? It's still a dead fish."
Everyone crowded closer to look. The cut salmon was still emitting a chilling aura, hard enough to kill a person, showing absolutely no signs of becoming fresh.
Luffy gave Sanji a disapproving look: "That's because your cooking skills are terrible, you haven't earned this sword's approval at all. Give it to me!"
Sanji instantly bristled, veins bulging on his forehead: "You can insult my character, but you can't question my cooking skills! I was playing with swords when you were still playing in the mud!"
Luffy didn't bother with further words, chuckled, and snatched the Eternal Spirit Sword from Sanji when he wasn't looking.
"Hey! Be gentle! Don't break it!" Sanji cried out in pain at Luffy's rough handling.
However, the next second, his screams abruptly stopped, and he froze on the spot as if struck by lightning.
The sword, originally blue and white like an ice sculpture, suddenly and without warning displayed a domineering azure dragon pattern the moment Luffy grasped it!
A Tyrant Dragon Pattern!
This supreme mark only manifests when wielded by the chosen one of Eternal Spirit Blade!
Then, the Eternal Spirit Blade seemed to come alive in Luffy's hands, spinning at incredible speed like a juggling act. His hand speed was absurd; all the onlookers could see were streaks of silver afterimages in the air.
Swish, swish, swish!
Thin slices of salmon, as thin as cicada wings, flew from the frozen fish, tracing graceful arcs in the air, and finally, miraculously, piled up on the plate into delicate, vibrant pink roses!
What sent chills down Sanji's spine was that the slices of salmon, clearly cut from frozen fish, were still trembling slightly on the plate!
They seemed to have gained life, regaining the muscle vitality they had when they were first out of the water!
Before everyone could even process their utterly astonished jaws, the moment the sashimi was finished, the salmon on the plate suddenly burst into a dazzling golden light!
"Holy crap! My titanium alloy eyes!"
"So blinding! I'm going blind!"
Nami, Vivi, and the other girls instantly felt their girlish hearts flutter, their eyes shining: "Wow! So beautiful, it's practically glowing!"
"This...how is this possible?" Sanji stared dumbfounded at the plate of salmon sashimi, a work of art, his worldview completely shattered.
He dashed back to the kitchen like a whirlwind, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and rushed back, carefully picking up a still-trembling piece of fish and putting it in his mouth.
Boom!
To everyone's astonishment, a massive holographic projection suddenly appeared behind Sanji—a surging ocean, the sound of crashing waves clearly audible.
A vibrant salmon was dancing merrily on the crest of a wave!
Everyone stared blankly at Sanji's self-created background effect: "What the hell is that?"
"Oh, basic stuff, nothing special. It's so delicious it triggers special effects," Luffy said with a straight face, spouting nonsense.
"I'll try some too!"
Zoro didn't stand on ceremony, grabbing a whole sashimi rose and tossing it into his mouth.
In that instant, an intense sweetness exploded in his mouth.
The same scene appeared behind Zoro; the tough guy was now closing his eyes in bliss, as if embraced by the sea.
Seeing this, the others could no longer contain themselves, reaching out their claws and frantically grabbing at the plate of sashimi.
"Ah!! That's my fish! Leave some for me!"
Sanji let out a desperate wail, then his eyes burned as he stared intently at the Eternal Spirit Sword, snatching it back to his chest: "A divine weapon! This is absolutely a divine weapon!"
His fanatical expression sent chills down Luffy's spine. He wondered if the kid had gone mad from the shock.
Little did Luffy know, the title of Master Chef, combined with the legendary cooking utensils, made the salmon's freshness transcend dimensions.
For Sanji, who considered cooking his life, this sword was worth more than ten Pirate King treasures combined.
After everyone had licked their plates clean and recovered from the delicious aftertaste, they all glared at Luffy with ravenous eyes and roared:
"One more plate! Not enough!"
...
On the deck of the Going Merry, the atmosphere was unusually heavy.
Nami, Usopp, Chopper, and Vivi lay on the ground, tears welling in their eyes, looking pitifully at Luffy like a pack of puppies waiting to be fed.
Luffy, exasperated, roared at these overbearing kids, "Stop it! I already said the trial card expired! And isn't that legendary cooking set all with Sanji? Even if I wanted to make it, I couldn't without some kind of cheat code!"
Nami bit her handkerchief: "Cold-blooded man..."
Vivi puffed out her cheeks: "You big idiot..."
Usopp rolled around on the ground: "I don't care! I want to eat!"
Chopper cried, snot bubbles streaming down his face, "Bad cook!"
Luffy rubbed his temples, his head throbbing, looking at this bunch of clowns, feeling utterly exhausted.
Ever since that day he showed off his skills, his status in the Straw Hat crew had skyrocketed; he'd become their personal chef.
These guys had been relentlessly pestering him to cook for them for seven whole days.
Especially on the day they encountered the dense fog, when they came across several Navy warships having a feast. Seeing the Navy eating those pathetic pots of haphazard curry stew, Luffy, on a whim, demonstrated to these country bumpkins what truly radiant food looked like, what a Manchu Han Imperial Feast was all about.
The scene was... wow! A dozen Navy vice admirals practically popped their eyes out, crying and begging to switch sides and become Luffy's underlings.
If he actually managed to recruit a dozen Navy vice admirals to his ship as menial laborers, Fleet Admiral Sengoku would probably be so enraged he'd transform into a giant Buddha and personally come and wipe Luffy out.
Later, while the group of foodies, completely captivated by the Chinese cuisine, were still savoring the experience, Luffy and his crew hastily made their escape. Luffy vowed never to flaunt such high-class skills in front of others again.
After that Manchu Han Imperial Feast, even Sanji was completely won over, becoming a devoted fan of Luffy and constantly clamoring to become his apprentice.
During the remaining few days of his trial period, Luffy bombarded Sanji with every single dish that Chef Luffy had ever made.
Finally, at the last minute, he imparted the secrets of the Manchu Han Imperial Feast to Sanji. Perhaps due to his low skill level, Luffy had incredible luck, drawing the legendary, almost bug-like set of cooking utensils.
While these utensils couldn't be used for fighting, they were a godsend for improving the food at sea.
However, even with Sanji's exceptional talent and the true teachings, without the added advantage of a top-tier chef title, his cooking still fell short compared to Luffy's.
This led to the utterly disastrous scene before us.
Everyone stared at Luffy with the resentful look of a woman confined to her chambers, hoping he'd change his mind and take up the kitchen again. But the problem was, the template had expired!
Right now, Luffy could barely manage a simple tomato and egg stir-fry; compared to Sanji, it was like night and day.
But in everyone else's eyes, Luffy was simply lazy and unwilling to cook for them.
Luffy secretly glanced at the system panel. Without the legendary kitchenware boost, his Little Chef's collection card had reverted to a plain, unremarkable E-rank white card.
Although it only required one collection point to renew for seven days, Luffy wasn't one to be fooled. How could he waste such precious points cooking for these idiots?
This even led to C.C., the witch, looking at him with resentment.
Luffy couldn't stand the atmosphere any longer, so he yelled at the green-haired guy on the lookout tower, "Hey, Zoro, wake up, come down and work out!"
"Huh?" Zoro looked at Luffy with disdain. "Using me as a shield again? I'm busy, okay?!"
Luffy rolled his eyes dismissively. "Stop talking nonsense, just tell me if you're going to train or not?"
"...Train!"
Having experienced so many template-like transformations, although many skills were fleeting, the combat awareness and vision Luffy retained were absolutely top-notch.
Especially the legendary swordsmanship of Li Jing, who could catch a blade barehanded in the "100,000 Cold Jokes" series, and the supersonic sword strike of the "Ace Ace."
These experiences gave Luffy a far deeper understanding of swordsmanship than most. While the causal rule of catching a blade barehanded was a bit far-fetched, coincidentally, the Samehada sword Luffy had previously drawn wasn't considered a "blade" in this context.
This allowed Luffy to barely manage a few swordplay moves with Samehada, though his swings looked more like randomly smashing things with a spiked club…
However, for Zoro, who hadn't yet fully mastered the art of cutting iron, Luffy was definitely an invaluable sparring partner.
Seeing Luffy ruthlessly abandon everyone to go train with Zoro, Nami and the others had no choice but to resign themselves to their fate, turning to stare pitifully at the kitchen. Sanji was currently back in charge of cooking, diligently recreating Chinese cuisine with his legendary cooking utensils.
In the days that followed, the Going Merry continued its journey across the Grand Line.
The group passed through a deserted pineapple island teeming with monkeys, getting chased all over the mountain by a horde of them.
They also witnessed a grand fireworks display with a 400-year history, the dazzling fireworks almost completely covering the island, a breathtaking sight.
They even encountered an old man who lived a life of leisure on the island, a loan shark. If it weren't for Robin's quick thinking, Nami would have almost gambled away everyone's underwear.
Later, they accidentally stumbled into a strange sea area, a pirate graveyard formed by rainbow mist, connected to a time tunnel from an ancient era.
This thrilling adventure strengthened the bond between the Straw Hat crew.
"Honestly, that rainbow mist was actually quite fun,"
C.C. said lazily to Nami, resting her chin on her hand.
Upon hearing this, Nami's eyes instantly lit up with Beli, and she nodded frantically, "Absolutely! There's so much unclaimed gold and silver in there! It's practically paradise!"
Within the rainbow mist, countless stranded pirate and merchant ships became Nami's ATMs, allowing her to make a fortune.
"But I couldn't stand staying in that gloomy place all the time," Nami said, patting her bulging money pouch.
"Is it really that fun?" Chopper, who hadn't had a chance to explore, asked enviously, his little hooves gripping the railing.
Just then, countless tiny wood chips suddenly and inexplicably began falling from the previously clear sky.
Everyone looked up in surprise, "What's going on? Why is wood chips falling from the sky?"
"Something doesn't look right. This thing looks like burnt charcoal."
Sanji frowned, reaching out to catch the dark, charred object and rubbing it.
Suddenly, Usopp looked as if he'd seen something terrifying. His eyes widened, and he pointed to the sky, screaming shrilly, "Holy crap! Everyone watch out for your heads!!"
Everyone looked up in the direction he was pointing and were instantly terrified.
A massive, dilapidated ancient sailing ship, like a meteorite, hurtled straight down on the Merry, accompanied by a whooshing sound!
"Huh?!?!?!"
Everyone was instantly stunned, their minds going completely blank.
Only Luffy, his face beaming with excitement, watched the giant ship descending from the sky. He knew this was a signal that they had reached the vicinity of Skypiea.
"Zoro! Quick! Use your sword to cut that ship to pieces!"
"Huh?! Are you an idiot? This thing is more than ten times bigger than the Going Merry, how are we supposed to cut it?!" Zoro was also a little bewildered by the sudden turn of events.
Usopp was even more terrified, stammering, "Haha… Oh no… Oh no…"
"Idiot! Take the helm! Get out of the way!"
Only Luffy remained calm, casually glancing at his stats panel: "Calm down, everyone. What's the big deal? It's just a small, broken ship that's fallen down."
As he spoke, Luffy leisurely pulled a silver game token from his pocket and gripped it tightly in his hand.
Buzz! Buzz!
Slivers of blue-white electricity began to surge wildly through his body, and a terrifying, suffocating wind pressure erupted from Luffy's palm.
"Go!"
Luffy flicked his thumb towards the sky, and the coin, crackling with terrifying lightning, spun high into the air, propelled by the wind pressure, and shot straight into the massive, crashing pirate ship.
"Luffy, are you crazy? How could such a tiny coin..."
Nami yelled frantically at Luffy, but her words were cut short by the sight before her.
Luffy smirked wickedly, striking an incredibly cool pose, his fingertips crackling with dazzling electricity, the blast creating a powerful gust of wind that made his red vest flap wildly.
"Shatter the darkness with lightning! Railgun!"
BOOM!!
A deafening, terrifying explosion erupted from the pirate ship in mid-air!
The massive, ancient sailing ship, upon contact with the coin, was instantly shattered into countless fragments, as if struck by a missile.
Huge wreckage rained down on the sea around the Going Merry, sending sprays dozens of meters high into the air!
Nami and Vivi stared, mouths agape, in shock at Luffy's dashing figure—he was just too damn cool!
After the "Cooking Master Boy" mode ended, Luffy accumulated another 5 collection points.
That is, since leaving Alabasta, Luffy and his crew had been adrift at sea for over a month.
During this time, Luffy's luck seemed to have completely run out. After experiencing five useless and frustrating templates, he was utterly exhausted.