While the Five Elders were chatting in Mary Geoise about things like the Three Emperor crews, Spandine on Enies Lobby was busy trying to contact Valthior.
New World, northern Calm Belt.
Seven days after Shiki left, Valthior's group parted ways with Garp and headed straight for the Calm Belt, preparing to cross the northern Calm Belt and reach the West Blue.
Inside the Oro Jackson's dining room, Valthior kept hissing in pain while madly shoveling mapo tofu into his mouth.
Even though his tongue was very sensitive to heat, he could not care about that right now.
"So this is Kano Country's food culture? Isn't it a little too spicy?" Spencer said, drinking two mouthfuls of ice water and clicking his tongue.
"It is not Kano Country's food. It is my own cooking, though it did grow out of Kano Country's traditional food," Tofu said as he placed a plate of sea cucumber with green onions on the table.
Valthior still ignored the heat. He picked up a piece of sea cucumber with his chopsticks, stuffed it into his mouth, endured the burning feeling on his tongue, chewed a few times, and swallowed it.
"At this moment, I finally feel like I am truly alive on this sea…"
When he said that, Spencer and the others all looked at him strangely.
Tofu's cooking was indeed excellent, and they also thought the food was delicious, but was it really delicious enough for Valthior to react like this?
Especially after Lincoln went to Frost Island, the Heaven Capital had many chefs from the Jaygarcia family. Their skill was far above Tofu's.
Many dishes they made were only "not bad" in Valthior's mouth.
Valthior had often talked about what kind of fine food he ate in Mary Geoise.
So why did he react even more strongly than them after eating dishes like mapo tofu and sea cucumber with green onions? He looked like a country pirate who had never seen the world.
Clearly, Spencer and the others could not understand Valthior's feelings at all.
He had been in this world for more than twenty years, and at last, he had eaten something that could almost be called real food from his home. That was why he was so moved.
At this moment, the way Valthior looked at Tofu changed.
Before, he had only treated him as a hostage, someone who could squeeze five hundred billion Berries out of Chinjao.
Now, Valthior already treated him like a treasure.
"If you had told me earlier that you had this kind of skill, we would not have been so distant these past few days. You suffered. You really suffered," Valthior said with emotion as he looked at Tofu.
It was true that Valthior's group ate well on Frost Island. But after boarding the ship, they had not brought any extra people along, so naturally they had not brought a chef.
As for their own cooking skills, they were hard to describe.
One could only say they had a very pirate-like style.
As long as the food could fill the stomach, it was enough.
They threw all kinds of spices into the pot, and the final taste depended entirely on fate.
The result was that when Shanks brought food to the imprisoned Tofu and Chinjao, Tofu endured it for several days before finally being unable to take it anymore. He directly said their food was too awful and asked whether they were deliberately abusing prisoners.
Then he revealed that he was a great chef.
So today, he was released to show everyone his cooking skills.
And Valthior almost cried from emotion.
Tofu said unhappily, "Are you going to waive my fifty billion-Berry ransom just because of your appetite?"
Valthior grinned and said, "Fifty billion Berries is nothing to me. If you are willing to join my crew and become the chef of the Valthior Pirates, I can completely waive that ransom. How about it? Want to think about it?"
"You want me to give up my position as a pillar of the Niho Navy and become your chef?" Tofu said with disdain.
"What kind of position is a pillar of the Niho Navy anyway? It is only a semi-official private force under a World Government member nation. Can that compare to being the chef on my ship? And not an ordinary chef either. You would be a chef with officer status. As long as you are willing to join, I can give you an officer position," Valthior said directly.
"You are just a pirate. Why do you sound so arrogant? Someone who did not know better might think you were a Celestial Dragon," Tofu said with a cold laugh.
Was he looking down on Kano Country now? Kano Country was a powerful nation in the West Blue and was highly valued by the World Government.
But as soon as Tofu said that, Shanks, Buggy, Bartholomew Kuma, and the others all looked at him strangely.
"What? Is something wrong with the taste?" Tofu asked in surprise.
"Ahem. Speaking of which, I have not formally introduced myself yet. My full name is Jaygarcia Valthior. I am a descendant of the Twenty Kings, the young master of a Five Elders family, and a true Celestial Dragon. In other words, Kano Country can also be considered under my authority. As a member of Kano Country, you serve its king, which means, in theory, you also serve me. It is just that your rank is too low. In normal times, you would not even have the right to meet me. Now that I am inviting you, this is an enormous honor for you…" Valthior put down his bowl and chopsticks, then looked at Tofu with a slightly arrogant air.
Tofu burst out laughing. "I did not expect you to be so good at jokes. You are a Celestial Dragon, yet you can sit at the same table with us? You even went out to become a pirate? That is ridiculous. You think I will believe that? If you really are a Celestial Dragon, then what would be wrong with me becoming your chef?"
As he spoke, he laughed loudly.
But as he laughed, he noticed that everyone in the dining room was looking at him with strange smiles, saying nothing.
That gradually made him feel awkward. In the end, he asked with some doubt, "You were joking just now, right?"
"Remember what you just said." Valthior pointed at Tofu twice with his finger, smiling as he took out his Den Den Mushi and made a call.
A moment later, the call connected. An old man with a refined voice spoke from the other side. "Young Master? What are your orders?"
"Alfred, contact the king of Kano Country. Tell him I have taken a liking to Tofu, the pillar of the Niho Navy, and plan to make him my chef. Ask him whether he has any objections," Valthior said with a smile.
"Understood, Young Master. How could he possibly dare object? This is his good fortune," Alfred replied respectfully.
Very soon, Valthior hung up.
Tofu swallowed and looked at Valthior nervously. It all felt unreal.
Is he really a Celestial Dragon? No, that cannot be right. Is he just showing off?
"Five minutes." Valthior looked at the clock on the wall. "Shanks, give him back his Den Den Mushi. Someone will contact him within five minutes."
Shanks grinned and placed the Den Den Mushi into Tofu's arms. Then he raised his brow and said, "Speaking of that, I have not introduced myself either. My name is Shanks. Figarland Shanks. In the future, I will definitely become the head of the Figarland family. I am also a Celestial Dragon, so please take care of me from now on."
Since he followed Valthior, he was clearly planning to take the family seat by force.
Calling himself Figarland Shanks was perfectly reasonable.
Later, when he returned to Mary Geoise, he would settle things with "Crown Prince" Shamrock, then cut down his father. After that, he would indeed be the head of the Figarland family.
"Huh?" Tofu became even more stunned.
This time, however, he felt a little calmer. Valthior had acted fairly convincing just now, but Shanks had no Celestial Dragon air at all. One look and it was clear he was talking nonsense, just teasing him.
But before that thought could fully settle, the Den Den Mushi in his arms rang.
He looked down and saw that it really was the king of Kano Country.
"Your Majesty?" Tofu answered with hesitation.
"What do you mean, Your Majesty? Aren't we good friends? Have you forgotten? I even treated you to a meal before! Tofu, you really are not loyal enough. Why did you hide the fact that you know the young master of a Five Elders family from me?" the king of Kano Country said warmly through the Den Den Mushi.
Tofu froze.
Wait, you are serious?
At the same time, Valthior's Den Den Mushi also rang.
At first, he thought it was Alfred reporting the result. But when he looked down, he saw that it was Spandine.
"Hello?" Valthior answered.
"Young Master! Something terrible has happened!" Spandine did not even bother with greetings and shouted in panic. "Mary Geoise has ordered us to work with the Marines and wipe out Ohara!"
Valthior froze for a moment, then raised his brow. "Why are you panicking? Wasn't this something we already expected?"
Indeed, Valthior had long judged that something would happen to Ohara, and Spandine, as a key figure in the matter, had expected it too.
It was just that this had come suddenly, and with Robin and Olvia involved, Spandine had lost his composure for a moment.
Of course, Valthior did not rule out the possibility that he was using this chance to show loyalty.
After all, when your superior's wife and child were about to be in danger, even if you had expected it, you still had to act panicked. Otherwise, how could you show your loyalty?
"My deepest apologies. I was too worried and lost my head…" Spandine quickly explained.
Valthior did not bother thinking about whether this guy was acting or not. He only asked, "Can you solve the problem?"
"I can only say that I can try, but Lady Olvia and Princess Robin will definitely be exposed," Spandine said without hesitation.
"Then go do it first," Valthior said softly.
At this point, there was no need to keep hiding.
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