About an hour later, breakfast began.
In a small place like Frostmoon Village, the ingredients naturally weren't very abundant. Zeff had already sent Zoro earlier to buy out everything available at the local market, but the variety was still just those few kinds.
Yet after passing through Zeff's hands, it was as if they had been touched by magic—instantly turning decay into wonder.
One dish after another, with bright colors and rich aromas, was brought to the table.
The little kids from the dojo crowded around the long wooden table. Even before the meal started, their eyes were already wide open.
The clinking of chopsticks tapping bowls was mixed with exclamations like "Smells so good!", "Ahhh I can't take this anymore!", and "I can't control my drool already!"
And once Zeff gave the okay to dig in, the scene instantly turned chaotic.
After all, they were just a bunch of kids. At first, they still remembered the table manners Koushirou had taught them, but the food was just too delicious—it triggered everyone's natural instinct to guard their food.
Everyone scrambled and fought over it like hungry ghosts at a feast.
Shano couldn't even squeeze through at first—he didn't want to fight with a group of little radish-heads, so he went to the corner and got himself a bowl of the most overlooked fish porridge.
One sip down, the milky white rice porridge wrapped around translucent fish slices slid smoothly down his throat. The scallion and ginger perfectly offset the fishy taste. The texture was smooth and wonderful, the flavor fresh enough to lift your eyebrows.
He also picked up a few of the small side dishes nearby—crisp and refreshing, perfect to go with the porridge.
He couldn't help but narrow his eyes in satisfaction.
Even ordinary plain porridge and pickles could taste this good—this was what it meant to be a professional chef.
Bellemere's cooking was already quite excellent, but compared to Zeff, it was like heaven and earth.
Maybe I should… Shano glanced thoughtfully at Zeff.
At the side—
Zoro was also wolfing down food like crazy, as if he could swallow the whole table.
All the resentment from being ordered around earlier had long vanished. If he could eat something this delicious every day, then washing vegetables and cutting stuff every day would be totally worth it!
"Old man!" he couldn't help but yell, "Just stay here! If I can't eat your cooking in the future, I don't know how I'll survive!"
"Yeah, yeah!"
"Stay here, Chef Grandpa!"
The other kids in the dojo also began shouting.
These kids who knew nothing of the ways of the world… Koushirou shook his head helplessly. A top-class chef like this wasn't someone a tiny dojo like his could afford to hire.
"Alright, enough noise. Don't make such unreasonable requests anymore."
Koushirou had just started speaking gently when he suddenly turned his head in surprise—he just remembered that before Zeff started cooking, he had asked whether the dojo still needed a chef.
"That's right, this old man meant exactly that."
Zeff smiled and said, "Mr. Koushirou, it seems the kids really like my cooking. How about letting this old man stay here for now? And of course, this child too."
He gently ruffled Sanji's head beside him.
"You brat, saying you want to find the All Blue, but right now you're barely even a kitchen helper. You're not even a proper cook yet—how are you qualified to chase that dream-blue sea?"
"Stupid old man…"
Sanji shoved his hand away in annoyance, but suddenly realized something and looked up in surprise, "Eh? You mean you're willing to teach me how to cook?"
"Still not sure yet." Zeff snorted. "This old man is strict with official apprentices. If you don't learn properly, I can kick you away at any time."
"Don't underestimate me, old man!"
Just then, Koushirou coughed and said, "Mr. Zeff, for someone of your caliber to be willing to stay at the dojo, it's truly my honor. Of course we welcome you with open arms, but…"
But if they kept consuming food at this rate, Isshin Dojo would go bankrupt within a month. A year ago, he'd still had some grain reserves, but on that night not long ago, he had donated all of them to Dragon.
He felt a little awkward and couldn't bring himself to say the rest.
But Zeff saw through his dilemma and laughed heartily:
"Don't worry! This old man still has some savings. From now on, I'll take care of all the dojo's food costs!"
"This won't do!"
Koushirou was shocked—it was the first time he'd heard of someone paying out of pocket to go to work.
"Enough talk! It's settled!"
Zeff burst into loud laughter and slapped Koushirou's shoulder hard, forcing him to swallow the words he'd been about to say.
Shano found it amusing watching from the side.
Seeing the two of them together like this—it was a pretty strange but interesting scene.
Koushirou and Zeff, huh? Tch, if only Rayleigh or… Kaido showed up too, then all of the Straw Hat trio's future mentors would be gathered.
"Oh, right, Shano."
Zeff pulled Shano outside again, and somehow brought out a huge sack of treasure.
"Take this. If you exchange it, it should be worth fifty or sixty million Berries. I've still kept some back—enough to buy ingredients on a daily basis."
Fifty or sixty million Berries, huh?
Shano glanced at the giant sack of treasure.
Back on the deserted island, Zeff had tricked Sanji using this very sack, making him think it was full of food.
And in the original timeline, Zeff had used this money to open the Baratie restaurant, right?
Thinking of the 400 million Berry fortune he had stashed in a Loguetown bank, Shano pondered briefly and then shook his head.
"No need, Uncle Zeff. You keep all of it. I really don't lack money. Just think of it as my contribution too—to help the kids at the dojo eat well and stay nourished for the next few years."
"Especially those two."
Shano pointed at Kuina and Zoro, and smiled:
"They might be my crew members in the future, you know. So you can give them some special treatment. I hope that by the time they sail with me, their bodies will be as tough as bulls—no, as tough as mine."
Zeff glanced at Shano's exaggeratedly muscular build and burst into laughter.
"Alright! No problem. With this old man in the kitchen, when you go out to sea, I'll hand you two crew members fat and strong like you!"
"Or maybe… not just two?"
"Hm?" Zeff blinked.
Shano gave a wink and said cheerfully, "Uncle, continuing as a chef—that's just your fallback plan, right? Wasn't your biggest dream always to keep sailing the Grand Line and chase that dream-blue sea?"
"You're saying… you want this old man to board your ship in the future too?"
Zeff paused for a second. His eyes seemed slightly moved.
But when his gaze dropped to his prosthetic leg, he let out a sigh:
"Forget it. The future Grand Line belongs to you young folks. With what little strength I have left, I'd only be a burden."
He'd been a captain once, after all.
Joining a crew was fine—but being the weakest one aboard, unable to help in battle, being nothing but baggage—
That was something his pride couldn't accept.
"I understand how you feel, Uncle. But what if…" Shano rubbed his chin, "I told you I had a way to completely heal your leg?"
"..."
Zeff froze, and then his eyes lit up, even his voice trembling slightly with excitement.
"Really? You really have a way? I lost the entire leg—what kind of medical skill can do something like that…"
Shano shook his head. "It might not be medical skills. Anyway, I can't do it yet, but I will in the future. Let's set a time limit, how about that?"
He held up four fingers. "The day I go to sea—probably within the next four or five years? When the time comes, I'll come back to Isshin Dojo. If I can fully restore your leg, you'll come with us on the ship. How about it?"
He was very confident about fulfilling this promise.
After all, the system's trade market could produce all sorts of things.
If it could even show him something like a planetary engine, then fixing one leg was nothing.
He was only thirteen now.
He didn't necessarily need to wait until adulthood to go adventuring, but at the very least, he'd wait until sixteen or seventeen.
That left plenty of time, and the trade market refreshed once a month. Unless his luck was truly cursed, how could he not find a way?
"Alright! Let's do it your way!"
Zeff finally made up his mind, stretching out a pinky with a grin: "Then let's seal it with a pinky swear?"
Shano: "?"
Wait a second.
What's up with you East Blue natives? No matter how old or young, you all really like pinky swears, huh?
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