Chapter 193: Chapter 150 – Nami and Carina compete
Baratie, the sea restaurant.
"Damn it! In the end, Sanji still ended up making enough food for the Krieg Pirates!"
"Sanji I can understand, but why did Boss Zeff also prepare meals for the Krieg Pirates?"
"Thankfully, Arton is here. As long as we keep him satisfied, we'll be safe."
"Exactly. Forget about the Krieg Pirates, just keep serving dishes to Arton."
"Damn that Straw Hat kid! How can he eat so much? A lot of those dishes were meant for Arton!"
"Didn't you see? That girl named Uta seems close to Luffy. Since that's the case, we should take good care of Luffy too."
"Hurry, hurry, keep it coming!"
As the hundred servings of fried rice demanded by the Krieg Pirates were placed at the restaurant's inner entrance by Sanji and Zeff, an increasing number of exquisite dishes were continuously being served to Arton's table.
No one was happier about this than Luffy.
Arton, too, was very pleased. Thanks to his abilities, he had no worries about Luffy managing to snatch the food directly in front of him.
"Here, Arton, try this," Carina said, lifting a piece of meat with her fork and bringing it to Arton's lips.
At the same time, she leaned her entire body close to Arton, almost pressing against him.
As Carina grew more proficient in mastering the power of Yae Miko and her inherited traits, the influence of Yae Miko's bloodline on her had also intensified. Beyond her increasingly alluring appearance, her figure had also undergone noticeable changes, as if experiencing a second growth spurt.
Thus, when Carina leaned against Arton, he couldn't help but notice the overwhelming pressure against him.
"Thank you, Carina," Arton said with a smile, placing his hand on her waist as he took the piece of meat she offered.
"It's what I should do," Carina replied with a soft laugh, feeling Arton's slightly mischievous hand on her waist. She then cast a smug glance at Nami, clearly enjoying her moment of triumph.
Nami was naturally very displeased with the situation.
However, no one was more upset than Sanji in the distance.
He was biting down on a napkin, his face full of envy and resentment as he stared at Arton. Watching Arton surrounded by beautiful women, Sanji even forgot to notify Gin from the Krieg Pirates to come and collect the prepared meals.
Especially when he saw Nami, much like Carina, intimately wrapping Arton's arm in her embrace and personally feeding him an expensive drink, his gaze grew increasingly fiery.
That fiery stare, akin to burning flames, naturally did not escape Arton's notice.
"Captain Arton, what do you think of this wine?" Nami asked with a smile, her lips still glistening with traces of the wine she had tasted.
"Hmm… it's quite sweet," Arton said, his lips curling into a grin. "And rather naughty."
Upon hearing this, Nami's face instantly turned bright red.
She naturally understood what Arton meant by "naughty." While transferring the wine to his mouth earlier, she had deliberately used her playful tongue to tease him. The act itself was already enough to make her blush with embarrassment.
Now, having Arton openly point it out in front of everyone only intensified her embarrassment.
But when she saw that her act of offering Arton a drink had been photographed and uploaded to his diary, while Carina's previous feeding act had not, Nami's lips curved into a satisfied smile.
She glanced over at Carina and gestured meaningfully toward the diary beside her.
Carina furrowed her brows, opening her own diary. Upon seeing the photo in the diary, she bit her lip in frustration.
Her eyes darted around as an idea formed, and she decided to mimic Nami's tactic.
"Arton, try this," Carina said, scooping up a spoonful of soup and tasting it herself before lunging toward Arton.
"That… that soup is something I made!" Sanji exclaimed, his eyes bloodshot as his entire complexion turned ghostly pale once more.
"Strange… does eating this way make the food taste better?" Luffy scratched his cheek, looking puzzled as he turned to Usopp, Zango, and Zoro for answers.
"I... I don't know, I've never done it," Usopp replied, shaking his head.
"Tch, don't ask me either," Zoro muttered, clicking his tongue and turning his head to look elsewhere.
Although his words sounded indifferent, a faint blush appeared on his face, clearly showing he felt a bit embarrassed about Arton, Nami, and Carina's public display. After all, they were sitting at the same table as Arton, and nearly every gaze in the restaurant was fixed on them.
"In some ways, it does make things taste better," Zango remarked, wearing the knowing expression of someone experienced in such matters.
"Really? Then why don't we try it too?" Luffy asked, nodding in agreement before astonishingly suggesting it to Zango and the others.
"No!"
"I refuse."
"Don't even think about it."
Zango, Zoro, and Usopp immediately shook their heads, fearing Luffy might try it with them right then and there.
"So, how was it?" Carina asked with a smile as she slightly parted from Arton, licking the remaining soup off his lips.
"Hmm, it was excellent," Arton replied, unable to resist giving a thumbs-up.
"Captain Arton, are you referring to Sanji's cooking?" Carina teased, her playful tongue darting from one corner of her lips to the other. "Or are you referring to something else?"
"Well, both were pretty great," Arton nodded with emphasis, a playful smile on his face.
At the same time, he completed recording the video.
Carina, noticing the recording, turned to Nami with a triumphant smile. Although the video was less than a minute long, it was enough to earn her more points compared to Nami's photograph.
Nami, as Carina had hoped, pouted with a displeased expression.
In less than two seconds, Nami and Carina were at each other's throats.
Watching this unfold, Kaya and Uta shook their heads with a resigned smile.
[Photo:Nami's Imported Wine!]
[Video:Carina's Imported Soup!]
[Photo:The Ashen Sanji!]
*
"This Nami sure knows her stuff."
"Carina isn't bad either. She probably picked that up from Nami."
"Still, could Arton stop constantly provoking Sanji?"
Reiju sighed deeply as she read the latest updates in the diary.
That said, as she gazed at the photos and videos of Nami and Carina, which symbolized a wealth of points, her thoughts started to stir. Almost unconsciously, she licked her lips.
[Can't deny it—inviting both Nami and Carina aboard was a great decision.]
[Although I don't know why, it seems like the two of them are competing for my favor.]
[Did they make some private bet?]
[Something like, whoever manages to seduce me wins a huge pile of Berries?]
[If that's the case, I need to stay composed and not be easily tempted.]
[Perhaps by doing so, I'll end up with even more benefits.]
[Not going to lie, Carina currently has a slight edge over Nami.]
[The fox-like traits inherited from Yae Miko have significantly enhanced Carina's charm. Her allure is growing stronger by the day.]
[In terms of figure, Carina has also seen considerable improvement.]
[Nami, on the other hand, inherited Raiden Ei's powers, which don't come with the same seductive attributes as Yae Miko's. This puts her at a slight disadvantage.]
[Although Raiden Ei's powers have their own strengths, Nami hasn't had them for long, so her overall transformation is still minimal.]
[When it comes to charm and physique, she's currently lagging slightly behind Carina.]
[Hopefully, Nami can fully inherit Raiden Ei's powers soon.]
Nami's brows furrowed deeply as she read the diary's contents. She looked up at Carina, only to find her sporting a provocative expression.
In an instant, the two started bickering again.
[While the benefits provided by Nami and Carina are certainly delightful, if this continues, I'm afraid Sanji might genuinely lose it.]
[After all, he just prepared an entire table full of delicious dishes for me. Maybe I should stop provoking him for now.]
[Especially since, in the future, this guy almost died from a nosebleed just because he saw a picture of a beautiful woman.]
[Click-click, almost dying of blood loss due to a nosebleed—Sanji, this guy, truly is one of a kind.]
Vinsmoke Reiju: "No way, Sanji becomes this kind of man in the future?"
Charlotte Smoothie: "Does that mean killing Sanji would be really easy?"
Black Maria: "Wouldn't even need to lay a hand on him?"
Gion: "Just send him a few photos of beautiful women?"
Stussy: "If we arranged for some ladies from the pleasure district to meet Sanji, I wonder what state he'd end up in? Haha, that sounds a little fun."
[But it's no surprise he'd be so affected by photos of beautiful women.]
[After all, as a "ladies' man" through and through, Sanji spent two years on Kamabakka Kingdom being chased by drag queens.]
[And trained under Revolutionary Army officer Ivankov on that same island for two years.]
[After enduring that, it's perfectly reasonable that he'd have difficulty resisting the charm of normal women for a while.]
[If I were on Kamabakka Kingdom and got chased by drag queens, I wouldn't be able to take it either.]
[Hmm... no, actually, if I ended up on Kamabakka Kingdom and they dared to chase me, I'd beat them all to a pulp.]
Gion: "Huh?! Sanji has ties to the Revolutionary Army?"
Koala: "Ivankov-san actually trained Sanji?"
Vinsmoke Reiju: "Sanji... he even spent time as a drag queen?"
Doll: "Wasn't this man supposed to become Queen the Plague's student?"
Belo Betty: "What on earth led this man to become entangled with Ivankov? Was it because of Luffy? Could it be he sought out Ivankov for a special culinary recipe?"
Sadi: "Ivankov again! I don't know which part of Impel Down you're hiding in, but I'll never let you escape."
[Sanji's cooking really is incredible—even without having received Ivankov's culinary recipes.]
[Who knows what kind of delicious dishes Sanji might create after obtaining Ivankov's culinary recipes.]
[Speaking of which, Ivankov's recipes aren't just tasty—they also improve physical fitness.]
[While I don't plan to recruit Sanji as the chef aboard the Sylvan, I could still get my hands on those recipes. Later, when I bring Pudding onto the team, I could hand the recipes over to her.]
Black Maria: "So that's it—Sanji's connection with the Revolutionary Army's Ivankov is all about the culinary recipes."
Charlotte Pudding: "So Arton's dream chef is still me? That's wonderful."
Kalifa: "Arton wants Ivankov's culinary recipes? That's a problem. If it leads to ties with the Revolutionary Army, it would be harmful to the World Government."
Koala: "Ivankov's recipes, huh? Maybe they could be used to build a relationship between the Revolutionary Army and Arton."
Belo Betty: "If I bring Ivankov's recipes to Arton, would he let me stay on his ship? Now contacting Ivankov has become necessary. No doubt, he's already on other people's radar too."
Ulti: "Since Arton wants those recipes, we should steal them first and use them to tempt him."
Gion: "Perhaps the Marines could seize Ivankov's recipes first and use them to establish a rapport with Arton."
Domino: "But before that, we'd need to find Ivankov in Impel Down. Once we locate him, Chief Magellan's strength should be enough to subdue him."
At this moment, Ivankov, still unaware of his predicament in Impel Down, had already become the target of many factions.
*
BANG!
A sudden noise interrupted Arton's meal and journaling. Turning toward the source of the sound, he saw Krieg smashing through the doors of the Baratie.
Behind him stood a troubled Gin, his expression grim.
"I've given you more than enough time," Krieg bellowed. "Why haven't you brought me my food yet?"
"Do you all have a death wish?"
His furious words brought a heavy silence to the restaurant, broken only by the sounds of Luffy and Uta devouring their meals as they competed in an eating contest.
"Hmm?" Krieg's ears caught the noise, and he turned his head, his eyes locking onto Arton's table, laden with dishes.
When he saw the spread, his face twisted in rage. "Bastard! You dare eat my food?"
"You looking for death?"
As Krieg strode toward Arton's table, completely oblivious, a large bag of fried rice had already been placed on the floor behind him.
...
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