Chapter 93

"Is it that much of a deal?" Carina asked with an amused expression on her face, as she let herself be carried by Rowan's arms.

"Well..." Rowan grimaced, reminding himself of Nyaruko, "Kind of."

After traveling some distance away from the Straw Hat pirates, Rowan placed Carina down on the ground in a sudden realization.

'Hold on,' Rowan's froze as he turned his head back, 'Straw hat, goofy-looking visage, black-hair, scar under his eye... Monkey D. Luffy?'

Even though twenty-one years passed by since Rowan's reincarnation, Rowan had no problem in remembering the single aspect that he knew in regards to 'One Piece.' Judging by his Observation Haki, this was the exact appearance of one boy who stood behind Sanji.

'And according to Ace, Luffy is his little brother.'

"Hello? Earth to Rowan?" Upon Carina waving her hand in front of his face, Rowan woke from the daze. "What has surprised you so much?"

Rowan smiled and patted Carina's head gently.

"You know that one dude we saw back there?" Rowan asked.

"Sanji you mean?" Carina replied with a curiosity in her voice, "What about him?"

"No, not him. The other boy with straw hat. If I'm not wrong-" Rowan said a grin on his face, before it faltered as he saw a large cloud of dust forming from their front, with Sanji running towards them at a blazing speed.

"*Huff* *Huff*" Upon catching up to Rowan and Carina, Sanji placed his hands on his knees out of exhaustion.

"How are you so fast?!!" Sanji exclaimed while sweating profusely.

From his behind, the other four were running as well. Luffy seemed to be full of joy, as he occasionally extended his rubber arms to snatch some food, without regard for the owners who stared at him with shock. Zoro was running with an excited gleam, Bartolomeo was chasing Luffy with admiration, and Borodo was falling behind with his lack of stamina in comparison to others.

"Ohh, this bread is so good!!" Luffy remarked as he engulfed the bread in one go, "Shishishishi!!"

Subsequently, Zoro stopped in front of Rowan with a challenging gaze, "Heh, I heard that you are that Grimheart everyone is talking about." He unsheathed one sword and pointed its tip to Rowan, "Let me challenge you-"

*Boom* In the next moment, Zoro's head was impaled deep on the ground by Sanji's foot.

"No, he's mine!!" Sanji growled at Zoro angrily, before turning back to Rowan, only to see Rowan casually chattering with Luffy.

"You are Luffy, right?" Rowan asked with a grin.

"Hm? You know me?" Luffy tilted his head comically as he effortlessly extended his arm and snatched a piece of meat from a nearby food vendor, much to the owner's dismay.

"Not really, but..." Rowan turned his head back and met his blindfolded eyes with Carina's, "We know Ace instead."

"Ohh, you know Ace?!!" Luffy's face instantly lit up in joy, getting himself excited upon hearing Ace's name, "Shishishi, you guys are his friends, huh!!"

Watching as Rowan and Luffy talk in a friendly demeanour with him ignored, Sanji quietly went over to the corner and sat down in depression.

"Oh, how pitiful!" Suddenly, a voice was heard from Sanji's left, which caused him to jolt up in surprise and turn his head. He was greeted with the sight of Cavendish crouching down and staring at him, while casually nibbling onto a rose. "*Nom* *Nom* Upon coming across a man in an absolute desperation, I, the charming prince of the sea, could not help but stop by... to mock!"

Cavendish stood up and began to laugh at Sanji with a mocking face, "Gahahaha!!! Gahaha, gaha-"

"Shut up!!!"

*BOOM* Cavendish was flown back by Sanji, who kicked with a tick mark on his face.

However, Sanji was met with the sight of Cavendish still laughing at him even after being impaled in the wall, as if he sustained no damage at all.

"Heh, suits you well, dartboard brow." Zoro chuckled with his arms crossed, but his eyes were narrowed onto the sword that was sheathed on Cavendish's waist with an interest.

"Hey captain, what's with all this ruckus?" On the other side, Dan was seen to be walking towards the group.

"We met our friend's brother." Carina replied in Rowan's stead with a bored look on her face.

"So... stranger?" Dan scratched the back of his head with squinted his eyes.

Carina simply shrugged.

"Ohohohoho, look at that, Borodo!!!" Bartolomeo shook Borodo with full of energy as he pointed at Luffy, "Captain Luffy is going all buddy-buddy with the man of 850 million Beli, the Grimheart!!!!!!"

Borodo, on the other hand, was frozen in a mix of fear and disbelief, knowing well enough that Rowan had the capability to wipe them out in one go. He couldn't bother himself to care for Bartolomeo's eccentric demeanour.

(Author's Note: In case you didn't know, Borodo isn't an OC. He's the dude from the movie, 'Clockwork Island Adventure.')

"Excuse me, will you?" Suddenly, a smooth feminine voice was heard from the duo's back, causing them to turn, and they were met with Robin, who gave them a light smile.

"W-whoa..." Borodo's jaw opened, entranced by Robin's appearance. Bartolomeo looked at Borodo as if he was seeing an idiot.

"This is even worse than Urouge's crew." Carina commented with a deadpan as she sighted the chaotic scene that unfolded in front of her.

Dan nodded solemnly, agreeing to her words.

Now, as for Rowan and Luffy, who were conversing happily before,

"What did you say?" Rowan growled as he and Luffy slammed their foreheads to one another angrily.

"Sanji is the best cook!!!" Luffy shouted back while gritting his teeth, and skidded back due to Rowan's strength—although the latter wasn't using any force.

"You gotta be kidding me." Rowan clenched his fists, "Forget Sanji. No one can beat Carmen, and no one will."

An imaginary fire seemed to envelop the two, causing Carina, Dan, and now Robin who arrived, to sweatdrop.

""Bring it on!!!"" The two shouted in anger.

_______________

Rowan invited the Straw Hat pirates to Prominence. Now, with all of them gathered on the deck,

"On the left side, we introduce to you, Sanji!!" Borodo announced with a mic with his hand pointed towards Sanji. Sanji was standing on his designated spot while staring at his contestant with heart-shaped eyes.

"Annnnnd, on the right side, we have Carmen the 'Flame Empress!!'"

"For years, ever since I saw you back on the Orbit, I've dreamt of this day!" Carmen seemed determined, as she held onto her knives with a serious face, "Today will be the day for me to surpass you, Sanji!"

"The contestants get thirty minutes to prepare a meal and present them to our judges," Borodo pointed at all the members of the Grimheart pirates and Straw Hat pirates, who were sitting around one enormous table eagerly, "everyone including me!! The theme of this competition is 'beef.' Without further ado, let the battle commence!!"

With insanely fast hands, Carmen and Sanji began to cook under the amazed eyes of many—except for Rowan, who was wearing a blindfold, along with Cavendish and Zoro, who were sparring on the platform outside of Prominence.

*Clang*

Zoro gritted his teeth as he saw how easily Cavendish managed to parry his strikes.

"Two Sword Style: Sai Kuru (Rhino Resolve)!!" Zoro slashed with his two swords as he spun in a circular motion.

*Clang* *Clang*

Zoro's technique was effortlessly blocked by Cavendish, who maneuvered his sword in an unorthodox way, with his body swaying bizarrely.

"Gahaha, it's futile!" Cavendish said haughtily as he fluttered his hair with his free left hand, "Let this prince show you how much difference exists between the two of us!"

"Tch," Zoro clicked his tongue in a cold sweat, as he firmly gripped his swords. 'What kind of movement is this? How can a person's body bend to such an extent?!'

On the other hand, Rowan scruffled into his pocket and took out Ace's Vivre Card.

"Huh? Paper?" Luffy tilted his head in an inquiry.

"This is called Vivre Card. It points to the life-force of a certain individual, no matter where that individual may be in." Rowan explained with a grin. "As for this one, it belongs to Ace."

"Ace?!!" Luffy's eyes widened.

Chuckling at Luffy's antic, Rowan tore the Vivre Card in half, and passed one half to Luffy.

"Ace originally meant to give this to you, but gave it to me instead due to circumstances. Funny how it ultimately ended up in your hands." Rowan pocketed the other half back and turned his head back to the cooking battle between Sanji and Carmen, full of eagerness.

"Thanks Rowan!" Luffy gave a wide smile as he firmly grasped the Vivre Card with his left hand. "How is Ace?"

"He's doing just fine." Rowan replied with a smile of his own.

"Shishishi, I see!" Luffy nodded, "That's good enough for me to know!"

"Ding ding ding, the time is up!!" Borodo's voice boomed subsequently, "Both participants, please bring your finished foods to the table!!" Immediately after, he quickly placed the mic down and grabbed a chair for himself as well.

Cavendish and Zoro too came to take seats for themselves, although Bartolomeo and Dan, whom Zoro positioned himself in-between, immediately shifted away from him while covering their noses.

"Dude, you smell!!" Bartolomeo glared at Zoro annoyingly, but the latter didn't seem to care at all.

Sanji lifted up many bowls on his outstretched arms, and to his right, Carmen was carrying the plates with an orange-coloured flame that was emitted from her right hand.

"My newest dish, Rainbow beef consommé." Sanji stated as he placed the bowls down one by one, "Cooked through the use of twelve different spices at my arsenal. Enjoy."

Carmen too distributed the meals in front of each person by controlling her flame with high precision, "Hmph, this is Châteaubriand, roasted with the perfect precision of my flame, and seasoned with 200-year old red wine, Déesse."

"Finally," Rowan rubbed his hands together with excitement, "dinner time."

"Shishishishi, thanks for the meal!!!"

Rowan and Luffy began to wolf down the food at an incredible pace, causing the others to sigh in harmony, before starting their own meals.

"Mmm, deep and enriching." Cavendish commented with his eyes closed as he took a sip of Sanji's meal, "Truly a chicken soup for my soul-"

"This is beef, buddy." Dan said with a raised eyebrow.

"Whatt?!!" Bartolomeo cried, "I thought this was pork!!"

On the other end of the table, Carina snorted, "Boys. They don't know the etiquette at all." With a napkin around her neck, Carina lifted up the fork and knife, before cutting the meat from Carmen's dish.

"Mademoiselle Carina, you are doing it wrong again." Alfred shook his head from her right, causing Carina to freeze.

"So tell me." Carmen spoke up in anticipation, "Whose dish is better?"

To Carmen, Sanji was someone akin to her idol when it came to the art of culinary. Her career as a chef began when she came upon the sight of Sanji talking of his dream to find the All Blue, and came to admire his conviction. Now, facing him in a cooking battle, she couldn't help but feel uneasy—until she saw him smiling at her with heart-shaped eyes.

"Miss Carmennnn~" Sanji made a heart by joining his hands together, earning Carmen's disdain.

Rowan and Luffy, who already finished their meals, seemed to be in contemplation, before speaking out at the same time,

"Carmen definitely." Rowan said with a nod.

"Sanji's meal was the best!!" Luffy exclaimed with a grin and thumbs up.

In the end, Carmen did win. However, this was only because there were more people within the Grimheart pirates, who all voted for Carmen, than within the Straw Hat pirates, who all voted for Sanji. Carmen vowed to battle Sanji once again in the future against the actual judges, to which the latter happily agreed as if a dream came true.