"Hmm, hmm, hmm." The little girl nodded excitedly.
Seeing this, Yemu gave a gentle reminder.
"Good girl. From today on, besides being Enel's personal maid, you're also the head maid of the Sky Pirates. From now on, you're only allowed to listen to First Mate Enel and the Sky Pirates. Don't listen to anyone else, okay?"
"Mm-hmm!"
The little girl, now named Baby-5, looked even more delighted and clung tighter to Enel's leg.
At that moment, seeing Yemu had accepted the little one, Tiger felt relieved and added.
"But Captain Yemu, there's a problem…"
"What do you mean?"
"When we were dealing with those slave traders, they told us they were part of a slave ship under the Donquixote Family Pirates. I checked their leader—some guy named Doflamingo. He's got a bounty of 140 million Berries, and his name…"
Tiger trailed off and glanced cautiously at Kuzan and Dragon beside him.
Yemu understood Tiger's concern, waved dismissively, and said with ease, "No need to worry. We're not afraid of the Celestial Dragons, so why fear someone who's already lost that status? Besides, we've got Marines here. I doubt the Marines would let a pirate trafficking in people go free… Right, Vice Admiral Kuzan?"
Kuzan looked exasperated and let out a sigh.
"You do realize you're a pirate too, right…"
"True… Hahaha!"
Yemu didn't seem to mind at all. Meanwhile, seeing that there was no way to shake off the girl clinging to his leg—now named Baby-5 and officially part of the crew—Enel gave up resisting.
"Tiger, I told you already. Yemu wouldn't pay attention to someone like that."
"Yeah."
Tiger nodded. Though his hatred for slave traders surpassed anyone else's, that didn't mean he'd let his personal feelings bring trouble to the crew.
Just then, Enel raised another question.
"Now that I think about it, even with this clingy girl, there are only four of us on board… So where did the fifth person come from? Who's this extra one you mentioned?"
"The cook, Flare. She'll be our Sky Pirates' future head chef."
"!!!"
Kuzan and Dragon both froze for a moment before the realization hit.
"So that's it…"
No wonder Captain Yemu had spent so much time in such a tiny restaurant—he'd been recruiting a cook for the crew.
At that moment, in the kitchen, Flare and her father—who had been eavesdropping ever since Morgans entered—were both startled.
Flare's father turned pale with panic and anxiously whispered to his daughter...
"It's over... So his target was actually you, you damn brat... This is bad... Run! Don't worry, Oyaji will hold them off for you..."
"Oyaji, you..."
Flare grew nervous too. Seeing her father's concern touched her deeply.
"Should I run... No..."
If she really ran now, what would happen to her old man?
In that moment, Flare made up her mind—she wasn't going to run.
"Hey... you brat... what are you doing..."
Flare's father stared in panic, unable to stop her as she stepped forward. Facing Yemu with a frown, she said coldly,
"I'm not becoming a pirate."
She had expected Yemu to explode with anger, but to her surprise, he didn't react much at all. Instead, he simply glanced at her and replied coolly,
"Don't get the wrong idea. I may be interested in you, but whether you're qualified to be the chef of the Sky Pirates isn't up to you. You haven't earned my approval yet.
Not just anyone can become a chef on our ship—being our crew's No. 4 isn't something you get to decide. You'll only have the right to reject me if you win my approval in the upcoming cooking competition. Got it? Right now, you're still far from it..."
"!!!"
Flare hadn't expected that response, and it hit her pride head-on. But at least now, she wasn't afraid anymore. Her father also let out a relieved breath.
"You brat..."
Just then, Enel looked at the girl who had run out, tilted his head, and used his hand to compare their heights. Stirring the pot, he turned to Yemu and asked,
"Is it her? She's so tiny. Doesn't look like she'd be much of a cook..."
Compared to the two men who stood around 2.5 meters tall, Flare's 1.7-meter frame did seem a bit small.
"!!!"
Now it was Flare's turn—veins bulged on her forehead.
Taking the opportunity, Flare's old man laughed and added on,
"Yeah, yeah... Flare's still too young. Her cooking doesn't come close to Captain Yemu's standards. You'd better think twice before naming her head chef..."
"Old man, what nonsense are you spouting..."
Even though she knew her father was trying to help, Flare couldn't help but retort when he insulted her skills.
"Idiot... shut up..."
Her father snapped in frustration. No way was he going to let his daughter become a pirate—he'd never push her into a life like that.
But then, an unexpected voice cut through the moment.
"Excuse me, sir... you wouldn't happen to be Chōshokushin, would you?"
Everyone turned to see Tiger looking at Flare's father with a puzzled expression, calling him by a strange name.
Flare's father blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting that.
"You know me?"
Flare looked confused.
"What's going on, Oyaji? Is there something weird about your name?"
As Flare's father confirmed it, Tiger suddenly chuckled and turned to Yemu.
"Captain Yemu, looks like we've really struck gold this time. No matter how the cooking contest turns out, if this girl becomes our head chef, it'll be a real stroke of luck..."
Tiger's words made Yemu raise an eyebrow—clearly, Tiger saw something in the girl that he hadn't.
"What is it, Tiger? You found something?"
Tiger nodded and explained.
"I never imagined we'd run into the legendary 'Gourmet God' from the Gourmet Kingdom right here... If this girl is Chōshokushin's daughter, her cooking must be top-notch."
Flare furrowed her brow.
"Gourmet Kingdom... Gourmet God... Hey, old man, is he talking about you?"
The man named Chōshokushin remained calm and gave his daughter a light scolding.
"Tch... I told you already, your old man's kind of a big deal. You've still got a long way to go if you think you can surpass me..."
"Hey... Oyaji, what are you talking about..."
Flare couldn't wrap her head around it, but Tiger continued,
"Your father's telling the truth. He won the title of Food God in the Gourmet Kingdom three times in a row and held the No.1 chef spot there for twelve straight years. That's why he's known as the Gourmet God."
"..."
Flare was completely stunned, staring at the man she knew as her stubborn, balding old dad in utter disbelief.
"Is that true?"