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"At least there has to be a reasonable bet~"
After saying this, Bai Ye finally revealed his true intention.
"If I'm lucky enough to win, how about Sanji-san joins our pirate crew?"
Bai Ye smiled, then looked at an excited Luffy nearby and said softly:
"After all, my captain is a stubborn guy. If we don't let him get what he wants, he'll give us a lot of trouble."
"What?!"
Sanji snapped back to reason, hearing Bai Ye's condition and realizing the goal was to get him to join their crew.
If it was any other condition, Sanji wouldn't hesitate.
He believed in his cooking skills, and none of those reasons crossed his personal bottom line.
But right now, his bottom line was Baratie — or rather, Zeff the old man.
He had absolute reasons to never leave that ship. So no matter what, he'd never agree to that bet.
No way!!!
"If you win, Nami will have dinner alone with you."
Bai Ye's light words echoed.
The next second, a male and female voice screamed at the same time: "WHAT?!"
Sanji's fleeting reason was instantly drowned by the image of Nami's figure.
His mind was flooded with thoughts of a candlelit dinner that night, and he was already breathing hard from excitement.
"Alright, then I'll defeat you and rescue Miss Nami!!!"
Sanji pounded his chest with righteous determination and said to Bai Ye.
Then, shifting gears, he sashayed over to Nami and said, twisting his body:
"Nami-san, what kind of red wine do you wanna drink tonight?"
Nami ignored the pervy guy in front of her and instead grabbed Bai Ye, fuming:
"Hey, how can you..."
"Two million Beli." Before Nami could even complain, Bai Ye just blurted out a number.
Nami instantly knew what that meant—if she went out to dinner with Sanji, Bai Ye would pay her two million Beli.
"Uh, even if you say that, I still..."
"Five million Beli." Bai Ye dropped the number again, cool as ever.
"What I mean is..." Nami was a bit stunned now.
"Ten million Beli." Bai Ye smiled and threw out this crazy offer.
"Sanji-kun, you've got to do your best!!!"
Next second, Nami grabbed Sanji's hands and excitedly cheered him on.
"Ohhh!!! Nami-san! I swear I'll save you!!!"
Touched by Nami's enthusiasm, Sanji instantly got hyped up like he'd just gotten a huge buff.
To anyone watching, the two looked super close.
Only those who saw everything knew these two were totally not on the same wavelength.
Sanji's eyes were almost heart-shaped, while Nami's eyes had long turned into little Beli coins.
Bai Ye saw all this and couldn't help but chuckle.
What a shame—Bai Ye definitely wasn't planning to lose this match.
So these two were destined to be disappointed.
Before long, with all the chefs at Baratie pitching in, a simple contest area was set up.
The chefs were buzzing with gossip:
"I don't get the head chef at all—why did he agree to such a ridiculous request from Sanji?"
"Can't help it, Sanji was the first to follow the head chef here."
"Who do you think will win, Sanji or that guy?"
"Probably Sanji, even if no one wants to admit it, his cooking is second only to the head chef's."
At this moment, Paddy, who had the biggest beef with Sanji, spoke up:
"I really hope Sanji loses this match."
"If he loses, he has to leave Baratie."
"Over the years, he keeps cooking for people who can't pay—not only disrespecting paying customers but also making us lose money. It's better for everyone if he leaves soon."
After Paddy's words, the chatter died down as everyone looked toward the two young men standing on the contest ground.
"Since I've set the bet, the contest content is up to you, Sanji."
Bai Ye smiled lightly, looking confident as he said this to Sanji.
Sanji wasn't fazed by Bai Ye's calm attitude. When it came to cooking, he believed in his skills and wasn't easily distracted.
He flicked his cigarette onto the ground and stomped it out.
Taking a final puff, he said:
"Since Nami-san says your taste isn't worse than mine, let's cook the same dish and decide by flavor."
"Fair enough~" Bai Ye nodded gently.
"For the dish, let's do seafood pasta, okay?"
Sanji went on.
"Seafood pasta?" Bai Ye paused to think, then nodded. "Alright."
Though Bai Ye was originally a Taoist in his past life, he still knew a bit about pasta.
(Don't ask why—just part of the story.)
Of course, it was just a little bit.
But he wasn't worried, because from the start, Bai Ye never planned to compete with Sanji in cooking skills.
As the contest began, both Bai Ye and Sanji got to work fast.
Right from the start, the chefs at Baratie could see the skill gap.
Whether it was knife work or ingredient prep,
Bai Ye was basically just a cooking enthusiast.
Paddy felt a little disappointed thinking this.
As time passed, both Bai Ye and Sanji entered the final stage.
Just when Paddy thought Sanji had it in the bag, Bai Ye's confident attitude left him confused.
Finally, with only three minutes left on the clock, the two finished their dishes at the same time.
"So, who's the judge?" Bai Ye scanned the room but didn't find anyone suitable.
And he quickly ruled out Luffy, whose eyes were shining like stars.
If that guy was the judge, he'd probably eat both plates in one gulp and say,
"Tastes great! Gimme more!!!"
"Let's taste each other's dishes," Sanji said casually.
Just saying that showed how confident he was.
It meant he believed his cooking was good enough to win over his opponent.
Bai Ye nodded in agreement.
So, with Luffy's desperate eyes watching, Bai Ye and Sanji swapped their dishes and started eating.
"Chewy texture, rich in sauce," those words popped into Bai Ye's mind as he took a bite of Sanji's pasta.
Honestly, Sanji's cooking was seriously no joke. If Bai Ye didn't care about his image, he probably would've devoured it like a man starving.
But, unfortunately, Bai Ye thought, no matter how good the cooking was, it just wasn't enough.
Because he was cheating.
Everyone stared at Sanji in disbelief.
Paddy even shouted out loud, "Hey hey hey, are you kidding? Sanji's hallucinating from eating too much or what?"
"....."