In One Piece, as Hashirama Senju

[57] In Search of a Ginger (1)

Chapter 57: In Search of a Ginger (1)

—

The Head-Chef of Baratie Restaurant was Zeff. Before opening this restaurant, Red-Leg Jeff was the captain of the Cook Pirates until his crew was annihilated in a storm in Grandline.

Despite not being particularly strong in the grand scheme of things, Zeff was a legend in his own right. He cut his leg off to save a starving Sanji years ago, and yet with a single leg, he passed down his kick-fighting style to Sanji—and in the canon, he would use the skills to become the wing of the future pirate King.

However, Zeff's greatest power wasn't his martial arts. It was his cooking. He himself wasn't aware, but this world had few who could match his skill. He knew how cooking worked down to its atoms, so he could make dishes that were easily considered 'the best of a customer's life.

The guests who came today were no exception. However, there was a weird thing about one of them.

"Oh my~ The garlic and saffron are just perfect-! Ah, I think the pepperoni could have been a little better...? Like .25 grams."

"Ah, the sweet is really good too. I made this dish once, actually, but I used 249 grams of sugar. You used... ah, 220 grams? That's why this feels much better to the tongue. There are some other factors though..."

Zeff stood stiffly, sweating a little, as he heard the blonde woman speak as she tried the dishes he cooked.

When Sanji rushed to the kitchen, despite having been ordered to act as a Waiter, Zeff pushed him out and took the orders in his stead. The countless dishes for the four people were finished in no time, and served too. Later, Sanji came to call him while wearing a shocked expression. Zeff had no choice but to follow him out and see what was wrong.

Looking back, he hadn't been this surprised in years. There were people with good tongues who could tell the ingredients used in a dish, was this woman one of them? Even so, this was on a whole other.

"Whoa..."

Zeff noticed he wasn't the only one surprised. The three companions to the blonde girl, all looked at her speechlessly. The black-haired boy was the first to voice his shock.

"This is crazy. You never told us you were a freak?"

"Wh-what?!"

The blonde woman nearly choked and shot him a glare. Clearing her throat, she took in the surroundings and maintained a dignified face.

"Freak? Shush, Hashirama. It's called 'God's Tongue', I was born with it. I didn't tell you before because there was no need to comment on my own food, since I am the cook of the ship." She said proudly.

"Ah, but Mikita-chan, how can you tell the weight of the spices? Isn't that too much?"

Sanji asked excitedly, and he was fawning over her more than the usual girls. Looking at his adoptive son's heart-shaped eyes, Zeff supposed he must be thinking he found his soul mate. After all, he loved food and he loved women, and this particular woman had both the qualities of a beautiful woman and a great cook.

"Oh, that's thanks to my Devil Fruit. It's weight-related, so it helps."

The girl named Mikita said, and Zeff suddenly understood the situation. They must be from the Grandline since otherwise, Zeff would have heard about someone so talented who also had a devil fruit.

While Sanji fawned over the girl, the other two girls praising the blonde one, Zeff wondered about the true identity of these people. Simultaneously, Hashirama continued looking at the blonde girl in shock.