Where in Marineford could one find the highest concentration of Marines?
Some said the training grounds.
Others said the Marine Headquarters building.
Yet, Su Yue could tell you with absolute certainty: the place packed with the most Marines in Marineford was undeniably the cafeteria!
Every day when mealtime rolled around, it was the most nerve-racking hour for the hundreds of professional chefs at Marine Headquarters.
In the world of pirates, the physical conditioning of the strong was countless times greater than that of Earth’s professional athletes!
And according to the law of conservation of energy, for them to train so grueling every day—developing muscles and bones with strength rivaling or far surpassing steel—the calories they burned skyrocketed exponentially.
Therefore, practically every Marine soldier who trained hard possessed a bottomless pit of a stomach.
The kind that could run a chef into an early grave.
The stronger they were, the more they ate.
As a result, preparing each meal felt like waging a war. Unless the chefs cooked until they were utterly depleted—even to the exaggerated point of collapsing unconscious over the stoves—they could not possibly satisfy the food demands of so many people at Marine Headquarters.
Today was no exception.
The moment the morning shift ended, just as the sweat-drenched head chefs finished laying out the dishes behind the cafeteria counters, Marines clad in their blue-and-white uniforms swarmed in like a ravenous plague of blue-and-white locusts.
“Give me a large serving of roast meat rice!”
“Super-sized Sea Kings ramen over here!”
“Standard Combo Number Two for me!”
…
Yet, apart from the many counters laden with food, there stood a small, partitioned stall.
Behind it was a single young boy, barely of age, whose height had yet to reach even the standard metric of Captain Levi.
The lad wore a distinctive red-and-white chef’s uniform. His facial features had not yet fully matured, still retaining a trace of adorable baby fat.
His short black hair was wrapped in a clean white cloth, and his sleeves were rolled up to his forearms. The pure, bright smile on his face radiated a neat, spirited energy—the exact type that certain women found irresistible.
“Haha!”
Zeroing in on the counter where the boy stood, a Marine headquarters captain shot through the crowd using Soru, landing before him first as he laughed heartily.
“First place today! Little Brother Su Yue, give me an order of Golden Fried Rice!”
“Sure thing, give me five minutes!”
The boy named Su Yue offered a smile to the vaguely familiar captain. With a deft sweep of his right hand, he scooped exactly half a pound of leftover rice from the massive steamer beside him—not a grain more, not a grain less.
When it came to egg fried rice, day-old rice was an absolute must!
Oil in, flame on, wok heated.
Waiting precisely thirty-eight seconds until the roaring fire brought the Marine-grade special-reserve olive oil to a crackling sizzle, Su Yue tossed the half-pound of leftover rice into the pan. With practiced ease, he spread the grains evenly into the shimmering oil and tossed them rhythmically up and down.
Next, reaching out with his left hand, he drew a generous ladle of beaten egg from a prep basin.
Seemingly with casual ease, Su Yue’s left hand drizzled the golden liquid in a spiraling cascade, blessing every corner of the wok as his right hand tossed it without pause.
A miracle unfolded. Guided by the dancing ladle and wok, the cascading egg wrapped seamlessly around each individual grain, ensuring that every kernel was coated in savory, fragrant egg.
Su Yue executed the entire sequence like floating clouds and flowing water. Rather than merely preparing a dish, it felt as though he were crafting a work of art—a truly mesmerizing sight to behold.
“Your Golden Fried Rice is ready!”
Five minutes later, he pushed across the counter a plate of Golden Fried Rice that he personally graded at eighty points.
Taking the plate radiating the mouthwatering aroma of eggs and savory oil, the Marine captain inhaled deeply.
“Mmm, smells incredible!”
Right behind him, a Marine soldier who had arrived a second too late swallowed his saliva and hurriedly chimed in, “Little Brother Su Yue, give me a plate of Golden Fried Rice, too!”
“All right, please wait a moment!”
Su Yue nodded, turning back to the stove to resume cooking.
Due to his young age, and because Golden Fried Rice had to be eaten piping hot, Su Yue could not mass-produce it; he could only serve a hundred portions per meal.
Yet, amid the densely packed queue waiting for the strictly limited “one per customer” Golden Fried Rice, a boisterous, instantly recognizable voice of an older man boomed through the crowd.
“Gahahahaha! Little brat Su Yue, give me three servings of that Golden Fried Rice! Plenty of chefs can make egg fried rice, but yours is definitely the tastiest!”
Hearing such outrageously arrogant words, the gathered Marines furrowed their brows, eager to see who dared brazenly flout the cafeteria’s rules.
When they turned around, however, every Marine froze in shock.
“Vice Admiral Garp!”
“It’s Vice Admiral Garp!”
“The Marine Hero, Vice Admiral Garp, is here!”
As the “Marine Hero” who had arrested the great pirate Rocks, Garp’s arrival instantly prompted reverent expressions from the Marines in front, who parted automatically to clear a path.
Among the crowd, a Marine sighed in admiration.
“I heard Little Brother Su Yue’s backer was Vice Admiral Garp. Looking at this, the rumors are true.”
“Eh? What’s the story behind that?”
A puzzled Marine asked, which immediately caught the attention of an ‘insider.’
“You didn’t know?”
Another Marine smirked proudly.
“Word is that Little Brother Su Yue’s hometown was attacked by pirates, and it was Vice Admiral Garp who rescued him and brought him to Marine Headquarters. If not for that, we wouldn’t be enjoying such delicious fried rice right now!”
“I see.”
The inquiring Marine nodded in sudden realization. The other Marine continued:
“Besides, Little Brother Su Yue’s Golden Fried Rice is truly spectacular. Even Fleet Admiral Sengoku praised it after tasting it! Plenty of Marine generals have ordered from him. Otherwise, the cafeteria would never have set up a dedicated stall just for him!”
…
“Grandpa Garp.”
Seeing Garp approach, Su Yue immediately put on an innocent, lively, business-appropriate youthful smile, secretly rejoicing inside.
What a joke. In theory, Golden Fried Rice was simple—all it took was coating every single grain of rice evenly with egg.
In reality, how could an ordinary person pull off such a feat?
Had he not possessed the ‘Strongest Chef of All Time System’ and focused the vast majority of his efforts exclusively on the ‘Golden Fried Rice’ skill tree, he never could have pulled it off either!
Still, looking back brought nothing but tears.
In a pirate world where the strong ruled supreme, he had actually awakened a chef system.
Three months ago, had he not been fortunate enough to run into Garp, Su Yue—who had transmigrated into the frail body of a twelve-year-old, settled in a village by relying on his cooking, and worked tirelessly to learn the pirate world’s language—would have been butchered by pirates.
While culinary training did grant some physical boosts, at most it amounted to the level of Chef Lu of the Steel Staff.
There was no comparing it to those monsters who threw punches packing tons of force.
Fortunately, by latching onto Garp’s influence, and with Su Yue possessing a genuine craft, serving as a chef at Marine Headquarters wasn’t a bad gig.
At the very least, it was safe.
Ever since a certain former Marine Admiral’s family suffered a tragic fate, the headquarters’ patrol density had increased several times over.
As for the Paramount War a few years down the line, surely they wouldn’t drag a mere cook to the front lines, right?
Su Yue had already laid out his plans. Once the Paramount War concluded and Garp retired, he would follow him out, clinging tightly to that sturdy, thick thigh.
In a pirate world where human lives were treated like weeds, a petty chef whose combat power didn’t even break five was lucky enough just to keep his neck intact.
—Even so, when dreaming at night, he still fantasized about pummeling the Four Emperors and kicking the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
…
Nights at the Marine base were peaceful. Particularly within the central residential quarters, not even the sound of the ocean waves could be heard.
Even for a training fanatic, continuing to work out late at night when everyone was trying to sleep would earn them a beating!
Before turning in, Su Yue entered his System Space as part of his daily routine.
Although he called this dimly lit clearing of barely a dozen square meters—surrounded by pitch-black nothingness—the System Space, in truth, it contained absolutely nothing.
Su Yue had explored it countless times before.
Today, however, something felt off.
“Hm?”
A figure slowly coalesced from the darkness.
At first, Su Yue thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
Only when the figure drew nearer did he rub his eyes vigorously.
“Holy shit! Isn’t this my System Space? Why the hell is there someone else here?!”
This unforeseen turn of events sent him stumbling backward in fright, thoroughly dumbfounded and at a loss.
Could this be the soul of the body’s unlucky previous owner?
Are we about to fight to the death over this body next?
Soon, the newcomer stepped into the light.
He wore a short buzz cut with bleached, thuggish blonde hair and rose-tinted sunglasses perched on his nose. He was draped in a pink feathered mantle over cropped trousers, sporting a pair of pointed-toe shoes.
At the sight of him, Su Yue’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
“The Heavenly Yaksha, Donquixote Doflamingo?!”
“Hm?”
The moment Su Yue saw him, Doflamingo saw him too.
The sinister smirk on the Heavenly Yaksha’s face froze. He snatched off his sunglasses, wearing an expression just as flabbergasted as Su Yue’s, and asked with exaggerated incredulity:
“Who are you?”
Faced with the Heavenly Yaksha—notorious for his deceit, cunning, and ruthless cruelty—Su Yue lied without blinking.
“I’m Donald, just an ordinary chef.”
“No, you are Su Yue!”
Doflamingo stated Su Yue’s true name with absolute certainty, though his face immediately clouded with bewilderment and shock.
“Wait, if you are Su Yue, then who the hell am I?”
“Eh?”
Su Yue picked up on the anomaly as well.
He blinked, testing the waters cautiously.
“A transmigrator?”
Doflamingo gave a slight nod and followed up.
“Hit by a car before crossing over?”
Su Yue: “Was it a red BMW?”
Doflamingo: “Driven by a woman?”
Su Yue: “What’s your national ID number?”
Doflamingo: “XXXXXXXXXX. Home address?”
Su Yue: “XX Country, XX Province, XX City, XX Road, XX Street, XX Neighborhood, Building X, Floor X, Unit X!”
“Well, I’ll be damned!”
Staring at Su Yue, Doflamingo scratched his head, that familiar, wildly arrogant, wicked villain’s grin creeping back onto his face.
“To think that after transmigrating, the two of us split from a single person into two!”
“Brother!”
To think that on an ordinary night, he would gain such a massive backer! Su Yue burst into tears of joy, dashing toward the Doflamingo version of himself and grabbing his hands tightly.
A split second later, both of them froze simultaneously.
“Awakened Ito Ito no Mi?”
“Strongest Chef of All Time System?”
To think that while his other self came equipped with the fabled ‘cheat’ system, it was a system made for cooking?
Doflamingo-Su Yue silently patted the frail shoulders of Chef-Su Yue.
“My condolences.”
What was he supposed to do when enemies came knocking? Smile and say:
“How about grabbing a bite before beating me up?”
Meanwhile, Chef-Su Yue was on the verge of weeping from sheer exhilaration.
“Finally, finally! I’ve finally become strong!”
What he received from the Doflamingo version of himself was not just the awakened Ito Ito no Mi, but also advanced Conqueror’s Haki, advanced Armament Haki, and advanced Observation Haki.
Along with that came the peak physical conditioning of the thirty-seven-year-old Donquixote Doflamingo!
Of course, in return, Doflamingo-Su Yue received the physical enhancements of Chef-Su Yue’s scrawny twelve-year-old limbs—better than nothing, but barely noticeable.
Moreover, the two of them instantly shared each other’s memories.