In the evening, just as Kirk was demonstrating his culinary skills and Ash was practically drooling on the floor, Saff and Captain Markel returned to the farm, each carrying a wine gourd — one red and one blue.
"Here, Ash, which color do you like?" Captain Markel asked while presenting them.
"Ah, the azure one, it matches my clothes quite well," Ash said with a smile.
Saff's eyes lit up at this. She quickly grabbed the blue gourd and said, "Ash, wait a moment."
She hurried back to her room with the gourd, and when she returned moments later, the blue wine gourd was now adorned with beautiful white clouds.
Looking at it now, it matched Ash's blue‑and‑white floral beach outfit even better.
"Wow, Saff, you're amazing! I didn't know you could draw so well," Ash praised sincerely.
"Hehe, it's nothing, not as grand as you make it sound," Saff said, smiling. "Chefs need to have an aesthetic sense, and if you can wield a chef's knife with precision, a bit of simple drawing is nothing."
"Fantastic! Absolutely amazing!" Ash gave Saff a thumbs‑up before tilting the gourd back and chugging from it.
"Ah, so refreshing! This is the taste!" he exclaimed.
"Ash, these fruit wines aren't like strong spirits. They can't be stored too long, you have to drink them within two months at most. If you don't finish them by then, pour them out and get fresh ones, remember?" Saff reminded him.
"Okay!" Ash said, thinking to himself, I remember… Time Ability, the Candlejoe Fruit!
Since the Spatial Devil Fruit had been given to Kirk, it wouldn't hurt to give the Time Devil Fruit to Saff. Ash still wouldn't lack combat power, and it would be perfect for the two great chefs to use Spatial and Time Devil Fruits in their own ways.
"Dinner's ready, you can taste it now," Kirk announced as he walked out of the kitchen holding a tray filled with dishes.
"Saff, bring out the rest," he called.
"Okay, brother!" Saff replied as she helped.
"Since we had an entire Sea King today, I made quite a few dishes," Kirk said, placing down a large bucket he had been carrying. "This dish is made by wrapping the outer loin of the Sea King in bean curd skin, stuffing it with green pepper, and frying it."
"Wow, delicious!" Ash exclaimed.
Kirk continued, "These two are Slippery Loin and Soft‑Fried Loin from the tender meat along the inside of the Sea King's spine."
"Delicious! So good!" Ash repeated.
"These are Scallion‑Fragrant Kidney, Stir‑Fried Kidney, and Chopped Chili Kidney," Kirk said.
"Delicious! Absolutely delicious!" Ash said again.
"Ash, are you going to say 'delicious' for every dish? Not a single one missed!" Captain Markel teased as he, too, sampled each dish.
"These are Braised Ribs, Sweet and Sour Ribs, Honey‑Glazed Ribs, Yam Ribs Soup, and Secretly Roasted Ribs," Kirk listed.
Ash replied, mouth full, "Delicious!"
Markel laughed, "Hey, why only one sentence this time?"
Ash shook his head between bites, "No, can't keep up!"
At that moment, Saff emerged from the kitchen with another plate.
"These are Sliced White Pork and Twice‑Cooked Pork, made from the lean meat under the rump," she said.
By now Ash no longer had time to say "delicious"; he could only nod continuously while enthusiastically stuffing food into his mouth with both hands.
Everything was unbelievably tasty.
Ash felt that if he wasn't busy devouring all this incredible food, he'd be crying out in joy.
In both his lives, he had never eaten such a feast before. Thinking back to the Sea King barbecue he'd eaten every day for almost a month, it now seemed like a waste of treasure compared to this!
And it wasn't over yet. Kirk continued introducing more dishes.
There were large meatballs made from finely minced meat mixed with various aromatic ingredients, hotpot slices from thinly cut rib meat near the neck, clear braised pork hock, rich bone soup, braised pork belly, steamed pork with rice flour, pork with preserved vegetables, salt‑and‑pepper fried pork, stir‑fried pork with three‑colored peppers, and three‑shredded white meat rolls made with shredded cucumber, carrots, and scallions.
Ash accepted everything Kirk offered, finding every dish incredible as he shoveled it all into his mouth with unabashed delight.
Seeing the dishes disappear at a visible rate, the Kirk siblings, delighted, returned to the kitchen to prepare more.
Fortunately, with Kirk's enhanced physique from the Dijiang Mythical Zoan fruit and spatial abilities, he could prepare multiple dishes simultaneously. Otherwise, he might not have kept up with Ash's eating speed.
It was a veritable feast, with both hosts and guest enjoying themselves to the fullest.
For Kirk and Saff, it felt like the first time in their lives they had fully utilized all their accumulated culinary knowledge, and new sparks of inspiration ignited with every dish they prepared.
Captain Markel gave up after only a third of the offerings, while Ash ate until his belly was perfectly round, truly embodying what it meant to have eaten to satisfaction.
I can't eat anymore, I really can't!
For the first time, Ash felt a strong yearning.
Life Return — he must obtain it!
As the sun set over Captain Markel's farm on the southern outskirts of Gourmet City, laughter gradually faded into contented silence.
The next morning came quickly.
The four were ready to go.
Ash was heading to the Chef Competition with the Kirk siblings, and Captain Markel would be there to help maintain order.
"Here, Ash, these are the cookies I baked for you last night. You can snack on them while waiting for the competition dishes today," Saff said, carrying several stacks of baking sheets taller than herself, their aroma filling the morning air.
"Wow, Saff, you're so thoughtful!" Ash smiled as he took the cookies. He sampled a few before placing the rest, along with the baking sheets, directly into his ring's internal space.
"I originally wanted to make you some dried fruit too, but we didn't have enough fruit at home. I'll make it for you later when I have time," Saff said.
Knowing Ash had a storage ring, she wasn't worried about how he carried everything. She had baked several hundred catties of cookies at once.
"By the way, just like the fruit wine, the cookies can't be stored for too long either. They'll go bad in a week at most," Saff reminded him.
"Ah, okay, I remember!" Ash thought, Good heavens, a daily reminder, huh? It's just the Time Devil Fruit! I'll take care of that Hodge problem and design it for Saff later.
At the Chef Competition venue.
As Captain Markel had predicted, Ash easily secured a seat among the gourmet tasters thanks to his reputation as the "Eating Machine Little Bro."
Though Ash personally didn't care for that title at all.
Then the ultimate prize of the competition was announced.
To Ash's surprise, the awarded Devil Fruit was not a Zoan type, but a Paramecia type:
Steam‑Steam Fruit!
Upon first hearing the fruit's name, Ash thought it might be the Steaming Fruit of Big Mom's third son, Charlotte Daifuku.
However, after double‑checking, he realized it was the Steam‑Steam Fruit, not the Steaming Fruit.
That name sounded perfect for use in a kitchen, so it made sense it was offered as the prize for the Chef Competition.
During the contest, Ash's mouth was constantly moving, munching on the small cookies Saff had prepared for him.
The preliminary results held no suspense; the Kirk siblings easily advanced to the finals.
With his Observation Haki fully activated, Ash had already spotted the short, chubby man Saff had described, the former pirate chef Hodge, in the direction of the main stage.
Hodge was not participating in the competition. Not because he lacked interest in the Steam‑Steam Fruit prize, but because after his last attempt to ambush Old Shan with his former crew, he suddenly realized something.
He was a pirate!
Why bother competing for something he could simply steal?
So, as expected, he had invited his former crewmates again this time.
They were currently hiding among the onlookers, waiting for their prey to finally appear.
What they didn't know was that another hunter was currently bored, munching on colorful cookies, waiting for them, the prey, to reveal themselves.