Hearing Rowan say that, everyone present nodded.
Right—Blackbeard could eat two Devil Fruits. As long as they figured out the secret behind Blackbeard, Rowan could do the same.
Looks like Blackbeard was someone they absolutely had to capture.
Tobirama decided then and there that once they dealt with the Door-Door Fruit, they would go after Blackbeard and study him thoroughly.
Not only did no one object, everyone agreed with Tobirama's plan.
Seeing everyone united, Rowan smiled faintly.
In truth, there was still one thing he hadn't told them.
He planned to surprise them later.
And when that time came, they would definitely be shocked.
…
After breakfast, Rowan brought everyone to the world of One Piece and arrived in Loguetown.
From there, the group split up according to plan.
Using Wood Release, Hashirama created another ship and took Tobirama, Tsunade, Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Shizune toward the Grand Line.
More precisely, they were heading for Water 7 to go after the CP9 agent Blueno.
The goal was to take the Door-Door Fruit from him.
As for Minato, Kanae, and Karin, they stayed by Rowan's side to protect him.
Nico Robin stayed as well.
That said, she created a clone and sent it aboard Hashirama's ship to guide them and help them reach Water 7 faster.
Honestly, the Clone Technique really was absurdly useful.
Rowan and the others waited in Loguetown's harbor for nearly a full day.
At last, as the evening sunlight spilled across the harbor sign, the guest Rowan had been waiting for all day descended from the sky. Just before she landed, Robin crossed her arms.
In an instant, arms sprouted from the ground and caught the falling guest.
"Welcome to Loguetown, Miss Cosette."
Once the arms set her down, Rowan stepped forward and greeted her with a smile.
That's right—the person who had just fallen from the sky was the cook Rowan had been waiting for.
The Vinsmoke family's head chef, Cosette.
After steadying herself, Cosette looked around in total confusion. "Um… where is this?"
"Loguetown."
"The Town of the Beginning and the End?"
"That's right." Rowan nodded.
"Why am I here?"
Robin asked, "Did Kuma not explain it to you?"
"Kuma? Bartholomew Kuma?!"
The moment Robin said the name, Cosette remembered everything.
That very morning, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Bartholomew Kuma, had suddenly barged into the Germa Kingdom and asked whether she wanted to leave and work somewhere safer.
She had no idea what was going on, but after hesitating for a while, she agreed.
On one hand, she didn't dare refuse Kuma and was afraid he might hurt her.
On the other hand, she figured her life working for the Vinsmoke family was already miserable. How much worse could somewhere else really be? It couldn't possibly be worse than serving the Vinsmokes.
The moment she agreed, Kuma smacked her away with one palm.
At the time, she thought she was dead and fainted from fright.
Who could have imagined that in the blink of an eye, she would be sent flying from the North Blue to the East Blue—from the Germa Kingdom all the way to Loguetown?
Was that really the power of one of the Seven Warlords?
It was way too ridiculous.
"You're the people Kuma mentioned? The ones who can offer me a new job?" Cosette looked at Rowan and Robin nervously, trembling as she spoke.
"There's no need to be nervous, Miss Cosette. We're not bad people."
Seeing how frightened she was, Rowan tried to reassure her, while Robin helped from the side.
After the two of them took turns calming her down, Cosette finally relaxed a little.
They don't seem like bad people… she couldn't help thinking.
Rowan said, "The reason we invited you here is simple. We wanted to recruit a chef who's beautiful and highly skilled, and I think you're a perfect fit, Miss Cosette."
"If you're willing to work for me, we won't just protect you—we'll also pay you, and even offer you a Devil Fruit. What do you think?"
The moment Cosette heard that the job even came with a Devil Fruit, she was stunned.
"Something as important as a Devil Fruit… you'd really give it to someone like me?"
"If that's what you want, Miss Cosette."
Cosette shook her head repeatedly. "Then I'd better pass. I'm just a cook. Even if I had a Devil Fruit, it wouldn't do me much good."
Rowan smiled and didn't explain further. People changed. Just because she didn't want one today didn't mean she wouldn't want one tomorrow. If she ever truly wanted a Devil Fruit in the future, Rowan wouldn't be stingy.
After a friendly round of conversation, Cosette—who currently had nowhere else to go—ultimately agreed to join Rowan's group as their cook.
"That's great."
Rowan said, "Then let's go shopping first. We're running low on food aboard the ship anyway, so this is the perfect time to buy a fresh batch of ingredients. I'll leave that to you, Miss Cosette."
"Leave it to me."
The moment the topic touched on her field of expertise, Cosette was no longer the timid, hesitant person she'd been a moment ago. She even carried herself with a good deal more confidence.
The group plunged straight into Loguetown and headed for the market.
Once inside, Cosette switched into full shopping mode, picking and choosing with sharp, professional eyes, selecting all the best ingredients as though her gaze were a measuring tool.
Watching the pile of food in his hands grow bigger and bigger, Rowan hurriedly said, "That's enough, that's enough. If you buy any more, we won't be able to finish it."
Cosette froze for a second, then asked in confusion, "Huh? Is this really enough?"
After all, the people of the One Piece world were bottomless pits when it came to eating. Back when she cooked for the Vinsmoke family, she had to prepare enormous amounts of food for them.
The ingredients she had just bought would last, at most, three days.
Rowan smiled helplessly. "Miss Cosette, I think you might have the wrong idea about us. Our appetites really aren't as big as you think. What you bought is enough to feed us for a week—maybe longer."
At that moment, Cosette realized just how much difference there could be between people.
"I understand. In that case, let's stop here for today."
Reluctantly, she ended the shopping trip and followed Rowan and the others out of the market, carrying several large bags.
But the moment she stepped outside, she noticed Rowan suddenly stop.
She looked up and saw a Marine with slicked-back white hair standing in front of them, blocking Rowan's path.
"You've got some nerve coming back here."
Smoker stared at Rowan with a stern expression, his fist clenched tightly.
If Rowan made even the slightest suspicious move, Smoker would attack without hesitation.
~~~
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