By the time Lind returned to the base, night had already fallen.
Under the moonlight, pirates were gathered in small groups across the plaza, chatting casually.
They were likely sharing their gains from the day—or perhaps just discussing some random nonsense.
When they saw Lind return carrying the massive corpse of a Sea King, the entire camp erupted in cheers.
"Boss is mighty!"
"Hahaha! Boys, let's throw a feast!"
Linde quickly dismembered the Sea King using telekinesis and handed over the remaining logistics to Allison.
Although Allison wasn't exactly the most reliable as a ship doctor, she was competent when it came to handling logistical tasks.
Among the five officers, she was the only one with any real experience in such matters. The other four had always been frontline fighters.
While they might manage basic personnel tasks, specialized logistics like this were not their strong suit.
Soon, as the night fully blanketed Hive Island, campfires were lit all across the base.
Lind sat near one of them, roasting a half-meter-long Sea King meat skewer over the fire.
While cooking, he chatted casually with Axel and Liana.
"Axel, Liana, do you two know any skilled cooks or ship doctors?"
"Right now, the squad's cooks are only so-so. The food's edible, but barely. I'm seriously tempted to cook for myself!"
"We need a top-tier chef to improve our meals!"
"And as for the doctor… Allison knows medicine, but judging by her resume, I can't help feeling she's a bit unreliable."
Lind had been thinking about team development, and naturally considered whether his officers had connections to any talented chefs or doctors worth recruiting.
"Heh, Boss, now that you mention it—it's true. Our cooks aren't professionals. The fact that the food is even cooked is a miracle."
"Why not take some time to teach them yourself?"
The officers had all visited Lind's home and had the privilege of tasting his cooking. They'd praised it endlessly.
After two and a half years of practice—combined with his powerful telekinesis—Lind was no longer a rookie chef.
He was now a true master of culinary arts, capable of establishing his school of cooking: the "Lin-style Cuisine."
Hearing Axel and Liana's suggestion, Lind fell into thought.
"They make a lot of sense."
Teaching people to cook wasn't all that different from training soldiers. Why not give it a try?
Besides, cooks trained by himself would better match his taste!
And who knows? He could even promote Lin-style Cuisine across the world, eventually open a chain of restaurants, and live a life of wealth and comfort.
"You're right—let's do it. Starting tomorrow, I'll set aside time each day to teach them how to cook."
"As for the ship doctor—now that's a different story. I can't exactly teach what I don't know!"
Due to his past life experiences, Lind was a naturally easygoing and approachable person—none of that typical high-and-mighty leader stuff.
If his subordinates made a suggestion that made sense, he accepted it without hesitation, sometimes even cracking jokes in return.
"Boss, now that you mention it—I do know a very skilled doctor. I'm just not sure if he'd be willing to join us."
"Back when I was running with a gang in the West Blue, there was this doctor in town—didn't matter how badly you were hurt, he could always fix you up!"
"I used to think all doctors were like that. But once I went to sea, I realized that guy's skills were top-tier, world-class."
"I've been out at sea for eight years, from the West Blue to the New World, and I haven't met another doctor who could even compare!"
"If you're interested, I can take you there. He should still be in the same town—it's just a question of whether he'd want to join us."
Lind's eyes lit up at Axel's words. Based on that description, this doctor sounded like a hidden master.
Even if he couldn't recruit him onto the ship, just knowing such a doctor would be an asset.
"Excellent. Once we head out to sea, we'll make time to visit. Even if we can't recruit him, it'll be good to have a connection."
Lind then asked the other officers if they knew of any suitable candidates.
Unfortunately, he didn't get much out of them—only Allison mentioned that she had trained under an old man with great medical skill before going to sea.
But she hadn't learned much before being taken as a ship doctor by her previous captain.
The tragic fate of that captain was proof that a great teacher doesn't always make a great student.
And since that captain hadn't succeeded in recruiting the old man either, Lind didn't hold out much hope.
His best bet was if that old man had taken on a new, more capable student during Allison's time away. Then there might be a real chance of finding someone reliable.
As for the others, none of them knew any exceptional doctors—their acquaintances were all average at best.
At that point, Lind considered just trying his luck in Drum Kingdom, a nation known for its medical prowess. It'd remain a backup plan for now.
The doctor's issue was important—but Lind knew there was no point stressing over it at the moment.
Even though his 7th Squad was functionally its pirate crew, it was still just a division under Rocks.
If any urgent medical situation arose, he could always turn to Hive Island, where the Rocks Pirates had plenty of capable doctors.
Setting that problem aside, Lind noticed the meat was almost ready and entered full feast mode.
With his signature marinade, the Sea King meat skewer he was roasting looked amazing and mouthwatering.
The officers who used his seasoning also found their appetites opened wide.
And so, the small group sat quietly enjoying the food, sipping wine now and then.
Lind suddenly felt a wave of nostalgia, as if he had returned to his past life.
The dinner ended up lasting several hours, and everyone ate a great deal of meat.
Unfortunately, Lind's squad didn't have any of those ridiculously gluttonous types, so the 300-meter-long Sea King barely had a dent in it—even with over 100 people eating.
Lind estimated that the Sea King would last for months, certainly beyond their departure date.
(I did the math: A Sea King 300 meters long, even if only 40–50 meters high and wide, would have a volume of 300 × 40 × 50 = 600,000 m³.
That's around 600,000 tons. Even subtracting bones, organs, and blood, you'd still have 300,000 tons of meat.
If 100 people each ate 100 tons a day, that's 10,000 tons per day—it would still take a month to finish.
And let's be real—even in the One-Piece world, 100 kg per day per person is maxing it out.
So realistically, a single Sea King could feed 100 people for decades—it's absurd!)
With the meat safely stored in the underground icehouse, Lind figured he wouldn't need to hunt again before setting sail.
He began considering sharing some of it with the other captains since there was no way his squad could eat it all.
The next day, Lind spent the morning once again guiding his men in training, then planned to check on the progress of the Xiaoyao's upgrades in the afternoon.
As for the cook training, he figured it would be better to let the cooks focus on regular training during the day and teach them to cook at night during meal prep.
The morning training quickly wrapped up, with many expressions of gratitude from the crew. Lunch was simple—some Sea King jerky prepared the night before.
Sitting casually on the ground, Linde took a bite of jerky and said:
"This afternoon I'm going to check out our future pirate ship. Anyone want to come with me?"