Nami walked in hugging a small box, grumbling: "What a broke guy! He had a five-million-Berries bounty, yet his ship only had a few hundred thousand. Not even a million!"
"Nami, composure. Remember your composure! You're a wealthy lady now—carry yourself with some dignity!" Leno reminded her.
"Oh—oh, right!" Nami quickly straightened her back, lifted her chin, and gave the room a lofty glance before sitting at the table.
Nojiko only shook her head helplessly at the two of them. 'These two really act like children…'
Loguetown—the final stop before the Grand Line, known as the "Town of Beginnings and Endings," the place where the Pirate King was both born and executed.
"Up ahead is Loguetown! This time, we've got to explore properly. Let's also visit the spot where the Pirate King was executed," Nami said excitedly.
"The Pirate King?!" Kuina's eyes hardened. "Because of his final words, countless people took to the seas to become pirates these past years."
"Yeah. Whatever kind of man he was, he did throw the entire sea into unprecedented turmoil," Leno added.
Soon, they arrived at Loguetown. After disembarking, Leno stored away their ship.
"This place is huge… and so crowded!" Nojiko gasped.
"Of course. This is the last stop before the Grand Line. People from all over pour in to stock up on supplies before heading in. That's why the town is so prosperous," Nami explained.
"Let's hit the shops later—and buy some clothes too," she suggested.
The group followed the flow of people through the town when a noisy commotion broke out ahead.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bump into your stall. How much is it? I'll pay!" A young girl's flustered voice rang out.
"She didn't mean it, and she already offered to pay. Why are you still making a scene?"
"Yeah, are you just bullying her because she's a young girl?"
The crowd muttered with disapproval.
Then came an angry voice: "Damn it! Those fresh fruits were just laid out—and she scattered them everywhere! How am I supposed to sell now?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" the girl kept apologizing.
"Come on, let's check this out," Leno said, leading the way as they squeezed through the crowd.
They found a girl in a red plaid shirt, clutching a long sword, bowing over and over to the stall owner. Under the pressure of the onlookers, the man finally took her money, still cursing as he left.
The girl turned back to bow gratefully to the crowd—just as her face lifted, Leno's group froze. Even Kuina's eyes widened in shock.
Nami nudged Kuina with her elbow. "Kuina… is that your sister? Or your twin?"
"Wouldn't I know if I had a sister?" Kuina muttered, exasperated.
"But still…" Even Nojiko was stunned. Anyone would have thought the two were siblings—they looked nearly identical, aside from Kuina being slightly taller.
"Hey, what's your name?" Kuina stepped forward. The girl's gaze immediately latched onto the blade at Kuina's waist.
"That's Sakura Veil, right? One of the 21 Great Grade Swords?"
"I asked you a question," Kuina sighed.
"Ah? S-sorry, I didn't—" The girl stopped mid-apology when she got a good look at Kuina's face. The resemblance was uncanny.
"My… my name is Tashigi. I'm currently a trainee with the Marines. And you are…?"
"I'm Kuina." Seeing how scatterbrained she was, Kuina thought, 'She's nothing like me at all… but somehow she reminds me of Zoro.'
The two quickly began to talk, discovering that they were the same age—and both deeply passionate about swordsmanship. Nami and Nojiko were floored.
"The sea really is vast, isn't it?" Leno teased Nojiko, which earned him a glare.
With Kuina's introduction, Nami and Nojiko also joined in the conversation. Tashigi offered to show them around Loguetown, and they gladly agreed.
On the way, when she learned that Kuina and the others were skilled swordsmen, she was stunned and called them geniuses. She even pitifully begged to see Kuina's sword. Watching Tashigi fawn over Sakura Veil, Nami nearly lost her patience.
Then they came upon a plaza with a banner stretched across it.
"That's Loguetown's annual Cooking Contest! I enter it every year. Let's go take a look!" Tashigi said cheerfully.
"Perfect. The person we're looking for might be there," Leno said casually.
Nami's eyes lit up. "You mean—!"
"Exactly. Let's go."
By the time they arrived, the contest had already ended, and the award ceremony was underway.
"Wow! Miss Carmen wins again! That's her third consecutive victory. At such a young age, she's already Loguetown's number one chef.
Some even say she's the best chef in all of East Blue—after all, the most famous cooks in the sea come here to compete," Tashigi explained with excitement.
"Let's go. We've got to catch her before she disappears," Leno said, striding forward.
Soon, they found a red-haired girl with a spatula clenched between her teeth.
"Hah? You want me to join your crew as a cook? What a joke! I'm going to be East Blue's number one chef. Why would I board your ship?" Carmen exclaimed dramatically.
Leno calmly tossed a bag of salt at her feet. "Taste it."
A true cook could never resist the salt of Water 7.
"This…!" The moment Carmen tasted it, her whole body trembled as if swallowed by a tidal wave. "Where… where is this salt from? I've never tasted anything like it!"
"It's from Water 7, deep in the Grand Line. A specialty of that city. Well? Amazing, isn't it?
Aren't you curious about the taste of salt from the other three seas? Curious about the salt of the Grand Line? Curious about the salt of the New World?
East Blue's best cook? You think you can surpass Zeff here? Don't you want to taste the world—and create the world's finest cuisine?"
"I am curious! I am curious! I want to surpass Zeff! I want to be the world's number one chef!" Carmen shouted passionately, leaping to her feet.
"Good. Then join us—sail with us, and you'll surpass Zeff and become the world's best chef!" Leno urged.
"I'll join!" Carmen declared.
Nami and the others gaped at the scene. Watching Leno coax Carmen step by step—it was like he'd lured her into a trap.
Of course, as Leno would put it, he was simply laying out the true dream of a chef: to chase after the world's greatest cuisine.
Seeing the stunned looks on their faces, Leno gave them a smug gesture.
"Chef recruitment—success! Yeah!"