The moment the words fell, a strange silence swept through the room.
All eyes instantly turned to Sanji. The air felt so awkward it was as if a crow had just cawed above their heads.
Kuro, Gin, and Zoro all slowly turned to stare at Sanji, each wearing an expression as if they'd just tasted something foul.
Kuro's mouth twitched.
"Is this guy... an idiot?"
"Absolutely," Zoro nodded with force.
Gin frowned, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"I'm starting to wonder if Captain made a mistake recruiting him... though, to be fair, he is a first-rate chef."
Amid the murmurs and side-eyes, only Gawain smiled faintly, the corners of his mouth twitching as he struggled to suppress a laugh.
Look. The fish has bitten the hook!
He fought to maintain his composure and looked at Sanji seriously.
"Of course," he said. "This request is perfectly reasonable."
"After all, even the best chefs would feel the pressure of cooking alone for a large crew."
"You…"
Before Gawain could finish, Sanji had already spun around and sprinted out of the conference room.
Bang!
The door slammed open as he bolted through it.
Everyone turned instinctively toward the sound, only to see clouds of dust spiraling in the distance like dragons. Amid the blur of footsteps pounding like heavy rain, a few words could barely be made out:
"Cook! Cook! Beautiful cook!"
Even Gawain was momentarily speechless.
Not because he doubted Sanji's drive—but because he was slightly concerned the guy might ruin himself.
But then, Gawain remembered the dormant power hidden within Sanji. He felt reassured.
After all, in the original Straw Hat Pirates, once Sanji awakened his Germa bloodline factor, his durability alone ranked among the top, even in the New World.
He'd taken on Queen's slashes head-on, healed shattered bones mid-battle, and even tanked Admiral Kizaru's laser—it was absurdly overpowered.
Like it or not, after entering the New World, Sanji's combat performance had pulled ahead of Zoro's.
And during his battle with Queen in Wano, Sanji activated his latent abilities and surged forward in strength all at once.
A life of cheating, yes. But undeniably effective.
Gawain turned to the rest of the group.
"One more thing."
"Starting from the first martial arts tournament, we'll establish a Hall of Fame within the pirate crew. The top three in each tournament will have their names engraved on the stone monument."
Kuro was stunned at first—then his eyes gleamed.
"What if I make it into the top three every single time? Even first place?"
"Then your name will appear on every Hall of Fame list," Gawain said casually, though inwardly, he was thrilled.
A leaderboard, limited-time titles, rare rewards...
Classic gacha game tactics. Addictive to mobile gamers, and apparently just as effective here.
But for these pirates? This was brand new.
Kuro's breathing quickened, and a fire ignited in his eyes.
He'd always dreamed of surpassing Gawain and becoming number one. Even if he couldn't beat him, he refused to let anyone else stand above him—except maybe Gawain himself.
"Damn it!" he growled.
"That blonde bastard got a head start!"
"He's already been training for minutes longer than me—he's definitely going to get stronger faster!"
"It's one thing to lose to Gawain—but to anyone else? Never!"
The next instant—
Whoosh!
With a sudden burst of speed, Kuro vanished from the conference room.
Before anyone could even react, the just-closed door blew open again, and his figure disappeared into the distance, leaving only a trail of smoke behind.
Gin and Zoro, who had only just recovered from their injuries, leapt to their feet.
"This is about a man's pride!" Gin shouted.
"There's no way I'm losing!"
"My name's going on that monument!" Zoro echoed.
They bolted out the door without hesitation.
Watching them go, Gawain nodded with satisfaction.
It turns out igniting people's ambition works far better than brute force.
Now that his main targets were gone and the logistics of the tournament had been announced, Gawain casually waved a hand to dismiss the rest.
The crew dispersed—but not as they had arrived.
Every one of them now had a fire burning in their eyes.
"I don't care about the Hall of Fame, Devil Fruits, or some fancy sword," one pirate whispered. "Leave those for the Vice Captain or Battle Captain Gin. But the profit sharing? That's real!"
"Right. With the crew's current revenue, 30% means hundreds of millions of Berries. Even 1% is still a million!"
"And this is just the beginning! With Captain Gawain's methods, that number will multiply—maybe even tenfold!"
Hiss!
"No way! I can't let everyone else get ahead! I—I'm going to train too!"
A bald, pot-bellied middle-aged pirate stood up, hiked up his pants, and began waddling toward the public training grounds.
He stopped after a few steps to catch his breath—but only paused for a moment before picking up the pace again.
All around him, similar scenes unfolded.
Within half an hour of the meeting's end, the sounds of rigorous training echoed throughout Para Island.
Dozens of shirtless pirates had taken to training on their own, determined to improve.
In the exclusive training room, the four "leek kings" gritted their teeth and pushed themselves past their limits.
They couldn't afford to fall behind. Not even by a second.
Getting their names into the Hall of Fame meant eternal recognition.
Every future recruit would see their names and know their status instantly.
Who could resist that?
"Heh," Zoro scoffed.
"This space is too cramped. Seniors should step aside and rest their aging bodies."
He hefted a massive dumbbell with one hand, muscles trembling, his wounds still fresh—but he kept going.
Kuro didn't flinch.
"Injured kid should rest! Otherwise, they'll be crippled for life!"
"Huh?!"
Both paused mid-argument and turned—only to find Gin and Sanji had quietly added extra sets to their routines.
"Damn it!"
"You two are too sneaky!"
"Heh~"
Gin only smiled and kept training.
Nearby, Sanji wiped the sweat from his brow, legs lashing out like whips as he battered surrounding training dummies.
He muttered incoherently:
"Lady cooks... no, Hall of Fame... no, lady cooks... yes! The ladies cook!"
"The ladies cook!"
Kuro's expression twitched, choosing to ignore Sanji entirely.
All across Para Island, competition intensified.
But only Nami seemed at a loss.
As she watched everyone training fervently, a quiet panic stirred in her chest.
"Everyone's getting stronger... and me?"
She knew she wasn't suited for combat. Her true strength lay in navigation.
But the thought of becoming a burden to the crew once they entered the Grand Line filled her with unease.
She bit her lip, then turned her gaze toward Gawain's office.
Her eyes slowly grew resolute.
Elsewhere, Gawain continued his stroll around Para Island, nodding with approval.
Passing by the training room, he spotted four determined figures pushing themselves to the brink, each more intense than the last.
His satisfaction peaked.
"Looks like I'll have a good harvest tonight."