Hearing a calm, low curse from behind, the pirates stopped and looked back.
Sanji walked up from behind, squeezed past one pirate, took the frying pan from him, and tossed aside the steel scrubber.
"Watch carefully. From now on, use wooden brushes for these pans. Stubborn grease should be dissolved patiently with hot water."
He poured some hot water into the pan, swirled it, picked up a wooden brush with a bit of detergent, and patiently demonstrated to the pirate beside him as he explained.
Once he finished his movements, a pirate finally couldn't hold back and spoke, wearing a troubled expression: "But squad captain, wouldn't this be a bit too troublesome? If we were like before, washing everything once at night would be fine, but now..."
He trailed off, unsure how to continue.
Sanji glanced at him and said calmly, "Isn't it common sense to maintain your weapons after battle? You wouldn't fight three battles in a row and only then care for your weapons, right? The same applies to a chef."
"I understand everyone's hard work, but that's no excuse for laziness. Since you've taken this position, treat every cooking session like a battle."
"From preparation before combat, to sourcing ingredients, to cleaning up the battlefield afterward, I don't want to see anyone being careless at any stage. That's the basic professionalism of a chef."
Sanji put down the kitchen utensils and wooden brush, turned to look at everyone present, and smiled lightly: "Here's what we'll do. Starting today, our team will establish a reward fund."
"A reward fund?"
The pirates looked puzzled.
"Exactly."
Sanji nodded and said, "I will inspect your work daily. Meeting the standard will earn a reward of 4,000 Belly."
"But if you fail to meet the standard, not only will you be fined 2,000 Belly, you'll have to redo the task. Once completed, it will be inspected again. If it still fails, more deductions will be made until it passes."
"The money deducted from fines will be added to the fund to reward those whose work meets the standard."
Sanji patiently explained to them.
Hearing there was money to be earned, the pirates immediately perked up. Then someone asked with curiosity: "But squad captain, what if everyone meets the standard? If no one is fined, won't the fund be empty?"
"Yeah, then there wouldn't be any rewards. You're not going to set the standard ridiculously high, are you?"
"Don't worry. As long as you work seriously, you'll definitely pass. As for the money... I'll cover any shortfall."
Sanji said casually, under their incredulous stares.
He wanted to raise the standards of kitchen work, but increasing the workload inevitably caused discontent among the crew. This was an unavoidable contradiction.
To resolve it, proper compensation must be provided for the extra workload, and cash rewards that could be received immediately were the most suitable solution.
The first squad had over thirty members, but not all were needed in the kitchen. Only about ten are rotated daily.
Even if the daily maximum of 40,000 belly came entirely from him, over a month it would only total 1.2 million belly.
Compared to the over ten million belly he'd just received yesterday, this was no pressure at all. Sanji had already calculated it.
With Sanji's proposal, the pirates had no complaints.
Every position on the ship had duties, and as chefs, this work was already theirs.
Although the workload increased, Sanji's compensation was equally generous, making it very worthwhile in the end.
To put it bluntly, with Sanji's skills, culinary talent, and standing on the ship, even if he ordered them, they had no room for resistance.
Being able to speak politely was a courtesy; the fact that he even compensated them out of his own pocket made him seem saintly in the ruthless world of pirates.
Being under such a strong and considerate captain, this was something they couldn't have even dreamed of before.
...
Outside the kitchen, Alan happened to pass by the door and heard the discussion.
A smile curved up at his lips.
With Sanji's intelligence and style of management, the first squad would be well run. He trusted that Sanji would quickly gain complete control over his subordinates.
Alan turned and strolled away, passing the central deck, ascending the stairs to the bow deck.
Boxes of weapons were laid on the ground, swords, staff, and firearms with ammunition.
Gin was there with the second squad, maintaining the ship's weapons.
"C-captain..."
"Captain Alan."
Noticing him, the pirates all greeted, their expressions slightly awkward. Yesterday, they were enemies; today, he suddenly became their captain.
It felt strange.
Alan didn't say much, just nodded, and walked straight to Gin.
"Captain."
Seeing him approach, Gin quickly put down what he was holding and stood up.
Alan pressed a hand on his shoulder, lifted his black coat and cloak, and casually sat on a nearby crate, smiling: "How's the quality of this batch of firearms?"
"Very good. We rarely see such well-made marine-standard equipment."
Gin replied while nodding.
Alan smiled, casually picked up a rifle, pulled the bolt, and aimed a few times at the bow.
Though called a flintlock, it wasn't really one. The Marines at headquarters used bolt-action rifles; many just couldn't tell the difference.
Sometimes, even Alan couldn't fully distinguish the firearms of this world.
That flintlock rifles coexisted with Gatlings in the same era was one thing; that he could use two pistols as if they were an automatic rifle with infinite ammo was just absurd.
After closing the bolt, Alan returned the rifle, stood up, and said, "Carry on. Once you finish maintaining these weapons, there'll soon be another battle."
"Another battle?"
Gin was startled and asked in confusion, "Do we have a new target?"
"Huh?"
Alan gave him a strange look and said, "You don't know our course? We should be reaching the Conomi Islands soon."
"The Conomi Islands..."
Gin thought for a moment, frowning: "If I remember correctly, that's Arlong's territory. Are we going after his crew?"
"Ah, we haven't really had a notable achievement since setting out. I haven't even appeared on the bounty list yet."
Alan answered Gin's speculation directly, grinning: "I wonder how much my bounty will rise after defeating Arlong."
"... This..."
Gin's eyes showed worry.
After hesitating for two seconds, he still spoke frankly: "Arlong's crew is tough. Isn't this too risky? If we just want fame, there are other targets in the East Blue."