Multiverse Gourmet Hunter

Mihawk kept his eyes on Haruto in the sky, his grip on Yoru tightening ever so slightly.

Right now, he genuinely wanted to fight Haruto and see exactly what that strange blade technique was capable of.

There might even be something worth learning from it.

Haruto had no idea what was going through Mihawk’s mind, but he did notice the unmistakable interest in the swordsman’s gaze.

Apparently, he had caught Mihawk’s attention.

If the man wanted to exchange cooking techniques, Haruto would have been perfectly happy to oblige.

Unfortunately, it was painfully obvious that the World’s Strongest Swordsman had something very different in mind.

Haruto had absolutely no desire to fight Mihawk in the middle of Marineford, so he simply looked away and focused on the battlefield below.

After Mihawk’s slash, the fighting only became more intense.

The frozen bay had once again descended into complete chaos.

Gunfire, cannon blasts, screams, and battle cries filled the air without pause. Crimson blood already stained vast stretches of the ice, shards of frozen seawater mixing with flesh and blood as bodies fell every second and new clashes erupted just as quickly.

Mihawk watched Haruto deliberately turn his attention away.

After a moment of silence, he rotated his wrist and lowered Yoru.

This was not the right time for a fight between them.

There would be other opportunities.

Mihawk returned his attention to the battlefield, though every so often, his sharp gaze drifted back toward Haruto in the sky.

Meanwhile, Kizaru slowly rose from his chair.

His eyes swept over the battlefield before finally settling on Haruto.

He had seen exactly what happened when Haruto blocked Mihawk’s deflected slash.

An unidentified powerhouse, accompanied by a giant dragon that clearly was not weak, hovering directly over the battlefield...

That was a variable the Marines could no longer completely ignore.

As an Admiral, Kizaru had to at least check him out.

Brilliant golden light poured from his body.

The next instant, Kizaru transformed into a beam of light and crossed several hundred meters in an instant, reappearing in midair not far from Haruto and Charizard.

"Damn, that’s bright. Mind turning it down a little, Admiral?"

Haruto squinted against the sudden glare and complained before casually reaching into the Gourmet Restaurant, pulling out a pair of sunglasses, and putting them on.

The golden light faded.

Kizaru’s body reformed, his posture as lazy and casual as ever, that faintly amused expression still hanging on his face.

Charizard let out a displeased growl beneath Haruto.

Its wings beat once, releasing a wave of scorching air, while its eyes remained locked warily on Kizaru.

Charizard could sense it clearly.

This man was dangerous.

Haruto felt the same way.

Although he looked relaxed on the surface, every nerve in his body had already gone on high alert.

The man in front of him was one of Marine Headquarters’ three Admirals, wielder of the Glint-Glint Fruit, and someone famed for possessing one of the fastest abilities in the world.

If Kizaru suddenly attacked, things could become dangerous very quickly.

Haruto had already expanded his En as far as possible.

The instant Kizaru showed even the slightest intent to strike, Haruto would take Charizard and retreat straight into the Gourmet Restaurant.

He had no intention of fighting an Admiral right now.

"Ooh, hello there, young man."

Kizaru raised an eyebrow at Haruto’s calm attitude and greeted him in his usual drawn-out, leisurely tone.

His gaze swept over Haruto before dropping to Charizard beneath him, curiosity briefly flashing in his eyes.

"You’re not one of Whitebeard’s men, are you?"

"Of course not."

Standing calmly on Charizard’s back, Haruto met his gaze without hesitation.

"I’m not a pirate. Just a passing chef and Gourmet Hunter."

For the moment, anyway.

The instant Haruto interfered in the battle, he would effectively place himself against the World Government and Marine Headquarters.

At that point, a wanted poster would probably follow soon enough.

"I see."

Kizaru nodded as though accepting the answer completely.

Internally, however, he was already making his own judgment.

Anyone capable of stopping one of Mihawk’s flying slashes—even a weakened one—would count as a significant fighter even in the New World.

Add in a beast like Charizard, and if Haruto truly were a pirate, he should have a bounty worth hundreds of millions of Berries at minimum.

There was no way someone with this level of strength could remain completely unknown on the seas.

More importantly, Marine Headquarters had investigated Whitebeard’s forces thoroughly in preparation for this war.

They had detailed files on all sixteen Division Commanders, the captains of the forty-three allied pirate crews, and practically every noteworthy fighter connected to Whitebeard.

Haruto’s name appeared nowhere.

Neither did anything resembling Charizard.

So Kizaru was inclined to believe him.

"This is troublesome."

Kizaru scratched his head and gave Haruto an exaggeratedly inconvenienced look.

"If possible, could you leave this area for now?"

As one of the Admirals, Kizaru naturally knew at least part of Marine Headquarters’ overall battle plan.

Once the war reached its most critical stage, the Marines intended to cut off the broadcast feeds from the Visual Den Den Mushi.

A battle involving the dignity of the Marines—and potentially the balance of the entire world—was something they wanted as few outsiders as possible to witness in full.

And even without that consideration, having an unidentified powerhouse floating above the battlefield remained an unpredictable risk.

Convincing Haruto to leave now would save them trouble later.

Kizaru also had little desire to start a separate battle with him at this particular moment.

He could not afford to devote his full attention to Haruto while Whitebeard’s forces were attacking, and if the confrontation caused even more chaos, Sengoku would undoubtedly complain afterward.

"This kind of spectacle might only happen once in a century."

Haruto spread his hands.

"Now that I’m already here, leaving before I see how it ends would be a terrible waste, wouldn’t it?"

His tone remained light, but his answer was firm.

After being dropped directly into Marineford, there was no chance he was leaving just because Kizaru asked nicely.

Even if Sengoku came over personally, Haruto would say the same thing.

Kizaru stared at him for two seconds.

Then he nodded with a strangely serious expression.

"Mm. You have a point."

He had asked.

Haruto had refused.

Kizaru was too lazy to keep arguing.

Nor did he intend to attack.

Haruto had not actually done anything hostile yet, and Sengoku had issued no order to engage him.

The Whitebeard Pirates remained the real priority.

There was little reason to waste time and energy fighting some unrelated stranger who merely wanted to watch from the sky.

As long as Haruto did not actively interfere with Marine operations, Kizaru could ignore him for now.

What happened afterward could be decided once the war was over.

"Then I hope you won’t get in the Marines’ way later, young man."

With that, Kizaru turned away from Haruto and looked toward the Moby Dick.

His eyes settled on Whitebeard standing at the bow.

Kizaru slowly raised both hands and crossed them in front of his chest, bringing his thumbs and index fingers together.

Brilliant golden light gathered at his fingertips.

"Yasakani Sacred Jewel!"

Countless beams of light erupted from him like a torrential downpour.

The sky filled with dense streams of golden projectiles, all racing toward the bow of the Moby Dick and Whitebeard’s position.

The Marines below erupted into cheers at the sight, their morale soaring.

Just before the barrage could strike the ship, however, a figure wrapped in blue flames shot upward from the deck.

Marco, commander of the Whitebeard Pirates’ First Division.

His arms transformed into enormous wings wreathed in brilliant blue fire as he placed himself directly between Whitebeard and the incoming attack.

The storm of light struck him head-on.

Explosions filled the air as golden beams collided with the blue flames.

Each projectile carried enough power to punch through steel and tore holes through Marco’s body on impact.

Yet the injuries vanished almost immediately beneath the surging blue flames of regeneration.

Not even scars remained.

Marco used his own body to block the entire barrage.

He hovered in the air on wings of blue flame, a faint smirk on his face as he looked toward Kizaru.

"Can’t have you bothering Pops right from the start."

"Ooh, scary."

Kizaru stared at the completely unharmed Marco with an exaggerated expression of surprise.

His gaze shifted to the blue flames rolling across Marco’s body.

"So this is Whitebeard’s First Division Commander."

"A Mythical Zoan even rarer than a Logia... the Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Phoenix."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!