Multiverse Gourmet Hunter

Out on the battlefield, Kizaru glanced toward Haruto in the distance and let out a soft sound of genuine surprise.

"Ooh... now that smells incredible."

He smacked his lips, a faint look of longing creeping onto his face.

When Haruto had introduced himself as a chef and Gourmet Hunter earlier, Kizaru had assumed it was little more than a casual remark and had not given it much thought.

Now, after smelling an aroma tempting enough to make even him want a taste, he finally understood that Haruto’s culinary skills were no joke.

Judging by the fragrance alone, even the chefs at Marine Headquarters could hardly compare. The famous cooks employed by the World Government specifically to serve the Celestial Dragons might not be much better.

Under normal circumstances, Kizaru would have had no problem wandering over and asking for a bowl of fish soup.

Unfortunately, he was standing beneath the execution platform in full view of Fleet Admiral Sengoku and countless Marine soldiers. There were limits to how shamelessly he could slack off in public.

Kizaru sighed, looking genuinely disappointed.

Akainu’s reaction was very different.

Still engaged with Whitebeard, his expression had darkened considerably.

His attention should have been focused entirely on the Whitebeard Pirates, yet that ridiculous aroma had actually managed to distract even him.

To Akainu, that alone was humiliating enough.

Worse, he had noticed that quite a few Marine soldiers were moving half a beat slower because their attention kept drifting toward Haruto’s cooking.

"Hmph!"

Akainu gave a cold snort through his nose, anger almost visibly radiating from his eyes. His fist clenched hard enough for his knuckles to crack, while a faint magma-red glow began spreading along his arm.

As far as he was concerned, Haruto was disrupting military morale in the middle of an active war.

That was unforgivable.

For a moment, Akainu seriously wanted to fire a Hell Hound straight across the battlefield and melt Haruto, his kitchen, and the entire damned pot into slag.

Unfortunately, Haruto had deliberately chosen a position at the far edge of the harbor, with the entire main battlefield separating them.

If Akainu launched an attack carelessly, Whitebeard would almost certainly exploit the opening.

In the end, he forcibly suppressed his anger and instead swept a cold glare across the distracted Marines nearby.

Several soldiers immediately shuddered.

They tore their eyes away from Haruto, tightened their grips on their weapons, and threw themselves back into the battle.

Unfortunately, they could not stop breathing.

The maddening seafood aroma remained lodged in their noses, and their stomachs only growled louder.

Meanwhile, Haruto filled a bowl with a ladleful of the thick, creamy-white broth, added a tender piece of Puffer Whale flesh saturated with soup, and finished it with a piece of soft, springy skin.

The steam rising from the bowl carried such an overwhelming fragrance that Haruto could not help swallowing.

He gently blew across the surface, then scooped up a spoonful of broth shimmering with tiny droplets of oil and brought it to his mouth.

The instant the soup touched his tongue, Haruto froze.

For a moment, it almost felt as though the Puffer Whale itself were dancing across his palate.

The first sensation was an extraordinary warmth and silkiness. The broth flowed across his tongue like heated silk, smoothly coating every corner of his mouth.

Despite its richness, there was no unpleasant heaviness whatsoever. It was so smooth that it almost seemed capable of sliding down his throat without him even needing to swallow.

Then the flavor erupted.

An explosion of overwhelming freshness burst across his tongue like fireworks.

The natural ocean sweetness of the Puffer Whale blended with the deep body of the premium stock, the warm fragrance of leek and ginger, the faint sweetness of the Berries, and just the right touch of savory saltiness.

Each layer unfolded into the next, continuously revealing new nuances with every passing second.

There was not even the slightest trace of fishiness.

Only pure, overwhelming freshness—so intense that it sent tingles through his entire body.

Even after he swallowed, the flavor lingered stubbornly in his mouth. Every breath carried traces of that intoxicating seafood sweetness.

Coming back to himself, Haruto immediately picked up a piece of fish and took a bite.

After being seared and then slowly simmered, the flesh had absorbed the broth completely and become unbelievably tender.

The slightest pressure from his teeth released the soup trapped inside, flooding his mouth with rich, sweet juices and making him instinctively narrow his eyes in pleasure.

Next came the skin.

After careful blanching and slow cooking, it had become soft and pleasantly springy, packed with gelatin.

The moment it entered his mouth, the collagen began to melt gently against his tongue, leaving a faint stickiness on his lips without the slightest trace of greasiness. At the same time, it retained enough elasticity to provide a satisfying chew, becoming more fragrant with every bite.

Having absorbed the broth completely, every mouthful of skin was bursting with concentrated sweetness and umami.

As the gelatin slid down his throat, a warm, soothing sensation spread throughout his body.

Then, as the broth, fish, and skin settled into his stomach, an exceptionally gentle current of warmth began rising from within.

It was completely different from the powerful surge of energy produced by the grilled Sea King meat earlier.

This warmth was softer and more delicate, like sunlight on a spring morning, gradually flowing through every part of his body and nourishing him down to the cellular level.

Even though Haruto had no external injuries, he could clearly feel the effect.

Every cell in his body seemed to relax and come alive, leaving him feeling remarkably light, refreshed, and comfortable.

Only after savoring the dish for a while did Haruto finally turn his attention back toward the battlefield.

The situation had changed dramatically while he had been cooking.

His gaze first settled on Whitebeard near the center of the fighting.

The old man was in terrible shape.

Blood continued seeping from the deep wound through his abdomen, while the magma-burned injury across his chest looked even more horrifying.

His grip on Murakumogiri had turned his knuckles white, yet he continued fighting with everything he had.

Squard’s betrayal and that vicious stab had done more than simply pierce Whitebeard’s body. It had disrupted the momentum of the entire Whitebeard Pirates’ offensive.

Afterward came repeated attacks from the three Admirals, followed by Vice Admirals surrounding and wearing him down.

Whitebeard had already been pushed close to his physical limit.

At this point, every movement was another withdrawal from a body that had long since exhausted its reserves.

At the very front of the battlefield, however, Luffy was still staggering forward through a defensive line everyone had believed impossible to break.

He was relying on Emporio Ivankov’s Energy Hormones, forcibly squeezing more strength from a body that had already gone far beyond its limits.

His steps were unsteady.

He had been knocked down again and again.

Yet his eyes never once left the execution platform.

With help from the Whitebeard Pirates, Luffy somehow managed to tear open a path through the Marines’ seemingly airtight defenses and force his way directly beneath the scaffold.

Then Sengoku issued the order.

"Execute him immediately!"

The two executioners raised their long-bladed weapons high above Ace.

A deafening roar erupted from below.

Whitebeard’s men charged forward with bloodshot eyes, but the Marine defensive line held them back, leaving them powerless to do anything except watch as the two blades began descending toward Ace.

Ace closed his eyes.

A faint smile appeared on his face, peaceful yet filled with regret.

And at that critical instant, when even time itself seemed to slow—

An invisible and terrifying pressure suddenly erupted from beneath the execution platform.

Conqueror’s Haki burst outward from Luffy in every direction.

The two blades descending toward Ace abruptly stopped.

Both executioners rolled their eyes back and collapsed unconscious onto the platform.

Marines across the front ranks dropped in waves.

Even weaker pirates caught in the blast lost consciousness and crumpled onto the plaza.

For two strange seconds, the entire battlefield seemed to fall silent.

"Conqueror’s Haki?! He has the qualities of a king too?!"

Sengoku’s face darkened atop the execution platform.

All three Admirals immediately fixed their eyes on Luffy, their expressions noticeably more serious.

At the edge of the battlefield, Haruto felt the same wave of Haki sweep across him.

His body trembled faintly.

Yet what he felt was not discomfort from being overwhelmed by Luffy’s presence.

It was something much stranger.

A resonance from somewhere deep within his soul.

Haruto’s eyes lit up as sudden understanding dawned on him.

"So that’s Conqueror’s Haki..."

"Come to think of it, it actually works on a very similar principle to my Intimidation."

The instant those words left his mouth, another immense pressure erupted from Haruto.

Conqueror’s Haki.

Unlike Luffy’s uncontrolled burst, which had swept wildly across the entire battlefield, Haruto instinctively condensed his own power into an extremely limited area.

It extended only a few dozen meters around him.

Yet within that space, the sheer pressure became so concentrated that the surrounding air itself seemed to hum beneath the strain.

Even though Haruto had deliberately restrained its range, the sudden emergence of another burst of Conqueror’s Haki did not escape the notice of Marineford’s strongest fighters.

"What?! Another Conqueror’s Haki user?!"

"Where did that come from?! Who is it?!"

Shock spread throughout the battlefield.

Conqueror’s Haki was an extraordinarily rare power possessed only by those born with the qualities of a king. Even across the entire sea, people capable of wielding it were few and far between.

Yet two had suddenly revealed themselves one after another in the middle of the same war.

Sengoku’s frown deepened as his eyes shifted toward Haruto.

The number of uncontrollable variables in this battle was rapidly exceeding anything he had anticipated.

The three Admirals also turned their attention toward him.

Even Whitebeard could not help looking in Haruto’s direction.

From that moment onward, both Marine Headquarters and the Whitebeard Pirates unconsciously began reserving part of their attention for the mysterious chef at the edge of the battlefield.

Haruto, however, quickly withdrew his Conqueror’s Haki and returned his gaze to the center of Marineford.

At the same time, another thought had already begun forming in his mind.

If he had figured out Conqueror’s Haki this way...

Then how was he supposed to get Observation Haki and Armament Haki?

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