51: Chapter 51 Luffy Wants to See Me, Lin Han Hides Away

The Navy Base cafeteria was bustling with noise and excitement.

The rich aroma of food mixed with billowing heat rushed forth, making the large hall look like a lively mini-banquet had been set up in advance.

Luffy hugged a giant bowl a circle larger than his face and squeezed over to the long table by the window. The instant his gaze swept over the table full of food, his eyes lit up in a flash.

That look in his eyes was even more excited than finding the legendary grand treasure!

In an instant, his whole person switched to his exclusive banquet feasting mode, radiating an undisguised vibe of happiness from head to toe.

A glossy, bright braised fish lay in a porcelain plate, its soup thick and gleaming.

Stir-fried green vegetables were fresh, crisp, and emerald green, looking refreshing at first glance; a large basin of egg soup floated with tender yellow egg flowers, while white steam curled upwards.

Beside it, a small dish of pickled radish strips was crisp and crunchy, and the white rice in the wooden bucket was piled to a sharp peak.

It was all solid, hearty fare with generous portions, and the aroma kept drilling straight into his nose.

Luffy let out an ao-wu sound and plunged right in, his chopsticks swinging so fast they left afterimages, and the amount of food on the table decreased at a speed visible to the naked eye.

His cheeks were stuffed round, looking just like a chubby hamster hoarding pine cones. His mouth was completely packed, yet he shouted vaguely: "Delicious! So delicious!"

He was completely oblivious to the white rice grains stuck to the corner of his mouth, and his eyes glowed with every swallow: "This fish is so fresh it can squeeze out juice! It smells even better than what is made on our ship! Whoever cooks must be unimaginably awesome!"

While scarfing down his rice, his head still swayed left and right as he looked around, his face full of yearning for the master chef behind the scenes. He turned his head and shouted at Kuina across from him: "

"Miss Kuina! Who is the chef here? I must meet him! Anyone who can make such delicious food must be a super awesome big shot!"

Beside him, Nami was slowly eating her rice bite by bite, and upon seeing this, she irritably nudged him with her elbow: "

"Eat slower! Don't go exhausting all the base's grain reserves, aren't you ashamed?!"

"It's fine, it's fine."

Kuina across from them waved her hand, a faint smile lingering in the depths of her eyes.

"The kitchen specially prepared more today, there's enough, all you can eat. As for the food... it was made by a few masters in the base's back kitchen, though my master occasionally goes over to give a few pointers."

"Huh?"

Luffy still had half a piece of fish dangling from his mouth. Hearing this, his eyes widened into perfect circles, their brilliance even greater than before: "Your master can cook too?"

Zoro sat by Kuina's side, his bowl piled high with rice, yet his chopsticks hadn't moved for a long time.

Zoro sat beside Kuina, the rice in his rice bowl piled full, yet his chopsticks hadn't moved for a long time.

Ever since sitting down, his gaze drifted towards Kuina from time to time, and several times words reached his lips only to be swallowed back down, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the hilt of the sword at his waist.

Kuina noticed the gaze he cast over, put down her chopsticks, and turned her head to look at him.

"What, is the food not to your taste?"

"No." Zoro shook his head, hesitated for a moment, and still asked out loud.

"During our spar just now, what on earth was that layer of chill on your sword? It doesn't look like something ordinary Armament Haki swordsmanship can produce."

Kuina picked up the celadon teacup beside her, took a sip of hot tea, and explained to him in a flat tone.

"This is the Cold Fire One-Sword Style taught to me solely by Master. The foundation is built with Armament Haki, and the core is the ultimate freezing power derived from a special flame."

She paused, then added a few more sentences, explaining in great detail.

"This chill wasn't trained by myself; Master split a wisp of the Bone Spirit Cold Fire's origin and gave it to me, hiding it in my meridians. Usually, it's quiet without any movement, but when swinging the sword, it can be drawn out and coated over the blade."

"The origin of a special flame..." Zoro repeated in a low voice, his brows furrowing as he pondered there. "That layer of white frost on the sword just now?"

"Mn."

"When the chill is attached to the blade, not only can it greatly enhance cutting power, but when swords clash, it can also travel along the metal into the opponent's body, freezing their muscle joints and slowing down their movements." Kuina looked at him and asked seriously.

"During the second half of the fight just now, did you feel your fingers going stiff and unable to exert strength?"

Zoro nodded.

"So that's how it was, I thought I was just tired from fighting for too long."

"That's the erosion effect of the Cold Fire's origin." Kuina earnestly pointed out to him.

"Your Armament Haki foundation is quite solid, but its condensation degree is still not enough. If your Haki were a bit thicker, you could resist this chill. Zoro, if you put more effort into polishing your Haki, your strength could increase by a huge margin."

Zoro quietly thought for a while, then solemnly nodded, firmly engraving these words in his heart.

Just at this moment, a head abruptly poked out from the edge of the table.

Luffy still had half a piece of fish dangling from his mouth and spoke vaguely.

"Miss Kuina, where is your master? I want to see him."

Kuina was stunned for a moment.

"Master should be drinking tea in the backyard right now, why do you suddenly want to find him?"

Luffy swallowed the fish meat in one gulp, casually wiped his mouth, and his eyes were frighteningly bright.

"To be able to train a swordsman as awesome as you, he must be unimaginably strong! I want to witness it with my own eyes, and also fight a match with him!"

Looking at his eager-to-try appearance, Kuina pressed her fingertips against the corner of her mouth, barely managing to hold back a laugh.

"My master's strength is indeed unfathomable, but... he most likely won't be willing to see you."

"Why?" Luffy tilted his head, a look of confusion on his face.

There was a hint of mischief hidden in Kuina's eyes as she slowly spoke.

"Because you are a pirate."

"What's wrong with being a pirate?" Luffy patted his chest, righteous and confident.

"I am the man who's going to be the Pirate King! It's not like pirates can't meet Marines. We aren't even fighting right now, what's there to avoid suspicion for."

Seeing his matter-of-fact look, Kuina was both exasperated and amused, so she simply stood up.

"Fine then, I'll go to the backyard and ask for you. As for whether Master is willing to come out, I can't make the call."

She turned and left the cafeteria, crossed the spacious training grounds, and walked towards the small courtyard at the back of the base where Lin Han usually lived.

Pushing open the courtyard door, Kuina's steps suddenly came to a halt.

The courtyard was empty, not a single figure in sight.

The rattan chair sat steadily under the tree, with a low wooden table placed beside it. On the table, there was still a cup of unfinished hot tea, the rim of the cup steaming slightly, its warmth not yet dissipated. Yet the chair was empty, and that lazy figure could not be found anywhere in the courtyard.

Kuina walked around the courtyard once, then tiptoed to the doorway of the house to peek inside. The house was also quiet and empty.

Standing alone in the empty courtyard, she fell silent for a few seconds, then helplessly raised a hand to support her forehead.

"Master deliberately hid again."

She had long since figured out Lin Han's temperament. Whenever he encountered people or matters he found troublesome, he could always think of a way to dodge them. Sometimes he used official business as an excuse to go out, sometimes he grabbed a fishing rod and went fishing by the sea. Today was even better—leaving no explanation at all, he directly slipped away quietly without a sound.

Kuina gently sighed, turned around, and returned to the cafeteria along the same path.

Seeing that only she returned, Luffy hurriedly raised his head and pressed for answers.

"Where is your master? Where did he go?"

"He's not in the courtyard." Kuina weighed her words, trying to be as tactful as possible, "He probably went out for a walk."

"A walk?" Luffy blinked. "Then about when will he be back?"

"I don't know." Kuina answered truthfully, "Master has always been casual and never keeps to a set schedule."

Luffy scratched that head of green hair of his, a trace of disappointment flashing through his eyes.

But in the blink of an eye, he cheered up again, grabbing the rice bowl on the table to wolf down his food.

"It doesn't matter, we're still docking here for a few days, sooner or later we'll run into him."

Kuina watched him toss his disappointment to the back of his mind in the blink of an eye and bury his head in feasting, muttering inwardly to herself.

Was Master intentionally avoiding Luffy simply because he found dealing with pirates troublesome? Or was there some other reason?

She often saw the expression Master occasionally revealed, as if he knew many secrets that others didn't know; this matter was definitely not as simple as just being afraid of trouble.

But she also knew Lin Han's style of conduct; if he didn't want to say something, no matter how others asked, they wouldn't be able to extract a single word out of him.

Whatever.

Master had his own reasons for doing things, why think so much about it.