"Huh?"
"Why am I so good at this?" Luffy wondered, puzzled. But soon, he understood.
It must be the muscle memory from his past life. After all, body memories are often hard to change.
Luffy's skillful, natural movements said it all.
"Hahaha!" he laughed heartily as he cut the two huge beasts into hundreds of pieces, eventually working up a sweat.
"My stamina isn't what it used to be," he muttered. "The old Luffy could've handled this no problem."
Luffy shook his head. He couldn't deny it—compared to the old Luffy, he was a bit weaker. But there was no way around it. If he wanted to level up quickly, he had to sacrifice certain attributes.
After a while, Luffy built a fire and began roasting the meat. The satisfaction was beyond words, the scene peaceful and ideal.
"Now, this is the life I want," he mused. "But alas... I can't live like this forever."
"A lot of times, I'm just a helpless guy." His poetic side came out, and he started mumbling to himself, reflecting on his life. But mumbling wouldn't change a thing.
A little later, the meat was perfectly roasted. The delicious smell wafted through the area.
"What?!" Even Rayleigh took notice. That roasted meat aroma was out of this world.
Rayleigh had never smelled anything like it in his life. "Did Luffy cook this?" he wondered, finding it hard to believe.
"That kid… I never knew he could do this," Rayleigh chuckled, tempted to go over and try it. But, being the seasoned mentor, he held back.
"Heh, knowing Luffy's personality, he'll probably offer me some anyway," he muttered with a smile, sitting by the shore and patiently waiting for Luffy to call him over.
---
"If only I had some cumin," Luffy sighed. "Cumin is the best seasoning in the world… No, wait, in that world." He shook his head, a bit disappointed.
To be honest, he used to be a decent barbecue chef. As a regular guy back then, Luffy had tried almost every job imaginable, especially grilling. He'd put a lot of effort into mastering it. And he was good, no doubt about it.
"Yeah!" he exclaimed, taking a bite, fully satisfied.
Soon, he noticed just how hungry he was. Without realizing it, he had already devoured half the meat.
"What?" Luffy was shocked. "No way! How can I eat so much?"
It felt surreal, like he was dreaming. He thought he'd only eaten a few pieces, but looking again, most of it was gone.
"Damn it," he muttered, realizing his hand was already stuffing another piece into his mouth. His stomach felt like it was on the verge of bursting. But strangely…
If he didn't pay close attention, he didn't feel full at all.
"I'm a total glutton!" he exclaimed, dumbfounded.
"It must be that big appetite from the old Luffy."
"But…" He paused, bewildered. "I'm not a rubber man anymore!"
"How am I still able to digest all this food?" He couldn't make sense of it—he didn't have the rubber body anymore, so how was he still absorbing so much?
Curious, Luffy focused inward, trying to understand what was going on.
~----------------------------------------------------------
T/N:
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