By the time Lind returned to the base, it was already nighttime.
Under the moonlight, the pirates at the base were gathered in small groups in the plaza, chatting among themselves. Some were probably discussing their gains from the day, while others were likely talking about pointless things.
When they saw Lind return carrying the massive corpse of a Sea King, all the pirates cheered.
"Captain is mighty!"
"Hahahaha! Boys, let's have a feast!"
Using his psychic power, Lind quickly dismembered the Sea King and left the rest of the work to Allison.
Although Allison wasn't the most reliable ship doctor, handling logistics was something she was perfectly capable of. She was also the only one among them with experience in this area—the other four subordinates had been full-time combatants before.
They might be able to help manage the crew, but when it came to specialized tasks like logistics, they were out of their depth.
Soon, as the night fully enveloped Hachinosu, bonfires were lit all around the base.
Lind held a half-meter-long skewer of Sea King meat over the fire, roasting it while chatting with Axel and Liana.
"Axel, Liana, do you guys know any powerful chefs or ship doctors?"
"Our current chefs… well, their food is edible at best. I'm almost tempted to start cooking for myself!"
"We urgently need a skilled chef to improve our meals!"
"And as for a ship doctor—Allison may know medicine, but looking at her background, she doesn't exactly inspire confidence!"
Lind's first thought was to recruit talented people for the team. He hoped his officers might have some connections to a skilled chef or doctor.
"Hehe, Boss, now that you mention it, our chefs really aren't professionals. We're lucky they can even cook the food properly," Axel said.
"Why don't you take some time to teach them, Boss?"
Axel and Liana had both visited Lind's home and had the privilege of tasting his cooking, which they had praised endlessly.
After two and a half years of practice, combined with his powerful psychic abilities, Lind was no longer the amateur chef he once was.
He had already reached the level of a true culinary master, capable of establishing his own brand of "Hilt Family Cuisine!"
Hearing Axel and Liana's suggestion, Lind fell into deep thought.
That actually made a lot of sense!
Teaching people to cook wasn't that different from training subordinates in combat—maybe it was worth a shot!
A chef trained by him would make food that suited his taste perfectly!
And if he could spread "Hilt Family Cuisine," he might even be able to go legitimate one day, start a restaurant chain, and make a fortune!
"You guys are right. It's decided—starting tomorrow, I'll spend some time every day teaching them how to cook!"
"But what about a ship doctor? That's not something I can teach myself!"
Lind had always been easygoing in how he interacted with people. He didn't have the arrogance that some leaders did. If someone made a reasonable suggestion, he was happy to accept it—sometimes even joking along with them.
"Boss, actually, I do know a really skilled doctor. I just don't know if he'd be willing to join us!"
"Back when I was in the West Blue, there was a doctor in town who could heal any injury, no matter how bad!"
"When I lived there, I thought all doctors were like that. But after going out to sea, I realized that his medical skills were truly top-tier!"
"I've been at sea for eight years now, from the West Blue to the New World, and I've never met another doctor as skilled as him!"
"If you're interested, Boss, I can take you there. The doctor should still be in the same town—though I'm not sure if he'd be willing to join us."
Lind's eyes lit up at Axel's words.
If what Axel said was true, then this doctor was definitely some kind of hidden master.
Whether or not he could be recruited was another matter, but his skills were undoubtedly top-notch.
"Great. Once we set sail, we must find a chance to visit. Even if we can't get him to join us, just knowing such a skilled doctor would be incredibly valuable."
Lind then asked the other officers if they knew any suitable candidates.
Unfortunately, there were no leads.
The only somewhat relevant information came from Allison. Before she went to sea, she had studied under an old doctor with exceptional medical skills.
Unfortunately, she hadn't learned much before her former captain took her aboard as the crew's doctor.
That captain's ultimate fate was proof that having a famous teacher didn't always mean becoming a great student.
Since Allison's former captain had failed to recruit the old doctor, Lind didn't have much hope of doing so either.
His only option was to hope that the doctor had taken on another apprentice in Allison's absence—someone competent enough to recruit.
As for the other officers, none of them knew any truly skilled doctors. Most of the ones they knew were just average.
At this point, it seemed like going to a medical powerhouse like Drum Kingdom might be the best alternative.
Although having a ship doctor was crucial, there was no immediate solution.
Besides, Lind's Seventh Division, despite operating like an independent pirate crew, was technically still under Rocks' command.
If they ever had a medical emergency, they could just find a doctor on Hachinosu.
As the rulers of the New World, the Rocks Pirates had no shortage of skilled doctors.
Setting the issue of a ship doctor aside, Lind noticed that the meat was nearly done roasting and eagerly began eating.
With his secret sauce, the roasted Sea King meat was incredibly appetizing.
The other officers, having used the same sauce, were also eating enthusiastically.
The group silently enjoyed their meal, occasionally taking sips of alcohol.
For a moment, Lind felt like he was reliving a moment from his past life.
The feast lasted for several hours, with everyone eating their fill of meat.
Unfortunately, there weren't any ridiculously gluttonous eaters in Lind's crew.
For a three-hundred-meter-long Sea King, the amount they had eaten barely made a dent.
Lind estimated that the beast's meat could last for months—there was no way they'd finish it before setting sail.
(AN: I did the math. A Sea King that's 300 meters long, even if it's only 40-50 meters tall and wide, has a volume of 300×40×50 = 600,000 cubic meters. That's about 600,000 tons! Even if we remove bones, organs, and blood, there's still at least 300,000 tons of meat. If 100 people ate 100 tons each per day, they'd still take a month to finish it. But realistically, even in the One Piece world, most people would struggle to eat 100 kilograms a day. At that rate, one Sea King could feed 100 people for decades—completely ridiculous!)
After storing the Sea King meat in the underground freezer, Lind knew he wouldn't need to go hunting again before setting sail.
With so much excess meat, he was considering whether to share some with the other division captains.
The next day, Lind spent the morning supervising his crew's training. In the afternoon, he planned to check on the progress of the Unfettered's modifications.
As for training the chefs, he decided to let them focus on combat training during the day and teach them cooking at night when they were actually preparing meals.
The morning training session ended with waves of gratitude from the subordinates.
Lunch was pre-prepared dried Sea King meat from the previous night.
Casually sitting on the ground, Lind took a bite of the meat and said,
"This afternoon, I'm going to check on our future pirate ship. Who wants to come with me?"