The Jackal Guardian's Ascent

Chapter 12

The crew was sitting around the campfire while Sanji was preparing ingredients for their dinner while Chopper and Zoro had went out in search of additional ingredients.

"Man, this is so boring!" Luffy whined as he plopped on the ground.

"You don't have to watch the pot, stupid." Sanji told him. "When there's enough distilled water in the bowl, pour it into the flask. That's all you have to do. We need water for tomorrow. Enough for each one of us."

"Sanji! We got lots of yummy things!" Chopper announced as he and Zoro returned from the forest.

"Great work!" Sanji replied as the pair entered the clearing.

"Walnuts, aloe, bananas, and garlic." Chopper said as he listed off the ingredients he had gathered.

"A rat and a frog." Zoro nonchalantly said as he held up a couple rats and frogs for closer inspection.

"Chop 'em up and throw 'em in the stew." Sanji told the pair as he still preparing the other ingredients.

"HOLD IT!!! THERE WERE SOME WEIRD INGREDIENTS JUST NOW!" Nami yelled as she looked up from the crate she was using.

"That's right. I totally forgot. No garlic, right?" Sanji nervously asked.

"NO! THAT'S NOT IT!!" Nami yelled back.

"You know, Nami, frog legs are actually considered a delicacy in some parts of the world." Anu informed her as he and Robin had also returned to the clearing.

"Wow! What's that blue thing, Robin?! Is it a gem?" Nami asked with her eyes sparkling at the giant blue object that Anu was carrying.

"Hee hee. Isn't it pretty? But, it's no gem." Robin asnwered.

"Oh! Is that rock salt? That's a good find." Sanji interjected.

"We found it on the lakeshore. I thought it might come in handy." Robin replied.

"You bet it will!" Sanji said as he looked at the giant rock of salt with amazement. "Salt is essential for survival."

"I'm taking half of the aloe and garlic." Chopper said as he was grinding up some ingredients for medicine. "I can make burn ointment and disinfectant with them to treat our friend, the Sky Knight."

"Hmm, need frog too?" Zoro asked. 

"Nope! Don't need any frog!" Chopper quickly replied.

"Hey, Zoro! Don't just stand there, come and give me a hand." Sanji instructed him.

"Give me a break! My swords aren't made for this!" Zoro remarked as he was holding a steaming hot rock with two of his swords.

"Just shut up and do it." Sanji shot back. "If you defy the chef, you'll starve to death."

"Huh?! We're eating rocks too?" Luffy asked, bewildered by their addition. "Is it tasty?"

"As if!" Sanji replied. "This is "Hot Rock Stew"! The heat from the hot rocks cooks the stew. When you cook this way, the ingredients keep more of their nutrients."

"Doesn't using the rocks also introduce additional minerals as well?" Anu asked as he sat down and began reading one of the books Conis had gave him and Robin.

"Indeed it does." Sanji answered.

"All right, done!!" Nami announced as she held up as a sheet of paper she had been working on.

"All right, everyone! I now call the official Straw Hats "What are we going to do tomorrow?" meeting to order!!" Usopp announced.

"Right!!" everyone but Anu and Robin replied.