“Mr.
Toriko, let go of me!
I can’t breathe!” Toriko was hugging Komatsu so tightly that his small body couldn’t withstand the pressure.
His face had already turned purple, and the air was being squeezed out of his lungs.
“Komatsu, I’m so glad you’re all right.” Toriko released Komatsu and carefully examined him.
Aside from his damaged clothes and a few minor scrapes, there were no serious injuries.
“Cough, cough!
I nearly died!
Mr.
Toriko, how could you give me something so dangerous?
I escaped being eaten by the Devil Serpent, only to nearly be killed by your special firecracker!” Komatsu complained.
“Hahaha!
I remember warning you on the train to put in earplugs before using it.” Even without Komatsu explaining, Toriko could roughly guess what had happened.
Komatsu must have used the tool without any protection, and his frail body had been unable to withstand the resulting explosion.
“Hey!
I was lucky enough to pull out the firecracker in that situation!
How could I possibly have had time to put in earplugs?” Komatsu retorted.
Toriko and Coco looked at each other and smiled before dropping onto the beach.
Fighting two Devil Serpents in succession had consumed a tremendous amount of their stamina.
“Coco, how much stamina do you have left?” Toriko asked with a smile.
“Probably about as much as you.
If our anger hadn’t recharged us, we might not have been able to defeat the second Devil Serpent,” Coco replied helplessly, spreading his hands.
“Old Man Ichiryu could be considered your master.
Don’t you think your strength is improving a little too slowly?” Saku Hayashi asked.
“Honestly, neither of you lacks talent.
The problem is that your training environments have been rather ordinary.” Toriko and Coco fell into thought.
Saku Hayashi wasn’t wrong.
Ever since leaving Ichiryu’s training grounds, they had rarely experienced any true life-or-death crises.
Although they had captured many ingredients, their Capture Levels had generally been rather low.
“Would I become stronger if I visited the Gourmet World?” Toriko muttered.
The corner of Coco’s mouth twitched.
He had many sources of information and knew exactly what kind of place the Gourmet World was.
If Toriko went there with his current strength, he might end up as food for one of its beasts.
“You haven’t been elbowed by the Gourmet World yet, so you still haven’t learned your lesson,” Saku Hayashi said, rolling his eyes.
“If you really want to go, ask Old Man Ichiryu to take you there for the experience.
He can watch while you get beaten up and save your life at the critical moment.” “Chairman Ichiryu probably doesn’t have that kind of free time,” Tsurara said thoughtfully.
Coco nodded in agreement.
Old Man Ichiryu was extremely busy.
Even they sometimes couldn’t meet him.
“Chef Tsurara, won’t customers visit your restaurant while you’re away?” Coco asked.
“My restaurant operates by reservation.
As for when I open it, that depends entirely on my mood,” Tsurara answered with a faint smile.
She didn’t care about the number of customers she received.
With her current status, she had every right to be that capricious.
Besides, she had no shortage of money.
Toriko and the others weren’t surprised.
After all, reservations were required to taste the cooking of many famous chefs.
“We captured plenty of Puffer Whales.
Would you like to eat some that have already been prepared?” Saku Hayashi asked, pointing at the Puffer Whales nearby.
“Amazing!
They’re shining gold!
These are Puffer Whales that can sell for five hundred million!” Komatsu exclaimed.
This was his first time seeing a properly prepared Puffer Whale.
“They certainly smell delicious, but since we’ve already come all this way, we should naturally capture our own,” Toriko said, swallowing hard.
A Puffer Whale whose poison sac had been successfully removed looked incredibly appetizing.
After Toriko and Coco had rested enough, they dived into the sea.
Komatsu wasn’t good at diving, so he remained on the shore.
“Chef Tsurara, how did you prepare the Puffer Whales?” Komatsu didn’t remain idle.
He humbly asked Tsurara for guidance.
Coco had suggested this.
Since a professional capable of preparing Puffer Whales was present, there was no need for an amateur like him to embarrass himself by trying to teach Komatsu.
“It shouldn’t be too difficult for you, Komatsu.” Tsurara didn’t hold anything back.
She patiently guided him and explained everything she had learned from preparing Puffer Whales.
During the process, Tsurara was surprised to discover that Komatsu possessed an astonishing learning ability.
This still relatively unknown chef was anything but ordinary.
Splash!
Toriko and Coco burst from the sea carrying the Puffer Whales they had captured.
Both wore extremely grave expressions.
“Be careful.
Something dangerous is coming out of the sea,” Toriko warned in a deep voice.
The moment he finished speaking, a humanoid “creature” with the face of an anteater emerged.
Every strand of black hair covering its body stood on end, and it radiated an overwhelmingly powerful presence.
The net in its hand contained numerous Puffer Whales that had already been Knocked.
“Saku, that’s a GT Robot, isn’t it?
It also appears to be a new model I’ve never seen before,” Tsurara said, narrowing her eyes as she recognized it.
“That’s right.
It’s a robot developed by Gourmet Corp.
based on Nitro.
Since it’s remotely controlled, it can operate in many dangerous environments,” Saku Hayashi explained with a nod.
Coco looked thoughtful upon hearing this.
He had heard of these robots before.
“Two of the Four Heavenly Kings?
Gourmet Hunter Saku Hayashi?
And Chef Tsurara?” The GT Robot spoke, clearly surprised to encounter such a group of famous individuals.
“Starjun, I’d like to spar with you, but this GT Robot can’t display your full strength,” Saku Hayashi said regretfully.
“That’s true.
If an opportunity arises, I’ll spar with you in person,” Starjun replied calmly.
Starjun had no intention of fighting now.
He knew this robot wasn’t Saku Hayashi’s opponent, so he simply controlled it and prepared to leave.
As the GT Robot passed Saku Hayashi, he handed it a note on which he had just written something.
His face carried an expression that Starjun couldn’t understand.
“…” The GT Robot didn’t examine the note and silently left the area.
“What a troublesome opponent,” Toriko muttered.
Considering his and Coco’s current stamina, they had no chance of winning.
Even at their peak condition, they might not have been the robot’s match.
“He was extremely powerful, and that was only a robot incapable of displaying the strength of his real body.
His true form must be even stronger,” Coco said.
He hadn’t expected to encounter a high-ranking member of Gourmet Corp.
here.
Outside the cave, Starjun controlled the GT Robot and examined the note in its hand.
[Starjun, let me tell you something.
Toriko is your biological brother, whom you were separated from many years ago.] “!” It was only a single sentence, yet it was enough to leave Starjun, who was far away at Gourmet Corp.’s base, unable to calm down for a long time.
The revelation deeply shook him.
The word “brother” was utterly unfamiliar to him.
He had always believed he was alone in the world and had no family.
Despite his usually rational personality, he now felt an urge to turn around and ask Saku Hayashi face-to-face whether this was true.
Ultimately, he decided against returning.
Toriko was still there, and before confirming their relationship, there was no need to cause any unnecessary misunderstandings.
He would visit Saku Hayashi in person later and ask him directly.
Finding Saku Hayashi wouldn’t be difficult.
All he needed to do was visit Tsurara’s restaurant.
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