fchapter 3 fugu whales

Two weeks later, on a train bound for the XXXX zone, several gourmet hunters were on board, including one of the most notable, Sakasuki.

Ootake" tell me, this ultimate menu you speak of, how is it possible that you've discovered thousands of new ingredients and yet haven't added any to your list?"

Sakasuki looked at his teammate Ootake and replied, "Precisely, that's the problem. Although I've discovered several ingredients, most of them have hardly evolved my gourmet cells at all. The only way for me to evolve is to find higher-level foods and look for compatibilities with my cells. And to cook high-level foods, I need a chef capable of showing the full brilliance of the food, as well as discovering how to prepare it. As you know, some foods require special preparation, both known and unknown. And for the menu, I'm going to make two: one for the human world and one for the gourmet world. The difficulties of the gourmet world are immense, as are its flavors."

Ootake replied, "I see. So you think the fugu whale will increase your cells?"

Sakasuki replied, "Not sure, but I hope I don't have to make this trip for nothing. I hope you brought your knives. There's some level in the cave."

Ootake smiled, "I'm ready, and where have you seen a cook who forgets his knives? There's no such thing."

Sakasuki summed up, "Every 10 years, schools of fugu whales, mysterious creatures known as 'deep-sea delights', make their way to the shallows to lay their eggs. To get there, you have to go to the underground sandy beaches. There, you'll find a cave teeming with subterranean pathways, a veritable labyrinth filled with beasts and plants deadly to humans. The rest you know."

Ootake replied: "Yes, you have to be very precise when preparing it, otherwise the fugu becomes inedible. If I get it wrong, it can be poisonous."

Sakasuki added: "Good, you've done your homework. Does the fact that, only if you succeed, can I eat put pressure on you?"

Ootake replied, "Don't talk nonsense. We've arrived."

We got off the train with the other gourmet hunters and headed for the cave entrance, which took us an hour.

Ootake observed, "It's huge. But why are there so many people outside?"

Sakasuki replied aloud, "They're thieves and small-time losers." None of them looked him in the eye. His reputation as the fifth king was already well established. No gourmet hunter in the area could defeat him.

"Let's not waste time, let's go in."

Ootake exclaimed, "We can't see a thing! It hasn't even been 10 minutes."

Sakasuki admitted: "It's true, I'm not used to having people with me. I usually use ambient heat as a locator, but don't worry."

He picked up a piece of wood comparable to a club and pressed the end with his hand.

"Magma Palm!"

The heat caused the wood to ignite, releasing a powerful tobacco scent with smoke.

Ootake exclaimed, "This is cigar wood! It's worth 20,000 a cigar."

Sakasuki explained, "It'll go out in 40 minutes. We've got to get to the beach before then. I've got three of these left. I think you're carrying weapons, but this is cigar wood."

We continued into the cave. Very few beasts attacked us, the majority being scared off or killed by Sakasuki. Then we heard screams followed by an explosion on our way.

Sakasuki announced: "Devil Snake."

Ootake looked at the lifeless body on the ground. "Komatsu?"

The Devil Snake attacked, and Sakasuki replied.

"Point Magma!"

The heat melted one of the Devil Snake's limbs, which immediately sprang back. Meanwhile, an old man appeared from nowhere, watching from afar, and intervened to save Komatsu's life.

"Hehe, young man, I'm in charge of healing the cook. His heart has stopped. Shouldn't you be helping your partner in battle?"

Ootake looked at the old man, then at the barrel full of fugu. He could only believe the old man, after all, he was a cook, not a doctor.

Back to Sakasuki.

"Magma Zone!"

He released magma around his perimeter, burning the body of the approaching demon snake. The snake released its venom, and Sakasuki retaliated with a blast of magma. He launched himself at him, "Point Magma Double" to the head. Seeing that his limbs were growing back, he assumed that his brain was not. The snake tried to defend itself, but Sakasuki slammed its head into the walls. Meanwhile, he concentrated his magma in his fist and unleashed a "Ranged Magma Point."

"Sakasuki, Magma Fly Point!"

It hit the snake's head, burning its brain and killing it. He turned back to his suit.

Sakasuki announced: "Finished, we're off to the beach."

Ootake looked behind him. The old man was gone, but Komatsu was now conscious.

"Komatsu, Take-chan, is that you?"

Ootake replied, "Looks like you got lost, Komatsu. Where's your suit?"

Komatsu scratched his head, "Combi? You mean Toriko? We're not forming a combi."

Sakasuki intervened: "Ootake, let's go. We can't miss the fugu whales."

They headed in the direction of some sea fireflies.

Ootake asked, "Who was that old man from earlier?"

Sakasuki explained, "He's one of the strongest people in the human race. He's well into the top 10, Knocking Master Jiro. You must have heard of him."

Ootake confirmed: "Yes, there are some legends about him. They say he forms a combi with the legendary Setsuno-san."

At last they arrived at the underground sandy beach.

"At last, we've arrived at the beach," said Sakasuki as he set the Devil Snake down on the sand.

Ootake added: "It's beautiful. I get the meat, but seeing where it's caught is so magical."

Sakasuki explained, "Now we have to capture the fugu whale." He withdrew two precision stun guns from his bag.

Ootake exclaimed, "You really are rich. 300,000 yen for just one of those pistols, the wages of a month's hard work."

Sakasuki interrupted, "Stop daydreaming and let's get back to the sea. Don't scare the fugu away. If they're scared, they'll unleash his poison.his Capture Level 29. Watch me do it," he said, erasing his presence.

Ootake exclaimed: "Holy shit! If you weren't in front of me, I wouldn't have been able to make you out," he said before diving in and following Sakasuki into the water.

After ten minutes, more people arrived on the beach: Toriko, Komatsu and Coco.

Toriko observed: "Looks like it's getting crowded. We're not the only ones, as you said, Komatsu."

Komatsu added: "Yes, there are two of them: my friend Ootake and a rather well-known gourmet hunter, Sakasuki."

Toriko exclaimed, "Sakasuki came looking for fugu too," he said with a smile. "We'll see who catches the most," he added, jumping into the water.

Coco commented, "I see he's found a combi. Looks like he wants to taste different foods. Maybe he's aiming for the gourmet world."

Komatsu replied: "The gourmet world?"

"Yes, we'll talk about that later. The important thing is the fugu whale," said Coco before jumping into the water.

Sakasuki, already at three fugu in ten minutes, continued. "Not bad, but one fails. His pocket must have been near his eyes, too bad. I'll put it in another pocket for research." He looked at Ootake. "A fugu, he finally made it. I don't look at his failures, only at his success, which shows his talent to adapt. He still has to breathe every five minutes and I have to breathe every twenty. I can hold out for another ten minutes."

He saw two silhouettes approaching in the water. He was on his guard, but finally recognized Coco and Toriko. He nodded to them before continuing his hunt. Thirty minutes later, he had successfully retrieved eight fugu and Ootake four. They surfaced to breathe and rest on the sand.

Sakasuki warned, "Ootake, don't waste them all."

Ootake replied, "Don't worry, leave it to the chef." After eight fugu, he managed to remove the poison from the other four.

"Good, that's what I expect from my chef," thought Sakasuki.

Ootake asked, "What do we do with the ones that fail?"

Sakasuki replied, "We'll sell them to the IGO so they can do their research. Don't forget the demon snake. I want to taste its flesh, I think it must be very good."

Ootake replied: "I'll cook it, but I'll need fire - the little stove won't do for what I want to do."

Sakasuki assured him, "I've got just what you need."

He broke off pieces of stone from the cave walls.

"Magma Palm."

The stones were hot, but not to the point of bursting. He threw them into a crevice on the sand, which turned to glass.

Ootake said, "I can handle this." He pulled out his knife and sliced the Devil Snake.

"Impressive," thought Sakasuki, watching his performance. Ootake lifted a piece of the Devil Snake and began to cook it on his pan.

Sakasuki left him to his cooking and looked at the beach where Coco and Toriko were already. They had managed to catch ten fugu whales, and only eight had missed this time.

Komatsu looked at Ootake, enjoying his cooking. He must have seen Ootake's success in preparing four fugu whales as a challenge. Sakasuki returned his gaze to Ootake. Although he knew them, this wasn't the time for that right now.

Ootake finished: "We can start eating," he said.

He'd made fugu sashimi, sushi, cooked and with sea spices to add flavor.

"Itadakimasu!" Sakasuki took a bite. He felt various whale flavors mixed with the marine tone explode in his mouth. He took a sip of the broth, its flavor exceptional. He had saved the fins of three of the four fugu to marinate in sake. "Exceptional," he said.

Ootake replied, "It's to be expected, I'm the one cooking."

Sakasuki commented, "You're not lacking in egocentricity. What did you use to fry one of the fugu?"

"The tongue, it's super greasy. It adds a perfect flavor with the fugu, as if it was made for it."

Sakasuki added, "Anyway, it's delicious," he said, taking another bite. All his cells were boiling. 'Status.'

Sakasuki:

Age: 25

Level: 42

'It went up nicely,' . Then he looked at the cooked Devil Snake and began devouring it all, leaving of course for Ootake, who also had cells to feed. In twenty minutes, there was nothing left but a single fugu.

Ootake asked, "What are you going to do with the remaining fugu?"

Sakasuki replied, "Sell it. It's worth 500 million."

Ootake exclaimed, "500 million!"

Sakasuki confirmed, "Yes, with that we can buy some IGO items."

Ootake asked, "Give me 200 million. I want to buy a Melk knife."

Sakasuki replied, "OK, so get ready then. We're going to hunt a Warner shark, it lays sharp teeth used to make some Melk knives. It looks like the sea is calling us."

Ootake asked, "What about the fugu poison?"

Sakasuki replied, "It was good, good enough to feature in my no our special menu for the human world. After all, it's not just my cells that have evolved," he said, looking at Ootake.

Ootake:

Age: 22

Level: 15

Ootake replied: "Yes, my cells have evolved thanks to the fugu."

Toriko intervened: "And Sakasuki, are you ignoring us?"

Sakasuki replied: "Stop talking nonsense, I'm enjoying my fugu. The only reason you're here is because you finished yours."

Toriko laughed: "Haha, you've found me out. Can I have some?"

Sakasuki looked at Ootake.

Ootake replied, "I don't mind. I've already tasted everything, and it was fabulous. My cells have already improved. Come and taste my preparation."

Coco, Toriko and Komatsu joined them to taste the remaining fugu, fried in fugu tongue fat. Ten minutes later, there was nothing left but the 500 million fugu.

Toriko and Komatsu exclaimed, "It's shubarashi! Delicious."

"It's very good. You can taste the fat without it overpowering the taste," Komatsu added.

Komatsu added: "Take-chan, that was delicious. You even managed to prepare the fugu four times."

Ootake replied, "You did it too. The preparation of the fugu, you could have taken your dish with you so we could taste and compare tastes."

Komatsu apologized, "Sorry, we'll see about that next time."

Ootake replied, "Next time, you say? If our paths cross, that's fine with me. Are you aiming for the gourmet world too?"

These words woke everyone up.

Toriko asked, "Coco, do you want to go to the gourmet world?"

Sakasuki replied, "Yes, that's what I'm aiming for after tasting different high-level dishes, fighting different beasts, as well as getting my cells used to various environments and evolving them thanks to Ootake's cooking. Two of us will go to the gourmet world."

Coco added: "You even have a plan, Sakasuki."

Toriko replied, "Why all this planning? I think if the three of us go, we can probably fight monsters from the gourmet world."

Sakasuki replied, "Toriko, you're too naive. Even if five of us go, I think two or three of us will die."

Toriko replied, "You're imagining things."

Sakasuki explained, "The gourmet world is not a game. You have to be trained to enter it. None of us have strong enough cells."

Coco added: "I agree with Sakasuki. The gourmet world isn't for us yet, Toriko."

Sakasuki replied, "I'd so like to go there. You can't imagine my excitement and desire to dive into that part of the world, but I know that if I go, I'll die before I taste any food."

Coco and Toriko saw the passion emanating from Sakasuki and knew he wasn't lying for a second about his desire.

toriko "The gourmet world... The five of us could take a trip, the seven of us or more, to explore this world."

Sakasuki added: "We'll see if your cells keep up with mine. I'm sure Zebra's are higher than mine, but he'll stagnate since he's in prison."

Coco concludes, "Let's stop arguing, let's get out of the cave."

Before we even got up, although I already knew it, it didn't help when I saw the GT robot. My whole being told me he was extremely dangerous.

Whether it was me, Toriko, or even Coco, we prepared for the fight, which fortunately didn't happen.

Toriko asked, "What was that beast?"

Coco replied, "It's not a living being, but a machine."

Sakasuki explained, "What you've just seen is a GT robot belonging to the Gourmet Society. It sometimes attacks biotopes. How can you not know that?"

Toriko replied: "Gourmet Society," he said, watching the sea turn red.

Coco suggested, "Let's go home. He had come for the fugu whale He dived with his robot and retrieved fugu that were leaving after laying eggs."

We said "OK" in unison before heading up the path out of the cave. We faced more Devil Snakes. I kept one to sell on the market too.

When we reached the entrance, what awaited us was the slaughter of various idiots trying to steal fugu and a shocked journalist who couldn't move.