Toriko: Gourmet Chat Group

Jiro left with the Blue Nitro's two arms, planning to have Setsuno cook them up as a little snack to go with his drinks. He offered a silent "thanks for the arms, little lizard."

With the Blue Nitro dealt with, he happily returned to his one-on-one time with Setsuno.

"Atashino, how are you getting along with Kenji as your partner?" Ichiryu asked with a warm smile. He had none of the airs of a top-tier powerhouse and felt more like a kind, elderly next-door neighbor.

"We get along very well. We've encountered and cooked a lot of amazing ingredients during this time," Atashino replied with a satisfied smile.

"That's good to hear. I was originally thinking of testing your strength, Kenji, but I see there's no need for that now," Ichiryu said, chuckling.

Anyone who could hold back a Blue Nitro was undoubtedly a top-tier powerhouse, worthy of a high rank among the world's strongest.

"Why don't you come to my place for a while?" Ichiryu offered with a smile.

Kenji had no objections. Komatsu's Century Soup should be ready soon anyway. He could go taste it, share some with the chat group, and then take the rest to Neuvillette.

[Star Forger]: Is everyone doing alright?

Although the Sky Vegetable Garden was vast, the thought of over a dozen people having to make emergency bathroom trips there was a bit awkward. They had all returned to their own worlds.

[Miss Pink Elf♪]: You really can't eat too many of those vegetables. They taste wonderful, but their... cleansing effect is a little too good ♪.

She ate vegetables regularly, but never that many at once. Even her Herrscher body couldn't avoid the urgent call of nature.

[Ahoge King]: Delicious! It was even more delicious than Sir Gawain's mashed potatoes. I never knew such wonderful ingredients existed in this world.

The flavor of the vegetables had completely conquered her palate. After eating them, Artoria was left wondering what exactly she had been eating all her life. What kind of hardship had she been enduring?

[Gudako]: Ahhh, so refreshing~ After a trip to the toilet, I feel so pure~

[The Champion]: The vegetables were nice, but it would have been even better if there was ice cream.

[Star Forger]: Oh, there is. There's a whole mountain range made of ice cream. You can eat it for every meal.

[The Champion]: You must take me there next time.

An ice cream mountain range! Cynthia's eyes sparkled. That sounded absolutely wonderful.

[The Destroyer]: @Star Forger Kenji, that guy named Geiz... his strength feels a little lacking.

With just a slight effort, he had kicked Geiz right out of his transformation. Oh, look, Kamen Rider Revive got his butt kicked. You're welcome, Brother Decade.

[Star Forger]: He's actually not bad. He just has a habit of getting defeated a lot.

Brother Decade alone had kicked Geiz out of his transformation several times. Being a secondary Rider truly came with a "get beaten up" attribute.

[The Destroyer]: With his current power level, it's true he's very likely to get his butt kicked.

Tsukasa Kadoya still had many cards he hadn't used. Besides, bullying Geiz was actually pretty fun.

"Senior Uncle, this is the dessert from my Full Course, Heat Planet."

"And this is Cryophoenix Amber Soup, my soup course."

When meeting an elder, one naturally had to present the best ingredients, and their Full Course items were perfect for the occasion.

BOOM!

The moment Ichiryu took a bite, his eyes widened slightly. His muscles instantly charged and swelled, turning him into a small giant as a terrifyingly immense aura erupted from his body. Kenji and Atashino both felt their breathing become suppressed. The pressure was simply overwhelming.

As expected of the man who stands at the pinnacle of this planet.

Kenji knew that Ichiryu normally ate ingredients with very low Capture Levels and little energy. His body was essentially in a constant state of starvation. The energy from the Heat Planet and the Cryophoenix Amber Soup gave Ichiryu a massive, instantaneous charge.

"Yo, Ichiryu! Did the sun rise in the west today? You're finally eating something good!"

Don Slime had been blasted out by the sheer energy and was now conversing with Ichiryu in shock. After all, the things Ichiryu usually ate were so pathetic he never had a proper meal. Don Slime had been left speechless countless times over the years. No matter what he said, Ichiryu would eat the most ordinary things, even non-ingredients like Million Seeds.

But this meal was different. The energy it contained was so vast that even Don Slime had been stirred.

"Heat Planet... what a nostalgic taste. I once ate a much larger, star-sized Heat Planet back in the day."

"The aura of a phoenix? I didn't expect such a creature to exist in this universe."

Don Slime was so moved he was on the verge of tears. He wished Ichiryu would just eat more good food so he could unlock even greater power. The only reason he stuck with Ichiryu was because he acknowledged him; otherwise, he would have switched hosts long ago.

"Don Slime, these are ingredients from my junior nephew's Full Course. It seems you're quite satisfied." Ichiryu's body returned to its original form, but his face looked much younger, radiating a heroic vigor. It had been hundreds of years since he'd eaten such high-energy food.

"The energy in this is countless times stronger than those ordinary things you eat," Don Slime said. Although this meal wasn't as moving as that one bowl of beans from the past, he was just as happy to see Ichiryu eating well. He had recognized Ichiryu's latent talent; he was the most brilliant genius. If he just kept eating, Ichiryu's power could grow stronger than anyone else's.

Ichiryu was already strong, but he was always in a state of starvation. Don Slime worried that if he encountered a formidable enemy, Ichiryu might tragically fall in battle—a fate Don Slime did not want to see. However, he had to admit that it was this simple and noble quality that made him admire Ichiryu in the first place.

Listening to Don Slime's grumbling, Ichiryu simply smiled. It had been this way for many years. He didn't particularly care about power. His dream was for everyone in the world to sit at the same dinner table—whether strong or weak, all enjoying a meal with a smile. And he was working hard to achieve that dream. Although he hadn't managed to feed everyone, he had made it possible for most people in the Human World to have food on their plates.

"These are truly delicious ingredients," Ichiryu said with a smile.

"I'm glad you like them, Senior Uncle," Kenji said. "Master told me that you aren't at your peak strength. Is that true?"

"You could say that."

Ichiryu didn't deny it. He hadn't properly recharged his energy in many years, so his strength was indeed not at its peak. However, by using Don Slime's power, his strength would become even greater.

Don Slime chimed in, "You better believe it, Ichiryu! Hurry up and eat something good so we can go on a rampage!"

"Senior Uncle, I have a question," Kenji said, his face full of curiosity. "It's rumored that the Gourmet God Acacia is dead. What was he killed by?"

Ichiryu's expression remained unchanged, but a light flickered in the depths of his pupils.

Acacia isn't dead, so how could he have been killed? He's still alive and well. It's just been some years since we last met. He should be somewhere in the Gourmet World now.

"I don't know," Ichiryu said, for once not telling the truth. "Back then, Master Acacia left all by himself."

He was one of the few who knew that Acacia was still alive, but the matter was too complicated. He couldn't casually tell others. If Jiro and Midora found out, they would undoubtedly go searching for Acacia.

~~~

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