Toriko: Gourmet Chat Group

Melk's Stardust was a mineral more brilliant than gold. Its beautiful, dazzling appearance made it impossible to associate with a simple whetstone. Its powder was also an extremely special seasoning. Kenji wondered if licking it directly would taste salty.

"Sugoi! So this is Melk's Stardust?"

Melk the Second gazed at the cave filled with golden ore and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement. It was her first time seeing this fantastical whetstone, and there was so much of it. For a grinder like her, Melk's Stardust held an indescribable allure. It was a divine artifact. With this kind of whetstone, her work would be twice as effective, and many difficult materials would no longer be a problem.

"Take as much as you want. There's plenty of it down here," Melk the First said with a smile.

Heh, you said it yourself. I won't be polite, then.

Kenji waved his hand, and half of the Melk's Stardust in the cave vanished into his storage. Melk the First's jaw dropped. You really aren't polite at all, are you?

But... he let it go. It was better to bring more of it to the surface for his daughter to use in the future. As a doting father, especially one who felt he owed his daughter for so many lost years, he had to compensate her properly. Besides, other than its powder being a seasoning, the mineral wasn't of much use to Kenji and the others.

"Master, we'll be heading back now. Please take care of yourself down here."

With the knot in her heart untied, Melk the Second's eyes shone with a new, stronger confidence. Melk the First was gratified. If he had known, he would have just written a letter for his daughter back then, and it wouldn't have affected her for so many years. I could just kick myself.

"I know. I'll head back to the surface as soon as I finish this knife."

Kenji took the two women and, with a flash of spatial travel, instantly returned them to Melk's workshop on the surface.

The sudden spatial shift left Melk the Second a bit dazed. Is he using hacks?

He's not using them... because he never turned them off.

"Do you need a moment to recover?" Atashino asked with concern.

"No need. I'm in my best state right now," Melk the Second said with utter confidence. Having received her master's acknowledgment, she felt like she had unlimited power.

Kenji and Atashino exchanged a smile. The current Melk the Second already had the dignified air of a grandmaster.

[Stank]: @Star Forger Kenji, do you have any intel on Hydra?

Although Tony had connections, an organization like Hydra was incredibly difficult to investigate.

[Star Forger]: After you developed the Iron Man armor, S.H.I.E.L.D. will make contact with you. And that organization, S.H.I.E.L.D., has been almost completely infiltrated by Hydra.

[Stank]: You're kidding me. It's more like Hydra-Shield, then?

Still, the information was useful. He had already applied the new element to replace palladium, putting him years ahead of schedule and giving him more time to develop even stronger armors. He would have to be much more careful when dealing with S.H.I.E.L.D. from now on. The people who came to see him could very well be Hydra agents.

[Star Forger]: Hydra-Shield is a very fitting name. After all, even their top brass has Hydra members.

[Monkey D. Kizaru]: Kowai ne~ For an organization to be infiltrated so thoroughly... it feels like it's doomed to fail sooner or later.

Kizaru thought about the Marines. That probably isn't happening with us... right?

[Star Forger]: It's actually not that bad. Compared to the 'Winery' in another world, S.H.I.E.L.D. still has some people who aren't Hydra.

[Dian Mei Ruan]: I've successfully cultivated Devil Fruits. Does anyone want to try one?

The Devil Fruits she cultivated wouldn't cause weakness upon contact with Sea-Prism Stone, but she was unaware that this trade-off had made their taste even more... "delicious."

[Monkey D. Kizaru]: That's really impressive, but I think I'll pass.

To this day, Kizaru could not forget the taste experience of eating the Glint-Glint Fruit. He really did not want a repeat of that.

[Star Forger]: Ruan Mei, you should stop tormenting the group members. Go find some other guinea pigs for your experiments.

Kenji had no need for Devil Fruit powers; he could already create them from scratch himself.

[God's Tongue]: Is there a fruit that's suitable for me?

Erina was also a little curious and longed for supernatural powers.

[Star Forger]: Erina-chan, I strongly advise you not to eat one. Otherwise...

The God's Tongue tasting a Devil Fruit... the result would be too beautiful to imagine. He was genuinely worried Erina might die from the sheer disgusting taste. Then he'd have to ask Hu Tao to handle an inter-dimensional funeral service.

"Atashino, try this Op-Op Fruit."

Kenji took out a heart-shaped fruit with intricate patterns on it. This was a fruit he had created based on his own understanding of the Op-Op Fruit. Since he had a real Devil Fruit to use as a reference, the difficulty wasn't too great. It had all the same abilities as the genuine article, except for the ultimate Immortality Operation.

Unlike the fruits Ruan Mei created, he had removed the horrible taste. It should taste just like a peach. Since Atashino was a doctor, the Op-Op Fruit would be an excellent supporting ability for her. And in the world of Toriko, thanks to the Food Immersion ability, she would never be short on the energy required to use its powers.

"What a strange fruit," Atashino said. She took a bite and confirmed it was just like a normal peach, with a standard, pleasant taste.

"Room—"

Activating the ability, a hemispherical space formed around them. Atashino had a feeling that she could do many things within this space if she wanted to, such as swapping objects. However, this was Melk's workshop, not a place for experimentation.

"Thank you. This ability is not bad at all."

A FEW DAYS LATER—

Awoooo—

A wolf's howl that shook the heavens echoed out, accompanied by waves of an incredibly sharp aura. The walls and floor of the workshop were instantly scarred with new, fresh cuts.

It was done!

Kenji and Atashino looked at each other. They knew Melk the Second had finished grinding the knives.

"Second."

They entered the lower-level workshop. The floor of the room was covered everywhere in golden powder, and a very peculiar fragrance filled the air. But their attention was focused entirely on the knives in Melk the Second's hands.

In her left hand, Melk the Second held a Western-style chef's knife; in her right, a Chinese-style cleaver. They had no other color but a pure, silver-white luster, with exquisite patterns faintly visible on the blades. A sharp knife energy emanated from the blades, seeming as if a light swing could cleave mountains and split stone.

"The material was too large, so I made two knives for you," the Second's voice was tinged with exhaustion. Grinding two knives in a row had taken a huge toll on her stamina. The fang of the Battle Wolf King Guinness was far too hard. If not for the Melk's Stardust, the whetstones in the workshop would have been completely unable to process this material.

"You've worked hard. The First was right, little sister Second, your skills have reached the pinnacle of perfection." Atashino looked at the two knives with ecstasy. With this level of sharpness, she could handle any ingredient with complete confidence, without ever worrying about the blades getting damaged.

The hilts of the knives were engraved with Melk the Second's personal mark. This was the first work she had completed since regaining her confidence. The combination of material and technique made these two knives rank among the very best in the world.

"I still have a lot of room for improvement," Melk the Second pledged. "If you have any other grinding-related matters in the future, feel free to entrust them to me."

Until Melk the First returned, she would carry the name of "Melk" and not allow it to fall into decline.