Chapter 319

Komatsu leaned over the side of the boat and watched the coastline gradually recede into the distance. After a while, he finally turned around and looked at Toriko, who was busy devouring the food prepared for the trip.

Toriko was currently gnawing on a cob of Bone Corn. The golden kernels were as plump as pearls, bursting with juice whenever his teeth crunched through them.

"Mr. Toriko, what ingredient are we going to capture?"

Toriko had only told him there was a rare ingredient they were going after and asked him to meet at the harbor. He had not had a chance to explain the details.

"We’re going after Surprise Apples."

Toriko shoved the last bite of corn into his mouth and casually tossed the bone-like cob into the sea.

It had barely hit the water before a huge fish leapt from beneath the surface and swallowed it whole.

Toriko wiped his mouth and looked at Komatsu, his eyes shining with anticipation.

He had been waiting for this day for a long time. Ever since word first came from the IGO Gourmet Research Institute that they had successfully cultivated Surprise Apples artificially, Toriko had been counting down to harvest season.

"Surprise Apples?"

Komatsu frowned in confusion.

"What kind of ingredient is that? I’ve never even heard of it!"

As a chef working at an IGO-affiliated Gourmet Hotel, Komatsu had at least heard of most known ingredients.

Yet the name Surprise Apple meant absolutely nothing to him.

Toriko reached over, picked up a double beef burger, and took an enormous bite.

Juice poured from the thick patties, mixing with melted cheese and the refreshing crunch of lettuce.

After chewing contentedly and swallowing, he finally explained,

"They’re apples whose flavor changes when they get scared."

"The sweetness, acidity, aroma, and even the texture of the flesh all change depending on how intense the fright was."

Just imagining the unknown flavor made Toriko hungry all over again.

His stomach let out a thunderous growl.

Haruto picked up one of the whole roasted pigs that had been prepared on the boat.

Its skin was crisp and golden, shining almost like glazed glass. Even a light touch produced a delicate crackling sound.

Haruto tore off the plumpest hind leg and handed it to Toriko.

"Here."

"Thanks, Haruto!"

Toriko accepted it without hesitation and immediately started tearing into the meat.

The crisp skin crackled loudly between his teeth, and the rich fragrance of roasted pork spread across the entire deck.

Watching Toriko eat made Haruto’s own appetite flare.

He swallowed, grabbed the rest of the roasted pig, and began eating as well.

Traveling with Toriko always seemed to make him hungrier.

Tom glanced back at the bewildered Komatsu and added,

"You almost never see Surprise Apples on the market."

"I only found out recently through an internal IGO source that they’d reached the stage where they could finally be harvested in large quantities."

Of course, by "internal source," he meant Toriko.

"Exactly."

Toriko spoke around another mouthful of pork.

"So it’s perfectly normal that you haven’t heard of them."

After stripping every last bit of meat from the leg, Toriko tossed the bone into the sea and continued explaining the origin of Surprise Apples to the still-curious Komatsu.

"Surprise Apples originally grew on a place called Battle Island."

"No humans live there. The island is filled with ferocious beasts, and those animals spend their entire lives fighting from the moment they’re born."

"Surprise Apples evolved in that environment."

"A few years ago, the IGO sent an expedition to Battle Island and brought back Surprise Apple seeds. After years of cultivation experiments, they finally succeeded in growing them artificially."

Haruto listened thoughtfully.

He already knew about Surprise Apples themselves, but Battle Island was new to him.

An island filled with beasts that fought every day...

The meat on creatures like that had to be incredibly firm and springy.

Slow-roasted over a gentle fire so the fat gradually rendered out, then seasoned with a little rock salt and black pepper...

Haruto could already imagine how good it would taste.

Komatsu took a moment to process everything before staring at Toriko in disbelief.

"So... we’re going there to scare apples?"

They actually had to frighten the fruit before harvesting it.

The idea completely overturned everything Komatsu thought he knew about apples.

"That’s right!"

Toriko nodded enthusiastically.

"The more frightened a Surprise Apple becomes, the better it tastes!"

"I can’t wait to find out what the highest-grade ones taste like."

A drop of saliva escaped the corner of his mouth as he spoke.

Toriko had specifically prepared and practiced for this harvest.

This time, he was determined to obtain an exceptionally high-level Surprise Apple.

Kagura leaned against the side of the boat, listening with obvious interest.

She gently moved her fan and spoke quietly to Kanna beside her.

"I never imagined this world could have ingredients this strange."

Kanna glanced at Kagura without replying, though curiosity had clearly begun to stir in her as well.

Then—

BOOM!

A deafening explosion erupted somewhere in the distance.

Before anyone could react, a second followed.

Then a third.

Explosions continued one after another, sending ripples across the surface of the sea and making the speedboat tremble faintly beneath their feet.

"What was that?!"

Komatsu jolted in fright and looked around frantically, convinced they had encountered some kind of danger.

"We can see the island now!"

Tom pointed toward the distant horizon.

"We’re almost there!"

He was clearly looking forward to the Surprise Apple harvest as well.

"We’re already close to Surprise Island?!"

Toriko sprang to his feet, instantly fired up.

He looked as though he wanted to jump off the boat and rush there himself.

"Surprise Island?"

Komatsu looked at him in confusion.

"Surprise Island is an uninhabited island under IGO management," Toriko explained casually, his eyes fixed on the dark speck becoming steadily clearer in the distance. "It used to be an ordinary deserted island, but once they started using it specifically to cultivate Surprise Apples, everyone started calling it Surprise Island."

"The entire island is basically one enormous Surprise Apple farm."

As the speedboat drew closer, the explosions became louder and more frequent, making everyone’s ears ring.

The salty scent of the sea was now mixed with faint traces of gunpowder and the barely perceptible sweetness of apples.

"What kind of explosions are those?! They’re ridiculously loud!"

Komatsu clapped both hands over his ears.

He had never heard explosions this frequent or powerful before.

It sounded as though the entire island were being bombarded by artillery.

"To help the Surprise Apples grow properly, the farm fires shells all day long."

Toriko had clearly done his homework beforehand.

"They’re specially designed, though. They only create huge noises and shock waves, so they don’t actually damage the apple trees."

"By exposing the apples to constant scares like that, they grow healthier."

"Artillery shells?!"

Komatsu’s mouth fell open.

They used artillery just to grow apples?

That was insane.

"This really is interesting."

Kagura opened her fan.

A gentle current of wind formed around her, muffling most of the deafening noise.

She narrowed her eyes slightly as she felt the shock waves traveling through the air.

"So nobody normally lives on this island?"

Haruto asked.

"Right."

Toriko nodded.

"No ordinary person could tolerate this much noise for long, so nobody wants to live here permanently."

"Of course they don’t!"

Komatsu shouted over the explosions, still covering his ears.

"You’d go deaf living here!"

Amid the constant booming, the speedboat gradually slowed before finally docking at Surprise Island’s harbor.

The port itself was fairly simple, though several other boats were already moored nearby.

A handful of IGO employees stood at the entrance to the Surprise Apple plantation, checking the Gourmet Hunters and chefs arriving for the harvest.

The moment Haruto and the others stepped onto the pier, an even richer apple fragrance washed over them.

Mixed with the smell of gunpowder, it created a strange yet oddly appetizing aroma.

"Come on. Let’s head inside."

Toriko led the way toward the entrance.

The IGO employees smiled when they recognized Toriko and Komatsu.

However, when they noticed Haruto, Kagura, and Kanna following behind them, they hesitated.

"Mr. Toriko, these three are...?"

One of the employees asked cautiously.

Under IGO regulations, only affiliated Gourmet Hunters and chefs were allowed onto Surprise Island to harvest apples.

Unrelated visitors were prohibited.

Otherwise, no matter how many Surprise Apples the IGO grew, there would never be enough to go around.

"They’re my friends."

Toriko answered casually.

"This is Haruto, and those two are Kagura and Kanna. I invited all of them."

"If they’re Mr. Toriko’s guests, then please go right ahead!"

The employee immediately stepped aside.

"We hope you manage to harvest the very best Surprise Apples!"

They all knew Toriko was the adopted son of IGO Chairman Ichiryu.

Bringing a few friends along was hardly an issue.

Toriko nodded and walked through the entrance first.

Haruto and the others followed close behind.