Chapter 322

While Haruto and the others were still talking, the Gourmet Hunters nearby could no longer contain themselves and began making their moves.

One of them lit a stick of dynamite and threw it beneath a Surprise Apple tree.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion shook the orchard.

The Surprise Apples hanging from the surrounding trees immediately began screaming.

"AAAAAAAH—!"

Hundreds, even thousands, of apples with humanlike faces shrieked wildly from the branches, creating an indescribably bizarre scene.

"What is this?!"

Komatsu recoiled in shock, staring at the screaming apples around him in disbelief.

Tina’s explanation had prepared him somewhat, but actually seeing apples with human faces twist into such vivid expressions and scream at the top of their lungs was still deeply unsettling.

"They really do have human faces! And they can scream too... Are these things actually alive?"

"Wait, are they really fruit?"

He could hardly be blamed for asking.

These apples had faces, expressions, and voices.

"Of course they’re fruit. They grow on trees."

Haruto gave Komatsu a serious look.

"And as far as I can sense, they only have the life signature of plants."

There was no animal-like life force coming from the Surprise Apples at all.

They were unquestionably plants.

The fact that they could make expressions and scream was certainly unusual, but in the world of Toriko, it was hardly the strangest thing imaginable.

This was a world where entire roasted pigs could walk around on their own.

Compared with that, apples with human faces were almost ordinary.

Komatsu nodded as though he understood, though his expression suggested otherwise.

He looked around at the Gourmet Hunters busily preparing their methods and tilted his head.

"Everyone’s really fired up!"

Some were using machine guns.

Others had explosives.

"They’re worth a lot of money," Toriko replied casually. "Of course everyone’s going all out."

He rolled one wrist, excitement gleaming in his eyes, then clenched his fist as the muscles throughout his body tightened.

"All right! We should get started too!"

"I’m definitely getting the highest-level Surprise Apple here. I can’t wait to find out what it tastes like!"

"I’m looking forward to it too."

Haruto nodded as he studied the trees filled with bright red apples, all wearing terrified expressions from the various scares happening around them.

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

There were plenty of things he could make with apples.

A sweet-and-tart Surprise Apple pie with a crisp crust and warm caramel poured over the top.

A refreshing Surprise Apple salad paired with yogurt and nuts.

Or perhaps even Surprise Apple risotto, letting the fruit’s aroma seep directly into the rice.

Just imagining the possibilities made Haruto eager to start.

Then Toriko suddenly turned toward him.

"Haruto, how about a competition?"

"Let’s see who can harvest a Surprise Apple with the higher Surprise Level!"

Toriko could clearly tell that Haruto had become vastly stronger than before.

Rather than discouraging him, however, that only made him more excited.

"Sure."

Haruto nodded with complete confidence.

His strength was nothing like it had been the last time he visited this world.

As far as he was concerned, this contest was already his.

Teppei glanced at Toriko and Haruto, both clearly brimming with competitive spirit, and helplessly shook his head.

He turned back toward the apple trees and began carefully examining their condition.

As a Regenerator, he had no intention of joining this kind of competition.

Komatsu, meanwhile, stood nearby with a puzzled expression.

Toriko had mentioned something called a "Surprise Level," but Komatsu had no idea what that actually meant.

He looked toward Teppei.

"Mr. Teppei, what exactly is a Surprise Level?"

Teppei immediately answered in a serious tone.

"It’s a numerical measurement of how frightened a Surprise Apple has become."

"That number directly determines both the quality and the price of the apple."

Then, after the briefest pause, Teppei launched into a much more detailed explanation.

"Surprise Levels range from one to one hundred, and the market value changes dramatically depending on the level."

"For example, if you fire a machine gun repeatedly at a Surprise Apple, it usually reaches about Level Three."

"For apples below Level Three, the price is calculated by multiplying the Surprise Level by fifty thousand yen."

"If you use a rocket launcher, you can generally reach Level Four or higher."

"Incidentally, from Level Four all the way through Level Sixty, the price formula changes to Surprise Level multiplied by five hundred thousand yen."

"And if you want to reach Level Sixty, you’re probably looking at something on the scale of a missile—"

Teppei grew more animated with every sentence.

He had thoroughly researched Surprise Apples beforehand and clearly had no shortage of information to share.

Komatsu’s smile gradually froze.

’Why did I ask him?’

He had only wanted a simple explanation.

Instead, Teppei had immediately launched into a lecture with no apparent ending.

But interrupting him now felt rude, leaving Komatsu with no choice but to stand there helplessly and listen.

Meanwhile, Toriko had already finished preparing.

He glanced at Haruto and grinned.

"I’ll go first!"

Toriko reached into the box he had brought with him and pulled out an unremarkable little stone.

He had specifically borrowed it from the original Melk.

The stone possessed the ability to amplify sound.

Toriko walked beneath one of the Surprise Apple trees and selected an especially bright, healthy-looking apple.

He inhaled deeply until his chest expanded, brought the stone up near his mouth, and roared with all his might.

"AAAAAAAHHHH—!!!"

The amplified sound erupted outward like a tidal wave.

Branches shook violently in its path, and even the ground trembled faintly.

The nearby Gourmet Hunters were caught completely off guard.

Their ears rang painfully from the sudden blast.

Several people standing too close were outright thrown backward by the sound wave, landing in a daze and struggling to get up.

Tina flinched so badly that she nearly dropped her camera.

She recovered almost instantly, however, and immediately pointed it toward Toriko with an excited expression.

The Surprise Apple Toriko had targeted looked absolutely terrified.

Its face twisted in panic.

The instant Toriko judged the timing right, he quickly plucked it from the branch.

The moment it was harvested, the horrified expression on the apple’s face froze permanently.

Its Surprise Level was now fixed.

Toriko had officially captured his first Surprise Apple.

The surrounding area fell quiet.

Every Gourmet Hunter nearby stared at him in shock.

That roar had been terrifying.

It had felt even more intense than a rocket blast.

No one was more excited than Tina.

She rushed straight toward Toriko with her camera raised and aimed it at the apple in his hand.

"Now this is huge news!"

"Gourmet Hunter Toriko has successfully captured a Surprise Apple using nothing but a single roar!"

"What Surprise Level did that incredible scare achieve? Let’s find out!"

Her voice practically overflowed with excitement.

Just then, Apollon approached.

"My, my~ What a wonderful performance, Toriko~"

"Bring it here and let me have a look~"

Toriko immediately handed over the Surprise Apple.

Apollon carefully examined the frozen expression on its face.

"My~ This one, hmm~"

After a brief pause, he loudly announced,

"Surprise Level... Twenty-Seven~!"

Then he returned the apple to Toriko.

A wave of shocked exclamations spread through the nearby Gourmet Hunters.

A Level Twenty-Seven Surprise Apple was worth twenty-seven times five hundred thousand yen.

Thirteen and a half million yen.

Toriko had made more than ten million yen with a single shout.

Seeing that result sent the surrounding hunters into a frenzy.

Everyone suddenly began trying even harder to frighten the apples.

Explosions and screams erupted throughout the orchard once again, now ten times louder and more chaotic than before.

Haruto looked at the grotesquely terrified Level Twenty-Seven apple in Toriko’s hand and smiled.

"Not bad. Twenty-seven on your first try."

"Looks like you’re in good form today."

"Of course!"

Toriko nodded confidently.

He had prepared thoroughly for this.

Haruto chuckled.

Now it was his turn.

Before making his move, however, he looked toward Kagura and Kanna, who had been quietly watching nearby.

"Kagura, Kanna, you two should give it a try as well."

"Don’t hold back. Use whatever methods suit you best."

"And if possible, try to harvest plenty of high-level apples."

An event this interesting would be a waste not to participate in.

Haruto was also genuinely curious what Surprise Levels Kagura and Kanna could achieve.

"No problem!"

Kagura opened her fan with an eager smile and stared up at the apples.

"This does look fun."

She had already thought of several interesting ways to frighten them.

Kanna raised her head and looked at the terrified faces hanging from the branches, then glanced toward Haruto and gave a small nod.

Inside, however, she felt slightly lost.

’How exactly am I supposed to scare an apple?’