Chapter 327

Haruto held his breath as he approached the Air Tree.

Although the tree was currently releasing oxygen, breathing in too much of it would still cause oxygen toxicity. His bloodshot eyes, blurred vision, and numb limbs from earlier had already made that painfully clear.

Once he reached the tree, Haruto extended his right hand and manifested the Gourmet Restaurant, enveloping the entire Air Tree within its domain.

Through Ingredient Deconstruction, the tree’s internal structure immediately became clear to him. He could "see" every tiny network running through its trunk, "hear" the sap flowing through those channels, and even "feel" the movement of air inside each fruit.

At the same time, unfamiliar knowledge surfaced naturally in his mind.

Haruto instantly understood how the Air Tree had to be prepared.

The difficulty of preparing an ordinary Air Tree Fruit did not actually lie with the fruit itself.

It lay with the tree.

Under natural conditions, the fruit of an Air Tree would never truly ripen. It would remain perpetually immature.

To obtain a fully matured fruit, the tree itself had to be prepared using a special technique that redirected all of its stored nutrients into the fruit, forcing it to complete its ripening process.

Haruto drew Myriad Worlds.

Its blade gleamed coldly beneath the mottled sunlight filtering through the canopy.

He took a careful breath to replenish the oxygen in his body, then turned his wrist.

Myriad Worlds transformed into streaks of silver-white light that flashed rapidly across the Air Tree’s smooth white trunk.

The sound of the blade entering the wood was so faint it was almost inaudible.

Every cut Haruto made was astonishingly precise, severing exactly the internal channels responsible for transporting nutrients. He never damaged the tree’s vital structure, yet perfectly altered the direction in which its nutrients would flow.

Once the final cut was complete, Haruto immediately sheathed Myriad Worlds, withdrew the Gourmet Restaurant, and retreated to a safe distance.

He sat down on a fallen tree trunk, folded his arms, and patiently waited.

Time passed.

Before long, subtle changes began appearing in the previously motionless Air Tree.

The fruits hanging from its branches slowly swelled as large quantities of pure air began pouring from them.

Then a sweet, refreshing fragrance spread through the clearing.

The scent was almost irresistibly enticing—clean, crisp, and delicately sweet.

Just breathing in the aroma made Haruto’s body feel lighter, while saliva flooded his mouth involuntarily.

"Just the smell is already making it hard to resist."

Haruto swallowed.

Even so, he knew the fruit was not ready yet.

Harvesting it now would only waste an exceptionally rare ingredient.

Suppressing his appetite, he continued waiting patiently.

As time passed, the sweet fragrance grew steadily richer until it nearly filled the entire clearing.

The Air Tree’s hanging branches began trembling softly, while the fruits grew plumper and their surfaces developed an increasingly vivid sheen.

Just as they were nearing full maturity, Haruto suddenly felt the ground tremble beneath his feet.

At first, it was barely noticeable, like something enormous moving somewhere in the distance.

Then the vibrations rapidly intensified.

The surrounding trees began shaking violently, and countless leaves rained down from the canopy.

THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!

Heavy footsteps approached from afar, each one sending another tremor through the earth.

Haruto raised an eyebrow and looked toward the sound.

A gigantic white figure was charging through the forest at astonishing speed.

Trees snapped apart in its path as dirt and debris sprayed into the air.

Moments later, a King Gorilla burst into the clearing.

It stood more than ten meters tall and was covered in dense white fur. Massive muscles bulged beneath its coat like carved granite, packed with terrifying strength, while each fist was larger than a millstone.

Clearly, the beast had smelled the ripening Air Tree Fruit and raced here to claim it.

The King Gorilla glanced briefly at Haruto standing near the tree, but paid him almost no attention.

Its entire focus was fixed on the fruit.

Without hesitation, it charged straight toward the Air Tree.

"You planning to steal my food?"

Haruto’s expression cooled.

A powerful pressure erupted from his body, so dense it almost seemed tangible.

It swept toward the King Gorilla, making the surrounding air feel as though it had suddenly solidified.

The beast, which had completely ignored Haruto until now, abruptly froze.

Its charging body came to a violent stop.

It turned toward Haruto and stared at him before opening its enormous jaws and releasing a thunderous roar of intimidation.

"ROOOAAAR—!!!"

The sound exploded through the forest like thunder, making Haruto’s ears ring.

The King Gorilla pounded both fists against its chest as it roared, producing deep booming impacts. Its thick white fur stood on end as it assumed an aggressive stance.

"Pretty fierce, aren’t you?"

Haruto grinned.

He flexed his fingers, his knuckles cracking sharply.

Since this stubborn beast wanted to steal his ingredient, it could serve as a convenient sparring partner.

Haruto was curious how much of his combat strength he could still bring out under the Gourmet World’s increased gravity.

He kicked off the ground.

His body shot forward like an arrow.

The King Gorilla roared and swung one of its enormous fists downward, the strike tearing through the air with a violent howl.

Haruto did not dodge.

He clenched his own fist, gathered the strength of his entire body into his right arm, and met the giant fist head-on.

BOOM—!!!

Their fists collided with a deep, explosive impact.

A visible shock wave erupted from the point of contact, flattening the surrounding grass and sending fallen leaves, stones, and debris spiraling into the air.

For a brief moment, neither side moved.

Then the King Gorilla’s face twisted in shock.

A level of strength far beyond anything it had expected surged through Haruto’s fist.

Crack.

The faint sound of breaking bone rang out.

A moment later, the King Gorilla’s enormous body was launched backward.

It flew through the air in a long arc before smashing into a huge tree more than ten meters away.

BOOM!

The trunk, thick enough for two people to wrap their arms around, snapped beneath the impact and crashed to the ground.

Dust filled the clearing.

The King Gorilla lay embedded among the shattered wood, groaning in pain.

Haruto spared it a glance before immediately turning his attention back toward the Air Tree.

The tree was now undergoing a dramatic transformation.

Its drooping branches began rising as though pulled upward by invisible hands.

The fruits at their tips moved closer together until they touched.

As the sweet fragrance became increasingly concentrated, the separate fruits began merging.

One after another, they fused together until only a single fruit remained.

This was the true mature form of an Air Tree Fruit.

All of the nutrients accumulated within the tree had been concentrated into one final fruit.

The instant that process finished, the fruit detached from the branches and fell.

As soon as it separated from the tree, an enormous burst of pure air erupted from it, forming a white ring that swept outward through the clearing.

"Not good!"

Haruto’s eyes sharpened.

If the fruit struck the ground, its flavor could easily be affected.

There was no chance he was going to allow that.

Without hesitation, Haruto used Shave.

The ground beneath his feet cracked apart as his figure vanished into a blur.

He crossed dozens of meters in an instant and appeared directly beneath the falling fruit.

Haruto stretched out both arms and caught it securely.

The surface felt soft beneath his fingers, yet the fruit itself was unexpectedly heavy.

Its entire body was a vivid green and resembled an enormous cabbage.

At the same time, the refreshing sweetness radiating from it had reached an almost overwhelming intensity, surrounding Haruto like something tangible.

Every pore in his body seemed to greedily inhale the fragrance.

"Whew..."

Haruto breathed out slowly and stared at the Air Tree Fruit in his hands, his throat moving as he swallowed.

If the aroma alone was this irresistible, he could hardly imagine how incredible the fruit itself would taste.

Unfortunately, just as Haruto prepared to enjoy it, a violent rush of wind suddenly came from behind him.

"ROOOAAAR—!!!"

The King Gorilla he had sent flying earlier charged back into the clearing, burning with rage.

One of its arms hung at an unnatural angle, clearly fractured by their previous clash, yet the overwhelming desire for the Air Tree Fruit had completely overridden its pain and fear.

"Looks like you still haven’t learned."

Haruto’s expression darkened.

Being interrupted right when he was about to enjoy something delicious was especially irritating.

Before he could deal with the gorilla, however, another low growl came from the opposite direction.

A massive yellow-and-black figure burst from the forest and landed not far from Haruto.

It was an Asura Tiger more than ten meters long, possessing three ferocious tiger heads. Bloodlust gleamed in its eyes, and its razor-sharp claws carved deep furrows into the ground with every movement.

Clearly, it too had been drawn here by the aroma of the ripe Air Tree Fruit.

Now the King Gorilla stood on one side and the Asura Tiger on the other, forming a pincer around Haruto.

Both Gourmet World beasts stared hungrily at the Air Tree Fruit in his hands.