Chapter 337

"SKREEEE—!!!"

The Red Nitro let out a tortured scream. The terror of having its soul forcibly dragged from its body sent it into a complete frenzy.

Its translucent spirit thrashed violently, fighting against the pull with such force that the Mirror of Death began trembling in Kanna’s hands.

Within seconds, Kanna’s face had turned deathly pale, all color draining from her lips.

Her yōki was being consumed at an alarming rate, and waves of dizziness were already washing over her.

The difference in strength between her and the Red Nitro was simply too great. Managing to pull half of its soul from its body was already pushing Kanna to her absolute limit.

Fortunately, Haruto had arrived.

He slammed both feet into the ground and launched himself skyward like a cannonball, while a current of wind rose beneath him and carried him toward the struggling Red Nitro.

As he ascended, Haruto concentrated every last bit of Armament Haki in his body into his right fist. The pitch-black Haki wrapped around his hand so densely that it almost seemed solid.

"Die!"

Haruto appeared directly above the Red Nitro.

He held nothing back.

Every ounce of strength in his body went into the punch as his fist came crashing down onto the top of the creature’s head with a screaming rush of wind.

Armament Haki penetrated the Red Nitro’s skull and erupted inside its brain.

With a sickening burst, its head shattered beneath the internal force, bone fragments and blood spraying outward.

The spirit that had been struggling so violently a moment earlier instantly went rigid.

All resistance disappeared.

Kanna seized the opportunity and poured the remaining strength of the Mirror of Death into its pull.

The Red Nitro’s soul was dragged completely free and absorbed into the mirror.

A dark-red glow flashed across its surface before fading away.

Kanna finally exhaled.

Her body swayed, almost collapsing on the spot.

Kagura immediately stepped forward and caught her.

Haruto descended from the air, glanced at the Red Nitro lying motionless on the ground, and promptly stored the corpse inside the Gourmet Restaurant.

"We need to leave."

He appeared beside Kagura and Kanna in a blur.

Before either of them could react, Haruto grabbed one with each hand, kicked off the ground, and raced away at full speed.

They had to get out of the area immediately.

The battle between Haruto and the Red Nitro had caused enormous disturbances, and the shock waves had almost certainly spread throughout the surrounding forest.

He could already sense countless powerful Gourmet World beasts watching from the distance.

None of them had dared approach earlier because Haruto and the Red Nitro had both displayed overwhelming strength, and neither side had shown any clear weakness.

Now that the Red Nitro was dead, however, that balance had been broken.

The surrounding predators were beginning to stir.

Haruto understood his own condition perfectly.

The battle had consumed a tremendous amount of stamina and Haki, especially the final attack, which had almost drained what remained of his combat reserves.

If dozens—or even hundreds—of Gourmet World beasts surrounded him now, he might still be able to carve out an escape route, but it would be extremely dangerous.

There was another problem as well.

Red Nitro were not solitary creatures.

They had communities of their own, and Haruto had no idea whether more of them were nearby.

If the death of this one attracted several others, the consequences could become disastrous very quickly.

Retreating into the Gourmet Restaurant was technically an option, but when Haruto himself entered the pocket realm, its connection to the outside world could not be completely severed.

The Gourmet World was filled with creatures possessing bizarre abilities.

There was no telling whether something might be capable of exploiting that connection.

If he were truly pushed into a hopeless situation, Haruto would rather leave the Toriko world altogether than hide inside the Gourmet Restaurant and gamble on whether they could be reached.

So for now, the smartest option was simple.

Run.

Haruto pushed his speed to the limit.

The scenery beneath his feet blurred backward while the wind howled past his ears.

Several of the Gourmet World beasts drawn by the battle pursued them for a while, but the gap in speed was simply too large.

Before long, they completely lost Haruto and the others.

The frustrated beasts could do nothing but roar in anger and abandon the chase.

Without a common target, their natural hostility toward one another immediately resurfaced.

To them, other Gourmet World beasts were also perfectly good food.

Soon, roars and agonized shrieks echoed throughout the forest as the predators turned on each other, staining the ground with blood.

More than half an hour later, Haruto finally brought Kagura and Kanna to a secluded stretch of mountain forest.

After confirming there were no immediate dangers nearby, he opened the entrance to the Gourmet Restaurant and led them inside.

The moment they returned to its familiar surroundings, the tension that had kept Kagura and Kanna on edge finally eased.

Haruto brought out the Red Nitro’s corpse and placed it on the preparation table.

He ran a hand through its thick fur, admiration filling his eyes as he examined the smooth, powerful lines of its musculature. Every inch of its body seemed packed with explosive strength.

"What an incredible creature."

"The muscle distribution is almost perfect—elastic, dense, and full of power."

"There’s practically no unnecessary fat anywhere on its body. All of that energy is stored directly within the muscle cells."

As he spoke, Haruto drew Myriad Worlds.

He took a breath, turned his wrist, and sent the kitchen knife through a graceful arc.

Shhk!

The blade sliced through the Red Nitro’s hide with such ease that even Haruto was slightly surprised.

That was largely due to one of the peculiarities of the Toriko world.

Once an ingredient had been successfully captured, its body became dramatically easier to process.

If this Red Nitro had still been alive, even Myriad Worlds would have needed considerable force to cut through its skin.

Now, however, the blade passed through without difficulty.

Haruto continued breaking down the carcass.

Every cut landed precisely between bones and muscle groups.

Before long, he had separated the hide, bones, organs, and meat with movements so fast and precise that they were almost impossible to follow with the naked eye.

The Red Nitro was not especially large, so it took Haruto less than twenty minutes to finish processing the entire body.

Slices and cuts of brilliant red Nitro meat, each with clearly defined muscle grain, were arranged neatly on porcelain plates.

They gave off a distinctive and strangely appetizing aroma tinged with the faintest scent of blood.

Kagura and Kanna sat nearby, watching Haruto work without taking their eyes off him.

"That Nitro was ridiculously strong."

Kagura looked at the meat with obvious anticipation.

"So it should taste amazing, right?"

After spending so much time traveling through the Gourmet World with Haruto, Kagura had already developed a fairly deep understanding of how things worked here.

There was one rule that seemed almost universally reliable.

The higher an ingredient’s Capture Level and the harder it was to obtain, the more delicious it tended to be.

This Red Nitro had fought Haruto head-on without being overwhelmed, which said more than enough about how powerful it was.

Combined with the unusually serious way Haruto was treating the ingredient, Kagura was almost certain they were looking at something truly exceptional.

Haruto raised his head.

He glanced at Kagura’s eager expression, then at Kanna, whose face remained calm despite the trace of curiosity in her eyes.

"It really is an exceptional ingredient."

Then he hesitated.

"But..."

Haruto set Myriad Worlds down and walked over to the dining table.

Kagura immediately noticed the change in his expression.

"Is there a problem?"

Haruto remained silent for a moment, gathering his thoughts before answering.

"Red Nitro are different from the ingredients we’ve eaten before."

"They aren’t ordinary living creatures. They’re manifestations of the appetite within Gourmet Cells."

"In other words, practically every cell in their bodies is made of pure Gourmet Cells."

Kagura and Kanna exchanged glances.

Surprise appeared in both of their eyes.

After traveling with Haruto for so long, they naturally knew what Gourmet Cells were.

In the world of Toriko, Gourmet Cells were one of the fundamental sources of extraordinary power.

Someone who possessed them could gain strength and speed far beyond ordinary humans, while continually eating delicious food could stimulate those cells to evolve and make their host even stronger.

Haruto paused before continuing.

"You two have already eaten quite a lot of Gourmet World ingredients with me, but naturally awakening Gourmet Cells through food alone would require far more than what you’ve consumed so far."

"If you eat Red Nitro meat, though, I’m almost certain your Gourmet Cells will awaken."

Kagura’s eyes immediately lit up.

But Haruto’s next words made her expression turn serious again.

"You already know Gourmet Cells don’t come without drawbacks."

"Once they awaken, your appetite will become dramatically stronger."

"You’ll need large amounts of high-energy food every day just to support your normal activities."

"And if you go without enough food for too long, your body may enter a state of autophagy, consuming itself for energy."

"That’s why I was hesitant about letting either of you eat this."

Haruto looked seriously at Kagura and Kanna.

"But now I think this is something the two of you should decide for yourselves."

Unlike Haruto, Kagura and Kanna did not possess the Gourmet Restaurant and therefore could not guarantee that an endless supply of food would always be available to them.

Awakening Gourmet Cells could make them significantly stronger.

But it could also create a very real burden they would have to live with from that point onward.