Multiverse Gourmet Hunter

After their enormous meal, Haruto, Toriko, and Komatsu took a short break.

Toriko turned toward Komatsu with a curious look.

"By the way, Komatsu, if you’re this good a chef, why insist on following me somewhere as dangerous as Baron Archipelago?"

Komatsu clearly possessed excellent cooking skills, so Toriko still did not quite understand why he had chosen to come on such a dangerous expedition.

Komatsu’s expression became unusually determined.

"My dream is to become a world-class chef."

"But I don’t think I can create the very best dishes without first seeing what the ingredients are like while they’re still alive."

As he spoke, Komatsu remembered the first time he had watched Toriko hunt.

"That’s something I realized after seeing you capture an ingredient for the first time, Toriko-san."

"So even if this place is dangerous, I wanted to see a living Garara Gator with my own eyes..."

Haruto quietly chewed on a piece of Garara Gator meat without interrupting, though he understood perfectly well what this moment meant.

Komatsu’s sincere words were what truly moved Toriko.

From this point onward, Toriko would invite him on one expedition after another until he eventually asked Komatsu to become his chef partner.

This was where their bond began.

Toriko sat up straighter, and the way he looked at Komatsu changed.

He clearly approved of the young chef’s determination.

"When you eat something delicious, it fills your body with strength," Toriko said with a smile.

"Eating isn’t just about filling your stomach. It means receiving the power of another life."

"When we say, ’Thanks for the meal,’ we’re accepting that gift with gratitude."

The light in Komatsu’s eyes grew even brighter as he listened.

After taking a deep breath, he asked earnestly, "What’s your dream, Toriko-san?"

Toriko paused at the question, then broke into a hearty laugh.

"My dream? That’s easy. I’m going to complete my Full-Course Menu of Life."

"Your Full-Course Menu of Life?"

Komatsu looked puzzled.

The idea was especially popular among Gourmet Hunters, so he had never heard much about it before.

Noticing his confusion, Toriko patiently explained.

"It has eight courses: hors d’oeuvre, soup, fish dish, meat dish, main course, salad, dessert, and drink. I want to find the perfect ingredient for every one of them."

"So far, though, my entire menu is still empty."

"This world is huge. There are countless unknown ingredients and flavors out there waiting to be discovered."

"I want to meet all those incredible ingredients and build a Full-Course Menu that belongs only to me."

Whether it took ten years, a hundred years, or his entire life did not matter to Toriko.

The search itself was what made life worth living.

Haruto unconsciously rubbed his fingers against his knee as he fell into thought.

A Full-Course Menu of Life...

He was naturally familiar with the concept, but he had never given much thought to creating one of his own.

For the first time, however, he felt an urge to search for eight dishes that belonged entirely to him.

"Toriko-san’s Full-Course Menu..." Komatsu repeated softly.

The confusion in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by longing and anticipation.

He suddenly found himself looking forward to the day when he could witness Toriko complete it.

After wrestling with his nerves for a moment, Komatsu looked at him with complete sincerity.

"Toriko-san, if you ever go out hunting ingredients like this again... could I come with you?"

Toriko raised an eyebrow and looked up at the night sky.

"Do whatever you want. Any day you spend doing what you truly want is a good day."

Komatsu smiled.

"Then every day I don’t come with you would be a bad one, right?"

Toriko turned and met his determined gaze.

"That’s right, Komatsu. So let’s keep grilling and eating until morning!"

Komatsu nodded firmly without hesitation.

"Yes, Toriko-san!"

He immediately threw himself into preparing the next round of meat.

Watching Komatsu work with renewed enthusiasm, Haruto chuckled inwardly.

Thanks to Toriko’s wording, Komatsu had no idea what he had just agreed to.

Still, Haruto fully supported the idea.

"I’ll help too."

He joined Komatsu, and before long, the aroma of roasting meat filled the clearing once again.

Toriko picked up another Garara Gator steak and bit into it, satisfaction spreading across his face.

"This is amazing, Komatsu!"

Haruto took a large bite as well. The exquisite flavor wrapped around his tongue, making him eagerly agree.

"This really is impossible to stop eating."

Thanks to the powerful digestive ability of his Gourmet Cells, Haruto felt as though he could keep going indefinitely.

Seeing how much they enjoyed his cooking filled Komatsu with even more motivation.

"Right? It really is delicious!"

"Come on, keep grilling! Don’t stop!"

Toriko was already urging him onward before he had even swallowed what was in his mouth.

"Leave it to me!"

Komatsu answered confidently, his hands moving even faster.

While the next batch cooked, he turned curiously toward Haruto.

"By the way, Haruto-san, what’s your dream?"

"My dream..."

A faint trace of uncertainty passed through Haruto’s eyes.

After thinking about it, he answered, "Probably to taste every delicious food in existence."

"Then you’d better work hard," Toriko said, giving Haruto a friendly slap on the shoulder.

He clearly approved of that dream.

Time passed gradually, and the eastern sky began to pale.

The first rays of dawn slipped through the forest canopy and spread across the clearing.

Komatsu stared at the empty grill and the Garara Gator’s bones, which had been picked completely clean.

He stood frozen, his eyes blank.

"Huh? What... How did this happen...?"

They had somehow eaten an entire Garara Gator in a single night.

"Whew! I’m full!"

Toriko happily patted his stomach, which had swollen like a small hill, then flopped onto his back in the grass with a blissful expression.

"Me too... I really can’t eat another bite."

Haruto lay nearby with an equally round stomach, satisfaction filling his eyes.

He normally ate large amounts to maintain his body’s energy, but he still held himself back to some degree.

Only after letting his appetite run completely free tonight did he realize just how much food he could consume.

Even then, Toriko had still eaten more.

The man truly deserved his reputation as the greatest eater among the Four Heavenly Kings!

Haruto suspected it was largely related to the three Gourmet Demons dwelling inside him.

Feeding three demons naturally required an absurd amount of energy.

"No way! Toriko-san, Haruto-san, how could you eat all of it?!"

Komatsu finally recovered from his shock and stared at them in panic, his voice nearly breaking into tears.

This had been an important assignment from his superiors.

They were supposed to bring the Garara Gator back as an ingredient for a banquet.

How was he supposed to explain returning with nothing but bones?

"Food must always be finished. That’s one of my rules," Toriko declared solemnly.

A moment later, his serious expression melted into a look of pure happiness. He rubbed his swollen stomach and sighed contentedly.

"I’m so stuffed. That Garara Gator was just too delicious to stop eating."

"Exactly. Wasting food is unacceptable," Haruto added, slowly sitting up and spreading his hands with complete confidence. "Besides, Komatsu, you looked like you were having a great time too."

Komatsu had been the one doing most of the grilling last night.

Haruto had merely helped.

Komatsu looked between the two of them, on the verge of tears.

"You can’t do that! You really weren’t supposed to eat everything!"

"Forget becoming a world-class chef—I’m probably going to get fired!"

Haruto tried to reassure him in a relaxed tone.

"Don’t worry, Komatsu. It won’t be nearly that serious."

"When you get back, just tell them Toriko-san ate the entire Garara Gator. Your bosses definitely won’t blame you."

The IGO had specifically arranged for Komatsu to accompany Toriko, and the true purpose of the mission had never been the ingredient itself.

They had probably never expected Toriko to return with the complete carcass in the first place.

Komatsu certainly was not going to lose his job over this.

Toriko shrugged indifferently.

"You can just tell them the truth."

If the IGO hired him to capture a Garara Gator, they should have been prepared for him to eat it on the spot.

That outcome was practically guaranteed.

Toriko smacked his lips, savoring the last traces of flavor remaining in his mouth.

"The Garara Gator was excellent, though. Unfortunately... it’s still just a little short of earning a place on my Full-Course Menu."

Komatsu stared wordlessly at the sky, his shoulders slumping.

Even the Garara Gator was not good enough to enter Toriko’s Full-Course Menu?

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