Multiverse Gourmet Hunter

Haruto walked over to Komatsu, who was about to begin working on the seventh Puffer Whale.

"Komatsu, wait a moment."

Komatsu stopped and looked up at him in confusion.

Toriko and Coco also turned toward Haruto.

"I tried preparing one of my Puffer Whales just now," Haruto explained. "The main problem is how unusually dense the flesh is compared with other fish. The resistance changes dramatically depending on whether you cut with the grain, against it, or at an angle, which makes controlling the pressure extremely difficult."

Komatsu immediately nodded.

That was exactly why his previous attempts had failed.

Preparing a Puffer Whale felt completely different from working with any fish he had handled before.

All he could do was keep trying until he became familiar with the unique resistance of its flesh.

Haruto smiled at his reaction and pointed toward the pile of poisoned Puffer Whales nearby.

"Those fish can no longer be eaten, but their muscle structure and resistance are identical to healthy Puffer Whales."

"We could use them for practice. If we repeatedly test each type of cut and learn exactly how much force the flesh requires, our chances of succeeding on an unpoisoned fish should increase considerably."

Haruto’s suggestion immediately made Komatsu’s eyes light up.

Until now, he had only regretted wasting the poisoned Puffer Whales. It had never occurred to him that he could use them to practice.

"Thank you, Haruto-san! That should definitely work."

Komatsu nodded enthusiastically, looking genuinely grateful.

Although working on six Puffer Whales had already given him some familiarity with the flesh, he was still far from confident that he could successfully prepare the next one.

A chance to practice without worrying about failure changed everything.

"Poisoning doesn’t alter the texture or grain of the flesh," Coco agreed. "They’re ideal practice material."

The way he looked at Haruto became noticeably friendlier.

The idea sounded obvious once someone said it aloud, yet none of them had thought of it.

Haruto’s willingness to share the method showed that he genuinely regarded them as friends.

"Hahaha! You’re always coming up with interesting ideas, Haruto!"

Toriko happily slapped him on the shoulder.

Back on Baron Archipelago, Haruto had thought of seasoning the Garara Gator with mangrove-leaf juice and had even turned Baron Leeches into a dish.

Now he had found a practical use for poisoned Puffer Whales.

"It just happened to occur to me."

Haruto smiled. He simply hated seeing such valuable ingredients go completely to waste, so he had given the problem more thought.

Without wasting any more time, Haruto moved aside and began using his poisoned Puffer Whale to practice.

Komatsu did the same.

Now that he no longer needed to fear ruining the fish, Komatsu devoted all his attention to the feeling of the blade against the flesh.

He carefully studied the smoothness of cutting with the grain, the drag of cutting against it, and the shifting resistance of a diagonal cut, gradually adjusting the strength of his fingers and the angle of his wrist.

After practicing on three poisoned Puffer Whales and thoroughly familiarizing himself with their flesh, Komatsu looked seriously at Coco.

"Coco-san, I’m ready."

"All right."

Coco nodded and examined the healthy Puffer Whale in front of him.

"The poison sac in this one is located here. Start from the base of the tail fin, then..."

Following Coco’s instructions, Komatsu began preparing his seventh fish.

This time, his movements flowed naturally, without the earlier stiffness.

Every stroke of the knife was precise and steady, with exactly the right amount of force.

When the final incision opened the body completely, the poison sac hidden inside the Puffer Whale was finally exposed.

He had done it.

Komatsu stared at the perfectly opened fish, trembling with excitement.

"Now you need to use your hands," Coco reminded him. "Slowly remove the membrane surrounding the sac."

Komatsu’s expression immediately became serious again.

He moved with extraordinary care, gently separating the surrounding tissue.

Before long, he removed the poison sac completely intact, without so much as scratching its surface.

The next instant, the Puffer Whale’s skin transformed into a brilliant, radiant gold.

"You did it! That’s amazing! You really did it!"

Toriko could no longer contain himself. He clenched his fist and shouted in excitement.

Komatsu stared at the golden Puffer Whale as all the tension left his body. Tears of joy immediately spilled from his eyes.

"I did it... I really did it..."

Coco stepped forward and gently patted his shoulder, his face filled with sincere approval.

"Komatsu, that was excellent. You exceeded every expectation I had."

"No, I could never have done it without your instructions, Coco-san."

Komatsu quickly wiped away his tears.

Without Coco’s guidance, successfully preparing the Puffer Whale would have been impossible.

Haruto glanced at the three celebrating nearby, then casually set aside the mangled Puffer Whale in front of him.

He only had one poisoned fish to practice on, so after every cut, he had stopped to carefully recall and analyze the sensation.

His progress was slower than Komatsu’s, but the practice had still been extremely useful.

Haruto tightened his grip on the Melk Knife and retrieved another healthy Puffer Whale.

He held its skin firmly with his fingertips, rotated his wrist, and made a precise incision along its abdomen.

Even though he moved as carefully as possible, his second attempt still ended in failure.

The fish became poisoned.

Haruto showed no disappointment. Instead, he immediately began dissecting the failed fish to gain more practice.

Just then, Komatsu approached while carrying the remaining three poisoned Puffer Whales.

"Haruto-san, you can use these for practice too. Please don’t hesitate."

Haruto looked up and smiled.

"Thank you, Komatsu."

He accepted the three fish without protest and placed them beside himself.

Komatsu looked delighted that Haruto had taken them.

After watching him prepare to resume practicing, Komatsu hesitated for a moment before extending an invitation.

"Um... Haruto-san, would you like to taste the Puffer Whale we successfully prepared with us first?"

It was thanks to Haruto’s suggestion that Komatsu had succeeded on only his seventh attempt, so he wanted to share the reward with him.

Haruto shook his head, his expression serious.

"Thank you, Komatsu, but I believe I can successfully prepare one myself."

Seeing the resolve in Haruto’s eyes, Komatsu understood and did not ask again.

"Then I’m sure you’ll succeed too, Haruto-san."

After encouraging him, Komatsu returned to work on the remaining two healthy Puffer Whales.

Once Komatsu had left, Haruto cleared every distracting thought from his mind and began practicing again.

He repeatedly guided the blade through the poisoned Puffer Whales, focusing on every subtle difference in resistance as steel passed through flesh.

One fish.

Then another.

Then the third.

Before long, Haruto had completely used up all three practice fish Komatsu had given him.

Each had been dismantled beyond recognition, but his movements had become increasingly precise.

He now understood the texture and structure of Puffer Whale flesh as though it were engraved into his hands.

With no practice material remaining, Haruto drew a deep breath and retrieved another perfectly healthy Puffer Whale.

He placed it before him and raised the Melk Knife.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly.

The sounds of the waves and the faint movement of air disappeared.

The entire world fell silent, leaving only Haruto and the Puffer Whale waiting beneath his blade.

His eyes became perfectly clear.

All his concentration gathered in the fingers holding the Melk Knife, while his breathing remained as still and steady as a deep pool.

The blade slowly descended and touched the fish.

There was no hesitation and not the slightest deviation.

Haruto guided it gently along the grain of the flesh.

Everywhere the edge passed, the meat separated in a perfectly clean line.

The abdomen opened, revealing the poison sac within.

Haruto held his breath and reached in with both hands, slowly peeling away the surrounding membrane.

Then he lifted the poison sac free.

The Puffer Whale’s snowy white skin instantly transformed into a warm, dazzling gold.

Toriko, Coco, and Komatsu all noticed what had happened, and relieved smiles appeared on their faces.

"Haa... I did it!"

Haruto released a long breath.

The tension filling his body vanished, and an excited smile spread across his face.

Now that he had succeeded once, there was no reason he could not do it again.

After briefly stretching his body, Haruto looked toward the other three.

Komatsu was already preparing the final Puffer Whale.

Beside him rested two more fish whose poison sacs had been successfully removed.

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