Multiverse Gourmet Hunter

Before Haruto realized it, evening had fallen.

Warm yellow lights came on along both sides of Gourmet City’s streets, while night-market stalls began opening one after another. The entire district grew even livelier than it had been during the day, filled with the warmth, noise, and aromas of countless people eating and enjoying themselves.

Haruto looked over the bustling scene and rubbed his pleasantly full stomach, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.

Gourmet City certainly lived up to its name.

At this rate, forget trying everything in a single day—even if he stayed here for an entire month, he probably still would not manage to taste all the food the city had to offer.

Fortunately, Haruto was in no hurry.

He decided to stay in Gourmet City for a while and work his way through its restaurants one by one.

More importantly, the city gathered ingredients from all four Blues and throughout the Grand Line. This was the perfect opportunity to stock up and expand the ingredient reserves inside the Gourmet Restaurant even further.

And so, over the next several days, Haruto continued eating his way through the city while purchasing any interesting ingredients he came across.

One afternoon, just as he stepped out of a restaurant that had been in business for thirty years, a growing commotion caught his attention.

Large groups of people were rushing in the same direction, talking excitedly among themselves.

"Is it really a Silver Shuttle Flying Fish? I didn’t hear wrong, did I?"

"It’s real! Word already spread through the plaza. Someone just caught one in the Reverse Current Sea!"

"When was the last time one showed up in Gourmet City? Three years ago? Five?"

"I wonder who’s going to get it this time. Man, I’d love to know what Silver Shuttle Flying Fish tastes like."

Haruto raised an eyebrow as he listened.

He had never heard of a Silver Shuttle Flying Fish, but judging from the crowd’s reaction, it was obviously an exceptionally rare ingredient.

Curiosity stirred immediately.

Haruto followed the flow of people and soon arrived at the large circular plaza in the center of Gourmet City.

The place was already packed.

Crowds surrounded the center three and four layers deep, everyone craning their necks to see what was happening.

Haruto slipped through the gaps and steadily worked his way forward until he reached the very front.

A huge transparent aquarium had been placed on a raised platform in the middle of the plaza. It was filled with clear seawater, and inside swam a long, streamlined fish, slowly moving its tail.

The instant Haruto saw it, his breathing paused slightly.

The name Silver Shuttle suited it perfectly.

Its body had a smooth, spindle-like shape stretching roughly three meters from head to tail. Its entire surface resembled flowing mercury frozen into solid form, reflecting tiny rainbow-colored glimmers beneath the afternoon sun.

At the moment, however, the fish seemed unusually subdued.

What caught Haruto’s attention even more strongly was his own body’s reaction.

The instant he laid eyes on the Silver Shuttle Flying Fish, his Gourmet Cells erupted with intense appetite.

Saliva gathered uncontrollably beneath his tongue, and even his heartbeat quickened.

Haruto immediately understood what that meant.

This fish was extraordinarily compatible with his Gourmet Cells.

His expression became serious.

’I’m getting that fish.’

Haruto turned toward an excited man beside him whose face had gone red with anticipation and began asking about the Silver Shuttle Flying Fish.

He soon learned that the species lived in the Reverse Current Sea, a dangerous region near Gourmet City.

On nautical charts, the entire area was marked as forbidden territory.

Dozens of waterspouts raged there throughout the year, with winds violent enough to tear ordinary ships apart. Vast amounts of seawater were dragged high into the sky by the tornadoes, forming enormous inverted currents that seemed to flow upward.

That phenomenon was how the Reverse Current Sea had gotten its name.

Even the Marines’ most advanced warships rarely dared approach the area carelessly.

And yet the Silver Shuttle Flying Fish made its home there.

The fish could use the violent winds of the waterspouts to launch themselves into the air, weaving freely through the chaotic currents at speeds capable of keeping pace with cannonballs. Their scales were also tough enough to withstand the debris constantly whipped through the air by the storms.

Under conditions like those, catching one was extraordinarily difficult.

Still, the Reverse Current Sea was home to many other valuable specialties besides the Silver Shuttle Flying Fish, so despite the danger, there were always people willing to venture inside.

Haruto looked back at the fish in the aquarium with even greater anticipation.

A creature that had evolved to survive in an environment like that...

He wondered what kind of change it would bring to his Gourmet Cells once he ate it.

Just then, a man on the platform picked up an amplified Den Den Mushi.

"Ladies and gentlemen! As you can all see, what we’ve brought here today is the legendary ingredient known as the Silver Shuttle Flying Fish!"

"This specimen has already been purchased by Gourmet City!"

The crowd immediately became noisy.

The man raised a hand, signaling everyone to settle down, then continued.

"An ingredient this extraordinary deserves the finest chef!"

"And getting your hands on it is simple!"

"One hour from now, we’ll be holding a cooking competition right here in the plaza. Any chef present is welcome to enter!"

"You’ll have to provide your own ingredients and cooking equipment, of course, and the competition itself will last only one hour."

"But whoever creates the most delicious dish and wins the competition..."

"The Silver Shuttle Flying Fish will belong to them!"

The plaza exploded.

Numerous chefs immediately looked eager to participate, while others frowned as they considered whether they were capable of competing for something this valuable.

Haruto, who had been wondering how he was supposed to get his hands on the fish, immediately relaxed.

So that was all?

He just had to win a cooking competition.

Haruto had plenty of confidence in his cooking.

Without hesitating, he walked straight toward the registration table beside the plaza and entered his information.

Once he had registered, Haruto found a quiet corner and turned his attention inward toward the Gourmet Restaurant, mentally sorting through his ingredients.

Around him, the other participating chefs were already beginning their own preparations.

A few of them glanced at Haruto and started whispering among themselves.

"Who’s that kid? Never seen him before."

"No idea. He looks pretty young. Maybe he’s just here to join in for fun."

"Just watch. Once the competition starts, he probably won’t even know how to handle his cookware properly."

Haruto heard every word.

He simply ignored them.

Once the competition began, his cooking would speak for itself.

Before long, his thoughts settled on the Water Meat he had purchased in Water 7.

Water Meat was extraordinarily tender, almost like freshly made tofu. Even a light touch made it wobble, and it contained an incredible amount of moisture.

Haruto had wanted to create a proper dish with it ever since buying it but had not found the right opportunity.

This competition was as good a time as any.

Water Meat was not particularly easy to handle.

Because it was so delicate, even slightly excessive heat could cause the meat to toughen or lose the juices that made it special.

For Haruto, however, that level of difficulty was hardly worth mentioning.

The hour passed quickly.

Then the bell at the center of the plaza rang.

The cooking competition officially began.

Dozens of cooking stations had been arranged in rows across the plaza, and every participating chef sprang into action at once.

The entire area instantly filled with sound—the rhythmic thud of knives against cutting boards, the sharp hiss of ingredients hitting hot oil, the bubbling of stockpots, and the overlapping aromas of countless dishes beginning to spread through the air.

Before long, more and more eyes were drawn toward Haruto.

His movements were simply too fast and too steady to ignore.

Haruto placed a piece of Water Meat on his cutting board.

The blade of the Melk Knife flowed smoothly along the connective tissue. In barely more than ten seconds, every trace of excess fat and membrane had been removed, leaving behind only a perfectly uniform piece of meat so tender it looked as though water might seep out if someone squeezed it.

The entire process was seamless.

A chef working at the neighboring station happened to glance over and immediately stared.

Handling Water Meat that delicately without tearing or crushing it required astonishing knife control.

Haruto’s skill was clearly far beyond his own.

Haruto paid no attention to the surrounding reactions.

He brought out some of the concentrated sea salt he had purchased in Water 7, then mixed in finely crushed dried Oran Berry peel and several spices chosen specifically to enhance the aroma of meat.

After grinding everything together into a fine seasoning, he spread it evenly across the surface of the Water Meat.

Then Haruto placed a palm wrapped in a large amount of Nen against the meat.

Under his precise control, the aura began vibrating in a steady rhythm.

Those subtle vibrations carried the seasoning deeper and deeper into the Water Meat without damaging its incredibly delicate structure.

Once the seasoning had fully penetrated, Haruto brought out a pot of milky-white stock.

The instant he uncovered it, an extraordinarily rich aroma of bones and concentrated umami spread across the plaza.

This was a stock Haruto had prepared earlier by slowly simmering Puffer Whale bones, wyvern bones, and the bones of several different Sea Kings.

Every single drop was packed with concentrated savory flavor.

Haruto poured the stock into a deep container and gently lowered the seasoned Water Meat into it.

Then he stabilized the temperature at exactly sixty degrees Celsius.

At that carefully controlled heat, the rich flavor of the stock would slowly seep into the Water Meat without compromising its tenderness or forcing out its precious juices.

By now, the surrounding spectators were already swallowing repeatedly because of the aroma.

More and more people stretched their necks toward Haruto’s station, staring so intently at what he was doing that they barely wanted to blink.

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