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"Well, now's not the time for that. Take a look. The food in this pot is the Century Soup—an incomplete version, of course. It can only be finished when the time is right."
The more Setsuno thought about it, the more she believed Yuuki's idea was right. It was the only way to truly recreate the Century Soup.
"What an incredible dish. May I ask how many ingredients the Century Soup requires?" Yuuki asked, gazing down at the massive pot below.
"The version from the 'Ice Hell' required 138,569 ingredients. The one I'm making uses 269,652."
"Many of the ingredients from the Gourmet Show Window are extinct in this era, so I had to find substitutes. For some of them, it took a dozen or more other ingredients combined just to replicate the effect of the ancient original."
"That's why the ingredient count for the Century Soup skyrocketed from just over one hundred thirty thousand to more than two hundred sixty thousand."
Setsuno's explanation made Yuuki realize just how much of a cheat Komatsu's ability truly was.
Being able to hear the voices of ingredients saved an enormous amount of time and even let him bypass many steps entirely—a fact that became clear when he was preparing Acacia's Full Eight-Course Menu.
Komatsu's version must have reduced the ingredient count to a level far below even the original.
....
After viewing the Century Soup, Setsuno didn't offer Yuuki a taste. Instead, she led him to another kitchen to have a match.
According to her, the information Yuuki had brought was indeed crucial. After their competition, she would treat him to a meal, and the Century Soup would naturally be one of the courses.
Their match was witnessed by Nono. While preparing his dish, Yuuki encountered ingredients he didn't recognize. He wasn't using his Ki, so he couldn't hear the voices of the ingredients.
But his Evolving Touch and Vision fed him detailed information about them—
—As long as the ingredients weren't of an extremely high level or incredibly unique, his enhanced senses could analyze them completely.
"So this Flame is the power of his Appetite Demon? It's perfectly suited for a Chef!"
Setsuno's eyes lit up when she saw Yuuki unleash his Inferno. His ability was arguably the most ideal for a Chef, but she believed it was a power granted by his Gourmet Cells.
An ability like that couldn't be stolen. To wield such a unique power, one needed the recognition of a specific Appetite Demon, making it impossible to take.
Yuuki once again prepared a fire-based dish—his specialty—but in the end, he couldn't help but shake his head.
The reason was simple:
He lost, and it wasn't even close...
Setsuno had lived for over five hundred years. She was also a master of Food Honor, and she even knew techniques like the Enbu.
Against Setsuno, Yuuki had no advantage whatsoever. He was utterly defeated. Setsuno's culinary skill was worlds beyond that of the graduates.
Yuuki also sensed what Setsuno's Culinary Heart was—it was love, specifically her love for Jiro.
It was a love of incredible purity, one that had endured for five hundred years.
In the story's final arc, when Jiro went to confront the Blue Nitro, he knew his techniques were so powerful they could endanger the Human World—
—It was Setsuno who stood in the Human World and single-handedly raised a Pressure Dome, blocking the attacks from Jiro and the others. She was able to accomplish this only because she was putting her life on the absolute line.
Her Pressure Dome had astonishing defensive power, but to block attacks of that magnitude, she had to consume her own life force.
By that time, Setsuno was already very old and couldn't sustain it for long, yet she chose to raise the dome anyway.
Part of her reason was to protect the Human World. The other part was so that Jiro could unleash his full power without any hesitation or fear.
Setsuno and Jiro's love for each other remained unshakable, even after centuries.
That was the source of her Culinary Heart of Love.
"An Emperor's Heart… It's still in its infancy, but to possess such a Culinary Heart is remarkable!"
Setsuno remarked with a hint of awe.
A Culinary Heart was the truest reflection of a Chef's inner self, something that could never be faked. You could understand a person's very nature just by sensing their Culinary Heart.
Yuuki's Emperor's Heart signified that he held the ambition to stand at the Pinnacle of the World.
Such a Culinary Heart was a double-edged sword. On one hand, it could dominate everything. On the other, it all depended on whether the user could bear its weight.
If they couldn't, the result would be tragic. Stagnation would be the least of their worries—a regression in their culinary skills was a far greater possibility.
So, Setsuno was deeply impressed!
Beyond that, she had also gauged the strength of his cooking. Without a doubt, Yuuki's skills were excellent, even top-tier among her own peers.
Setsuno suddenly had the idea of taking him on as a student. But then she glanced at Nono and decided against it.
Still, guiding a promising youngster wouldn't hurt.
....
Leaving the kitchen, Yuuki was still replaying the duel in his mind. He may have lost, but as Soma Yukihira always said, failure was a priceless experience. It would allow him to grow even faster.
And it was true.
By carefully analyzing the match, he could identify the strengths in his opponent's dish, absorb them, and use them to elevate his own craft.
Later, Yuuki tasted the dishes Setsuno had prepared.
The ingredients she used weren't particularly rare, but one was incredibly special—the incomplete version of the Century Soup.
Though unfinished, it already had an effect on his Gourmet Cells. Yuuki felt his level rise slightly. It was a shame it wasn't the complete version; otherwise, a single bowl would have surely triggered a full Cell Activation.
There was a special state in the advancement of Gourmet Cells called Cell Activation.
Normally, leveling up Gourmet Cells by one level required consuming massive amounts of food and a long period of assimilation.
But Cell Activation was different. Once it occurred, one's power would skyrocket.
The boost from Cell Activation was far greater than a normal level-up, making it the most desirable path for growth. However, the ingredients required to trigger it were exceptionally rare.
"This Century Soup is on another level… A normal person couldn't even see the ingredients clearly with the naked eye. And the weight of it—no wonder, for a soup that concentrates over two hundred sixty thousand ingredients!"
Although Yuuki was no stranger to combining flavors in his own cooking, there was simply no comparing it to the incomplete Century Soup that Setsuno had created.
The sheer number of ingredients—over two hundred and sixty thousand—was enough to make one's scalp tingle just hearing it.
Of course, this was also because Yuuki's own power was still insufficient. In the world of Toriko, powerful Chefs possessed immense combat strength.
The number of ingredients might seem staggering, but with enough power, one's mind and cooking speed would accelerate.
With such high efficiency, completing a dish like this was not an issue.
Furthermore, Setsuno's Century Soup, with its 260,000-plus ingredients, wasn't made by simply following a recipe. It was the result of decades spent constantly modifying an ancient one.
That's why it took even a Chef of her caliber decades to reach this point.
Komatsu, on the other hand, could directly hear the voices of the ingredients. Guided by them, he was like a player with cheat codes enabled, completely bypassing the problems Setsuno faced.
That was how he was able to create the Century Soup so quickly.
Taking a sip of the soup, Yuuki could feel countless ingredients flashing through his mind, though he recognized almost none of them.
After finishing his meal, Yuuki was thoroughly satisfied.
The food Setsuno prepared was not only delicious but also incredibly generous in portion size; even a super-eater like him was completely full.
By the time Yuuki was full, a large crowd had already gathered outside Setsuno's Diner. They were all locals or tourists drawn by the aroma.
The moment they caught the scent, they knew Setsuno's was open, so they could only wait outside.
They wouldn't dare rush in; they just stood there, hoping to savor the aroma with their own meals.
....
"Granny Setsu—... Ms. Setsuno, I have another deal I'd like to propose."
Yuuki had been about to call her "Granny Setsuno" again, but he caught the strange look she gave him and immediately corrected himself.
He promptly changed his address.
Only then did Setsuno nod, her expression one of satisfaction.
"Another deal? You have other information comparable to the secret of the Century Soup?"
Hearing this, even Setsuno was surprised, wondering what on earth Yuuki was all about.
"I do. And it's incredibly important to you. I might have a way to restore someone's youth. Of course, I can't guarantee it's one hundred percent effective, so… would you like to give it a try?"
Yuuki asked with a grin, confident that this was an offer few women could resist.
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