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Jiro was a Gourmet Hunter, and a Gourmet Hunter's life was a quest for all kinds of delicacies. Although the Tundra Dragon was known as the Gatekeeper of the Ice Hell, its existence didn't really affect the region's ecosystem.
If capturing an ingredient would cause immense environmental damage, Jiro wouldn't touch it. But the Tundra Dragon clearly wasn't in that category.
The same went for the Hellboros that Jiro had used Knocking on—
—Without them, the Ice Hell would remain the Ice Hell. Besides, almost no one would think of coming to a place like this to hunt for ingredients.
The Ice Hell was simply too dangerous.
Anyone who arrived would be turned into a popsicle in minutes. While a thermal suit offered some protection, it couldn't completely block the invasive cold.
If it weren't for the Century Soup, very few people would ever be willing to set foot in this place. Possessing Gourmet Cells didn't automatically make one a powerhouse.
Leveling up Gourmet Cells was no easy feat. Just look at Toriko and his friends—their rapid growth was bought with their lives.
Plenty of others with Gourmet Cells would spend their entire lives stuck at level twenty, or even below ten.
....
At that moment, a powerful aura erupted from Yuuki.
Though there was no shadow of an Appetite Demon, his sheer presence was enough to suppress the Tundra Dragon.
"No Appetite Demon Shadow?? What's the deal with his Gourmet Cells??"
Jiro was taken aback.
He didn't have an Appetite Demon shadow either, but that was because he had completely merged with his demon as a child. He was a living Appetite Demon.
While Gourmet Cells could parasitize any living thing, only humans could awaken an Appetite Demon. The process of getting stronger was a process of continuously tapping into that demon's power.
But this was the first time Jiro had seen someone like Yuuki release their full aura without a shadow.
He could sense that Yuuki was holding nothing back. Hiding one's Appetite Demon was possible when not at full power, but at maximum output, even the likes of Midora would manifest a demonic shadow.
The only explanation was that Yuuki's Gourmet Cells either hadn't awakened any Appetite Demon, or his demon was incredibly unique.
While Jiro was lost in thought, the Tundra Dragon in the sky let out another furious roar, its massive body diving down from above.
Although Yuuki's aura could suppress the dragon, it wasn't strong enough to subdue it completely—unless his cell level was over a hundred, that might be possible.
As the Gatekeeper of the Ice Hell—and its true king since the Hellboros was sealed a century ago—the Tundra Dragon found the situation utterly unacceptable.
To be suppressed by the aura of a mere human was the ultimate insult. It fought through its fear, determined to tear this human to shreds and defend its royal dignity.
....
"Now you've entered my domain!"
Watching the diving dragon, Yuuki just smiled. Countless strands of his hair had already formed a massive net, just waiting for the Tundra Dragon to fly right into it.
These strands weren't acting alone.
Yuuki knew a single strand of hair couldn't possibly pierce the Tundra Dragon's defenses. So, he had bundled them together, forming over three hundred incredibly powerful spikes.
These hair-spikes were lying in wait. As the dragon dove, Yuuki's vision analyzed its body structure.
And above the Tundra Dragon, he saw a death sign looming. While the appearance of a death sign didn't guarantee a creature's demise, the probability was extremely high.
Just as the Tundra Dragon was about to reach Yuuki, its body came to an abrupt halt in mid-air. Simultaneously, the ice beneath Yuuki's feet shattered violently.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
With a deafening roar, hundreds of meters of ice were obliterated. Such was the force of the Tundra Dragon's charge. Yuuki had redirected the impact, causing the surrounding environment to be devastated.
"That technique to disperse the force... It's not from Food Honor. That's an Enbu skill, isn't it?? You've already mastered the basics and even improved upon them."
Watching Yuuki's evasive maneuver, Jiro instantly recognized it as Enbu. Though he didn't use it himself, he had seen it before. A being of Jiro's caliber didn't need to learn something like Enbu—they had their own unique powers.
Take his Damage Knocking, for example. That technique allowed him to seal a portion of the damage he received within his body and redirect the rest outwards—
—In the original story, Jiro frequently used this move when fighting the Blue Nitro. The released force alone was enough to leave massive scars on the planet.
And the damage Jiro sealed within his body was enough to destroy several Earths.
Damage Knocking was a type of redirection technique. If not for its flaws, it would be an invincible ability.
Its greatest weakness was that if an enemy discovered the location where the force was stored, it could be fatal.
That's what happened to Jiro—Acacia released the damage stored in his body, killing him instantly.
....
"I learned a bit before, but I haven't mastered much. The environment I was in wasn't suitable for training Enbu."
Yuuki knew that the best way to improve his Enbu was to find a place with abnormal gravity. He knew of such a place in the Human World—the Heavy Hole near Melk Mountain.
He planned to go there, but not now. The main storyline hadn't even begun yet. He intended to finish the important things first.
Whether it was learning from Jiro or Setsuno, these were rare opportunities. He wasn't about to chase pennies and lose dollars; he knew which was more important.
....
At this point, the Tundra Dragon was completely stunned.
It found itself floating in mid-air, utterly unable to move, as if its body was no longer its own. Besides its eyes, not a single part of it would respond.
Yuuki hadn't wasted any time fighting the Tundra Dragon. This was something Jiro had constantly emphasized during his Knocking lessons.
Jiro had said that if you have the ability to kill in one shot, you should go all out and do it, leaving no room for error.
Although Jiro himself made that mistake in the original story, he was facing his own teacher, Acacia, and he had questions that needed answers. That was the only reason for the hesitation.
Otherwise, Jiro would never hold back. Once he attacked, it was always a kill shot, just as he did against the Blue Nitro.
Whenever Jiro got an opening, he would immediately use a fatal technique to finish his opponent.
That was the nature of combat in the world of Toriko. It was fine in the early stages, but later on, it was basically "I one-shot you, or you one-shot me."
Fights in that world didn't drag on for days and nights like in One Piece, with characters constantly getting back up.
Honestly, the power scaling in One Piece was just broken. The author wanted to show the strength of these powerhouses through prolonged battles.
But they couldn't quite figure out how to draw a fight that lasted for days.
The power of the top tiers in One Piece wasn't incapable of breaking through defenses; on the contrary, if they went all out, it would be easy.
But they always seemed to be playing around, never going for the kill, and absolutely never finishing the job after a fight.
That kind of thing was infuriating to watch. In contrast, in the world of Toriko, they went all out from the start, never wasting time with trash talk if they could just kill the opponent.
Yuuki was well aware of this, and after Jiro's emphasis, he made it his own principle.
....
When using Knocking on the Tundra Dragon, he had prepared for two outcomes. If the Knocking failed, his flames would have pierced the dragon's head in the next instant.
So, the Tundra Dragon was doomed to be one-shotted by Yuuki no matter what. This was mainly due to the huge power gap between them. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy for Yuuki to kill it.
"Not bad. Your timing was perfect. But it was still a bit reckless. You should have dodged its attack route before applying the Knocking. If its attack power had exceeded your defensive limit, you would have been a sitting duck!"
Jiro nodded. Yuuki's timing was flawless. The only issue was his overconfidence.
Hearing this, Yuuki paused for a moment, then it dawned on him. It was true—he had no real combat experience, especially not against ferocious beasts.
Just as Jiro said, if his hair hadn't restrained the Tundra Dragon, he would have become a living target.
And even if he had his flames ready, what if they didn't have the expected effect??
The most crucial part of a battle was self-preservation. Even Jiro followed this rule. In the original story, when he fought the Blue Nitro, he took one of their jewels, which saved his life at first.
"I understand. Survival comes first. Only by staying alive can you fight back."
Yuuki nodded. Whether defending, attacking, or coming up with a plan, you should never put yourself in the most dangerous position unless absolutely necessary.
"You're a smart one. You get it right away."
Jiro nodded. He appreciated that about Yuuki; he understood things immediately without needing long-winded explanations.
Looking at the Tundra Dragon before him, Yuuki condensed his calories into his hand, and with an arm like a blade, he swung down. The Tundra Dragon's head was cleanly severed.
"You don't have your own dedicated kitchen knife??"
Seeing Yuuki's fighting style, Jiro asked with some confusion. In the world of Toriko—a chef's knife was used not only for cutting vegetables but also for combat.
Almost every chef chose to do so, even Komatsu. In the original story, Komatsu used his knife to fend off beasts in the Gourmet Pyramid to save his own life.
He had heard from Setsuno that Yuuki was a formidable chef, yet such a powerful chef didn't have his own exclusive knife.
"I have knives, but they aren't exclusive to me, and they can't be used to cut beasts like the Tundra Dragon."
Although the Seven-Star Knives were powerful tools—they wouldn't work in this world. Not because of their special abilities, but because of their hardness.
The beasts in this world were too strong.
Even after they died and their bodies softened—you still needed a very good knife to cut them.
Komatsu's Derous Knife (Fang of the Dragon King) was a perfect example.
....
"No exclusive knife, huh?? In that case, when you get back, you should find some time to visit Melk Mountain. We'll write you a letter of introduction. You should have no problem cutting the line then."
"Although that guy Melk took a commission from Ichiryu and is busy with other things, the current second-generation Melk is also quite good—"
Jiro offered.
"I'll find time to go when I get back!"
Yuuki nodded. He certainly hoped to have his own exclusive Melk knife. And if he went now, he could probably intercept the Fang of the Dragon King that was meant for Komatsu.
Yuuki wasn't about to pass up the chance to acquire a knife made from such a material.
As for Komatsu, he could just have Toriko find him another knife material.
"Let's leave the Tundra Dragon's corpse here for now. We'll pick it up on our way back!"
Jiro said after glancing at the body.
Yuuki nodded.
This was the world of Toriko, so it was best not to reveal all his cards.
For example, his system's storage space. Although he could blame it on his Appetite Demon's ability, it was better not to use such a move unless he was alone.
To avoid raising suspicion, Yuuki collected some blood from the Tundra Dragon and the other ingredients he captured along the way for his experiment.
Now, all they had to do was find the Wall Penguins.
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