Enter the Sumas space.
"Start!"
The next moment, Kaizen felt the aura in his body surge into the crystal ball at an incredible speed.
It was exactly the same as last time.
The crystal ball's color began to shift.
Boom!
A loud noise echoed in Kaizen's mind. Suddenly, he felt his consciousness being pulled into another space. Images began to flash before his eyes.
A young man with long blue hair and a wild grin.
A red-haired youth with dazed, unfocused eyes.
A man in a green turban radiating thick purple energy.
A burly middle-aged man.
A petite white-haired woman with narrowed eyes.
In the next moment, all these figures were drawn into the crystal ball.
Crack!
A sharp sound rang out.
Kaizen's consciousness snapped back into his body at lightning speed.
...
Not long after, he opened his eyes.
With a thought, he summoned a figure.
Tall, with long black hair, the man's aura radiated overwhelming strength—stronger than Natsu, stronger than Raiken, and worlds beyond someone like Uchiha Sasuke.
A name surfaced in Kaizen's mind.
"Toriko."
"From the Gourmet World."
Kaizen's eyes gleamed slightly.
He'd already developed a method for evaluating his Nen Beasts.
One factor was their innate characteristics.
Another was the lore and background of the characters they were based on.
Hard to judge by appearance alone—but not entirely impossible.
After all, this Hunter Exam even had Chairman Netero involved, one of the top five Nen users alive. His strength alone was S-rank.
Toriko's lore must be similarly powerful.
Characters like Raiken, Uchiha Sasuke, Killer Queen…
They'd all eventually join him.
The scope had already expanded to a universal level.
In the world of Toriko, they didn't just eat beasts—they devoured plants, continents, even planets and galaxies.
That kind of power meant Toriko was no lightweight.
"Though, Toriko specializes in close combat," Kaizen muttered. "That overlaps with Natsu's role."
"But I remember Toriko originally had blue hair…"
"Why is it black now?"
"Is it because the Blue Gourmet Demon isn't present?"
"Same with the Red and White ones?"
Kaizen studied Toriko carefully.
A wave of information flooded his mind.
"Primary techniques: Fork, Nail, Knife Step.
Main ability: Gourmet Cells—physical strength increases by consuming high-quality, nutrient-rich food.
Growth-based ability.
However, the Gourmet Demon cannot awaken."
Kaizen wasn't particularly concerned about the Gourmet Demon.
After all, Gourmet Demons had independent consciousness.
If a creature like that manifested in his Nen Beast, would it even obey him?
"Let's test Toriko's strength first."
Kaizen summoned another.
Natsu appeared beside him.
He assigned both Nen Beasts the same amount of aura.
They stepped into the arena.
"Begin!"
The instant the command was given, Natsu and Toriko lunged at each other.
Fists collided. Elbows flew. Kicks thundered.
Kaizen watched from a distance, analyzing their movements.
"Technique-wise, Toriko is sharper. But Natsu's firepower gives him the edge. Toriko's fork, nail, and knife techniques aren't a serious threat to Natsu."
Toriko began to lose ground under Natsu's assault.
But that didn't necessarily mean Natsu, as portrayed in Fairy Tail, was stronger than Toriko.
Kaizen's Nen Beasts weren't perfect 1:1 replicas.
...
Their strength depended on his mental image of them.
That meant Kaizen's perception played a key role in how powerful they actually were.
Even if Natsu had the upper hand now, Toriko's full potential hadn't been unleashed yet.
If Toriko could utilize his Gourmet Cells to consume enough high-level food, his power might easily surpass Natsu's.
Because Gourmet Cells functioned as both a vow and a restriction.
And in Nen, restrictions mean power.
The greater the price, the greater the reward.
The more you invest, the higher the return.
"Uchiha Sasuke."
Another thought activated, and Natsu vanished. Sasuke took his place beside Toriko.
Kaizen distributed aura equally and ordered them to fight.
Nen Beasts had one key advantage—no fatigue.
They wouldn't tire over time or lose power unless their aura ran out.
So long as Kaizen kept the output stable, they fought at full strength indefinitely.
The clash began.
"Without activating Susanoo or Rashomon, Sasuke and Toriko are evenly matched," Kaizen observed.
"They each have unique strengths."
"No clear winner."
"It all depends on the environment and situational performance."
When Sasuke finally activated his full abilities—Rashomon and Susanoo—he started to overpower Toriko.
Kaizen waved his hand.
Both Nen Beasts vanished.
"There's definitely some overlap."
"Toriko's not bad."
"But his role overlaps with Natsu and Sasuke."
Kaizen wasn't dismissing Toriko.
But in a team, roles had to be diverse—tank, DPS, assassin, support, healer...
Unless some game-breaking patch dropped, you couldn't run six tanks or six healers and expect balance.
But this wasn't a game.
This was the real world.
Balance mattered.
...
Suddenly, Kaizen had a thought.
A massive surge of aura exploded around him.
"Natsu, Uchiha Sasuke, Toriko, Lantern Ghost, Chitong, Killer Queen!"
All six of his Nen Beasts appeared.
"Second Shadow!"
He activated his secondary Nen ability.
Numbers and stats appeared in his vision—compatibility values between Toriko and the other beasts.
For now, Natsu and Sasuke couldn't merge with anyone.
But the others still had options.
Kaizen's eyes widened at the results.
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