In theory, once gourmet cells grow strong enough, the host's physical abilities also rise to an absurd level. That's why people in the Toriko world can chew through steel without blinking.
Under those conditions, texture should obviously be affected—but gourmet cells work in a strangely special way.
They strengthen the body to the point where teeth become sharper than any weapon, yet the eater can still fully experience the texture and flavor of food.
The same goes for powerful creatures. While alive, their natural defenses are terrifying—so tough that even hours of bombardment with heavy weapons wouldn't break through their hide.
But once captured and properly cooked by a chef, even an ordinary person can eat them without issue.
All of it comes down to gourmet cells.
They're honestly beyond broken.
"I've only eaten lil more than half the grilled meat… shouldn't I still be starving by now?"
As Kael ate, he suddenly realized that the overwhelming hunger from before had completely vanished. In its place was a steadily growing feeling of fullness.
Coming back to his senses, Kael looked down at his body.
It had returned to its previous state—or rather, it was even more perfect than before.
Before, his physique had been solid and muscular. Now, though, it was leaner, streamlined, and packed with terrifying explosive power. His muscles weren't bulky, but Kael could clearly feel the sheer strength coiled inside them.
Another thing he noticed—
His clothes were in tatters.
Thankfully, he had plenty of spare clothes in his storage space. He immediately pulled out a fresh set and changed.
Looking at the shredded remains of his old outfit, Kael understood exactly what had happened. When gourmet cells activate, muscle mass expands rapidly.
And when consuming certain special ingredients, that expansion can multiply several times over—like when Toriko and the others ate Nitro Garlic.
Kael figured the same thing had happened to him just now. His muscles had surged, then retracted—but his ordinary clothes didn't stand a chance.
Unlike clothing made from special materials in the Toriko world, these were just normal clothes. The moment his muscles expanded, they were torn to shreds.
Tossing the rags aside, Kael clenched his fist and suddenly threw a punch at the nearest tree.
The tree was nearly a meter thick. Even with a chainsaw, it would take time to cut it down.
Kael's fist met no resistance.
With a single punch, the tree exploded apart and crashed to the ground. The point of impact didn't just snap—it shattered into countless fragments.
That punch didn't merely knock the tree over. It obliterated part of it.
The power behind it was terrifying.
Kael glanced at his fist.
Not a scratch.
Gourmet cell reinforcement was all-encompassing. At higher levels, it even strengthened the soul itself. Otherwise, no one would survive entering the Soul World.
And despite the explosive growth in physical ability, the body didn't spiral out of control. While it wasn't perfect precision, it was enough to instinctively adapt to the sudden surge in strength.
Without even that basic control, the consequences would be disastrous.
Take something as simple as picking up an object. If you used your old sense of force with strength that had multiplied dozens of times over, you'd crush whatever you touched instantly.
With Kael's current physique, losing control would turn him into a Character straight out of Baki.
"By Chuuka Ichiban's standards, his physical strength was already nearing its limit."
Now, Kael's strength was measured in tons.
If he stopped holding back, given enough time, he could easily reduce an entire city to rubble.
At this level, most missiles couldn't even harm him. He could sense danger before impact and move out of the way with ease. Combined with his current defense, ordinary missiles were completely useless.
Unless someone dropped a nuke right on his head—but Kael wasn't some world-ending final boss. Who would waste a nuclear weapon on him?
So in a sense, within the Food Wars! world, Kael was now completely invincible.
Nothing could threaten him.
After testing his physical strength, Kael noticed something else—
The qi within his body had surged as well.
Qi was notoriously difficult to cultivate. In Kaiyu's memories, anyone with powerful qi was practically an ancient monster.
Master Yuxian was over one hundred and fifty years old. The Phoenix Eight Immortals looked young, but they'd looked the same decades ago. Pei was also over a hundred, and Kunwan had lived for several centuries.
Every one of them had accumulated their qi over countless years.
Kael had assumed he'd have to follow the same slow path.
But now, gourmet cells had amplified his qi alongside his body.
It saved him an enormous amount of time.
The qi within Kael now surpassed what Kaiyu had possessed before his death—and Kaiyu had taken ages to reach that level.
Kael, on the other hand, had achieved it not long after first mastering qi.
After getting a feel for his power, Kael began wandering deeper into the forest.
The Food Wars! world had no shortage of ingredients, including wild game. Most wild animals lived deep in the mountains and rarely ventured out, though there were exceptions—bear attacks, for instance, weren't uncommon.
Before, Kael needed the Two-Stone Bow to hunt, and even then he had to strike vital points to bring down dangerous beasts.
Now?
There was no need.
He himself was more terrifying than any wild animal.
With monstrous physical strength and refined techniques, no beast in a normal world could pose a threat to him.
Two hours later, Kael looked down at the brown bear lying lifeless at his feet and clenched his fist.
Just one punch.
That was all it took to kill the bear.
This was the true value of a level 5 gourmet body.
In the Toriko world, it wasn't much.
In this world?
It was horrifying.
To him, so-called ferocious beasts were nothing more than lambs waiting for slaughter. This bear was even larger than the one he'd hunted before—an absolute giant—yet it still couldn't survive a single blow.
After storing the bear in his space, Kael left the forest.
Next, he planned to use his connection with the WGO and the Nakiri family to order massive quantities of ingredients.
It would look strange, sure—but he didn't care.
Let it be strange.
Meanwhile, Sarge and Bunnyhair handled receiving the shipments. The Nakiri family even arranged a massive warehouse just for Kael, filling it with the delivered ingredients.
"…This is odd. What does he need so much food for?"
Senzaemon Nakiri was puzzled, but he still complied.
Kael's status spoke for itself. The Nakiri family wouldn't dare disobey him. If they did, Kael could replace them with another partner at any time.
Senzaemon wasn't stupid. He knew what questions to ask—and which ones not to.
His job was simply to follow Kael's instructions.
Once Kael received the ingredients, he transferred them directly into his storage space. No matter how much was delivered, everything vanished overnight.
Naturally, this left people completely baffled.
Where did all the food go?
How did it disappear so quickly?
It drew attention—but Kael wasn't worried.
Not because he was arrogant, but because he truly had nothing to fear.
Very few weapons in this world could still hurt him, and all of them were weapons of mass destruction. Using one would mean dragging ten entire cities down with him.
And given Kael's current status, even if people were suspicious, they wouldn't dare act.
That was why he could be so open about it.
Before acquiring gourmet cells, he'd never have dared to act this boldly.
After collecting the ingredients, Kael spent most of his time outside, cooking in secluded areas. He stored the finished dishes in his space and ate them whenever no one was around.
Ingredients from this world couldn't directly activate gourmet cells like Toriko ingredients could, but quantity could make up for quality. Slowly, inefficiently, they could still strengthen his gourmet cells.
The efficiency was abysmal—especially with such ordinary ingredients—but progress was still progress.
Even a small increase was worth it.
After all, every bit of extra strength meant more safety when traveling to other worlds.
Once everything was arranged, Kael went to see Senzaemon Nakiri and handed him a vial of medicine.
"…What is this?"
Senzaemon looked at it in confusion.
"When I dealt with God's Tongue before, I only solved the problem temporarily," Kael said calmly. "Now, I've found a complete solution. Take this, and the flaws of God's Tongue will disappear."
Kaiyu's inheritance contained the method—but it required qi. A lot of it.
Without sufficient qi, Kael wouldn't have been able to modify so many ingredients. Doing it slowly, one by one, would've taken far too long.
Thanks to the recent surge in qi, even surpassing Kaiyu's level, Kael had finally completed it.
Once consumed, this medicine would stop God's Tongue from infinitely amplifying flaws. Defects would still be detectable—but no longer exaggerated to the point of torment.
"That's incredible… God's Tongue's problem is finally solved!"
Senzaemon was ecstatic.
He'd almost forgotten about the issue, since the poison Kael had given earlier had already restored Mana Nakiri's health. But Kael had remembered—and truly solved it.
He was beyond grateful.
It was a good thing he'd chosen to befriend Kael back then.
The Nakiri family's influence had grown rapidly—but Senzaemon remained cautious. He expanded carefully, never stepping beyond what he could control.
Rapid growth built on shaky foundations was like a castle in the air.
If Kael were gone a hundred years from now, the Nakiri family could collapse just as quickly—perhaps even worse than before.
After all, God's Tongue didn't appear every generation. And Kael was an existence far beyond that.
So Senzaemon insisted on steady, controlled growth.
Nakiri International had expanded so fast that Nakiri Soe had started to lose himself in the power. Only after Senzaemon's reminder did he snap out of it.
Power truly was intoxicating.
"No need to thank me," Kael said calmly. "I told you before—once her condition improved, I'd keep my word."
The two chatted briefly before parting ways.
Kael returned to eating.
Senzaemon hurried off to deliver the medicine to Mana Nakiri.
As for Erina Nakiri, he wasn't worried in the slightest.
Given her relationship with Kael, there was no way Kael would forget her.
And sure enough—
Erina's medicine had already been delivered.
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Every 150 Powerstones = 1 bonus Chapter