The power levels in the Dragon Ball world were undeniably high. But when it came to actual destructive feats, they fell short.
The world of Toriko wasn't weak either. The original story only covered Earth's chapter. Out in space, there were creatures with power levels in the hundreds of thousands, even millions. And among the Five-Colored Universe, the strongest of all was the Black and White Universe.
NEO, Don Slime, and the White Demon—all three came from that Black and White Universe. Each one was more troublesome than the last. As for the White Demon, there was no need to even say it. It was the strongest of the three.
Next came Don Slime. In Kael's eyes, Don Slime stood above NEO.
After all, when NEO was in the Blue Universe, it devoured nearly the entire universe before moving on to the Red Universe. The Blue Nitro were almost driven to extinction.
And yet, once it reached the Red Universe, it was killed by Don Slime.
Don Slime lost to NEO purely because of a weak host. Asarudy's strength wasn't even in the same dimension as Acacia's.
So to Kael, Don Slime was far stronger than NEO.
Having left the swamp, Kael took out the Golden Can. He also brought out the can opener forged from a fossilized Dragon King's Fang.
If anyone else found out he'd used such a top-tier material to craft a can opener, they'd probably call him insane. That fossil could have been forged into a legendary kitchen knife.
Instead, it had become a tool he might only use a few times in his life.
But Kael didn't care.
What was sealed inside was the Ogre Shell.
Compared to that, even a fossilized Dragon King's Fang wasn't worth mentioning.
And this particular Ogre Shell was the key to awakening the White Demon. To Kael, it was priceless.
The moment the can opened, an intoxicating aroma spread into the air.
He didn't even need to taste it.
Just the scent alone was enough.
The White Demon inside his body awakened instantly.
Still, it remained like a puppet. Unless Kael actively controlled it, it wouldn't move.
And right now, he didn't dare.
He didn't even dare let it twitch inside his consciousness.
The moment he observed the White Demon clearly, a primal instinct screamed through every cell in his body.
If he tried to control it—even slightly—
He would die.
It was a warning born from all his Gourmet Cells.
Kael knew exactly how terrifying the White Demon was. For now, simply awakening it was enough. As for the Ogre Shell meat in his hand, this wasn't the place to eat it.
He would wait until he reached the Bewitching Food World.
Just as he was about to depart, he sensed an aura approaching from behind. It was getting closer—and it wasn't weak.
After focusing, he realized it was actually two auras.
Kael didn't dodge.
He had a feeling.
At a time like this, if someone just happened to run into him, it was probably Food Luck at work.
Which meant this was likely the escort sent by the Bewitching Food World.
Sure enough, a figure flashed into view, fast as lightning.
It was a frog riding a frog-shaped vehicle.
The frog was one of the three veteran Beast Warriors of the Bewitching Food World—Mappy. The vehicle he rode was called the Car Frog. It wasn't a machine, but a creature similar to a Beast Vehicle.
It was just too small to live inside, so it served purely as transportation.
Despite his upright frog-like appearance, Mappy was actually human. His form was the result of ancestral inheritance.
Long ago, the Blue Nitro had experimented with forcibly injecting Gourmet Cells into humans. Most of the test subjects died. The small number who survived developed traits resembling Gourmet Demons—but their strength was unimpressive.
That made them useless to the Blue Nitro.
They had hoped to grow stronger through the experiment. Instead, they gained nothing of value.
So they simply discarded the survivors, too lazy to even eliminate them. In their eyes, these beings could never pose a threat.
Those abandoned humans eventually settled in the Gourmet World and received the protection of the Horse King.
That was how the Bewitching Food World came to be.
So although the people there looked like yokai—strange and otherworldly—at their core, they were human.
"You're Kael, right? Didn't expect to run into you here. I went to Yuto Island to look for you earlier but couldn't find you. You actually made it all the way here on your own. Impressive—ribbit ribbit…"
Mappy recognized Kael from the photo sent by the IGO.
But midway through speaking, he unconsciously slipped into frog noises.
It was a common quirk. Not only had their appearances changed, but certain habits had too. When Mappy got nervous, he'd start croaking. And when he was terrified, he'd even regress into a tadpole form.
"I'm Kael. You're from the Bewitching Food World, right? Could you not speak in frog language?"
Kael rubbed his temples.
He was talented. He was strong.
But that didn't mean he understood frog.
"Sorry, sorry. I got carried away. Let me introduce myself properly. I'm Mappy. I'll take you to the Bewitching Food World."
Kael climbed onto the Car Frog.
It was fast—like a bolt of lightning—and terrain meant nothing to it.
"You know, it's been a long time since someone like you entered the Gourmet World. No supplies, no camping monster(Beast Vehicle), and you made it through the Golden Swamp alone."
Mappy sounded genuinely impressed.
Plenty of people had tried entering the Gourmet World before. Most died near the entrance of Yuto Island.
Very few even reached the Golden Swamp.
Fewer still crossed it and arrived at the Heavy Rain Region.
Now he understood why the IGO had specifically asked them to escort Kael—and mentioned he was important.
Kael had real ability. He might become a major figure one day.
While the Bewitching Food World residents were far stronger than the average Human World citizen, humanity still produced monsters.
Ichiryu and his brothers. Setsuno.
Even the powerful members of the IGO and Gourmet Corp who could enter the Gourmet World.
None of them were ordinary.
"I just haven't found a suitable Beast Vehicle yet. I plan to get one after I arrive. As for strength—I wouldn't have come here alone without some confidence."
Kael smiled.
He always prepared thoroughly before entering the Gourmet World.
Mappy nodded.
Living in the Gourmet World meant constant vigilance. Even though Mappy looked relaxed, Kael could tell his body was always in a combat-ready state.
At any moment, he could unleash his full power.
That was the basic quality of a veteran.
Kael was the same.
No matter how familiar the path, a beast could appear out of nowhere.
In this world, survival required endless caution.
Soon, they neared the Bewitching Food World.
The massive raindrops gradually transformed into drifting, soul-like droplets. They only looked like spirits—at their core, they were still rain.
Still, it was beautiful.
Before Kael could admire it further, they arrived.
At this point in time, the Bewitching Food World wasn't as prosperous as in the original story. Back then, they'd discovered new ingredients, and Melk the First and others from the Human World had brought advanced knowledge.
Melk had even taught them the Melk-style sharpening techniques.
Not out of pure kindness—but because they owed a debt. The Bewitching Food World had saved them, and they needed help preparing AIR.
But right now, while food wasn't scarce, Midora's Meteor Spice attack in the original timeline had devastated parts of the Gourmet World near the Human World.
The Bewitching Food World had suffered too.
That was why Brunch harbored deep resentment toward Midora.
The residents here were born with Gourmet Cells. Even if not all were powerful, they were all big eaters.
And only a handful could hunt outside safely. The rest survived under the protection of the Horse King.
The Horse King didn't provide food—only safety from Area 8's beasts.
Even with mental preparation, Kael couldn't help feeling speechless at the sight of the villagers.
They were… uniquely shaped.
All based on yokai designs from Japan. Not terrifying—just bizarre.
"This is the guest from the Human World?"
Under Mappy's lead, villagers gathered around. To them, Kael looked just as strange. They rarely interacted with the Human World anymore.
It was like when Brunch first went to the Human World and people stared at him.
Mappy brought Kael to the village chief, Daruma Hermit.
In the canon, Zebra had borrowed a Daruma Demon Horse from him.
In truth, Zebra had already visited Area 8 before the Four Beasts incident. Otherwise, he couldn't have borrowed it.
But without the special ingredients, his power hadn't skyrocketed yet. Food Honor alone wasn't enough—because everyone strong had it.
"Nice to meet you, Daruma Hermit. My name is Kael. I'm a chef from the Human World."
Kael introduced himself plainly.
No matter how strong he became as a Gourmet Hunter, he was a chef first.
"Welcome. I have arranged a banquet for you. Let's head to Brunch's place."
Daruma Hermit treated him with great respect.
After all, Kael was Setsuno's disciple.
They had met both Setsuno and Jiro before. Either one could wipe out the Bewitching Food World with ease.
They wouldn't dare neglect her disciple.
Unaware that Kael's true purpose here far exceeded their expectations, Daruma Hermit led him toward Brunch's restaurant.
"Move it! The guest is already here!"
Before they even entered, a loud voice rang out.
That had to be Brunch.
In the original story, he didn't show much respect to Setsuno—but only because he knew she wouldn't lower herself to punish a junior.
If he'd misunderstood her temperament, he wouldn't have dared utter a word.
Now, facing her disciple, Brunch knew one thing—
No matter who Kael was—
A guest was a guest.
And he had to be treated properly.
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*The Bonus Chapter*