The figure that appeared atop the building quickly drew everyone's attention. When the cameras zoomed in, the crowd immediately recognized him—one of the top-ranked chefs in the world, Tengu Brunch.
Just like in the canon, Brunch had drunk far too much and overslept. He only woke up because of the deafening noise from the audience.
The building's soundproofing was excellent—at least for normal people. But anyone with Gourmet Cells had heightened senses. And Brunch wasn't just anyone.
His five senses far surpassed ordinary humans. Against that kind of sensitivity, the Human World's soundproofing might as well not have existed. The roar of the crowd reached him clearly, and that was what dragged him out of his sleep.
Honestly, he had some nerve. He'd come to participate in the Cooking Festival, yet he'd slept straight through half of it without caring what anyone thought.
"You guys are way too loud! Shut the hell up!"
Even Brunch wasn't used to the combined noise of hundreds of millions of people. His furious shout exploded across the venue.
As one of the new generation Three Beast Warriors, his strength was no joke. That single roar completely drowned out the voices of the massive crowd.
That was the effect of high-level Gourmet Cells. Once someone reached a certain threshold, numbers no longer mattered.
The Four Beast's offspring had proven that. Without true powerhouses holding the line, it didn't matter how many ordinary people there were. As for weapons? Human technology wasn't weak—but against the savage beasts of the Gourmet World, it still fell short.
In the world of Toriko, individual strength reigned supreme.
"What an arrogant bastard."
Zebra didn't bother hiding his displeasure. He fired a sound bullet straight at Brunch.
But this Brunch wasn't the same as the one from the canon.
His Gourmet Cells had undergone three additional activations. One of them had been triggered by AIR, and that boost had been enormous. One of his arms had even awakened.
Because Brunch already possessed traits of a Gourmet Demon, the awakening of a single arm didn't change his appearance much. He was different from normal humans in that regard.
After several rounds of enhancement, there was no way Zebra's attack would land.
The moment Zebra released the sound bullet, lightning crackled out from Brunch and shattered it instantly.
As the sound bullet dispersed, Brunch locked onto the one who attacked him. In a flash, he appeared in front of Zebra and the others.
Toriko and the rest were momentarily stunned.
Sunny and Coco hadn't expected Zebra to attack without warning.
Zebra himself hadn't expected his move to be broken so easily.
This time, Zebra hadn't entered the Gourmet World. He had intended to go, but at the time, the Bewitching Food World had been busy dealing with AIR and had no time for him.
With no one to receive him, Zebra hadn't continued forward. During the Four Beast's battle, he also hadn't borrowed the Daruma Horse.
To be honest, in the anime, that Daruma Horse had been pretty useless.
Zebra had treated it as little more than transportation. Maybe he'd felt annoyed seeing everyone else with their own partners, so he went and borrowed it out of spite.
"You're the one who attacked me just now, right?"
Brunch's eyes fixed squarely on Zebra.
He was noticeably stronger than Zebra at this point. Even just releasing his aura made the Four Heavenly Kings feel the pressure.
An argument quickly broke out between Brunch and the Four Heavenly Kings.
To be fair, it wasn't entirely Zebra's fault.
Brunch's shout had been so powerful it created shockwaves.
Those sound waves had reached Zebra—that was why he fired back.
But both of them had explosive personalities. Neither was willing to back down.
If this were the Bewitching Food World, Brunch probably would have attacked already.
But this was the Human World. He was on someone else's turf. Better not to cause too much trouble.
Besides, he knew who Toriko and the others were. They belonged to IGO—and they were the most outstanding figures among IGO's younger generation.
He didn't want to provoke them casually. IGO and the Bewitching Food World maintained close ties.
"Hm? Isn't that Chef Kael?"
Brunch suddenly spotted a familiar figure.
He immediately lost interest in Toriko's group.
He had been somewhat curious about the chef named Komatsu, but seeing Kael—his great benefactor—changed everything. Brunch darted over without hesitation.
At this point, he practically counted as one of Kael's biggest fans. Running into his benefactor and idol meant he had to greet him.
"Brunch, didn't expect we'd meet in the Human World this time. This is Nono, my senior. Nono, this is Chef Brunch from the Bewitching Food World. You should know him."
Kael made a brief introduction for both sides.
"I've met him before. At the last Cooking Festival."
Nono smiled. Brunch had participated in multiple Cooking Festivals, so she wasn't unfamiliar with him.
"So you're Chef Kael's big sister. By the way, why aren't you and Chef Kael participating in this Cooking Festival? Isn't this supposed to be one of the most important gatherings of chefs in the Human World?"
Brunch sounded genuinely curious.
Even someone from the Bewitching Food World like him had come to participate. Yet Kael and Nono weren't competing.
"We're fine just watching. We're not that interested."
Kael answered tactfully.
Brunch turned his gaze toward the giant screen.
"Yeah… there are barely a few here who can even compare to me, let alone Chef Kael. Oh right—Chef Kael, do you know a chef named Komatsu? Those Four Heavenly Kings were swearing up and down earlier that he'd defeat me."
Brunch looked slightly annoyed.
He didn't know who Komatsu was. But the way the Four Heavenly Kings had spoken with such confidence had piqued his interest. Now was the perfect time to ask about him.
"You forgot? He's the kid I told you about—the one working on recreating the New Century Soup. He's already succeeded."
Kael replied calmly.