Although Nono felt Komatsu wasn't exactly normal in some ways, there was no denying that he had saved hundreds of millions of people.
This time, the reason Komatsu made it onto the rankings was largely because of that achievement.
But right after that, Komatsu did something else that made both Kael and Nono question him.
When it came time to collect cooking tools, he didn't take his own exclusive knife.
Komatsu's exclusive knife wasn't the top-tier Melk knife from the original story, but a high-grade one. After all, the fossil of the Dragon King's Fang had already been taken by Kael, so Komatsu couldn't get his hands on material of that caliber.
The material he used to forge his knife was something Toriko had captured for him.
So in the end, Komatsu only had a high-grade Melk knife.
Still, that was more than enough for now. Once Toriko grew stronger in the future, upgrading it would be easy.
But this time, Komatsu didn't take the knife at all.
It came off as him deliberately disrespecting the others.
From Komatsu's perspective, using the knife he brought felt like taking unfair advantage. But had he even stopped to think? The other competitors weren't using ordinary knives either.
If anything, his decision just came off as a bit self-righteous.
Kael, however, didn't care about that.
What really caught his attention were the super tycoons.
In the original story, Joie came to the Cooking Festival for two reasons. One was those super tycoons. The other was Komatsu—and the recipe book in his hands.
Back then, Joie had run into Master Jiro at the festival and didn't dare make a move. On top of that, Midora's Meteor Spice had descended, forcing Jiro to focus on stopping it.
Joie seized the opportunity to escape, slipping away through the shadows.
Komatsu hadn't been taken either. He was eventually brought back to the Gourmet Corp's headquarters in the Gourmet World by Starjun.
These tycoons weren't mechanical bodies. Kael could clearly sense that. Since they were here, that meant Joie should be coming too—unless the presence of IGO and Gourmet Corp made Joie hesitate.
So Kael kept a close eye on them.
As time passed, the matches continued one after another. Aside from observing the tycoons, Kael also watched the contestants.
The Gourmet Corp wouldn't be interfering this time, so Komatsu's matches went smoothly. Unfortunately, his current opponent was simply too strong. There was no real contest.
Komatsu lost.
Even so, he had fought his way through multiple rounds, and his reputation had skyrocketed because of it.
As the competition neared its end, Kael sensed that the super tycoons had all gathered in one place.
They were waiting.
Waiting for Joie.
It looked like Joie planned to take them all at once.
Honestly, Kael couldn't understand what these people were thinking. Cooperating with someone like Joie? The odds of getting stabbed in the back were sky-high.
And yet they still chose to do it.
Maybe they were just afraid of dying.
Joie had told them the Earth would no longer be habitable. If they wanted to survive, they'd have to leave for space. So Joie approached kings and super tycoons alike.
With their wealth, they could build spaceships.
Right now, Joie treated them with respect. But once Earth was gone and the ships truly entered space, these people would become the lowest class aboard.
The group gathered together—and brought someone else with them.
Komatsu's companion, Nakaume.
In the original story, Nakaume had been captured by NEO and witnessed something horrifying. His hair turned white overnight. Later on, he helped Komatsu and Otake at a critical moment.
But honestly, his inclusion at the end always felt forced.
He had appeared before, sure—but barely. He had even less screen time than Otake. At least Otake had a clear growth arc. He started with the same mindset as Komatsu, then after being tempered by society, became someone a bit opportunistic.
For the sake of profit and fame, he was willing to do things he shouldn't have. But after being captured by the Gourmet Corp, he realized what truly mattered wasn't wealth or reputation—it was cooking.
He awakened and grew.
Nakaume, on the other hand? After his first appearance, he was captured, later rescued by Teppei, and that was it. Aside from a name and a personality trait, readers barely knew anything about him.
And yet somehow, he ended up participating in the cooking of GOD.
It felt abrupt. Whether he was there or not made no real difference.
Having little screen time wasn't the problem. But if you're going to make someone stronger, you need to show their growth.
like the 'Marine King' Koby from the pirate world next door.
Suddenly getting strong with barely any buildup. No development, just a power jump. It only made people uncomfortable.
This time, though, Kael didn't let Nakaume be taken so easily.
When he saw Nakaume being escorted by the group toward a meeting point, Kael moved.
He knocked out the people around him in an instant and pulled Nakaume behind him for protection.
They didn't even know each other well, but Kael decided to save him anyway.
"You're Granny Setsuno's disciple, aren't you? What are you doing here?"
The super tycoons recognized Kael immediately. They had no intention of giving him face. After all, they were about to leave.
Everything in the Human World would be handed over to the robots under their control. They would manage things remotely. There were still industries that couldn't just be abandoned.
"What am I doing?" Kael smiled. "I'm here to see what you're up to. Don't tell me you think no one knows you joined NEO."
One sentence.
That was all it took to nearly make the group's legs give out from fear.
NEO was an extremely mysterious organization. They hadn't sought it out themselves. Joie had approached them first, and only then did they learn such a group even existed on Earth.
After that, they were told the planet would explode.
They agreed to Joie's proposal.
Mostly because Joie had shown them enough proof.
And someone like Joie? If he wanted them dead, it would've been effortless.
"You're certainly quick," Setsuno said as she stepped forward. "So these guys have already joined NEO? Now that is interesting."
She didn't seem surprised.
When Kael first sensed something wrong, he had informed Setsuno. She had abandoned watching the competition and come here right away.