"Perfect! Finally, I don't have to waste time with those boring written tests!" Zebura roared, hands on his hips, laughing. "I finally met an examiner with some sense!"
Setsuna shot a deadpan look at the examiner, who was chuckling nervously and rubbing his hands. He strongly suspected the examiner was simply terrified of provoking Zebura.
"Oh well. This is a good outcome for me too—it saves unnecessary time," Setsuna accepted the rule change and turned to Zebura. "So, is the next step just a fight between the two of us?"
"He's not forfeiting," the Chief Examiner thought, startled. He kindly warned Setsuna, "There's another test in six months. You might want to take some time to prepare and try again then."
"Looks like you have some brains, but not much," Zebura sneered. "If he dares to talk like this, of course he has confidence."
Zebura's eyes glowed with intensity as he looked at Setsuna. "I'm getting a dangerous premonition that's making my blood boil! I might actually lose here today."
The Chief Examiner subconsciously dropped his jaw. What did he just hear? Zebura, the strongest of the Four Heavenly Kings, suggesting he might lose?
Setsuna just offered a faint smile. "Should we prepare the testing grounds now?"
"Yes, right away!"
The Chief Examiner quickly arranged for the two to enter the Beast Fighting Colosseum, a huge oval arena. The spectators' seats on the high platforms were empty, as everyone had clearly been scared off by Zebura's arrival.
Before the Chief Examiner could give the signal, Zebura shouted, "Here I come! Sound Rocket Punch!"
Zebura let out a fierce roar, and the air shook. A visible shockwave rushed straight toward Setsuna.
Setsuna simply raised his right hand and pressed the sonic blast down. With a single squeeze of his fingers, the solidified air current exploded outwards, instantly causing the surrounding walls to collapse.
Fortunately, the Chief Examiner had scurried out the moment he saw trouble, watching from a distance, so the two didn't have to worry about collateral damage.
"Sonic Nuclear Missile!" Zebura threw his head back to charge, and a burst of explosive sound waves instantly poured out.
"Kikoho!" Setsuna brought his thumbs together, and a beam of terrifying energy shot out, meeting the sonic missile head-on.
Boom!
The ground between the two instantly vaporized, leaving a bottomless chasm below. The huge arena shook violently, looking like it would crumble and disintegrate at any moment.
The Chief Examiner, watching from far away, was drenched in cold sweat. This Colosseum was built to withstand attacks from beasts with a Capture Level of 100. This meant the Capture Levels of these two individuals were definitely above 100—they were certified human-shaped monsters!
"Hahaha, that's the stuff!" Zebura laughed heartily. The Four Heavenly Kings grew up together and sparred often, but Sani and Coco's fighting styles were too restrained for him. Though Toriko's style was to his liking, his power was a little too weak to let him fight all out.
Finally, he had met an opponent who could allow him to fully unleash his strength.
Setsuna also felt the combat genes in his body awakening. Trading such powerful, reckless energy blasts was undeniably thrilling.
The ring continued to tremble.
Zebura's body, like a battle tank, crushed the ground. His heavily muscled right arm pulled back, and the air-ripping velocity of his punch created a sonic boom-like whistle.
Beyond his sonic attacks, his sheer physical strength was formidable.
Setsuna stood his ground. He pulled his right leg back into a lunge, and the muscles in his lower back compressed and launched forward like a spring.
In the next second, the two delivered two crushing body blows!
CRACK!
The shockwaves ravaged the arena once more. Zebura's boot soles carved deep, multi-meter-long furrows in the ground. Setsuna's knuckles burst with blood, only to heal completely an instant later.
"Exciting!" Zebura grinned fiercely, rushing forward for a short dash. A left hook aimed straight for Setsuna's ribs.
Setsuna spun to evade, only to see the giant fist suddenly change direction, the elbow chopping down like a battle-axe.
Crunch.
The sound of shattering bone was clearly audible. Setsuna dropped to one knee, spitting out a mouthful of blood foam. Zebura's elbow was also visibly deformed, as if he had struck solid iron.
Setsuna seized the moment for a sweeping leg kick, launching Zebura into the air, then grabbed the Hunter's wrist for an over-the-shoulder throw, slamming the three-hundred-kilogram behemoth violently into the ground.
Rocks shattered and flew. Zebura sprung out, laughing maniacally, his right arm dangling uselessly, but his knee shot up like a battering ram toward Setsuna's chest.
Setsuna crossed his arms to block, using the force to flip backward, and drove both feet hard into his opponent's chin.
Blood and broken teeth flew.
"Tsk, tsk. Youth is wonderful." Jiro, who had slipped in unnoticed, sat on a high platform, watching the fight while shaking a liquor bottle. His eyes were filled with nostalgia. His own fights with Midora were just as bare-knuckled and brutal back in the day.
Jiro thought to himself: Zebura hasn't summoned his Gourmet Demon yet, and my apprentice must have plenty of hidden moves left too. Who will win?
"Sound Blast Knuckle!" Zebura licked his split lip, using the power of Food Immersion to repair his arm. Sonic energy concentrated in his knuckles as he rained down a fierce barrage on Setsuna.
"Four Witches Arm!" Setsuna's clothes ripped along his back as two blood-red, energy-condensed imitation arms extended, meeting the attack head-on.
His Four Witches Arm was distinctly different from Tien Shinhan's technique. Tien's was an activation of his Three-Eyed Clan bloodline, while Setsuna achieved his by finding an alternative path after learning Jiro's Pressure Point techniques.
Jiro used Pressure Points to achieve physical gigantism; Setsuna used the energy of that gigantism to generate extra arms.
"You're an even bigger monster than I am," Zebura grinned, ignoring how many punches he took. He continued to trade blows wildly with Setsuna, refusing to dodge.
The two wrestled and clawed at each other like wild beasts. When they finally separated again, Zebura's right eye was swollen shut, and he was covered in blood. Setsuna's top was completely shredded, his exposed chest covered in purplish-black bruises.
"I give up," Zebura said, twisting his neck and conceding the match cheerfully.
Setsuna frowned slightly. "Shouldn't you still have your Gourmet Demon?"
"I can only use that guy for deterrence right now. I don't think a powerhouse like you would be intimidated by my mere aura," Zebura laughed heartily, then smacked his head. "This is a headache. My old man strictly forbade me from going hunting without a license."
"I have to say, you're much stronger than Toriko," Setsuna said, spitting out a stream of blood. The external injuries on his body began to heal at a visible speed. He sighed internally, "It's a shame that guy is a walking cheat code, and he only ever used about two-thirds of his full potential until the very end."
"Wait, you know Toriko?" Zebura asked excitedly.
"Yeah, I saved him on the edge of the Gourmet World about six months ago," Setsuna replied.
"Haha! Then we're already friends!" Zebura laughed, then shouted loudly, "Hey! Get out here and clean this mess up!"
"Coming, coming!" The Chief Examiner hurried over, his eyes filled with profound respect for Setsuna. "From today, Lord Setsuna, you are officially a Gourmet Hunter!"
At the same time, he couldn't help but inwardly complain: They come and take this exam with this kind of power? Are they trying to ruin it for everyone else?
Setsuna asked, "I want to schedule a Gourmet Cell transplant. When can I start?"
"Huh? You haven't even..." The Chief Examiner was astonished, but quickly reminded himself not to ask too many questions. "You can be scheduled in three days."