"Although what I did was a little impolite, I am your brother, and you're actually helping outsiders!"
Sunny knew he was in the wrong, but his sister siding with others stung.
"It's obviously you who's in the wrong!"
Rin didn't back down, fists clenched.
"Enough. Focus on capturing the Jewel Meat instead of squabbling. The GT Robots have already entered the Biotope 1!"
Mansam barked, effortlessly hoisting a massive elephant. The beast's weight meant nothing to his titanic strength.
"What nonsense, Director? Didn't I already catch the Regal Mammoth?"
Sunny glared, convinced Mansam's age was showing. The target ingredient was right here!
"Ahem. This is merely a cubs. The true Regal Mammoth is a Kilometer-Class Beast."
Zed cut in. All eyes snapped to the elephant in Mansam's grip.
"This… is a cubs?! How big is the adult? What's a Kilometer-Class Beast?"
Sunny and the others gaped.
"An adult Regal Mammoth stands over a kilometer tall," Mansam explained. "In the human world, such giants dwell beyond the Regal Isle. Rarely, however rumors, some do roam elsewhere."
"A Kilometer-Class Beast… This complicates things. And Sunny took its cubs. Let's hope the mother doesn't retaliate."
Toriko grimaced. An enraged parent was never good.
"I'll test this cubs for Jewel Meat. You lot hurry—don't let the GT Robots claim it first."
Mansam lumbered away with the mammoth, leaving the group tense.
"Tch. A Kilometer-Class Beast and GT Robots? Just my luck."
Sunny groaned. The sheer destructive power of such a creature was daunting, though their small size offered stealth advantages.
"Something wrong? You look uneasy."
Zed glanced at Erina Nakiri and her companions.
"It's… hard to fathom a beast that massive. The cubs alone was overwhelming." Erina shook her head, her God Tongue tingling with phantom dread.
"Relax. The Regal Mammoth's size is its weakness. I wouldn't bring you here unprepared. Hell, Tatsu alone could handle it."
Zed smirked. A Kilometer-Class Beast's bulk made it sluggish against agile foes. In the original clash, Toriko had outmaneuvered one by exploiting terrain—a lesson Zed remembered well.
"Speaking of… Is this your pet, Zed? That tail strike shredded my hair! What is he?"
Sunny eyed Tatsu, now scrutinizing the sleek, serpentine creature.
"A Devil Serpent mutant. Stronger than you. Test him again, and you'll lose more than hair."
Zed's warning held a teasing edge. Sunny's vanity was harmless, but Tatsu's patience wasn't.
Among the Four Heavenly Kings, Zed got along with all but Zebra. Their rivalry at IGO had been fierce, but Zebra's reckless devouring of Gourmet Cells forced Ichiryu to imprison him in the Food Honor-sealed Honey Prison—a "remedy" to stabilize his power.
"I'll behave." Sunny raised his hands, and the group pressed toward the Biotope 1.
As they trekked, envy flickered among the others. Zed, Erina, and Hisako rode Tatsu, whose scaled back glinted like obsidian. The Devil Serpent tolerated only its chosen riders—everyone else walked.