After Shun dispatched the mutant Garara Gator that had ruled the Baron Archipelago for three centuries, he didn't leave right away.
He deftly carved off several prime cuts of gator meat and rekindled a campfire on the spot.
As the flesh began to roast, an indescribable aroma spread—unlike ordinary meat, it carried a deep, heavy wildness and, beneath that, a surge of life-energy.
Under the licking flames the surface turned golden and lightly crisped; fat dripped and hissed, a tempting sizzle in the quiet.
Shun dusted the steaks with special seasonings from the Universal Spice Casket, and the fragrance bloomed upward into something more layered and complex.
He tore off a freshly roasted piece and popped it into his mouth. The sheen on the cut looked almost like nectar at first glance.
"So good."
He'd eaten plenty of high-grade meats, but this was on a different plane.
The texture was powerfully springy yet melted apart as he chewed, unleashing a flood of juices. Hard to pin down in words: the clean sweetness unique to gator, but backed by a mellow depth like years of wind and rain concentrated into flavor.
The spices sank in just right—cutting any hint of funk while pushing the meat's true taste to the limit.
Each bite sent a warm, vast energy trickling into him, drawing a contented answer from his Gourmet Cells.
This wasn't ordinary predator meat. Three hundred years of accumulation had made it a genuine high-tier ingredient.
"As expected of an old monster—this taste is superb. Worth the trip." Shun nodded, then ate his fill of the victory feast.
When he finished, he used IGO's emergency communicator to ping the Gourmet Hotel, reporting that the Garara Gator had been captured and requesting a team to haul the massive ingredient. He kept only enough of the best cuts to feed himself for a while, stowing them in his system pack.
Almost as he wrapped up, the system chimed in his head:
"Ding! Rare high-grade ingredient detected: 'Mutant Garara Gator' (Capture Level 8)."
"Long-term Mission [Become a Gourmet Hunter] progress updated: 1/5. Please continue to seek the remaining four high-grade ingredients."
At the prompt, Shun nodded to himself.
"Good. First target down. Next up—the Rainbow Fruit."
◇ ◇ ◇
Per IGO's intel—and Shun's own memory—the Rainbow Fruit grows in a specific ecological setup: the Courtyards.
These "courtyards" aren't ordinary gardens. They're nature preserves IGO set aside to protect endangered plants and to cultivate new ingredient varieties.
Each courtyard simulates an extreme or unusual environment. From the First to the Eighth Courtyard, area and danger decrease in order.
The smallest, the Eighth Courtyard, has relatively lower predator levels but its carefully tuned environment makes it ideal for special plants.
At present, the Eighth Courtyard's crown achievement is a successful cultivation of an improved Rainbow Fruit. Compared with the fully wild strain, IGO's optimized cultivar not only produces more reliably; in some respects its flavor and nutrition are even better. Its colors are brighter and more alluring—a notably successful IGO line.
However, once the fruit ripens, its aroma saturates the entire courtyard—drawing in bands of Troll Kong.
Highly intelligent, cooperative, and formidable, these apes quickly seized the main grounds and claimed the Rainbow Fruit trees as their private stash, keeping IGO's researchers from getting anywhere near a harvest.
Regular security teams were outmatched by the swarming, crafty Troll Kong, and the situation deadlocked.
After confirming the fruit's location and status, Shun went straight to the head of IGO's Food Development Division—Johannes.
Johannes, a bespectacled, suit-wearing middle-aged man, was neck-deep in Rainbow Fruit headaches when Shun arrived.
"Johannes-buchō," Shun said, getting right to the point, "I hear there's trouble with the Eighth Courtyard's Rainbow Fruit. I can handle the Troll Kong and secure the harvest."
Johannes adjusted his glasses, studying the young hunter whose name had lately spread through the gourmet world. Cautious, he asked, "Thank you, Shun-san. Your conditions?"
Shun's reputation had already risen—and the Garara Gator capture had plenty at IGO keeping an eye on him.
Shun smiled, calm but confident. "I'm not here to poach IGO's research gains. All I want is one mature Rainbow Fruit as payment. The rest are all yours. I'll also guarantee zero damage to the fruit."
A generous deal. One fruit is a drop in the bucket compared to a full harvest—well worth the removal of a serious threat and a safe recovery.
Johannes barely hesitated. He extended his hand with a relieved smile. "Deal! Shun-san, I'll arrange a team to coordinate with you at once and provide a detailed map of the Eighth Courtyard and the Troll Kong activity patterns!"
Agreement reached, Shun didn't waste time. Guided by IGO staff, he soon arrived at the Eighth Courtyard's gate.
Unlike the savage sprawl of the Baron Archipelago, the Eighth Courtyard—though natural—showed clear signs of planning and upkeep. The vegetation layered neatly, the atmosphere comparatively "mild."
Even so, a faint, feral scent—belonging to the Troll Kong packs—hung in the air, warning of what lay ahead.
In the "original story," Toriko had answered the Troll Kong's provocation by forcing open the special gate—100 meters high and 3 meters thick—with brute strength.
When Shun arrived, no Troll Kong were near the gate. The staff opened it up, and they entered smoothly.
The moment he slipped inside, a weird pressure rolled out to meet him—like gusts riding on distant thunder.
(End of Chapter)
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