"Gross. That thing is seriously disgusting!"
The moment Sunny saw it, his hair practically stood on end. Aside from loving beauty, the thing he couldn't stand the most was ugly, revolting creatures—and this one hit every nerve. The instant it appeared, Sunny completely lost it.
"It's just a giant octopus. You don't have to react like that, do you?" Toriko said, looking at him helplessly.
Sunny's strength was solid, and his abilities were incredibly useful, but his personality was a mess. He was obsessed with looks, and anything he found disgusting—edible or not—was an instant no.
Compared to him, Toriko was the complete opposite. He'd eat basically anything.
One was absurdly picky. The other was absurdly gluttonous. In their own way, they made a pretty funny pair.
"A thing covered in tentacles? No way. I'm getting goosebumps just looking at it. I'm killing it!"
The more Sunny looked, the worse he felt. He was determined to take it out.
"In that case, we'll leave it to you. We're going to find the Jewel Meat."
Kael didn't bother interfering. The giant octopus wasn't weak, but it posed zero risk to Sunny. There was no reason for everyone else to wait around.
So Kael led the others into the maze inside the Regal Mammoth, heading off to search for Jewel Meat.
"This maze inside its body is pretty complicated. Which way are we supposed to go?" Toriko asked.
To be honest, mazes were annoying. Zebra wouldn't care—his echolocation could map the entire thing instantly—but the rest of them weren't that lucky.
"Remember what I told you about Food Luck?" Kael said. "It guides us to ingredients. Tina, Komatsu, and I will each walk in the direction we feel is right. Don't think about what anyone else chooses—just go."
Komatsu and Tina immediately nodded. They'd already heard Kael explain Food Luck before, and now that they had a chance to test it, there was no way they'd pass it up.
"I'll count down," Rin said, clearly curious herself. "On three, go."
When the countdown ended, Kael, Tina, and Komatsu all stepped into the same passageway.
"They really chose the same path… Food Luck is incredible!" Toriko exclaimed, eyes wide.
He'd already believed Kael to some extent, but seeing it happen right in front of him still shocked him. He'd also quietly picked a direction in his head—and it was completely different from theirs.
That realization made him feel a bit conflicted. According to Kael, only people with strong Food Luck could do this, which meant his was weaker than theirs.
Kael having powerful Food Luck was one thing—he was Setsuno's disciple and absurdly strong, so Toriko could accept that.
But Komatsu and Tina were another story.
Komatsu, at least, made sense. His cooking skills and personality were special. But Tina? She was just a reporter. And yet her Food Luck was stronger than his.
Even though he didn't quite get it and felt a little frustrated, Toriko still followed along obediently. And at every fork in the maze, their choices kept lining up perfectly.
"I can smell it already. And the light's getting stronger… but there's no path anymore?" Toriko said, looking around.
With his keen sense of smell, he could clearly detect Jewel Meat. But they'd reached a dead end.
If not for the rich aroma and the growing glow around them, Toriko would've started doubting whether Food Luck had failed. There was no ingredient here at all.
"That's because the Jewel Meat is sealed in an enclosed space," Kael said calmly.
As he spoke, Kael swung his hand like a blade, slicing open the fleshy wall in front of them. The opening split apart, and everyone filed inside.
What greeted them was Jewel Meat shining like a miniature sun.
It was a massive sphere of meat, nearly two meters in diameter. Its aroma was irresistible. Jewel Meat could be eaten raw, but doing so would be a waste—cooked properly, it tasted far better.
In the original story, Toriko had turned the tide by eating Jewel Meat raw.
But unless absolutely necessary, that wasn't the best choice.
Kael cut it free and stored it in his space. He had no intention of keeping it all for himself—it was just impractical to haul something that big around, so storing it for now made sense.
After all, he'd come here with Toriko and the others. Hogging it would be shameless.
Besides, there was more Jewel Meat elsewhere. The old First Biotope still had plenty, and Kael planned to visit it eventually. Between the sealed Flaming Dragon Wolf, the Sun Crown Sunflower, and countless other rare ingredients, the old First Biotope was basically a treasure vault.
Naturally, he wasn't going to miss it.
Once Kael explained, no one objected. They trusted he wouldn't eat alone. And with the Jewel Meat gone, the surrounding light faded instantly.
Everything plunged into darkness.
Toriko managed fine—his sense of smell easily guided him back—but Komatsu and Tina couldn't see a thing. Kael conjured a small flame to light the way.
Before long, they exited the maze.
Outside, the giant octopus had already been dealt with. Sunny was waiting for them instead of leaving.
The moment the light vanished earlier, Sunny had known they'd succeeded.
"Let's go. Jewel Meat's secured. Looks like we've got new guests—and enemies—outside."
Kael had already noticed something happening beyond the Regal Mammoth.
Hearing that, Sunny and Toriko nodded immediately. They rushed toward the exit.
If allies had arrived, then Gourmet Corp reinforcements probably had too. Better to get out fast before anyone got hurt.
When they emerged from the mammoth's mouth, they saw two figures fighting on the bone-strewn clearing ahead.
One was pitch black, with corrosive liquid dripping from his body. Wherever it fell, even bone melted away.
The other was a gray-black GT Robot.
"That's Coco!" Komatsu exclaimed.
He recognized him instantly. Coco had taken great care of him back in the beach cave—partly because Komatsu wasn't afraid of him at all, even comforting him instead. Coco genuinely liked him.
"This is bad. Coco's at his limit," Sunny said grimly. "Toriko, let's go!"
Normally, when Coco fought seriously, his body turned deep purple. Black meant he was fighting for his life.
And right now, he was clearly running on fumes. He could barely hold the GT Robot back, his movements slowing with every exchange—classic signs of calorie exhaustion.
"Toriko? Sunny? You're out already!"
Coco looked over in surprise, relief flashing across his face.
When he arrived, he'd seen the destroyed GT Robot and the knocked-out Regal Mammoth. He was about to enter when another presence appeared—riding a two-headed crocodile dragon, radiating terrifying pressure.
Coco recognized him immediately. He'd sensed that same presence back in the beach cave.
Even now, the pressure alone forced him into combat mode.
Coco knew he was outmatched. But Toriko and the others were inside capturing Jewel Meat.
Letting this GT Robot in would put them in danger.
So even knowing he couldn't win, Coco still fought.
As for the two-headed crocodile dragon, it was handled by Sunny's companion Kiss—a member of the Crow King's species. Even as a juvenile, Kiss was more than enough to deal with it.
Still, after only a few exchanges, Coco realized he'd overestimated himself.
Holding the enemy back for even thirty seconds was already his limit. And that was with the opponent not taking things seriously.
Just as Coco felt he might die here, Toriko and Sunny arrived.
Now, three of the Four Heavenly Kings stood together against the GT Robot.
"We saw that guy back in the beach cave. He's terrifying," Tina said, still filming. "Can they really win?"
Kael sighed. She truly cared more about news than her own life.
"They can't beat him together," Kael said calmly. "But don't worry. Let them fight for now. If it gets too dangerous, I'll step in."
With Kael leading them earlier, they'd faced no real danger. Most enemies had been handled by him alone. This was a good chance for Toriko and the others to test themselves.
Even if they couldn't win, they could hold out for a while.
"This guy's on a completely different level," Sunny muttered after the first clash. "My attacks can't even break his defense. Even Backlash got smashed!"
Normally, his techniques were incredibly effective. But against this opponent, they were useless.
If not for his hair protecting him, that single blow would've taken him out of the fight entirely.
"My Nail Punch isn't doing anything either," Toriko growled. "This is nothing like the ones we fought before."
The pressure was overwhelming. Even with all three of them, they could barely keep up—and the GT Robot clearly wasn't serious yet.
In truth, Stajun hadn't gone all out.
If he removed the limiter and fully synchronized with the GT Robot, its power would increase significantly—though at the cost of sharing pain.
In the original story, Toriko, powered up by Jewel Meat, had smashed Stajun's GT Robot to pieces, leaving him barely able to walk from the pain.
"You've already captured the Jewel Meat, haven't you?" Stajun asked coolly. "Where is it?"
He was puzzled. If Toriko and Sunny were out here, the Jewel Meat had to be taken. But none of them were carrying anything.
He didn't know Kael had storage space, so the disappearance confused him.
"Why should we tell you?" Toriko snapped.
Gourmet Corp was the enemy. There was no chance he'd cooperate.
"I'll find out one way or another," Stajun said calmly.
He planned to knock them all down, then question Kael and the others.
A reasonable plan—if Kael weren't the strongest one present.
When Stajun finally decided to get serious, the Four Heavenly Kings felt it instantly.
They'd barely been holding on before.
In the next moment, Coco was blasted away.
They hadn't even seen the attack.
The gap was that overwhelming.