Multiverse Gourmet Hunter

Haruto’s heartbeat quickened as he watched the approaching school, excitement flashing through his eyes.

These were Puffer Whales, the legendary delicacy of the deep sea.

Every single one was worth a fortune, and capturing the entire school would be enough to drive countless Gourmet Hunters mad with envy.

The urge to take them all at once immediately crossed his mind, but reason quickly suppressed it.

Puffer Whales were far too timid. The moment they sensed danger, poison would spread throughout their bodies.

With his current abilities, capturing the whole school in one sweep was impossible. He would have to remain patient and take them one at a time.

Haruto drew a compact Knocking Gun, small and light enough to use easily underwater.

Then he activated Zetsu, suppressing his aura and even his sense of presence until he seemed to blend completely into the surrounding sea.

Once everything was ready, he carefully approached the school.

His movements were slow and gentle, creating as little disturbance in the water as possible.

The Puffer Whales noticed nothing.

They continued drifting lazily through the shallows, their round bodies making them look remarkably cute, entirely unaware that danger was quietly drawing closer.

Haruto fixed his gaze on one of them and gradually narrowed the distance.

Once he was close enough, he gently supported the Puffer Whale’s plump body with one hand.

With the other, he slowly raised the Knocking Gun and aimed its muzzle through the opening beside its gills.

At that moment, Haruto focused every bit of his concentration on the fish before him and pushed all distracting thoughts from his mind.

The surrounding water seemed to freeze.

Even time felt as though it had slowed.

Then Haruto lightly pressed the activation button.

The needle shot through the gill opening and struck the pressure point beneath the Puffer Whale’s brain.

Haruto withdrew the gun and stared intensely at the fish, silently praying that he had succeeded.

Fortunately, he had.

The Puffer Whale slipped into an anesthetized state.

Its fins stopped moving, and its round body floated quietly through the water without any further reaction.

An excited smile spread across Haruto’s face.

He had prepared thoroughly, but successfully capturing one on his very first attempt still filled him with delight.

Haruto quickly forced the smile down and calmed himself.

This was only the first Puffer Whale.

He still had plenty of work ahead.

He carefully stored the anesthetized fish inside Gourmet Restaurant, then turned his attention toward the next one.

One.

Two.

Three.

Haruto’s movements remained steady, and his technique grew more practiced with every attempt.

He successfully captured seven Puffer Whales in succession.

However, the strain of remaining tense for so long, combined with holding his breath underwater, nearly caused him to fail on the seventh.

Haruto stopped immediately and slowly rose toward the surface.

The instant his head emerged, cool air rushed into his lungs. He drew several deep breaths, filling them with fresh air.

After moving his arms and legs to loosen his body and briefly adjusting his condition, Haruto inhaled deeply, tightened his grip on the Knocking Gun, and dived once more.

He slowly approached the Puffer Whale school, which continued drifting peacefully through the shallows.

...

Elsewhere inside the underground cavern, Toriko and Coco had finally found Komatsu after he had been abducted.

The three immediately quickened their pace.

Their battle with the Devil Serpent and the time spent searching for Komatsu had already delayed them considerably.

If they wasted any more time, the Puffer Whales might leave before they arrived.

Fortunately, the rest of the journey passed without further trouble, and they soon reached the underground beach.

At that moment, Haruto was sitting on the sand and eating Red Dragon jerky to replenish his strength.

Capturing Puffer Whales did not require combat, but the physical and mental strain was no less exhausting than fighting at full power.

His fatigue had already caused one attempt to fail, poisoning and killing the fish.

That had forced him to stop and recover on shore.

Haruto had only taken a few bites when he saw Toriko, Coco, and Komatsu arriving at the beach.

He greeted them first.

"Toriko, Komatsu, you made it!"

"And you must be Coco, one of the Four Heavenly Kings."

"I’m Suzuki Haruto, a chef who also works as a Gourmet Hunter."

Haruto’s voice drew the three away from the dreamlike beauty of the beach.

Komatsu’s face brightened when he recognized him, and he quickly hurried forward.

"Haruto-san!"

Toriko broke into his usual broad smile.

"I didn’t expect you to beat us here."

He was not especially surprised that Haruto had reached the spawning grounds first.

Toriko could already tell that Haruto was quite powerful.

Since Haruto had arrived at the cavern earlier than they had, it was perfectly reasonable for him to find the beach ahead of them.

Coco studied Haruto for a moment, his gaze shifting subtly.

Haruto’s electromagnetic field felt strange, and Coco had never heard his name before.

Still, judging by the familiar way Toriko and Komatsu treated him, they clearly knew each other.

"Hello. I’m Coco."

"Enough introductions. Let’s hurry up and catch some Puffer Whales!" Toriko said impatiently. "I’ve been waiting forever to taste one!"

He had been looking forward to this so much that he had not even stopped to taste the Devil Serpent they encountered along the way.

"We really should hurry," Haruto agreed. "The school will be leaving soon."

He quickly stuffed the remaining Red Dragon jerky into his mouth.

Now that Toriko and the others had arrived, he would only have time for one more attempt. There was no chance to continue resting.

Unfortunately, Haruto had not yet fully recovered.

Even so, he should still be able to capture another three to five Puffer Whales.

"What? They’re already about to leave?"

Toriko immediately stripped off his shirt, revealing his powerfully built body.

He kicked off the sand and dove into the sea, sending clear droplets sparkling through the air before vanishing beneath the surface.

Coco and Komatsu exchanged a glance before following him into the water.

Haruto rose as well and dived after them, descending toward the Puffer Whale school.

Underwater, Toriko grew impatient the moment he drew close and instinctively reached toward one of the fish.

Before he could even touch it, the Puffer Whale sensed the danger, became poisoned, and died.

Toriko immediately stopped himself from trying again.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed Haruto and Coco nearby.

Both moved as gently as the surrounding currents, with their presences completely suppressed as they slowly approached the Puffer Whales.

Toriko instantly realized that he had been far too impatient.

Komatsu, meanwhile, was a terrible swimmer.

He flailed around helplessly, failed to dive at all, and swallowed several mouthfuls of seawater.

With no other choice, he awkwardly turned around and struggled back to shore to wait.

Haruto slowly approached another Puffer Whale and anesthetized it with his Knocking Gun.

Coco glanced toward him.

From Haruto’s technique, he could tell that Haruto was reasonably skilled and had clearly prepared carefully for this expedition.

Coco withdrew his gaze, swam toward another Puffer Whale, and successfully captured it.

After watching Haruto and Coco, Toriko understood the secret.

This was not a hunt that required brute force.

It demanded concealment, gentleness, and precision.

Once Toriko grasped that, the restless edge in his presence disappeared.

His entire aura gradually melted into the surrounding seawater.

He slowly moved closer to one of the Puffer Whales without making a sound, then completed the Knocking with a single finger.

His first successful capture.

Seeing how quickly Toriko had understood the technique, Coco could not help admiring his extraordinary talent as a Gourmet Hunter.

He then turned away and continued capturing more fish.

Catching the Puffer Whale was only the first obstacle to eating it.

The second was removing the poison sac.

Even Coco could not guarantee that he would succeed on his first attempt, so he needed to capture as many as possible.

Haruto paid no attention to Toriko and Coco’s progress.

Every bit of his concentration was devoted to his own hunt.

Because he had not fully recovered, however, his movements gradually slowed.

After capturing a fifth Puffer Whale, Haruto knew he had reached his limit.

At the same time, the school had finished spawning and begun swimming back toward the deep sea.

Haruto did not hesitate.

He immediately rose toward the surface.

Not long after he returned to shore, Toriko and Coco emerged as well, bringing the Puffer Whales they had captured with them.

Between the two of them, they had caught ten.