Food Wars: The Fishing System-Chapter 143: [] - Capturing the Puffer Whale, Komatsu Asks for an Autograph

Chapter 143: [143] - Capturing the Puffer Whale, Komatsu Asks for an Autograph

~ As Usual Every 200 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter

~ Thank You for the Support!

~ Lets Keep Pushing!!

~ 18 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon

<><><><><><><><>

The reason Master Jiro chose the Devil Serpent as a teaching tool was precisely because Knocking it was extremely difficult. If you could skillfully knock a Devil Serpent, you had achieved a mid-level mastery of the art.

"It’s all thanks to your teaching, Master Jiro!"

Yuuki said with a smile. This wasn’t just empty flattery; it was what he truly felt. He could have learned Knocking from other sources, but he never would have progressed so quickly or comprehensively.

This man was the number one Knocking Master in the Human World. If not for Acacia, he would be the best on the planet.

Even the Nitros, who had lived for who knows how long, couldn’t compare to him.

With the Devil Serpent knocked out, Yuuki and Jiro paid it no more mind and headed directly for the beach to capture the Puffer Whales.

Would the serpent eventually wake up? Inevitably. Yuuki’s Knocking proficiency couldn’t yet match Jiro’s, who could immobilize creatures for centuries or even permanently.

But Yuuki’s Knocking could still last for several years. This Devil Serpent wasn’t the Hellboros from the Ice Hell; it didn’t have that kind of powerful life force.

A few years would be more than enough time for it to starve to death. And there were other creatures around.

While they were too scared to approach the powerful Devil Serpent now, once it remained motionless for long enough, they would eventually creep closer.

So, even if Yuuki and Jiro didn’t finish it off, this Devil Serpent was fated to die.

....

Leaving the serpent’s nest, the two continued forward and soon arrived at a breathtakingly beautiful beach.

It was filled with countless crystals and Sea Fireflies, their combined light illuminating the entire cavern.

"The Puffer Whales haven’t started spawning yet. Looks like we’ll have to wait a bit!"

Jiro took the large jar off his back. He hadn’t come to capture Puffer Whales to eat their meat, but to drink their fin-sake.

"I really don’t get you, kid. Liquor is so delicious, yet you won’t touch a drop!"

Taking a swig from a bottle he’d gotten on the train, Jiro looked at Yuuki with a hint of exasperation. He had offered Yuuki a drink before, but Yuuki had told him he was a teetotaler. That had genuinely surprised him.

In this world, almost everyone drank, because some of the liquors were truly exceptional.

Even Ichiryu, a terrible lightweight, would still drink. But here was Yuuki, a complete anomaly.

Yuuki could only say that was just how he was. He had absolutely no interest in alcohol.

Even though his Gourmet Cells could grant him immunity to the effects of most alcohol, he still refused to touch it.

"It’s a personal thing. I just don’t have any feeling for it."

Yuuki waved his hand dismissively. The two of them then sat on the beach, chatting while they waited. After a good while, the Puffer Whale spawning finally ended. This was the perfect opportunity for capture.

"The capturing is on you. Your hair is more convenient."

Jiro handed the massive jar to Yuuki, who nodded and sent his hair plunging directly into the sea.

As his hair spread out, strand after strand, Puffer Whales were knocked and brought out of the water.

While knocking them, Yuuki also applied a "Preservation Knocking"—a technique that kept ingredients active even after being removed from their natural habitat.

The Puffer Whales were out of the water, but they were still alive. With Yuuki’s current Knocking proficiency, keeping these ingredients fresh for a month would be no problem at all.

And that was without using his Ki. If he did, he could keep them fresh permanently.

After capturing several hundred, Yuuki stopped. It was more than enough.

Only a few thousand Puffer Whales had come here to spawn. Yuuki wouldn’t drain the pond to get all the fish. Besides, if he wanted more Puffer Whales later, he could just go to the old Biotope 10 to capture them.

Taking one Puffer Whale for himself, he placed the rest in the jar.

He planned to prepare one right now and have a taste.

Preparing a Puffer Whale was extremely difficult. In the original story, Komatsu and the others claimed that fewer than ten people in the world could prepare one independently.

That was obviously an exaggeration born from Komatsu’s limited experience at the time. While preparing a Puffer Whale was hard, there was no way only ten people could do it.

Still, it spoke to the immense difficulty of the task.

Inside every Puffer Whale was a massive poison sac. Removing this poison was incredibly difficult. The position and size of the poison sac were different in every single Puffer Whale, and a network of poison glands spread out from the sac throughout its entire body.

There was only one unique path for preparing each Puffer Whale, and that path was constantly changing. This made it incredibly difficult. In the original story, Komatsu failed nine times even with Coco guiding him.

Besides the different cutting paths for the poison glands and sac, there was also the firmness of the flesh. Because Puffer Whales lived in the deep sea, their flesh was incredibly dense.

This made cutting it feel like slicing through frozen meat. You needed a lot of force, but if you used too much, you would inevitably fail.

....

The moment Yuuki held the Puffer Whale, he already saw its internal structure. Even though it was his first time preparing one, with the help of Food Honor, he instantly knew how much force to use.

Even with a large knife, he completed the cuts in an instant, and the poison sac was cleanly removed.

A properly prepared Puffer Whale would normally turn a golden color, but this one didn’t. This was because Yuuki’s preparation speed was simply too fast.

After mastering Food Honor, one could do many unbelievable things. Their preparation speed could even outpace the reaction of the ingredients themselves.

There was once a chef who mastered Food Honor and could fillet a fish in the water, leaving only the head, tail, and skeleton. The fish, unaware it was just bones, would continue to swim for several years before dying. That was how absurd Food Honor could be; it defied common sense.

This Puffer Whale hadn’t even realized it had been prepared, which was why its color hadn’t changed...

"Should have gone a little slower."

Compared to this color, Yuuki thought the golden Puffer Whale looked much better. But it was already done, so there was nothing for it but to eat it.

Unlike Toriko and the others, who ate it as sashimi, Yuuki planned to make a soup. An ingredient like the Puffer Whale was excellent for soup.

As for the fins, he gave them to Jiro, who set up his own cooking tools on the side to make fin-sake.

Since the two of them planned to continue deeper into the cave and weren’t leaving the beach yet, they weren’t in a hurry.

But soon, a massive roar echoed from the cave entrance.

"That’s... a beast deterrent item. But in this place, the only thing it would be used on is a Devil Serpent, and that item isn’t strong enough to deter one. I’ll be back in a bit. Keep an eye on my fin-sake!"

Jiro said and then vanished. If it had been any other disturbance, he wouldn’t have bothered. But on the train, he had seen Toriko give that item to Komatsu.

For it to be used now meant Komatsu was in danger.

Jiro would save Komatsu and Toriko’s lives, partly because he had promised on the train that he would repay their kindness, and partly because of their potent Food Luck.

He couldn’t let talents with that level of Food Luck die here. So, Jiro went to help.

Actually, Yuuki had been wondering. In the original story, Komatsu survived because Jiro had already left after capturing the Puffer Whales. But now they were here, tasting the fish. Jiro shouldn’t have run into him.

But when Komatsu used the item, Jiro rushed over anyway. It had to be said, Food Luck was truly a mysterious thing. Those with strong Food Luck could almost always turn a crisis into a fortunate encounter.

....

Soon, Jiro returned.

"It was that little guy from the train. But he’s a bit too timid. He used the item to deter a Devil Serpent, but the serpent was fine, and he himself was so scared his heart stopped!"

Jiro returned and explained the situation. Just like in the original story, the sound from the item had ruptured Komatsu’s eardrums and scared him into cardiac arrest.

When Toriko gave him that item, he hadn’t considered whether Komatsu could withstand the impact.

It had to be said, at this point, Toriko and Komatsu’s relationship was just that of ordinary friends. Since they weren’t partners, Toriko naturally wouldn’t look after him constantly.

And Komatsu had insisted on coming here himself; Toriko hadn’t forced him. As an adult, he had to be responsible for his own choices.

That was why in the original story, Toriko had acted so cold when Komatsu was in danger.

Only Coco, because Komatsu hadn’t been repulsed by him from the start, had a high opinion of him. He had even seen Komatsu’s death sign earlier, but unfortunately, due to the Devil Serpent, both he and Toriko had overlooked Komatsu.

It just went to show that erasing a death sign was no easy task.

....

Meanwhile, Yuuki’s pot of Puffer Whale soup was almost ready, its enticing aroma filling the air.

"This smells wonderful. While it can’t compare to Setsu, your culinary skills are undoubtedly on par with the chefs on the rankings."

Jiro was very satisfied with Yuuki’s cooking. After all, Yuuki was still so young; surpassing the older generation of chefs would be an easy task for him in the future.

"It smells so good! Where is that coming from?"

Just as the two were tasting the soup, a voice appeared, and three figures emerged from the cave entrance.

"Eh? It’s the uncle and big brother from the train! Looks like you’ve already caught the Puffer Whales!"

The newcomers were Toriko and his group. Seeing Jiro and Yuuki, Toriko clearly recognized them.

Since Jiro was in his middle-aged form this time, not an old man, Toriko called him "uncle."

"I..."

At this moment, Komatsu also remembered. When he was in danger earlier, it was Jiro who had saved him. But because he was so frightened, Jiro had already left before he had a chance to say thank you.

"Was it you who saved Komatsu? Thank you so much!"

Coco’s favorability towards Komatsu was extremely high, so hearing that it was Jiro who saved him, he immediately expressed his gratitude, while also trying to guess who this man was.

After all, anyone who could pull someone back from the brink of death couldn’t be simple.

"Don’t mention it. Didn’t I say before? I would repay the favor!"

Jiro said with a smile. Hearing this, Komatsu and Toriko were stunned for a moment, but they quickly remembered their encounter on the train.

Without a doubt, this man hadn’t just been talking; he had truly saved Komatsu’s life.

"Who are you people? To be able to get here, capture Puffer Whales, and even knock a Devil Serpent."

Toriko looked at the two of them, his face serious.

"My name is Yuuki. As for him, this is the Knocking Master, Jiro."

Yuuki introduced himself and then Jiro.

"KNOCKING MASTER JIRO?!"

Hearing this, all three of them exclaimed. They knew the name of the legendary Knocking Master.

"Wait, Yuuki... are you Chef Yuuki, the one who created the Century Soup with Granny Setsuno?!"

Komatsu quickly recognized Yuuki’s name as well. The news about the Century Soup had caused a huge stir; the creation of an artificial version was a bombshell in the Human World.

Yuuki had naturally entered everyone’s line of sight.

Komatsu idolized powerful chefs. Although Yuuki’s name wasn’t on the Chef Rankings, to have co-developed a new version of the Century Soup with Granny Setsuno was already an incredible feat.

"C-Chef Yuuki... can I have your autograph?"

Komatsu took out a pen and paper from his backpack, looking at Yuuki with an expectant gaze.

<><><><><><><><>

~ 18 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!

https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx

(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)

<><><><><><><><>

~# Keep the Chapters coming — Support with Power Stones!

~# Every 200 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter

~# Add to Library!

The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel