The Puffer Whale arc is one of the most deeply imprinted episodes in the Toriko world for Shun, and this time he'd prepared for so long that he was determined to win it.
After entering the cavern, the group discovered that the interior was far wider and deeper than it looked from outside.
The enormous grotto resembled the esophagus of some giant beast, winding downward to an unknown destination.
Jagged rocks loomed on all sides, moisture beaded on the slick walls, and droplets fell with echoes that rolled through the hollow dark, laced with faint, inexplicable rustlings from who-knows-where that made the place feel even eerier.
Miyoko held a high-power flashlight and walked cautiously beside Shun, the beam cutting through the blackness to light the way ahead.
"It's even larger in here than I imagined!" Miyoko couldn't help but exclaim, her voice sending a light echo through the cave.
Shun led the way, his Food Honor sense outclassing any detector in the dark.
Back in the Cloud-Opening Realm he had honed this ability to perfection, and there was no mist here to interfere this time.
"Miyoko, stick with me," Shun said gently. "Your Food Honor hasn't reached the utmost yet, so keep following the beam."
"Mm, I know." Feeling Shun's concern, Miyoko's heart warmed.
Shun glanced into the surrounding blackness, thinking to himself.
Darkness does strip humans of their primary source of intel—vision.
When intel is scarce, you can't be too careful, unless everyone could sense with Food Honor the way I do.
"Hm?"
Shun suddenly stopped, eyes fixed on the distance, then strode toward a rock wall on the left.
"Just as I thought… Crunch-Crunch Mushrooms! Wild ones aren't easy to find."
Clusters of gray-white, parasol-shaped mushrooms were growing from fissures in the rock.
"Here, Miyoko—have a taste."
He plucked one and handed it to her.
Miyoko took it and popped it into her mouth, then couldn't help praising it. "Wah! These Crunch-Crunch Mushrooms are delicious!! Bite down and they crackle in your mouth—what a fun ingredient."
"Right? I think they're fantastic too." Shun said this and ate a few himself.
Chewing the Crunch-Crunch Mushrooms, they kept exploring into the depths of the cave.
Before long, they reached a fork. Two pitch-black mouths yawned left and right, both deep and unknown.
"The path splits in two up ahead! Which way do we take?" Miyoko eyed the twin tunnels, unsure.
"Miyoko, what do you think?" Shun handed the choice to the keenest sensor on the team.
Miyoko examined them repeatedly, then focused her senses for a moment before speaking. "Both tunnels carry the damp smell and the off-odor from creature activity. But the one on the right is stronger, mixed with that unpleasant, centipede-like tang—very likely a nest for a large centipede colony…"
"Go on," Shun said calmly.
Miyoko looked to the left-hand opening and continued her analysis. "The left one… besides the usual cave smell, there's a faint trace of seawater saltiness."
Food Honor had given Miyoko exceptional perception, and her five senses were further developed; making a judgment this precise wasn't difficult.
Shun nodded. "You're exactly right. Right is the main nest of those centipedes that ambushed us at the entrance, and left is the correct passage."
So the two of them continued into the left-hand tunnel.
Inside, the floor turned into a steep slope, the ground slick and carpeted with slime-coated moss—very hard to traverse.
"It's slippery here, be careful!" Shun, still in the lead, called back again.
"Okay." Miyoko didn't dare be careless. It was her first time in a place like this, and of course she felt nervous.
Even so, she worked to steady herself and keep her Food Honor in optimal condition.
After a while, Shun suddenly lifted a hand in a stop signal. Miyoko understood and halted.
"What is it?" she asked, angling her flashlight toward the spot Shun indicated—the edge of the ground ahead.
The beam carved open the dark and revealed a sheer drop at their feet.
"That's… a cliff?" Miyoko's heart lurched. She crept to the edge and shone the light downward.
Below wasn't solid ground but a vast depression several meters deep.
Worse, the bottom of the pit and the surrounding rock faces were crawling with nauseating life.
They had deep brown, cockroach-like bodies that gleamed with oil, yet each was enormous—close to two meters long on average—and their tails ended in scorpion-style curved stingers that glinted with a cold light in the dark.
They pressed and writhed against each other, producing a faint, teeth-itching rustle, like a living, malicious black carpet.
"Those are s-scorpion roaches!" Miyoko drew a sharp breath, her voice trembling. "And that's a massive nest!"
Shun's expression tightened a shade; his Food Honor had already mapped the situation below.
Individually these creatures weren't that strong, but their numbers were extreme, and the combined malice plus those obviously venomous stingers would make any intruder think twice.
[Scorpion Roach] (Insect-Beast class)
Capture Level: 7
Notes: Huge cockroaches carrying potent venom. Their grotesque appearance, explosive reproductive speed, and strongly gregarious behavior mean that when they appear in groups, both disgust and danger multiply. In IGO's annual "Creatures You Least Want to Hunt" rankings, they've long topped the list for being "disgusting—do not approach."
"Looks like we've got trouble."
Shun spoke low. "One on one they're not much, but there are too many, and they're poisonous. If we get surrounded, it'll be a pain."
Staring at the black tide of scorpion roaches surging below, Miyoko felt nausea and dread rising together. She forced it down and asked, "How… do we get across? Do we detour?"
Shun surveyed the steep walls and shook his head. "This is a main passage. If we detour we'll likely get lost in even more complex side tunnels, and we're racing the clock—the tidal window for the Puffer Whale is limited."
(End of Chapter)
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