"Kids these days just keep getting more and more terrifying," the Medicinal Cuisine King, Yuda, said, eyes wide.
He himself was at the second stage of Ascension. On the surface, it looked like he was only one step away from Granny Setsuno—but he knew better than anyone how vast that gap truly was.
It had taken him several decades to climb from the Pathfinding stage to Ascension, and even now, he'd been in Ascension for less than ten years. He was painfully aware that reaching the third stage was basically impossible for him in this life.
And then there was Kael.
Just over twenty years old.
At that age, Yuda hadn't even brushed the edge of ten-star cooking, let alone used nine-star skills to rival Pathfinding-level chefs.
He didn't know how Kael had done it, but one thing was certain—Kael was a monster among monsters. Completely incomparable to people like them.
For a moment, Yuda felt as if he were witnessing the birth of another Granny Setsuno.
No—something even more terrifying than her.
"No wonder Little Setsuno took him as a disciple," Yuda muttered. "With talent like that… it's unbelievable."
Even Ichiryu couldn't hide his surprise. Though he was a Gourmet Hunter, his understanding of chefs ran deep—after all, three of his closest companions were Nitro chefs.
Those three were all third-stage existences, second only to Frohze herself. If not for the innate limitations of the Nitro race, who knew what heights they might have reached?
As Kael's true level was laid bare, the way everyone looked at him changed.
His Gourmet Cell level wasn't particularly high, but in terms of cooking skill alone, Kael was already qualified to stand among them.
Calling him just a "genius" no longer made sense.
Kael clearly sensed the shift in atmosphere. Before, the respect shown to him had been because of Granny Setsuno. Now, it was entirely different.
"Besides announcing my new disciple," Setsuno said, "there's one more thing I'd like to share. The Century Soup has been successfully recreated."
At her signal, Kael, Nono, and Teppei—who had been forcibly dragged in as extra help—carried trays forward. Soon, a bowl of soup was placed in front of each guest.
The soup was crystal clear. If one didn't look closely, it seemed like there was nothing in the bowl at all. Above it shimmered a dazzling aurora, breathtaking in its beauty.
There was no doubt about it.
This was the real Century Soup.
"It really is Century Soup," Yuda said softly. "To think Lady Setsuno managed to recreate it…"
He had tasted Century Soup before, but he lacked the ability to reproduce it himself. Seeing this only made the gap between them even clearer.
Still, it was good news. Once Setsuno succeeded, Century Soup was bound to be sold publicly. Otherwise, she would never have revealed it outright.
After all, this was the period when Century Soup naturally matured. She could have simply claimed it was obtained from the Ice Hell.
Yet she openly stated that she had made it herself.
That said everything.
"So you really pulled it off," Jiro said, genuinely pleased. "Congratulations, Setsuno."
Even he had only just learned the news. After all, Setsuno had spent a full century obsessed with this dish, never once succeeding. At one point, Jiro had even regretted bringing her that original batch a hundred years ago.
But now that she had finally succeeded, he was truly happy for her.
Besides, Century Soup really was delicious. Normally, one could only taste it once every hundred years—but now, that limitation was gone.
Others would need money and Setsuno's approval to buy it, but Jiro was her partner. If he wanted some, Setsuno would naturally do everything she could to make it happen.
As everyone drank the soup, most of them broke into lewd, unrestrained smiles.
These were people long past caring about appearances, so they didn't bother holding back.
A few did manage to suppress the urge, unwilling to look quite that indecent. After all, there were still other dishes to come.
They soon sampled the dishes Kael had prepared as well.
From those dishes, they gained a clear understanding of just how powerful Kael's cooking really was—but at the same time, every chef present couldn't help frowning.
Kael had used Qi while cooking.
That meant the ingredients themselves had fundamentally changed.
They recognized what the ingredients were, yet the flavors felt both familiar and completely alien. No matter how they thought about it, they couldn't figure out what techniques could possibly produce such results.
Watching them struggle, Setsuno couldn't help but smile. If she hadn't learned about Qi herself, she would've been just as baffled.
Qi altered ingredients at their core. That was why everyone could identify the ingredients but had no idea how they'd been transformed.
It was a method entirely outside their understanding.
After the meal, no one left immediately.
Gathering this many old monsters in one place was rare. Normally, everyone was too busy for something like this, so they seized the chance to talk, research, and debate.
Among the chefs, the main topic was Kael's cooking—why it was so special.
Neither Kael nor Setsuno explained Qi.
Kael didn't mind the idea of Qi spreading. No one could surpass him in that area anyway, so even if Qi became widespread in the Toriko world, it wouldn't threaten him.
That said, he had no intention of giving it away for free. He'd wait—opportunities would come sooner or later.
Of course, Nono was an exception.
By the time everyone finally dispersed, it was already deep into the night.
Outside Setsuno's Dining Hall, the area was packed solid.
Part of it was because the restaurant had reopened. The other reason was that every person who had entered that day was a major figure of the Human World. Naturally, people were curious about what had happened inside.
Seeing the crowd, Mansam directly explained the reason for the gathering and told everyone to disperse.
As for Jiro, he stayed behind. No one knew what he'd been up to this time—he'd been gone unusually long. In the past, he practically lived here.
Early the next morning, Kael, Setsuno, Jiro, and Nono all gathered in the kitchen.
"Kael," Setsuno asked, "teaching Qi to your Nono-senpai won't be a problem, right?"
Now that she had officially taken him as a disciple, she felt comfortable asking. If their relationship were still purely transactional, she would never have brought it up.
"Of course not," Kael said, nodding. "Nono onee-san is family. Teaching her Qi is no problem at all."
"Now it makes sense," Jiro said. "No wonder Yuda and the others argued for hours yesterday and still couldn't figure anything out. So it's a completely new ability."
He'd noticed them huddled together, endlessly discussing Kael's dishes. At the time, he'd wondered if Kael's cooking was really that outrageous.
Turns out—it was.
"What a shame," Jiro added, shaking his head. "This ability is perfect for chefs, but basically useless for Gourmet Hunters."
To learn Qi, one had to reach at least nine- or ten-star cooking levels. While many Gourmet Hunters doubled as chefs, very few reached that point.
Jiro himself could do it if he wanted—but since Qi was useless to him, there was no reason to waste time on cooking.
"By the way, Sensei," Kael said, "I want to research a new version of Century Soup."
The puzzle in his mind was almost complete. What remained was practice—and that would take time. With so many ingredients involved, it couldn't be rushed.
He estimated it would take at least two months.
"A new Century Soup?" Jiro blinked. "What does that mean?"
Isn't Century Soup just… Century Soup?
"It's Kael's idea," Setsuno explained. "But I think it's viable. The original Century Soup was the one you brought me a hundred years ago."
"Many of those ingredients are extinct now, so when I recreated it, I used substitutes and produced my own version."
"Now he wants to refine it further. If he succeeds, there will be three different Century Soups in the world—and each one will activate Gourmet Cells once."
Jiro was stunned. He hadn't realized Century Soup could have so many variations.
"Can I try making the new Century Soup too?" Nono asked excitedly.
Any chef would be fascinated by a dish like that. Everyone wanted to make it themselves—but so far, only Setsuno had succeeded.
"You can try," Setsuno said gently. "Even if you fail, it's fine."
Nono nodded. She understood—this wasn't doubt, but concern. Century Soup was an insanely complex dish that had trapped her master for a hundred years.
Still, she refused to give up without trying.
From then on, Nono and Kael began researching the new Century Soup together. Most of the exchange consisted of Kael teaching.
Nono was strong, but compared to Kael—who might as well be cheating—the gap was enormous.
Whenever she didn't understand something, she asked Kael first. She also consulted Setsuno, just not as often.
Two weeks later, Kael received news from Setsuno.
IGO had contacted her.
It was about the Regal Mammoth.
IGO was inviting Kael to participate in the capture of Jewel Meat.
"Looks like Little Ichiryu really thinks highly of you," Setsuno said. "He probably wants to introduce you to the Four Heavenly Kings. They're still missing a suitable partner."
One of them was even in prison right now.
The Four Heavenly Kings were Gourmet Hunters—having a powerful chef partner was practically essential.
Toriko seemed to have found someone, but they weren't official partners yet.
"I'm not interested in teaming up with a bunch of muscleheads," Kael said flatly. "Besides, I'm not just a chef—I'm also a Gourmet Hunter. I don't need a partner."
In this world, the word partner carried serious weight.
If a man and a woman became partners, it basically meant they'd end up married.
If it was two men or two women, their bond was even closer than blood siblings.
Toriko and Komatsu were the perfect example. They were both men, yet Toriko would abandon Rin without hesitation to travel the universe with Komatsu.
It was almost as if marrying Rin existed solely to prove Toriko was straight.
Kael had zero interest in partnering with the Four Heavenly Kings.
Their personalities—aside from Zebra's classic tsundere nonsense—weren't bad, but Kael had no desire to team up with musclemen.
If he were to choose a partner, it'd be a beautiful woman.
Unfortunately, in the world of Toriko, finding a beautiful woman who could actually help him was… absurdly difficult.