“Good heavens, is he going to challenge the Gara Crocodile?”
“I heard the Gara Crocodile’s Capture Level is 5, and the longer it lives, the higher the Capture Level.”
“Mr. Toriko, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Gourmet, encountered a 300-year-old Gara Crocodile in the Barron Islands, and its Capture Level was a whopping 8!”
“Is this freshman crazy?”
“He’s not even a Bronze Gourmet Hunter, yet he dares to challenge a Capture Level 5 Gara Crocodile!”
“Wait a minute, he seems to be from a prominent family. His grandfather was a Master Gourmet Hunter.”
“If he inherited Gourmet Cells, maybe he’ll actually succeed in capturing the Gara Crocodile.”
The freshmen in the Hunter Division of the academy were all exclaiming in shock.
They only dared to choose ingredients with Capture Levels of 1 or 2.
Yet someone was already challenging a Gara Crocodile.
As fellow freshmen, the difference was astounding.
Truly astonishing!
The raucous and noisy commotion drew the attention of the Cooking Division.
The Ten Elite of Totsuki and the aspiring chefs participating in the Cooking Division’s entrance examination all turned their gazes towards the commotion.
On the stage.
Mansam smiled, arms crossed, and the muscles on his thick arms naturally bulged, like chunks of rock exuding a violent beauty.
“Senzoemon, it seems your new freshmen in the Hunter Division of Totsuki Academy have quite a promising sprout among them.”
“Oh, really?”
Nakiri Senzoemon chuckled and stroked his beard.
“The blue-haired boy is called Fujimoto Sei Jūji. I’m quite close with his grandfather, so I let him attend Totsuki Academy.”
After all, Totsuki Academy is a renowned institution in the world of cooking. It has produced many renowned chefs who have achieved fame in the Gourmet World.
But the Hunter Division was only established recently.
Naturally, it is far from the Cooking Division in terms of prestige.
Nakiri Senzoemon wanted to elevate the reputation of the Hunter Division of Totsuki Academy to a higher level.
“Blue-haired boy?”
Mansam touched his shiny head and glanced at Hong Yi in the audience, shaking his head. “The black-haired boy is the one I’m talking about.”
In the arena.
Fujimoto Sei Jūji saw the heated atmosphere and a smile curled at the corner of his lips as he shouted loudly, “Nakiri Erina, if I successfully capture the Gara Crocodile, you’ll be my partner!”
“You’ll only cook for me!”
Good grief.
Trying to steal my partner?
Your path is narrow, young man!
Hong Yi glanced up and down at Fujimoto Sei Jūji, shaking his head in disdain.
After fusing with Yujiro Hanma’s template, his eyesight had become even sharper than that of a hawk. His almost bestial instincts instantly discerned that Fujimoto Sei Jūji’s strength was merely a facade.
Upon hearing this, Nakiri Erina snorted, arrogantly raising her chin. “You’d better succeed in capturing the Gara Crocodile first.”
“Alright!”
Fujimoto Sei Jūji nodded confidently, then said to the Silver Gourmet Hunter beside the iron cage, “Please open the cage, Teacher.”
“Be careful.”
The Silver Gourmet Hunter unfastened the iron lock, as thick as a man’s arm, and opened the iron gate, made of special metal ten times harder than steel.
“Roar——”
The Gara Crocodile, standing at the top of the food chain in the Barron Islands, exuded the predatory aura of a superior being. It opened its blood basin, roaring at Fujimoto Sei Jūji.
The foul stench of the wind blew Fujimoto Sei Jūji’s hair backward, making his face ripple like the surface of a lake.
His legs started trembling.
“My God, this… This is the Gara Crocodile?”
Tears welled up in Fujimoto Sei Jūji’s fearful eyes, and his mother’s image appeared in his mind.
“Go on! Go for it!”
“Capture the Gara Crocodile, and you’ll be the coolest guy!”
“Handsome guy, if you successfully capture the Gara Crocodile, I’ll be your partner!”
All the students inside and outside the stadium started to cheer.
Fujimoto Sei Jūji’s legs trembled, and he was caught in a predicament.
He had only intended to use the entrance examination as an opportunity to show off and try to win Nakiri Erina’s favor.
After all, in the Gourmet Age,
Gourmet Hunters and chefs are symbiotic existences.
It’s said that even a clever housewife can’t make a meal without rice.
If a chef wants to create even more delicious dishes, high-quality ingredients are essential.
And most high-quality ingredients are impossible to buy even with money.
Therefore, having a powerful Gourmet Hunter as a partner is incredibly important.
Similarly,
If a Gourmet Hunter wants to eat delicious food and improve their Gourmet Cells, they need a highly skilled chef to cook it for them.
Many high-quality ingredients require extremely rigorous and highly difficult cooking techniques to turn them into gourmet food.
Take the Capture Level 29 Pufferfish Whale, for instance.
If it’s not cooked properly, it will instantly poison you!
Its powerful poison is strong enough to easily kill a Diamond Gourmet Hunter.
Therefore, Nakiri Erina, who was born with the “God’s Tongue,” became especially significant.
Fujimoto Sei Jūji’s voice trembled as he said, “The… The Gara Crocodile… It’s only Capture Level 5, why… why is it so terrifying…”
“Heh, for powerful Gourmet Hunters, a Capture Level 5 beast isn’t anything special.”
“But for you rookies, a Capture Level 5 beast is enough to be fatal!”
The Silver Gourmet Hunter sneered.
“Furthermore, even though the Gara Crocodile’s Capture Level isn’t high, it’s the king of predators on the Barron Islands. The aura it cultivated is unlike that of any ordinary beast.”
“Alright, stop embarrassing yourself and get out of there.”
The Silver Gourmet Hunter waved his hand impatiently.
Fujimoto Sei Jūji immediately took the opportunity to back down. “I… I haven’t had enough to eat yet. I’ll capture it after I’ve had my fill!”
After saying that.
Fujimoto Sei Jūji, who had been all bark and no bite, sheepishly picked a Capture Level 1 Snake Frog.
“Tsk~~~~”
“I told you, when did this batch of freshmen produce a prodigy capable of capturing a Gara Crocodile?”
“Hilarious, he’s lost face big time.”
“If I were him, I’d wish for a crack in the earth to swallow me up.”
“Don’t bother looking for a crack, just drop out right here. You can’t stay in Totsuki Academy anymore.”
The students of Totsuki Academy booed.
“He hasn’t learned any skills, just knows how to show off.”
The Silver Gourmet Hunter shook his head, about to re-lock the iron gate.
At that moment.
He saw a black-haired boy already inside the giant iron cage.
“He… When did he go in?”
The Silver Gourmet Hunter frowned.
He hadn’t noticed when Hong Yi had entered the cage.
“This student, you should come out now.”
“The Gara Crocodile isn’t something you rookies can capture.”
Hong Yi stood still, unmoved, and politely said, “Please, Teacher, release the Gara Crocodile from its restraints.”
“!!”
“Holy crap, another one who wants to challenge the Gara Crocodile.”
“He’s probably trying to attract Miss Nakiri’s attention.”
“But he didn’t make the ‘capture the Gara Crocodile and you’ll be my partner’ declaration!”
“No, this freshman means business, he actually asked the teacher to unlock the restraints.”
“That’s way too risky, he’s crazy.”
One wave after another.
The teachers and students of Totsuki Academy were once again thrown into chaos!