The holographic projection shifted, showing a diagram of the Soul World—a realm of swirling shadows and faint, glowing threads that connected all living things.
"The Soul World," Kaka continued, her voice taking on a lecturer's cadence, "is not a place. It is a state. A dimension that exists parallel to our own, where the essence of all things that have lived—and will live—resides. For most beings, entering the Soul World is death. The moment your physical form crosses that threshold, your life energy begins to drain, converted into the raw material of memory and experience that fuels the cycle of reincarnation."
She held up the drop of [PAIR] essence, which now pulsed with a steady, rhythmic light. "But the [PAIR] changes that. It doesn't just allow entry—it blesses it. The same energy that can resurrect the dead can also preserve the living, wrapping them in a cocoon of life-force that the Soul World cannot consume."
Coco's analytical mind was already working. "So we use the [PAIR] as a... key. A passport. It lets us enter the Soul World without being dissolved."
"Exactly," Kaka beamed. "And once inside, we can hunt the [ANOTHER]. The fish treasure, you see, hides in the deepest part of the Soul World because nothing living can follow it there. Nothing except those anointed by the [PAIR]."
Toriko leaned forward. "What does the [ANOTHER] look like? How do we find it?"
Kaka's expression grew more serious. "No one knows. No one who has seen it has ever returned to describe it. But the ancient texts speak of a light in the darkness—a glow that promises ultimate flavor. Those who have glimpsed it from afar describe it as... as the taste of the first meal. The one that made life worth living."
Komatsu's eyes widened. "The first meal?"
"Before there was hunger, there was satisfaction. Before there was craving, there was completeness. The [ANOTHER] is said to contain that original flavor—the taste of existence itself, before the world learned to want."
Saitama, who had been quietly eating his popcorn, paused. "That sounds like a lot of pressure for a fish."
"It's not a fish," Kaka said, and for a moment, her voice held something ancient, something almost afraid. "The texts call it a fish, but that is a limitation of language. The [ANOTHER] is... a concept. A flavor so pure that it exists independently of any ingredient. It is the taste of life, of death, of everything in between. And it has been hiding for millions of years, waiting for someone worthy to taste it."
Sunny shivered dramatically. "That's terrifying. That's also incredibly stylish. I'm conflicted."
Zebra cracked his knuckles. "So we go into the ghost dimension, find a concept-fish that might not even be a fish, and catch it before a whale the size of a mountain eats it. That's the plan?"
Kaka nodded. "That's the plan."
"Good. When do we start?"
King finally spoke, his voice cutting through the tension with casual ease. "Before we go charging into the afterlife to hunt philosophy-fish, let's talk about the practical side." He looked at Kaka. "How much [PAIR] does each person need to survive the Soul World?"
Kaka considered. "For a short expedition—no more than a few hours—a single drop, properly prepared, should be sufficient for one person. But we don't know how long the hunt will take. And we don't know what we'll find there."
"So we bring extra," Toriko said firmly. "We have plenty. The Monkey King made sure of that."
A ripple of laughter went through the cabin, easing some of the tension. Even Kaka smiled.
Komatsu, who had been quietly thinking, raised his hand. "Miss Kaka, you said the [ANOTHER] hides in the deepest part of the Soul World. How deep is that? And how do we find our way back?"
Kaka's smile faded. "That, Chef Komatsu, is the question that has haunted every hunter who has ever sought the fish treasure. The Soul World is not a place of distance. It is a place of memory. The deeper you go, the further you travel into the accumulated experience of every living thing that has ever existed. The surface—the place where souls linger before moving on—is relatively easy to navigate. But the depths..." She paused. "The depths contain everything. The first spark of life. The first death. The first taste. To go there is to risk losing yourself in the flavor of existence."
Silence.
Then Saitama, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, spoke up. "So we just need to find a fish in a place full of every memory ever. That's like finding one specific piece of popcorn in a bucket that's as big as the universe."
He held up his popcorn bucket. Everyone stared.
"What? I like metaphors."
King laughed, the sound breaking the spell. "Saitama, you're a philosopher and you don't even know it." He stood, and Heracles rose with him. "Here's what we know: the [ANOTHER] is in the Soul World. The [PAIR] can get us there. And we have a chef who can hear the voice of ingredients." He looked at Komatsu. "Can you hear something that's been hiding for millions of years?"
Komatsu closed his eyes. For a long moment, there was only the soft hum of the Turtle Sphere's engines, the distant groan of the deep sea.
Then he opened them. "I can hear it. It's... it's scared. It's been waiting so long. It wants to be found. It wants to be tasted. But it's afraid of being consumed."
King smiled. "Then we don't consume it. We taste it. We appreciate it. We let it know that the waiting is over." He looked at the cabin, at the faces of everyone who had come this far. "We're not here to take. We're here to share. That's the difference between a predator and a chef. A predator takes. A chef... a chef invites."
Komatsu's face lit up with understanding. "We're not hunting the [ANOTHER]. We're... we're cooking with it. It's not an ingredient. It's a partner."
"Now you're getting it." King clapped his hands. "Alright. Prep the [PAIR]. Ready the team. We're going fishing."
The cabin erupted into movement—preparations, discussions, the thousand small tasks that preceded any great adventure. But in the midst of the chaos, Toriko caught King's eye.
"You knew," he said quietly. "You knew all along. About the dance, about the horse, about the fish. You knew."
King's smile didn't waver. "I knew the recipe. You had to provide the ingredients."
Toriko stared at him for a long moment. Then he laughed—a free, joyful sound. "You know what? I'm okay with that. As long as the meal's good."
"Oh, the meal's going to be incredible."
Outside the Turtle Sphere, the darkness of the Black Triangle pressed against the windows, and somewhere in the depths, a whale the size of a mountain dreamed of ancient flavors.
And in the space between life and death, a flavor that was not quite a fish waited for a chef who could hear its voice.
The final hunt was about to begin.
At that time, Mappy had mentioned that there were many extremely dangerous areas in the Gourmet World, including "doors" that only souls could pass through…
"So that's it!" Toriko slammed his fist into his palm, "To safely pass through these places, we must rely on the power of the Eight Legendary Ingredients!"
His thoughts connected like lightning:
Capturing [PAIR] in the 100G Mountain Range of the Seventh Continent required Food King AIR, and now capturing fish treasure [another] requires [PAIR]!
…This is like a gourmet chain, link by link!
Just as Toriko was immersed in this astonishing discovery, Kaka's voice pulled him back to reality:
"However, [PAIR] alone is not enough. We also need to pass through a'Spirit Food Gate' to reach the hiding place of fish treasure [another]."
"Spirit Food Gate?" Komatsu swallowed, "Where do we find this gate?"
Kaka lightly traced the globe with her finger, and the projection switched to a holographic map of the Sixth Area, with seven light points scattered around the Black Triangle like the Big Dipper.
"In the Sixth Area, there are a total of seven'Spirit Food Gates'. Each one is guarded by seven beasts whose strength is second only to the sea overlord, Whale King Moon."
Images of seven terrifying giant beasts appeared in the projection in sequence:
Some were shaped like giant turtles but had dragon heads, while others resembled giant octopuses but had thousands of eyes…
Everyone gasped, these monsters each had a capture level of over 5000!
"But—"
Kaka suddenly changed the subject.