Food Wars: The Fishing System-Chapter 149: [] - A Special Ingredient, The Wulstar Rice (BONUS)
Chapter 149: [149] - A Special Ingredient, The Wulstar Rice (BONUS)
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There were thirty thousand main roots, and each one had to be made to retract its energy on its own. Yuuki had no way to accelerate the process; he had to let Wul Jungle absorb the energy itself.
All he could do was find each main root as quickly as possible and trigger the energy reclamation.
In the end, Yuuki was stuck in Wul Jungle for a full half a month. When the last of the thirty thousand roots had finally withdrawn its energy, the entire Jungle began to transform.
The outer edges, which had been expanding, suddenly stopped and began to shrink back at an unprecedented speed.
A change of this magnitude on the Wul Continent was—of course, instantly detected by the Gourmet Satellites.
....
"Wul Jungle is receding ahead of schedule? And the speed is faster than ever before? Also, all the BB Corn has been harvested?"
This news quickly reached the ears of Director Mansam. After all, he was the one who handled most of the affairs in the Human World.
President Ichiryu and Vice President Shigematsu only concerned themselves with major events and matters related to the Gourmet World.
"What in the world is going on? Have you found anything?"
Mansam demanded. There had to be a reason for such a massive change in the Jungle.
"We did find something. Half a month ago, a Chef named Yuuki traveled to Wul Jungle. He went there on one of our IGO planes."
The staffer handed the report to Mansam.
"Yuuki? I remember him. The President mentioned him specifically when he got back!"
The name left a deep impression on Mansam. It was simple: he had been astonished when Ichiryu returned and heaped such high praise on Yuuki.
Ichiryu had never praised the Four Heavenly Kings like that—yet he was lavishing it on a stranger.
And this stranger’s information had only just been entered into the IGO database, noting that he had a close relationship with Granny Setsuno and Master Jiro.
Mansam would naturally pay close attention to such a person. Yuuki had gone to the Wul Continent two weeks ago, and the pilot who had flown him there was still waiting nearby. This meant Yuuki hadn’t come out yet.
Mansam didn’t think for a second that Yuuki had perished in Wul Jungle. While the Jungle was dangerous, someone praised by Ichiryu himself couldn’t possibly fall in a place like that.
If he wasn’t dead, then why had he been in there for half a month? It was clearly abnormal.
Therefore, the changes in Wul Jungle had to be related to Yuuki.
Quickly, Mansam found Yuuki’s contact information and called him directly. In this day and age, as long as you weren’t in a few special regions of the Human World, communication was possible.
The Gourmet World, however, was a different story. While satellites could be moved above it, it was teeming with creatures capable of swatting them out of the sky.
After many failed attempts, the Human World had given up. The Gourmet World was beyond their ability to observe.
That was why, despite the Human World’s advanced technology, they couldn’t probe the Gourmet World. Their tech simply hadn’t reached a level where it could suppress those beasts.
....
Deep in the Wul Jungle, Yuuki’s phone rang. He answered it. Not many people had his number, but he picked up the unknown caller anyway.
"Hello, Mr. Yuuki. This is IGO Director Mansam. Just now, the Gourmet Satellites detected a major incident in Wul Jungle where you are located. I was hoping to ask if you knew what was happening."
Mansam’s voice came through the phone.
Hearing him, an image of a bald, muscular man flashed in Yuuki’s mind. Mansam. Before meeting Ichiryu, he was a Gourmet Bandit who believed in the law of the jungle.
He was later defeated by Ichiryu, who, seeing something worthwhile in him, brought him into his fold.
Gradually, Mansam was influenced by Ichiryu and eventually became the IGO’s third-in-command.
In the original story, after Ichiryu’s death and Shigematsu’s brainwashing, it was Mansam who shouldered the entire burden. He didn’t seize the opportunity to go wild now that no one was holding him back.
On the contrary, he perfectly inherited Ichiryu’s philosophy, dedicating everything the IGO had to the Human World.
As the new president of the IGO, he could have eaten all sorts of delicacies. Although Midora had destroyed most of the world’s ingredients, many were still preserved, and ingredients sent back from the Gourmet World passed through his hands first.
But Mansam continued to eat food that looked like medicinal pills, perfectly demonstrating his commitment to not abusing his position.
Yuuki had a great deal of respect for Mansam. To go from a villain to a savior of all, Mansam had spent a long time changing himself, and the results were there for everyone to see.
He also respected Ichiryu, but he respected Mansam more. Ichiryu had no desires to begin with; he was born a saint.
Mansam was different. He had strong desires; that’s why he became a Gourmet Bandit.
But for a man like that to reach such a point... you couldn’t help but admire him...
"Hello, Director Mansam. The changes in Wul Jungle are likely related to me. I discovered that the entire Jungle is actually a single ingredient..."
Yuuki told him everything he had discovered. He had a good attitude towards Mansam, whom he deeply respected. If possible, he would choose to be his friend.
And honestly, the destruction he had caused wasn’t minor. All the BB Corn was gone, and the Jungle itself was heavily affected. He had essentially impacted the entire ecosystem.
But because of who he was, the IGO wouldn’t give him any trouble. Besides, who could have guessed the Jungle itself was an ingredient? He would replant the BB Corn later.
....
"Wul Jungle is an ingredient?! UNBELIEVABLE!"
After hearing Yuuki’s description, Mansam was completely floored. At the same time, he was deeply impressed. Countless people had been to Wul Jungle over the years.
But the only one to discover it was an ingredient was Yuuki.
"I understand the situation with the Jungle now. I won’t disturb you any longer, Chef Yuuki!"
Mansam’s address for him had changed from "Mr." to "Chef." The former was just polite. The latter was a sign of his genuine respect.
And it was normal. To be able to successfully prepare Wul Jungle—that was no small feat.
"Understood. I will do my best to restore the Jungle’s ecosystem afterward."
Yuuki made his promise, and the two hung up. The IGO quickly entered the new information about Wul Jungle into its database.
....
Yuuki, meanwhile, was standing at the core of the Jungle. Here stood a massive plant that resembled a rice stalk.
He could clearly feel countless streams of energy converging upon it.
Soon, the stalk, which had been glowing with a golden light, began to change. It took on the appearance of a starry sky, and the grains of rice on it swelled to a colossal size, each one a hundred meters long.
"As expected of the world of Toriko. All sorts of ingredients really do exist. A rice that looks like the starry sky, and it’s from the Wul Continent... I’ll call it the Wulstar Rice!"
Yuuki remembered the Wulstar Sauce from the original story and decided on the name.
As the discoverer of the ingredient, he had the right to name it.
Soon, the convergence of energy stopped. The Wulstar Rice had reached its optimal state. Yuuki couldn’t wait to harvest it, stuffing it into his storage space.
He did, however, leave one grain out to carry back himself. Otherwise, it would be hard to explain how he transported it all. This one stalk had hundreds of grains, each a hundred meters long. One was more than enough to share with everyone. The rest, naturally, were his.
Besides, no one had ever seen the Wulstar Rice, so they wouldn’t know what it looked like and wouldn’t suspect he was hiding any.
As for when Wul Jungle would next produce Wulstar Rice, he had no idea. But the cycle would definitely not be short.
After all, the Jungle had existed for ages. Though it had lost a lot of nutrients to the BB Corn, after producing the Wulstar Rice this one time, only twenty to thirty percent of its energy remained.
The next harvest would likely be a very, very long time from now.
Yuuki was now incredibly curious. What did an ingredient nurtured by the nutrients of an entire continent taste like?
....
As for the BB Corn, he no longer needed to go to the Wul Volcano. Toriko had gone there because that was the only place to cook the corn and make BB Popcorn.
But Yuuki had his Growth-type ability, Inferno. With it, he could easily make BB Popcorn without needing to go to a volcano.
Carrying the Wulstar Rice, Yuuki replanted the BB Corn seeds. Only after seeing them successfully begin to absorb nutrients did he choose to leave.
At this moment, he also began to wonder if he should find time to learn the techniques of a Regenerator. Some of their skills were very useful.
At the very least, when it came to restoring an ecosystem, while he couldn’t say he could return it to its original state, he could at least restore a part of it.
So, he decided that after he returned, he would take a trip to the Land of Healing (LIFE). With Granny Setsuno’s help, learning from Yosaku shouldn’t be a problem.
Because he now had a massive grain of rice, he couldn’t take the plane back. He also didn’t trust anyone else to transport it, so he decided to carry it and fly back himself.
He contacted the pilot who had been waiting for him for half a month. While the pilot had essentially been on a paid vacation, it was still necessary to inform him.
....
Flying back himself would be faster and safer, but when there was no need, Yuuki wouldn’t travel like that.
Just like that, Yuuki carried the hundred-meter-long super-rice back to Gourmet Town, arriving at one of the entrances to Setsuno Dining Hall.
Setsuno Dining Hall had many entrances. The largest one was hundreds of meters high, built specifically to bring in giant ingredients and cooking utensils. Yuuki, carrying the rice, came here.
Upon arriving at the entrance, he contacted Setsuno. This rice was simply too big; it was hard to find a suitable place to cook it. Her kitchen was the most appropriate.
....
"What a strange rice. Where did you get this?"
Looking at the incredibly massive grain of rice with a flowing, starry pattern on its surface, Setsuno and Nono were also very curious. After all, there was no such thing recorded in the current ingredient encyclopedia.
"This is from Wul Jungle..."
Yuuki told them the entire story of how he found the Wulstar Rice and prepared the Jungle.
"I never thought Wul Jungle would be a Special Preparation Ingredient. It’s a good thing you can hear the voices of ingredients—otherwise, there would be no way to discover the Wulstar Rice. Hmm, that name is very fitting."
Setsuno said with a smile. Yuuki then brought the rice to her cooking area. Since he had to leave a portion for others, he cut off a piece.
Setsuno personally cooked it. As the rice cooked, an incredibly enticing aroma began to spread, quickly filling the entire underground kitchen.
Even the underground space couldn’t contain the fragrance.
It seeped through the earth and spread throughout the entire Gourmet Town—
....
Those who smelled the aroma were all completely baffled, not knowing where this incredibly alluring scent of rice was coming from.
"What is this fragrance? It’s penetrating through the very ground! Has Ms. Setsuno found some new ingredient?"
Yuda was the first to pinpoint the source of the aroma. It was coming from underground. Without a doubt, it was Granny Setsuno cooking something—but he also discovered that this aroma was very domineering.
Even the Earth and Buildings couldn’t block it; it seemed to penetrate through everything.
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