"What about your Full-Course Menu, Zed? And yours, Ms. Nakiri, Ms. Arato?" Komatsu asked, curiosity overriding his aversion to Mansam's boozy feast.
Zed shrugged, spearing a Rainbow Fruit sliver. "Don't have one. No plans to make one either."
Silence gripped the table. Toriko nearly choked on his Galala Brandy Stew, while Mansam paused mid-gulp, rum sloshing in his goblet.
"Why limit yourself?" Zed continued, unfazed. "The world's a buffet. Why lock into a set menu?"
Erina Nakiri and Hisako Arato exchanged glances. Zed's indifference clashed with the culinary dogma they'd absorbed at Nakaume Gourmet School, yet his logic held a rebellious charm.
Toriko recovered first, chuckling. "Typical Zed. Always zigging when others zag."
The conversation lulled until Rin burst in, her usual composure frayed. "Sunny's back. With a Regal Mammoth."
Outside the Institute
The group spilled into the courtyard, where Sunny, draped in his signature flamboyant attire, stood beneath the shadow of a gargantuan beast. The Regal Mammoth—a titan of gnarled tusks and moss-coated hide—loomed over 100 meters tall, its bulk blotting out the sun.
Erina gasped. "He's… lifting it with one hand!"
Zed smirked. "Look closer."
Sunny's arm seemed singular, but a closer glance revealed thousands of near-invisible hairs—each a muscular tendril—coiling around the mammoth's legs. "Hair Manipulation," Zed explained. " Each has a tensile strength of over 300 kilograms. With over 1,000,000 hairs, he's basically a walking crane."
Hisako gaped. "But the strain on his body—"
"Redirected," Zed interrupted. "His cells channel force outward, minimizing backlash. Four Heavenly Kings aren't just strong—they're efficient."
Sunny smirked, sensing their awe. With a theatrical flick, he lowered the mammoth, the ground quaking under its weight. "Dinner's served, folks!"
Zed stepped forward, gesturing to Sunny's flamboyant silhouette. "One of the Four Heavenly Kings—Sunny, master of Hair Manipulation. His strands pack brute force, but precision? Not his forte."
Erina Nakiri and Hisako Arato eyed the man warily. Each hair was a coiled muscle, yet Zed's words rang true—Sunny's strength lay in overwhelming numbers, not finesse.
As Sunny tossed the Regal Mammoth aside, Mansam caught it effortlessly, his Gourmet Cells flaring. But the moment Sunny neared, Tatsu struck—a whip-crack tail swipe shredding through tendrils of hair. Sunny rocketed backward, cratering the earth in a plume of dust.
"What the—?!" Sunny emerged unscathed but scowling, his hair visibly thinned. "Since when did IGO keep draconic guard dogs?!"
Zed crossed his arms. "Touching without consent, and Tatsu will treat your hair like chew toys. Consider it a lesson in manners."
Rin snorted, arms akimbo. "Serves you right, brother. Always poking where you shouldn't."
Toriko chuckled, watching Terry—the fledgling Battle Wolf cub—skitter behind his leg. The pup had sensed Sunny's invasive hairs and wisely fled, unlike Tatsu, whose Gourmet Cell Level 40+ prowess allowed retaliation.
Sunny bristled but relented, retracting his remaining hairs. "Fine, fine. No more 'probing.' Happy?"
Tatsu hissed, scales rippling in warning.