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With the situation inside the venue largely under control, Yuuki suddenly remembered someone else: Mansam was still fighting outside. The IGO's forces were spread thin across the Human World, leaving the festival's defenses critically undermanned.
Mansam was holding the line by himself.
And while he was successfully holding back the tide, Yuuki knew he was fated to be ambushed and seriously injured by Shigematsu.
Since he was here, he had no intention of letting that happen. He had a great deal of respect for Mansam.
Leaving the main hall, Yuuki quickly spotted him.
Mansam was already in the same monstrous form he'd taken during the battle with the Four-Beast. He had no other choice.
The enemy forces were overwhelming—and while they couldn't truly harm him, he needed to unleash his sealed power to deal with them efficiently. To hold back as many as possible, Mansam had once again become a muscle-bound giant.
His strategy was working.
All the GT Robos and the majority of the beasts were pinned down by him alone. If they had all flooded into the venue at once, it would have been a catastrophe.
Yuuki didn't interfere with Mansam's rampage—he knew he could subdue him in an instant when the time came. His real concern was Shigematsu.
Soon enough, a presence entered the edge of his perception. The figure was cloaked, but under Yuuki's senses, hiding was impossible.
Without a doubt, it was the IGO's Vice President, Shigematsu. His power was a paradox—strong enough to enter the Gourmet World, but not strong enough to make any real waves there.
He had become Vice President because of his sharp administrative skills and his ambition, qualities that Ichiryu himself lacked.
That was why Ichiryu kept him close.
Ichiryu wasn't afraid of Shigematsu causing trouble—he knew he could keep him in check. And he had been right. Under their joint leadership, the IGO had grown at an incredible pace.
In truth, while Shigematsu was ambitious, he would never have turned on his own people. But the man approaching now was no longer himself—he was a puppet under Joie's control, a doll that recognized no friends or family.
It was only natural that he would attack Mansam.
The only reason he hadn't killed him in the original story was likely a flicker of his old self.
....
As Shigematsu's aura drew near, Yuuki fixed his gaze on him. He didn't wait for the ambush.
The moment Shigematsu commanded his pet serpent to strike, Yuuki was already there—a blur of motion appearing before both man and beast.
Two fists shot out.
A surge of power flooded their bodies. Shigematsu's nature was like that of his serpent—a viper lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
But this time, Yuuki was lurking in the shadows too, and he struck first.
Yuuki had timed his intervention perfectly, so Mansam saw the entire betrayal unfold.
For a moment, Mansam was completely stunned. Even in his berserk state, a sliver of his mind was still present.
He knew Shigematsu wasn't there to help. If he were, he would have joined the fight from the perimeter, not cloaked his presence and snuck up behind him.
There was only one explanation: Shigematsu was here to kill him—
The thought was so unbelievable, so shocking, that it actually snapped him back to a state of near-lucidity, his rampaging power momentarily coming under his control.
Seeing this, Yuuki sent several calorie spikes into Mansam's body—helping him regain full control of his rampaging strength.
"SHIGEMATSU, TELL ME! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS??"
Mansam stared at him, his face a mask of fury and disbelief.
Shigematsu remained silent. What could he say? He was being controlled??
Not everyone under Joie's control became a quiet puppet like Teppei.
Powerhouses like Mohyan Shaishai and Shigematsu retained their personalities, but they were still bound to obey Joie's commands.
"Don't bother asking, Director. He's being controlled, just like Zaus and Kousairou were inside. Granny Chiyo and Setsuno have already taken care of them."
Yuuki's words hit Mansam with another wave of shock.
"What? Kousairou and Zaus were controlled? Impossible!"
Hearing this, Shigematsu himself was stunned.
While Zaus and Kousairou were no match for Setsuno, with the current chaos of the Gourmet Corp's attack, if they had been cautious and launched a sneak attack, even she wouldn't have escaped unscathed.
"Nothing is impossible. Let's go, Director. We should head back inside. The situation in there is basically under control. The beasts outside are no longer a threat."
Yuuki said.
The powerhouses inside the venue were fine—so these beasts couldn't cause any real damage. If they rushed in now, Setsuno would probably wipe them all out with a single move.
Mansam nodded, and the group headed back to the main hall, even taking the time to help Rin deal with her opponent along the way.
....
As they entered the venue, a terrifying pressure wave erupted from outside. The beasts and insects that had been held back were instantly crushed into a paste.
"Looks like Granny Setsuno made her move!"
Such a powerful pressure attack could only be her handiwork. The Gourmet Corp had been reduced to a pathetic joke. They were trapped, with no way out.
The battle between Toriko and Starjun, however, was still raging. Even though they had separated their battlefield, the aftershocks of their fight were still staggering.
Just as the battle continued, a new presence descended upon the entire venue. The aura was so immense that even Yuuki felt a heavy pressure.
"What is this presence??"
The powerful aura was felt by everyone. Even Mansam broke out in a cold sweat.
"He's here. Even though you've stabilized the situation, you are no match for him."
Shigematsu spoke at last. He knew it was Joie. Joie's strength was immense—even Granny Setsuno was no match for him.
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!"
At the same time, two even more colossal auras erupted, instantly sweeping across not just the Human World, but the entire planet.
"This is... President Ichiryu's aura!"
Mansam instantly recognized the familiar presence. Without a doubt, it was President Ichiryu. As for the other one, it had to be the Head of the Gourmet Corp, Midora.
The two of them had started fighting—and their battle was so intense that they were no longer suppressing their auras. Their presence was even stronger than that of the Eight Kings.
The Eight Kings naturally sensed these two auras as well, but they didn't act. To make them move, it had to be something that threatened the Gourmet World itself.
The battle between Midora and Ichiryu was a human affair. The Eight Kings had no relationship with either of them and naturally wouldn't get involved.
And honestly, a single Eight King wouldn't dare to casually interfere with these two. After all, their strength was too great. A single Eight King meddling might just end up getting killed.
So, even if these two were fighting in the Gourmet World, as long as they didn't cause a large-scale massacre, the Eight Kings wouldn't care.
They could fight as much as they wanted.
....
"The President's aura?? This... this is scary!"
As someone who had been taken in by the IGO, and with her brother being one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Rin had made many contributions and had a good relationship with Ichiryu. While she knew he was strong, she never thought he would be this strong.
Just his aura alone was enough to make people tremble—and this was an aura coming from the Gourmet World.
"That's not the main point. The main point is the guy who's here. LET'S GO. TIME TO SEE THIS MASTERMIND."
Yuuki grabbed Shigematsu and walked out.
The others immediately followed. By now, the battle was basically over. It had to be. Joie's aura had enveloped the entire venue, making it impossible to continue fighting.
Of course, Toriko and Starjun were different.
The two were still fighting.
The plot of the manga and anime was completely different here.
In the anime, Toriko and Starjun were evenly matched. When Joie descended—their battle was forcibly stopped, and the two of them came to the venue together to face him.
But in the manga, Toriko was no match for Starjun. He was beaten until he was missing limbs. In the end, it was the Red Demon who came out to save him, seriously injuring Starjun with a single blow.
The power gap between them was not small. At that time, the Red Demon could only come out for a moment—otherwise, Toriko's body would have collapsed prematurely.
Before the Red Demon left, he had also repaired Toriko's missing body parts, but at that time, Toriko had already lost consciousness. Starjun, however, still had the strength to fight.
To save Toriko, Komatsu had treated Starjun and agreed to leave with him.
....
In the main hall, Setsuno and the others were now looking grimly at the figure floating in mid-air. The person was completely shrouded in a black robe.
"Setsuno, can you handle this guy?"
Sensing the terrifying aura emanating from him, Granny Chiyo couldn't help but ask. She was certain she was no match for him. The pressure was too great.
Joie was using Froese's body. Froese was a person who had eaten Acacia's Full Course Menu—and her Gourmet Cells had reached one hundred percent.
Although Froese was not a Gourmet Hunter—and her combat power was a bit weaker, she was still not someone Setsuno could handle.
"NO, THIS GUY'S AURA IS TOO STRONG..."
She had been about to say she was no match, but in a flash—a kitchen knife appeared in the opponent's hand. The moment she saw it, her eyes widened, and she gasped.
At this moment, everyone was looking at Setsuno with a baffled expression. In their impression, she was always calm and composed. But they never thought she would be so flustered now.
"Ms. Setsuno? Is there something wrong with that knife?"
Yuda observed very carefully. He found that the reason for her reaction was not because of the person, but because of the kitchen knife in his hand.
"OF COURSE, THERE'S A PROBLEM. THIS KNIFE IS FROESE-SAMA'S EXCLUSIVE KNIFE, CINDERELLA. JOIE, WHERE DID YOU GET THIS KNIFE??"
At this moment, Setsuno was incredibly angry.
Back then, this knife had been buried with Froese. Now that it had appeared here, it meant Joie had dug up her grave.
Setsuno had immense respect for Froese. Acacia's Students were the same. Their respect for Froese even surpassed their respect for Acacia.
How could Setsuno tolerate someone digging up Froese's grave?
"Gourmet God Froese's knife? How is that possible??"
Everyone finally understood why Setsuno was so shocked. If it were them, they would be just as shocked.
"Oh? You recognize me? I haven't done anything. How did you know who I am?"
Joie was also a bit puzzled that Setsuno had recognized him. While he had caused trouble in the Human World hundreds of years ago, and Setsuno knew him, that was normal.
But he had quickly disappeared and had been hiding in the dark. Logically, she shouldn't have been able to recognize him.
"That's not the point. The point is the knife in your hand. Where did you get it? Answer me, Joie."
Setsuno didn't want to waste words with him. She just wanted to know how he had gotten this knife.
Logically, the location of Froese's grave should only be known to her, Acacia's Students, and Acacia.
She didn't think anyone in their group would reveal the location of her grave.
"How did I get it? Naturally, I just took it. After all, this knife was originally mine!"
Joie's tone was laced with a hint of playfulness.
But the next second, a blue light flashed. Joie quickly dodged. Though he was fast, his cloak was directly shattered, and a few beads fell to the ground.
Seeing this, Yuuki's eyes lit up. These beads were Joie's life-saving Life Orbs. One bead could be used as one life. This was a good thing. Yuuki directly put them into his own space.
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