Chapter 20: The Sun God and the Crash-Test Pilot
When Elysia jumped out, Furina realized she had been played. A wave of shame and annoyance washed over her. She had actually thought Kenji, overcome by some beastly urge, was about to have his way with her.
Kenji just looked up at the sky. She really is a silly girl, he thought. So easy to fool.
Elysia and Furina didn't stay long before returning to their respective worlds. In Elysia's time, the previous Herrscher had been defeated a while ago, meaning the third was due to appear soon. As for Furina, the superstar of Fontaine, she couldn't afford to be away for too long.
"Moshi moshi! Kenji, the Puffer Whales are in their spawning season!"
Kenji answered the phone he kept in his pocket, hearing Toriko's excited voice on the other end.
"Got it," Kenji replied before hanging up.
The Puffer Whale was an exquisite ingredient, a mythical whale known as the "Delicacy of the Deep Sea." It only surfaced on a single beach once every ten years to lay its eggs, making the spawning season the only time it could be captured.
The Gourmet Train.
The Puffer Whale's return had attracted a great number of Gourmet Hunters. Even a poisoned Puffer Whale was highly valuable on the black market, simply because its flavor was so divine.
As soon as Kenji boarded the train, he ran into his master, Jiro.
"Master, are you here to capture a Puffer Whale?"
"Kenji, it's you," Jiro said, opening his drunken eyes at the sound of the familiar voice. "Heh, sake made from Puffer Whale fins is a rare treat. I come here pretty much every time they return to spawn."
"Is that so? Then I'll have to give it a try," Kenji said with anticipation.
"The taste won't disappoint you," Jiro stated with certainty.
Kenji made his way to their reserved train car. Toriko was already drinking, a table full of booze in front of him. Who knows how many cars he had raided to get it all.
"Kenji, you're a little late," Toriko said.
"I just ran into my master and we chatted for a bit," Kenji explained with a smile.
"That esteemed senior is here too?" Toriko guessed who Kenji's master was, his expression turning respectful. That legendary figure was on the same level as President Ichiryu.
Suddenly, two new notifications popped up in the chat group.
[Sun God has joined the chat group.]
[Crash-Test Pilot has joined the chat group.]
Two new members, Kenji thought, checking the chat log.
[Crash-Test Pilot]: "What is this? A chat group? Why was I added?"
Crash-Test Pilot? Kenji mused. The nickname was very distinctive. It had to be either Daigo or Shinjo from Ultraman Tiga. In a 52-episode series, those two must have crashed dozens of times.
Shinjo: "Taking off, Daigo!"
Shinjo: "Feel like crashing one?"
Daigo: "Let's do it."
Shinjo: "Daigo, my boy, how many is this for us?"
Daigo: "One per episode. This makes 52."
When it came to crashing planes, those two were professionals.
Sun God must be Apollo from the world of Galaxy Racers, the big gun for the good guys. Despite his immense power, he was held back by his unreliable teammates and was taken out of the story after only a few episodes. His line, "Evil Planetoid, you have some nerve!" was incredibly cool.
[Miss Pink Elf♪]: "There's a group announcement at the top."
...
[Crash-Test Pilot]: "I see it. Hello, everyone. You can just call me Daigo. I'm a member of GUTS. I can't believe other worlds really exist."
So it was indeed one of the aces of the crash duo. Daigo... The TPC's budget for aircraft repair must have been astronomical.
[Star Forger]: "Daigo, have you encountered any kaiju yet?"
[Crash-Test Pilot]: "Kaiju? No, I haven't."
Daigo was confused. Why would he encounter a giant monster? While the TPC was tasked with protecting humanity from unexplained phenomena, kaiju seemed a bit over the top.
[Crash-Test Pilot]: "Are you saying I'm going to encounter kaiju in the future?"
[Star Forger]: "Yes. Since you're a member of GUTS now, it won't be long before you run into giant monsters."
Daigo fell silent, a headache already forming. If he told his captain about this, she'd probably think he was spouting nonsense. Oh well, I'll just be extra vigilant. If a monster does appear, the captain will know what to do.
[Crash-Test Pilot]: "By the way, what's with this nickname?" Daigo had just noticed it said "Crash-Test," not "Ace."
[Star Forger]: "You're going to crash... a lot. You'll basically crash every time you encounter a monster. You'll crash when you're flying solo, and you'll crash when you're teamed up with Shinjo."
While it was often due to circumstances beyond his control, Daigo really did crash an absurd number of times.
[Crash-Test Pilot]: "..."
Okay, "Crash-Test" sounded about right. Daigo's feelings were complicated. He never imagined he'd crash so many times in the future. The TPC's fighter jets were expensive. He hoped they wouldn't make him pay for the damages.
[Sun God]: "I am currently sealed in ice. Is there any way you can help?"
Apollo decided to stop lurking. He had been waiting for Gaia and the others for who knows how many years, but they still hadn't come to unseal him. His teammates were truly unreliable. If he could have broken out on his own, he would have done so long ago. Now that he had this chat group, he wasn't going to just sit around in the ice any longer if there was a chance to get out.
[Star Forger]: "Try the daily sign-in function. You might get an item that can help you. Or you can save up points and buy something from the shop."
Gaia and the others were infuriatingly incompetent. They had a powerhouse like Apollo waiting to be rescued, but in a 52-episode series, they didn't manage to free him until more than halfway through, only for him to get killed off shortly after. It was all for the sake of the plot, of course, but it was still a frustrating watch. Even though his enemy, Saron, had been powered up, Apollo was still incredibly strong. He was just unlucky to have such useless teammates.
[Sun God]: "I understand."
Kenji scrolled through the chat for a bit before returning his attention to reality.
"I was wondering where all the booze went. So it ended up with you!" a rough voice boomed. "Are you trying to hog it all, you bastard?!"
"I am the great Gourmet Hunter, Zongeh!!"
A long-haired man in a brown animal-hide tunic appeared. His face wasn't exactly what you'd call handsome, and he was glaring fiercely at Toriko.
Kenji recognized the man's distinctive face immediately. It was Zongeh, a character many fans had ironically hyped up to an absurd degree, even joking that his Gourmet Luck surpassed Komatsu's. Bizarrely, his face bore a striking resemblance to the mate of the Monkey King Bambina, one of the Eight Kings. He was a truly strange individual.
Zongeh's underling proudly began to list his boss's Full Course Menu. Toriko just smiled, shook his head, and stood up. At over two meters tall, his imposing presence made Zongeh break out in a cold sweat. In his eyes, Toriko looked like a small giant.
Smack!
Toriko placed a large hand on Zongeh's shoulder. Zongeh jumped, thinking Toriko was about to hit him.
"Sorry about the booze, I took it all. You can have it if you want, Mr. Zombie," Toriko said with a friendly smile.
"Hmph... It's Zongeh! Remember it!" Zongeh said gruffly. He grabbed a bottle of booze and left with his lackeys.
Character Notes:
Sun God - Apollo (from Galaxy Racers)
Crash-Test Pilot - Daigo (from Ultraman Tiga)