Sarafina let out another laugh as the soft sand tickled her feet. The energy she felt within the lagoon just lifted her soul. It was so peaceful and soothing, you could easily take a nap here for a few minutes but that alone would be enough. She could hear the relaxing sounds of the droplets of water hitting both the lagoon and the stones here, letting out a twinkling sound. Sarafina wasn't the only one enjoying it, the men with her were awestruck at the gorgeous sight before them. A soft glow was being given off which added more to its enchantment. "There was a recent visitor here." Toriko said as he saw a set of footprints.
"Probably went back." Komatsu said. "Huh?" Toriko went. "I'm sure the visitor was the old man who saved me." Komatsu said as he remembered back to when Jirou had saved his life. After he did and walked away, bidding him good luck, Komatsu didn't miss him carrying a large bucket full of Puffer Whales. These Puffer Whales are clearly delicate creatures and what astounds him the most was that none of the Puffer Whales turned poisonous. "He already had them, the old man. A large amount of Puffer Whales and on top of that, they didn't turn poisonous." Komatsu explained to them, looking at the footprints himself. "For a Knocking Master that was probably simple too." Coco said. "Ah, I see. I get it now, thought there was a small that I smelled somewhere." Toriko said. "So it was that old geezer."
"Eh? You mean it was that funky old man with the white pompadour?" The chef asked in shock.
"I did think he wasn't ordinary. But who would've thought the legendary gourmet provider. Knocking Master Jirou! His full course is a fantasy menu that most people have yet to taste. Seems like not even the capture levels can be fathomed." Toriko explained to him. "Heard that he retired as a gourmet provider long ago but he's famous as a heavy drinker. Even in retirement, it means he can still look forward to the puffer fish whale's fin sake once every ten years."
Sarafina took in what he said and thought about it. "Hmm. My goodness, I have heard many stories about Master Jirou but I never believed I would actually meet him. Even for a brief moment." She said. Komatsu appeared to be lost in thought when the hunter told him, "Komatsu. In any case you mustn't forget the absolute favor that your life was saved. Take the best cuisine to the old man someday!"
"I'll do that! Yes! Then...Toriko-san, I'll ask you for provision of the ingredients!" Komatsu asked the giant hunter. "Nah! You can go yourself for that!" That was a fast rejection! He began to take off his shirt, his boots and rolling his pants up to just above his knees. "Noow- Let's capture some ourselves! Delicacy of the deep!" He exclaimed. She smiled a bit. He sure was a enthusiastic guy who loved his food. The girl watched as the two hunter took off their shoes and made their way to the water. Speaking of which, she should be getting ready for a swim too. Nodding to herself, Sarafina placed her bag, sword and cane on the smooth sand. Hey, she's after those whales too, and she wasn't going to let them go that easily.
"This sea has a lot of sea fireflies so its bright. In this we'll be able to find the puffer fish whale quickly." Coco said as he checked out the water. "Komatsu! You get in the sea and make sure to watch Coco's technique too! You came for that, didn't you?" "Ye..yes! Um... there aren't any ferocious sharks and stuff right?" At that the hunter grinned as he replied, "Don't worry! Even if there are their 100% cuter than the devil serpent and the old man! EH?!"
"Ack! Sarafina-san! What are you doing?!" She blinked a bit and stopped in mid-process of taking off her black, sleeveless turtleneck top. "Wha? I'm coming along as well. Haha, don't forget I'm a Gourmet Hunter as well." She told them as Coco said, face deep red, "B..but taking off such clothing in front of men..!"
"Oh, that's what bothering you guys out? I'm sorry, but there's nothing to get so worked up about. I still have some clothing on, so it's okay." It's too bad she couldn't see their expressions. It would've been hilarious. 'But that's not the point.' The men all thought, doing their best not to look at her white bra. (Although that's not the item they were trying to avoid looking least they'll be hit or something...or worse) "Alright, now I'm ready!" She said as she removed her top and her long skirt. Toriko gulped slightly and turned his head a bit, face slightly pink. Kinda of a first thing for him but he didn't mind that much. What he DID mind that there were other men looking at her and for some reason bugged him greatly. He glanced a peek at a...certain body part before diving straight into the water. The hunter didn't noticed she was...well endowed. Okay, seriously!! What the hell is wrong with him?! Ever since he touched her hand, not only had he felt something shoot through him, he's been acting so stupid lately.
Sarafina hadn't the foggiest idea why it's was such a big deal to everyone, the only difference between these and a bikini was the type of material. So...not that much of a difference. She reached into her bad a pulled out a leg holster pouch and tied it onto her right leg. "Alright. Coming Sarafina?" The poison man asked her as he jumped in. She nodded happily before jumping in after them, followed by the chef. The water was so warm! She thought for sure it would be cold inside a cave! The girl immediately relaxed as she swam. As she quickly caught up with the boys, Sarafina sensed the presence of all the animals that was in the waters. What a variety of life here! Ahh, that's what she loves about the world. So many different people and animals, never the same and have that one unique quirk that them...well, them in every part of the world!
The group continued to swim when she suddenly sensed a bunch of small souls clamped up together in one space ahead of them. From the view of the men, the saw a giant Puffer Whale. Holy crap! That was the biggest puffer fish whale they have ever seen! But just before they could do anything else, the 'giant Puffer Whale' suddenly became blurry as a hundreds of smaller ones disbanded in place. An optical illusion? Damn their good. Using the wrong approach, Toriko swim closer to them, gently reaching out a hand towards them. He had barely touched the fish before it turned completely black.
'Judging from the change in its energy, it had released its poison.' Sarafina wondered as she used her arms and legs to stay in place. She began thinking of a plan on how to capture these creatures. She had brought her Senbon Needles with her, but if she were to make on wrong move and they'll be inedible to eat and worthless to sell later. A split second later, a splash was heard and Komatsu swim panicky towards the three hunters. Oh no, that was a bad move. If he keeps that up, all of them will go bad! Sarafina sensed Coco motioning for them to stay back. 'What was he up to?' She thought. A split second later Coco's energy vanished. What?! How the heck can a man just vanish?! He was right there! She closed her eyes and used her powers to heighten up her senses to try and find him.
She let out a very small portion of her powers to create a sound wave to map out the surrounding area, catching every heartbeat around her. She gave a mental sigh of relief when she discovered the man was still there. How did he manage to erase his presence? Komatsu seemed to have reach his limit as he quickly swam up to the surface for fresh air. Aw, that's a shame. He really wanted to see how this went down. 'For a second I thought Coco had disappeared. He splendidly erased his presence. At last, we'll catch the puffer whale!' Toriko thought as he turned to look at Komatsu, but he quickly noticed that the chef had already left the water. Sarafina was the only one left with them as she was in deep thought, probably thinking how do this her way. He felt his face turn bright red when he noticed that the girl was only in her underwear. What the hell?! That was awfully daring to be in that kind of outfit! The hunter couldn't help but noticed that the panties matched the color of the bra and if he didn't know any better he'd say there was a cute little blue bow in the front. Damn she has nice legs.. Suddenly he felt a...problem...coming so he quickly averted his gaze and watched the fish and Coco. The fish! Mustn't lose focus! Mustn't lose focus! Think about how delicious they were going to be! How will they be cooked and what they will be turned into! Yeah! Think about that!
Coco went close to one of the Puffer Whale, ever so carefully and pulled out a knocking gun. One specially designed for catching these types of beasts. He slowly reached out until he held it in his hand. The Puffer Whale didn't had a clue. Coco was invisible in its eyes. Coco had brought up the knocking gun near its gills and pressed the button. A strong, but small electric shock went through the Puffer Whale's body before tilting on its side, most likely rendered unconscious. Toriko and Sarafina were amazed at what Coco had managed to do without alerting the Puffer Whales to react. Toriko was impressed and thought back to how Coco had done it, and made his own energy disappear. Coco looked over and saw Toriko nearly vanished in the water and was surprised to think that Toriko had learn how to erase his energy just by seeing himself do it. Still he was impressed that he could thanks to his instincts.
Coco had offered to hand Toriko his knocking gun for him to use, but Toriko declined. Saying that he'd plan to use a more organic method. He swam to one of the Puffer Whales and was cautious on his next move. Toriko uses his Fork hand, but to increase its piercing power and reduce its surface area uses his index finger. Toriko had to really hold his breath for this one. With one solid jab through the gills and one swift movement, it look like Toriko had done it. Unfortunately, he must've done it incorrectly as the Puffer Whale released its poison. Soon, the three hunters were beginning to run out of breath and Coco suggested they go up for air and returned down to complete the task at hand.
About five minutes had passed since Toriko, Coco and Sarafina entered the sea. For them to have amazing lung capacity, they ran out of breath unbelievably fast. The concentration for capturing just one small Puffer Whale had been considerably whittling down their stamina to an extent. As Toriko and Coco had used either their hands or knocking gun, they were surprised when Sarafina had used an incredible method. Before she had used only one Senbon Needle to knock them out, but she had begun to get a little impatient and pulled out ten of them. But she didn't throw them on her own, but when she placed her hands on her arm warmers, they had begun to tear up and move on their own. They wrapped themselves on the needles and, like a puppet-master, Sarafina was able to knocked multiple Puffer Whales at once. Unfortunately, this only deteriorated the rest of her energy and stamina.
An hour had passed, and Komatsu, who had given up going into the water, was waiting for the others to return. He didn't have to wait too long because Toriko, Sarafina and Coco all popped up out of the water. "Fuuu! I finally got one!" Toriko said, using the back of his hand to get the water out of his eyes. "We got quite the few Komatsu-kun." Coco told him.
"It certainly wasn't easy either." Sarafina laughed. "Eh?! Really?!" The chef said, standing up fast as they made their way to the shore. Coco took the sheet, which was bugling, and placed it on the ground to reveal at least ten of the puffer whale. "This many! Awesome! Sarafina-san, have you-Whoa!!" Komatsu began asking Sarafina when she showed him her net full of eleven Puffer Whales. "Eleven altogether on my end. Though, a few were difficult to knock out."
"She's right, I failed quite a bit as well." The poison man said, as he knelt down by the fish. "But how pathetic to have two of the four kings go at it for an hour and only get ten." Toriko said. "Well, in my opinion I think you guys did a very good job." She told them. "Considering how delicate they were I'm surprised either of us got this much."
"Yeah! This is a big catch for the delicacy of illusion!" Komatsu said as he continued to stare at the fish. Coco had a look of amusement when he said, "Now...this is the real deal from here on! The retail market price for a puffer fish whale that hasn't turned poisonous is about 100 million but in the case that the poison sack is completely removed, it jumps up to 300 million. However, if it becomes poisonous it becomes 0! (In reality, it goes for bout 8 million through the black market route)."
"What a gamble! Talk about hit it or win it situation!" Komatsu muttered as he got a look of dread, "Th..this is like 10 lottery tickets that can be 300 million yen each or turn into pieces of paper, huh."
"Money's got nothing to do with this. We leave it to you Coco." Toriko said as he looked at the fortune teller. Coco took out a delicate looking knife and closed his eyes, and got ready. He seemed nervous for a minute before telling them, seeming embarrassed, "Don't get mad at me even if I fail." Toriko clenched his fists as he shouted, "I will get mad! Come on, Coco!"
"Coco-san, come on!" Komatsu joined the hunter. She giggled a bit before placing a comforting hand on Coco's shoulder and saying with a smile, "Do your best Coco. I know you can do it." Coco blushed a bit before saying, "I mean, its been a while."
"Foretell the probability of success!"
"What percent is it exactly Coco-san?"
"...about 10%"
"One?!" The two went as the other man got more embarrassed. "That's great!" The girl said with a smile. "EH?! HOW'S THAT GREAT?!" Toriko shouted, waving his arms a bit. Sarafina giggled as she replied, "It means that its not zero, so by that logic we still have a chance. After all, any chance is better then none, don't you agree?" Reluctantly the two nodded and with that Coco got to work. However, deep in the sea of the sandy beach of the cave, from a point approximately 800 meters in the deep sea...something of unknown identity was approaching.
~3 fish later~
Sarafina kinda felt sorry for Coco as he worked on fish number 4. She had no idea where sack is in each fish, which makes a already hard task even harder. Argh, the one time she wished her powers were useful for something. She can't sense the sack at all as it didn't give of that strong of a energy except for when it releases. Glancing over at Toriko, who after the first fish failed, went to fishing. He didn't have to do all that, after all, these people were her friends and she would gladly offer her share of her catch. Although she had to spread another smile, he was just too laid back and carefree. "Did you remove the poison sack yet?" Toriko called over from his fishing spot. "Why are you doing something so leisurely like fishing, Toriko-san?!" Komatsu shouted at him while Coco said, "He's had little patience since the old days. Leave it alone, Komatsu-kun."
"Since when did you had a fishing rod on your person?" Sarafina asked him. As she continued to 'watch' Coco work, the woman got the whiff of booze and turned to see Toriko heating up a bottle in a little pan and fire set. She sweat drop a bit as she thought, 'He's drinking already?' He really has NO patience does he. "Whaaa, you can't even cut off the fin quickly?" Toriko said.
"Please be quiet, Toriko-san! Why are you setting up the atsukan already?!" The chef yelled at him again. Sarafina turned to Coco and said, "Coco, you don't have the proper energy to be performing this delicate preparation. I think we both know who's more suitable for this, don't you?" Coco looked at her for a while, before smiling and nodding his head. "Komatsu-kun. Instead of me, could you handle it?" He said. Komatsu's eyes widened as he was shock by his question. "M...ME?!"
"It's probably fatigue, but my grip is getting weak. If I keep this up all of the Puffer Whales will be rendered poisonous." He told him.
"Yeah, but-"
"Don't worry, I know you're a chef with amazing abilities. Just listen to me, I'll tell you what to do." Coco said to him, smiling. "It'll be fine."
Komatsu looked uncertain about the whole thing, but his grim expression soon to turned to that of joy. Komatsu spread a big smile. "In that case, I'll see that challenge!" Komatsu said as he went through his bag and pull out a cloth. He undid the knot and showed off the most beautiful set of knives any chef could own. Coco thought, 'A...amazing! They have a completely wet looking finish! They're scrupulously maintained elegant knifes. Looking at his tools, I understand, as a pro-chef, Komatsu-kun's trouble and ability are...!'
Komatsu nodded and said, "Yes! I want to try this and see what happens!"
"That's the spirit!" Sarafina said as the poison man took a seat on the other side. Sarafina couldn't help but smile at the pure happiness that the chef was giving off. He mustn't see this kind of thing that made her happy, considering that he is one of few to worked on such a beast. As Coco directed the chef Sarafina couldn't help but 'look' at the ocean. For some reason, it felt to her something was coming. Something big. Whatever it was it had her attention to the point where she didn't know that Komatsu was on the last fish. Cheeks flaming from embarrassment, the girl turned just in time to sense the fish opened to reveal a small black sack in a sea of the pinkest meat ever to be seen. "Its in sight...the poison sack!" Coco said, with a very pleased look on his face. "This...this is it." Komatsu said.
"Its bare hands from here, Komatsu-kun. The poison sack has to be taken out slowly while being rotated." The chef got a very determined look on his face as he said, "Y..yes!" He slowly reached into the fish and began to slow remove the sack while at the same time rotating it. With what seemed like an eternity he finally removed the sack which earned him cheers from the others and a split second later the fish was glowing brightly. "Owah! The puffer fish whale is!" Toriko went as Coco finished for him, "If the poison isn't inside the body it gives off a radiance!" She laughed hard as the hunters cheered and shouted as they shouted, "Success! The puffer fish whale's poison sack as been taken out!" Komatsu had tears running down his face as he said, "I'm so glad the last one was a success!" Giggling she bent over and placed a kiss on his cheek, which caused to blush and go, "EH?!"
"A reward for removing it so successfully!"
"H..hey! Can we get a reward too for capturing the fish?!" Toriko went as Coco blushed a bit. "Toriko really!" She raised an eyebrow at that. "Nope. Neither of you is getting one." He appeared crestfallen at that. "Why not?!"
"Well, for one thing you have to REALLY earn that type of reward." She smiled.
"Hey! That's not fair!!"
"I'm sorry, but that's how I do things. I don't give those rewards very lightly."
The other men watched them argue back and forth on the issue before Coco said, "It's Komatsu-kun's achievement." Komatsu shook his head at him. "No! It was Coco-san's precise instructions!"
"Komatsu!" Toriko started as he put a hand on the chef's shoulder. "For the first time, I think it was good I brought you along!" The chef sweat dropped a bit as he replied, "Y..yes...thank you very much. She started to laugh again as someone shouted, "Ookay! In that case, let's have a food sampling party right away!"
"Komatsu! Make the puffer fish whale's body thin please!" "Yes! I'll make fin sake!" She helped the hunters as best she could to get things ready as Komatsu proceeded to cook the whale. "Thank you." Sarafina told Toriko as he placed a fin in her cup. She picked up her cup and was eager to drink it as it was giving such a strong, yet subtle aroma, but she wanted to wait until everyone else gets to drink. "Hey Komatsu! How's it going over there?" The chef looked up from his task and replied back, "I did it!" The chef walked over and presented a beautiful plate of sashimi. Sarafina took her place between the chef and the blue haired hunter as they all sat down to eat. Komatsu put his whole heart into making it, so she knew it was bound to be delicious! Taking their cups they raised they said cheers and took a sip. When she took a sip, she relaxed a bit. It just had the right flavor. The dry taste of the from the atsukan, the fin's sweetness is much more prominent. Oooh, it was divine!
She glanced over and sensed that Coco wasn't drinking any. "Don't feel like drinking Coco?" Sarafina asked. Komatsu noticed as well and asked, "Is Coco-san not going to drink it? The sake?" Coco gave a nervous smile and said, "I don't like sake. If I get drunk, I lose control of my poison."
"No doubt, that is gotta be tough to handle." The girl said somberly as she drank hers. If he's buzzed or drunk chances are good his control of the poison would slip and someone would get hurt. Hopefully hurt. "In that case.." She reached over and took his cup and drank it. "I'll just liberate yours." She said as she drank it down in one sip.
"Now then.." Toriko continued, taking a pair of chopsticks and taking a sizable chunk of the fish. "Ah- You took a little too much Toriko-san! At great pains I made it with beauty!" Sarafina chuckled slightly at the two and at Coco. "I quite agree with that thought. He may have no refinement, but let's be honest. This is what makes Toriko." She told him as she took another sip from her sake. "Eh? Your a mind reader?" Coco asked with his own chuckle as Toriko thoroughly enjoyed the bite he took of it. "No. Not at all. Your soul tells me so." She says with a smile. "My soul?" He asked. Reaching over she took a small bite and blinked. She placed her hands on her cheeks as a blush colored her face and gave a bright smile. ' This is the most softest, most tastiest thing by far! I think I'm in love!' The girl thought as the boys enjoyed their bites. Without warning something came out from the sea. The group turned to see a tall creature covered in dark black hair with the oddest face ever. The shiver she felt before went down her back. Whatever that thing was...it was dangerous. Unfortunately, Sarafina couldn't see it. She didn't sense a heartbeat or any sign of life. But it did gave off a horrific aura, from that she could tell it was roughly 50 feet from where they were. The hunters got up, watching the creature as it walked further onto the beach. "What's that?" Toriko mused aloud as he continued to watch.
The moment it looked over in their direction, the coldest chill she's ever felt went down her back. Ah. So this is what it felt like to be prey. "What is it?! I can't see it!" Sarafina asked them, with fear in her voice. Immediately the men got into defensive stances. "Komatsu! Sarafina! Get away!" The girl quickly got up as the chef had a confused expression. "I said get away!" She quickly put him behind her as she tried to sense the creature. Her jaw dropped as she felt Coco's energy growing, Cleary he wasn't holding back on whatever's with them. Coco turned into the darkest black one has ever seen, poison slowly dropping off him a bit. A few seconds later, Toriko seemed to power up, causing a circle of wind to form around him and pushed her and the chef back. "Wahh!" Komatsu went as she tried to hold her ground. The three of them continued to have some kind of face off until it looked RIGHT at her and seemed to be taken back. Then without warning it started to walk towards the group. What is it going to do?! Is it going to attack?! If so, there's not a chance in hell they can get out of here in time before a show down occurred!
The men stiffened. Were they going to have to fight this guy? They really hoped not. As the creature got closer and closer, the hunters got more nervous. They didn't sense any fighting spirit or hostility coming from it. Was it their imagination or was this thing concentrating on something? 'Or someone.' Toriko thought, trying to figure out what it wants. Coco and Toriko stiffened even more, getting ready to defend as the creature was mere feet from them. Here it comes. The hunters blinked in shock as it just passed them without so much as a glance. What the? They turned around to see the creature walking up to where Komatsu andSarafina were. No! Was it going after them?! The creature stopped in front of the girl, who was doing her best to stand her ground. But it was obvious that she was scared. From what they learned on their own, Sarafina can sense the energy and life of anything with a heartbeat. But since this...thing was not even remotely alive, she couldn't see it. 'That thing better not hurt her!' The two thought as they watched.
Damn it! This was driving Toriko nuts! That thing was in front of the blind girl yet he didn't dare move, lest he provoke it! The men held their breath as they watched the creature reach out towards her. "What's the matter? Where is it? Did it leave?" She asked those around her. They all suddenly got quiet, she sensed the tension coming from them. Yet they didn't move...they didn't say a word. What's going on?! Why was she in the dark? The thing paused for a moment, as if it was observing her. Then simply reached over and yanked off three stands of her hair. She let out a small yelp as she brought her hand up to ease the pain. Okay, now she was afraid. What did this thing do? Taking its prize in hand, it walked off into the darkness, Toriko and Coco watching it warily.
When it finally left the men gave a sigh of relief, Coco going to his knees as Toriko rushed over to the girl, who also sank to her knees. "Are you alright?!" Komatsu asked, trying his best not to freak out as the hunter knelt down to her and looked at the scratch, frowning a bit. Why would it take some of her hair? She appeared to be mumbling something. "Eh? What was that?" Toriko asked. She looked up at him, the girl appeared to be in shock, and said, "I...never felt anything like that before. I knew it was there...but I-" He ruffled her hair a bit and said, "It's alright. It's gone and it didn't hurt you too bad." She tried to smile as she softly said. "Thank you, Toriko." To Coco, Toriko asked, "What was that just now?"
"I...don't know. I first saw the electro-magnetic waves."