Toriko: Canon SL. Chapter 25: Bubble Fruit

Master Chin, Mathew and Seto stepped back onto the Shokurin Temple grounds. As assistant master Shuu saw the three of them, he noticed how the temple didn’t do anything to stop these two. It had been a bit more than three weeks since they had been gone and they were already back. And with the master, they had to have faced a draconic training. Yet they were back so soon. He wanted to see how far these two had come in such a short time.

he stepped up to the three of them, ‘welcome back master Chin. Mathew, Seto, nice to see you’ve returned. How was your training?’ Mathew shrugged, ‘difficult, but worthwhile.’ Seto nodded, “we were both physically as mentally exhausted all the days of the first week. But we’re better because of it.” Shuu nodded, ‘that’s good to hear. But I would like to test your skills.’

Mathew nodded and suddenly disappeared from Shuu’s view point. As Seto pointed to behind Shuu, the assistant master turned around, seeing Mathew standing there, holding something. As he had a better look, he saw it was a thin ribbon. Mathew held it up, ‘I believe this is yours.’ Shuu took it, than recognized it as the ribbon which held his hair in a braid. As he felt his hair, he noticed it was still in a braid,… but as he touched it, it fell apart.

Mathew nodded, ‘I hope that’s enough of a test.’ Shuu nodded, ‘indeed.’ Master Chin nodded, ‘well done Math. Now, let’s continued with this quest of yours; obtaining the bubble fruit.’ Mathew and Seto nodded and master Chin walked to the end of the temple, where there was a long road surrounded by nothing but colorful bubbles. Master Chin nodded, ‘now the true final exam of your food honor begins. Only those who master food honor have a chance of obtaining the bubble fruit and learning the secret it holds; food immersion.’

Seto tilted his head, “doesn’t everyone who eats good food immerse themselves in their meal?” master Chin nodded, ‘yes, but only a little. The gratitude you gain when obtaining the bubble fruit and the way you can immerse yourself in it is different. As you may have noticed, during our walk to your training grounds and back, as well as on your training days, I didn’t eat a thing. I had a little on the hunt and cook days, but I could have gone without them,… because of my food immersion, I can go without food and water for several months.’

Mathew smiled, ‘that does sound amazing. Well, let’s get going.’ Master Chin nodded, ‘yes. However, the bubble fruit is very shy. It doesn’t show itself to more than one person, other than me; whom they know and trust. So only one of you can come with me. so, Mathew, you come with me to obtain the bubble fruit. Seth, you stay here to receive and try to prepare the bubble fruit.’ Seto nodded and Mathew and master Chin walked away over the bubble road.

Seto tilted his head, there was something strange about that bubble way. He was blind, deaf and mute. His soul touch allowed him to see and communicate. But it felt like something was trying to hide itself on this road. Seto felt it, but it would rather stay hidden. Seto didn’t know what it was, maybe the bubble fruit, or maybe something else. But whatever it was, he was sure Mathew could handle it.

Mathew and master Chin walked for hours, for an entire day, without stopping. Mathew had, through learning food honor, expanded less and less calories than ever before, especially since he had eaten such great meals. And, with having eaten a great meal before entering Shokurin temple, he was fully charge for this journey and anything it might bring.

master Chin didn’t stop walking, not for an entire week and still he walked on, not even taking a break. Mathew followed him, noticing his legs were starting to feel the burn. as Mathew caught up with master Chin, he asked, ‘how fast do people normally reach the bubble fruit?’ master Chin shrugged, ‘that differs from person to person. Some find it in a few days, others in a few weeks. Others don’t find it at all.’ Mathew nodded, took a deep breath, took a small stop, took the food honor stance; hands together and bow. He focused on nothing but his appreciation and continued walking.

as he did, at some points, he thought he saw something. But as he looked, he only saw more bubbles. The road continued and continued and didn’t seem to stop anytime soon. It seemed like this road went on forever.

Seto sat at the start of bubble road, focusing on appreciation as he did food Zen meditation. It had been two weeks now since Mathew had left. Shuu sat down next to Seto, also looking down bubble road. He knew what one had to face to obtain the bubble fruit. It wasn’t easy, but it was manageable. As he looked at Seto, he noticed the blind chef faced in his direction, while the fifteen torchorsetails were still burning. The look on Seto’s face seemed rather surprised. Shuu wondered, had this chef looked along in his, Shuu’s, memory? If so, than he knew what Mathew would have to endure.

back with Mathew and master Chin. The third week had passed, but Mathew had reached his limits. And master Chin was still walking as steadily as the first day. Mathew’s feral mode had kicked in, drawing all nutritious cells from the body to the stomach. However, where Mathew had gone wild before, while his body was slightly trembling and his stomach was going wild, Mathew stayed in control and kept on walking while his body was now drained faster and faster. He had walked for so long, focused on nothing but appreciation for the last three weeks. And still he hadn’t found the bubble fruit. He wondered what Lyneria had meant when she had said; “obtaining the bubble fruit is worth the journey of a lifetime.”

Mathew managed to keep going for another half an hour, which was far longer than any other feral mode had lasted. But then he collapsed. Hearing the drop to the ground, master Chin stopped walking and looked at Mathew, who was now lying there, having shrunk down some, having lost a lot of both fat and muscle. As he was lying there, he looked more like a normal human than the gourmet hunter he really was.

Mathew felt his heartbeat slowing down, felt his body going numb. He hadn’t encountered anything but bubbles all this time; no food, no water, no other ingredients, nothing but an endless road. And now, after three weeks of not eating and nothing but walking, his body had been pushed to the utter limit; starvation. Mathew felt his lungs were growing weak as he drew in what could be his last breath. Mathew tried to hold onto his body, onto his life,… but he wouldn’t hold out for long; he was going to die.

Mathew breathed out, thinking back on his life, wondering if this was what people meant with having their life flash before their eyes. He remembered his youth, his parents, how he met the four heavenly kings, meeting Shiroitora and her parents, meeting old man Suramo, Valen, Lyneria and Kabe. Those three had always been his best friends. And Atlas, Tenshi and Markus, his business partners. And then there was Blitz, his fateful animal partner. The shadow dragon had grown so much, was strong and proud. And then there was Seto, his combo partner. Mathew was so thankful to everyone he everyone he had met in his life. they had made his life complete. And of course, he was thankful to all the food, all the ingredients he had ever eaten. They had made him strong, had made him the hunter he had become. As Mathew closed his eyes, all he could think about was how thankful he was to all things that had made his life.

as he was lying there, Mathew noticed a few thoughts were still running through his body. Like; what was that glow on his eyes, or the warmth on his skin. He slowly opened his eyes and saw tens, no dozens, no hundreds,… no thousands upon thousands of golden glowing bubbles; the bubble fruits. The fruits had been there all this time, waiting to see if Mathew was worthy. Master Chin nodded, ‘only those who are thankful at the end of their lives will be saved by the bubble fruits. Now; eat.’ Mathew nodded, reached out a gentle hand, scooped up on fruit, brought it to his mouth as he weakly said, ‘I give humble thanks, for the large bounty, that this world provides. Now let’s eat.’ and sucked it in.

as Mathew chewed down on it, carbonation flooded out from the fruit with every bite. It tasted like a rich champagne jelly that was as sweet as honey; a delicacy unlike any other. Mathew was thankful for having found it, thankful for eating it and, as he swallowed, thankful for it becoming a part of him. he knew; this was true food immersion. Master Chin saw the look on his face, created two massive spoons and scooped two large portions of fruit up, placing them in front of Mathew, ‘now; eat till your heart’s content.’

Mathew felt his gourmet cells evolving and restoring life to his body. He sat up again and picked up bubble fruit after bubble fruit, sucking them in, chewing them well, enjoying their flavor and their feeling of going down. It was delicious, rich in nutrients. As such, Mathew’s body was building back up to the state he had been in before stepping onto bubble road. And after reaching that point, Mathew kept eating, taking himself way beyond that point. It felt like he could keep eating these fruits forever. After he finally finished eating both spoonfuls of bubble fruits, he stood up.

his hair had grown in length. The hair on his head now reached the ground and his previously short mustache and beard were now hanging by his knees. Mathew stretched out his right hand’s index finger’s nail, trimming his beard and hair back to their previous length. Master Chin nodded, ‘now than, let’s return to the temple. You can bring as many fruits as you want to share with Seto.’ Mathew nodded and they returned. However, unlike walking, they were now running. More even. Master Chin had jumped up and launched himself forward with two giant spoons, like enormous wings. Mathew shifted into beat mode and rushed back over the road.

his speed had increased considerably. So much so that, where it had taken three weeks to get to the point where he collapsed, it only took three hours for him and master Chin to return to the temple. And, along the way, Mathew had grabbed a great many bubble fruits, bringing them along for Seto. And, as his combo partner ate them with the same hearty appetite as Mathew had done, Mathew told him what had happened. Seto was a good listener and as he ate, his hair also grew longer and his gourmet cells seemed to take quite the liking to these fruits.

as Mathew and Seto left the temple they took quite a lot of bubble fruits with them. having heard from master Chin that, if these fruits were cooked, the depth of their savoriness would increase quite a lot. The cooking method was to peel the extremely thin peel of the fruit, than cook the fruit. As such, Seto wanted to try his hand at cooking the fruit. And Mathew promised Seto that the two of them wouldn’t go after the final ingredient on his list; the Leviathan, capture level 300, until that time. As such, Seto promised to try his very best.