Although Nono felt Komatsu wasn't exactly normal in so ways, there was no denying that he had saved hundreds of millions of people.
This ti, the reason Komatsu made it onto the rankings was largely because of that achievent.
But right after that, Komatsu did sothing else that made both Kael and Nono question him.
When it ca ti to collect cooking tools, he didn't take his own exclusive knife.
Komatsu's exclusive knife wasn't the top-tier lk knife from the original story, but a high-grade one. After all, the fossil of the Dragon King's Fang had already been taken by Kael, so Komatsu couldn't get his hands on material of that caliber.
The material he used to forge his knife was sothing Toriko had captured for him.
So in the end, Komatsu only had a high-grade lk knife.
Still, that was more than enough for now. Once Toriko grew stronger in the future, upgrading it would be easy.
But this ti, Komatsu didn't take the knife at all.
It ca off as him deliberately disrespecting the others.
From Komatsu's perspective, using the knife he brought felt like taking unfair advantage. But had he even stopped to think? The other competitors weren't using ordinary knives either.
If anything, his decision just ca off as a bit self-righteous.
Kael, however, didn't care about that.
What really caught his attention were the super tycoons.
In the original story, Joie ca to the Cooking Festival for two reasons. One was those super tycoons. The other was Komatsu—and the recipe book in his hands.
Back then, Joie had run into Master Jiro at the festival and didn't dare make a move. On top of that, Midora's teor Spice had descended, forcing Jiro to focus on stopping it.
Joie seized the opportunity to escape, slipping away through the shadows.
Komatsu hadn't been taken either. He was eventually brought back to the Gourt Corp's headquarters in the Gourt World by Starjun.
These tycoons weren't chanical bodies. Kael could clearly sense that. Since they were here, that ant Joie should be coming too—unless the presence of IGO and Gourt Corp made Joie hesitate.
So Kael kept a close eye on them.
As ti passed, the matches continued one after another. Aside from observing the tycoons, Kael also watched the contestants.
The Gourt Corp wouldn't be interfering this ti, so Komatsu's matches went smoothly. Unfortunately, his current opponent was simply too strong. There was no real contest.
Komatsu lost.
Even so, he had fought his way through multiple rounds, and his reputation had skyrocketed because of it.
As the competition neared its end, Kael sensed that the super tycoons had all gathered in one place.
They were waiting.
Waiting for Joie.
It looked like Joie planned to take them all at once.
Honestly, Kael couldn't understand what these people were thinking. Cooperating with soone like Joie? The odds of getting stabbed in the back were sky-high.
And yet they still chose to do it.
Maybe they were just afraid of dying.
Joie had told them the Earth would no longer be habitable. If they wanted to survive, they'd have to leave for space. So Joie approached kings and super tycoons alike.
With their wealth, they could build spaceships.
Right now, Joie treated them with respect. But once Earth was gone and the ships truly entered space, these people would beco the lowest class aboard.
The group gathered together—and brought soone else with them.
Komatsu's companion, Nakau.
In the original story, Nakau had been captured by NEO and witnessed sothing horrifying. His hair turned white overnight. Later on, he helped Komatsu and Otake at a critical mont.
But honestly, his inclusion at the end always felt forced.
He had appeared before, sure—but barely. He had even less screen ti than Otake. At least Otake had a clear growth arc. He started with the sa mindset as Komatsu, then after being tempered by society, beca soone a bit opportunistic.
For the sake of profit and fa, he was willing to do things he shouldn't have. But after being captured by the Gourt Corp, he realized what truly mattered wasn't wealth or reputation—it was cooking.
He awakened and grew.
Nakau, on the other hand? After his first appearance, he was captured, later rescued by Teppei, and that was it. Aside from a na and a personality trait, readers barely knew anything about him.
And yet sohow, he ended up participating in the cooking of GOD.
It felt abrupt. Whether he was there or not made no real difference.
Having little screen ti wasn't the problem. But if you're going to make soone stronger, you need to show their growth.
like the 'Marine King' Koby from the pirate world next door.
Suddenly getting strong with barely any buildup. No developnt, just a power jump. It only made people uncomfortable.
This ti, though, Kael didn't let Nakau be taken so easily.
When he saw Nakau being escorted by the group toward a eting point, Kael moved.
He knocked out the people around him in an instant and pulled Nakau behind him for protection.
They didn't even know each other well, but Kael decided to save him anyway.
"You're Granny Setsuno's disciple, aren't you? What are you doing here?"
The super tycoons recognized Kael imdiately. They had no intention of giving him face. After all, they were about to leave.
Everything in the Human World would be handed over to the robots under their control. They would manage things remotely. There were still industries that couldn't just be abandoned.
"What am I doing?" Kael smiled. "I'm here to see what you're up to. Don't tell you think no one knows you joined NEO."
One sentence.
That was all it took to nearly make the group's legs give out from fear.
NEO was an extrely mysterious organization. They hadn't sought it out themselves. Joie had approached them first, and only then did they learn such a group even existed on Earth.
After that, they were told the planet would explode.
They agreed to Joie's proposal.
Mostly because Joie had shown them enough proof.
And soone like Joie? If he wanted them dead, it would've been effortless.
"You're certainly quick," Setsuno said as she stepped forward. "So these guys have already joined NEO? Now that is interesting."
She didn't seem surprised.
When Kael first sensed sothing wrong, he had inford Setsuno. She had abandoned watching the competition and co here right away.
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