Food Wars: Fishing System #254+255: The Power to Shatter Universal Boundaries—The Green Universe

Yuuki had been so lost in the art of cooking that he’d completely forgotten about his Mobile Kitchen, a mistake that had cost him decades. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.

With the Mobile Kitchen, preparing the remaining ingredients would be a swift affair.

After returning to Earth, he dedicated himself to preparing and consuming the Godly Ingredients. During this time, he also took a moment to check on everyone.

They were all progressing at an incredible pace. The Gourmet Cells had unlocked their latent potential, and their skills were skyrocketing.

He had no concerns for their safety, either. Not only did they possess Gourmet Cells, but Yuuki had also arranged for their protection.

Megumi and her friends weren't weak by any means. They just didn't have Yuuki's killer instinct. But slowly, that was changing.

The hesitation they used to feel when facing enemies was fading, replaced by something much colder and more ruthless. They were learning a hard truth: some people simply didn't deserve to draw breath.

Seeing this change in them, Yuuki couldn't help but nod in approval. A world in chaos, he mused, was a far better crucible for growth than a world at peace.

Once he was certain they were fine, Yuuki returned back.

——————

Sometime later, he had finally finished the last of the Godly Ingredients. The sheer volume had been astronomical, but for someone with Yuuki's appetite, it was manageable.

Consuming them had pushed his power to an entirely new level. But beyond the raw power, his culinary mastery and his various abilities had also evolved.

He even discovered that his ability to open the Back Channel could now reach into other universes.

The technology left behind by the Blue Nitros did include methods for inter-universal travel, but it was fraught with limitations. Not everyone could use it, it required specific planetary conditions, and most importantly—it required coordinates.

The only reason the Blue Nitros had found the Red Universe was because they had planted a coordinate tracker on NEO. Back then, NEO was too powerful for them to handle, and this was the only way they could track it.

Furthermore, the Red Universe was the weakest of the five colored universes, which made the crossing relatively easy.

The other universes were another story. They had no coordinates for them, and the universes themselves were far too powerful. The Blue Nitros had never even considered trying to travel to them.

Besides, the other universes were stronger than their own. The Blue Nitros were not the uncontested rulers of their home universe; venturing into another would be suicide.

Even now, the IGO was struggling to decipher the technology. The Blue Nitros had spent countless millennia mastering it.

Even with the finished product right in front of them, learning to use it was a monumental task.

It required a foundational knowledge they simply didn't have. It would take humanity a very, very long time to master it—how long, Yuuki couldn't say.

And there was no way to speed up the process.

Humans didn't have the infinite lifespans of the Blue Nitros, who could accelerate time by hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years without a second thought.

For a human, accelerating time by a few decades would leave nothing but a pile of bones.

But now, Yuuki had developed this ability on his own. He could use it to cross into other universes at will.

He had already tasted many of the finest ingredients the Blue Universe had to offer—like the Cosmos Mammoth, which was one of the apex species there. There were other creatures on its level, but not many, and capturing them would be simple for him now.

Compared to the exponential growth granted by the Godly Ingredients, those creatures held no appeal for him anymore.

He had searched for a long time but couldn't find any other Godly Ingredients, not even a scrap. So, he decided to try his luck in another universe.

He had considered heading to the Blue Universe first. Even though its ingredients had been transplanted to the Red Universe, the Blue Universe itself wasn't completely dead—universes have a way of regenerating.

And something like a Godly Ingredient could very well still exist, even in a shattered universe.

But now, he had a better idea. He wouldn't go to the Blue Universe. He would head to the Green Universe first.

The Green Universe was ranked third in terms of power, making it the perfect destination. Not that he had anything to fear—with his current strength, he could waltz into the Black or White universes without a care in the world.

But since he had to pick one, Green seemed like a good choice. He could hunt for Godly Ingredients and capture some other interesting creatures along the way.

This time, Yuuki went alone. He didn't bring Nono. As powerful as he was, this was an unknown universe. He wouldn't risk Nono's safety.

In the Green Universe, he wouldn't have the support of the Gourmet Satellite.

He would have to rely on his own senses.

Fortunately, supported by his mastery of the culinary arts, his five senses had evolved into something entirely new.

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They had transcended their original function, giving birth to a new form of perception—something akin to a psionic sense, allowing him to scan a vast area around him.

He could instantly receive a complete data profile of everything his scan touched. Right now, he could scan an entire galaxy. It sounded immense, but compared to the sheer scale of a universe, it was still a drop in the ocean.

The universe of Toriko was constantly growing, expanding—as were all the others. It was something they had discovered thanks to the Gourmet Satellite.

The satellite could observe the very edge of the universe—an endless void. But the universe was constantly expanding, and new life was constantly being born in the ever-stretching frontier.

After saying his goodbyes, Yuuki activated his ability and stepped into the Green Universe.

“Chef Yuuki just keeps getting stronger. Our universe can no longer contain him. To think he now has the power to travel to other universes!”

Ichiryu remarked with a sigh. He and the others had spent some time exploring space before returning to Earth.

They had just learned of Yuuki's new ability, and it had left them utterly speechless.

“At this point, is there anything he could do that would surprise us?”

Jiro and Setsuno, however, were already used to it.

“You have a point. I wonder what the Green Universe is like!”

Ichiryu’s curiosity was piqued. A universe completely different from their own—it was an irresistible thought.

“Don’t even think about it. You’d just be throwing your life away.”

Don Slime rolled his eyes.

“You can relax. I haven’t even finished exploring our own universe. Why would I go to another? Speaking of which, I remember you said you were from the Black Universe, right? What’s it like?” Ichiryu asked with a smile.

“The Black Universe? Don’t even let it cross your minds. The White and Black universes are on another level entirely. That brat NEO came from the Black Universe. So did I. That should tell you everything you need to know.”

Don Slime said dismissively. Both he and NEO hailed from the Black Universe. Everyone knew how terrifying NEO was—it had single-handedly annihilated the entire Blue Universe.

As for Don Slime, he might not seem that powerful now, but in his prime, he had been able to fight NEO to a standstill.

The reason NEO had been killed when it first came to the Red Universe was because of him.

Unfortunately, the repeated battles against NEO had taken their toll, eventually leading to his own death.

The beings from the Black Universe were, without exception, terrifying monsters.

Hearing this, everyone pushed the thought of the Black and White universes from their minds. They hadn't even finished exploring the Red Universe yet—which now contained everything from the Blue Universe as well.

And they had the Gourmet Satellite to help them avoid danger. In another universe, they would be flying blind.

Even in the Red Universe, without the satellite's guidance, their current power level would have gotten them killed countless times over.

They knew better than to get ahead of themselves.

——————

Leaving them to their thoughts, Yuuki emerged from the channel into the Green Universe.

He immediately expanded his senses, and the information of an entire galaxy flooded his mind.

“Well, talk about hitting the jackpot right out of the gate. A Godly Ingredient. Looks like it has quite a few admirers, too. They’ve even built their nests right on top of it. A shame they’ll never get their hands on it.”

His scan revealed the remnants of two different Godly Ingredients within this single galaxy. But both were surrounded by massive civilizations, standing guard.

It wasn't because they could eat the ingredients. It was a situation similar to the Cosmos Mammoth King.

The Mammoth King could sense the remnants of Godly Ingredients but couldn't touch them. These creatures couldn't even sense them—but they refused to give up—building their entire societies around the faint hope of one day claiming them.

They had no idea what it was they were guarding.

"..." Yuuki could only shake his head.

They were completely wasting their time.

Only beings with Divinity could touch a Godly Ingredient. While it was possible to observe or sense them without it—the Gourmet Satellite’s observation of the Gourmet Gods was proof of that—touching and eating them was another matter entirely.

And Divinity wasn't something that could be given or earned. Both the Gourmet Gods and the Godly Ingredients possessed it, but it couldn't be transferred.

This meant that no matter how long these creatures waited, no matter how hard they tried, they would never be able to touch the ingredients.

There was simply no path to Godhood in this world. Yuuki was the sole exception, a cheat with a System.

For everyone else, the path was sealed. Unless the universe itself decided to rewrite the rules and create new gods—an impossibility, as the universe operated on instinct and rules, not consciousness.

One of the two civilizations in this galaxy was an octopus-like race.

The sight of them made Yuuki chuckle.

No wonder people on his old world had always said octopuses looked like aliens—turns out, they were right.

The other race, however, was just disgusting.

They were insectoids, similar to the Zerg from StarCraft. They didn't have the same terrifying reproductive capabilities, but their appearance was enough to make Yuuki’s skin crawl.

Their leader was a super-giant cockroach-like bug.

The mere sight of it turned his stomach.

Cockroaches had disgusted him in his past life, and that feeling hadn't changed one bit.