Chapter 25: Capturing the Puffer Whale
Toriko and Coco came running, their bodies still bearing the marks of their battle with the Devil Serpent. They were so worried about Komatsu’s safety that they hadn’t even stopped to rest. Coco, in particular, had been terrified for his life, having seen the death sign on him before they even entered the cave.
When they saw that Komatsu was unharmed, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Komatsu burst into tears and threw himself into Toriko’s arms. He had been so close to death; it was impossible not to be shaken. After he had cried his fill, he started complaining to Toriko about the party popper. It was so powerful it had almost sent him to the afterlife on the spot.
Kenji just smiled and shook his head. Toriko and Komatsu really are true love.
Rin: "Then what about me?"
Coco took another look. The death sign on Komatsu was gone. He then glanced at the Knocked Devil Serpent. Not many people knew the pressure points of a creature like that.
"Kenji, you saved Komatsu, didn’t you?" Toriko asked with a smile. From Komatsu’s complaints, it was clear he hadn’t worn earplugs when he used the party popper. He should have suffered cardiac arrest and ruptured eardrums, but now he was perfectly fine.
"Mr. Kenji, thank you. Please convey my gratitude to Master Jiro as well," Komatsu said, bowing a full ninety degrees.
"I will," Kenji nodded.
Coco’s face showed his surprise. What a shocking name. It seemed Kenji was Jiro’s disciple. No wonder he could perform Knocking on a Devil Serpent. That man knew the pressure points of practically every animal, and the Knocking Guns he used were custom-made, not available on the market. Before entering the cave, Coco had indeed sensed an extremely powerful electromagnetic wave. It must have been from Jiro. It was an aura even stronger than Kenji’s, one he had only ever felt from President Ichiryu.
The group soon arrived at the Cave Beach.
The darkness dissipated, replaced by the glow of numerous blue crystals that illuminated the cavern. The seawater reflected the light, making it sparkle.
"Wow! I’m definitely the first reporter to ever come to the Cave Beach!" Tina exclaimed, excitedly filming everything.
"There are a lot of Sea Fireflies in this area. The water visibility is excellent. Even if we encounter a Puffer Whale, we’ll be able to spot it immediately," Coco observed.
Sea Fireflies were marine insects whose tails contained a special glowing protein. The light they emitted was several times brighter than that of a common firefly. In large numbers, they could illuminate the dark seabed as if it were daytime. They had no culinary value but were beautiful to look at.
Toriko immediately took off his shirt and boots on the beach and jumped into the water in his shorts. Coco followed right behind him.
"Komatsu, Tina, you two wait on the beach. It’s relatively safe here for now," Kenji said before diving in himself.
The water visibility was high, and the quality was crystal clear. They could see many strange and wonderful sea creatures: tuna with squid tentacles, sea anemones, corals, horned sharks, spiny sea turtles, and long, ribbon-like cutlassfish.
Suddenly, Kenji spotted a giant Puffer Whale. Toriko and Coco saw it at the same time. It was enormous.
Toriko was taken aback by its size. "Aren’t Puffer Whales supposed to be small?" In his mind, a Puffer Whale, despite having "whale" in its name, should be the size of a regular pufferfish.
"Look closer, Toriko. It’s made up of countless smaller Puffer Whales," Kenji pointed out with a laugh.
Coco nodded. His vision was far superior to Toriko’s, so he had seen the truth at a glance.
Toriko looked closely, and the giant Puffer Whale instantly broke apart into a massive school of smaller ones. The sheer number was astounding.
"There are so many! We can catch them as we please!"
Toriko eagerly swam toward the school. The moment he touched one, the snow-white fish turned a purplish-black and instantly died, poisoned.
"So fast! It’s already poisoned," Toriko’s eyes widened. He had barely touched it. What sensitive skin.
Coco shook his head in exasperation. Toriko is so reckless.
When Coco looked at Kenji, his jaw dropped, bubbles escaping from his mouth. Kenji was using a special kind of Knocking Gun, firing incredibly fine needles that created thread-like vacuum trails in the water. When the needles hit the Puffer Whales, they didn’t get poisoned. They simply stopped swimming and drifted down to the sandy seabed.
This level of exquisite skill completely blew Coco away. As expected of the Knocking Master’s disciple, he thought with awe. There are few in this world who can achieve such extraordinary Knocking techniques.
"That should be enough," Kenji nodded, having captured over two hundred of them. As Jiro’s disciple, he naturally knew how to make his own specialized Knocking Guns. The needles of his gun were even finer than those on the market, allowing him to perform Knocking on the Puffer Whales without them even noticing.
"You guys take your time," Kenji said with a wave.
Toriko and Coco’s mouths twitched. They had to use their Life Erasing technique to conceal their presence and catch them one by one. They couldn’t do it as effortlessly as Kenji.
Meanwhile, outside the cave, a group of would-be poachers who had been lying in wait were now all lying on the ground, Knocked by Jiro. They had picked the wrong person to ambush. Jiro hadn’t killed them, which was lucky for them. Of all the people to pick, they chose the strongest one. It was like playing Gourmet Hunter blind box and pulling the grand prize.
"Hiccup... Kenji should have captured the Puffer Whales by now." Jiro smiled and shook his head, leaving with his own catch. He had no doubt Kenji could capture the Puffer Whales, but he probably couldn’t remove the poison sacs. Cooking ingredients was a job for a professional chef. Komatsu, the boy he had just saved, could probably handle it, though it might take him a few tries.
An hour later, Coco and Toriko had only managed to catch a dozen or so. They kept accidentally poisoning them, and they had to surface to breathe every so often, wasting a lot of time. The Puffer Whales had already left, so catching any in such a short time was largely a matter of luck.
"Whoa, is that a Shell Shark? I can’t believe you caught one of these, Kenji!" Toriko said in surprise, looking at the ten-meter-long shark. "Unlike most sharks, whose meat is tough, this one’s flesh is as tender as scallop meat."
The meat of a Shell Shark was delicious, and even its shell-like scales could be sold. Some people used them as decorations, and its bones could be used to make a sweet and savory seafood bone broth.
"It’ll be the perfect appetizer before we taste the Puffer Whale."
"Definitely. I’ll help you."