Chapter 26: Daigo: Kaiju!
"Mr. Coco, I’ll be counting on you!" Komatsu said with grave sincerity. It was his first time handling a Puffer Whale, and he had no idea where to even begin.
"Alright, let me give it a try," Coco replied. Feeling Komatsu’s hopeful gaze on him, he started to sweat. He wasn’t very confident himself; he wasn’t a chef. There were only about ten chefs in the world known to be able to perfectly remove a Puffer Whale’s poison sac.
Coco held the kitchen knife, his mind completely focused. He used his superhuman vision to carefully observe the fish.
Tina held her camera, its lens trained on the Puffer Whale. She held her breath, afraid of disturbing Coco.
Meanwhile, Kenji and Toriko were busy dismembering the Shell Shark, already enjoying some sashimi. The sweet and chewy sashimi was delicious even without any dipping sauce, and the two of them were eating with gusto. The best way to help Coco and Komatsu was to not bother them.
[Crash-Test Pilot]: "Mr. Kenji, is this what you meant by a kaiju?! (°A°) @Star Forger"
[Crash-Test Pilot]: GOLZA_IMAGE.jpg
The attached picture showed a giant monster several dozen meters tall. Its muscular body had a rock-like texture, exuding a sense of immense power. Its head looked like it was wearing a stone helmet, tapering to a point.
[Miss Pink Elf♪]: "That’s bigger than most Honkai Beasts. Daigo, your world looks very dangerous."
[Ghost of the Uchiha]: "In terms of size, it would rank among the largest of the nine Tailed Beasts."
The Nine-Tails was 70 meters tall, while Golza was 62 meters.
[Lady Justice]: "It could probably destroy a whole country, couldn’t it?"
Perhaps only the gods from the Archon War had that kind of size.
[Star Forger]: "That’s the Super-Ancient Monster, Golza, also known as the ’Monster That Shakes the Earth.’ Thirty million years ago, there were many of them, but now, there’s probably only this one left on Earth."
Golza, Kenji recalled. It appeared twice in the Ultraman Tiga series. After being defeated the second time, Tiga threw it into a volcano. Later, during the Ultraman Dyna era, it reappeared and gave Dyna a thorough beating, nearly making him question his own existence. It was probably the same one. A classic case of the older brother setting up the younger one for a fall.
Dyna meets Golza for the first time...
Golza (cautiously): "Is that you, Tiga-san?"
After confirming it’s not his old foe, Golza lets out a sigh of relief.
Golza (arrogantly): "What’s this? You have the same haircut as me?"
Golza (arrogantly): "What’s this? You’re rocking the same color scheme as my big bro?"
Golza (arrogantly): "Here, have a slap!"
He grabs Dyna by the neck.
Golza (smugly): "Didn’t expect that, did you? Tiga taught me this move."
[Crash-Test Pilot]: "It’s from thirty million years ago? Can humanity’s current weapons even deal with this Golza?"
Daigo fell into deep thought. While he had managed to scare Golza away with a signal flare for now, he was sure it would reappear. A sixty-meter-tall monster was a behemoth to humans. Most weapons would probably just tickle it.
[Star Forger]: "A few select weapons can deal with kaiju. Has your GUTS team recently discovered a meteorite from outer space?"
In the world of Tiga, most weapons were only effective for "scraping off some skin," but some could actually harm the monsters, like the weapons powered by the Maxima Overdrive system. In the early stages, the Ultras were the main fighting force. Humanity’s weapons only became truly effective later on.
[Crash-Test Pilot]: "We did just find a meteorite. The captain sent a message for us to assemble."
[Star Forger]: "The meteorite’s outer shell contains a product from thirty million years ago. There’s useful information for you inside."
Kenji didn’t tell Daigo that he would become Ultraman Tiga just yet. He didn’t want Daigo to get cocky and crash his plane before he could even transform. The power of an Ultra was heavily influenced by their spirit. If Daigo knew in advance, the change in his mindset might affect Tiga’s arrival.
[Crash-Test Pilot]: "I understand. Thank you."
Coco was completely focused on preparing the Puffer Whale.
The first one, as expected, became poisoned. The slightest miscalculation in the knife’s placement would cause it to instantly turn toxic. Because it was so difficult to prepare, the Puffer Whale was classified as a Special Preparation Ingredient. The angle and depth of the cut both affected the final result.
Coco had just managed to expose the poison sac when a slight tremor in his hands caused the fish to turn toxic.
"Komatsu, you do it," Coco said, taking a deep breath. The intense concentration had left him mentally exhausted. His hands were starting to shake. If he continued, he would just waste more Puffer Whales.
"Huh? Me?" Komatsu yelped, startled. He had never prepared a Puffer Whale before.
"Don’t worry, Komatsu. Compared to an amateur like me, you’re a professional chef. Have some confidence. I’ll guide you. Believe in yourself," Coco encouraged with a smile.
Komatsu’s confidence swelled. He took out his kitchen knife. Coco couldn’t help but admire it. What a fine blade. You could tell the quality of a chef by their knife. The care and maintenance Komatsu put into his knife was a testament to his love for his profession.
"Mr. Coco, I’m ready," Komatsu said, taking a deep breath to steady himself. This was the most challenging ingredient he had ever faced as a chef.
"Good. Start the incision along the caudal fin..." Coco began to guide him.
Komatsu’s movements were so skilled that Coco couldn’t help but be impressed. This is what you call a professional.
Despite his excellent knife skills, however, Komatsu still made unavoidable mistakes, causing several Puffer Whales to turn toxic. It was like disarming a bomb; one slight misstep and all his efforts would be for naught.
"Is that the poison sac?"
On the tenth fish, it didn’t turn toxic. The body of the Puffer Whale split open, revealing a purplish-black poison sac. He was just one step away from success.
"Now, you have to use your hands. Don’t rupture the sac. Remove the surrounding membrane, little by little."
Komatsu swallowed hard, not daring to relax for a second. He had already wasted so many.
The membrane around the poison sac was removed bit by bit. The sac rested in his palm.
The next moment, with a swift and precise motion, Komatsu cleanly separated it. Not a single drop of venom remained in the Puffer Whale’s body.
Woooow—a golden legendary!
With the poison sac removed, the Puffer Whale’s white flesh transformed into a dazzling gold, shimmering like a precious metal.
A golden Puffer Whale was worth 500 million yen on the market. Even a poisoned one could sell for 8 million on the black market, though their sale was prohibited, hence their circulation only in illicit channels. Because a properly prepared Puffer Whale was almost impossible to find, some people would risk death to eat the poisoned ones, tasting the delicious flavor for a moment before succumbing to the poison.
"Komatsu, well done," Coco praised. There were fewer than 10 chefs in the world who could prepare a Puffer Whale. Komatsu was now one of them.
"It was all thanks to your guidance, Mr. Coco."
Komatsu danced with excitement. He had just prepared a Puffer Whale! Even without eating it, the sense of accomplishment was incredibly satisfying.
"This is so exciting! To be able to record the preparation of a Puffer Whale!" Tina said, her camera rolling. While Komatsu wasn’t the only one who could do it, she was probably the only one who had ever filmed the process.