The celebration continued, and there was no place in the world any of them would rather be. This was a jubilation to remember for years to come. All night those gathered around would switch back and forth between genders and laughed as they did.

Éclair's wide blue eyes looked up at the Pair Stars fluttering down from the Birth Cry tree. She squirmed her way to her feet and jumped on the back of Toriko. Pulling his head back, she'd face his focal point upwards.

"Look, look!" Her loud voice carried and threw the attention of everyone else. They all looked to the sky to see the marvelous display before them.

The blunette smiled, "How is this possible? Pair is said to be one of the most difficult items to capture on Acacia's full course menu. Yet, here they are coming down one after another."

Kaka watched the downward Pair falling. "It's Bambina. He's fulfilling the conditions at the top of the tree. You see, the capture conditions for Pair is quite simple. Kissing someone you're attracted to of the opposite sex."

Toriko gasped at the sight of a passed out female Zongeh.

Sunny rolled his eyes looking at the display, "Yeah, but since when did he become the same species as the monkey king?"

Livebearer put a confusing hand to his forehead, "Wait a second, I heard the capture conditions was a dance with the monkey king. Kissing just seems a bit too easy. Not exactly super special preparation."

Kaka turned to the man, "Well for the kintamandrills are the only ones able to pick them with just a kiss. For any other creature the only way is cannibalism. Even if they're the same species they must be on par with their Gourmet Cell levels. After the deed is done, only then can they pluck Pair."

"Ew, ew, ewwwww! Oka Kaka, you're officially off of storytelling duty." The blond chef covered her ears and shook her head.

She'd continue to speak with no regard to Éclair's feelings. "Speaking of Pair's capture method. Once a long time ago the Blue Nitro met with Acacia." The hermit turned toward Toriko and the others. "What I tell you now is of the utmost importance regarding the Blue Nitro and the Gourmet Nobels."

"Another too?" Toriko eagerly stressed "Tell us about the Fish dish on Acacia's full course!"

They all listened to Kaka's words, and it was at this point that the stakes risen more than they thought it ever possibly could. Éclair and Vanilla put a hand to their mouths in shock of the words spoken. What was this world they were living in? Only a few years ago Éclair was just a chef in a 5 star restaurant, and now she was facing what sounded like the end of the world.

"With the next solar eclipse it will completely ripen. It will be destroyed. From millions of years ago when Gourmet Cells first arrived on this planet until the present day in which we stand~ Earth has been being cooked." Kaka's eyes told that everything she said was true.

"What!?" A tremor shook through the crowd.

"I'm afraid it's true. The Earth from the beginning has been undergoing large scale changes in its crust. From meteor impacts and ice ages, it was all a part of the process of bringing out Earth's best flavor. That also includes the Gourmet Solar Eclipse."

Coco seemed to have just reached a conclusion on his own as he placed a finger to his chin. "That enormous energy I saw deep underground. That was the taste itself coming out of the world? And the impetus was the Gourmet Cells. The Earth is expanding from these Gourmet Cells."

Éclair tried to keep from looking so confused. She had no idea what was going on, and the things Coco said didn't help.

"You're well informed on the subject." Kaka faced the man. "This planet is about 659 time its original size because of the Gourmet Cells. By way of that cooking process, every few hundred years part of that "good earth taste" seeps out to the surface. It is one of the eight ingredients."

Finally screwing her head on a bit more tightly, Éclair walked in between Kaka and everyone else. "Okay, so let me get the cliff notes of this. You're saying the world is being cooked, and Acacia's Full Course is the full course of the world. But since he's only done it a few centuries ago, we don't know who's been cooking the world since its been happening for hundreds of millions of years right?"

Kaka closed her eyes briefly as she nodded in acknowledgement. "There is just one thing you have wrong. We know who the originators are. The Gourmet Nobles, the Blue Nitro alongside their slaves the Red Nitro."

Toriko's eyes intensified upon hearing the information. "They've existed that long, the Blue Nitro? Just what exactly are they?"

"Monster Trolls that were born of the Gourmet Cells. The name Nitro was given to us by Acacia, or so it is said. We are the physical manifestation of Gourmet Cells appetite. Although the appetite demons that live inside you are called demons and oni."

The blond girl rubbed her temples with two fingers. It was back to the confusing stuff again. "So what the hell are they trying to do with Earth, Kaka? Eat it?"

"Not a bad guess. The reason Chichi, Jiji, and I betrayed the Blue Nitro is because we found out their true goal. It was brought to the surface several hundred years ago when they encountered Acacia in Area 7. They want to revive the vicious monster that lurks inside of Acacia. You don't understand, it is beyond imagination!"

Her words stopped and a hole was pierced through the Food Spirit's chest. She seemed to be absolutely finished as she coughed up blood. The red liquid dripped from her mouth and speckled on the ground.

The person responsible smiled a demonic toothy grin. "This Food Spirit has said too much. Now come. Acacia's fish dish Another is waiting."

Toriko would not listen but charge at the creature "Kaka!"

"You can't do anything. It's useless." The eerie tone of the monster continued. "I'm excited for such masterful chefs. If you come I'll welcome you to Area 6's The Kitchen of Food Spirits. If you can skillfully cook fish treasure Another that is." With the ending of its words, it was gone.

The demon and Kaka were completely vanished without a trace.

Zebra looked at the settling dust "That looked like the Joa bastard from the Cooking Fest. But transformed."

"So it was a Gourmet Cell Demon?" The kings pandered.

"Is Kaka dead?" Toriko asked.

"Don't worry. Food Spirits can't die twice." Kuribou spoke. "I'm going to help you as a guide. From acting as a spy in NEO I have quite a bit of information. First things first. One month. That's the time completion for the Gourmet Solar Eclipse."

"One month!?" Éclair screamed out. "You've gotta be kidding me! That's no time at all!"

The large man faced the small blond chef and she had a look of fright in her eyes. "You're Chef Éclair?"

Her bottom eyelids came up almost to the point of meeting the top ones as she grinned widely. "Y-you know who I am!? I just feel so special right now."

The bearded man looked up for a moment trying to remember his place. "Right, NEO is already completing a ship to escape Earth. When Acacia stopped the Gourmet Wars he only gave God to those powerful and wealthy from various countries. He charmed them into getting a lot of money from their descendants, so a plan like this is not a financial impossibility. Anyway, apparently there are a few conditions to fully reviving Acacia's monster. One of them is his fish dish Another."

Toriko began to get even more serious about all of this. One month was all they had before stakes would rise even higher. "So will the world be destroyed because Acacia's monster eats it, or because the simple completion of the world being cooked? Either way we need to keep that monster from being revived."

Chin faced the chef's standing around. "We must hurry and collect Acacia's full course before them at all costs.

"Impossible." Yuda shouted. "We don't have a millimeter enough time."

"Yeah, that's if we get em one at a time." Zebra chimed in. "We got a lot of people, so we just need to split up the rest of the full course and get em at the same time."

Éclair agreed with the man. "Yes, you're absolutely right. I was thinking that. Souls never die twice right? The ability we got from Pair is the opening of a door to the Back Channel. The next ingredient Another is in the World of Food Spirits, correct? Think back. Mappy said in Area 8 there is a door in Gourmet World that only souls could enter."

"It's called The Food Spirit Gate." One of the deceased spirits spoke. "We're already dead so we can roam free in and out of that door. It's true, for the living people to pass they'll need Pair. ~ However, coming back out is a tossup. It requires uncommon cooking skill and luck."

The blond girl smirked, and her freckled face had never looked more confident. "I'll do it. I'll go capture Another. Everyone else, I only ask that you get the rest."

"Clair?" Vanilla's eyebrows rose.

"Éclair?" Toriko spoke almost in unison with the green haired girl.

"Muffin has Food Luck and cooking skill, but that's too dangerous! The monster that attacked Kaka is in the Food Spirit World right!?" The colorful king had no mind to back down from his stance.

The deceased man nodded, "Yes, the place is crawling with Gourmet Cell Monsters, and among them are ones that are plotting to revive themselves even without hosts."

Everyone was in agreeance, this was way too treacherous for Éclair to tough on her own.

"You're too short! You're too sensitive! You're not good enough! You're too weak! I've been hearing it all my life!" The woman yelled at the kings in an unyielding tone like they'd never heard before. "I died not too long ago if you can remember. You all saved me, and somewhere in the back of my mind I knew you would because I believed in you all. Now believe in me, because I'm going!"

"If I can just say one thing. Éclair is actually the only one who is even qualified to go to the Soul World. Strength will not do anything. It is about cooking spirit food; that is the key."

"Alright, I elect Éclair to go." Toriko shrugged.

"Are you serious!?" Sunny shouted, "Toriko!"

"Even if we try to find the other full course items, if we don't know the capture method and cooking method then it's hopeless." Coco threw in his two cents.

"No problem." Toriko's optimism returned. "Kaka told us that a civilization still remains even now. There we can find Jiji the taste hermit. He was once called the gold chef. He should know how to cook all of the remaining items."

The deceased man nodded, "Kaka also said it was he who recorded the cooking methods of the full course in a certain notebook."

Coco gave a rub to his chin as he pondered, "Hmm, the golden chef huh. We should probably start making a move."

"You're right Coco!" Toriko smiled, "We need to get going and get Pair delivered."

He looked back to see the fully healed and refurbished Den Shark. "You're all patched up huh? You look brand new!"

Guemon looked at the bus, "Alright, we'll deliver them in this. It should be able to carry quite a lot of ingredients."

"We'll carry the actual Pair with us though okay?" Toriko exclaimed to the man. "We're gonna need it for Area 6, and there's someone I absolutely need to give it to."

"Alright." The confused looking man replied. "We'll scoop out as much as we can."

Éclair noticed the dark shadow being cast upon the crowd. "Whoa! What is that giant flying air balloon turtle!? It's so cute!"

"That is the camping monster." Kuribou answered the girl. "It can move freely between land air and sea. It's called the Turtloon. It's a safe zone."

Everyone including the chefs boarded the Tutloon. It was somewhat of an emotional experience leaving the people of the ancient civilization behind. With all the goodbyes she's already given, one would think she was used to it by then.

The girl waved her hands to the crowd being left behind. "Goodbye everyone! I'll never forget you! I promise~ we will eat again together."

Toriko ruffled the girl's hair as the Turtloon full of people took off. "Rest easy. You have a perilous task ahead."

The blond nodded, "I've got this Toriko. To Area 6 and beyond!"