Cruise ship Restaurant "Little Mermaid" – Kitchen -
The kitchen was closed at the moment, and occupied only by the duo of Grandfather and Niece, with the latter pacing restlessly back and forth, mumbling under her breath and cursing both Samui for daring to blackmail her and Izuku for actually giving her old "Friend" an actual reason to blackmail her.
"My life and name are about to get dragged through shit all because a brat had to shot for the sky! Can't those fucking kids hold their head low!? New Generations are either lazy or plain attention-seekers! Everything has to be about them! And Samui had to have such a fragile male ego to immediately get prissy! A Kitchen is not the place for men! They have not the backbone necessary! They are just good for fucking!" The woman kept ranting as she walked nonstop.
SPLAT! HISSSSS!
And whenever she stopped, she would gather some black sludge from her eyes in her hand and whip it towards a picture of Izuku and Samui and shot from her fingertips small droplets of the same black sludge dripping from her eyes to add more holes to the pictures and wall behind it thanks to the tar-like liquid's lethal corrosive power, and then resume walking.
"Control you Quirk, little Jun. Your Grandpa has already found a solution." Her grandfather answered, unfazed and not offended by her jabs towards men, God knows the man gave plenty of similar insults towards women whenever he was not talking about his direct family members.
"You know I am not referring to you, you are one of the few good ones." She answered.
"Good."
"What is your solution? Something that will finally work?" She asked.
"My mistake was looking for experts that were far too young. Today's youth doesn't want to work and put in any effort, but luckily people of your generation are instead better in every way… I just needed to see if I could import some talent from oversea." The old man said with a chilling smirk.
"Oh-Oooh! I always loved imported stuff! What have you bought?" Jun said, nodding along.
"I got a good Plan A and a wonderful Plan B should the worst happen and the Twins fail."
"The Twins?"
"Hehehehe!" The man's own Quirk briefly activated thanks to his bout of malice, turning his skin into scales and his eyes bloodshot, but before he could actually swell in size and become something scarily-close to a real life giant Umi Bozu, he calmed down and returned human-looking.
"Grandpa Gouki got in contact with an old friend in China, and thanks to her acting as an intermediary, I got the Li Twins to come to Japan to deal with that brat."
"The Li Twins?… The Twin Dragons?" Jun asked with her eyebrows shooting up. "You asked to some Chinese to help me?"
"I understand that a good Japanese would hate to be indebted to the Chinese, but we need to swallow our pride in this situation, our enemy is worse than we anticipated." Gouki answered with a grimace.
The Li Twins.
Li Ming and Li Hong, also known as the The Twin Dragons.
In the World Ranking of Chefs, those two occupied the tenth place in the Top Ten Leader board.
Put in perspective, Chef Samui was ranked fifth, Ren Watanabe sixth while Jun was ranked seventh, every other member of their friends' group was far below even the Top 20.
What nobody knew was that the Li Twins also dabbed in mercenary work, since both found equal pleasure in challenging Chefs and cooking as in killing their targets.
"I assume they are your Plan B?" Jun asked.
"Hohohohoho! No, no. I will use them as Plan A… Chen Huixiao is my Plan B." The old man answered with a cruel smile.
"… Chen?" Jun asked in horror.
At the same time – Beijing - Taijin Tower -
Absolute silence filled the corridors of the skyscraper owned by the richest and most influential man in current-day China, a magnate of unfathomable reach and bottomless bank account that had three fourths of china's politicians in his pocket, a man whose hands were said to also strangle the underworld enough to let him lord over every criminal organization as well…
"GGGCK!" And that man was at the moment gasping for breath and foaming at the mouth while his face was rapidly turning into an unsightly shade of blue.
"Your tea is disgusting." The man sitting in front of the dying magnate was instead a man in his forties, of impeccable manners and disarming beauty, enough to look like an actor, he was finishing his drink without a care of the agonizing suffering of his victim.
"GGGCK! You…" The old man gasped, grabbing a golden gun and shakily pointing it at the assassin's face.
"Drop that gaudy toy." Chen said, unfazed, and taking away the gun from the man's hand with ease.
"You…" The man gasped a last time before dropping on his desk, few weak shudders still wracking his body as the foam coming out of his mouth slowly turned red as blood flowed from his mouth, eyes and nose.
"…" Chen merely finished his tea, bowed to the man and left.
He locked the office door behind himself and went once again through all the nuisance of the magnate's paranoia, comprised being stripped naked and going through X-Rays while every belonging of his went once again passed through a fine comb to assure he didn't steal a thing just like they checked if he had weapons when he got in for his appointment with his victim.
"Idiots, one doesn't need a gun or a knife only to kill somebody." He though in disdain, especially when the women in the security detail gave him a stealth look to his naked body trained to peak human perfection.
Chen ignored them all, he just left the building, threw away the fake ID he used to enter the place, and once entered his expensive sports car, he drew away without looking back.
"Mission completed." He said to the untraceable phone he had in his car.
"The money have been deposited in your off-shore account. Your private jet is already ready to take you to Japan for your next job." His assistant reported dutifully.
"Good. It's just a simple Chef, but the moron paid me double my usual fare just to kill that boy, so I guess I can spare a minute to kill a dirty Japanese kid… Maybe I'll try some local gyoza before returning home." He said with a breathtaking smile cold as ice.
"Of course, boss. The Jet will be ready to depart as soon as you arrive to the airport." The assistant answered.
"Good." The assassin answered, then he closed the call.
It will actually take two days for the people taking care of his own security to discover that the Boogeyman of China had died.
"Little Mermaid" Restaurant – Kitchen -
"The World greatest Assassin, only surpassed by Living Legends of old like the man only known as 47, Sam Fisher from America or local ones like the Mad Dog of Shimano… Unfortunately Killers like them are damn rare nowadays, I would have loved to get in contact with Lady Nagant at least, just to ask a Japanese to fix this, but nobody seems to know where she is. We'll have to do with a Chinese guy, but at least he is the second place in the unofficial world rankings for assassins."
"Considering that 47 is still ranked first even after 200 years from his death, that's saying something…" Jun muttered, sighing, and unaware that the bald guy sweeping the floor right outside her kitchen heard her and gave a faint and almost amused-sounding grunt before walking away towards the VIP section of the ship he technically shouldn't even have no access to.
"It's fine, have no fear. The Li Twins will take care of the kid for us, and if they fail, Chen will get here and kill him directly, in both cases, we win and Midoriya loses." The old man answered, patting her back.
"My poor Jun doesn't need to worry about that kid, he will get a bullet in his head soon anyway, I won't let the fate of my family being decided by a stupid cooking challenge. The Twins will just help corroborate the cover of the boy killing himself from the shame of losing instead of a killer taking care of that. It's not the first time I Suicide somebody getting in my way." Gouki thought in cruel amusement.
The Next Day – Yavin Street - Green Cloud Restaurant -
"Congratulations to Host Izuku for Leveling-up once again! As a Prize, The main room of the Restaurant has been enlarged to make space for three more tables to be added, a Fragment of the God of Cooking Set as been added to your tally and the Ingredient Poison Scorpion has been added to the Restaurant's Island Storage area." The System congratulated Izuku as soon as the young Chef passed the threshold for him to Level-up again.
"Uh! Lots of nice stuff! More space for more customers, another fragment to unlock a new piece of Equipment and a Special-Preparation Ingredient! Very nice!" Izuku said with a happy chuckle, he now only needed just another fragment to get a new piece of Godly Equipment similar to the Turtle Wok and the Sea Dragon Kitchen Knife. As for the Poison Scorpion Ingredient, he was not worried, he had worked with that Ingredient plenty of times as Zaus, by now he knew perfectly well how to detoxify it and make it delicious.
"I am here, Boss!" Himiko said with a wide smile while leaning on the window connecting his kitchen to the main room.
"Just in time for the risotto! Here, for table-"
"Table 3, 5, 10 and 12!" The blond girl chirped while collecting the plates he gave her.
"Exactly!" He answered with a proud voice.
"I am a good waitress!" Himiko said, puffing-out her chest.
"The very best, thank you for being here, Himiko." Izuku answered.
"And thank you for believing in me, Izuku." She answered, hurrying to deliver the plates so to hide her cloudy eyes.
"Uhm… I got two minutes… May as well." Izuku watched her leave, checked every dish still cooking, and nodded to himself.
He briefly opened the new door that had been installed right next to the one leading to the pocket dimension with the giant Island acting as a storage room for both his Restaurants, and stepped through it to immediately enter the kitchen of his second Restaurant at the opposite side of the city.
Tato-Uin Avenue – Green Gourmet Garden Restaurant -
"How are things here?" He said, checking the work of the five Kings.
"KYAAAAAH!" And as always scaring the crap out of Sana and Toshio with his sudden appearance.
"WHO USES A QUIRK AS FUCKING RARE AS TELEPORTATION TO MANAGE TWO RESTAURANTS AT THE SAME TIME?!" Toshio shrieked and asked the same question once again.
"My Sponsor, and me." Izuku answered with a cheeky smile.
"THAT'S HARDLY A PROPER ANSWER!"
"Please ignore him, Boss." Michiko answered, sighing.
"Uhm… Lower the fire a bit, too high." Izuku answered.
"AH! Fuck! Yes, boss!" The girl answered by noticing the issue and doing as told and lowered the fire of a fraction.
"Perfect, should be ready in a minute, then you can plate it." He said, smiling pleased and patting her shoulder.
"Yes, Chef."
"I can't believe the line of people that are coming here, the Restaurant hasn't been open for that long." Mako admitted, impressed.
"Word of mouth makes miracles." Izuku answered, he himself starting several dishes at the same time, and using the door to work at both kitchens at the same time by coming and going at random intervals, and yet every dish he made were still as insanely good, as expected from a Chef from the Gourmet World.
"… Can somebody explain to me how he does it? One would think he would focus on one Restaurant only, not pop in and out of two to manage both, it's a rhythm no sane man can keep up." Sadao asked, dumbfounded.
"And yet, if you look at him, he looks like the happiest man alive," Sana answered.
"Oh, I assure you that our beloved Boss has Stamina and Endurance to spare, this is nothing yet." Goro the Maitre answered with a chuckle.
"Can we help you, Mister Goro?" Mako asked.
"Yes, it seems like two gentlemen want to challenge our Boss to a cooking duel, as usual they have put their best knives on the line, but in exchange they want Izuku to promise he will close both restaurants if he fails. Business as usual." Goro answered.
"Having a collection of knives taken from the defeated displayed in both restaurants was supposed to stop challenges from coming, not increase them." Adelia answered, sighing, she too was peeking inside the kitchen to check how things were going.
Green Cloud had the wooden Cabinet with the knives hanging from the wall next to the kitchen window, Green Gourmet Garden had a rather elegant glass window with shiny bronze hooks holding the knives in display for everybody to see, and yet Challengers kept coming.
"I-"
"AAAAAAAAH!"
"Uh?" Goro uttered.
"Bad man has smelly stuff he wanted to throw inside the Restaurant, so Sui hate him and smelly stuff!" The tiny ball of slime answered with his child voice.
"Well done! Spit him out so I can talk to him." Goro answered as he walked back towards the entrance.
"Okay! PTU!"
"…."
STRIIIIIP! SLAP!
"… So?" Toshio asked.
"He stripped the guy naked and slapped him into submission, then he dragged that guy into the elevator, I guess he will kick him out from the building personally. Just an activist against the rich or something." Adelia explained.
"Ugh!" Mako grimaced in disgust.
"Another Troublemaker?" Izuku asked once he returned inside the kitchen through the teleport door.
"A guy wearing expensive Nike shoes and design jacket that wanted to preach against capitalism by and the rich throwing rotten fruits inside the restaurant." Goro answered once he returned.
"How hypocrite, anything else?" He answered, sighing.
"Two guys left a letter for you, an official challenge." Goro answered, showing Izuku the small letter written in elegant calligraphy.
"Ah, Chinese. It's been a while since I did a Themed Challenge, Yeah, I can do this. Can you tell them I will meet them here in two days for our Chalenge?" The young Chef said aloud once read the letter.
"You can't possibly accept every challenge people come to deliver you." Adelia said, sighing.
"But I like having cooking Challenges…" Izuku admitted with a small voice.
Sigh! "Okay, you are the boss after all. I'll use a spell to send back the answer faster." Adelia answered, sighing in defeat.
"Thank you! You are the best!"
Two day later – With the Li Twins -
The two Chinese twins were making their way from the hotel they were staying at to the taxi that will take them to Green Cloud Restaurant to meet Izuku for their Challenge; both were bald, both had very sharp eyes and features, and were so identical to look like literal clones.
Each had a big backpack on their back filled to bursting in equipment and small containers.
"That boy, will he be a worthy challenge?" Ming asked.
"It matters not, we will give our best and defeat the boy all the same, worthiness or not." Hong answered.
"And what about our Special Ingredient?" The other asked, smirking cruelly.
"We will use it all the same should he win. I care not about that man's necessities, should the unthinkable happen and we lose, we will punish the kid for daring to make us look bad." He answered.
"Hehehehe! I love watching them squirm and die whenever we use that." Ming said, chuckling.
"It has been a while since we used it, yes. The boy will have the honor of being our new past-time."
When the Taxi arrived, they kept speaking in Chinese the whole trip, making the poor driver wonder what they were talking about, and secretly checking himself in the rear mirror to see if he had anything out of place, just in case they were making fun of him.
"The one paying us wants us to leave the boy live, unfortunately." Ming said.
"Tetrodotoxin can take up to 24 hours to kill somebody, we will just poison the kid, collect our payment and leave, it will be their problem then. We will use our usual Goodbye Soup method, if it happens outside our challenge and we leave the fish there as usual, nobody will connect a chef's death to us. As usual." Hong answered.
"How long before we arrive?" Hong asked, in Japanese.
"Almost there, bit of traffic at this hour of day." The driver answered.
"Tch! Fine. Just do not waste time."
"Sure… Screw you too, man…" The driver muttered under his breath while rolling his eyes.
Meanwhile – Airport -
The personal jet of the Killer Chen had just finished the due procedures and had moved to a secluded area where it went parked to let the owner descend in full privacy.
The man was dressed in a pristine and expensive suit, as he descended from the jet's metal staircase he donned a pair of sunglasses and checked his gold watch.
"Perfectly in time, good." He said, nodding pleased.
"Here is everything I could find on the boy, sir." The Assassin's assistant was waiting for him down the stairs, and handed him a thin folder as soon as he descended.
"… It's not everything." The Killer said with a faint sneer, he took just few seconds to scan every paper inside the thing.
"For some reason after he started working in his restaurant information became scarce, especially since multiple groups are already spying on the boy. Two of our contacts went even intercepted and killed… The Modus Operandi suggests Stain himself took care of them." She answered, she sounded extremely ashamed.
"That talentless butcher that gives a bad name to Killers everywhere? Has somebody asked that savage moron to kill the kid before me?"
"We couldn't check that, sir. He either slips away or kills our spies sent after him." She answered.
"Disappointing. Any reason why instead our Client wants a Quirkless kid dead? I will be very disappointed if this is just yet another trap to arrest me and you others fell for that." Chen asked.
"The Client apparently needs the kid dead to appease somebody with blackmail over them, in fact, they asked us to leave an appointment open just in case the blackmailer isn't satisfy and start asking for other things." The Assistant answered.
"Curious choice to go through the murder of the kid instead of directly ask for the blackmailer to die, but it's their money, if they want to waste them against pointless targets, so be it. Where is this kid?" Chen answered, uncaring.
"The boy can be found in two Restaurants at random intervals, one in the rich side of the city and one at the opposite side, the more touristic one."
"Find me a table in the rich one and make sure he will be there, I don't want the greasy food they usually feed to some dirty foreigner. I hope at least he will be a decent enough cook." Chen said.
"At once, Sir. He seems to be considered "Good" by few trusty sources, do you want me to demand your lunch to be of Chinese Cuisine?"
"… Try. I hold no hope for a Japanese to make proper Chinese food, but he has to die, so I guess I will make it a bit more personal when I'll kill him if he ruins my beloved homeland's dishes." Chen answered.
"At once, Sir." The Assistant answered, and with a gesture of hers a sports car went parked close to them by one of the man's staff members.
"A Lamborghini, as you asked. We used one of our fake identities to book it."
"Wrong color. I specifically asked for a black one."
"I am very sorry, Sir."
"Tch!"
Some time later - Gourmet Garden Restaurant -
The door opened again to let Izuku move from Green Cloud to the more luxurious Restaurant's kitchen.
"Somebody asked specifically for me?" He asked as soon as he surfaced from the door.
"I am very sorry, Izuku-san! But Aiba-san said the man insisted quite a bit for you personally to meet him and cook for him." Sana answered, sniffling.
"It's fine, don't worry. This sort of things happen all the time, some people don't trust the rest of the staff and pretend the main Chef to cook, sometimes. People have pet peeves of all kinds, what's important is that they keep good manners and don't make nuisances of themselves." Izuku answered, smiling.
"Okay."
"I'll go talk to him, don't worry. You focus on making that amazing soup."
"Sure thing, Boss."
Walking out of the kitchen, and greeting with a smile and few kind words the customers already present he met along the way, Izuku made his way through the two themed rooms and towards the outside garden area, finding the lone man sitting by himself next to the elegant railing around the garden, one of the tables with the best view of the city under the restaurant.
"Good evening, I was told you wanted me to personally cook for you and meet me in person?" He said, presenting his hand.
"Indeed, my name is Shen. Pleased to meet you." The man answered with a fake name, shaking Izuku's hand and without trying at all to cover his accent when talking.
"Izuku Midoriya, nice to meet you. You asked for traditional Chinese cuisine, you are lucky since I am waiting for a duo of gentlemen that actually Challenged me to a cooking duel centered around Chinese Cuisine, if you want I can make more and have it delivered to you! Should you want, you can be part of the judges too." Izuku said, switching into perfect Chinese.
"And you trust me to vote fairly?" The Killer didn't show outward appreciation for Izuku speaking his language that well, though he did appreciated it in the privacy of his head, and asked that with a raised eyebrow.
"I have no reason to doubt your honesty in front of good food." Izuku answered, smiling.
"… Quite alright. I do have a sense of honor, so while strict, I will vote fairly. If you can trust my words, that is." Chen answered.
"I do." The other answered.
"I'll vote fairly, boy, because after all, either you win or lose you will die all the same. May as well let you die with a last good memory." The Killer thought, uncaring.
The two exchanged only a few more pleasantries before the Li Twins arrived, emanating an annoying air of arrogance so thick many of the Pro Heroes and Civilian present immediately started to instinctively dislike them.
"We are here for the Challenge." Ming said.
"If the Chef of this Restaurant has any Honor he better have not run." Hong added.
"I am here, I was just preparing everything." Izuku answered, taking out of the kitchen various containers of marinading Ingredients while behind him Goro carted out two fancy-looking movable cooking stations (Provided by the System for the almost-daily Challenges Izuku had started receiving), completed with enough space for preparing Ingredients and various flames for up to five large pots at the same time.
"Good to see you are taking this seriously, boy." Ming said, he and his brother too had took along containers with Ingredients already marinading in them. He also used Boy as an insult of sort.
"I always do, select a station and we will start immediately." Izuku answered, catching with a corner of his eyes Himiko and Eri looking at him from the kitchen and silently cheering for him.
"I hope the Police Force won't panic too much if she appeared here… But I guess Eri insisted." Izuku thought, sighing.
As soon as his eyes moved slightly to the side, he saw Tsukauchi enter the Restaurant accompanied by the Officer usually following Himiko around, both looking annoyed and not in a good mood.
"This is a test trial, don't get used to this." The Detective said.
"I know, I know." Himiko answered, rolling her eyes.
The twins in the meantime had settled behind a workstation and moved it right in front of Izuku's.
"I am Li Ming."
"I am Li Hong."
"We are the Li Twins, and we are here to defeat you!" Both Twins said at the same time.
"I heard a lot of amazing things about you two, so I am eager to face you in a Cooking Duel, thank you for actually coming all the way here to Challenge me!" Izuku answered, giving both a respectful bow.
"Enjoy the moment then, boy." Ming said.
"Because after today you will never cook again." Hong added.
"We'll see. Many have bet they could force me to close, but I am still here." Izuku answered with a challenging smile as his fighting spirit started to flare brightly inside his soul.
"That Lucky Streak ends today! For this Challenge we will prepare two dishes each, what are your two-"
"Four." Izuku interrupted Ming.
"… Four?" Hong said, surprised.
"You two are preparing a total of four dishes, unless I too make four, I'll be at disadvantage." He explained.
"I believe you have the concept of disadvantage upside-down, boy." Shen said, and for the life of him he could not understand why the other people present started laughing as if he had told the world's silliest joke.
"Come on, Boss Izuku! Don't be mean! Just make two! Give them a chance!" A Pro Hero yelled in the background, renewing the friendly jeers of the people present.
"Please don't be mean! It is actually a show of respect mine! Don't make me look like a bully!" Izuku begged, with actual honesty.
"…" The Twins and the Killer didn't know how to process the strange situation they were in.
"Are these people mocking us?" Ming hissed.
"They just don't know our talent, let them laugh. Ignorant and fools like them are just frogs living complacently inside their small well, we just need to show them how big the world is in truth." Hong answered.
"You are right, brother."
"Please excuse them, they mean well, it's just that sometimes they overdo." Izuku told them with an apologetic tone.
"We will close an eye this time." Ming said.
"It will make our victory sweeter." Hong added.
"Let's start cooking, we will crush your dishes with ours!" Both Twins then said at the same time.
"… I haven't even said which ones I want to make… But okay…" Izuku muttered, dejectedly.
"I will give the start and call the end of the Challenge. Are you three ready?" Goro said.
"Yes!" Izuku and the Twins answered as one.
"Good. You have three hours to make your Dishes starting… NOW!" The Lizardman yelled, and with a soft ring, Adelia started the timer.
"Will three hours be enough?" Himiko asked.
"Both Izuku and those guys took care of seasoning and initial preparation of the Ingredients in the last two days so to shorten the needed time to prepare their dishes, and both had apparently decided to go for impressive recipes and used the "Ingredients can be seasoned in advance before the Challenge Day" clause the Twins added to their letter to its fullest. They either didn't believe Izuku could actually use that well enough to be a threat, or just plainly didn't consider he would use that concession at all." Adelia answered.
"Why wouldn't he?"
"Because Pride is a nice substitute for stupidity." Adelia said, shaking her head.
With Izuku – (A/N: Remember: Izuku is cooking all his dishes at the same time) -
The People Present saw Izuku take out from one of the boxes an entire duck with parchment-like skin and then mix coarse salt, Chinese five-spice and Sichuan peppercorns, that he had personally roasted, and ground into powder together at a steady and rapid pace to then rub the mixture evenly inside the cavity of the duck.
"Are you making Peking Duck? You dare think you can make this ancient recipe properly?!" Ming growled.
"You'll be surprised." Izuku answered automatically, too focused on cooking.
"Haven't had that in a while. Satisfy my palate, boy, and I'll kill you rapidly and in a way that will preserve your honor… But screw-up and your demise will be miserable." Chen thought with narrowed eyes.
"Killing intent detected. Three Troublemakers wish harm upon the Host." Whitey said with red eyes.
"I feel that too, and so does Lord Shiro. Let's observe for now, should they try anything, we'll skin them alive before they can even lift a finger against Master Izuku." Goro answered.
"Understood." The Robot answered.
Back to Izuku -
"If they try anything, this Esteemed Taotie will bestow on them the honor of being eaten alive and be endlessly digested for one thousand years!" Shiro thought in anger while glaring at the Li Twins and Chen.
"Relax, I'll give you some too. Be patient." Izuku said with a gentle tone.
"I have already took care of"Bathing" the duck in a mixture of water and Chinese Black Rice vinegar until all the skin was completely coated, then I hang the duck in a cool, well-ventilated place to dry overnight. When the duck was dried, I brought the reserved water-vinegar liquid to boil and added honey and soy sauce to it and used the mixture again to bathe the duck skin, then I left it to dry in front of fan for at least 2-3 hours more. Did I do it properly?" Izuku asked while nailing both Twins with a hard stare.
"In theory you did, but we'll see once the dish is done." Hong answered.
Shaking his head at the Twins annoying attitude, the young Chef checked the small oven built into the workstation, and as soon as he saw it was reaching optimal temperature, he placed the duck on a roasting rack in a roasting pan breast side up, poured some water into the pan to prevent the fat from splattering and put it inside the oven to roast.
"Roast for 15 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 180°C (350°F) and continue to roast for 1 hour and 10 minutes… Thanks for the recipe, Yuda!" Izuku thought, grateful, while recalling the variation of the recipe his colleague and friend, the world-famous 'Zao Yuda of the Millimeter', taught him.
While the duck was roasting, Izuku prepared the spring onion brushes; cutting off and discarding the green part of the spring onion then trimming off the base.
The onlookers watched in amazement as the young man managed to make identical lengthway cuts of just few centimeters on both ends of the spring onions in less than a second.
"Every cut is exactly the same. That fast and precise with the knife? Why, you are almost impressing me!" Chen thought in derision while watching Izuku soak the cut spring onions in iced water to make them curl into brushes and then pat them dry.
With the Li twins -
"He is preparing another duck and some pork. What else is he making?" Hong asked.
"I don't know, but his Peking Duck can't win against our Cantonese Steamed Fish! The Ginger and Shallots had always been the secret of our victory, and it will keep being so this time too!" Ming answered.
"The ginger is ready for steaming, brother!" Ming answered.
SWING! Crinckle!
They recoiled slightly when they only saw Izuku slash his knife once and yet cut a mound of herbs and other assorted Ingredients to strips instantly.
"… How?" Both asked.
"I am just fast." Izuku answered, adding small rocks to a pan and stir-frying them.
With Chen -
"Why is Boss Izuku cooking rocks? Has he gone mad?" Somebody asked, confused.
"You clearly never stuck your nose outside Japan. That's Suodiu, It's a form of Chinese street food where small rocks gathered from the clear waters of a river are stir-fried with spices, chilly oil and garlic. You are supposed to suck the rocks clean when eating Suodiu, the spices and garlic will enrich the taste the river waters gave to the rocks. It's humble and flavorful and symbolizes finding warmth and peace even in the most small and insignificant moments of your daily life." The Killer explained with a tone of annoyance.
"It's street food, yes, but it still has its dignity, so I will add some Suodiu rocks as a side dish to my Twice-Cooked Pork and Eight Treasure Duck." Izuku added.
"You are making those two too?!" The Twins yelled.
"For your interest I did make Buddha Jumps over the Wall soup too, it has been boiling at a low flame for the past two days. If it doesn't count for the challenge, I will use the rest of the shark I used for it to make hand-pulled Lanzhou shark stir-fried noodles as an alternative dish, since I had to use shark fins for the main soup, I'll use the rest of the poor animal too! They may come from a specialized breeder that breeds the sharks I use as Ingredients, but using only the fins always feels like disrespecting the animal." Izuku answered, shrugging.
"… No… No, it's okay. That dish takes long to make, so it makes sense you started before the Challenge to make it… While the stir-fried noodles will be the ones judged, we can taste the main soup as well and give you our opinion on it." Hong answered, unsure.
"Thank you!" Izuku answered, smiling in gratitude.
"… Who are you, kid?" Ming asked after a long silence.
"Who am I? I am me of course!" Izuku answered with a cheeky smile.
"Hn! Good answer." Hong admitted, shaking his head.
With Izuku -
The next dish Izuku started working on was the Twice-Cooked Pork, another fairly-complex and yet delicious recipe of Chinese Cuisine.
"Twice Cooked Pork, or hui guo rou (回鍋肉)... a Sichuan dish of spicy seared pork belly. Please help me defend my Restaurant from the Villains that wish to destroy again everything I worked so hard for." Izuku whispered in a prayer-like manner to the assembled Ingredients in front of him.
A brief luster of pure light and a feeling of gratitude matching his own told Izuku how pork and every other Ingredient were ready to give their all and help him.
"Thank you. LET'S START!" He said with renewed vigor.
In a medium pot, two quarts of water went brought to a boil, the whole piece of pork belly was then added to the pot together with some ginger.
"It's boiling again. Good, right on time!" Izuku muttered while lowering the heat to let the pork simmer for 30 minutes, until the meat will be tender and cooked through.
With the Twins -
"That boy is strange." Ming admitted.
"Uhn? What do you mean, brother?" Hong asked.
"He cooks in strange ways. Remember what wàipó (Grandmother) used to say?"
"Cooking is not just a matter of heating food, it's putting your soul into it, that's why her dishes and jiāmǔ's (Mother's) dishes taste better than what we eat anywhere else. Because they put their Love and Soul in what they make."
"Exactly, I fear the boy is doing the same. His eyes are just the same as theirs when they cook."
"I hope for once it will be only a matter of superstitions then…" He admitted, worried.
Back to Izuku -
When it was finally time, Izuku removed the pork from the pot and ran it under cold running water for about a minute then set it aside to rest while he prepared all the other ingredients.
SWIIIING!
Once ready to cook it again, Izuku shocked the Twins and Killer again by rapidly cutting the pork belly in identical thin slices about 1/8 inch thick in just a few seconds, far too fast for a normal human to manage.
"Soon, I'll use you soon to cook, promise." Izuku muttered to the tattoo holding inside his precious Star-Eating Turtle Wok, then he grabbed a common wok and moved it over the fire to heat until it started to faintly to smoke.
He added one tablespoon of oil to the wok and immediately started to sear the pork, until the meat got a light caramelization, then he lowered the heat and he scooped-out the pork.
"First step done, now the others…" He mumbled while adding another tablespoon of oil to the wok.
"What brand of canned spicy bean paste did you use?" Chen asked with a mocking tone.
"No brand, I make it myself every time." Izuku silenced the Killer with a small smirk, adding said homemade spicy bean paste to the wok to let it fry in the oil for about 30 seconds, to bring out the flavor and color, and turn the oil a vivid red without a single trace of burning.
The scent of that was torturing the people present fiercely, and when he added the garlic to the oil to fry it for 30 seconds, many stomachs of the so called Elite, both Civilian and Pro Heroes, started grumbling in need in a very undignified manner.
"Almost done, please be patient!" Izuku said with a gentle smile, then the heat higher and added the pork, long hot green peppers, and leeks to the wok.
"Yes it smells nice, bit without-" Ming tried saying.
"I have authentic Shaoxing Wine, Chef Ming. I am not half-assing it." Izuku interrupted him in fluent, perfect, and more importantly, sharp Chinese.
After having stir-fried the pork for a minute, the young Chef added the shaoxing wine, some soy sauce and sugar to the wok and started to delicately stir everything together.
"By the looks of it, the leeks have wilted and the peppers are cooked just right to still have a little crunch. Good. It's ready!" Izuku muttered, pleased to see another dish ready to be served.
With the Twins -
Both men were sweating while trying to match the pace of Izuku, almost forgoing breathing and blinking out of sheer concentration.
"He is really making all four at the same time alone, who trained him?" Hong asked between clenched teeth.
"We got bad details! That Japanese Moron told us the kid was a nobody!" Ming answered, watching with bloodshot eyes how far along Izuku already was in preparing the Eight Treasure Duck.
"That's it! We'll make our Divine Realm Puffer Fish Congee soup with double the amounts of poison! That kid must die!" Hong hissed in pure hatred.
"I concur! No Japanese kid still smelling of tits milk shall defeat us! It's a matter of our Pride as Chefs! We didn't pour sweat, tears and blood night and day while studying the art of cooking for so many decades, just to be humiliated like this!" The other answered.
"Together, brother!" Both men said, clasping the hands in a fierce shake born from their unshakable bond as twin brothers.
With Izuku -
Izuku saw the two brothers talk in hushed tones between themselves and shake hands with that intense vigor, an unfortunately mistook their desire to kill him for them hyping each other up to cook better.
"They are all fired-up! Better doing my best and meet their enthusiasm head-on! It's only fair!" The young Chef said to himself, lightly slapping his cheeks so to better focus on the last few passages of the Eight Treasure duck dish he was making.
Just like with the other duck dish, he had previously washed the duck and removed any innards, then he had blanch in boiling water to tighten the skin and once dry, he had put the duck on a tray and rub the Marinade on the skin and inside the body cavity, and left it to rest for a night.
Clink!
The metal "S" hook he had used to spear the skin on the neck of the duck clinked slightly in the wind now that it was free from the weight of the bird.
Izuku had used it to hold the duck above a wok with boiling oil inside, and had used a ladle to pour the oil onto the skin to crisp and seal it.
For the Stuffing he washed, peeled, rinsed, and diced some taro root and some fresh Shan yao (Chinese Yam), chopped chestnuts, boiled White Lotus seeds, Lily Buds, diced red dates, diced shiitake mushrooms Izuku himself had dried, and finally some diced Chinese sausage.
He had used all that to fill duck body cavity with the stuffing mixture until nice and plump, then he had threaded bamboo skewers along the duck's skin to close the opening and secure the stuffing.
"Look at you! So nice and delicious, ready for the final touches!" Izuku said with a proud voice, and arranging sliced bamboo shoots and ginger slices at the bottom of a clay casserole, he then delicately lied the duck above those into the clay casserole and set on the fire to boil.
At the end of the Challenge -
DRIIIIIIIIN!
"Time's up! Stop cooking and step back from the workstation so that our Waiters can deliver them to the judges and other customers!" Adelia ordered as soon as the timer ran out and loudly rang.
"Perfect! I had plenty of time to give the finishing touches to everything!" Izuku said with a wide smile, and playfully waving at the stir-fried shark noodles as the plates passed by him in La Brava's hands, making the former Vigilante chuckle in amusement at her Boss' silly antics.
Everybody watched in amazement the dishes Izuku made for his Challenge, each one of them a small edible work of art, even the scent was sublime and mesmerizing.
"You look very proud!" Himiko said, chuckling.
"What can I say, cooking a dish well fills me in satisfaction," Izuku answered, chuckling, and lifting Eri in his arms to hug her close.
"You were amazing," Eri said, kissing his cheek.
"Thank you, Eri! Want to try some of them?" He asked.
"… Maybe." she admitted, giggling.
"Okay! You can try all of them if you want!" He answered, spinning her around to make her squeal happily.
(Stir-fried Shark meat Noodles. Hand-pulled)
(Twice Cooked Pork)
(Eight Treasure Duck)
(Peking Duck)
And… Bonus…
(Buddah Jumps over the wall Soup.)
With Chen -
The assassin was elegantly eating every dish put in front of him, savoring every morsel thoroughly and with impeccable manners, and looking intently at Izuku and studying his every move while he helped Eri try the food he made.
"He is frighteningly good with a knife, I'll need to be careful should he manage to translate that into actual self-defense," He muttered to himself while enjoying the duck meat heavenly-soft and flavorful meat.
"That robot follows his every move, and that strange animal never leaves his side either." The pork belly was amazingly crisp outside and tender inside, with the spices tingling his palate just right.
"He lives in the Restaurant… And has a good palate, so poison is out of the question, no way can you make people believe somebody with his skills would a mistake and poison himself…" The Killer's train of thought stopped when he saw the strange way the Twins were looking at Izuku.
He knew that look, since he had the same look in his eyes whenever he was about to kill a target.
"Bèn dàn! (Idiot!) Those two fools… They will ruin everything. Better take care of them first before killing the boy, I won't let two idiots ruin everything!" He hissed under his breath.
He needed to keep an eye on the Li Twins, just in case they tried something stupid that will put his job in jeopardy!
"Let's go, Brother. We have a Special Soup to prepare." Ming said between clenched teeth once clear they did lose, they didn't even need the judges saying it aloud, they themselves had tasted
"WAIT!" Izuku called them.
"What do you want, boy? Bragging is not honorable." Hong said, not even trying to hide his anger.
"No! No! I would never do that!" Izuku answered, shy.
"I just prepared a small gift to thank you for taking your time out of your busy schedule to come all the way here." He said.
He presented them a box wrapped in pristine red paper, holding it with both hands.
"Oh!…" Both Twins muttered, surprised.
"We can't accept, sorry." Ming tried saying.
"Please, it's a token of appreciation from a Chef to another." Izuku said.
"Thank you then, Chef Izuku." Hong said, accepting the gift.
"Please come visit me again, not just for a Challenge either."
"We'll see." The Twins answered in chorus, and exchanged their goodbye with Izuku, they left.
"Check, please." Chen asked soon after.
"Even if you just ate the food of the Challenge?" Gentle asked.
"Fair is fair. I was given a service, and I will pay for it." The Killer answered, rudely.
"Okay, sir. Please wait here." Gentle answered. "So very rude." he thought while shaking his head.
With the Twins – Back inside their Hotel room – Later that day -
The box of Izuku's gift laid opened on the table, with an extremely acre smell wafting from it, enough to make not experienced people think something dead and rotten used to be inside.
"The best Pinyin: chòu dòu fǔ I had in a long time." Hong admitted, bitterly, while still munching.
Stinky Tofu: Changsa Style, a traditional Chinese snack where Tofu was left to ferment until it gains its characteristic eye-watering pungent scent many would misunderstand for it being rotten, surprisingly, the taste is very good compared to the smell. One only needs to be very brave when trying it for the first time.
"The boy is very good. Too bad his fate is sealed." Ming answered, he had long since eaten his part of the Tofu and was finishing cooking the poisonous congee soup with Pufferfish meat, and enough tetrodotoxin poison to kill three people, and thanks to his own talent as a Chef, the poison's taste was perfectly hidden.
Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent neurotoxin, its name derives from Tetraodontiformes, an order that includes pufferfish, porcupinefish, ocean sunfish, and triggerfish, animals carrying it inside their bodies.
Symptoms include: oral paresthesias (may progress to include the arms and legs), 2) cranial nerve dysfunction, 3) weakness (may progress to paralysis), or 4) nausea or vomiting. If not treated, it will then lead to death in 24 to 48 hours.
"It is always a pity to put a stop to blossoming new talents, but the boy has to pay with his life the humiliation he brought on us, so even with a thoughtful gift to Thank Us, he will still need to die." Hong answered, nodding along with his twin brother assessment.
They both turned around immediately when they heard the door to their room open even though they were sure they had locked it.
"Who are you? How did you get in here, and why?" Ming asked.
"I am a man that is not stopped by the cheap lock on an hotel door. As for why I am here… Honestly, I would prefer you two leaving the killing to a Professional. Especially since your target is a boy I have been tasked to kill. And I don't like amateurs to come encroach in my territory." Chen said, fixing the leather gloves on his hands with an elegant flick.
"Somebody wants the kid dead? But… We were asked to leave the kid alive, what if we are blamed?" Hong asked.
"At least like this we can make it look like an accident an avoid angering our Client." Ming added.
"Make it look like an accident?" Chen asked, laughing mockingly.
"I tasted his food, you tasted his food. A lot of people, some of which world-famous Food Critics AND members of the Police, regularly taste his food. He has two cabinets full of knives he took as Trophies from other talented Chefs. "Mistakenly preparing pufferfish the wrong way and poisoning himself" won't last a single second in front the very first round of scrutiny. And it takes only ONE naysayer to have a decent Detective on the case and discover how a Chef with amazing skills that never prepared pufferfish wrong suddenly made it badly after you two visited him." The Killer explained slowly, as if talking to a kid.
"Regularly?"
"Yes, pufferfish is a regular item in his restaurants, you cretins. He is certified in preparing and serving it. I know how to make a death look like an accident, because I do it properly. And I can do it whenever I want…" Chen answered, with a long stare.
"… We get it. We never met you and we never talked." Ming said, understanding.
"We will leave the boy's death to you." Hong added.
"Just make it humiliating, in the name of our Honor." Both Twins said.
"… Whatever will make you sleep well at night, I wanted to preserve the boy's honor in death, but if it means you won't get in the way. So be it." Chen Answered with an uncaring shrug.
He grabbed the bowl of soup and gave it a long sip.
"WAIT! THAT'S-"
"What? Your lunch? Sorry." Chen answered with a mocking smirk, clearly not sorry at all.
"Good taste and nice broth, but it still shows why you lost that badly: Your soup is still not on par with the boy's food, Hahahahaha!" The Killer laughed while leaving the Hotel Room and walking down the stairs.
"… Oh, no…" Ming muttered in horror.
"Ugh!" A groan of pain faintly reached their ears, soon followed by a body heavily falling down the stairs.
Badump-Badump-Badump-CRACK!
"Oh, no…" Hong echoed.
"AAAAAAAAAAH! A dead body!" Somebody screamed outside, with the voice echoing loudly in the stairs area, and soon followed by similar screams as more and more people went attracted by the scream and discovered Chen's dead body.
"OH FUCK!" Both Li Twins yelled, immediately dropping everything to gather as much of their belongings they could to escape the hotel.
Chen Huixiao, one of the greatest Assassins in the world that mastered the art of the perfect Assassin… Killed by a mere bowl of soup… It was almost ironic for a legendary man like him to die like that, an a curious reminded that even a Chef can be a threat to whoever lowers their guard.
The next day – Cruise Ship - With Jun and Gouki -
Jun was looking at her grandfather with bulged-out eyes, stopping cooking and standing frozen in complete shock.
"What?" She asked, dumbfounded.
"I had planned for the Li Twins to defeat Midoriya, then Chen would have stepped-in to kill the boy making it look like he had chosen suicide out of shame from his defeat… BUT THOSE MORONS HAD TO LOSE!" The old man explained with a shriek.
"Not only those two dumb sacks of shit had to lose their Cooking Challenge against Midoriya, they had also tried to poison him with Tetrodotoxin in revenge! After I specifically told them to not kill him! Chen had apparently visited them for some reason… Maybe to remind them Midoriya was HIS TARGET, and got himself poisoned! He stole the poisoned soup for some sort of show of Dominance or similar bullshit… And he died when the poison paralyzed him fast enough he slipped down the stairs and broke his neck and died! THOSE MORONS KILLED MY KILLER!" Gouki said, upturning a table nearby in blind fury.
"Where are the Twins now?" Jun asked.
"They were making a run for it, obviously! They told me all this before destroying the phone and going into hiding! But considering I just saw the news and saw the footage of their arrest, their "Daring Escape" amounted to fucking nothing! Useless bastards to the very end!" He answered, huffing still from his bout of anger.
"Are we in trouble?"
"Not yet, I used several burner phones to keep in touch and a fake name. Even if they talk the police won't have anything linking them to us."
"And Chen?"
"Same thing, his Secretary… Because apparently a professional Assassin as a Secretary and a full Team of assistants, for some unfathomable reason, contacted me to say that they will keep the money I already given them and to consider contacting them again once they find a new Killer to work under… I am getting at the end of my patience here." Gouki answered.
"So nobody knows we tried killing Midoriya?" Jun asked.
"Nobody. And I plan to keep tings like that forever." The old man answered.
Outside the kitchen, one of Giran's men posing as member of the cleaning staff smirked as the hidden microphone he left in the kitchen relayed everything the two said crystal clear to him and the recorder it was connected to.
"Oh! Boss is gonna love this little confession! Thank you bitch and old fart!" The guy muttered, and smirking in victory while sending everything to the Information Broker.
The Information broker also dabbed in some contraband himself on the side, for some extra cash, and having enough dirt on one of his main competitors meant that the man could catch two birds with one stone: Make a favor to a friend of his, and remove one of his competitors that could make very "unfair" prices when delivering contraband thanks to the option of hiding behind a cruise ship empire.
Everybody wins! Except Jun and her family, but Giren didn't care about them, they had just crossed the line by paying assassins to attack Izuku and his loved ones, and after the Information Broker will relay to Izuku about the real reason why the Li Twins and Chen came to visit him, the young Chef will move on the offensive and deal with them personally.
End of the Chapter -
Omake time: Multidimensional Ingredient Hunt:
"To Hunt the Monsters that Hunt the Monster Hunters That Hunt The Monsters that Hunt the Monster Hunters that Hunter the Monster that hunt...
Cave -
The lava flowing freely all around the big cave made air almost impossible to breath, but the Hunter knew they had more pressing matter, like the Giant rampaging gorilla with horns that had just torn-off a horse-like monster's horn to eat it, and after that the thing started to savagely shoot streams of lightning from its mouth to destroy everything in sight.
"ADMIRAL!" The Hunter's Handler yelled in horror as their superior, the Admiral, used a giant slab of rock as an improvised shield to protect himself and them from the Monster's ligthing-laser breath attack.
"Ugh! The big boy has a temper!" The Admiral said while heaving, he was pushing against the rock he was using as a shield with all his strength so to counter the savage push of the endless stream of lightning that was slamming on it.
"I'll stop it, you run!" The Hunter said, ready to shot the claw on their gauntlet on the Monster's face to pull themselves towards the creature and fight it.
"Be careful, Partner!" The Handler said, she was clearly worried for her friend.
"Just hurry! This pebble won't last much longer!" The Admiral added as the stone was starting to feel hot under his hands from the unrelenting lightning attack.
"I'll stop that Raj-"
"Troublemaker found!" A new voice yelled as a blur of motion ran past them at high speed.
"What the He-"
CLAAAAAANG! Thud.
A Loud gong-like sound was all they heard before the lightning attack stopped abruptly, and when the Admiral dropped the giant almost-molten rock down, the trio saw a chubby white robot standing above the unconscious Gorilla Monster, and the 'Rajang' lying on the floor with few teeth missing, a broken horn and the perfect impring on a closed fist on the right side of its face.
"Troublemaker dealt with." Whitey said with a monotone voice.
"...Eh?" The Hunter and the others muttered.
GUIIIIIH! CRAAAAASH!
Soon after, a giant dragon-like creature with a body resembling a very muscular pickle came flying into the cave, rolling heavily on the floor, that too had a clear punch-shaped indent on the side of his face.
"Got it, finally!" Izuku said, sighing in relief while nearing the downed pickle-dinosaur.
"He is very slippery for being that big." Ochako added, walking besides him.
"Yep! What about that monkey, Whitey?" Izuku asked.
"The Troublemaker monkey that attacked the Host has been properly disciplined." Whitey answered, moving aside to show them the knocked-out monkey.
"Good job, Whitey!" Izuku said, smiling wide.
The robot's only answer was a slow rubbing of its dome-like round head.
"ho are you, Boy?" The Admiral asked slowly.
"Ah! Good Evening! I am Izuku-"
ROAAR!
ROAAAR!
What appeared next, maybe attracted by all the noise, where two flying monsters faintly resembling lions crossed with dragons; one with fiery red fur, the other with deep blue fur.
"Those two again!" Ochako said, annoyed.
"A TEOSTRA!" The Handler said with wide eyes.
"And a Lunastra! Trouble come in pairs!" The Admiral added.
"You two really think you can eat my beloved Partner? You really think you are equal in power to my Esteemed Persona? What a joke!" Shiro said aloud from around Izuku's neck.
"What is that thing?" The Handler asked aloud.
ROAAAAAR!
Both leonine monsters roared as one while fire covered their bodies.
"Oh, be quiet!" Shiro answered, playfully lifting one of his adorable fluffy paws and then slightly patting down.
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Instantly both flying monsters went slammed down by an invisible force with such a domineering strength that a giant crater formed with both beasts half-buried underground in the epicenter, unconscious and defeated in just one, single hit.
Clack!
There was a very soft and yet sharp sound coming from the jaws of the three people watching Izuku and his entourage as Hunter, Handler and Admiral's mouth dropped open so suddenly their jaws almost went dislocated.
Sigh! "Thank you for leaving them all alive, I want to had them to my Storage Island for breeding." Izuku said, sighing.
"No problem, Partner. Me and the Robot know how to restrain our power." Shiro answered while purring and rubbing his tiny cheek against Izuku's.
"… Okay, boy! Time for some answer now." The Admiral finally had enough, and once walked in front of the two teens he crossed his arms and nailed both with a glare.
"Uuuh, okay." Both Izuku and Ochako answered with a shrug.
Later that day – Settlement in the snow "Seliana" – Canteen -
"So you are a traveling Chef." Another Hunter asked, amazed.
"Uh-hu! Helps broadening my horizons if I see Ingredients in the wild, their habitat, before capturing and cooking them." Izuku answered.
He was using the place's kitchen to try few recipes he created with the meat from the various Monsters he and the others captured.
"Here it is! It's ready!" Izuku finally declared once done.
"Deviljoh tail risotto, Lunastra Roastbeef, Teostra stew, Rajang Burger and Brachydios Mini Kebab Skewers!" He explained while delivering many, many plates to the several dozen people present.
"A very A-mew-zing Technique, dear! You really are a one of a kind Chef!" The old bipedal cat lady, that reminded to Izuku to his dear friend Zephyr, said with a very sweet and gentle tone.
"Even a Brachy. You are a damn good hunter." A very short old guy, member of the Researchers Team, said while shaking his head.
"He wasn't that bad…" Izuku muttered, shy.
"Just very big and angry." Ochako added, sheepish.
"This tastes awesome!" The Handler yelled in awe while eating for portions of everything at the same time.
"Thank you." Izuku answered, grateful of the compliment, and happy to see everybody eating happily and sharing their food with whoever else joined them in the canteen so to try his food.
"Will you stay here for long? We could use a hand from people strong as you! The New World has just came-out from a very big crisis. Your robot especially is an amazing piece of technology." The leader of the group asked.
"Yeah, the thing packs a mean punch." The Admiral added, laughing thunderously and playfully slapping Whitey's soft belly.
"I wish I could, but I only lack another Ingredient, then I wil have to leave." Izuku answered, sighing in sadness.
"That's too bad, but at the same time, we can't really force you."
"What is the last Ingredient you need?" A female Hunter asked.
"Another one of those Dragons, but it has not appeared yet," Izuku answered.
"We were considering hunting it down ourselves, instead of waiting for it to come out by itself." Ochako added.
"Do you know its name? We can share some information about it if we have anything." The Admiral said.
"Eeh! I don't even know its name! Only that it's big, mean and cruel." Izuku answered, dropping his shoulders.
"That sounds like 90% of the Monsters we usually deal with." A young Hunter answered.
"I suspected that." Izuku said, groaning.
"Don't give up! I believe in you!" The Handler said.
"Thank you. What do you say, Ochako-chan?" Izuku asked.
"We can start immediately if you want," She answered.
"You sure?"
"Of course! We are in this together!" She answered.
"Thank you."
"Wherever you go, please be careful, and if you need, do not hesitate to return here or in any other main base of ours, you will always be welcomed." The Captain said.
"Thank you. I guess we will see each-other around?" Izuku asked.
"Very likely, we never rest lately! Hahahaha! Especially our star rookie here!" The Admiral answered with a loud laugh while slapping the back of a Hunter, hard enough they almost toppled over.
"Keep up the good work then. Thank you for letting me use the kitchen for my tests!" Izuku answered.
"It's okay, dear! It was a nice experience!" The Old Mew-Ster answered with a soft laugh.
"Farewell, then, friends!" The Admiral waved them goodbye, and behind him, many other hunters did the same.
The next day -
"Attention to all Hunters! Attention to all Hunters! A new Threat is approaching!" The Commander said with a gravely tone.
Every available Hunter was soon standing with him around a giant table covered by an ancient-looking map.
"What is happening now?" The Admiral asked.
"If the information we got from oversea is right… Fatalis has returned." The Commander answered.
Many Hunters broke into numerous whispered conversations, with the more inexperienced ones asking to the more seasoned Hunters who the creature was and why just the name made many of them shiver.
"That thing is back?" The Admiral asked.
"Unfortunately yes, the rumors about Fatalis always returning are true, and this time, the Monster is returning to the same fortress he had destroyed in a single night." The Commander answered.
"So it's not a myth?" The Handler asked.
"No, unfortunately. Every 'Myth' about Fatalis' power is sadly not a rumor, but an actual retelling of his abilities."
"What now then?" The Admiral asked with a grunt.
"By the reports, at the current speed Fatalis is moving at, he will be at the fortress soon, then he will probably move again towards his intended destination… Whatever that is."
"You want the Hunters to intercept Fatalis?" One of the researchers asked.
"We have no choice. Whatever that monster is planning, we can't let him do it. The Fortress will be the perfect place for an ambush, but we MUST stop Fatalis there." The Commander answered.
"Let's assemble a couple Teams then, Fatalis is not something you can tackle alone!" The Admiral answered.
"Indeed. Can we count on you again to be our Star?" The Commander answered, and then looked straight at a Hunter standing faintly in the back fo the group.
"Hn!" They answered.
"Me and my Partner never back down from a challenge!" The Handler answered as well.
"Good! We have at best ten minutes to prepare, then after that, Fatalis will pass by the fortress at any given moment! Get ready!" The Commander ordered.
"YEEEEES!" The assembled Hunters answered in a deafening chorus.
"Eat your fill, update your equipment and sharpen your weapons! This will be our greatest hunt yet! Your Proof of a Hero!" The Admiral added, renewing the roar of the Hunters present as they all spread out to get ready for the greatest hunt of their lives!
Fortress -
Everything was being organized at high speed with Hunters running about tireless to hurry and prepare for their battle against the Legendary Monster… When the ground started shaking heavily way sooner than they anticipated, so much that the weakest part of the ruins around them started crumbling to pieces.
"Oh, no!" Somebody said in horror.
"Already?! GET OUT!" One of the guys in charge yelled with wide eyes, prompting a widespread retreat that could barely maintain order and discipline, so great was the fear Fatalis could instill in people!
"To the camp! Hurry!" The Handler yelled, and on the echoes of her scream, every hunter left the area for their camp to prepare for the battle.
"HE'S HERE!" And barely a minute after they all landed in the safety of their camp, they saw the colossal black dragon descend from the sky with a terrifying roar.
"You can do it, Partner!" The Handler said with a voice full of concern as she watched her assigned Hunter and only another one face alone what was a Living Legend of their world.
Down in the Ruins -
Fatalis slowly made his way towards the two lonely Hunters, literally walking through a wall and demolishing it easily thanks to its immense bulk and unfathomable power.
"AAAAALRIGHT! Time to fight History!" The second Hunter said while unfolding and preparing his bowgun while his companion readied a sturdy and giant hammer covered in spikes.
"GUAHOOOOOOO!" Fatalis roared in fury at the two Hunters standing on his way, and as the music and Latin chant chorus reached its crescendo his giant mouth lunged forward-
Swiiiiing!
… And the music stopped abruptly while Fatalis' mouth kept lunging forward as the Monster's head went cleanly cut off from its neck in a single clean cut from a flying crescent blade of pale moonlight energy, with the head landing hard few feet behind the Hunters while the rest of Fatalis body fell boneless on the floor.
"…"
"… Well, that was anti-climactic." The Admiral commented dully.
"AH-HA! Got it, finally!" Izuku was heard say in triumph, still with his smoking kitchen knife in his hand.
"Why they must keep running away!? It's annoying!" Ochako added, panting out of breath.
"It's okay, what matters is that we finally caught it and… Oh! It's you! Goo evening!"
"Good… Evening…" The two Hunters answered, unsure.
"See? I got the Ingredient I missed from my list! A Minute for me to carve it and you can have some of the dishes I planned to make with it! I was told that if I leave the head intact it will resurrect from it, so we can eat everything else!" Izuku said, excited.
"It does look very plump. So I guess you can make make lots of recipes with it?" Ochako asked while studying the dead Fatalis curiously.
"A lot! And thanks to the knife's own purifying powers, no evil possession whatsoever, only delicious meat!" Izuku answered.
"Nice!"
"… Can anybody tell me what is happening?" The commander asked.
"I wish I knew." The Admiral answered, scratching his head in confusion.
"OH! The others are here too! HIII!" Izuku yelled and waved at the group once he saw them perched nearby above him.
"I have questions!" The Handler said.
"Get in line." Admiral and Commander said in chorus.
Canteen – Once again -
Once again, Izuku was perusing the place's canteen, only this time "Cooking for real", in his own words; and the difference was astronomical, not only in taste of the food after he finished perfecting his recipes, but the food itelf had miraculous effects on the eaters!.
HP: +600
Stamina: +600
Stamina Recovery: +600
Attack: +600
Defence Boost: +600
Elemental Resistance: +600
Activated Skill:
Felyne Cliffhanger
Felyne Fur Coating
Felyne Booster
Felynebacker
Felyne Provoker
Felyne Researcher
Felyne Defender
Felyne Temper
Felyne Escape Artist
Felyne Weakener
Felyne Insurance
Felyne Deflector
Felyne Bulldozer
Felyne Trainer
Felyne Fisher
Felyne Sprinter
Felyne Gripper
Felyne Weathercat
Felyne Lander
Felyne Parting Gift
Felyne Dungmaster
Felyne Foodie
Felyne Biologist
Felyne Microzoologist
Felyne Macrozoologist
Felyne…
Over 100 skills activated all at once, most of which even the veteran Hunters among the eaters had never heard about.
"Hooooly Stars! This stuff is amazing!" The Admiral yelled with a loud laugh of awe
"The boy is gooood!" The Handler said.
"…"
"Where is he now?" A Researcher asked.
"...Running away? Why?" A Botanist, still munching heavily, answered, unsure.
"You know? This food is very good AND gives you one heck of a boost, if we convince him to stay we can eat this well and get this strong whenever we want. Especially the eating well part." Somebody had the less than brillant idea to say out loud…
And the heads of every female Hunter snapped in the direction in which Izuku and Ochako ran to.
"...GET HIM!" and as one those female Hunters sprinted forward to chase him.
"… Hu. That must be why he ran, he probably knew it would happen." The Admiral said, impressed at the speed of the horde.
"this is very unprofessional…" The Commander answered, groaning in dismay.
With Izuku and Ochako -
"RUUUUN!" Izuku shrieked shrilly as he bolted through the woods and through whatever monster standing on his way, often quite literally as the poor Rathalos that tried to eat him could testify, the dragon's head was still buried deep underground thanks to Izuku's punch.
ROAAAR!
ROOOAR!
ROOAR!
Many Monsters tried stopping him, comprised many violent and bloodthirsty ones, or even Ancient Dragons.
"PISS OFF!"
And at the furious roar of Izuku, enriched by his Appetite Demon appearing and his Intimidation Skill flaring to full power, all of those same monsters released a shrilly "KAIII!" and turned around to run away,
Thus another Ingredient Hunt of Izuku ended-up with him running away from psycho women…
With The System -
The Entity had stormed Heaven, Hell, Netherworld, The In-between, Chaos, Emptiness, End of Time and Beginning of All Things, and yet nobody had anything to do with the messes Izuku would get in at every Ingredient Hunt, nor they were trying to pull a mean a joke at the System expenses…
"Where else to look? Who is it that is making a joke of the System? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where? Where?…"
I̷͚͕̜͈̜̲͈̟̣͙̞̬̪͍͑̇͒̍̏͝ ̷̰͙͎̼̱͍̲̯͔̯͎̤͔̖̯̼̀́̄͌̀̄̆̈́͐͌̔͐͒̀͋͛͂͐͌͋̓̽͂̂̍̕͜͝͝c̸̢̢̛̰̖͓̪̞̳̼̳̝͚͗̑͋̈́̀͂̅̎̈́̂̽̕̕̚͝͝ͅͅą̸̧̤̎͌͌̊̓͂̒̅̇̆̊́̋̽̇̀̚͘̕͘͠͝͝͠ņ̷̥̯͖̻͔͎̻̪̟̱̳̟͖̱̠̏͗̉̀̐̋́͒͊͋͂̎͘͘ ̵̨̨̧̛̼̫̜͒̏s̶͇̺̮̙̲̙͉̣̳̉́͛̓̓́̄̾̇̌̈͋̈́͐͋͜͝ę̵̨̨̨̹̲̯̠̰͕͓̦̠̹̞̭͓̹͒̎̿͗̋̔̓̓́͂͌̈́̾͒̑͊̆̔͑ḛ̴̢̩̮̜̣̲̱̤̲̠̘͖̝̭̙̝̗͙͖͍̦̼̠̂̏̚ ̷̹͖̩͈̹̻̞̫̯̜̠̠̗̭̤͉̣̼̯̫̓̀̓̍̏̚͜y̶̨̨̛̛̗̠̤̖͙̦̬̤̟̪̰̤̻̳̘̰̮̿͊̃̑̑̇̍̔͌͊̾̈́̐͗̋́̓̏̍̔͒̕̕͝͝ͅo̶̠̙͍͓͉̣̭̻̳͎͚̟̥̞͙͚̫̣̖̹̱͖͕̗̺͗̒̀̾̐̑͊͑̓͗̀̓̌̈́͒͋̑͘̕ü̷̧̗̮̣̱͈̱̠̬͔͕̦̦̩̯̻͔̪̰̲̖͔͇̘̉̇̆͐́͑̏͆̑̐͌̍̉̓̾̍̕̚̚͝͠ͅ.̴̢̛͍̮͙̘͙̻̞̗̟̭͇̤̮̜̙͎̯̾͗̉̂̇̐̓͒̾̀͊̊̓̋̇͋̌̂̿̄̀͊̂̕̕̚͝.̸̙̞̖̜̻̪̩̟͙̼̖̣̟̰̓͛̃̆̈́̈́̀̍̏̄̎̈́͊͌̇́̊̎̈͛̇̓̂̃́̓̿.̷̢͔̥͖̯̳̝̳͖͓͍͉̺̩͓͈̃̓̇̓͜
End of the omake.
