Toriko: Namu's Buffet.
Chapter 18: "The Spice of Life! Taste the King of Peppers!"
Namu stumbled as he climbed over the rocks of the Wul Volcano.
"Are you okay?!" Tsubaki asked, worriedly.
"I'll be fine." Namu replied.
"Hito really did a number on you, didn't he?"
"I'll say. He's definitely Gourmet World level. If you didn't give me that Inferno Pepper that fell out of his pocket, I'd be dead as a doornail."
"Did your Gourmet Cells evolve when you ate it?"
"Don't think so. But it's delicious if you can withstand the spiciness though." Namu grinned.
As the duo and their Leo Tiger companion traversed the area, the heat began to Tsubaki.
"How come you're not sweating as much as I am?!" Tsubaki yelled at Namu, leaving him confused.
"It's probably because I took my shirt and jacket off when I fought Hito."
"Mmm." Tsubaki groaned before sitting on a rock and using her kitchen knife to cut most of the legs of her jeans off, turning them into a pair of short-shorts, causing Namu to blush profusely.
"That's a little better." she said, as she started walking again.
After a long trek along the mountainside, Namu, Tsubaki and Jujube finally saw them. A small bunch of Inferno Peppers.
"There they are!" Namu said excitedly.
"How are we going to do this?" Tsubaki thought to herself, "We can't just yank them out of the ground. It's said only master chefs can make this safe for normal consumption. Namu didn't get hurt from eating the pepper due to his Gourmet Cells. We're gonna need to cool them down first."
Tsubaki turned towards the peppers after pacing in circles while in deep thought, only to see Namu about to shove a handful of peppers into his mouth as Jujube growled.
SMACK!
Tsubaki slapped Namu in the face as hard as she could.
"Are you insane?! You could die if you eat them like that!"
Namu rubbed his cheek.
"I'm sorry. I'm just really hungry."
"Whatever. Just don't do it again. We're going to need to cool them down before eating them. But there's no way to cool anything off in this heat."
"What if the cooling agent's already here?" Namu asked.
"What're you talking about?" Tsubaki asked in annoyed confusion.
"Like, what if there's something near the volcano that can cool the peppers down?"
Tsubaki stroked her chin in thought as she walked towards the peppers. She looked at the peppers for a few moments before sitting beside them in a meditative pose.
"What're you doing?" Namu asked as he picked Jujube off the ground.
"I'm trying to hear them." she replied.
"Hear who?"
"The Inferno Pepper's voice. All Ingredients have voices and only the most dedicated and skilled chefs can hear them."
Tsubaki meditated for what felt like hours as Namu and Jujube watched. Suddenly, she heard a voice, "The lava." it had said. At first, Tsubaki was confused, but then it hit her.
"That's it!" she shouted in excitement, causing Namu to jump up in surprise.
"Namu, how much heat can your bio-steel take?"
"Um. I think more than the melting point of regular steel."
"That's around 2700 degrees, isn't it?"
"Yeah…"
"The temperature of the lava is only 1400."
"Where are you going with this, Tsubaki?"
"If you cover yourself in bio-steel, you can bring the lava to poor on the peppers."
"Wouldn't that make them hotter?"
"That's what the peppers told me Namu. Just trust me."
"Well, I have been working on a new move…"
"Really?"
Namu extended his arm all the way and cupped his hand, then covered his arm in steel, turning his arm into a soup ladel.
"Think this'll work?" Namu grinned.
"That should be perfect."
With that, Namu began walking towards the lava at the bottom of the hill.
A few minutes later, Tsubaki saw Namu running up the hill.
"OUTTA THE WAY!" he yelled, as steam rose from his soup ladel-shaped hands.
Namu ran to the Inferno Peppers with Tsubaki running after him.
"I know your in pain, but pour slowly Namu."
"Just cause the melting point of steel is higher than the lava doesn't mean it doesn't burn." Namu said, slightly aggravated as he slowly poured the lava onto the peppers.
Suddenly, the Inferno Peppers began glowing in a fiery aura. Namu and Tsubaki both put their hands on the pepper, only to notice it didn't burn them.
"I think it worked." Tsubaki said, with a smile.
"Only one way to find out." Namu said, as he plucked one of the peppers.
Namu and Tsubaki closed their eyes and clapped their hands together.
"We give thanks to the world for it's bounty. Itadakimasu."
Namu and Tsubaki bit into the Inferno Pepper and what filled their taste buds was pure delight. The warmth of the pepper spread throughout their whole bodies. The spiciness was greater than a thousand jalapeños but it didn't burn their tongues.
Suddenly, Tsubaki's muscles grew exponentially, causing her shirt to rip at the bottom, exposing her midriff.
Embaressed, she covered the offending area with her arms.
"Don't look!" she yelled, as she kicked Namu in the face, leaving him unconscious.
A few minutes later, Namu awoke.
"Sorry Namu. I got embarrassed. So, do you think the Inferno Pepper is "Full Course" worthy?"
"What's a "namu?" he asked in a dazed sort of voice.
"Oh no! I kicked him to hard!" Tsubaki cried.
End of Chapter.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hope you guys like this one. I know some of the science may be lacking, but it's not like I'm a physicist or anything.
A big thank you to pokemonking0924 for letting me use the Inferno Pepper.
JA NE!