"Whoa, these are... Sunshine Green Grapes!!!"
Fang Mo greeted them enthusiastically, wearing a hearty yet humorous smile. "Come on, have one! These things are fucking delicious!"
"..."
Perhaps Fang Mo's performance had been a little too exaggerated.
Toriko looked hesitant and did not immediately put the thing into his mouth.
"Tch."
Seeing this, Fang Mo directly plucked off an Essence Berry, tossed it into his mouth, and began chewing. Its golden-green skin burst open, and everyone could even hear the crisp crack of the peel splitting apart.
Before the Essence Berry's juice could spread out—
Fang Mo put on an expression of immense delight and let out a string of bizarrely cheerful laughter. "Mmm... delicious!!!"
"This..."
Seeing how much Fang Mo seemed to enjoy it, Toriko appeared to be affected as well. He subconsciously glanced at the crystal-clear golden-green fruit in his hand, as though its flavor had already formed in his mind: crisp, tender, sweet flesh; rich, sweet juice; and a lush, exotic fruity fragrance.
"Gulp..."
Thinking of that, Toriko unconsciously swallowed.
"You're drooling already, so why aren't you eating?" Seeing this, Fang Mo immediately urged him on. "Hurry up and eat it. This stuff is extremely precious..."
To keep the Essence Berry's scent from spreading—
Fang Mo even activated his ability and used a time field to create a small barrier around himself.
"Fine."
Thus, under Fang Mo's careful setup, Toriko finally took the bait. He reverently pressed his palms together and lowered his head. "I offer my gratitude to all the ingredients in this world. Now then... let's eat!"
With that said—
Toriko immediately tossed the Essence Berry into his mouth, closed his eyes, and began chewing.
But the very next second, after he eagerly bit into the Essence Berry, an almost absurd wave of rot and