Ichiryu, Ichiryu! Your Chopsticks Just Aren't Ruthless Enough! Isn't Ichiryu Still a Dragon?

Two days later, inside an IGO-affiliated hotel.

"So what you're saying is..."

Fang Mo stood at the door to his room, looking somewhat surprised at Toriko, who had a cigar clamped between his teeth. "Your old man wants to talk to me about something?"

"Yeah."

Toriko nodded.

"He wants to talk to me about something?" Fang Mo rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "But he wants a favor and won't show his face himself, instead specifically sending you to pass along the message... Doesn't seem very sincere to me."

"Don't go looking for trouble."

After going through several adventures with Fang Mo, Toriko had more or less gotten used to his way of talking. "The old man seems to have been pretty busy lately. Apparently, he's preparing for the Gourmet Eclipse a few years from now... You don't think he came specifically to find me, do you? He only gave me a phone call too."

"Oh, I see."

Fang Mo nodded. "Did he reveal any other information to you?"

"No."

Toriko helplessly rubbed his forehead. "I hate to admit it, but Old Man Ichiryu talks exactly like you. He brushed me off by saying I was too weak. Damn it..."

"There's an idiom back in my hometown: the weak are prey to the strong."

Fang Mo chuckled and patted his shoulder twice. "And there's another saying: fall behind and you get beaten. Political power comes from the barrel of a catheter... I mean, a gun. So if you're weak, you're bound to suffer. If you want to know more, you need to keep getting stronger."

"Yeah, you're right."

Toriko didn't argue. Instead, he nodded in agreement. "I used to think I was pretty strong, but these past few adventures have made me see myself again. The old man said I'm still far