Battle Against Zebra, One of the Four Heavenly Kings of Gourmet

"Great, I finally don't have to waste time taking those boring tests." Zebra laughed with his hands on his hips. "At last, I've met an examiner with a bit of brains."

Setsuna gave the examiner, who was rubbing his hands with an embarrassed grin, a speechless look. He had every reason to suspect that the examiner was simply afraid of angering Zebra.

"Fine. It's good news for me too. It'll save me some unnecessary time." Setsuna readily accepted the rule and looked at Zebra. "So the next fight is between us?"

"He actually didn't forfeit?" The chief examiner was startled and kindly advised him, "There'll be another exam in half a year. You could take some time to prepare first."

"Looks like you've got some brains, but not much." Zebra sneered. "If he dares talk like that, he obviously has confidence in himself."

Zebra stared at Setsuna with blazing eyes. "I have a dangerous premonition. It's making my blood boil. Maybe I'll lose here today."

The chief examiner unconsciously opened his mouth wide. What had he just heard? Zebra, the strongest of the Four Heavenly Kings, had actually said that he might lose?

Setsuna merely smiled. "Shouldn't we prepare the examination grounds?"

"Y-Yes."

The chief examiner quickly arranged for the two to enter the Beast Arena. It was a massive oval battlefield, and the spectator stands high above were completely empty. Clearly, everyone had been frightened away by Zebra's arrival.

Before the chief examiner could give the order, Zebra shouted, "I'm attacking! Sound Wave Rocket Cannon!"

Zebra roared, and the air trembled as a visible shockwave rushed toward Setsuna.

Setsuna merely raised his right hand and held the Sound Wave Cannon in place. With a clench of his fingers, the condensed airflow exploded apart, and the surrounding walls instantly collapsed.

Fortunately, the chief examiner had hurriedly slipped away when he sensed trouble and watched from a distance. Neither fighter had to worry about the battle affecting anyone else.

"Sound Wave Nuclear Missile." Zebra tilted his head back and gathered power as an explosive wave of sound erupted forth in an instant.

"Tri-Beam." Setsuna pressed his thumbs together, firing a terrifying beam of energy toward the sonic blast.

Boom!

The ground between them was instantly reduced to dust, leaving behind a bottomless crater. The enormous arena shook violently, as though it would soon collapse and fall apart.

The chief examiner, hiding in the distance, broke out in a cold sweat. This Beast Arena could withstand attacks from ferocious beasts with a Capture Level of one hundred. In other words, these two definitely had Capture Levels above 100. They were humanoid beasts through and through.

"Haha, this is enough!" Zebra laughed loudly. The Four Heavenly Kings of Gourmet had grown up together and often sparred, but Sunny and Coco's fighting styles were too unsatisfying. Toriko's fighting style suited his tastes, but Toriko was a little too weak to let him fight to his heart's content.

Now, he had finally found an opponent who could let him completely unleash his power.

Setsuna could also feel the battle genes in his body awakening. Exchanging attacks so recklessly really was exhilarating.

The arena was still trembling.

Zebra's body crushed across the ground like a chariot. His muscular right arm drew back, and his fist tore through the air with a thunderous howl.

Aside from his sound waves, his physical strength was equally formidable.

Setsuna neither dodged nor retreated. He pulled his right leg back into a bow stance, and the muscles in his waist and back compressed and sprang forward like a coiled spring.

The next second, their heavy fists collided!

Bang—

The shockwave ravaged the arena once more. Zebra's boots plowed trenches dozens of meters long through the ground, while blood burst from Setsuna's knuckles before they healed completely in an instant.

"That's the stuff!" Zebra grinned viciously and charged in at close range, driving a left hook straight at Setsuna's ribs.

Setsuna spun aside to evade, only to see the massive fist suddenly change direction. Zebra's elbow came chopping down like a battle axe.

Crack.

The sound of breaking bones was crystal clear. Setsuna dropped to one knee and spat out a mouthful of bloody foam, while Zebra's elbow had warped out of shape as if it had struck refined steel.

Taking the opportunity, Setsuna swept Zebra's legs out from beneath him and sent him into the air. Then he seized Zebra's wrist and threw him over his shoulder, slamming the three-hundred-kilogram giant viciously into the ground.

Rubble flew everywhere as Zebra sprang back with wild laughter. His right arm hung limp, but his knee rammed toward Setsuna's chest like a battering ram.

Setsuna crossed his arms to block, flipped backward with the force, then viciously kicked both feet into his opponent's jaw.

Blood and broken teeth splattered.

"Tsk, tsk. Being young is wonderful." Jiro had entered at some point. Sitting above them with a bottle of liquor swaying in his hand, he watched their battle with nostalgic eyes. His fights with Midora back then had also been this brutally physical.

Jiro guessed inwardly, Zebra still hasn't summoned his Gourmet Demon, and my disciple should be hiding quite a few trump cards as well. Who will win?

"Sonic Boom Knuckle!" Zebra licked the corner of his split mouth and used the power of Food Immersion to repair his arm. Sonic energy gathered around his finger bones as he launched a furious barrage at Setsuna.

"Four Demon Fist!" The clothing on Setsuna's back tore apart as two mimetic arms condensed from blood energy extended from behind him, striking back head-on.

His Four Demon Fist was entirely different from Tien Shinhan's. Tien Shinhan's Four Demon Fist awakened the Three-Eyed Bloodline, while Setsuna had found another path after learning the Acupoint Striking techniques taught by Jiro.

Jiro used Acupoint Striking to enlarge his body, while Setsuna used the energy from enlargement to create extra arms.

"You're even more of a monster than I am." Zebra grinned. He ignored however many punches landed on him, neither dodging nor defending as he traded blows wildly with Setsuna.

The two rolled and tore at each other like beasts. When they finally separated again, Zebra's right eye was swollen nearly shut, and his entire body was drenched in blood. Setsuna's shirt had been completely destroyed, and his bare chest was covered in dark purple bruises from fists.

"I concede." Zebra rolled his neck and admitted defeat without hesitation.

Setsuna frowned slightly. "Don't you still have your Gourmet Demon?"

"For now, I can only make use of that guy's intimidation. I don't think a powerhouse like you would be frightened by my aura." Zebra laughed heartily, then patted his head. "What a headache. The old man strictly ordered me not to go hunting without a license."

"I have to admit, you're much stronger than Toriko." Setsuna spat out a stream of blood as the external wounds on his body began healing at a visible rate. Too bad he has cheats. Even by the end, he only used two-thirds of them.

"Eh? You know Toriko?" Zebra asked excitedly.

"Yeah. Half a year ago, I saved him once at the edge of the Gourmet World," Setsuna said.

"Haha, then we've been friends all along." Zebra laughed and shouted, "Hey, get out here and clean this place up!"

"Coming, coming." The chief examiner jogged over, his gaze toward Setsuna filled with awe. "From today onward, Lord Setsuna, you are a Gourmet Hunter."

At the same time, he could not help grumbling inwardly. Why were people with this kind of strength even taking the exam? Were they going to let anyone else have a chance?

Setsuna asked, "I want to schedule a Gourmet Cells transplant. When can it begin?"

"Ah? You haven't..." The chief examiner was greatly surprised, but quickly remembered that he should not ask about matters that did not concern him. "You can do it in three days."