Voice of All Things

Three days passed quickly, and Setsuna underwent the Gourmet Cells transplant surgery arranged by IGO.

The procedure went smoothly, everything falling naturally into place.

Setsuna felt that the Gourmet Cells had seemingly formed a symbiotic relationship with his body.

After another ten days passed and it was confirmed that there was no rejection response, Jiro took Setsuna to his room for training.

Setsuna found it somewhat strange. Shouldn't training be conducted outdoors? Why was it being held in his teacher's room? Surely Jiro wasn't planning to show him something "interesting," was he?

Setsuna shook his head, cast aside those distracting thoughts, and listened attentively as Jiro began to explain.

"The essence of Acupoint Striking lies in sensing acupoints, understanding their pathways—or, in other words, listening to the voices of all things."

Setsuna's expression turned strange. Voice of All Things? Wasn't that a skill from One Piece?

Jiro continued, "Every living creature has different acupoint locations. How do you usually perform Acupoint Striking?"

Setsuna answered seriously, "I judge with my eyes. There are subtle differences where blood and qi flow through the acupoints."

Jiro asked again, "What if I blindfolded you?"

Without hesitation, Setsuna replied, "Then I would sense the other person's breathing and the airflow around us."

Jiro smiled and nodded. "Correct. That is how you strike acupoints in people, and it is also how you strike acupoints in the world. As long as you can sense the breathing of all things and turn the ripples in the air into the world's pathways, then striking acupoints in a planet is no different from striking acupoints in a living being."

Setsuna could not help but smile wryly. He roughly understood what Jiro meant. In terms more suited to his understanding, it was the butterfly effect.

The world was a complete system. When one node changed, the impact it caused could spread throughout the entire world.

But that was far too difficult. At his current level, sensing changes in airflow within a hundred-meter radius was already impressive. Treating the entire world as a chessboard was a realm beyond his imagination.

Jiro continued, "When I sparred with you last time, you could not touch me no matter what you did because I was controlling the world's pathways. Your attacks had form, while my counterattacks were formless. Every step I took could stir the world's breathing and influence you without your realizing it. Naturally, your attacks were useless against me. If you cannot reach my realm, then even if your strength and speed increase tenfold or a hundredfold, it will still be useless."

Setsuna's heart trembled. This was the first time he had perceived the power of such a realm so directly.

Setsuna hurriedly asked, "Teacher Jiro, how can I reach that level?"

Jiro said with a smile, "There are only two paths to becoming stronger. The first is training and enjoying delicious food to strengthen your body. The second is cultivating the power of the mind, which is Food Honor. The essence of Food Honor is gratitude toward heaven and earth, gratitude toward food—in other words, gratitude toward life. Eating is not slaughter; it is allowing yourself to naturally become one with all things. Therefore, the first lesson I will teach you is to calmly watch me enjoy food without being driven by desire, while keeping your heart filled with gratitude."

Setsuna nodded. He did not think this was an especially difficult test. It was merely restraining desire, and he had confidence in his willpower.

But once the trial began, Setsuna understood just how tormenting it was.

The Gourmet Cells' craving for delicious food was terrifying. His entire body yearned for it, and his own desire for food had seemingly been amplified a hundred thousand times over.

At first, Setsuna could only use self-harm to restrain his desires. This instinctively reminded him of Vice Admiral Momonga from One Piece, and he could not help but smile bitterly. Well, that settled it. He would be sitting at the same table as Vice Admiral Momonga now.

Fortunately, Setsuna soon recalled Crane Hermit's teachings from his time in the Dragon Ball world. Although Crane Hermit was not as strong as Master Roshi, his cultivation realm was undeniably genuine.

Setsuna used the method of cultivating qi to keep his heart calm. The restless desires within him quickly subsided, and his powerful mind once again overcame his body's instincts.

Seeing Setsuna hold fast to his true heart during his very first training session, Jiro was greatly pleased.

An hour passed before Jiro finally said, "You may begin eating now. Food Zen means maintaining a peaceful state of mind while eating. By listening to the sounds of food in your mouth, feeling the texture of the ingredients and the changes in flavor, you cast away distracting thoughts. With a heart grateful to all things, you experience the life energy within food and integrate the soul of the ingredients into your body."

Setsuna nodded and solemnly began enjoying the food before him. Exquisite flavors bloomed across his taste buds, but this time, Setsuna experienced far more than before.

He felt nature's tranquility within the food and the beauty of life. It seemed as though he had tasted the entire life of the ingredients in his mouth.

Jiro praised him, "Once you gradually comprehend the true essence of Food Honor and Food Zen, you can try cultivating Food Immersion. Food Immersion requires you to eat food beyond your own needs, then use Food Zen to convert the excess into appetite energy and store it within your body. When you need that power, you can release it again."

Setsuna stroked his chin. Wasn't that just an advanced version of fat?

It could be broken down at will when needed, equivalent to a free Senzu Bean, yet without the burden that fat normally brought. He would not gain weight and drag down his body.

This training continued for a month.

After another session of Food Zen ended, Jiro asked, "Do you have any doubts about your current training? After all, you came here to learn Acupoint Striking, yet I have been teaching you the essentials of Food Honor."

Setsuna shook his head slightly. "There is an old saying in my hometown: 'To do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools.' Only by laying a solid foundation can the training that follows proceed naturally."

Jiro nodded approvingly. "Skill can approach the Dao, but if you learn the 'Dao' from the beginning, learning the 'skill' afterward becomes much easier."

Setsuna nodded. For example, Rayleigh, the "mediocre teacher" from the pirate world, had probably taught Luffy the "Dao." That was why Luffy could later improve so quickly under Teacher Kaido's hundred 'lessons' with his club.

Jiro continued, "You can now begin the next stage of training. This stage will take place in the Gourmet World."

Upon returning to the Gourmet World, Setsuna felt something different in his heart, as though he were looking at an extraordinary ingredient market.

Jiro said, "The essence of Food Honor is gratitude toward nature. You must revere nature. But if you only scratch the surface and believe you must become vegetarian or cannot harm other life, then you are putting the cart before the horse. Revering nature does not mean fearing nature. You must possess the spirit to become the king of all living things. Otherwise, you are not a hunter—you are prey."

"What you need to do next is use the techniques I taught you to fight continuously in the Gourmet World. Strengthen your wildness through slaughter until you can intimidate these savage beasts through sheer presence alone. Also, you must not waste the savage beasts you hunt. Cook them yourself and eat them all, using Food Immersion to increase your storage of appetite energy."