"Uhhh," Streusen groaned as he opened his eyes.
A clear blue sky greeted him, with the sound of seagulls and gentle waves hitting the sandy beach. He never thought he'd see the day again, let alone the sun and a bright sky. He lay on the shore and thought about what had happened.
A storm had happened. The biggest one he and his fellow cremates had ever experienced on the Grand Line.
It had taken all of his nakama's lives in the process, and Streusen had been certain that the merciless waves would claim him as well. But now, here he was. Alive and stranded somewhere, which he had no idea where 'here' was.
He allowed a small tear to escape his eyes. Being a pirate hadn't been his dream when his father told him about it. And he never thought that he would ever become a pirate himself, not after pirates had killed his parents. But the world was cruel and harsh, unforgiving towards weakness. The weak had no choice most of the time.
And Streusen was weak. Very weak and untalented. Martial arts were something he hurt himself more than anyone else. He seemed to tumble over his own feet, and swinging fists around was not something he enjoyed. He did use a sword, but he wasn't good, not even close. He didn't like violence, at least not particularly. He had gotten used to it after years of being a pirate, but he still didn't take pleasure in a fight to the death.
All he could do was cook. He was a good cook, and he loved doing it. It was his greatest passion in life; nothing brought him as much pleasure as cooking. His dream had been to open a restaurant somewhere, but for a young man with no money, life offered very few choices. He didn't really join a pirate crew by choice, but it allowed him to survive. He came to appreciate his nakama somewhat, as they liked his food and held him in high regard. But it didn't mean he had forgotten what happened to his parents.
He was 21 now. He had no friends, family, home, hope or skills other than cooking, and after being shipwrecked at sea and stranded on an island, his future didn't look very good for him.
...
Streusen pushed himself off the ground. His life had been terrible until now, but he wasn't ready to throw in the towel just yet. Because he had hope, hope that his life might yet change. The reason for that was a tiny vial he had found in one of the treasure chests they had stolen just before the storm hit. He hadn't thought anything of it, taking it as a precious vial of delicate wine or something. He couldn't have been more wrong. All that he knew was that he was now different from before, capable of something no one could comprehend.
The knowledge appeared in his brain, as if it had always been there.
From the moment he consumed the contents of the vial, the act of eating was no longer restrained by the nature of things for him. Anything that could be brought to his mouth could then also be consumed, whether it was solid, liquid, energy, or something more abstract. Even fire, lava, or stranger substances now posed no danger, as long as he ate it. His body reshaped itself around this power: his teeth, mouth, throat, stomach—every part involved in eating became utterly invulnerable, perfectly adapted to whatever he would choose to devour. This didn't mean that he couldn't die. He could still die and suffer damage, of course, but the teeth, the oesophagus, the stomach, the gastric tract and all other parts of food intake and digestion were now invulnerable.
Nothing he consumed could harm or poison him. No matter how alien or unnatural the "meal" may be, it nourished him as wholly as the healthiest, most balanced feast. Streusen's digestion would adjust instinctively, scaling without limit to match his intake, ensuring he never felt 'full' unless he wanted to. Hunger and satisfaction were no longer things that restricted him, but things he could allow himself to feel. This allowed him to continue cooking after he tried a new dish or after he had to taste something while cooking.
Alongside this transformation, Streusen's mind was gifted with an limitless archive: an encyclopedic library of every ingredient across the Omniverse. Streusen understood their origins, properties, interactions, and hidden potentials as naturally as breathing. It was unbelievable. The number of ingredients that existed across space-time and realities was unimaginable.
This knowledge elevated Streusen's culinary talent beyond the mortal and even the divine capabilities. He now had the potential to become the greatest chef ever to exist, capable of crafting food with esoteric, reality-bending properties. Eventually, he will be able to cook what was never meant to be cooked—meals from air, stone, magma, dark matter, or even a naked singularity. Concepts themselves could become ingredients in his hands after he got good enough: a pie baked from time, ice cream sculpted from pure cold, flavours born from ideas rather than matter.
All of this was great, so great that Streusen didn't have any words for it. But he understood that all of this paled compared to the final part of his new ability.
To complete the outrageous elevation, Streusen gained the power to summon any food, ingredient, or cooking tool he could imagine. This process happened instantly and flawlessly. They were imbued with whatever properties Streusen desired. Kitchens, utensils, mythical ingredients, impossible delicacies—all answered his call.
"With this new power..." Streusen said, looking into the distance, unable to focus. "... the universe itself has become my pantry, and creation my kitchen..."
.
Streusen began looking around the island. At least he wanted to, but after a half-hour of exploration, he was met with a large beast fight. Seeing the two large monsters fight one another and knowing that he was far outmatched, Streusen left as quickly as he could and returned to his spot at the beach.
There was nothing for him to gain by trekking into the jungle and the enormous mountain, so he ignored it for now. He didn't particularly care about it anyway, because food and water were no longer something he had to look for. He could simply conjure whatever he wanted with a thought.
And he did just that. He thought about Buta-no-Shōgayaki, Ginger Pork and a second later, the dish appeared in front of him on the ground. The Ginger Pork dish was prepared by grilling thin pork slices, which were dressed with a delicate sauce made of mirin, soy sauce, sake, olive oil, sliced onions, and ginger. It was perfect for a quick, tasty meal you could enjoy year-round.
Streusen devoured this conjured delicacy with gusto. He hadn't had any food for what seemed like days, and now that he could finally focus on his stomach, he was more than happy about it. The food was steaming and at the perfect temperature for eating. And he felt ecstatic after he had eaten it.
"Mmmmmmmhhhh... this is GREAT!!"
Streusen got caught up in an eating fever after this. He went through the limitless library he now had access to and summoned dish after dish, new food after new food and almost lost himself to bliss. It was after several hours of near constant eating that he came across something that made him stop.
Ever since his parents were killed, Streusen had despised pirates, and that he had been forced into a pirate life was the worst thing he experienced. But his drive to live had been stronger, and the crew he joined hadn't been that bad. But Streusen understood that what truly bothered him about his story was his glaring weakness, which made him a victim. He hated his weakness above all.
In his browsing of the endless ingredients and dish archive, Streusen found a way to get rid of that weakness—several ways, in fact. But one interested him particularly.
Gourmet Cells.
In a distant reality, there exist Gourmet Cells. Gourmet Cells are the physical manifestation of savoriness and something called Appetite Energy—the primordial force that underlies life itself and all known ingredients in that universe. They were first identified 605 years ago by someone called the "Gourmet God" Acacia, following his discovery of them within a Gourmet Jellyfish.
These special cells possess extraordinary regenerative and strength-enhancing properties, drive rapid and extreme evolution, and, most crucially, vastly amplify the flavour of any organism they inhabit.
Their origin predates all life. 13.7 billion years ago, at the moment the universe was born, the Gourmet Big Bang released Gourmet Energy, the fundamental essence from which Gourmet Cells emerged. Over time, beings such as Monster Trolls and Appetite Demons came into existence as living instruments of the Appetite, shaped by and devoted to this energy.
For more than five billion years, the Nitro have overseen the cultivation of planets using Gourmet Cells. Their method was deliberate and brutal: they seeded worlds with these cells, then accelerated development through catastrophic environmental events, such as the Gourmet Solar Eclipse, and through the introduction of apex predators like Appetite Demons.
The Earth in the Toriko Universe entered this cycle several hundred million years ago, when a meteorite carrying Gourmet Cells collided with the planet. From that moment on, the cells became the foundation of all terrestrial life and its ingredients, triggering explosive evolutionary growth in both organisms and the environment.
In essence, Gourmet Cells are not merely biological anomalies; they are the engines of life, flavour, and evolution across the Toriko universe.
.
Streusen was very interested in these Gourmet Cells. If he possessed them, his weakness would be solved.
The greatest advantage of Gourmet Cells lies in the Appetite Energy they produce in the body. This energy was extraordinarily versatile and immensely powerful. Apex predators and elite warriors could externalise it by drawing upon their overwhelming desire to devour, shaping that hunger into a tangible force capable of producing a wide range of devastating effects.
However, the presence of Gourmet Cells alone didn't guarantee control over Appetite Energy. Even individuals with exceptionally strong cells usually expressed it only on a semi-conscious, instinctive level. True mastery required deliberate, conscious manipulation and an immense degree of mental discipline, as the energy was as demanding as it was potent and dangerous.
Gourmet Cells themselves were not static. They evolved in response to the consumption of foods that aligned with both the individual and the cells' own "tastes." This evolution directly enhanced their physical strength, resilience, and overall abilities. In some instances, Gourmet Cells could even grant entirely new abilities or resistances, rapidly adapting to extreme or hostile environments. These adaptations could occur instantaneously, allowing the user to survive conditions that would otherwise be fatal.
Because of this, training Gourmet Cells to adapt across a wide range of environments was essential for survival in the Gourmet World. Growth, power, and endurance were all inseparably tied to what one ate, where and what someone endured, and how fully their Appetite was embraced.
So the only question that remained was, how could Streusen get Gourmet Cells?
Interestingly, the solution to this was surprisingly simple, especially to the new Streusen.
There were two known methods by which Gourmet Cells could be introduced into a living being that didn't naturally possess them.
The first and safest method was ingestion.
This involved the regular consumption of food or pills containing Gourmet Cells, typically ingredients originating from the Gourmet World. Over time, the cells gradually conformed and adapted to the consumer's body as they continued to eat them. While this approach carried minimal risk, it was also slow and uncertain; in many cases, the cells never fully adapted, resulting in little to no physical enhancement.
The second method was direct injection, in which Gourmet Cells were introduced straight into the body via syringe. This approach was far faster, as the cells were forced to adapt almost immediately, but it was also extremely dangerous. If the cells failed to synchronise with the host properly, they may aggressively invade and mutate the body, transforming the individual into a grotesque monster or killing them outright.
Many such mutants were created through failed injections, including members of the Gourmet Corp. and the ancient progenitors of the populations of Hex Food World, the Kingdom of Hope, and Blue Grill. Notably, these mutants could still reproduce, and their offspring inherited their altered traits, forming entirely new species. But that wasn't what Streusen wanted. So this method wasn't what he would go for.
Streusen would go for the first method, and despite it usually taking a long time and maybe not working fully, he wasn't worried. Streusen had a very big cheat. Despite not being from the Gourmet World, he could conjure food from there and consume as many Gourmet Cells as he wanted without stopping. He could do that for so long and eat the most potent food that he would undoubtedly succeed. All the food he ate or consumed was digested perfectly, so it wouldn't take long for Streusen to acquire Gourmet Cells.
So, he went ahead and did just that. The advantages were incredible.