Sensing what Shun was about to ask, Chin Chinchin spoke first. "You can't tell just by looking, perhaps—but right now this old man weighs nearly one ton."
"One ton!"
Just as expected.
Even though Shun already knew the answer, hearing it straight from Chin Chinchin still made his heart jolt.
Thinking back to that meteor-like landing a moment ago—it all made perfect sense.
"No wonder… no wonder a single drop left a crater. With that weight and that height, of course it would," Shun thought.
The aimless march continued.
Yes—there was nothing to do but keep walking forward.
A day passed. Or perhaps two.
Chin Chinchin still moved as if nothing were out of the ordinary. He glanced at Shun and continued his explanation: "This is the effect of the esoterica Shoku-metsu. Even if I do nothing, I can go months without a single grain or drop of water and still live! It's because, through Shoku-metsu, I pre-store months of sustenance within my body."
As he said, Shoku-metsu isn't crude binge-eating or piling on fat. It transforms the food taken in—through ultimate gratitude and digestion—into the purest life energy, then condenses it into a near "energy-embodiment" form and stores it at a high concentration within every cell.
That requires hair-fine control over one's body and a profound understanding of food's very nature.
"An ordinary body can't bear such a massive reservoir of energy, let alone deploy it precisely when needed."
Still walking, Chin Chinchin explained as if making small talk: "You must fuse Shigi into your blood, your breath, even your subconscious. Every meal isn't to fill the belly—it's a deep resonance and merging with the ingredient's life energy. When your gratitude is sincere to the core, you draw out the ingredient's essence willingly, accept it without waste, compress it, and store it. That is Shoku-metsu."
Again, he revealed the heart of the final esoterica.
Shoku-metsu can only be invoked when the spirit is entirely immersed in pure eating and gratitude. There's no shortcut. This endless Bubble Avenue is itself the grindstone that tempers one's gratitude to the absolute limit.
"Abandon every stray thought," Chin Chinchin reminded him once more. "Let your heart hold only the purest thanks. If you can keep that focus—no distractions—you will surely gain the recognition of the temple treasure, the Soap Bubble Fruit!"
Shun's body was already exhausted. Without food, his weight was plummeting… Yet under the twin pressures of fatigue and loss of mass, his eyes only grew clearer and more resolute.
He understood how he needed to walk the road ahead.
Not to fight hunger—but to remember gratitude.
Not to seek the end—but to experience the journey.
He reset his breathing, drew his attention away from the lack in his body, and tried to feel the stillness of this world of bubbles.
He didn't know how long it lasted. When his consciousness began to blur from extreme hunger and dehydration, and his body crept toward collapse, the most primal and powerful gratitude in his heart—for food—seemed to grant him strength again.
At the brink of life and death, he still held that thankfulness.
That had earned the recognition of the ingredient—or rather, of the ingredient here.
That sincerity finally cleared the ultimate trial.
From Shun at the center, the pure-white bubble world changed at once!
Soft, brilliant gold light bloomed from the void, and a warmth beyond words wrapped him from head to toe.
It wasn't warmth from outside; it rose from the deepest part of his heart, driving away the chill of near-death.
Shun strained open his dry, blurred eyes—and stared in shock as countless dazzling, lively, dreamlike fruits were born from the bubbles around him. They circled him with joyful motions, shedding a light that calmed the soul.
These were the ultimate ingredients he had pursued so long—Soap Bubble Fruit!
No longer distant mirages, they felt alive, emotional—dancing around Shun in delight.
This time, the ingredients approached him.
"Th… these are—?" His voice was hoarse from going without water. In those parched eyes, hope finally sparked.
Chin Chinchin at last stopped and turned. A look of deep relief and praise spread across his face. "Yes—these are the real Soap Bubble Fruit! The temple treasure was here from the very beginning, merged into this endless avenue of bubbles, waiting for the moment your gratitude for food reached pure, flawless perfection!"
"They sensed the voice and resolve within your soul—how you surpassed the fear of death itself and preserved only thankfulness. To dare face death and welcome it with gratitude—that is proof you've truly grasped the final esoterica of Shigi!"
This was a trial of life and death—and breakthrough.
Shun, barely managing to sit up, felt the Soap Bubble Fruit cluster around him like intimate companions, their gentle touches alighting on his skin.
"So warm," he breathed, eyes closing to savor it.
"Go on—eat your fill! Bury yourself entirely in food!" Chin Chinchin's voice sounded at his ear. "This is the reward you've earned."
This was the last step—the mingling of lives and the refueling of energy, borne on a heart of gratitude.
After days of grueling hardship, the moment had finally come.
Shun parted his cracked lips.
In the next instant, a Soap Bubble Fruit slipped of its own accord into his mouth.
The moment it touched his tongue, Shun shuddered as if struck by lightning.
His pupils dilated—pure disbelief.
This flavor—far beyond anything he had imagined!
"Mm—s-so… delicious!"
Though weak, the exclamation welled up from the depths of his throat.
With each instinctive chew, the Soap Bubble Fruit burst one by one—light as whispers—releasing a rush of refreshing, cheerful carbonation. The taste was honey-smooth at the very apex, with the faint intoxication of champagne and the springy tenderness of a fine jelly.
An indescribable, layered gourmet harmony exploded across his palate, ringing through his senses like a symphony.
After just one fruit, a miracle began.
A body nearly drained to desert-dry suddenly drank in rain. Shun's functions revived at astonishing speed.
Warm, surging energy flowed through limbs and bones, nourishing each cell.
Within him, gourmet cells starved to the brink were awakened by this pure, gratitude-charged food. They coursed anew—and, forged by extremity and renewal, became clearer, stronger than ever before.
Nirvana—rebirth.
…
(End of Chapter)
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