"You and Toriko are biological brothers? And you were both born from some kind of special substance?!"
Ichiryu's eyes widened despite himself. Before, they had suspected that Starjun might be the child of Frohze and Acacia, but they hadn't dared to hope too much.
Now, combined with what Starjun had just said, it basically confirmed everything. Not only was Starjun telling the truth—but the other child was actually Toriko.
What kind of twist of fate was this?
Frohze's two sons—one raised by Midora, the other by Ichiryu. And both of them had been groomed as successors. After all, whether it was Toriko or Frohze herself, their talent was nothing short of terrifying.
"Yes. Is there a problem, President Ichiryu?"
Starjun frowned slightly. He had assumed Ichiryu meant he should have known the reason because he was Toriko's biological brother. But judging from Ichiryu's reaction… that clearly wasn't it.
"It's a huge deal. If nothing unexpected happened, you and Toriko are the children of the Gourmet God, Acacia, and the God of Chefs, Frohze."
Ichiryu's expression was complicated—part shock, part excitement.
"What?!"
Starjun froze.
He had always known that being born from that strange substance meant there was something unusual about him. But he had never imagined he was the child of those two.
Even within Gourmet Corp, he held deep respect for Acacia and Frohze. According to the legends of the Human World, it was because of them that the world had flourished into what it was today.
Of course, those who truly knew the full story understood that much of that credit actually belonged to Ichiryu. With overwhelming strength, he had suppressed chaos on all sides and built his own forces to mediate conflicts.
Only then had the Human World truly entered an era of prosperity—no longer a world overflowing with food where people still starved.
"Wait. Did Frohze and Acacia really have children? Why is there no record of it anywhere?"
Starjun suddenly caught onto something.
It was a fair question. Stories about Acacia and Frohze had spread everywhere. Their daily lives had been documented in meticulous detail.
And because of Ichiryu, Jiro, and Midora, no one dared fabricate wild rumors. There had been one theory claiming the three disciples weren't students at all, but Acacia's own children—but that rumor had quickly disappeared.
Logically speaking, if those two had children, it would have been a massive event.
So why was there no trace of it?
"Your doubt makes sense," Ichiryu said with a shake of his head. "Not just you—even we only learned about this recently. Back then, after Frohze gave birth to you and Toriko, she was forced to send you away."
"Because of the protection of the Back Channel, you didn't actually come into this era until much later. As for the exact reason… we're still investigating."
If Kael hadn't revealed it, they wouldn't have even known Frohze had children.
"You didn't even know? What exactly happened back then?"
Starjun's expression darkened.
Most mothers loved their children deeply. The fact that Frohze had sent them away—and even set up protection for them—meant she had done it out of desperation.
He didn't know what had happened, but that didn't stop the anger rising in his chest.
Because of whatever occurred, he and his family had never been able to live together.
He had wondered before who his real family was. But he had never met them at birth. And any memories of Toriko from infancy had long since faded. No one remembered things from that early.
"We'll have to keep investigating," Ichiryu replied. "For now, come with me. Let's go see Toriko."
With that, Ichiryu took Starjun and left.
Gourmet Corp wasn't what it used to be. These days, they didn't dare act recklessly. And with their boss absent, they didn't even dare breathe too loudly when Ichiryu showed up.
Now, watching him take Starjun away, they could only stand by.
They were confused, sure—but this wasn't something they could interfere with.
What they were more jealous of was Starjun himself.
He had eaten some incredible ingredient. They didn't know exactly what it was, but just the fragrance alone made their Gourmet Cells stir restlessly.
Unfortunately, whatever it was, only Starjun had been given a share. It clearly wasn't their turn.
Soon, Ichiryu brought Starjun to Toriko's residence.
Although Toriko spent much of his time adventuring outside, he still returned home now and then.
At the moment, he was preparing to head into the Gourmet World.
Since the incident of Komatsu being captured never happened in this timeline, Toriko had decided to prepare thoroughly before entering. Charging in blindly would just be suicide.
He had gone once before despite everyone's warnings—and had been utterly crushed. If not for his Food Luck, he would have died on the spot.
This time was different.
It wasn't just him going. Komatsu would be coming too. And Komatsu was practically defenseless. Toriko had to protect him.
Of course, Toriko had no idea just how absurd Komatsu's Food Luck really was. Even without protection, Komatsu would manage to survive in the Gourmet World—though probably in a pretty miserable state.
Zonge was the perfect example. That guy was living pretty comfortably later on, though he had to deal with Monkey King Bambina's constant harassment—but who could blame him when he had the exact same face as the Monkey King's mate?
When Ichiryu arrived with Starjun, Toriko was completely thrown off.
Ichiryu showing up in person was strange enough. Normally, Toriko and the others went to see him. If Ichiryu needed something, he'd call or send someone.
This was the first time he had ever come to Toriko's house directly.
But what made it even stranger was the man standing beside him.
Toriko had never seen Starjun's real face before—but the scent left behind on the GT Robot didn't lie.
There was no doubt about it.
This man was one of Gourmet Corp's Vice Chefs—Starjun.
Which made things even more confusing. It was one thing for Ichiryu to show up, but why did he bring Starjun along?
One was the president of the IGO.
The other was a Sous Chef of Gourmet Corp.
And now they were standing together at his doorstep.
Toriko's brain nearly short-circuited trying to process it.