"Excellent! Finally don't have to waste time on those pointless tests." Zebra laughed boisterously, hands on his hips, "Finally encountered an examiner with a functioning brain."
Setsuna shot a somewhat exasperated look at the nervously smiling examiner who was wringing his hands. He strongly suspected this examiner was simply terrified of provoking Zebra.
'Whatever. It's beneficial for me as well, saving unnecessary time.' Setsuna accepted the rule calmly and looked at Zebra. "So, our fight is next?"
'He didn't withdraw?' The chief examiner was inwardly shocked and offered a kindly reminder, "There's another exam in six months. You could always take more time to prepare."
"Seems you have some brains, but not many," Zebra sneered. "He dares to speak like that because he has the skill to back it up."
Zebra looked at Setsuna, his eyes blazing with intensity. "I've got a dangerous feeling about this, it's making my blood boil. I might actually lose here today."
The chief examiner's jaw dropped subconsciously, 'What was I hearing? Zebra, arguably the strongest of the Four Heavenly Kings, was admitting he might lose?'
Setsuna merely responded with a faint smile. "Shouldn't we proceed to the examination arena?"
"Y-Yes, right away!"
The chief examiner quickly arranged for them to enter the Beast Fighting Colosseum. It was a massive oval arena. The high spectator stands were completely empty, clearly evacuated due to Zebra's intimidating presence.
Before the chief examiner could issue any instructions, Zebra bellowed, "Here I come! Sound Bazooka!"
Zebra roared, the air vibrated violently, and a visible shockwave shot towards Setsuna.
Setsuna simply raised his right hand and caught the sonic blast. His fingers clenched, and the condensed air current shattered and dissipated violently, causing the surrounding walls to instantly crumble.
Fortunately, the chief examiner had wisely retreated to a safe distance and was observing remotely, so the two combatants didn't need to worry about collateral damage.
"Voice Missile!" Zebra threw his head back, gathering power, then unleashed a devastating sonic wave in an instant.
"Energy Cannon!" Setsuna pressed his thumbs together, and a terrifying beam of energy shot forth to meet the sonic projectile.
Boom!
The space between them instantly turned to dust, revealing a deep, seemingly bottomless crater. The massive colosseum shuddered violently, as if on the verge of complete structural failure.
Watching from a distance, the chief examiner broke out in a cold sweat, 'This Beast Fighting Colosseum was built to withstand attacks from beasts with Capture Levels up to 100. This meant both individuals definitely possessed Capture Levels exceeding 100… they were veritable human-shaped monsters.'
"Haha, now that's more like it!" Zebra laughed uproariously. The Four Heavenly Kings had grown up together and sparred often, but Sani and Coco's fighting styles were too indirect for his taste. Toriko's brawling style suited him, but he was still a bit weaker, preventing Zebra from going all out.
Now, he had finally found an opponent who could handle his full, unrestrained power.
Setsuna also felt his combat instincts reigniting. Exchanging such reckless, powerful blasts was undeniably thrilling.
The arena continued to tremble.
Zebra's massive frame charged across the ground like a battle tank. His heavily muscled right arm pulled back, its fist tearing through the air with a deafening roar.
Beyond his sound waves, his physical prowess was equally formidable.
Setsuna stood his ground. His right leg stepped back into a solid bow stance, the muscles in his back and waist coiling like powerful springs before unleashing their force.
The next moment, their fists collided with tremendous impact!
Bang-
The resulting shockwave further ravaged the already devastated arena. Zebra's boots gouged deep trenches dozens of meters long into the ground, while the skin over Setsuna's knuckles split open, bleeding profusely, only to heal completely mere moments later.
"Refreshing!" Zebra snarled with a ferocious grin, closing the distance in a short burst and launching a powerful left hook aimed at Setsuna's ribs.
Setsuna spun to evade, but the massive fist abruptly changed trajectory, the elbow descending like a falling battle-axe.
Crack.
The sound of shattering bone was unmistakable. Setsuna dropped to one knee, spitting out a mouthful of blood-flecked saliva, while Zebra's elbow was visibly deformed, as if he had struck solid steel.
Seizing the opening, Setsuna swept Zebra's legs, sending him airborne, then grabbed his wrist and executed a powerful shoulder throw, slamming the 300-kilogram giant brutally into the ground.
Rubble exploded outwards as Zebra launched himself back out, laughing maniacally. His right arm hung uselessly, but his knee shot upwards like a siege ram towards Setsuna's chest.
Setsuna crossed his arms in a defensive block, using the momentum to perform a backflip, his feet simultaneously delivering a savage kick to his opponent's chin.
Blood and fragments of teeth sprayed through the air.
"Tsk tsk, the vigor of youth is truly something." Jiro, who had entered unnoticed at some point, sat observing from above, swaying his liquor bottle slightly. A nostalgic glint appeared in his eyes, remembering his own brutal, no-holds-barred fights with Midora back in the day.
Jiro mused to himself: 'Zebra hasn't summoned his Gourmet Demon yet, and my disciple is likely holding back several trump cards as well. Who will emerge victorious?'
"Beat Punch!" Zebra licked his split lip, using the [Food Honor] ability to repair his arm. Sonic energy coalesced around his knuckles as he unleashed a furious, relentless barrage upon Setsuna.
"Four Witches Technique!" The back of Setsuna's shirt tore open as two additional arms, seemingly formed from condensed blood and energy, manifested, meeting Zebra's assault blow for blow.
His Four Witches Technique was fundamentally different from Tien's technique. Tien's was a product of his unique Three-Eyes lineage, while Setsuna had developed his own version by applying the principles of Knocking taught by Jiro in an unconventional way.
Where Jiro used Knocking to enlarge his body, Setsuna diverted that potential enlargement energy to generate temporary, functional limbs.
"Even more of a monster than I am," Zebra grinned, utterly disregarding the numerous blows he was absorbing, refusing to give ground as he traded furious, direct punches with Setsuna.
The two combatants grappled and tore at each other like wild beasts. When they finally broke apart again, Zebra's right eye was swollen shut, his body a bloody mess.
Setsuna's upper garment was in tatters, his exposed chest covered in dark purple fist imprints.
"I yield," Zebra stated, twisting his neck with a series of cracks, conceding defeat with surprising readiness.
Setsuna frowned slightly. "Shouldn't you still have your Gourmet Demon?"
"Right now, I can only properly utilize that guy's intimidating aura. I don't believe a fighter of your caliber would be cowed by mere presence," Zebra laughed heartily, then slapped his own forehead, "What a pain. The old man strictly forbade me from hunting without a license."
"Must admit, you're far stronger than Toriko," Setsuna remarked, spitting out a jet of blood. The external injuries on his body began visibly healing at a rapid pace. He sighed inwardly, 'Unfortunately, that guy's the one with plot armor, and didn't even use two-thirds of his full potential until the final arcs.'
"Eh? You know Toriko?" Zebra asked, his interest piqued.
"Yes, I saved him once about six months ago, on the border of the Gourmet World," Setsuna replied.
"Haha! Then we were practically friends already!" Zebra boomed with laughter, then shouted at the top of his lungs, "Hey! Clean-up crew! Get out here now!"
"Coming, coming!" The chief examiner came scurrying over, his gaze towards Setsuna now filled with deep respect and a hint of fear. "From this day forward, Setsuna-sama, you are officially recognized as a Gourmet Hunter."
Simultaneously, he couldn't help but complain internally: 'With power like theirs, why are they even taking this exam? How is anyone else supposed to compete?'
Setsuna inquired: "I wish to schedule a Gourmet Cell transplant. When can the procedure begin?"
"Ah? You haven't...?" The chief examiner was visibly startled, but quickly checked himself, remembering it was unwise to pry. "You need only wait three days, sir."