[Toriko Episode 54 Translation by Kewl0210]
Translation kewl0210
Editing KoolKidsK
Hugh_Jasss
Timing Ketsurui
Typesetting rtrs
Karaoke ThunderEmperor
Encode max80
QC Mistral[sA]
prefix-
Distro kokus
Kittie
prefix-
Someone once said...
That there are okaki with a superior texture
( Okaki = Rice crackers made of fried thinly-cut mochi. )
that travels across a sea of top-quality shoyu like flying fish.
That there are kumquats that are sweet, fresh, sour and look just like gold dust.
Gold Dusquats.
The world is in the Gourmet Age.
The age of seeking out yet-unknown tastes.
Seeking information on the Melk Stardust
as well as to have a new kitchen knife made for Komatsu,
Toriko and Komatsu visited Melk.
Komatsu was moved by what he saw in the workshop.
But Toriko questioned Melk's true identity.
Enraged by the wound to his pride,
Melk challenged Toriko to a fight.
Who the hell are you?
Where's the real Melk?
I am the second generation.
I'm Sharpener Melk the Second!
Six years earlier,
Melk the First had gone out to mine the phantasmal whetstone, the Melk Stardust
and is now missing.
Toriko vowed to mine the Melk Stardust as well as bring the first generation back.
And now Toriko has reached the dangerous cave that extends deep underground,
Heavy Hole.
Ultra Gravity!
Take on Heavy Hole!
Toriko... Will he really be all right on his own?
Heavy Hole boasts one of the highest levels of danger in all of Human World.
The average wild beast Capture Level is over 50.
It'll be okay, Melk-san.
Toriko-san is really strong.
Vampire Kong (Mammal Beast) Capture Level - 30
Down, Pochiko!
He's a guest.
Surprised you, did he?
This is my pet Vampire Kong.
Her name is Pochiko.
Pochiko?
She's a pet Master originally kept.
She's pretty helpful for delivering kitchen knives.
Sh-She delivers kitchen knives?
The actual handing over of knives is mainly done by her.
Is that so?
Welcome back, Pochiko.
Good work.
Ah! So that tree was a nest?!
She has a face like a bat, but she doesn't hang upside down.
Such a majestic upright stance.
Okay, back to work!
I've got lots of requests today, too.
Right. Let's sharpen, Melk-san.
I've gone down quite a ways.
But the bottom layer, where Melk the First is, is still further down.
And anyhow, that Komatsu...
Eh? Could you please go by yourself, Toriko-san?
To a dangerous place like that...
Why?! Why do you think we came here together?
But...
I told you,
I need your power.
Unless we take it on together, there's no point.
What do you think, Melk-san?
Well, no matter how you justify it,
it's far too dangerous a place for Chef Komatsu.
Yeah! I know, right?!
It wouldn't be that
you wanna stay behind because you really wanna see Melk work, now would it...?
It... I-It's...
It's nothing li... Nothing like tha...
Okay, I get it.
Then lend me one of your knives.
Eh? A knife?
Yeah. You have that small one from before, right?
The knife that's equivalent to your life. You always take it with you.
Why?
Collateral. In case something happens to me,
you'd have given me something equivalent to your life to hold onto.
Huh?! What's that supposed to mean?!
Just kidding.
We're a combo, aren't we?
Wherever we may be, our hearts are always together.
Also, we're splitting the work well this time.
I understand that, now.
Komatsu, you have a more important job to do.
Important job?
But... normally he always jumps at the chance to see rare ingredients in their natural environment.
He must really have a deep interest in Melk's work.
Well, it'll be good for Melk, too.
This time, my partner will be this kitchen knife.
Now then, this Heavy Hole...
how would Komatsu cautiously progress with his great powers of observation?
With his ability to hear ingredient's voices, the scenery he sees is different from what I see.
It's only natural for those in a weaker position to move with more caution.
So I'll move down like I normally would if Komatsu were with me.
These are all kitchen knives?
Yes, that's right.
Kitchen knives with sharpening request reservations from chefs all over the world.
I usually get around one hundred a day.
One hundred?
So that's why it'll take 3 years for my knife.
By looking at a kitchen knife, I can more or less tell who it belongs to.
Eh? Really?
Is it okay if I touch them?
Be careful, okay?
So, for example, who does this knife with such a dignified shine belong to...?
That's the one Chef Lulubhu of Guts uses.
G-G-G-G-Guts?!
That's on one of the top floors of the Gourmet Towers, floor 312.
The 7-Star traditional restaurant, Guts!
And this is the kitchen knife that the owner chef, Lulubhu-shi, uses?
Ooh... It's so humbling.
To be holding the knife of such a charismatic chef in my hands.
And by the way, this is Chef Yuuji of Mogura's knife.
The owner of the 8-star hormone grill Moguchi store located in Gourmet lower town, Gourmet Alley,
Yuuji-shi?!
These are all kitchen knives of super-famous people!
Just what I should expect from Melk-san's sharpening.
You sure have some credence.
They're mostly regular customers from the first generation.
Master was a person who was only ever face-to-face with the kitchen knives.
He never knew who his clients were,
and I don't think he had any interest in finding out.
But honestly, I do.
I wonder just what sort of chefs use such splendid kitchen knives.
I thought the same thing when I saw your knife, Chef Komatsu.
I wondered what kind of person this Chef Komatsu was, who had used his knife with so much love?
Do you think my concern about who uses the knives is a sign of my lack of concentration?
Compared to the first generation, I may still be only half-qualified.
Th-That's not so!
The users' various idiosyncrasies really do show up in their knives.
My Master's only desire was to make good knives.
Wh-What a pretty kitchen knife...
It pretty much looks like it doesn't need to be sharpened.
This knife is a sashimi knife used by the chef of the famous restaurant Gyoki.
It's a shop where they frequently handle special preparation ingredients.
A scratch just one thousandth of a millimeter in width can have a big effect on the cooking.
Scratches completely invisible to the naked eye...
First-rate chefs don't use their eyes,
they use the sense of touch when they're handling ingredients in order to measure the scratch.
As do sharpeners.
We don't use our eyes, but sound and physical sensation to sharpen knives.
A... Amazing!
It's like you're sparkling, Melk-san!
The sound came after the scrape!
What a sweat!
Although, when I'm concentrating on difficult cooking,
I get covered in sweat without realizing it, too.
For this waterfall of sweat to gush out,
he must have focused all of his nerves on that one scrape.
Okay, done.
If it were Master doing it, he could sharpen this without dropping a bead of sweat, though.
That was so amazing, it gave me goose bumps! I'm awestruck!
R-Really?
I'm so happy that I got to see the best sharpening in the world occur.
Ah, ok. Th-Thank you.
It was so fast that my eyes couldn't catch it,
so I couldn't see what was actually going on at all, though.
The speed of sharpening depends on the knife's quality, use, and the type of whetstone.
And it also varies based on the particular habits of the person that uses it.
I'd really like to see a slow sharpening, too!
Sure, of course!
I've got goose bumps again!
Could you be a little quieter?
Ah, sorry.
Yeah. This is it.
It's not at the level of Gourmet World yet,
but my body's gotten heavier.
I guess I've gone down around 10,000 meters at this point?
Descending is taking more effort than I expected.
Honestly, it might be harder than climbing up the same distance.
And...
there's the lingering smell of beasts emanating from all these holes.
Something's coming.
Interesting. When I was in Gourmet World I was in a panic, not knowing what was what.
But now things are different.
Whatever's coming my way, come at me from any direction!
Balbamoth (Mammal Beast) Capture Level - 44
So you're seriously coming to try and eat me, huh?
Here they come!
I thought I'd be able to get them back!
Right, with the stronger gravity,
my body's reactions become slower than normal.
I need to move instantaneously,
and command my body to advance faster than normal!
In terms of pure speed, the wild beasts that live here are dozens of times higher than me.
If I sense my opponents movements purely by eyesight, it'll be too late.
I need to predict their trajectory to some degree and move before they do.
The opponent's form, the contractions of their muscles, the movements of their joints, their breathing...
I need to plan my next move based on every piece of information I have about them.
Left or right, up or down...?
Right!
All right. I've mostly gotten used to it.
My perceived body weight is about twice what it is normally.
So that makes it 460 kilos.
Compared to Gourmet World, this still isn't...
I can't dodge this.
They've filled their gaps with their numbers.
Interesting.
From being black and blue in Gourmet World, I wasn't really conscious of it.
The idea of protection.
The importance of defense when fighting against powerful opponents.
I guess I'll test it out.
Instead of using the Fork I've used for attack, I'll use it for defense!
Okay. I managed to block them somehow.
But sending out such a huge and sturdy Fork
requires a considerable amount of power.
I can't use it in quick succession.
And of course, I can only defend up close with it.
Wait for me, Melk the First!
I'm coming right now!
Good morning!
Good morning Chef Komatsu. Did you sleep well?
Nah. I got so excited yesterday I couldn't really get to sleep.
Were you up all night working?
That was really weighing on my mind.
I've got lots of requests, so I don't have time to sleep.
Yeah. You get all that in one day, huh?
I made soup, want some?
Ah! Sure I'll have some!
Here you are.
Itadakimasu.
It's delicious!
It's an excellent Japanese-style soup that's light, yet deeply rich.
It has a faint taste of sake kasu.
( Sake kasu is the lees left over from sake fermentation. )
This is stock taken from the sake kasu snapping turtle,
Sake Kasnapping Turtle, isn't it?
You never cease to impress.
You figured out the ingredients of the soup stock with just one mouthful.
It's because of your skilled cooking, Melk-san.
I guess if someone has good sense, they're good at whatever they do.
Thank you.
Okay, back to work. I've got lots to do today as well.
Okay!
So the process of making a knife starts with blacksmith work even for you, huh, Melk-san?
No. It originally starts with the supplying of the raw material.
But I can't retrieve materials with high capture levels.
Master did it all on his own.
I'm still quite inexperienced.
The operation of tempering the knife is extremely important.
There's no way you could be inexperienced if you can make a kitchen knife as beautiful as this.
I suppose. Thank you.
Normally whetstones are classified into three categories for sharpening blades,
rough-textured rough stones,
midrange-textured middle stones,
and finely-textured finishing stones.
But there are natural Gradient Whetstones that have a gradation of color.
These serve every role from rough to finishing all in one.
So there's a miraculous whetstone like that which can be found in nature, huh?
Master is the one who mined these, as well.
Th-That sort of thing doesn't matter.
The one who's handling it perfectly is none other than you, Melk-san.
No, I've still got a long way to go.
The first generation's craftsmanship was nothing like this.
But at any rate, do you think Toriko is all right?
Let's believe in him! Toriko-san is strong, so he'll definitely come back!
And he'll bring both the Melk Stardust and Melk the First back with him.
Wh-What is this?
Yeah, just what it looks like. An open air bath.
And it's an onsen.
O-Onsen?!
You can go in, if you like.
Is it okay?
Of course.
Apparently Master dug it when he was young.
It really seems out of place in this rocky mountain environment, doesn't it?
Master sure is amazing.
I-Is that right?
It feels so good...
I've gotta tell Toriko-san about this, too.
But anyhow, Melk-san sure holds the first generation in high regard.
And he's really humble about himself a lot...
Even though he's the world's best sharpener. I wonder why?
The gravity's getting stronger.
My stamina is...
Ti
na
Pa
n
Welcome to the heaping helping of a talk show, Tinapan.
Today's guest is...
IGO employee Johannes-san.
I am Johannes.
What a stiff.
Now for the corner where we expose our guests' souls, the Yes No Quiz Corner!
Please answer with yes or no.
Here's the question. Is your job at the IGO busy?
I cannot answer that.
Huh? Why?
I have an obligation of confidentiality.
Seriously?
He's a heaping helping hard to work with.
Then do you have many hobbies?
I cannot answer that either.
Do you prefer Eastern of Western style food?
Nor can I answer that.
What's your name?
I cannot answer that either.
Just how little are you able to say?!
And wait, you said your name at the beginning!
I give up!
On to the next corner.
Melk tells all. Now the shocking truth is told!
Lend an ear to the screams of a soul!
Hidden Truth!
Melk the First Appears!
Next time will be a heaping helping of fun, too!