Now, Erina and Hisako finally understood what Yuto meant by "the trial."
Amid the constant clanging of pots, pans, and utensils, the two girls barely had a second to rest.
Even though Erina had endured training that involved cooking for dozens—or even over a hundred—people, she still found the current pace strenuous.
There was no other reason for it, the guests in the dining area simply ate far too much!
Yuto had originally worried that Goku would bring more guests on his level.
Judging by the current situation, that fear had only come true halfway.
Among the group, Goku remained the biggest eater.
However, his son and several of his friends were no slouches either.
Although they couldn't compare to Goku himself, their appetites were still far more terrifying than those of ordinary people.
Added together, these big eaters were roughly equivalent to two and a half Gokus.
Yuto had entrusted this heavy task to Erina and Hisako, and it definitely wasn't because he wanted to slack off.
It was to temper the two of them more thoroughly.
After all, the fact that Senzaemon was willing to leave his granddaughter in his care meant the man trusted him.
Naturally, Yuto had to deliver results in return.
Erina and Hisako's movements were no longer as elegant and flawless as before. Both had begun to show traces of panic and impatience.
Their hands were bordering on numb.
The continuous, repetitive motions made the two girls seem almost like machines.
Tohru, meanwhile, kept carrying plates from the kitchen to the dining area.
Her footsteps never stopped for even a moment.
This hardship couldn't be compared to a banquet for a hundred people.
For a large banquet, there was still time to prepare.
But here in this small restaurant, facing Goku and the others—whose stomachs were practically bottomless pits—the pace of cooking was something Erina and Hisako had never experienced.
It was like an abyss of endless reincarnation.
Erina had already lost track of how many vegetables she had chopped.
Right now, all she could think about was getting the dishes finished as fast as possible.
The dazzling elegance and noble bearing she pursued in the past had been shattered in this moment.
Her bright, beautiful blonde hair was soaked with sweat, clinging to her skin.
If Erina was in such a state, Hisako's condition needed no explanation.
Yuto was making sashimi by himself, and he also had to prepare multiple portions.
However, compared to Erina and Hisako, he had it much easier. As he worked, he kept observing the two girls, unable to help feeling a bit emotional.
He had originally thought the two of them would be unable to endure it.
After all, cooking at such high intensity for such a long period of time was grueling.
But to his surprise, Erina and Hisako were both gritting their teeth and holding on.
He couldn't help praising them inwardly.
'As expected of Totsuki's elite students!'
...
Meanwhile, in the dining area, Goku had sat down at the table with his family and friends.
He, his son Gohan, and his friends were devouring plate after plate with terrifying momentum.
Just from the way his son ate, it was obvious they were related by blood.
In stark contrast to their unsightly eating manners were the women Goku had brought along.
His wife, Chi-Chi, looked helpless.
His friend Bulma held her forehead with a bitter smile. Although they had long since grown used to this kind of scene, facing so many strange looks from the other customers in the shop still made Chi-Chi and Bulma feel embarrassed.
The other customers in the restaurant were watching the gluttonous squad led by Goku.
The pressure that had echoed in everyone's hearts earlier had faded.
The clash of auras between Saitama and Goku had indeed made the atmosphere in the shop turn cold for a brief moment, but as time passed, that chill returned to normal.
In the end, it was because this small restaurant already had no shortage of strange and miraculous sights.
Without realizing it, everyone's ability to accept the bizarre had risen considerably.
Only the old customers had changed their understanding of Saitama.
Yukari silently recalled her experience when she first came to the restaurant.
At that time, she had sensed a dangerous, deadly aura.
That aura had vanished in an instant, and back then, she thought it was merely an illusion. Now, she finally understood.
It had not been an illusion.
It had all been because of this man before her, who looked so plain he couldn't possibly seem any more ordinary.
To be honest, Yukari was suspicious of Saitama's true identity. Human? She found that difficult to accept.
Aside from Yukari, people like Tohru harbored similar thoughts.
Yuto's perception of Saitama had also shifted. Last night, he joked about whether Saitama might actually be an extremely powerful expert.
Now, he believed that thought about seventy to eighty percent.
Saitama was far from as ordinary as he appeared on the surface.
"So... cool..." Shoko stared in shock at the world-shaking way Goku and the others ate.
As an ordinary human girl, how could she have ever seen such a sight before?
Even Kaguya, who had been trained by her family to control her emotions in all situations, was shocked.
"I can do that too, you know," Kanna said calmly to Shoko.
Shoko froze. "Eh?"
"Shoko, look." After saying that, Kanna opened her mouth and chomped down on the ceramic plate in front of her.
Shoko was baffled.
After nearly half an hour, the overwhelming momentum of Goku and the others finally began to subside.
In the kitchen, Erina and Hisako were finally able to relax.
The two girls almost collapsed to the floor from the sudden release of tension. Fortunately, Yuto caught them both.
"Rest for a while. You two worked hard."
Yuto's calm, gentle words eased the embarrassment and agitation in Erina's heart.
She was too tired!
For now, she should just rest first.
After such intense exhaustion, all that remained in Erina's heart was relief. She didn't want to think about anything else for the time being.
"Phew! I'm full, I'm full!" Goku shouted in satisfaction and delight.
Beside him, his son happily agreed.
"I originally thought the place Goku recommended would be pretty average. I didn't expect the food to taste this good!" a short bald man said with a smile.
"Hahahaha, right?" Goku laughed as he scratched his head.
He stood up, full of energy, and walked over to Saitama. At that moment, Saitama was looking straight at him.
"Hmph, hmph! Come on!" Goku laughed twice, calling out to Saitama.
Before Saitama could say anything, the shop door opened.
By coincidence, Ainz and Rimuru had arrived as well.
...
The Sixth Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
This was a place established for duels.
In the arena, Saitama and Goku stood apart from each other. On the spectator stand were Ainz, Rimuru, Genos, Krillin, and Piccolo.
The atmosphere among the spectators was even tenser than the atmosphere between the two standing in the center of the arena.
At dawn today, Ainz and Rimuru had already said they wanted to watch Saitama and Goku's fight from the side.
The two of them had happened to arrive at the restaurant just as Saitama and Goku were about to leave.
After some discussion, Ainz suggested they go to his territory.
Ainz had made this proposal partly out of selfish concern for Saitama.
If anything unexpected happened during the sparring match, this place was his home base, so he could still do something about it.
When he made the suggestion, neither Saitama nor Goku had any objections.
At the same time, Genos expressed his desire to go along and observe his sensei's battle from close range.
Krillin and Piccolo did the same; the battle they wanted to watch was Goku's.
After Yuto issued them a pass, the group arrived at this place.
"This is a field Nazarick reinforced for duels. Since it was built precisely for that purpose, I imagine nothing unexpected should happen while they spar here," Ainz said calmly from the spectator stand.
"In other words, this place is really sturdy, right?" Krillin, who was also bald, looked serious and focused.
The person standing beside him, whose skin was green all over, was Piccolo.
"Correct. This place can withstand spells below the Ninth Tier. Unless it is Tenth-Tier Magic or Super-Tier Magic, it should not be damaged." There was a hint of pride in Ainz's words.
Speaking to others about Nazarick's excellence was one of the pleasures of his heart.
'I hope it'll be fine,' Krillin sighed inwardly.
He did not seem to hold high hopes for this place, which made Ainz feel displeased.
"It's starting." Just as Ainz was about to refute him, the tall and silent Piccolo spoke.
His gaze became serious, and his entire body gave off an aura farming vibes.
This shocked both Ainz and Rimuru.
Genos's expression changed even more drastically. His biological detection systems were continuously warning him of how dangerous Piccolo was at this moment.
All the monsters he had faced in the past had never given him a sense of urgency as intense as the one Piccolo gave him now!
....
In the arena, Goku took a deep breath.
The smile that had hung at the corner of his mouth vanished, replaced by a serious expression.
He assumed a stance, one hand forward and one hand back.
The Turtle School.
His front hand was shaped like a claw, while his rear hand clenched into a fist.
His feet were spaced apart, one forward and one back.
"Phew... here I come!" The corner of his mouth lifted. After a light shout, his foot tapped against the ground.
Crack!
The floor that Ainz had just praised as being indestructible against spells below the Ninth Tier instantly split apart.
On the spectator stand, Ainz was shocked.
Opposite him, Saitama wore a serious expression, yet there was a smile on his lips. His hands clenched tight, and he stood with his body turned sideways.
One fist was raised in front of him, his knees bent.
His gaze sharpened.
At this moment, Saitama's entire body radiated an aura that made others instinctively fear him.
Boom!!!
A deafening explosion erupted from the center of the arena.
Countless fragments of shattered stone scattered in every direction with the force of a gale.
Under the wind pressure, those stone shards became like the sharpest blades.
On the spectator stand, Ainz raised a barrier in time and barely blocked the flying fragments.
At this moment, the shock in his heart was beyond description.
At the center of that arena stood his close friend, Saitama!
He was actually this powerful!
The originally broad square arena now had a deep crater sunken into its center. It looked as if it had been struck by some kind of bomb.
And the cause of all this was nothing more than the simplest clash of fists between Goku and Saitama.
"As expected, you're strong!" Feeling the endless stream of power coming from Saitama's fist, Goku was overflowing with excitement.
Opposite him, the corner of Saitama's mouth also rose.
His heart, which had been calm and indifferent, moved at this moment.
A raging flame was beginning to burn.
"Yeah. You too!" Saitama stepped forward. His fist moved with his body, and an indescribable force erupted in a flash.
Goku's expression changed.
His fist turned into a palm, and he grabbed Saitama's fist. His waist twisted, and with the momentum, he threw Saitama over his shoulder.
Having trained in martial arts since childhood, Goku possessed an innate battle instinct.
His race had determined that he would live his entire life for combat.
Saitama's body flew into the air.
Then, his body exerted force, shaking off Goku's grip.
Hiss—
The force Goku had used to throw him transferred through Saitama's feet into the ground.
In a flash, the pit that had already sunken inward collapsed even further like soft yellow mud.
This entire exchange had taken less than one-hundredth of a second.
Both of them moved at godlike speed!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Goku flipped backward and widened the distance between them. There was some dust on his body, but at the corner of his mouth was an excited smile.
"Hah!" He shouted loudly, showing no intention of stopping.
The ground beneath his feet shattered under his step. His figure charged toward Saitama at a speed far surpassing what he had shown before.
His red gi almost turned into an afterimage in the air.
"Come on!" Saitama shouted with a mixture of impatience and excitement.
In the next instant, his figure also vanished into the air.
It was not invisibility.
It was simply that his body's speed had surpassed the limits of what human eyes could observe.
Bang, bang, bang!!!
Countless explosive sounds erupted. Saitama and Goku had made contact!
In that instant, countless fist shadows and leg shadows crossed and collided!
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