Gourmet 345

The Truth About the Project!!
Chapter Info
Volume:	38
Gourmet:	345
Japanese Title:	プロジェクトの真実!!
Story Arc:	ANOTHER Arc
Romanized Title:	Purojekuto no Shinjitsu!!
Total Pages:	19
Year Released:	November 2, 2015
WSJ Issue:	Issue 49-2015
Chapter Chronology
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The Truth About the Project!! is the 345th chapter of the Toriko manga.

Short Summary

Komatsu arrived at the First Kitchen and prepared AIR. A masked woman gave Chako a mask and told him to masquerade as a revived human. Jiji explained the history of ANOTHER, Moon, and the World of Souls.

Long Summary

An unknown female Food Spirit appeared before Komatsu and told that she had been waiting for him. Suddenly she disappeared and Komatsu could once again see the citizens of Giant Shell. Still confused, Komatsu was confronted by one of the masked citizens. The masked old man stepped forward and explained that Komatsu had come to help with the country's project. When asked if Komatsu had undergone the Selection, the old man said that Komatsu had a healthy mind and body. While he and the old man were led to the kitchens, Komatsu was distracted thinking about who the mysterious Food Spirit was and why she seemed familiar.

At the Kitchen of Eternity, a masked woman removed Chako's blindfold and had him put on a mask and get in line for the Red Pot. She shushed Chako when he asked who she was. She instructed him to do anything he was told with confidence. They were caught by another masked citizen but the woman explained that Chako's eyes hadn't adjusted yet. The man led Chako away and asked how many times the boy had been revived and where he had been working. Chako only mumbled about the Red Pot. Behind them the woman silently cheered on Chako when she was struck by a weird sensation.

While they rode up an escalator, Komatsu asked the old man about the specifics of the Selection. According to the old man, citizens are first divided into two groups: those with abnormal spirits, or the mentally handicapped, the lazy, the violent, and the uneducated; and those with abnormal bodies, or the physically handicapped, the weak, and the sensory impaired. Those with abnormal spirits are entered into the Soul Trade and have their souls replaced with superior souls and become the project's chefs. Those souls who are significantly skilled are allowed to open restaurants in Blue Grill, like the Ten-Shell Five, who have been revived dozens of times and have the cumulative skill of thousands of years. Those with abnormal bodies are used as fertilizer for the Full Course or, if their abnormalities are considered minor, are forced into hard labor. The old man compared it to when the country's ancestors were the Nitros' slaves, and Komatsu was reminded about Daruma Hermit's comment about Hex Food World's ancestors.

They arrived at the First Kitchen, which was in charge of reviving and cooking AIR. In his excitement, Komatsu blurted out about his experience with AIR, but their guide doubted Komatsu and wondered if the human's spirit or humor was bad. As he explained, AIR was a phantasmal ingredient that Ika had spent years reviving and that, despite it's ease to prepare compared to the other dishes of Acacia's Full Course, it would take years to cook and wouldn't be something Komatsu could have done. Komatsu was stunned to hear that the other dishes took decades and centuries to cook, and began to realize why the project needed to revive souls. When their guide began to explain how AIR needed to be prepared, Komatsu interrupted him, telling him that it wasn't the true method, and declared that he would finish preparing AIR.

At Soul Hill, Damala Sky XIII asked Jiji about the difference between the Back Channel and the World of Souls. According to Jiji, despite the differences in the flow of time, the two are the same, even Rest Rooms are similar enough. The World of Souls is the deepest Safe Zone, or the Ultimate Safe Zone, and is where ANOTHER first appeared. The flavor in all of the Gourmet World's seas comes from ANOTHER, and seeking that flavor, predators from around the world, the greatest of which was Moon, had rushed to Area 6. Moon swallows everything in its path, even light due to its gravity. To escape the Black Hole Whale, ANOTHER had to surpass the speed of light, and in doing so, it created a warp in space-time, the entrance to the Back Channel, within which time seems to stop. Yuda connected this to his match with Condor Window, who created a Warp Kitchen, and Jiji explained that it and Warp Road are types of Back Channels. Confused, Yuda asked how they were able to travel through the Back Channel while alive if only souls could pass through the Food Spirit Doors. Jiji pointed out that man-made Back Channels are weak distortions of space-time, where time is slowed but not stopped. However, there is a space at time zero, the World of Souls, where time and space have no meaning and only consciousnesses can reach.

Rin asked how humans could create Back Channels, and Asarudy credited the Full Course and had them look out over the Kitchen of Eternity where they were preparing Acacia's Full Course. As Asarudy began explaining the layout, an explosion went off in the First Kitchen. Nono understood what that meant. Komatsu had again successfully prepared AIR at 120% flavor, much to the shock of Asarudy and the other chefs.

Quick Reference

Characters

• Komatsu
• Chako
• Five 10-Shell Cooks (Mentioned)
• Daruma Hermit (Flashback)
• Ika (Mentioned)
• Damala Sky XIII
• Jiji
• Yuda
• Wabutora
• Chiru
• Nono
• Asarudy
• Condor Window
• Acacia (Mentioned)
• Moon (Mentioned)
• Rin
• Gourmet Nobility (Mentioned)
• Takimaru
• Melk the Second
• Kuriboh
• Akimaru
• Match

Beasts

• Appetite Demon
• Nitro (Mentioned)
• Four Beast (Mentioned)
• Black Hole Whale (Mentioned)

Ingredients

• AIR
• Air Fruit
• ANOTHER (Mentioned)

Locations

• Kitchen of Eternity
• Soul Hill
• Back Channel (Mentioned)
• World of Souls (Mentioned)
• Area 6 (Mentioned)
• Black Triangle (Mentioned)
• Grill Stadium (Flashback)
• Food Spirit Doors