"Now then, today's prizes are..." Coco trailed, taking a look at the screen board.

Few ingredients were showed there: Fried Rock, Color Seaweed, Safire Melon, Shark Pig. Most of them who were displayed there weren't illegal, but highly-valued and delicious looking.

"If there aren't any narcotic ingredients, there's no point of gambling here"

"Most likely, they handle the narcotic ingredients in the VIP area" told Match-san. "We have to find it and infiltrate it"

The two Heavenly Kings walked to the fund machines to exchange money with Gourmet Coins. While the VIP area should be your priority, there was some tasty looking ingredients here, and you could practically hear Toriko's stomach.

"I'll put 100 million yen on my Gourmet Credit Card..." said the blue haired man, and immediately a bunch of golden and glowing coins came out of the machine.

"What an enormous amount of coins..." sweated Komatsu.

"It's 10,000 coins, each worth 10,000 yen"

"Isn't that a bit excessive?" Coco inquired while he pressed the buttons to enter the amount he wanted to take out.

"The more playing funds we have, the better, right? Check out this lustrous, glossy, shine. That's a Gourmet Coin for ya" grinned Toriko, eating one of them.

"Ah, can I have one, too?!" asked Komatsu as his partner handed one coin over to him. "...Yum! It's sweet, like high-class chocolate!"

"The higher the denomination, the better they taste!"

"Please don't eat our precious playing funds" sighed your partner, pulling out a single coin. "I'm all right with just getting a one million yen coin"

"A million yen Gourmet Coin?! Lemme just taste it!" pleaded Toriko, drooling profusely as he tried to snatch the coin from Coco's hand.

"That's not happening"

"Just one bite, please?" enriched Komatsu, hands folded together.

"I said no" Coco turned so his back was facing them, sweatdropping at their attempts to get the delicious coin.

"Just let me lick it then" Toriko proposed.

"No"

"Smell it?"

"No!"

You released an exasperated sigh, smiling nervously at your friends. But soon your mind drifted to the song you heard when you first came in here. If you concentrated enough, there was still the lingering distorted sound echoing from every corner of the casino. Toriko and Komatsu went ahead, and chose to play with the game 'Like Number Tree'. The player hits the knot in the middle, and if the three rotating numbers line up the same, the fruit enlarges. The higher it is, the better the taste is. And of course, the more coins you win.

Coco went for the more complex games that mostly used the luck with the mind than in strength. The Mafia opted to find the VIP area instead of gambling. You stood aside, merely observing the various games offered in the casino instead of trying to bet.

"Something that caught your eye?" hummed a voice behind you.

"Ah, noting Coco-sa-WOAH!" you exclaimed, eyes bulged out at the sight of the huge sack the Heavenly King was transporting. "Is that filled with coins?!"

"Yes"

"You're winning like crazy! Is it really okay to do that? It feels like we're just playing around..."

"Just doing this will be fine" Coco secretively glanced at the security cameras you could find randomly around the casino. "What about your headaches? Your electromagnetic waves are...quite frantic"

"Are they? And you know about my headaches? Since when?" your lips parted in confusion.

"The moment we entered this casino, your wavelength has changed drastically. I suppose you're hearing 'songs' from the ingredients, aren't you?"

"A-Ah...I suppose so..."

"You know you can't tell me if something's wrong" Coco frowned. "You're not my partner for nothing"

"...It's the VIP area. I'm sure of that" you finally responded after a short pause. "The ingredients there are used in such...a vile manner! I can't tell what's happening behind the scene, but..."

"Well, the VIP room is our main objective to find the boss. We can access it if we show how well at gambling we are"

The two of you made your way to the gigantic slot machine, Gourmet Casino's famous 100-Face Slot. Only one in the world that we could find here. Coco's eyes wandered to the machine, and you noticed a knowing glint in them.

"Shall we have go to this?" the tall man suggested, and you arched an eyebrow.

"This giant slot machine?" you murmured.

"Yes. 100 faces vertically, 100 faces horizontally. There are 60 types of pictures, rotating at speeds from 100 to 150 meters a second"

"Lining up even three slots sounds hard, but 100?!" you sweated, gazing at the screen where the prizes were displayed. 'The biggest picture goes...at one million?!"

"I could give it a try" spoke Coco as he walked to the platform where you could play the slot game.

"Don't tell me you've been gathering coins at this machine, Coco-san?"

"No. I've just been observing it"

"Oh, a man wants to give a shot!" whispered in excitation an elderly man.

"That man is Heavenly King Coco-sama" gushed an elegant woman.

"It's really Coco-sama! So handsome and tall..." said dreamily another, and you nearly hissed at the two of them.

"You operate it at this table. The upper limit for betting is a 1 million yen coin" continued the Heavenly King as he inserted a Gourmet Coin into the machine. "Now then...Switch on!"

The slot machine went into motion, and you were taken aback by how fast it was. There was no way to tell what's what, even if you could check what the slot pictures are on the monitor. Though, it seems easier for Coco to look at the drums directly, and you remembered about the exceptional vision he had.

Each time he pushed the button, it landed perfectly on the picture he wanted. The piece of meat that multiplied the wager by one million. As you go towards the right, the speed of the drums increases. And the number of pictures with large multipliers decreases. But to Coco, even at this speed, they looked like they were practically standing still.

The crowd that formed behind you cheered loudly when the last column was lined up with the others, creating a perfect match with the 100 Faces. Coco smiled while you gaped in amazement.

"I-Incredible, Coco-san! You did it!" you exclaimed.

Your group actually managed to win a ton of ingredients. A mountain-sized of delicious looking ingredients, like Tina would say. Toriko couldn't help himself anymore, drooling all over the floor as he gazed at the prizes he won. But with that 1 million yen coin Coco gambled, he got one trillion yen's worth of prizes.

"What a massive amount!" shouted excitably Komatsu, bouncing on his two feet as he gazed at the many baskets that contained your ingredients.

"It would seem that lady luck has smiled down on you this evening" told a man dressed in white.

"Thank you. But it wasn't luck, it was skill" Coco replied bluntly, and you sweatdropped at his words.

"He's got that same stinging way of speaking as always..." you murmured.

"Then sir, perhaps you'd like to test your skill on some even more enjoyable games?"

"Enjoyable games, huh...?" your partner's eyes narrowed slightly, and nodded at Match.

"Now then, come right this way..."

"You've hooked them, huh?" mused the Mafia boss as the employee walked away. "This is what you were aiming for, wasn't it? You kept on wining in the general area until they would be at a disadvantage to let you stay. That way, the Gourmet Casino guys would guide you to the high-stakes casino where they'd wring every coin out of you"

"That's the VIP area. You're half right" spoke Coco, earning looks of confusion from the others.

"...What's the other half?" wondered Toriko.

The Gentleman didn't answer right away, and instead followed after the men dressed in the white suit. You were led in a long hallway filled with large cups of fire. Guards were surrounding the area, and the atmosphere a bit gloomy. The closer you were approaching the VIP room, the more painful became your headaches.

"We have taken responsibility for all the ingredients you've won and transported them" assured the employee as he stopped in front of a painting, pressing a hidden button that revealed an entrance. "Right this way. This hallway leads to the exclusive VIP area. Generally, VIP member customers or customers that have played above a certain threshold in on year are allowed to enter. But this is a special exception"

"No surprises there..." you mumbled.

"You're not just letting us into the VIP area because we won a lot, right?" asked Coco.

"Yes. You fulfilled one other qualification needed to get into this area"

"The ingredients we possess, right?"

"Yes, sir"

"Ingredients we possess?" echoed Komatsu.

"In the general area, you bet with coins you exchanged actual money for. But in the VIP area you play the games by betting the ingredients you, yourselves have brought in"

"So that's what you meant by half right?" Match gazed at Coco. "You didn't win just in order to draw attention to yourself. You did it to win ingredients to play in the VIP area"

"Pretty much" grinned your partner at the scarred swordsman.

"In the VIP area, the only thing a customers loses and wins are ingredients"

"So there aren't any games where you bet money, just ingredients? That really sounds like what the VIP room of Gourmet Casino would be" spoke Toriko.

"Well, there is something past the VIP room" stated the employee in a mysterious manner. "Now then, this way"

He pushed the curtains to reveal a bright room, and a man suddenly stumbled in front of you. The stranger was holding a hand over his mouth, his skin turning a blue color as he fell forward.

"He's been poisoned by a Poison-Poison Apple" breathed Coco as you knelt down and took a look at him.

"So some ingredients here are even illegal ones that have deadly poison in them?" Toriko's eyes flickered to his surroundings.

You could find unusual and deadly games there. Players who have to cross a wooden plank above a tank filled with bloodthirsty sharks while the crowd of rich people encouraged them to fall. A game where you needed to slice a watermelon with an axe. Watermelons with teeth.

You watched as men took care of the body of the poisoned man while another gave away an ingredient he was betting on. Your brows furrowed, bullets of sweat rolling down your forehead:

"E-Excuse me..." you earned the attention of your guide. "Do people us their lives as something to bet within the VIP area?"

"No need to worry" he smirked. "Those people participating are all people who've evaded payment on large debts to the casino. On conditions for quickly paying back their debts, they volunteered to particpate in the games"

"But...isn't this a game where you bet ingredients on games...?"

"In the natural world, even humans make great ingredients, don't they?"

This sentence sent chills in your back. Having enough of standing still, you decided to take a look in this new area since there was no turning back. You walked to a stand where a crowd was gathered, three sets of Gamble Berries displayed in front of a player.

"Gamble Berries. Their taste is superb, but one in every ten berries will kill you within five minutes of eating it. They're deadly poisonous berries" told Coco.

"How about it? Would any of you like to place a wager?" inquired a host, leaning closer to your partner. "Or perhaps you would like to take on the challenge of eating them yourself? You"ll make more money than you would betting on someone else...By participating in a game where you risk your life, you can taste even more stimulating thrills and gambles"

"Give it up. I'm not betting on that. The poison wouldn't even work on me"

"Then maybe I'll give it a try" offered Match. "I'll be fine. You saw Coco's gambling strength earlier. In any case, we can trust it. We won plenty of ingredients in the general area, too. We'll entrust all of these ingredients we won to you. So please...bet on me"

"In that case...why don't you bet something even better?"

A large shadow fell over your group, and you slowly turned around to face a giant man that easily towered over you, wearing a red coat and a chef hat of the same color. The Heavenly Kings and the Mafia narrowed their eyes at him, taking a step back as they stances stiffened.

"Let me invite you...to the place beyond the VIP area" the man told creepily, white eyes gazing right through your souls.

"Owner!" exclaimed in surprise the men in the white suits.

"He's strong" hummed Toriko.

"Boss of the Underground Cooking World, Livebearer, huh?" added Coco.

"This person is...?" trembled your friend.

"Yes, welcome. How about we both bet some even tastier things?" Livebearer chuckled.

The Underground VIP Area surpassed the imagery of your worst nightmares. A room filled with tubes, and encased in shapes that looked like brains. The sick feeling from before came back at full force, nearly giving you the need to vomit. Livebearer suddenly stopped, and turned to face all of you:

"Only the most special among the VIP customers are allowed to enter this room. And of course, you all fulfill the criteria" he spoke, chuckling darkly. "Especially Toriko and Coco"

You winced when you heard a sudden a groan, and your gaze traveled to a man sitting in a long chair, wearing a helmet attached to the tubes and a strange machine. He had a blissful expression on, eyes bulged out of their sockets disgustingly.

"I-I can't believe that tastes like this existed in the world..." he trailed, reaching for invisible ingredients standing above him. "So good! So good! ANOTHER SERVING! Bring seconds right away!"

"W-What's going on with him?" stuttered Komatsu.

"Give them back. Give them back" pleaded a frail looking man, gripping and clutching the pants of Livebearer as he fell in front of him. "I'm begging you, give them back. My...My memories of food!"

"You didn't even lose any particularly great memories" retorted the red man with a displeased expression. "Bring us some snacks"

"Yes, sir"

Men wearing the same uniform as Livebearer did (with a duller color of red) caught the old man and brought him out of the room while he screamed to the giant to give him back his Food History.

"I can't believe the rumors were really true. They're probably betting them in the casino. The memories of food they've eaten in the past" said Coco. "A personal food record, their Food History"

"Their Food Histories?" you repeated.

"Just what I'd expect from Heavenly King Coco. You're quite knowledgeable" commented Livebearer.

"When I was in Jidar before today, I was searching for information on a certain ingredient. I happened to hear about it"

"Is that right? You've come to Jidar before, have you? Were you able to find information on that ingredient?" inquired Livebearer.

"No..." Coco shook his head.

"Oh, that's too bad. And what exactly is that ingredient?"

"...Atom. The drink of Bishokushin Acacia's Full Course. It's an ingredient I'm aiming to make a part of my Lifetime Full Course"

"I see. It's quite rare to see information on that ingredient. But you may be able to find a hint in the Underground VIP Area...from someone's memories. Talking about it, there's someone having their memories taken right now. Would you like to see?"

Another man was attached to a different machine, one that extracted his Food History. You could see his memories passing on a screen, coming one after the other. You stared, mouth agape and eyes wide in horror.

"The VIPs eat a great deal of valuable and rare ingredients that are captured by first-class Bishokuya. So they're filled to the brim with delicious memories"

"T-This..." you scowled, now watching as memories of the man's daughter's birthday were also extracted. "Stop it!"

"No point in interfering, young lady" Livebearer stopped you, and Coco put a hand over your shoulder.

"If we interfere now, it would actually just be dangerous. There would be a possibility of destroying his spirit" he said, and you frowned even more deeply.

"Indeed. You see, eating is closely related to people you hold dear and commemorative events. If those memories disappear, the heart could...break down" smirked mischievously the cruel man. "His memories now belong to me"

"This is too horrible!" you cried in outrage.

"Horrible? He tried his luck in a game here at Gourmet Casino, seeking food data, and lost. That's the result of a game. Memories are nothing more than a signal sent to the brain" shrugged Livebearer. "As are tastes. We remove the signal of 'delicious' and load it into a different brain"

"So you're saying that a person can taste something another person originally sensed?" inquired Toriko.

"So that's what that unsavory thing on the back of your head is for" Match pointed out to the large metallic hole that adorned behind his neck.

"There are quite a lot of VIPs that want to get the memories gathered here" Livebearer showed his black teeth. "That's why they bet them in games. Their own memories of food. Memories are a mountain of treasure. Extinct or illegal ingredients that were once popular. If you have the taste data, it is possible to even restore powerful narcotic ingredients of the past"

"You abomination..." growled the Mafia boss, hand gripping his sword.

"Now, now..." cooed Livebearer as his men surrounded your group without much effort. "What do you say? Do you have the courage to lose your delicious memories? C'mon, bet your ingredients and have a match with me!"

"...The Meteor Garlic" stated Toriko, earning a surprised expression from the underground boss. "Do you have that as a prize?"

"I do. The taste data is inside my head, that is" Livebearer answered.

"So is that what it is, old man Ichiryu...That game or whatever where we need to bet our memories, how about we give it a shot?"

"I thought you might say that" he smirked.

"W-We're gonna do it?" Komatsu croaked, gazing in worry at his partner. "Toriko-san, our memories might disappear! Our memories...All of our tasty memories!"

"Oh, if you're going to say you quit now, it's too late. You've already thrown the dice"

You almost lost your balance when the ground under your feet suddenly trembled, and an elevator brought your group down to a lower level of the Underground VIP Area. When you reached the last floor, you were standing in the center of some sort of arena.

There was also a huge screen behind, with several of Livebearer's men all standing there silently.

"Welcome to the Gourmet Tasting Arena" told the boss.

"Gourmet Tasting?"

"It's a simple card game. You know the game of 'concentration', yes? The game we're about to play is food concentration. Pay attention closely, I'm going to go through the rules quite quickly, so listen closely. We'll be using these Gourmet Tasting Cards. The back have numbers and the fronts have an ingredient and a number of points. The one to gather the most points wins"

"If we take this card as an example...Celebabeef is 10 points, you mean?" asked Ram.

"That's right. First we randomly shuffle the cards and place them face down. A player then flips over two cards. If the picture on the two cards don't match, that's an out. The turn then switches to the opponent. If you get the same ingredient picture, that's a hit" continued Livebearer.

"So it's basically the same as concentration" said Coco.

"Here's the big difference. One who has hit a card has to eat the same ingredient as the one shown on the card. If they finish eating it completely, the points written on the cards go to the eater"

"Ooh! You get to eat what's pictured on the cards? This game sounds awesome!" grinned Toriko.

"However, if you can't finish the whole thing...those points go to your opponent's side. And the card-flipping turn also switches to the opponent"

"So even if you match the cards, if you can't finish the ingredient, you can't get points" you frowned. "And they become the opponent's points"

"That's basically it. If you can't finish eating something twice in a row, at that point, you lose. You'll also lose by not matching cards 10 times in a row, thus getting outs, so do be careful" warned darkly Livebearer.

"If this is the same as concentration, then if you guess the cards right and finish eating the food, then you get another turn to draw cards, yes?" demanded Coco.

"Yes, but there's a limit of 3 consecutive turns. If you get hits and finish eating three times, it becomes the opponent's turn for choosing cards. That's a rule to get both players to eat more ingredients"

"I get it. So how many of those ingredients are there in total?"

"There will be 28 types in total"

"What? Is that all?" scoffed Toriko, and Livebearer's smile became even more sinister.

"It would be best if you didn't take this lightly. Because there are also two varieties of joker ingredients among them. Every challenger works very hard to finish eating those. If they are able to do so, they become able to trade any one variety of their cards with one of their opponent's. You also need to make sure to finish eating the ingredient you traded with the opponent"

"Well, to make a long story short, you match cards, eat all the food, and the one who has more points at the end wins, right?" the blue haired male rectified, and Livebearer nodded.

"Now then, shall we decide the card level? Just like how restaurants have a certain number of stars, the cards have levels. The higher the level, the higher the class and rarity of the ingredients. But in exchange, there are more difficult to eat ingredients"

"Well if we're doing this game anyhow, we'd might as well go with the tastier ingredients"

"The level of cards changes depending on the memories you're betting, though. This time we'll undoubtedly be going with the highest level, then. We have several thousand varieties of card sets. Chose one of these and we will use that for our game"

"Hold on" stopped Match. "Can you prove that these aren't cards that would give you an advantage?"

"I cannot prove it. However, I am a chef, as well as Gourmet Casino's owner, and a dealer. Understand? I have my pride as gambler" told the red chef. "I would not do something as low as that. And there would be nothing entertaining about winning through cheating"

"Don't make me laugh" you thought, narrowing your eyes at the man.

"Now, shall we get the game started?"

"Toriko-san, I think this really is too dangerous" Komatsu said again, turning to face his partner. "Our opponent is an expert at this game. The idea of losing the memories of what I ate with you and everyone is...is...something I really don't want!" he finished in tears.

"The past doesn't really matter, does it?" Toriko smiled down at him. "The only thing I'm looking at is the future. Always. And there's no way we're going to lose. Right?"

"T-Toriko-san!" smiled Komatsu with a nod.

"And so...we're counting on you, Coco" Toriko grinned sheepishly, gazing at the fortune teller who deadpanned at him.

"So in the end you're just relying on me? After you said those cool things?" the Heavenly King stared blankly at the other, unamused.

"I'm entrusting our future to you"

"Oh, I really don't mind if all of you participate" said Livebearer.

"Really? Then let me in, too. But not as a player" stated Match. "As the dealer. We're on the Underground Cooking World's turf. Please allow us at least this"

"T-Then I'll cook the ingredients we hit to make them tastier to eat" added quickly Komatsu. "That'll be my job"

"And of course, I'll do the eating of the ingredients Coco guesses" stated Toriko.

"Yes. I'll draw the cards" Coco nodded.

"I-I guess I'll cheer for you all..." you lifted your fist in false enthusiasm, causing the guys to sweatdrop.

"Splendid! Come at me all together!" declared Livebearer.