Hearing such an unexpected goal from Tsuna made Korosensei slightly flustered.
However...
However, his expression quickly shifted to one of excitement, his bulbous head turning pink with enthusiasm.
"Kekeke..."
With a lewd grin, he eagerly told Tsuna about his collection, convinced that Tsuna was a man of culture like himself.
Tsuna chuckled, expressing disinterest in Korosensei's collection, which slightly saddened the yellow octopus.
"Then, about the remaining servings you have..."
Nonetheless, he went on to order the remaining servings.
However, when the bill arrived, Korosensei was shocked to find it amounted to a whopping 20,000 yen.
"Wait, the total comes to a whopping 20,000 yen!?"
He exclaimed incredulously.
"Yeah, why? You think it's not worth the price?"
"It's worth the price but... I... umm, you know..." Korosensei's expression and tentacles seemed to deflate as he panickedly searched his pouch, only to realize he didn't have enough money.
Tsuna furrowed his eyebrows, contemplating whether to ask Korosensei to wash dishes or work for free in his restaurant to pay off the hefty bill.
However...
Before he could say anything, a man with spiky black hair and piercing dark eyes entered the restaurant.
He cast a glance at the panicked Korosensei with an expression of relief and muttered, "Thank god he's here..."
He had received a report saying that the yellow octopus had disappeared from their surveillance, causing their whole department across the country to be panicking.
Thankfully, their security cameras had picked up his presence near a small restaurant.
He was instructed to verify the sighting personally, so he pulled out his communication device and informed his team, "I've found him..."
As the guy entered the restaurant, Tsuna turned to look at the man who immediately approached him.
"Young man, where's the owner of the restaurant?"
With a confused tilt of his head, he watched as the man greeted him unexpectedly.
"...I am the owner of the restaurant."
"Huh?"
Karasuma blinked in surprise as he looked at the teenager before him.
Nodding in understanding, he introduced himself, "I see. My name is Tadaomi Karasuma. I'm here on behalf of the Ministry of Defense."
"This yellow octopus here is a national secret..."
He went on to explain the confidential nature of the creature in front of them and cautioned Tsuna against divulging any information to the public.
"Please sign this agreement over here..."
Karasuma then presented a non-disclosure agreement for Tsuna to sign, emphasizing the importance of discretion.
"..."
Tsuna glanced at the octopus, who was rummaging through his empty pouch. Turning to Karasuma, he sighed before speaking. "I'll sign it, but..."
Karasuma's expression tightened as he thought Tsuna was about to make things hard for him.
Tsuna continued, "You'll need to cover his meal first. Looks like he's short on cash."
"Huh?"
Karasuma's gaze shifted to the yellow octopus, who appeared somewhat bashful with his cheeks flushed.
He sighed, then turned back to Tsuna.
"Alright, how much was it?"
"It's about 20,000 yen."
"...How much?"
Karasuma blinked incredulously, needing clarification.
"20,000 yen."
"..."
Karasuma found himself at a loss for words, unsure of what to make of the situation.
He speechlessly look at the yellow octopus as he considered the guy to have been scammed by Tsuna.
"This guy blew up the moon and yet he's getting scammed by a cook in a small restaurant... I guess life works in mysterious ways," Karasuma muttered to himself, shaking his head as he reached for his wallet.
Before long...
Korosensei chuckled as they strolled out of the restaurant together.
"Ho ho ho! I didn't realize a government worker had such deep pockets. I appreciate it," he remarked with a teasing tone.
"Who said I paid for you? Consider it a loan, and you'll have to pay me back," Karasuma retorted, tucking his wallet away.
With only 20,000 Yen left in his wallet for the entire month, Karasuma grimaced at the thought of scrimping and saving for the next few weeks. Being a government agent didn't come with a hefty paycheck, and he was already feeling the pinch.
"Ehhh!? You swindled me!"
"..."
Karasuma remained silent, contemplating the exorbitant price they had just paid for a simple meal.
He wanted to point out that they were both being taken advantage of by Tsuna, as there was no way a plate of fried rice should cost that much.
However, he decided it wasn't worth arguing over anymore, and the two of them quietly left the alley.
"Should I threaten the government to give me a hefty paycheck?"
Korosensei silently thought as his smile seemed to look even wider, which made Karasuma frown.
Unbeknownst to Karasuma, the yellow octopus was already plotting his next move, scheming to find a way to indulge in Tsuna's fried rice on a daily basis.
Tsuna couldn't care less about all of that. He decided that he would go out online to see if anything was different than his previous earth before he went to bed.
The school starts in a few weeks, so he had time to get slightly fitter since the previous Tsuna didn't work out at all and left him feeling tired just to even use his basic knife work the whole day.
However, he was surprised as the next day, he was greeted with an unexpected mission...
[Mission: Receive Approval for Your Cooking from Any Characters in the One Punch Man World!]
[Reward : Medium Level of Earth Bending and a Round Trip Ticket to the One Punch Man World!]
[Description: Achieve medium proficiency in Earthbending from the Avatar universe without any issues of differing origins, and receive a round trip pass allowing you to stay in the One Punch Man world!]
[Accept? Y/N]
"...What?"
Tsuna stared at the floating screen in his vision, blinking in surprise. He thought he had enough mysteries to solve in his current situation, yet he was faced with even more.
"Hmm, cooking in a different world, huh?"
He scratched his head, pondering.
He had even traveled the world to try and improve his skills as a cook, though it was mostly because he was being hunted.
But it was true that he enjoyed his cooking journey.
"And I need to try out that earth bending I received a while ago, isn't this a perfect chance?"
Not only that, but the prospect of trying out new things in a different world excited him.
"Sure then, let's see what kind of adventure I'd be in..."
He immediately accepted, and a light beam enveloped him.
In the blink of an eye, he suddenly arrived in an unknown room that looked quite like his restaurant.
"Kyaaa!"
"Run!"
The sudden commotion outside jolted Tsuna, prompting him to rush out to see what was happening. A deafening explosion rocked the area as he emerged onto the street, sending shockwaves through the air.
BOOM!
A military helicopter careened downward, crashing into a nearby building with a thunderous impact.
Crackle... crackle...
The resulting explosion sent flames and debris flying in all directions, filling the air with chaos and panic.
"Whoa, another one appeared? I thought I killed one yesterday. What's going on?"
A slightly surprised voice was heard as Tsuna turned to look at a man who wore a blue tracksuit in front of him.
Coincidentally, the man seemed to notice Tsuna's presence as both of them looked at each other.
The man asked, "Hey, you should run away. It's dangerous here..."
"...What about you?"
"Me? Don't worry about me. I'm a guy who's a hero for fun. I can do this all day."
"..."
Tsuna fell silent as he looked at the guy's hair, which was still intact, leaving him slightly confused.