The god seemed somewhat embarrassed and enraged, withdrawing its hand.
This time, instead of gently closing its hands, it moved swiftly, like swatting a mosquito, bringing both palms together rapidly.
The average flight speed of a mosquito is 0.81 meters per second, while the instantaneous speed of a human hand swatting can reach 5-8 meters per second.
When the size comparison between a human and a mosquito was scaled up to Setsuna and the god, the disparity became even more pronounced.
Setsuna didn't even have time to dodge before being squarely smacked by the god's palm.
However, nothing happened.
The god's palm was simply too vast. After the two palms closed together, the gaps between the palm lines were like huge canyons to Setsuna.
Even just standing there, he felt no pressure at all.
"Just as I thought," Setsuna sighed softly.
Once he realized that these gods didn't seem to know how to utilize energy, Setsuna calmed down.
Just as it's nearly impossible for a human to swat a bacterium, being small has its advantages.
Setsuna began to counterattack, weaving through the seemingly impenetrable swatting attacks, even darting along the god's finger joints and rushing towards its face.
Along the way, he launched continuous assaults. Silver-gray fist forces, finger winds, and energy blades rained down upon the god's body like a storm.
Although the damage caused by each strike was minuscule relative to the god's entire being, the persistent, mosquito-bite-like sting clearly annoyed the god even more.
The battle descended into a strange stalemate.
The two were like an ordinary human and a super-powered flea.
The super-flea could injure the human, but the wounds were extremely minor.
In fact, the god's own self-inflicted injuries from swatting at Setsuna were far greater than the damage Setsuna caused.
…
Earth.
Protected firmly by Ichiryu's [Minority World], it was like an isolated island in a raging storm.
Outside the barrier were energy storms capable of tearing apart galaxies and the occasional partial limb of the god, blotting out the sky as it swept past.
Everyone was utterly shocked. The scale of this battle had completely surpassed their understanding.
They couldn't even intuitively grasp what the enemy was, only able to glimpse fragments of that terrifying existence through the giant palm shadows, like toppling galaxies, that occasionally appeared at the barrier's edge.
"Can we really be of any help?" Sunny's face was pale, not from fear, but from powerlessness.
His hair locks could bind the Beast Kings of the Gourmet World, but against an enemy of that scale, they weren't even dust.
"Trust Setsuna," Ichiryu said, maintaining the barrier, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. "What we can do is fulfill our mission… cook this 'star dumpling' to perfection, striving to enable Setsuna's Gourmet Cells to achieve their ultimate evolution!"
The others nodded silently, suppressing their shock and powerlessness, pouring all their energy into the cooking.
Komatsu, as the head chef, assisted by Granny Setsuno and other master chefs, continuously cooked the star dumpling.
This was a 'kitchen war' against time.
Meanwhile, the battle in the cosmic sea had reached a fever pitch.
In a normal state, Setsuna could fight until the end of the universe.
But he was maintaining a transformation 500 times his base power, which was extremely draining.
Fortunately, his body had released its limiters, allowing him to grow continuously during battle.
Furthermore, after entering Toriko's body and interacting with White Demon, Setsuna had gained a deeper understanding of the essence of 'eating'.
He began to try integrating White Demon's dominant philosophy, that 'everything can be eaten', into his own combat system.
During the battle, he continuously 'devoured' the god's power, like a flea that, while biting a giant, also continuously drank its blood.
And with each bite, its mouthparts grew sharper, and the amount of blood it sucked increased.
This protracted battle lasted for three years.
Finally, at some point in the third year.
At the center of the barrier, the 'star dumpling', containing immeasurable energy, was finally cooked to perfection.
An aroma that transcended the concept of 'deliciousness' and reached the very source of life erupted.
This fragrance swept through the barrier like the Big Bang, penetrating it, spreading across Earth, and even faintly reaching into the starry sky.
"It's done!" Komatsu shouted excitedly, nearly collapsing from exhaustion.
The moment this fragrance spread…
On Earth, everyone with Gourmet Cells, regardless of strength or location, felt the transformation within them.
Just by smelling this aroma, their Gourmet Cells underwent evolution.
Toriko shouted towards the starry sky: "Set… su… na…"
Setsuna, locked in the fierce battle in the starry sea, perceived it.
He blurred, directly abandoning the god, teleporting back to Earth, appearing before the aromatic star dumpling.
Without ceremony, Setsuna opened his mouth and inhaled sharply.
The final product, over a hundred meters in diameter, turned into an energy torrent that flowed into Setsuna's mouth.
This ultimate flavor triggered the ultimate evolution of his Gourmet Cells, which had already become conceptual entities.
An indescribably immense, terrifying energy instantly erupted within Setsuna's body.
Consider that NEO had devoured millions of life-bearing planets.
Such immense energy was simply unimaginable. A berserk torrent of energy overflowed from Setsuna's body surface, scorching and distorting the surrounding space.
"Endless power..." Setsuna's eyes literally glowed in the physical sense.
Although his combat prowess was astonishing before, in terms of pure energy accumulation, he couldn't compare to those ancient gods who measured their existence in light-years and had lived for countless eons. He could only compensate with higher realm and technique.
Now, that gap had been significantly filled.
When Setsuna reappeared on the starry battlefield, the gods soon sensed a difference.
If he was previously an annoying 'super-flea' in the gods' eyes,
Now, he had become a 'super-rat' capable of truly injuring them.
Especially since this rat possessed the bizarre ability to continuously devour their power.
Before, it could only nibble at the epidermis. Now, it could probably directly tear into flesh and blood.
The gods dared not take him lightly. After a brief discussion, they voluntarily departed from this starry region.
They had come only to feed... there was no need to injure themselves over some food.
Setsuna stood firm in the starry sky, but sighed inwardly, 'I'm still not strong enough.'
He had given it his all, only managing to make those gods wary enough to retreat.
Setsuna shook his head slightly, thinking to himself, 'If only I could master Beerus's Hakai ability.'
The authority of [Hakai] is unrelated to the amount of energy or size. It is a conceptual erasure that acts directly on the existence of the thing itself.
Even those galactic-level lifeforms would most likely be unable to immunize against such an instant-death ability.
Setsuna suppressed the berserk aura around him, blurred, and returned to Earth.
The barrier had been removed. Sunlight once again bathed the earth.
Amidst everyone's expectant gazes, Setsuna smiled and said, "Everyone, the crisis is over. Let's enjoy the fruits of victory together."
Although he had devoured most of the 'main course', given everyone's strength, even the small remaining portion of the star dumpling could potentially burst them.