Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Toriko. Just my own work.

TIA

A Miracle of Skill and Will

Previously on The Inventor's Apprentice,

The boys were asked to standby by Yosaku saying that he needed an abundance of certain ingredients in order to complete the healing and he will tell them when he needs those ingredients. "Now Toriko, we will begin and I will have to do this." Yosaku faced the blue haired hunter and relatively speaking, that blue hair was cut down to a crewcut and the stands into a bowl. Toriko was not happy with his haircut in a hurry. "Sorry about that Toriko but your DNA is needed in order to make an arm because if we just grow one and try to reattach it, your body will just reject the new arm. It has be grown from the very stump."

"Okay but I still think that you went overboard with the haircut." Toriko said while Tsunade was in the background, trying to stop her from laughing. The sight of Toriko who was well known for his wild blue hair looked silly now. Yosaku then took out a seed from his pocket,

"A Revival Seed. It will be the key to all this healing Toriko." That got Tsunade's attention and she watched Yosaku place the seed in the bowl filled with Toriko's hair. "Once it had soaked in the soil of your DNA, it will grow into a flower. We will use the fragile bulb in the very center of the flower. That will allow your arm to grow back again." Tsunade watch with Yosaku and Toriko in suspense.

After a few minutes, the seed did indeed grow into a flower with a center that glowed brightly like the sun. "Now that was quick and not a moment too soon. We will now new to be careful about this seed, just one twitch and it will burst and be ruined. If it happens, we will have to shave you bald." Yosaku said and he shaking grasped the glowing seed into his fingers but before he could approach Toriko's arm stump, Tsunade carefully and swiftly grabbed; and before Yosaku will have sneezed and crushed it. "Sorry about that, carry it on." Yosaku muttered under the glare of Tsunade; it was about as scary as facing that of Lady Setsuno to the reviver.

The blonde Hokage and healer carefully placed the seed closer to Toriko's stump and it went into the bandages can caused it to glow the same color. Toriko was glad that he will at least have some of his hair left and Yosaku wiped the sweat from his hair; that had got to be the worst step if you count that it was the least painful one.

"Now we need the nourishment for the seed. It will eat as much as I heard you do Toriko and that is why it will get dangerous from here and onward." Yosaku said and Toriko was asked to take a dip into a pod that a special fluid that was going to sustain and halt any effects of the Revival Seed according to the head reviver. He went out and take the boys to get some food for Toriko eat and supply half the nutrients to the seed in Toriko's stump.

Meanwhile, Tsunade stayed with Toriko to keep him company. She also listened to Toriko's life story, of all the training in his powers to create a solid knife and fork with only his arms in order to defeat any prey he has his sights on all the way to his hunts with his new best friend, Komatsu the cook. From the Galala Gator to the Rainbow Fruit, from the Puffer Whale to the Jewel Meat, and now from BB Corn to the Century Soup. All these ingredients from the Puffer Whale, Tsunade learned that these ingredients had a secondary purpose; they help enhanced the Gourmet Cells that Toriko and the other Heavenly Kings have in their bodies; once they do, their abilities are strengthen and soon they can use new powers stemming from the original ones and that is what happened Toriko ever since he started the special hunting from his adoptive father who trained him from childhood.

Then Teppei came to keep them both company and he shared that despite being the grandson of the famous retired Gourmet Hunter, Knocking Master Jiro, he preferred to be a reviver and was Yosaku's apprentice. He said that at one point in his life, he saw an uncharacteristic sad face on his grandfather who is usually jolly like a fool. But instead, they had to see one of their favorite hunting grounds turned into a barren wasteland with no life left. Form that moment on, Teppei sworn to instead hunt ingredients to extinction, he will protect them and revive them from extinction.

After hearing about both stories, Tsunade had more respect for both of them; Toriko for his rule of only hunting and killing what he is going to eat and not otherwise and Teppei's desire to protect the animal and plant life from all who seek them only for glory, fame and fortune. Then Yosaku returned with a sack while the boys carried food and piled it on a nearby medicine table. The sight of the many food had gotten Toriko excited and he left the pod only to shock everyone when he lost over half his body weight in an instant; he looked like he was nothing but a twig of a man, about to collapse! Then something had grown from the stump, surprising even Yosaku; he expected that to happen over a year at least.

Tsunade hurried and directed Toriko's staving body to the food and allowed the first piece of it to his mouth in his hand. Then Toriko ate like he was going to die if he stopped and it looked it could happen. The Shinobi were directed to keep the supply of food coming or Toriko will die since the seed was sucking away all the nutrients and energy form the rest of the body.

'Toriko, your Gourmet Cells are nothing to be underestimated. I think that you can actually get his job done before this New Year's Eve party.' Yosaku could only stand around while Toriko struggled to survive the seed's attempts to suck him dry like a vampire. 'I can no longer keep making this low assumptions anymore. I am going to break the rules this time and make sure you get your arm back and not die while you are at it!'

"Whew. I almost died, thanks guys." Toriko muttered as he was placed in the pool again while Tsunade and Teppei where trying to catch their breath. They had just spent a good half day coming and going to get more food for Toriko to eat and prevent him from suddenly dying of starvation. In fact, Naruto was the only one still kicking strong because he naturally has the most stamina in the room, even more than the highly trained humans like his company. The other Shinobi were busy with the rest of the town, three months was like paradise for them.

"No problem Toriko. But I wonder how much food you need to eat before the next stage. We have been at this every day for a couple of months." Naruto said in a concerned tone, worried that Tsunade and Teppei won't have the energy to do this again. And just then, Yosaku came back in with a transparent bag. Inside were some kind of insects.

"Hello guys, Toriko! I got some Medicine Bees right here!" Yosaku shouted until he noticed something in the corner of his eye. Toriko suddenly convulsed and coughed out blood!

"Toriko!"

"Sensei!"

Naruto and Company were shocked to see this and if it were for Yosaku forcing Toriko onto one of the tables, they didn't what to do. "Teppei, use one of your nails to give Toriko antibodies!"

"Yes sir!" Teppei caused one of his green nails to extend, to be long and sharp enough to pierce Toriko's skin. And since he was already in pain, Toriko barely noticed.

"And you boy! Get some blood bugs from over there! Type O!" Yosaku shouted at Naruto and the blonde hurried over to a cabinet with compartments with the labels 'A', 'B', 'AB' and 'O'; all of them used for blood types. And Naruto took out a couple of bugs from the 'O' box. They were Blood Bugs (Chi Mushi), Capture Level 8.

There main bodies are like the shape of ticks that were big enough to match Naruto's thumb. And attached to them a lot like the thread sack on a spider, was a blood sack that was many times the size of the main body. Naruto just took those and cursed the blood sacks over a blood SIV that was shaped a lot like a Venus flytrap.

"And you, use those Medicine Bees where you usually stick needles in patients. You are a doctor right!?" Yosaku was not delaying and Tsunade was able to do something completely comfortable. She took some of the Medicine Bees (Kusuri Bachi), Capture Level 23 from the sack.

The Medicine Bees were indeed like bees but while they have the wings, legs and head of a bee, their main bodies are more like syringes with a curved shape. And on the head was the hat of a stereotypical hospital nurse. And Tsunade used her experience with various points on any human's body that can spread medicine the most effectively. It didn't matter how different Toriko was from regular humans, those points are still there.

And while all this happening, "W-what is…going on?" Toriko said through the pain, like a scared and hurt child.

"Side effects Toriko. The Revival Seed does more than suck the nutrients out of your body, it does a lot more symptoms that cause extreme pain as it grows back your arm." Yosaku said while Naruto and company were moving a lot like hornets around Toriko, making sure that the Gourmet Hunter will pull through. "And here is the kicker, you will need all your will power and concertation through this stage if you want to remain alive. If you so much as relax for a second, your heart will fail and you will be less alive than a doornail."

And with that, Toriko didn't say another word and tried to take it in. "N-no…" But after an hour, he started to mutter. "I-I am not…going to die…Komatsu…is waiting for…me…!" And then Toriko started to lose any voice when his body received another surge of pain and internal torture.

XXXXX

But after a good number of days, it was not to be since Toriko looked worse when the Revival Seed started to suck him dry like a vampire. And it looks like he is not going to make it.

"Master, Toriko is-!"

"Sensei!"

"Dammit! That wasn't enough Medicine Bees!" Yosaku cursed and even with Tsuande's healing Chakra, Toriko is doomed to be killed by his own cells or the 'Gourmet Cells' that Yosaku uttered in frustration. But then,

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Everyone turned to see a face they haven't seen in a few months; Sunny of the Heavenly Kings! "It took a while but I hope this is enough Medicine Bees!" And indeed, Sunny's bag had many more of the Medicine Bees than Yosaku.

"That is plenty now hurry over here!" Yosaku shouted and Sunny hurried with 'grace' and 'elegance', two things that weren't not on anyone else's mind. And yet, it worked and Toriko then felt something on his left side that he had spent a few months adjusting to.

Looking down, he saw it which shocked everyone present. Toriko's left arm was back! And it looked like it was never lost!

"Sensei!"
"Toriko, your arm!"

XXXXX

Later, back at the Mother Wood. It was later in the day that Toriko took himself and his company to the restaurant where Komatsu was working. And Sunny didn't feel like going, he said that he had some kind of business with Yosaku and the real reason he was in the Country of Life was still unfulfilled. And Tsunade wanted to study more of the archives within the Country of Life herself since she was busy tending to Toriko.

And now, Sunny was on the ground heavily bruised while Yosaku was standing above. Yet, that doctor also had bruises and cuts. Yosaku just laughed at it all, "What do you! You actually made me bleed Sunny!" Yosaku said, "But that won't prove that you are ready for the Gourmet World! You'll need to match me or better if you will think you can journey there!"

"Right." Sunny muttered, so hurt that he couldn't move from the floor. And the wood wasn't comfortable at all. "I guess that I need more training. But I will find it, find EARTH." Sunny said and Yosaku laughed again.

"That is enough out of you two." Both Sunny and Yosaku stiffed to hear that stern voice. And saw that Tsunade was not the least bit happy at the display. "If you are going to fight here in the Mother Wood then take it outside. I don't need you roughhousing and wrecking my tools and medicine supplies."

"Right. Sorry." Sunny and Yosaku said in unison. They all had their reasons not to argue or retort. It was that they saw Tsunade's infamous temper followed by her equally infamous strength. That was enough to make Sunny afraid of her and it reminded Yosaku of the times that he got Lady Setsuno angry; enough to make him somewhat of a hypocritical in order to save face, ironic isn't it.

"Hey guys!" Those were familiar voices and when the door opened, Sunny say a trio of monsters. Or at least, Toriko, Komatsu and Naruto having similar vulgar faces!

"What the hell! What is with those hideous expressions!?" Sunny somehow got out from the floor and was absolutely outraged and disgusted by the sight at the very first glance.

"Look guys~!" Naruto said in a creepy cheery voice that came with the new expression. "Sunny is all dirty~!"

"Look at those cuts and bruises~! Sunny has played in the dirt again~!" Toriko matched Naruto perfectly which made Sunny even more outraged.

"Yeah, they don't suit you well at all~! Sunny, that is not very beautiful or elegant~!" Komastsu said which was the final straw broke on the camel's back. For Sunny of course.

"And you three are neither! You make me puke so scram!" Sunny retorted with a whim but they won't budge.

"Don't be a spoil-sport~!" Komatsu said, "It is the Century Soup~!"

"Come on and enjoy it~! It is the best~!" Toriko shouted to Yosaku and Tsunade. The former wanted it so bad that he ran like it was the last one on sale. And Tsunade shrugged before trying it too. And they both couldn't stop their faces from matching the trio. And they roared in absolute delight.

'At least the aurora of the soup is beautiful, which I could say about their stupid faces.' Sunny thought to himself which pretty much ended the race for Toriko's arm and Komatsu's soup.

End of Chapter 13.

*Tell me what you think!*