Part 3 takes us back to present. It starts with the intrusive narrator who finally has an authentic audio recording of the interview with Pi and informs about the source of the recording. Namely, Mr. Tomohiro Okamoto, of the Maritime Department in the Japanese Ministry of Transport, who is now retired, and his assistance, Mr. Atsuro Chiba, were in California for nonrelated visit, when they heard about the only survivor from Tsimtsun. They immediately headed on a two-day journey to meet the survivor.

     The following chapters represent the audio taken by Mr. Okamoto and Mr. Chiba. They talk in English with Pi and comment among each other in Japanese.

     At the beginning, they represent themselves and ask Pi to tell the whole story. As he tells them everything, they are disappointed and comment in Japanese that this boy obviously finds them fool, by hoaxing them with the story of animals and floating island. They turn to Pi and openly show suspicion about its truthfulness by citing certain details from the story, like floating bananas and killing trees. However, for some details, Pi has a strong proof, while for the others he names famous unsubstantiated theories which were never discarded due to lack of proves. He is not shaken by their mistrust but rather amused. He uses every opportunity to get more food, which he stores below his bed, as if he is still on the lifeboat, making supplies. Finally, Pi decides to tell them the true version of the accident.

     No animals were on the lifeboat. There were a cook from France, a sailor who spoke only Chinese, Pi's mother and Pi himself. After the ship sank, Pi swam hard to reach the boat, his mother held on bananas until she reached the boat, while two members of the crew were already on the boat. Young sailor had his leg broken when he jumped from the ship onto the boat. It was an open fracture and he was unable to walk. Pi's mother and Pi nourished him as much as they could, feeling sorry for his loneliness. On the other hand, the cook was mean and selfish from the start. Although there was plenty of food, he immediately ate most of it, not wanting to share supplies equally or strategically. When sailor's condition got worse, he suggested to cut off his leg so that it does not jeopardize his life. Pi and his mother agreed on that and grabbed the sailor by surprise, while the cook cut the leg. Instead of throwing the leg into water, the cook insisted on keeping it as a bait. His intention became obvious, which outraged Pi's mother so much that she slapped him on the face. The sailor died the following morning and the cook sought another opportunity, to use his skin and flesh both as a food and bait. Pi and his mother were disgusted with the sight. They kept the cook because he had more surviving knowledge and some good ideas. There were days when they even behaved as friends.

     However, the idyll did not last for long, as the cook soon put up a fight, killing Pi's mother right before his eyes. Pi was shocked but did not react right away. Instead, he waited for the next morning to kill him. The cook did not defend himself, as if he was expecting and hoping for that to happen.

     Mr. Chiba and Mr. Okamoto were disgusted with the story, they found it horrible. They immediately noticed that young sailor had the same injury as the zebra from the first version of the story, and that hyena bit off zebra's leg as the cook cut off the sailor's. Pi's mother was represented as the orangutan, while Pi was Richard Parker. It remained unknown who were meerkats, whose teeth were hidden in trees and what was the story all about anyway. However, they did not get the information they came for, to learn how Tsimtsum sank. Pi offered little details about the night in which the ship sank- he was not sure whether or not there were high waves, nor what could have caused the sinking. He accused the crew of taking alcohol, but could not confirm that they were drunk. Mr. Chiba and Mr. Okamoto left Mexico emptyhanded.

     The book ends with the report written by these gentlemen in which they name several possible causes of ship sinking, concluding that the most probable cause were weather conditions. However, it could not be determined from the evidence they have. They also mention Pi as the only survivor, claiming that his story is unlike any other, commending him for courage and endurance.