New Commander-in-Chief

"All right, all right. But if you used that kind of ingredient to challenge me in game meat, I really wouldn’t be able to beat you."

Rindou Kobayashi had also been startled by Xu Yue’s "Holy Light," but after recovering, she still spoke in an unconcerned tone.

She did not seem to think what she had said was anything remarkable.

Yet her words still caused an uproar at the scene!

Xu Yue’s consecutive defeats of several Elite Ten members had already been terrifying enough.

But now, when he reached the second seat of the Elite Ten, they had even skipped the Food Wars! altogether, with her directly admitting she was no match for him!

What overwhelming dominance!

"It doesn’t matter. I can use the ingredients you provide and make the same dish as you. Even if it’s a dish you just developed…"

Having completely absorbed the Culinary Will of the entire Moon Heaven Hall, Xu Yue had no fear of a direct confrontation.

The fused culinary intent of Moon Heaven Hall, the competitive atmosphere left behind by generations of Elite Ten members, and even the resonance that directly connected with the entire World Will.

With such bonuses, what did a "normal" match matter?

Even if Seichiro had been here, Xu Yue would have dared to go head-to-head with him!

"Me…?"

Rindou Kobayashi seemed rather surprised by what Xu Yue had said.

Since she had agreed to the Food Wars!, she would have accepted even if he used that ingredient. At worst, if she lost, she would let him do whatever he wanted.

Yet instead of taking an easy victory, he wanted to face her head-on.

This…

He really was not taking her seriously at all.

In that case…

5-0

Two dishes identical in both appearance and aroma were placed before the judges, but the result completely exceeded Rindou Kobayashi’s expectations.

This was a new dish she had developed in a flash of inspiration after tasting food from countless stalls during the school festival.

It had only just taken shape; she had not even formally made it before!

Yet he had carried out exactly the same steps as she had, perfectly recreating the dish.

Even the speed at which he finished was no different from hers!

Most crucially—

This was not an ordinary recreation. He had fundamentally elevated the dish and defeated her.

He had corrected every flaw in her dish!

After Rindou Kobayashi unwillingly ate Xu Yue’s piece of wild boar meat, even with her considerable resistance, she still stripped in ecstasy and collapsed weakly without suspense.

What was that will of absolute domination, that absolute control over taste?

It felt as if, once she ate this dish, every word and action, even her five senses, would be completely controlled by him.

Whatever he wanted her to do, she would have to do, like a puppet on strings in his hand.

But this feeling, this flavor… it was truly impossible to stop…

Terunori Kuga stood to one side, stunned stupid throughout the entire thing.

Even after losing earlier, he had still felt somewhat unwilling to accept it. Just like when he lost to Tsukasa, despite knowing the gap was enormous, he still wanted to keep challenging him.

But next, he witnessed what it meant to be utterly crushed.

One 5-0 after another appeared, with no one able to stop his momentum.

He bulldozed straight through them, destroying everything in his path!

He was practically a human bulldozer.

Even more outrageously, he had faced every opponent using the very area they excelled in most. That head-on attitude stirred Terunori Kuga deeply, as though the blood throughout his body had begun to boil.

And in the end, he had used a dish completely identical to Rindou Kobayashi’s and still won 5-0. It was simply incomprehensible.

Not just him—everyone in the venue was now in a state of fervor and shock.

Four consecutive 5-0 victories against Elite Ten members, followed by that utterly incomprehensible "copied" dish.

After his string of victories earlier, the audience had already been able to accept that he possessed strength surpassing even the second seat.

But crushing someone with the exact same dish still went beyond imagination.

A first-year had done something like this before, but compared with the two of them now, the gap was simply too vast!

The second seat had just said during the judging that this was a dish born from a flash of inspiration. There was no way he could have scouted it out and copied it beforehand!

This was…

Entirely accomplished on the spot…

Only the people from Polar Star Dormitory had a rather deep understanding of Xu Yue’s talent and abilities.

Yukihira Soma even walked up to Terunori Kuga.

"I told you that you weren’t his match, didn’t I, senpai? For Yue, as long as he has seen a dish being made once, he can learn it on the spot. Calling it the ‘God Eye’ would not be an exaggeration."

"What?! The God Eye?!"

Terunori Kuga cried out in shock, loudly enough for some nearby spectators to hear. Then the news spread from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred.

"Did you hear that? The God Eye."

"I’ve never heard of it."

"No, there were some rumors about him recently. The entire culinary world has been talking about him."

"It has only been a short time, though. Everyone just treated him as a second God Tongue."

"But who would have thought there was also something called the God Eye?"

"…"

Seeing Terunori Kuga’s reaction and hearing the murmuring around them, Yukihira Soma seemed to sigh. His voice carried both nostalgia and complicated feelings.

"Senpai, do you know? The first time he used the God Eye’s ability was less than half a year ago. And the dish he learned was mine."

"W-What did you say? He mastered the God Eye half a year ago?"

Terunori Kuga vaguely sensed something was wrong, but he still voiced what seemed like the more understandable possibility.

"No. It would be more accurate to say that he only began learning cooking half a year ago. At first, even when he could imitate something, he only managed seventy or eighty percent of it. By the training camp, he could use spices and other methods to match, even surpass, the person he was imitating. And now…"

"…he no longer even needs those special methods. He can win through a pure contest of skill alone. So, was I exaggerating when I said that at the Autumn Banquet?"

Yukihira Soma’s expression became that smug chibi face again. He could be said to be the one who had felt it most directly and endured the greatest pressure, but his hot-blooded protagonist personality had kept him from being too greatly affected.

But now that the man had reached the pinnacle, he could no longer suppress the urge to find someone to talk to. There was no reason he alone should bear all this pressure…

And throughout the venue, fervent chants of "Xu Yue" and "God Eye" began to echo…

"Azami! I believe I told you that you were no longer permitted to use the Nakiri surname, nor were you allowed to set foot in Totsuki Academy ever again!"

Senzaemon Nakiri got out of the car. When he saw Nakiri Azami standing outside Erina’s restaurant, his face was filled with severity and anger.

Nakiri Azami looked at Senzaemon Nakiri, and a faint smile appeared on his effeminate face.

"I never expected you to have grown so old. That is why this school has remained so rotten."

"As I recall, at Totsuki, the Elite Ten Council possesses authority equal to that of the commander-in-chief. And with more than half the votes, it can even dismiss the commander-in-chief."

A sense of foreboding immediately rose in Senzaemon Nakiri’s heart, but before he could speak, Nakiri Azami continued.

"Of course, every commander-in-chief throughout history has come from the Nakiri Family. Here is a resolution passed by the Elite Ten Council. I regret to inform you that you have been dismissed…"

Nakiri Azami presented Senzaemon Nakiri with a resolution removing him from office.

Every commander-in-chief throughout history had been chosen by the Nakiri Family. Now, only he and his daughter remained. Given his control over her, the position of commander-in-chief would naturally fall into his hands.

He would become a reformer! He would overthrow this rotten system!

"Lord Azami, the appointment notice for the commander-in-chief has also arrived."

Etsuya Eizan jogged over from nearby, producing another resolution of appointment.

Though he had been removed from his Elite Ten seat, the status and position brought by his strength and capital were still there.

"Very good. Once we remove those disobedient people, there will certainly be a place for you…"

Nakiri Azami looked at Etsuya Eizan with satisfaction. This man suited his tastes well. Though his culinary skill was somewhat lacking, he was not as rigid as traditional chefs.

Next came the announcement—

"…the new commander-in-chief of Totsuki Academy is…"

"Nakiri… Yue…"

_____

Two updates~ If I hadn’t played it safe so well lately, I might have broken my streak today…