Chapter 57 First Bout Part 2
"And now! It's finally begun! The Regiment de Cuisine!" Urara announces. "Now then, all eyes are on this first bout! The rebel side has sent out Megishima Totsuke, Isshiki Satoshi, and Yukihira Soma! Which camp will grasp the coveted seats of the Elite 10 council?! It's anybody's guess! The time limit is 2 hours!"
While she is announcing, Isshiki smiles and says, "There really is something special about Soma-kun."
"Isshiki senpai! Hurry up and start cooking already!" Yuki yells.
"At any rate, Yukhira...what the hell did he mean when he said he was gonna make "Instant Yakisoba"? Did he forget that his opponent is a super top-class soba artisan?" Daigo says with concern.
Kinokuni glances at Soma, and she thinks, "Isshiki, it seems you've really been keeping an eye on the Phantom, but given the theme of this card is "Soba"...I want to say that I have confidence in it, but the last time..."
They notice that Nene carefully stirs the soba using her four fingers and thumb mutually. Due to the movement of her thumb, a smooth momentum can be built up in the mixture within the wooden bowl. As her four fingers gradually knead the buckwheat flour, it steadily grows larger. The extreme gentleness with which the buckwheat flour is handled enables the grainy particles to meld together with the water. Once the grains have been rolled into roughly the size of a broad bean, she kneads the buckwheat flour into one.
"Amazing, she's not making even a single wasted movement..." The students are exclaiming in shock.
"You can tell that soba is taking on a sticker and bulker consistency by the second." Hayama says.
"It's hard to believe that she's managing to do all this within those slender arms...what insane power..." Ryo adds.
"Her secret lies in her lower body. She's able to produce all that power by transferring every last drop of the energy created by bracing her legs and hips straight to the soba." Erina says.
And much to everyone's surprise, Soma is doing the same thing as everyone watches with surprise. Nene says, "I have heard from my father that there is a boy who came to our family to try learn noodles, and he learned it within a month. That boy was you, right?"
Soma says, "I must say your father is really strict when it comes to soba. But it is thanks to the harsh training that I manage to learn all of this."
Everyone is surprised to learn that Soma has been training under Kinokuni family, as Soma goes into the flashback.
(Flashback)
"Saiba-san, so you want your son to learn the Kinokuni-style Soba, are you serious about that?" Kinokuni Nene's father asks after seeing the boy.
"Yeah, I want him to learn anything before enrolling him into Totsuki." Joichiro says.
"Very well, but I won't tolerate any mess-ups from him." Nene's father says in a stern tone.
Soma says with determination, "I won't."
And after days of training, the man is surprised to see how Soma manages to make it with ease, it reminds him of a boy from the Isshiki Family. After a month is over, the man says, "Kid, I have taught you everything about Soba. Now you have that technique, I hope you make it into good use."
"Thank you, Master Kinokuni." Soma bows as he leaves with his father.
(Flashback Ends)
"Instant Yakisoba...is it?" Soma's thoughts are stopped after hearing Nene's words.
"What's the matter, senpai?" Soma asks.
"Yukihira Soma-kun, as the Phantom, you were able to continue winning up until now by weaponizing your instantaneous creativity and unorthodox ideas, and maybe a few novel bluffs thrown in here and there. But those methods will get you absolutely nowhere in this battle. Carefully accumulated experience and knowledge of the rich history of soba alone are what allow its true deliciousness to be drawn out. You may be able to learn from my family in the past, but you lack that experience for years. If you think you can even hope to match me with soba, you are sorely mistaken!"
Soma says, still in a cool tone, "Then what about that one time I managed to beat you with the soba? I don't want to brag, but if you want to taunt me, maybe you should try a different approach. After all, Soba is not what I specialize in."
(Flashback)
"Now then, Soma. How do you plan on winning against the Elite 10?" Joichiro asks while Soma and he are in training.
"It is simple, no matter what theme they throw at me, I'll use my skills to defeat them. I learn about every one of their skills and I intend to use that knowledge to my advantage."
"But even so, the Elite 10 you're about to clash with have all mastered a certain art of cooking to the absolute pinnacle of perfection. You'll surely find yourself in a fierce battle that can't be overcome even if you use all of the skills as a Phantom. But just so you know, you also have one specific area that you've accumulated lots of experience in that won't lose to the likes of them, don't you?" Joichiro asks.
"What do you mean by that, Dad?" Soma asks.
"I'm talking about your experience as a diner cook." Joichiro adds.
(Flashback Ends)
"But still, I appreciate the warning, Kinokuni-senpai. But you see, all I'm going to do is make my Soba with my own style." Soma says as he continues to knead the dough.
Everyone is confused as to what Soma is thinking, Erina says, "It is simple, Sou-kun is quietly awaiting his chance to seize the victory. Not at all...he hasn't thrown the match away, not in the slightest."
Nene also notices that the ratio of Soma's flour is using 2:8, which is different from hers, which uses 1:9. But still, she also thinks that Soma is right at her back in this race, but she is not going to lose the race after all.
At the same time, Isshiki is watching Soma's work, as he says, "Very nice and calm and composed, Soma-kun."
"Isshiki senpai, aren't you going to cook?" Soma asks.
"Don't worry about me, I'm just waiting for a charcoal fire to start up. Besides, encouraging the other members is also a part of Teamwork." Isshiki says. "It really brings me back to the times we spent doing extra training under the moonlight, and of the youthful days living at the Polar Star Dorm."
"Isshiki! I've had enough of your inattentive attitude!" Julio is enraged as he yells at his opponent. "Cuisine is not limited to the presentation on top of the table, every act we make during the entire cooking process...all of that put together is a work of fine art! Meaning that we, too, are a piece of that work of art! Now come and face me! Let's together become a single work of art! I know that the two of us can do it!"
Isshiki sighs and says, "Um...my bad, but, what's your name again?"
Julio pales, and Soma says, "You forgot, he was the one who fought against you back in the Autumn Elections, and also a chef specializes in Italian cuisine."
Eishi looks at Julio's face and says, "Oh my, he looks absolutely crestfallen, will he be alright? Though I completely sympathize, if that happened to me, I'd probably faint and then I'd become a recluse for another 3 days...I wouldn't be able to handle it."
"I don't think you have to worry about that happening to you, Tsukasa." Momo says.
"Isshiki! I'm disappointed in you! You can't even remember the name of your own classmate?" Rindo yells.
"Ah! Rindo-senpai! You look great with your hair tied up." Isshiki says.
"Oh, you think so?" Rindo smiles while flustered, but Julio yells, "Please don't change the conversation topic! Fine, then, I'll just have to use this match to burn my existence into your memory!"
"That's right. We can't just worry about Yukihira the whole time." Daigo adds.
"We have to cheer on Isshiki-senpai and Megishima-senpai too!" Yuki says.
"I remember that the theme ingredient of Isshiki-senpai is Eel...and Megishima-senpai's Scallion..." Ryoko says as they see how Megishima is doing.
Shoko is stir-frying the scallions with garlic as she is going to make the rice for the Sous vide chicken breast, she looks at her opponent and says, "Even though my opponent is a senior, I am not going to hold back when it is against a ramen master. Ramen consists of a lot of fat and carbs as expected for most noodle dishes. This means that it offers a high potential for weight gain as it is very dense in calories. My dish won't lose to the likes like that."
"Is that so?" Megishima says. "Is that what you think about Ramen, then prepare to taste the unoriginal ramen that I'm going to make."
Just then, Megishima starts to cut the scallion, and Alice says, "That sure is a nice cutting technique that he had there."
"As expected from the former third seat?" Hisako adds. "But what is he making with that much scallion?"
"Scallion is one of the toppings in ramen, along with broiled pork, eggs, perilla, and so on." Erina says. "Some places will stir fry the scallion first before placing it, while others just put the scallion into the ramen, which keeps the flavor of the scallion."
"And it looks like Megishima-san is now grilling something...is that broiled pork?" Shoji asks.
"No, the pattern on the meat is not like that of pork...I am not sure what it is..." Ikumi says.
Soma smiles and says, "As expected from Megishima senpai...looks like you are going to go with the teachings from Shizuka senpai."
"Shizuka senpai? You mean the Vegetarian master?" The Polar Star Dorm is surprised, and Hisako asks, "Wait, does that mean Megishima-senpai is going for a Vegetarian Ramen this whole time?"
"Vegetarian Ramen is not impossible." Erina says, "But it is also hard to make, considering that most of the broths are made from meat such as chicken or pork bones."
Megumi says, "But Soma-kun's father has proved us that it is possible, and so does Shizuka Senpai."
Takumi says, "So it will be a vegetarian food versus healthy food...I must say that Megishima-senpai really wants to win the match as well."
"That Megishima is learning from chefs other than ramen...that is something very unexpected." Saito says.
"But then again, if they manage to acquire him to the rebel's team, that means he is here for the win without a doubt." Eishi adds.
"Though I can't believe that Megishima, who hates Shokugeki, will go this far for this." Rindo sighs. "But then again, if it is from the Phantom's request, then it won't be a doubt that he will accept it."
Azami is watching the whole Shokugeki as he sighs, he says, "This sure is getting very interesting."
And here is a new chapter, in the anime, there are no duels with Shoko against Meghisima, and we don't know why Megishima wins the match, so I am trying to write it for the sake of this story, and Soma also reveals his past learning the Kinokuni-style Soba, but yet he is going to make a different version, and will he be able to win against Kinokuni Nene? I hope you like this chapter.