As the gong sounded, Daniel began by taking out various items he had brought in a box and a cooler, keeping a couple other things in the cooler for later. He then mixed cornmeal with a few other ingredients to make a batter as he turned on one of the burners on the stove and placed a griddle on it to heat the bottom. As the pan was heating up, he chopped up some onions and placed them in a pickling liquid to create some pickled onions. Once the pan was hot enough, he poured the batter to create several discs, at which point he revealed that he was making arepas to use as the bun for his burger – an idea that intrigued the judges.

As Daniel was cutting up some New Mexico green chiles into strips and making guacamole using avocados, tomatoes, onions, and lime juice, Mimasaka mockingly called for Daniel to look over. When Daniel turned towards Mimasaka's workstation, he saw, to his surprise and the horror of his friends watching from the stands, that Mimasaka had the exact same ingredients lined up at his station. One difference Daniel noted, however, was that Mimasaka was pickling a mix of not just chopped onions, but also chopped jalapeños. In addition, he was making the same guacamole, cutting up the same green chiles, and even making the same arepas as Daniel was.

"Usually, when my opponent knows of my tracing ability," he began, "they either bluff until the last minute, or come into the challenge with nothing in their heads. I must say, you came up with an unusual and clever idea to get your friends to help you and divert my attention. However, it wasn't enough – I've been at this too long and I figured you might come up with an idea like that to combat my tracing." He then began to chuckle as he stated further, "Now here's my twist that will make my dish superior to yours. Instead of the regular pork you got from your meat-loving friend, I have this!" He then dramatically took out some meat from his own cooler and revealed it to be Kurobuta pork – considered the pork equivalent of wagyu beef.

Mimasaka continued to chuckle as he explained, "This pork will make my patty so flavorful and so delectable that it will overwhelm anything you could create using your pathetic pork. In addition, I'm using the green chiles as well as adding pickled jalapeños to the mix to give enough heat to counterbalance the richness of the pork and guacamole." He then pulled out some cheese from his cooler, which he explained was Oaxaca cheese. "It's a very mild cheese that won't overpower the other flavors in the burger, but provides a gooeyness that any burger lover can appreciate." As he was cooking the patty, Mimasaka turned to Daniel and gave another taunt. "My pork patty can basically speak for itself, meaning I only need salt and pepper to make it sing, unlike you who needs extra spices for yours."

As Daniel observed Mimasaka assembling his burgers for the judges, he took note of what Mimasaka had used – or more accurately, what he hadn't used – to make his burger. He then smiled internally. Although Mimasaka had been more successful than he anticipated with his so-called 'perfect trace,' Daniel had still succeeded in at least partially thwarting him – enough so that Daniel still felt good about his chances of winning the battle.

Mimasaka then presented his burger to the judges – a Kurobuta pork patty with homemade guacamole and the pickled onion and jalapeño mix underneath, with charred New Mexico green chile strips on top of the patty, covered by a layer of Oaxaca cheese, all tucked into an arepa, which was crispy on the outside and fluffy soft on the inside. The judges marveled at the creation, noting at how moist and tender the meat was while retaining its construction. The heat was enough to wake up their palates, and the cheese was gooey. Finally, the texture contrasts with the arepa made for a delightful and exciting bite, with the pork serving as a delicious front and center. It was enough to cause Senzaemon to strip his top and bare his chest, as was his signature when tasting something delicious.

As Daniel's friends looked on with fear in their eyes (except for Soma) at the potential of seeing Daniel lose his spot in the Autumn Elections main tournament, Mimasaka began to laugh out loud as he shouted to Daniel, "Face it – your so-called genius mind wasn't enough! Your so-called lucky coin wasn't enough! You're finished! You're nothing but a pathetic wannabe chef who relied on his friends to get him to where he was! I've exposed you for the fake that you are, and now you have nowhere to run or hide! Let this day be seared into your mind! I want the humiliation you suffer here to last for a very long time!"

As Mimasaka continued to laugh maniacally, Daniel just grinned as he turned to face him and said, "You know, you should really watch more spy movies." Mimasaka then stopped laughing as he looked at Daniel with a confused look. He then asked, "Huh? Why would you say that?" Daniel replied, "Because then you would know not to start gloating just when you think you've won." Mimasaka's face became even more confused as he asked, "What are you talking about?"

Daniel then gave a big smile as he stated, "I have to say, I'm impressed that you were able to correctly figure out pretty much my entire recipe, despite all the efforts I took to prevent that from happening. I'll give you credit, you're good at what you do." His face then gave a slight hint of evil pleasure as he continued, "However, you missed an ingredient that I'm using in my version – and it's a crucial one." Mimasaka's eyes then widened in confusion and concern at the statement, along with most of the rest of the crowd, who were wondering what Daniel had up his sleeve and how Mimasaka could have possibly missed something. Daniel then reached into his cooler, took out a package and shouted, "Take a good look at my key ingredient…ground bison!"

At first, there was a confused murmur from the crowd, as they were questioning how that would help. Mimasaka apparently felt the same way, as he didn't look impressed. "How's that going to overcome my Kurobuta pork?" he asked. Daniel just went about constructing his patty while replying, "Just watch and learn from someone who knows burgers." He then mixed the bison with the ground pork he had, seasoning it with his blend of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and chipotle chile powder before cooking it in a cast iron skillet on the stove. Before long (and before time was up), he had constructed his burger, with the guacamole and pickled onions on the bottom of the patty, with the charred green chile strips on top covered by a layer of melted cheese, all tucked inside the arepa, which was both perfectly crisp on the outside, and fluffy soft on the inside.

As Daniel took the plates with his burger creation to the judges stand, his friends were watching from the stands still with looks of shock on their faces. For most of them, they still couldn't believe that Mimasaka had been able to trace Daniel's recipe that far, only to miss what Daniel considered to be a key ingredient. Megumi, however, was in shock for a different reason. She wasn't shocked by Mimasaka's failure to completely trace Daniel's recipe; she was shocked because Daniel had correctly predicted that this could potentially happen.

Flashback: The Previous Evening

As Daniel was in his room preparing to turn in for the night, confident that his recipe was as good as it was going to get, and feeling the need to rest for the next day's battle, he heard someone knocking at the door. When he went to answer, he found Megumi standing there and immediately invited her inside. When they were both safely in the room, Daniel asked Megumi, "Are you alright? What can I do for you?" Megumi replied, "I'm okay. I actually wanted to see how you were doing." Daniel just smiled and said, "I appreciate your concern, but I assure you that I'm perfectly fine."

Megumi then asked with a bit more urgency, "You sure? I mean, this is Mimasaka you're going up against. He's done this so many times that he's known as the King of Stalkers. I know that you've taken all these precautions knowing about that, but still…" Megumi then leaned her back against a nearby wall before sliding down and sitting on the floor. "I'm sorry," she said. "I know you agreed to this challenge mainly to protect Soma and I, but I don't want to see you lose your slot in the main tournament that you rightfully earned."

As Megumi gave a worried sigh, Daniel sat down next to her in an effort to comfort and reassure her. "Don't worry, Megumi. I'm actually really enjoying the experience – although I am annoyed at what Mimasaka threatened to do. Besides, even if Mimasaka is able to figure out most of my recipe, I'm sure he won't be able to figure out all of it." Megumi then turned to Daniel and asked, "How are you so confident about that?" Daniel grinned and replied, "My thought process is unlike any other that Mimasaka has traced before. He'll never be able to read it completely." Megumi looked at Daniel curiously and asked, "How so?"

Daniel thought for a few moments before replying, "It's kinda hard to explain, but let's just say that I'm unique in a way that works to my advantage here." He then chuckled as he put his arm around Megumi's shoulder and said, "So don't worry about me. I'm sure Mimasaka will miss at least one ingredient I'm using – and I'm sure it will be a crucial one!"

End Flashback

As Megumi looked over to Soma, she could see a grin on his face as she figured that he knew Daniel's secret, whatever it was. Not only that, but Soma also apparently understood exactly how that secret was working in Daniel's favor right now. As they were watching intently, Yuki suddenly cut through the tension as she exclaimed, "So that's why he had me ship it to the dorm instead of getting it at a market!" The rest of the group widened their eyes at Yuki's statement, as even they didn't know he had done this. 'You really thought this through, didn't you,' Megumi thought as she continued to watch.

As Daniel served his bison burger dish to the judges, they were intrigued at how the flavors would differ from Mimasaka's burger. As the judges took their first bites, each of their eyes widened as the flavors hit their palates. It was impressive enough that master Senzaemon once again bore his chest after he had tasted Daniel's delicious creation. The judges noted how bold the flavor profile of this burger was, providing a variety to tantalize the tongue and keep their appetites interested at every level.

Daniel then began to explain that bison was a leaner meat, and contained less fat than traditional burger meats, which is why he used a bit of pork meat in the mix – to keep it from drying out and to make sure it kept its shape. He used the guacamole to add a bit of richness, and then the pickled onions were used to cut that a bit, providing a balance and contrast. He also used the roasted green chiles to provide a bit of heat, along with the chipotle chile powder in his spice blend. In addition, he added, "Since bison is a gamier meat, the flavor is very strong, allowing it to take on some bolder additional flavors without being overpowered – flavors, say, like those found in the smoked cheddar cheese."

Mimasaka and the crowd gasped as they began to realize exactly what he had created. As the judges acknowledged that Daniel had indeed used smoked cheddar cheese, he turned to Mimasaka and explained, "You may have seen Ikumi get the cheese, but what you didn't see was the fact that Shun smoked it per my instructions. I knew what kind of flavors I wanted in my burger, and I knew exactly what I needed to do and whose help I needed to achieve them. No one can go down this road alone. You say my friends make me weak as a chef, but you're wrong. I've learned quite a lot from them in my short time here. No one is an island unto themselves, and those connections are what allow people to survive Totsuki's harsh road."

For the first time that day, Mimasaka looked distraught. How could his perfect trace have failed him? He suddenly began to question the path he had been taking since he had arrived at Totsuki. These questions were only reinforced after he tasted Daniel's creation, of which Daniel had made an extra portion just for Mimasaka. Mimasaka reveled in the bold flavors present in the burger, all of the different components with something to bring to the rodeo, yet somehow working all together in a perfectly cohesive way. Moments later, Senzaemon declared Daniel the winner of the food war by a 3-0 vote, stating that his uniquely bold and flavorful burger had won out.

As the crowd cheered, and Daniel's friends jumped up in celebration, Mimasaka fell to his knees, knowing he had been beaten fair and square. "It's over," he said as he looked down in shame, "You've beaten me in a fair fight. Soon, I'll take my leave of Totsuki and never bother you again. I've disgraced myself and no longer deserve to be a chef." At hearing this, Daniel walked over to Mimasaka and lightly slapped him upside the head (a la Gibbs from NCIS) and said, "You dummy – you shouldn't quit just because you lost! What's the point of that?" Daniel then sighed and explained, "You should instead use this experience to become both a better chef and, more importantly, a better person. That's the best way you can atone for your past wrongs – but you can only do that by staying here."

Mimasaka got a surprised look on his face before nodding in acknowledgement of Daniel's words, promising to take them to heart. As Daniel began to walk away, Mimasaka called out to him, asking how Daniel had beaten his 'perfect trace' when nobody else could. "You seemed quite confident the entire time," he noted. Daniel then grinned and replied, "When you become the better person I was talking about, ask me again someday, and I might just tell you. We'll even cook up some burgers and have a good laugh."

In the next day's edition of the school newspaper, alongside a writeup of the food war, Daniel was surprised to find an advertisement taken out by Mimasaka, stating that he would be giving back all of the knives he had won in his previous food war victories to their rightful owners in the quad after classes. When Daniel stopped by, he saw a large crowd of people there – all of whom were thrilled to be getting their prized cooking utensils back. At one point, Mimasaka noticed Daniel and indicated for him to come over, as there was something he wanted to tell him in confidence.

As they moved a bit away from the crowd, Mimasaka began to tell him about how his challenge of Daniel had actually come about because he was originally part of an elaborate plan cooked up by Eizan to exact revenge on Soma for his "interference" with Eizan's business enterprise a few months earlier. Daniel's victory in the preliminaries had thrown a wrench into those plans and Mimasaka's challenge was meant to put them back on track. Daniel wasn't surprised, stating, "I kinda pegged him as such. I knew he was a real snake!" Mimasaka chuckled as he replied, "You're not wrong about that, but he's also far more dangerous than you realize. Be very vigilant when dealing with him." Daniel nodded, thanking Mimasaka for the heads up before heading back to his dorm to rejoin his friends.

So, I hoped that you all enjoyed how I brought Mimasaka into this story, as well as some of the twists I brought both regarding the food and Daniel's thought process. The Autumn Election quarterfinals will begin in the next chapter. Until then…

Also, as I made an NCIS reference in this chapter, I want to take note of the passing of the beloved actor David McCallum (Dr. Donald 'Ducky' Mallard)…RIP - the world is far better for having known you and is sadder for now losing you.