Early the next morning, Daniel was walking along the stalls of the fish market with Soma, regretting in that moment his promise to help him out in any way he could. Soma had taken him up on that offer, knocking on his door and waking him up hours earlier, and hours before Daniel had any intention of getting up. Soma asked for Daniel to join him at the market that morning – saying he wanted an extra trusted set of eyes with him at the market that morning. Daniel had a feeling that this was just an excuse to get his friend to go with him, as Daniel's eye for fish wasn't nearly as good as Soma's. However, he was true to his word and got dressed and ready to go. Despite this, he was starting to think to himself that it could be worse, as Megumi had also joined them, having woken up just as the two boys were about to head out the door. She seemed excited about their morning trip and asked to come along, to which they agreed.

As they were walking, Daniel and Megumi had to keep Soma from getting distracted by the abundance of fish that was available in order to keep him focused on what he was here for – pacific saury. When they reached the stall where the saury was sold, they saw Akira already there buying fish to use for his test dishes. They witnessed as he took a whiff of the aroma in the air before pointing out which ones he wanted. As he was making the purchase, Soma looked through what was left (still a considerable number), confident that he could still pick out the best of the rest. Daniel had to admit that both Soma and Megumi had considerably more knowledge than him in how to determine what to look for in a whole fish, so he trusted their judgment.

However, when Soma picked one out and Akira saw which one was picked, Akira just chuckled to himself. When Soma asked what was so funny, Akira simply replied, "It appears I have nothing to worry about from you in the finals. I will have won this before the match has even begun." He then walked away before Soma could even ask (angrily) what exactly he meant by that. Just then, however, a familiar voice jumped in to say, "It's because your skills in choosing the best fish still leave much to be desired." When the trio turned to the voice, they saw Ryo standing right beside them.

When Soma asked why he said that, Ryo declared that he would just show them. He then picked a fish out, which at first glance to Soma and Megumi didn't appear to be the best, and challenged Soma to make sashimi with their choices right then and there. Soma immediately accepted the challenge and the two got to work. As Megumi tried to apologize to the vendors, they said that there was no need, since they were all Totsuki students. When they were done (nearly simultaneously), they invited Daniel and Megumi to taste each person's sashimi. When they did, they were shocked to discover that Ryo was absolutely right. Not only was Ryo's more flavorful, but it was firmer as well. Ryo then explained that his expertise was the result of being around fish and coming to the markets pretty much every day for more than a decade. It was to a point where knowing the quality of a fish was like a sixth sense to him.

For the first time, Soma looked truly worried at how he was going to match up with an opponent in a food battle. After Ryo left, they gathered up the best saury they could and packed some for trial dishes while using one to cook up then and there as a nice treat – which was delicious, but not as good as what Akira would deliver with the absolute best quality fish. As they were eating, Daniel commented, "I almost hate to say this, but it's probably for the best that you beat me, Soma. If I had been the one who had to go up against Akira, I would be doomed." While Soma was trying to determine whether that was a compliment or not, Megumi interjected, "Don't say that. You're the one who keeps telling me not to be so down on myself." Daniel then replied, "I'm not being down on myself, I just recognize the current limits of my culinary skill and knowledge – and fresh fish is definitely one of my weaker points." Soon after finishing, they were able to call Miss Fumio for a ride back to the dorm.

During the ride back to the dorm and throughout most of the day, Soma looked visibly perplexed and frustrated about what to do with the saury. He knew that in order to have a chance, he would need to be better at picking out fish, but he was worried that concentrating on that wouldn't leave him time to come up with a trial dish for the finals. As Daniel was relaxing in his room, he suddenly heard Soma tear through the dorm shouting for Ryoko and Shun to come downstairs. He then made a beeline out the door, returning a short time later with Ikumi in tow. After gathering those three together in the main dining room (with Daniel and Megumi watching, having heard the commotion and curious as to what Soma was up to), Soma revealed that he was planning to close the gap with Akira by aging the fish for his dish – and he wanted Ryoko, Shun, and Ikumi to show him their various techniques for doing so.

Everyone in the room agreed that this was a very good idea, and even Daniel thought to himself, 'This could actually work.' Ryoko, Shun, and Ikumi all agreed to show him how to do their specialty aging techniques, with each of them saying that their methods would take about three days each, which would allow for two possible trial runs before needing to decide on one technique for the final dish. As Soma was instructed on smoking, rice malt, and dry aging preservation techniques, Daniel decided to listen in and learn these techniques as well, figuring it could come in handy in the future.

Three days later, the fish that had gone through each technique were ready for tasting, and their states were quite good! Everyone said that the fish turned out delicious – better than they had expected, even. However, Daniel and Megumi still remembered Ryo's sashimi, and commented that the fish still wasn't as good as that. Soma was disappointed, especially considering the fact that he had done each preservation technique perfectly. Now it seemed he was even more stuck than before, and time was running out to think of something else. The look on his face was one of severe frustration as he went to bed that night.

The next day, Daniel woke up to find Soma working in the kitchen with a renewed energy. When he asked Soma if he had found the answer, Soma replied that he believed so and told him what he ultimately decided on. When Soma told him – as well as how he was inspired to go with this method, he could only chuckle and respond, "Only you would be able to come to a decision like that the way you did." Still, Daniel thought that there was a chance that this could work. This was confirmed a few days later when the process was complete, and Soma had Daniel taste the finished product. Daniel was surprised by the pleasantness and intensity of the fish's flavor while saying that he thought that this was indeed the answer Soma needed to counter Akira.

A few days later, Soma had aged a new batch of saury, which he would use in the actual competition, and Daniel went with him as he got ready. With Isshiki's permission, Daniel was allowed to join him behind the scenes before the match and watch with him as Soma went up on the main stage to compete. Before Soma went out for his introduction, Daniel gave him a big pat on the back and wished him luck before Soma went out to join Akira on the main stage. As the two competitors were standing there, Isshiki introduced the judges for this final round. Master Senzaemon would be serving as head judge, and chef Dojima would be returning as the second judge. The third judge was one of the head honchos at Nakiri International – an expert on fine cuisine the world over (as well as Alice's mother) – having flown in from Denmark for the occasion, "The elegant and beautiful Leonora Nakiri," as Isshiki put it.

Leonora then tried to introduce herself to the crowd, revealing that her Japanese language skills left much to be desired as her sentences and grammar were quite broken. When Isshiki returned to the sidelines, Daniel asked him, "Will she be alright, or does she need an interpreter here?" Isshiki then chuckled before responding, "Why? Are you volunteering for the job?" Daniel then shrugged and replied casually, "If you all feel she needs one and she speaks English, sure, I'll do it. Why not?" Isshiki considered this for a few moments before going up to the stage to talk with Senzaemon and Leonora. They both nodded to whatever it was Isshiki was saying before Isshiki waved at Daniel to come up there.

Daniel was a bit surprised that they actually felt he might be needed – and that they agreed to let him do it – but he wasn't going to let this opportunity for a front row seat to the finals (or to network a bit) go by. He made his way behind the judges and was introduced to Leonora by Isshiki, with Alice and Erina standing there beside her. He was then told by Senzaemon that while Leonora could generally converse in Japanese, there may be a point in time or two when an interpreter would be useful. Daniel nodded and promised to do what he could to make things go smoothly on his end.

As the moon emerged over the open rooftop and the gong sounded, Soma and Akira got started cooking. Leonora then began asking Daniel about whether or not he knew the two finalists personally. Daniel explained that he had met with and seen Akira's cooking a couple of times, and that he and Soma had been best friends for the last three years, with the both of them entering Totsuki together at the beginning of the year. Leonora then asked what she should expect from them. Daniel thought for a moment and responded, "From Akira, you'll be blown away by the way he can use spice and aroma to his advantage. As for Soma, you should always expect the unexpected – and you'll never be disappointed."

As Leonora began to eagerly anticipate the delicious dishes that were sure to come, Daniel turned to Erina and asked how Hisako was doing after her battle with Akira. Erina was a bit surprised by the question, as she didn't realize that Daniel and her best friend were on regular speaking terms, but answered that she seemed alright. "She's been managing her duties well enough, though she still seems to be a bit down, which is to be expected. Why do you ask?" Not wanting to cause problems by giving Erina the entire account of their interactions, he replied simply, "I just saw that she was upset after she lost to Akira and was wondering if she had recovered from that yet." Erina seemed to take the answer at face value and nodded, while Alice overheard the conversation and stated, "Don't worry about Hishoko – she's fine."

As Daniel rolled his eyes at the ridiculous and, in his opinion, mean-spirited, nickname, each of the contestants brought out their fish. While Akira's fish looked like a brand-new gleaming and sharpened sword, Soma's looked like one where the blade had long since rusted and dulled, causing a lot of confusion in the crowd and horror among his friends. Daniel, however, wasn't worried, as Soma's expression said that this was exactly what he wanted. He even overheard Akira comment on the fish, realizing that Soma had aged it to make up for his lack of experience and expertise in picking the best fish he could get at the market. Leonora then commented – something about liking the sight of boys playing with their swords – to which Alice retorted teasingly, "Goodness, mother! How lewd of you!" As Daniel thought about what had been said, he figured out why Alice had teased her mother. He then turned to Alice and stated, "Oh, grow up!"

As Daniel continued to look on, he got a glimpse of both chefs' faces as they continued working on their dishes. Akira looked supremely confident in his dish – to the point of certainty that he would win. That, or perhaps a determination that indicated he would not allow anything to stand between him and victory. Soma, on the other hand, was a bit different. You could clearly see he was working intensely, but he was also enjoying himself immensely the whole time. He, too, was determined to win – and he was intent on enjoying every minute of the experience.