Tato-Uin Avenue – Green Gourmet Garden Restaurant -

There was a middle-aged woman with far too much make-up over her wrinkly face and wearing an expensive, and ugly, pink tailleur a few sizes too small wrapped around her misshapen body making her look like a walking sausage; she had just walked out of the elevator that brought her to the top floor of a tall building, the floor with an outside garden giving to the people eating there a free view of the entire city.

Her high heels clacked heavily on the marble of the corridor separating the elevator from the entrance of a brand-new Restaurant that had just opened and was about to start the inauguration party, as she walked she left behind herself a thick trail of expensive cologne that made air impossible to breathe for a couple seconds before dissipating, as if she used an entire bucket to spray herself.

The woman was the owner of the restaurant right at the bottom of the building, and she felt robbed because whoever sponsored the new local at the top got the place before her and actually bought the entire floor, ruining her plans to gain more clout by buying the bigger and garden-enriched free space at the top.

When she arrived at the entrance, her Karen Rage momentarily faltered once seen the absolutely gorgeous entrance and waiting room welcoming her before the Restaurant proper, there was marble anywhere, of the finest quality so otherworldly beautiful that the marble the builders used on the corridor outside looked like cheap plastic in comparison; then flourishing plants everywhere, even dangling from the ceiling, and all of them were filled by the most colorful and prettiest flowers the woman had ever seen! Even the Maitre at the entrance wore a tailor-made D&G formal Suit probably more expensive than her own house!

"Good morning, my name is Goro. How can I help you, Madam?" The tall lizardman standing by the entrance asked with a formal and professional tone while adjusting his design square glasses, even Sui resting on the chair next to him wore a tiny and adorable tie.

"Is that… Marble?" She blurted-out.

"Yes, madam. We used Carrara Marble for the floor,White Statuario for the "Summer Garden" Room and Golden Calacatta for the "Autumn Memories" room. For the furniture we used Kalimantan Agarwood and Hundred years old Japanese Kynam wood." Goro answered, curious about the strange question.

"Aren't those two plants extinct?!"

"They are not extinct, just rare and expensive, Madam." Goro answered, chuckling amicably.

"Well! It matters not! I demand to know why I had been rebutted when trying to buy a restaurant lot on this floor! An upstart can't possibly use this perfect Restaurant location properly!" She said with an annoying high-pitched voice.

"Oh, Madam, I am quite confident that my Boss, even if quite young, has the right qualifications and skills to turn this entire skyscraper into a single giant and incredibly successful Restaurant if he wants to, not just the topmost, most sought-after floor. But you are free to not believe us, naysayers are just as needed as the sycophants. To balance things out." Goro answered with a friendly smile.

"We'll see how far your conviction goes! My Restaurant is the one at the very first (Ground) floor! You will soon close once seen how nobody will come here! I will force you to declare bankruptcy through skills alone!" She answered.

"I thought that having the Restaurant at the ground floor was pretty much a mark of infamy in this part of town, madam, isn't that the cheapest lot?" Goro answered with a sharp glint in his lizard eyes.

"GUH!" The woman physically recoiled as if literally stabbed by those words. "It's just silly rumors to discredit me! Just jealousy!" She barked.

"Oh! I didn't mean to offend, madam. My apologies." Truly, it wasn't physically possible to cram any more mockery in the words of Goro, and yet he delivered that cutting remark with the grace of a Lord.

"Is everything okay?" Adelia too joined the scene, and she was wearing a formal, tailor-made tailleur the old lady knew was so expensive she couldn't even dream of buying a similar one one day.

"Nothing out of ordinary, Adelia. I was just answering the peculiar questions of this woman. She too has a restaurant, you know? All the way to the bottom floor, and apparently she was lamenting the fact that our beloved Boss Izuku bought this entire floor instead of her." Goro answered with a friendly chuckle.

"Oh! Nice to meet you then, Madam. It's good to meet a colleague! We promise you we will show our worth as owners of this floor." Adelia said, smirking.

"Show your worth?! You'll see! Who may ever want to come eat here in the Restaurant of a nobody!? The Chef is an unknown brat!" The woman spat.

Ding!

The elegant and melodious bell of the elevator rang, and from the golden doors the Yaoyorozu and Midoriya made their appearances, with the former making the woman's eyes almost plop out of her sockets.

"Miss Rei! Mister Saito! Good morning!" She immediately ran up to them, not even sparring a glance to Inko and Hisashi.

"Good morning…" Saito answered unsure, he was already smelling the simpering aura wafting around the woman thicker than even her perfume.

"Did you come here to look for me? I told my staff I was coming here to greet the new arrival, I am sorry I was not there to properly welcome you and forced you to come all the way here from the ground floor to look for me!" She said, shooting to Goro a clear smirk of superiority.

"… There was a Restaurant at the ground floor, Dad?" Momo asked, confused.

"Didn't notice it." Rei admitted, immediately murdering the woman's smile.

"You… Didn't?" The woman muttered in horror.

"We did see some very garish, overly-decorated store right after the building's entrance with a bejeweled Buddah statue right by the door and so many knickknacks of different, clashing styles cluttering the very first room that we though it was just an antique store."

"That's my Restaurant…"

"Oh."

"Then why you came here?!"

"Why? We came here to visit dear Izuku and try his new Restaurant, if you really need to know." Saito explained, annoyed.

"You came here for Him? Why? He is just a kid! You clearly can't expect much from him,"

"Izuku!" Momo answered by, quite uncaring, shoving the woman aside to rush to the young Chef and hug him tightly and kiss him as soon as he walked out to greet the new arrivals personally.

"Considering he will soon marry my daughter and become my son-in-law, it really shouldn't be a surprise that we came here." Saito added, walking past the woman without a second glance to go ruffle Izuku's hair.

"What? But what about my Restaurant? My little Satoshi works there! He is a great Chef that even arrived third at a famous regional cooking competition! Not like that nobody! My son is clearly better than him at cooking!" The woman said.

"Delusions are unhealthy, my dear." Rei, actually the most cruel of the family, answered while patting the woman's shoulder and then hugging Izuku and Momo at the same time.

"So you are the sponsor of that brat!"

"Nope! We are all just family members." Hisashi answered, blowing her a raspberry and showing her a thumbs-down while passing by her.

"A bit less perfume, dear. We could smell it from street level." Inko suggested gently, she too ignoring the woman and just going to greet her precious son.

"YOU'LL SEE! Nobody sane of mind will ever come eating here! NOBODY! ONLY PAUPERS AND NOBODIES!" The Woman screeched.

Ding!

"Eh?"

"Daaamn! You were right, Rumi! It is very fancy!" Pro Hero Ryukyu said in awe while accompanying Rumi and her mother to the Restaurant.

"Told ya! My boyfriend is no slouch!" The Rabbit Woman said with a smug smirk.

"The fact that he made you dress-up like a lady instead of a thug is a miracle too!" Her mother added, chuckling.

"Mooom! I can be cutesy! It's just that I don't feel like bothering with it most of the time!" Rumi answered with a whine.

The trio just walked past that woman without giving her a second glance.

"What… What… Ryukyu?" She gurgled-out, watching the ensemble of elegantly dressed people listen intently to Edalia and Izuku's explanation about how everything was built and designed.

Ding!

"AH! Just in time!" Nejire said in elation while dragging behind her Ochako and her Parents together with her own.

"Are you sure we can eat here?! This looks nightmarish expensive!" Ochako's father said in abject horror.

"Never seen so much marble all in one place!" Ochako's mother added, pale as a ghost.

"Icchan said he wanted to treat you all to lunch at least once, I guess he wants to leave a good impression on his future in-laws!" Nejire answered, laughing.

"… He surely is not pulling back any punches…" The parents of both girls admitted in chorus with a stricken tone.

"Okay, those are just normal people! So I was Right and-"

Ding!

"HEYO! This is hella fancy, Boss Izuku! You went all-out!" The next to arrive was Hawks and Endeavor, accompanied by Burnin and Mt. Lady. All of them still in Hero Costume.

"Tch! I expected this much from Him when he talked about his second Restaurant. He is finally showing some proper pride in his skills!" Endeavor, adjusting the bow-tie he had added to his Hero Costume, answered.

"… Endeavor… Hawks… Mountain Lady…" The woman said with a squeaky voice, horrified at seeing some of the Big Shots greet Izuku like old friends, clearly Regulars of the boy's cooking.

Ding!

"I AM HERE TO CONGRATULATE A YOUNG CHEF!… Like a normal person, so to speak." Toshinori said with a wide, and cheeky, smile as soon as the elevator doors opened.

"Normal people don't scream like that, but stopping you is a losing battle." Nighteye answered with a sigh, together with him there were Centipeder, Bubble girl and the rest of their Hero Agency.

"All… Might…" The woman's heart stopped when more and more Vips and Heroes kept arriving, all greeting Izuku far too warmly to be the first time they meet him.

Ding!

Next came Aizawa, Nemuri and Hizashi, then Miss Joke with several colleagues of hers, Tsukauchi with few high ranking members of the Police Force, more small time Pro Heroes, Rikiya Yotsubashi, and many, many more.

Ding!

By now the ringing of the elevator's doors opening had become a death sentence to the woman since every time those double golden doors opened more influential and famous people came out, not just every single Hero in the Top 20, but actors and actresses, Politicians and even staff members of the greatest Hero Schools had converged there to congratulate Izuku for his inauguration of a new Restaurant.

"Oh, God… What is happening?" She muttered, incredulous.

"Just us coming to congratulate a dear friend of ours for the inauguration of his new Restaurant." An elegant voice said from behind her, and when she turned around, she shrieked in absolute fear.

"AH! Anton Ego!" she screamed as if faced with the Devil himself.

"I see that my 4/10 has left a mark on you! Good! Too bad that by coming here I could immediately see that you don't seem to have taken my merciless criticisms to heart to get better at managing your Restaurant." The Critic answered with a cruel smile, behind him his driver/Bodyguard Bernard gave a subtle snort of derision.

"You know that boy!?" She shrieked.

"You really are utterly incompetent and ignorant." Ego said in disdain. "I thought that me giving a full score, a 10/10, to a Restaurant was a rare enough memorable occurrence to deserve being remembered… But I guess that I once again expected too much from you. Once done having lunch here I will pass by your Restaurant to check if your son's cooking deserves a new score, but I wouldn't hope it will be an increase if I were you." Ego answered with a frown, and the mocking tone he used to say Restaurant when referencing to her own made the woman's heart bleed.

"Guh!" She gurgled-out, feeling a thick copper taste fill her mouth at those words.

"Anton-san!" Izuku said with a wide smile and warmly shaking the man's hand.

"When I heard you were inaugurating a new Restaurant I dropped everything to come here. You were supposed to personally notify me immediately, young man." Anton said with a warmer, and still sharp, smile.

"I didn't want to bother you. Is this an official visit or just a guest returning to visit me?" Izuku asked, chuckling.

"Hohohoho! And where would the fun be if I told you? You will have to guess if I am here to evaluate and review you or if I am just here as a friend. I hope there won't be a problem if I took my Assistant along with me this time, Bernard as well was curious to try your creations." Ego answered, smirking cruelly.

"Oh! No problem at all! And about your visit, I always give my best when cooking, so I can only hope that review or not, I will make your visit worth your time." Izuku answered, smiling.

"I expect nothing less than Divine Perfection from you, my boy. Amaze me again and we'll see." He answered.

"Of course! Please come in, Goro-kun will guide you to your tables. We will hold the private party in the outside garden, please select the table you prefer." Izuku answered, motioning towards the entrance of his Restaurant with an elegant bow.

"…" The woman watched in silent horror as that crowd consisting of pretty much Living Legends quietly entered the place while ignoring her completely.

"This is a Nightmare… It can't get worse than this…" She said, looking ready to cry.

Ding!

"HELLOOOOOOO, JAPAN! Stars and Stripe is here!" Cathleen said with a triumphant scream and a wide smile as soon as the doors opened.

"CATH!" Izuku said with a wide smile, and leaping into the tall woman's arms to be hugged and spun around.

Thud!

The ugly woman's knees gave-up under her as she watched the Number 1 Hero of America carry the young Chef on her shoulders back inside the Restaurant, both Cathleen and her Assistant talking and laughing with him like old Best Friends that finally got together again.

"You are here too!" Izuku said, amazed.

"Wouldn't have missed this for anything in the world, Lil Bro! The others too wanted to come, but we managed to talk them into not coming." Cathleen answered.

"It's not like we could remove the entire Top 20 of American Heroes from the streets! So even if with a bleeding Heart, and lots of howling from poor Antonio, they accepted to stay back home and keep people safe, but expect them to come visit you in the next couple weeks, in turns of course." Her Assistant answered, unaware that her answer almost gave to the ugly woman kneeling on the floor a heart attack.

"They are welcomed in both my Restaurants anytime, just like you two are!" Izuku answered, smiling blindingly.

"I know that, Lil Bro! That's why I will livestream to them my lunch in 4K! I want them to not miss a single detail of me gorging myself!" Cathleen said with a smirk.

"Isn't that cruel! Watching her eat all that while they are stuck at the opposite side of the planet!" Her Assistant added, laughing.

"Very evil!" Izuku answered, laughing as well.

"…"

Once alone, with everybody finally seated inside, the woman stumbled her way inside the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor, an action that felt especially mocking and painful after assisting to that nightmarish procession of VIPs going inside Izuku's Restaurant.

"… I wonder how expensive those kinds of marble and wood are… Maybe if I upgrade my Restaurant…" She muttered while opening the internet app of her phone to check the price of the materials, furniture, paintings and plants she heard Izuku and Adelia list to the curious guests, then she saw the prices of said things.

When the Elevator's doors opened again, the other Guests waiting for it to arrive to bring them to Izuku's Restaurant found the woman lying on the floor in a dead faint and with a horrified expression frozen on her face.

Meanwhile – Kitchen -

The place was just as massive and super-furnished in 'Divine' equipment like the kitchen of Izuku's main restaurant in Gourmet Street, only with the addition of five personalized workstations where the Five Kings of Inoshiki Academy worked and trained following Izuku's own Lessons.

And speaking of which…

"HOW?! HOW ON EARTH DOES HE DO THIS?!" Sadao shrieked in horror as the overly-delicate tiny cherry tomato she was supposed to peel using the giant and super-heavy butcher knife in her hands got squished into a pulp the very instant her hold on the knife faltered.

The current training was about 'Learning to have a delicate and still fast handling of both knife and Ingredients', and all of the five Kings had to ashamedly admit they underestimated the exercise when they saw Izuku peel a cherry tomato as small as a pinkie finger with a knife just as massive and in just a couple seconds. They also forcefully ignored the scary addendum that the butcher knife Izuku uses for his own training weighted far, far more than theirs.

"Honestly? By keeping his cool, for starters." Mako, actually going through her third cherry tomato, answered without ever lifting her narrowed eyes from the very tiny vegetable she was working on.

"He jokingly called them 'frail tomatoes', I should have known it was a damn understatm-GODDAMNIT!" Toshio started saying, before the second tomato he was working-on became pure sludge as soon as his knife slipped of a mere millimeter and pierced the fruit's body.

Frail Tomatoes were actually "Special Preparation Ingredients" of Zaus' original world, but contrary to the more rare 'Million Tomato' that only a handful of Chef could use, and even less people could actually eat thanks to its absurd requirements, their lesser "cousins" were easy to find and grow and eat… But a Frail Tomato also had the tendency of breaking down into tomato paste instantly as soon as a hole bigger than a millimeter was cut into it; it made it the ideal fruit to prepare Tomato paste and sauce with, since it was extremely cheap and the taste was still extremely good, it was also used in Cooking Schools to teach Cooking Students how to properly handle delicate Ingredients, especially Special Preparation Grade ones.

In fact the tomato got its own "Special Preparation" label mostly for its utility in teaching caution to students, it was for all intent and purposes mostly an honorary title, more than an official one.

"Must I remind you of the pears that electrocuted you if you peeled them wrong?" Michiko said, shivering, luckily she managed to not pulp her tomato while doing that.

"I still can't believe he found a guy open to use his Quirk like that just to help us train our speed in preparation." Sana said, her hands trembling heavily while handling the super-heavy knife.

Thunder Pears, another Zaus' World Ingredient, unfortunately with the tendency of giving strong electric shocks to whoever peeled them wrong or too slow, Izuku had to lie whenever the strange attributes of his Ingredients were brought into question by the five students.

"But you have to admit, the Ingredients we work with outside of training are damn incredible, even just that "Mors Oil" he uses to fry, that stuff is insane." Michiko admitted.

"I don't know who his Sponsor contracted, but they have access to the most incredible Ingredients I have ever seen." Mako admitted.

"I will pass along the compliments, thank you!" Izuku said, entering the kitchen with a wide smile.

"THANK GOD!" Toshio said in relief and dropping the knife onto the chopping board with a loud and echoing THUD! Sound apparently so strong every cherry tomato they were working on instantly broke into sludge instantly.

"GODDAMNIT, TOSHIO!" The other four Kings yelled in rage in chorus.

"Hahahahaha! It's fine, just collect the tomato sauce, we'll use it today for cooking. Now rest your hands a bit, next time I will show you how I expect you to prepare the dishes on the normal Menu of this Restaurat instead of how to train." Izuku said, chuckling.

"This first week before opening has been a torture! Hell on Earth!" Sadao admitted almost in tears.

"Oh! To be honest, I went easy on you, my old teacher was far worse!" Izuku answered, snorting, amused by the five students' look of horror.

"HOW?!"

"Oh! You'd be surprised! But that's not a story for today. We have a lot of people to feed to celebrate the opening of this Restaurant, and I plan to let our Guests try every dish on the Menu if we can. You ready?" Izuku answered.

"Yes, Chef!" Showing impeccable levels of professionalism already, the Five Kings recollected themselves rapidly and stood to attention.

"Perfect! Each one of us will have to work hard since I don't want my Guests to wait ages between dishes,"

"Yessir!"

"Good! For our 'Opening Act' we will start with a dish made with Beef Meat prepared in three different ways, and since we are in the more Elegant and High-Class side of the city, we'll need to add an extra layer of class to it as well." Izuku said, chuckling, and preparing a wide porcelain plate blinding-white in color and decorated by finely engraved leaves along its rim.

"I will show you how to prepare the "Étoile Brillante" dish, and I expect you to first learn how to properly make it, then to learn how to make it fast. You ready?"

"Yes, Chef!" The Five Kings answered in chorus, more like soldiers than Chefs, making Izuku chuckle at the image.

"Perfect, let's start!" Izuku said, washing his hands and collecting few cuts of Jewel Meat, Hannya Panda Meat and Golden Dragon Meat, that Izuku passed for three different kinds of "Normal" beef.

(Obscurus didn't approve of Izuku's harvest of his legs meat, but honestly, nobody cares about the former galaxy destroyer's whining)

"The plate is formed by three methods of cooking beef meat: Tartare, Steak and Sushi." Izuku explained, separating the three Ingredients following the cooking method he had chosen based on which one would taste best once prepared in.

"Sushi? With Meat?" Sana asked, confused.

"It's not "proper" sushi, but it uses similar methods of preparation and presentation that by eye reminds you of sushi." Toshio explained, as the five students' Meat Expert.

"Well said! Now, I will divide these cuts of meat in equal parts for all six of us. Please follow me through preparation." Izuku answered, pleased, and delivering a tray of meat to all of them.

"I won't disappoint you. None of us will." Mako answered, cold smile and yet warm eyes locking on Izuku's, she also openly caressed his hands while taking her tray from him.

"I expect the very best from all of you." He answered, smiling through the embarrassment her flirting caused him to feel.

"We are ready!" Sadao said.

"We'll surprise you!" Michiko said, proudly.

"…"

"What?" She asked once seen Izuku look at her strangely.

"Sorry… Sorry. I recently met a girl with the same name as you while out gathering Ingredients and… Well… It wasn't pleasant. Luckily you are not a walking nightmare like her." He admitted, sighing.

"Oh, cool. A moron ruined my name for my future Boss… Lovely." She admitted, cringing.

"No, no. Don't worry, it won't cloud my judgment. I'll judge you based on you and your skills, not based on your name." He answered.

"Thank you." Michiko answered, smiling in relief.

"Thank you for being here, Michiko-san." Izuku answered, smiling. "Now! We can start!" He then said.

Izuku started by preparing the Jewel Meat Tartare; he meticulously minced the otherworldly-marbled meat by hand, ensuring it was kept perfectly chilled the whole time.

While Jewel Meat was an amazing kind of meat by itself even if one simply cut a slice of it on the fly without caring about doing it properly, preparing it the right way was instead extremely complex and tedious if a Chef wanted it to really really bring-out its absolute best taste and texture, even more so when making a tartare, as the size of the cuts and the angle of the cuts needed to be precise down to the millimeter and following the direction of the meat's fibers.

"Remember to have a firm but delicate hand while cutting the meat, each cut needs to respect the Ingredient's own peculiarities. In this particular cut of meat, to make a perfect tartare we need to use a steady and fast cut done at a very slight angle, and done without interruptions nor sawing with the knife." He said while combining the minced meat with finely chopped chives, shallots, and a blend of very fragrant seasoning spices.

"Crap… You have the hands of a surgeon…" Sadao muttered, sweating profusely while struggling to match the delicate and yet inhumanly-precise movements of Izuku and going as fast as she could at the same time.

Why they five students were sweating like crazy? The problem was not the recipe's complexity itself, the greatest challenge was preparing each portion following Izuku's already insane demands for precision, at the absurd speed he also wanted them to work at; especially since he was, quite literally, preparing more than ten portions at once (and making all of them 100% identical) while each one of the Kings was asked to make 'at least' four dishes at the same time and in the time they would normally need to make a single one… And that was hard even for them, even with tentacle hair helping along.

"Unfortunately I can't go any slower than this, sorry." Izuku apologized wholeheartedly, shocking the Five at the idea he could prepare even more dishes at the same time than he already was.

Ignoring their horrified looks, Izuku delicately folded in a raw quail egg yolk part of the same spices he used with the meat, the mixture was then elegantly spooned onto the chilled plate, forming a perfect circle with a single uninterrupted stroke.

"The egg circle act as delimitation other than sauce, it's the area where the three different meats have to be placed in." Izuku explained, he checked their own plates and nodded pleased. "That's a very good start for the circle, even if a bit wobbly, it will suffice, for now." He then said.

"For now…" Toshio said, shaking his head. "He draws a perfect circle by hand like Giotto and he acts as if it's something normal…" he muttered, grimacing.

"Next is the Beef Steak, it needs to be made properly even if it is 'Just a steak', simplicity doesn't mean a dish is cheap." Izuku instructed.

"Of course! It's one of the first things we were taught at Inoshiki! Simplicity is an Art by itself!" Mako confirmed.

"Good to know! I hate when people dismiss simple dishes, they too deserve Love and Respect."

For the next step, Izuku moved to a long line of sizzling pans waiting for him on the fire, on each one of them he expertly seared a thick, prime cut of Golden Dragon's Meat on the open flame and locking-in its juices and flavor.

"God… This scent is killing me…" Mako muttered in shame as the amazing scent coming from her own pans was making her salivate so much she kept swallowing over and over nonstop in hunger.

Groooo! The stomachs of the Five Kings kept growling softly at random intervals, making them blush crimson in shame and making Izuku chuckle in amusement.

"Let me tell you that the Ingredient is very happy of hearing your stomachs praise its scent," He said, the actual truth since he could feel the Voice of the Ingredients, although his words were instead taken as a friendly jab that made the Kings blush harder.

Each steak, with its outer crust perfectly charred to a glistening and pristine brown color, was then plated with a dollop of truffle-infused butter on top of it and garnished with a single, fresh and fragrant small herb leaf.

"While the tartare meat goes on the left side, the steak goes in the middle." Izuku instructed.

"Half-way there." Sadao muttered, drying her sweat while working on four plates simultaneously each time, and looking more like somebody that ran a marathon than a Chef preparing a dish.

"Well done! Now, the meat "Sushi". And you'll see why I call it like that." Izuku answered, nodding pleased and grabbing the Hannya Panda Meat cut.

"I love this meat, its marbling of fat and the texture, it almost doesn't look like beef, it's just so… Perfect." Toshio muttered in awe, making Izuku chuckle.

Showing both his Sea Dragon Kitchen Knife godly sharpness and his own incredible skills, he thinly sliced the Hannya Panda meat into many translucent and thin sheets still dripping juices in droplets that glinted like molten gold in the kitchen light.

"How on earth is one supposed to cut it this thin by hand and as fast as you want…" Sana muttered with her eyes narrowed and her tongue sticking out as she slowly tried cutting her own Hannya Panda meat slice is strips as thin as Izuku's own.

"Please keep up, we have lots of dishes still to prepare." Izuku asked, still cutting slices as thin as that at high speed as if it was the easiest thing int the world.

"I am trying, Boss. I am trying!" The girl answered, sighing in dismay.

"We told you this was going to be hard!" Sadao said, huffing hard and hunching on her own workstation with wide unblinking eyes.

"Sorry about that, I admit my methods are a bit unusual. By the way, I choose this particular kind and cut of beef because it goes very well with avocado and rice, hence why I use it to make sushi-like recipes with it." Izuku explained.

He rolled the thin slices of meat around morsels of fresh, buttery avocado and fragrant black truffle, the meat "sushi" rolls were then lightly torched to enhance their richness and process the meat, he then placed them on top of few thin rolls of cooked sushi rice and with a final touch of a small celery leaf gently placed atop each roll, building them in a manner reminiscing of actual sushi; he then moved four of those sushi rolls at the other side of the steak on each plate he was working on.

The three different styles of cooked meat where positioned in a faint triangular formation and accompanied by two small puddles of sauces, one made of home-made aromatic tartar sauce, the other of thickened soy sauce.

The rest of the plate was then adorned with intricate edible flowers of steamed vegetables he carved by hand, crystalline sea salt flakes, and tiny cherry tomatoes so shiny that they looked like they had been plucked from a fairy-tale garden.

"And we are done." Izuku said, proud of the final result since each of the ten plates he was working on was a literal edible work of art.

"…"

"Hn?" he asked.

"… Holy crap…" Michiko muttered while finishing her own plates.

"We are supposed to cook like this every time?" Sadao asked.

"Kinda, there are more plates in the menu, not as simple as this one. And unfortunately I need you to make them just as fast as we made this one. Then faster, once you got the hang of it." Izuku answered, studying the plates they made just to make sure there were no errors.

THUD!

Understandably, Toshio fainted.

"Wake him up, please. We have a full restaurant to serve, so, many more plates of this to make before moving to the next dish on the Menu I planned for this small celebration." Izuku asked as he handed the plates to Gentle and La Brava for them to start serving the guests waiting to eat.

"Y-Y-Yes, Chef!" The Kings answered, although Sana answered while lightly slapping Toshio to wake him up.

Meanwhile – Restaurant garden Area -

Looking around, at the grass acting as floor, at the small trees perfectly trimmed and cared for, and at the fountains and different bushes full of colorful flowers, one would almost mistake the place for a proper garden, instead of a recreation of a small one on top of a skyscraper, one tall enough the people eating there could see a great deal of the city all around them.

"Bit too fancy, if I can be honest. I am not used to this," Inko admitted, looking around.

"To be fair, honey, it's a restaurant in the fancy part of the city… There is a Style Icchan has to follow if he wants this place to attract customers." Hisashi answered, studying the many forks and knives in front of him and trying to remember which set he needed to use first.

"Listening to Izuku, this is just a test ground, a way for him to experiment on more fancy recipes, as you called them. Thanks to his Sponsor he can pop here instantaneously to keep an eye on things, but his Restaurant will always be Green Cloud. This is practically just a side-gig." Momo explained.

"A rather expensive side-gig," Saito admitted, surprised.

"… The System." Ochako, Momo, Nejire and Rumi said in chorus, with a deadpan tone.

"I hate that it actually works as an explanation." Hisashi answered with a long sigh.

"We are dealing with an Entity far, far removed from what we conceive as Common Sense." Adelia answered, nearing their table to check on them.

"So it seems," Ochako answered, looking at her parents walking around marveling at the restaurant's garden area.

"Huhuhuhu! Everything will be alright. While peculiar, that Thing does care about its Hosts, its Chosen. If they give a Challenge, it is always something 'Hard to do', never 'Impossible'." Adelia explained.

"So it means that they analyzed everything and decided that Icchan can manage two Restaurants like these?" Inko asked.

"He did far worse already, as Zaus." Momo said, chuckling.

"The birth of a Cooking Empire, then?" Rumi asked, laughing.

"Veeery likely! Icchan wants to import the Insanity of the Gourmet World here!" Nejire answered, laughing.

"Oh! This I want to see!" Rei answered.

"Please call your parents back to the table, Miss Ochako. It seems like we are ready to start." Adelia said once seen La Brava and Gentle start to deliver the first dishes to few tables.

"Of course!" Ochako answered.

The bullet shot from the sniper riffle was now at an inch from the left side of her forehead and about to kill her.

"Seriously. So uncouth, we are having a party here." Goro said with a sigh, appearing behind Ochako and grabbing the bullet mid-air with just two fingers and with incredible ease a hair-breath away before the thing could even touch the girl's skin.

"Please deal with that party-pooper. At your discretion." Adelia sighed and asked him.

"Of course! It's part of my duties here after all!" Goro answered, chuckling.

The tall lizardman took off his glasses, eased-up his tie a bit and dashed away so fast he seemingly blinked off from existence.

Everything, their talk comprised, happened in a fraction of an instant, not a single person there noticed, not even Ochako or Momo or anybody else.

"… You okay, Adelia-san?" Ochako asked, confused.

"Hn? Ah, don't worry! Just me remembering that I need to deal with some minor annoyances, mere managerial stuff." The witch answered with a friendly smile, sparing the girl from knowing a minor nobody actually tried to kill her.

"Of course! Please don't let us hold you!" Inko answered.

"No worries, just some minor issues, stuff I can do in a minute. Have a nice lunch." Adelia answered, leaving the table as soon as Ochako's parents and Rumi's mother rejoined them.

With Goro – Skyscraper roof – Not too far away -

Having left the Guests in the hands of the rest of the Restaurant's staff, Adelia had entered her personal office and then used her Magic to appear on the same rooftop where Goro had found the would-be assassin thanks to a flaming portal, just in time to see the Maitre with the still smoking sniper riffle in one hand and the assassin's left leg in the other.

"There he is." Adelia said, displeased.

"Indeed, little coward didn't even had the bravery to try a direct attack. He preferred the dishonorable way of using high-power weapons from far-away." Goro answered, tutting, then using a single hand he easily twisted that man's leg until the bone snapped like a twig.

CRUNCH!

"GYAAAAAAAH!"

"So?" The witch asked, unfazed by the scream of agony, while fixing her glasses.

"Before your arrival this dear gentleman was about to tell me who paid him to kill an innocent girl, isn't it? You won't make a liar out of me, do you?" Goro, sleeves rolled-up and jacket carefully folded nearby, asked while dropping the riffle and grabbing and snapping the assassin's other leg.

SNAP!

"AAAAAAAAH!" The guy shrieked in absolute pain, grabbing back his riffle and shooting it at Adelia without aiming…

"Not helping your case," The Witch answered, watching with bored half-lidded eyes the bullet spinning frozen in place mid-air in front of her face thanks to her Magic, then swatting it away with one hand like an annoying fly towards the man's hand, making him drop the weapon again in pain from the bullet blasting away one of his fingers.

"So be it. Bend him over, Goro. If he likes that riffle so much, maybe getting it up his sphincter will make him loosen-up enough he will talk." She said, uncaring.

"At once, Adelia."

"NO! I'LL TALK! I'LL TALK!" The assassin finally said, tears streaming down his face and absolute terror frozen on his face.

"Yes please, do so. We are all ears." Goro answered, not smirking or laughing or grimacing, he was using just a plain and strict business tone.

He roughly dropped the guy and watched him squirm harmless on the floor while wearing back his jacket again and fixing his tie; he was a Maitre, after all, he needed to be impeccable in presentation and looks so to not ruin Izuku's Restaurant's image.

"Okay… Okay… I'll talk…" The guy said, sobbing and hiccuping.

Few minutes later – Restaurant - Kitchen -

"… Then we healed him completely thanks to Adelia's Magic, destroyed his gun and dropped him off inside a dumpster. This is all." Goro finished saying.

"I see. So a magnate of fancy cruises wants me gone to protect his image AND the image of his granddaughter." Izuku said, frowning, once heard Adelia and Goro's report on the accident.

"Pretty much. I guess that since framing you for contraband is not working, they decided to get more heavy-handed." Adelia answered.

"The guy was not the first thug they called, more will be coming." Goro added.

"Tch!" Izuku uttered in distaste.

"Seems like you will need to go for the next friend of Samui sooner than planned, Master." The Lizardman said.

"It's been a while since the last one, I almost thought Samui had finally dropped this idiotic crusade of his." Izuku admitted, sighing.

"Want me to deal with them?" Adelia asked.

"I can help!" Goro added.

"…" Izuku just looked at them.

"We can make it look like an accident!" Adelia added.

"Definitely! Just a tragic accident! Even just have Sue melt them! Nobody will find a thing!" Goro added, nodding rapidly and loudly slapping his bog tail on the floor in almost-excessive eagerness.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear two of my friends offer to commit murder in my name… Even if I appreciate the gesture." Izuku answered with a long sigh.

"Aaaaaaw!"

"Mister Giren is among the Guests here today, and he was the one that first warned me that Jun Sato and her family were trying to screw me over. Tell him that I may require his skills and contacts to learn as much as possible about Jun Sato to prepare my counterattack. I might pretend to not know what most of my Customers do for a living so to offer a Neutral Ground to whoever eats here, but I am no fool. Just tell him to avoid doing anything too illegal while gathering information for me, I want to deal with Jun Sato by myself." Izuku asked.

"I'll inform him immediately." Goro answered with a nod, and then leaving the kitchen with rapid but controlled steps.

"Besides that, how are thing in the garden area?" Izuku asked.

"As expected, the Guests are loving every dish. We got the various "Spies" of other Restaurant as well trying to enter your main Restaurant in Yavin Street now that that one is closed for the day, Himiko has reported that Blackie and Whitey have evicted four of them after they tried to break-in uninvited."

"And Eri?" Izuku asked, worried.

"Still learning Math from Himiko, she is teaching your kid how to multiply and divide. She didn't notice a thing." Adelia answered, chuckling.

A couple of those were actually men sent by Overhaul… Those were the ones beaten the worst, left barely alive actually.

"Good, I don't need to have some morons coming to scare my little Unicorn." He answered, elated.

"She is protected by a Divine-Grade Puppet, a Netherworld Demon and The System. Even IF somebody manages the impossible and gets past all that, Himiko ADORES Eri, she will gladly murder whoever hurts Eri at the cost of her own life."

"I hope we never get to that point." Izuku answered.

"It won't happen. Now cheer up! It's your great day! The opening of your second Restaurant! Just focus on that today!" Adelia answered, slapping his back.

"You are right!" He said, finally smiling again.

"Get back to work, me and Goro and Sui will take care of everything else, those two waiter and waitress are working hard too, so let's just focus on wow the Guests!"

"Of course!" Izuku answered, and with a last fist-bump Adelia left to return to check on the Guests.

"Everything okay, Boss?" Toshio asked, worried, once seen Adelia as well leave.

"It was nothing, don't worry. Just me getting a quick heads-up on how things are going with our customers today." Izuku answered, flawless smile in place.

"People are happy, right? We didn't screw-up, right?" Sana asked, worried sick.

"Everything is going perfectly in line with the level I expected from you all. Don't worry, if there are trouble I will personally move to fix them and warn you. You are mostly here to learn what it feels like to work in a real Restaurant, then to help me. I knew what I was getting myself into when I came to look for you five in Inoshiki." Izuku answered with a reassuring tone.

"OH, THANK GOD!" She answered.

"You stress a bit too much."

"We keep telling her that, but it's a slow process, Boss." Sadao admitted, sighing.

"Well, even Yamato-san had nothing to say against what you prepared, so I wouldn't be that nervous if I were you." Izuku said.

"THE RECTOR IS HERE?!" The Five yelled with bulged-out eyes.

"Of course! I invited her as well to show her how good you are!" Izuku answered.

"… Oh, God… She will dissect every dish we make! Boss… please… Can't you…"

"Oh, nonono, Michiko-chan! I am of course making sure she is getting the dishes any of you five made! With a note saying who of you made that particular dish. It will help her check your current level of preparation."

"Fuuuuuuuuu-" All Five Kings cursed as one.

"But enough chit-chat! Now we will prepare a fish version of that meat dish we just made, this one is called "Seafood Parade", and it's made with Tuna, Salmon, and Eel prepared in three different methods." Izuku explained.

"Fiiish!" The Fish King squealed in happiness.

"Your natural element," Mako answered, smirking.

"Yup!"

"Hahahaha! That's good! I enjoy the enthusiasm! We will start with the Tuna Tartare." Izuku said, chuckling amused at her adorable excited expression while carting out of the freezer room several giant "Tunas".

Those tuna fishes were in truth called "Celestial Sea King" andwere fishesfrom Meng Hao's world, a species of beasts normally considered a delicacy in the world of those Cultivation Maniacs, each one so strong that one alone could easily kill even a normal whale in a single bite and eat it whole, each fish Izuku and the five Kings were working on were twice the size of a common tuna.

Izuku started showing to the Kings the correct preparation procedure by cutting away the fins, cutting the fishes open by cutting along their back following the fish' "Spine" and then delicately opening each fish in half to remove bones and guts; after washing the fish meat of each with clear water, he separated the fillets from the skin and cut the fish meat into uniform and tiny cubes, and even after washing it, the fish meat was still a vibrant coral color that stood in contrast to the pure white plate.

"This tuna of yours is damn heavy! The meat weights far too much compared to normal tuna!" Michiko admitted with a raised eyebrow while weighting in her hand the rather small slab of fish meat she was working with.

"Hehehe! My Sponsor says that our Tuna Breeders are very proud of their breeding method!" Izuku answered, chuckling.

"Fuck, a tuna is already a damn big fish, but yours are bloody gigantic, Boss! The fuck do they feed them?!" Sadao commented on dismay while working on her own fish.

"Hahahahaha!"

Laughing amused at the Kings' shock, Izuku continued cooking by mixing the fish meat cubes with finely minced shallots, green onions, and a splash of yuzu-infused soy sauce in a delicate blend he then carefully arranged into a ring mold, the "tuna" meat glistening like jewels under the soft restaurant lighting; he close the dish with a small mound of that fish' Roe he delicately spooned inside the inside of the ring, roe he then drizzled with soy sauce and topped with a fresh tiny aromatic leaf.

"Slowly now… Slowly…" Toshio muttered to himself while slowly removing the mold without making the tartare lose the perfect ring shape the mold gave it, he was sweating profusely as if disarming a bomb, especially since he was working on five plates at the same time and knew he could not fall behind.

"Well done!" Izuku praised the Kings on seen them getting the hang of it enough they started picking-up the pace and working on even more plates at the same time.

"Thank you, Chef!" The Kings answered in chorus, smirking in pride themselves.

Next came the Salmon Sashimi, made with Salmon Shark, an Ingredient from Zaus' work: a salmon so big and violent it actually hunted sharks and other similar predators to eat them, each Salmon Shark normally measures thirty meters in length on average, of course to hide the Ingredient's Alien Nature, Izuku and The System provided the Kings with slabs of salmon meat cut into a more normal size.

Moving in front of the blocks of salmon meat, Izuku sliced it with the precision of a surgeon, revealing its rich marbling and glistening juices at each cut. Each slice was an otherworldly rainbow of salmon colors, from pale pink to deep orange.

"…. Please?" The Fish King begged.

"Eeeh, only this time." Izuku conceded with a long sigh.

"Thank you! Mmmmmh!" She answered, grateful, and then moaning at the incredible taste of the salmon once tasted a piece of it.

"So tasty even without condiments or any other preparation! This is so goooooood!"

"FOCUS! Don't hold us back!" Mako snapped, annoyed.

"Mako-chan," Izuku said.

Sigh! "Fine… Please focus, you'll eat more later." The girl said with a defeated expression and a way more gentle tone.

"Better!" Izuku commented, smiling and proud of her.

The Salmon sashimi was lightly drizzled with a delicate citrus ponzu sauce and garnished with edible orchid petals holding inside a small spoonful of salmon roe, while edible 'Pearls' made with gelatin and balsamic vinegar went rapidly prepared and added on a side as an homage to the sea's beauty, a small dollop of freshly-grated wasabi and a reduction of soy sauce as well went gently spooned at both sides of the sashimi on each plate.

"Almost there!" Michiko said, drying her forehead.

"You are doing great!" Izuku said, smiling happily, he knew he was right in choosing them as members of his staff!

Next came theEel Nigiri: Made with a monster eel he unlocked by leveling-up, one that was normally so poisonous that a single drop of neurotoxins extracted from its glands could kill everything in the sea for hundreds of miles if dropped in the water. Luckily Izuku had long since personally detoxified every eel they were using in that moment to work.

"The eel has been already cut in fillets and then marinated in a blend of mirin, soy, and sake. In the future I expect you five to also take care of the seasoning too." Izuku explained, he then collected his own plate of eel fillets and started grilling them carefully.

"Yes, Chef!" The Five Kings answered as one in chorus and following his steps to cook their own fillets.

Once done grilling them, each succulent eel fillet was then lied atop a perfectly molded bed of sushi rice and tied to it with a thin strip of nori.

"And then my home-made eel sauce!" Izuku said with a cheerful tone, and using a brush to add the sauce to every nigiri and then topping that with a sprinkle of black sesame seeds and a tiny cube of white truffle from the Forrest World.

The three dishes had been positioned on the platter in a similar way of the dish' meat version, this time though accompanied by seaweed salad and pickled ginger; the entire dish exuded the subtle scent of ocean breeze.

"It's so beautiful!" The Fish King said with a choked gasp, almost ready to shed tears at the sheer beauty of the dishes she made.

"…" Her friends just rolled their eyes at her antics.

"We are ready here!" Izuku, chuckling at the scene, rang the bell and immediately Gentle and La Brava hurried to collect the plates.

"This is the first round, Boss Icchan?" Gentle asked.

"Yes, more will come soon." Izuku answered.

"Leave it to us!" Aiba answered.

"Thank you, guys."

"No, Boss Icchan. Thank you." Both Vigilantes answered with a very grateful tone.

"I heard that Tsukauchi talked with Nezu… He might be open to give you two a chance at joining UA next year if you prepare properly, and the Police Force strokes his Ego enough, as part of the Vigilante Rehabilitation Program. But it will be hard." Izuku said.

"… Hick!" Gentle, eyes mysteriously cloudy, nodded and hurried away with the plates.

"Thank you! We'll do our best!" La Brava answered, bowing and then hurrying to help her partner, and Lover, to bring the plates to the Guests.

"I like those two." Izuku admitted, smiling.

"Ready for more plates, Chef Izuku!" Mako declared as soon she and Sadao collected new plates for them all to work on.

"Good! Let's go, we still have lots of dishes to make!" He answered, renewing the knot of the green bandanna around his forehead and joining them.

Restaurant – Garden Area -

"I don't understand… Even the oil he uses it's not normal… The one for frying it's too crisp and the one he uses to garnish too Fresh…" Lunch Rush muttered to himself, and stopping after each bite to take entire pages of notes.

"If you are here, who's cooking for the students at UA?" Mic asked, confused.

"… UA? Vlad of course." Rush answered, confused.

UA Cafeteria -

"Those mashed potatoes look a bit too chunky. And raw." Tetsutetsu said, grimacing.

"Just eat, I didn't ask for constructive criticism." Vlad answered, voice full of hatred for the Universe while wearing an apron covered in many splotches of different colors over his Hero Costume and an ugly hair-net on his head.

"What's that charred thing?" Mina asked, worried.

"Fish. And it's not charred, it's masterfully grilled." Vlad answered, offended.

Tock! Tock! Tock!

Mina grabbed one of those fishes and lightly tapped on the counter with it, producing a sharp sound similar to wood on impact.

"… Not even I can defend that, Sensei…" Monoma admitted, grimacing.

"Shut-up, Monoma…" Vlad answered, looking ready to cry.

"Why I had to get the short straw?! Now Shota and the others are there gorging themselves and I am stuck here cooking! Mic must have cheated! He was smiling far too much when my turn to draw came!" The poor man thought in misery.

"Sensei! The kitchen is burning!" Jurota shrieked in horror while Iida immediately went to recover the fire extinguisher.

"NO! MY CHEESECAKE! I LEFT THE OVEN ON WITH IT INSIDE!" Vlad yelled in horror and hurried back inside.

"Cheesecake… In the oven?" Itsuka and Toru said in chorus.

Back to Izuku's Restaurant -

"Oooh! So the straw poll was also for cooking duty!" Mic said in realization.

"Yes. I just hope Vlad won't ruin my kitchen, or else I will skin him alive." Lunch Rush answered, taking a bite of the Salmon meat and Roe and starting scribbling again at high speed.

"Wouldn't put too much trust on him for that." Aizawa answered, shamelessly trying to steal Nemuri's eel and getting a painful stab in the hand as an answer with her fork.

"Hands off! It's mine!" The woman hissed.

Meanwhile, Toshinori and Cathleen were going through a small tearful reunion, talking animatedly and trying to catch-up in all the years they have been apart in just few minutes, the ghostly hand that appeared from a small portal behind the woman went intercepted and crushed into a pulp by Goro so fast nobody noticed, just like nobody knew that at the opposite side of the city Kurogiri watched in horror as his Master's right hand came back from the portal looking like a misshapen blob of broken flesh and bone.

At another table Ego was ecstatically eating his fill and dictating his review real time to his Assistant that dutifully wrote down every last word said, the Critic hadn't planned to review Izuku's Restaurant immediately, but both his pride as a Critic and the food's own quality had him change his plans, and at that moment, Izuku was still in the very rare 10/10 final score zone.

All this was happening under the pleased eyes of Izuku that was observing the people eating in the outside garden area and his two waiters rapidly and efficently coming and going to collect empty plates and deliver new ones.

"Host Izuku has fulfilled the required goals for the opening of his second Restaurant, now thanks to the System a door will be open between the two Restaurants that will let you instantly move from one location to the other so to manage both at the same time. Keep working hard, young man! You are on the right path to become God of Cooking!" The System declared inside his head with a joyful victory jingle that made him chuckle.

"Good to know you are pleased with my results! But what about our friend Jun Sato?"

"Host can deal with that Troublemaker the way he wants, the System will fully support the Host, as always. Although following the suggestion of the woman called Cathleen may be of use: An open attack will surely bring more renown to your name as a Chef than waiting for them to try anything. Controlling the flow of events instead of being merely swept away by them is more akin to a God of Cooking. You get to decide, not others. Not even the System."

"Uh! A full frontal assault. Still unsure about it, but I must admit that Sato-san's family constant attacks against me and my loved ones are not something I like… So be it, I'll face her and her family directly, openly. On her own turf: their precious Cruise Ship's Restaurant." He said, humming.

"Good choice, Host. A God of Cooking doesn't cower in fear nor lets others walk over them. Work hard and defeat your enemies, young man!" The System answerd.

Nodding to himself, Izuku returned inside the kitchen to continue cooking together with the Five Kings, he still had many dishes he wanted and needed to make, and his beloved Guests were more important to Izuku than Jun Sato or Samui's petty plans!

At the same time – Middle of the ocean – Cruise ship "Queen of the sea" -

Majestically cutting through the waves, a giant cruise ship was making its way forward on the notes of the never-ending parties and celebrations taking place onboard, and even at night the hundreds of thousands lights adorning the entire vessel and its many bridges made the ship shine in a blinding golden halo visible for miles.

The magnificent cruise ship, reminiscent of the iconic Titanic in its exterior design, was the biggest ship of the "Sato Cruises Inc.", the true admiral ship of their entire fleet; it boasted a towering structure that dominated the seascape with its gleaming white hull and exquisite attention to detail, even the railings had fine floral engravings on them, not a single inch of the ship could be considered plain in any way.

The ship was indeed a sight to behold, stretching well over 1,200 feet in length per 220 feet wide, making it the current largest cruise ship in the world and a true marvel of engineering and opulence.

The ship's exterior was built following a more Retro Style and adorned with tasteful gold accents and intricate carvings everywhere, reminiscent of a bygone era of grandeur; the cruise ship's multiple decks housed luxurious private balconies for the passengers of the more expensive cabins to enjoy breathtaking ocean views, while the lower ones were wide enough to hold all-day-long fancy parties and even small concerts of classical music, while the ship's bow proudly displayed a figurehead shaped like a woman of impossible beauty demurely covering her naked body with a flowing cloth, that too made with such maniacal attention to detail that the woman's robes looked like they were made with actual cloth.

Stepping inside, one would instead be immediately transported into a world of modern luxury that seemed almost otherworldly, since that contrary to the outside, the ship's interior was a blend of cutting-edge design and classical elegance; the grandiose atrium, for example, was a soaring masterpiece of marble and crystal, with a massive cascading chandelier that sparkled like a constellation of stars right in the middle of it.

"I can't believe we failed again." Jun Sato's grandpa seethed in anger while traversing the majestic corridors.

"You still can stop him, Grandpa?" Jun asked with a tone making it clear she was close to crying, she and her grandpa were having a phone-call while she kept cooking.

"Worry not, little Jun. Grandpa Gouki will help you. Nobody will hurt my little princess." The old man promised with a warm tone full to the brim in love.

"Thank you, Grandpa!" Jun answered, grateful.

"Everything for you, my little cherry pie. You just focus on cooking and enjoying Life, Grandpa will remove this little pest and fix everything." He answered, smiling jovially and closing the call.

His smile though disappeared as soon as the call was over, and he returned being the sneering mastermind ruling the Cruise Company from the shadows with an iron fist.

"YOU TWO! COME WITH ME!" He barked to two members of the staff, making them hurry up to walk behind him. "Soon we will get back to Japan for a short stop and a tour of the coasts and then leave again, tell the others I want everything to be in perfect order. And tell the Captain to come to my room, we are going too slow! I want to see the coasts of Japan in two days! I won't let an incompetent make a mockery of the good name of the Sato Cruise company by making us lag behind in our schedule!" He ordered, walking forward with way more speed than his age suggested he was able to.

"Yes sir!" Both Staff members answered before hurrying away to alert the Captain and the rest of the Staff of his orders.

"…" Not too far away, one of the guys taking care of cleaning and maintenance had heard every word and smirked, leaving with his mop to find a more secluded location.

Throughout the ship, every piece of furniture and material had been chosen with the latest trends in mind, from plush velvet couches to sleek marble counter-tops, every element exuded far too excessive sophistication, even the public spaces were adorned with contemporary art pieces and sculptures, shamelessly toeing the thin line separating "Tasteful Opulence" from its "Tasteless" counterpart.

"Multiple gourmet restaurants that serve dishes prepared by world-renowned chefs, bars and lounges that offer a ridiculous selection of fine wines, craft cocktails, and rare spirits… And yet not a single one of them have any goddamn beer in storage. Bunch of prissy rich idiots." The guy cursed to himself once found the right empty storage room, he lighted a cigarette and pulled-out a burnable phone from a hidden pocket of his pants.

"Hoy! Papa Wolf! Pup 13 is here." He said.

"I can hear you, Pup 13. Updates worth a call?" The Information Broker at the other end of the call said.

"Yes there are, Boss! You asked us to keep track of this moron and his bratty granddaughter, and finally I got a good opening for your friend to attack from!" The guy said, smirking and taking a long drag from his cigarette.

"Wonderful! He asked me for a favor and I hate looking like a fool with my friends when asked something so simple. So?"

"Seems like the Ship will return to Japan to refill their storage and have a fancy tour of the coasts. If our Green Wonder wants to deal with Jun Sato, he won't have a better opportunity since this damn trip won't be over for other three months… God, I envy those rich bastards." He admitted.

"Everybody hates the rich. You just keep track of those two and warn me if anything changes, I promised a professional job in exchange of our friend's silence, and I will deliver."

"And what if we…"

"Do you remember Taki? Or Puri? Or Nami? They thought the same, and where are they now?" Giran asked with an annoyed grunt.

"… Beaten black and blue and inside Tartarus…" The man answered, with a whimper.

"Yes. Green Wonder is a dear friend of mine, his Sponsor isn't. And they have a reach even I can only dream about and are not afraid to use that reach to strangle whoever doesn't comply." He explained.

"Got it. I'll send out the word and we will do our best." The man answered, nodding.

"Good pup. I'll wait you and the others' next update. Papa Wolf, over." Giran said, closing the call.

"Goddamnit, I hate this job… But the pay is good. Usually." The man muttered to himself while destroying the phone and returning to clean the floors to keep his fake identity as a janitor.

Meanwhile – Main Restaurant of the Ship "The Little Mermaid" -

Situated within the heart of the grand cruise ship and managed by Jun Sato, the daughter of the cruise company's owner and an exceptionally talented chef, one of the first to reach the fourth Michelin Star in her group of friends.

As a lover of fairy-tale aesthetics, Jun had decorated the Restaurant with fusion of sleek, contemporary design and subtle nods to the "whimsical" world of mermaids and the ocean floor, with crystal lamps designed to cast a soft, ethereal glow mimicking the play of sunlight through water, creating an illusion of being underwater.

The tables were adorned with delicate seashell-inspired centerpieces, and plush, velvet chairs deep blue in color.

"I can't believe that kid is still around." Jun hissed to the earpiece she was wearing while preparing few dishes of seared scallops with truffle foam paired with lobster tail with champagne butter.

"Not my fault Samui decided to get a relapse in his PTSD and go around the bent." Ren Watanabe answered, unfazed.

"Eh?"

"Ooh! I was told the most interesting story about this mess."

"You know why this shitshow has started?" Jun asked.

"Of course I do!"

"Then-"

"Of cooooourse I am not telling you! This is my ace in the hole to stop dear Samui from trying shit if I too fail to stop dear Midoriya! I will try my best, but I also want countermeasures to stop any retaliation from our common, moron friend." Ren said, chuckling.

"And what about me?!" Jun said.

"Oh! Well, just like the others, if you didn't want a cretin with unresolved mental issues to use your past sins against you, maybe you shouldn't have done those things! I am covering my bases and unfortunately that Umbrella is not big enough for multiple people to hide under for when shit hits the fan. And even then, I don't trust you."

"You don't?!"

"Who says you won't try to use my safety net yourself to save your ass and throw me under the bus? Or even worse, I don't trust you to be smart enough to keep that to yourself, and if Samui knows how much I know, he could very well counter my counter. Keeping a mystery how much I know will further keep me safe. You are on your own." Ren answered.

"I can still tell him!"

"Oh? And prove it how? Face it, you have more pressing matters to worry about since Samui wants you to be the next to deal with Midoriya. He hates me, yes, but he also knows I am the one he has not by the balls as tightly as he wants, I am his very last option." The man said, laughing.

"You even know that?! How?!"

"I have my ways, you dick snorter."

The woman's hands faltered at hearing that horrid mocking nickname.

"I know that too. You better hope you can stop Midoriya, otherwise that and many, many, many other dirty secrets will become public knowledge. Good luck!" Ren said with a cheerful tone and then closing the call abruptly.

"AAARGH!" Jun stabbed down with her knife and stabbed a still alive lobster in the head and cut the entire body in two.

"DIE! DIE! DIE!" She roared, stabbing the animal again and again until it became a minced pulp.

"Forget the cooking challenge, if that brat somehow wins, I'll kill him with my own hands." Jun muttered with a soulless tone.

She had Many skeletons hidden in her closet, and if even just one of them came to light, the others too will tumble out and completely destroy her life, and she could not let that happen.

"A storm is approaching, Midoriya, and it is not coming from the sea. It will sweep you away once and for all." Jun growled with black sludge streaming down her eyes, each drop melting a hole into the table.

End of the Chapter.

Omake time: Extra-Dimensional Ingredient hunt!

Dessert Specialties worth to duel over.

High-Tech City -

There was a thick feeling of celebration in the air, and Izuku and Rumi could hardly believe people could be that excite, everywhere they looked they could see people dueling each other ninstop in some over-the-top card game.

"We had to come here right during a damn festival, they all are going crazy." Rumi said, laughing.

"So it seems! But I like it, everything is so very colorful!" Izuku answered, smiling wide.

"Considering everything is Heart-Themed, your dessert should be easy to find, yes?" Rumi asked.

"Heartland Cake Roll, apparently a dessert normally made during celebrations like Weddings, Engagement parties or celebrations like this one, yes." Izuku answered.

"Let's find a good bakery then," Rumi answered, already looking around with narrowed eyes.

"Hey, you! Duel me!" a kid with spiky red hair asked, smirking.

"Aah, sorry. I don't duel. I don't even have cards." Izuku answered.

"Me neither." Rumi added.

"Aaaw! You don't? How?! Why?!"

"Yuma don't be rude!" The noy's female friend chided him, sighing.

"It's fine, don't worry. Ah, by the way, I am looking for a good bakery, one that makes a good Heartland Cake Roll." Izuku answered.

"Good Heartland Cake Roll… That's a good question, a lot of bakeries make good ones." The girl said.

"Try Sugar Paradise at the mall, my sister loves their desserts." A chubby and tall kid said.

"Thanks, kiddo!" Rumi answered with a smirk that make the big guy flush red.

"It's nothing." He said while trying to play it cool.

"Oooh! I could go for something sweet right now! We'll take you there!" The thin red-head offered.

"Oh! Thank you!" Izuku answered.

"...Yuma… His robot can see me…" The strange flying humanoid next to him said.

"What makes you say that, Astral?" He asked while he and his friends walked forward to act as guides.

"I tried moving, but its eyes tracked me perfectly."

"We'll be careful then. Just in case."

Later that day – Mall - Bakery -

"UUUUUM! It's so goood!" The kids said in awe while eating the pink dessert.

It was a pink roll of sponge cake adorned by dark-chocolate hearts, filled in fluffy milk-based cream with in its middle a big red heart made with strawberry-flavored sponge-cake.

"Not bad, but I have eaten better desserts, mostly made by you. What do you say?" Rumi asked, looking more critical while eating her own portion.

"Lots of room for improvement, but yes, I think I can do this." Izuku said, looking at the cross-section of his portion with narrowed eyes.

"Make it better? Unlikely!" A new voice said in amusement.

"Brianna!" The chubby boy of the group said.

"Hello! I came here to get my fix of Cake Roll, and I find a naughty kid saying he can make it better than my favorite Bakery! Kind of a big ego you have!" Brianna said, smirking in challenge.

"I love watching naysayers eat shit and apologize, your shocked faces are hilarious." Rumi answered, glaring at the young woman with her crossed arms.

"Hn! Rude!" Brianna's friend, and Yuma's sister, answered with a disapproving grunt.

"I am aware of my skill level, so I like to think it is not me boasting. And I am more than ready to prove it." Izuku answered, smiling.

"Oh! Really? Now that's interesting! You are even ready to bet on it?" Brianna said.

"I am! What are we betting?"

"If you make a better Roll Cake than them, I'll give you a small prize, but if you don't… Ah-ha! You will have to kneel and apologize loudly."

"Huhuhu! Okay, I accept!" Izuku answered, shaking the young woman's hand.

Two Hours later -

"Done! It's finally ready!" Izuku declared as soon as he was done, and bringing many portions for Brianna, her friend, Rumi, the kids and few other customers.

"So! Let's try your version! I'll kick your butt if it is bad!" Brianna said, smirking.

"… Why the bakery's Chef is crying that badly? He looks like somebody having a mental breakdown.

"Don't know and don't care!" Brianna answered, far too eager to try Izuku's creation.

"I made some changes to the original recipe, mostly minor adjustments to round the edges of the flavor.

"Daaamn! You outdid yoruself again, Babe!" Rumi said with a wide smile while eating.

"YOU ALL! DOWN THE GROUND!" A strange guy with a long coat, sharp nose and faint beard ordered, he had a gun in his hand and a strange, luminous 20 tattooed on his cheek.

"HE'S ARMED!" Somebody yelled.

"Yuma! He has a Numbered Card!" Astral said.

"I noticed!" Yuma yelled, stepping froward and preparing a duel di-

"Whitey!" Izuku ordered.

CRACK!

The White robot flash-stepped in front of the criminal and grabbed him by the arm, destroying the guy's duel disk and scattering his now-mangled cards everywhere.

"LET ME GO! I JUST WANT MONEY!" The guy yelled with wide eyes similar to somebody under the effects of drugs, he also kept thrashing against Whitey's hold and wave around his gun.

"Troublemaker! Stop making a scene or you will be stripped as an example to others!" Whitey ordered.

"LET ME GO!" The guy yelled, and slamming the gun in his hand against the robot's head, action that caused the thing to fire.

TING!

Brianna watched with wide eyes as Izuku's knife moved to intercept the bullet that was about to hit her, with the thing remaining stuck on the blade instead of drilling a hole in her shoulder.

"BRIANNA!" Her friend and the other kids yelled in horror while hugging the girl that in the meantime had fallen on her knees in fear.

"Whitey! Help me kick the shit out of this moron!" Rumi, apoplectic in rage, ordered while assaulting the man.

"Understood! Troublemakers must be punished!" With that battle-cry, Whitey stripped the man down to his boxers, destroyed his gun, and together with Rumi proceeded to beat the man to near-death.

In the meantime, Izuku neared Brianna as well to check on her.

"Are you okay?" He asked with a soft voice.

"I… I… You saved me?" She asked.

"I am fast with my knife, and I used to dream about being a Hero. So I want to be there and help whoever needs." He answered.

"Thank you!" She answered, hugging the young Chef and sniffling a bit in relief.

"You caught a bullet with a kitchen knife, that's beyond being skilled." Her friend said.

"Sorry, I can't share too many details." Izuku answered, hugging Brianna briefly and patting her back.

"Yuma, recover the card." Astral suggested once seen the numbered card being between the ones scattered on the floor.

"Right!" The boy said, hurrying to grab it.

When his hand was at an inch of the card, Time slowed-down so much it almost stood still.

"Oh no… Kite!" Yuma hissed as another guy joined the scene.

"Who is it now?" To Yuma and Kite's surprise, Izuku, Rumi and Whitey could still move freely while everybody else was frozen.

"Interesting, you two as well have numbered cards?" Kite asked.

"Uh? No, Edgelord, we don't take part to this crap card game." Rumi answered, uncaring.

"Well, I don't believe you since you can still move. But it's okay, I'll just need to rip your soul out and see for myself!" Kite answered.

"…" A tense silence fell in the group.

"Rip our soul out?" Izuku asked, horrified.

"If you don't want to relinquish your numbered cards, then I have no other choice!" Kite answered, smirking in smug superiority.

"Don't touch them!" Yuma yelled in answer.

"Hide behind me! I'll duel him myself!" He then said.

"…Fair to me, Yuma! Once done with you, I'll rip out all your numbered cards, and if your souls get along the ride, well, I see it as an acceptable collateral damage! Let's du-"

Clang!

"Edgelord, your boasting has gone for far too long. Walk away or you will be stripped as an example to others!" Whutey ordered from behind Kite while his big right hand closed tight on Kite's shoulder.

"Orbit-" Kite tried saying, then he saw his robot companion dìstuck into the wall in a deep crater.

"That thing is crazy strong! RUN!" The robot begged with an actual scared voice.

"Let go of me! The Numbered Cards-"

"Time's out. Initiating stripping protocol!"

"NO WAIT!" Kite yelled with wide eyes.

Straap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!

Time Started moving normally again, Izuku just sighing in dismay and shaking his head at seeing the results of Whitey's intervention, Rumi instead was just laughing her ass off.

"Yuma? You okay?" The boy's sister asked.

"I… I think I just exorcised one of my fears…" Yuma answered, unsure, once seen the tail end of Kite's naked round ass disappear behind the corner while flying away using his robot buddy as a jetpack.

"Observation 22: … Fear doesn't last if the source of the fear is stripped in front of you." Astral thought with a tiny smirk blooming on his face.

"This was a far too eventful day, I even was about to die." Brianna said, sighing, still shaken.

"But you are safe." Her friend answered.

"You are right… You know? The Roll Cake is very good…" She answered.

"So he won the bet?"

"He did."

"Hehehehe! I knew it! So? What's the prize?" Rumi answered, smirking,

"… I planned for a kiss to the cheek… But considering you also saved my life… What about a date?" She answered, smiling.

"SISTER?!" Her brother shrieked in horror.

Her answer was watching Izuku shriek and start running away dragging Rumi behind himself.

"LET ME GO! I JUST WANT TO STRANGLE HER WITH HER INTESTINES!" On the notes of the bunny girl's roars of anger.

"Wait! Just a date, come on! I am not that scary! I can be romantic too! WAAAAAAIT!" Brianna yelled while chasing them.

"HEY! MY FRIEND IS AN AMAZING GIRL! STOP BEING AFARID OF COMMITMENT!" Brianna's friend yelled while chasing them as well.

"HOW DARE YOU SEDUCE MY SISTER AND THEN BREAK HER HEART?! I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!" Brianna's brother bellowed while chasing them as well.

Meanwhile – With The System – Gods of Love -

There was destruction everywhere, palaces demolished and statues broken into shards.

"WE DID NOTHING, I SWEAR!" Aphrodite begged in tears, snot and molten make-up running down her face in waves.

"The System doesn't believe you."

"ON MY LIFE! NOBODY HERE IS SO STUPID AND INSANE TO SCREW AROUND WITH A CHOSEN OF YOURS! I SWEEEEAR!" The Goddess yelled, crying in absolute fear.

"So you Thots as well are not doing this. Other Gods too are innocent. The System will look elsewhere then." The Entity declared, throwing Aphrodite away and leaving behind the destroyed temples.

The Hunt was still on, and if Gods and Demons and Devils were not the cause, The System will look elsewhere.

End of the omake.