The first thing everyone did after settling in was sit down and listen as Joichiro and Gin explained why Azami had ended up the way he was now. They told the five current Totsuki first years about how things were when they were Polar Star residents – during the dorm's "Golden Age." While Gin was always one seat ahead of Joichiro in the Council hierarchy, it was Joichiro who was the best chef by far in terms of pure talent. At that time, Azami, who was also a Polar Star resident, was a year behind them, with Jun still in the Middle School division. Azami, especially, looked up to Joichiro and idolized him, something Erina could relate to.

Joichiro liked to spend a lot of his time competing in cooking competitions outside the school, which he always managed to win – one of the reasons he was placed on the Council of Ten (it wasn't because of his grades, that's for sure). However, with his success came ever-mounting pressure from his "adoring public," as they set the bar higher and higher in terms of expectations for whatever came next. Eventually, Joichiro's notoriety was so great, he was selected for the BLUE competition – a world-renowned international cooking competition for young, up-and-coming chefs.

At Totsuki, the praise he received also came with some very serious detractors, who questioned whether he was as good as he said he was. At one point, he challenged all of them to food wars back-to-back without any help from anyone. He beat all 50 chefs that came at him in one day, earning him the nickname "Carnage." By the time he reached his third year at Totsuki, he became the second seat on the Council of Ten, while Gin was the first seat and Azami was the third seat. The pressure had been building up for longer than that, however. So much so that he began making his "experiments" in order to let off steam, much to the consternation of his dorm mates – particularly Jun, whom he loved to use as a guinea pig.

At that, Soma chuckled and commented, "I guess it runs in the family, huh pops?" Gin then said, "Don't tell me…" Everyone else nodded as Takumi stated, "Yeah, he's just like chef Saiba." Megumi laughed nervously as she added, "A chip off the old block." Daniel gave a laugh and said, "You should do what I do." Gin looked at him quizzically as he asked, "And what's that?" Daniel grinned as he replied, "I throw it right back in his face – literally." All three of the adults in the room got a hearty laugh before Gin and Joichiro continued.

On the day of the BLUE, Joichiro was nowhere to be found when the limo came to take him to the competition. His dorm mates searched for hours for him until Gin finally found him sitting in the middle of the main arena, looking very much out of it. He had lost the will to keep going in his cooking, and wasn't sure what it was all for. Senzaemon, sensing Joichiro's despair, urged him to leave the academy and travel the world for a while, which is exactly what he did, leaving his dorm mates behind and never to return to Totsuki as a student. He even cut off contact with everyone for years, only very occasionally dropping a line to Gin, Senzaemon, or Miss Fumio.

"So, that's what happened," Joichiro said in a casual manner. Everyone then heard Soma yawn as Joichiro yelled, "Did you completely ignore my story!?" Soma grinned and replied, "Nah…I'm actually kinda relieved. I thought that maybe you had done something terrible to Azami back then." When Joichiro pointed out that he quit cooking for several years, Soma pointed out, "But you're back in the thick of things now, and that's what matters!" As Soma and Joichiro had a nice father-son bonding moment, Takumi asked, "But what does all this have to do with Director Azami?" Gin speculated that Azami felt hurt by Joichiro's leaving and blamed the culinary world for what had happened to him. "As a result, probably felt some sort of need to take revenge on the system that had destroyed his idol."

As Gin and Joichiro finished their story, Senzamon injected himself into the conversation, saying that what mattered at that moment was that they do everything they could to save Totsuki and the rest of the culinary world from Azami's plans. To that end, he had everyone follow him to the kitchen car, where their training would begin. Senzaemon then divided everyone into two teams – Gin would lead one team with Megumi and Takumi, while Joichiro led the other team with Soma, Erina, and Daniel. Each team would have to make their own version of a Hachis Parmentier – a dish usually consisting of mashed potatoes with a layer of meat sauce in between with grated cheese melted on top. The other condition of this exercise was that there would be no verbal communication between the team members.

This last condition proved to be quite difficult, as you needed to figure out exactly what the head chef was doing before being able to figure out how to best assist him. Even Soma and Daniel, who had worked with Joichiro for years, were initially clueless as to how to go about this. They had to resort to writing and passing notes with Erina to communicate their confusion and frustrations. Gin's team seemed to figure things out quickly, as both Takumi and Megumi began to assist Gin in a way that made him grin and nod his head. Joichiro and Soma, however, nearly came to loggerheads before Senzaemon warned them to shut up or be disqualified.

At one point, Soma finally seemed to figure out where Joichiro was going with the dish and had Daniel come with him – pointing out various ingredients such as potatoes and dried sardines, and making hand signals as to what he wanted Daniel to do. Daniel was eventually able to translate and got to work alongside Soma. Although it took a while longer, Erina also was able to figure out what to do, and went to the stove, took out a high-quality steak, and began to pan fry it, much to the confusion of the observing servants.

When time was called, both teams revealed their interpretations of the theme dish. Gin's team made something more resembling the original, though a bit more gourmet, as it looked like it had been formed with a ring mold. In addition, the meat sauce had been mixed with a sofrito, as opposed to a mirepoix in a traditional version of the dish, and the portion was surrounded with a sauce espagnole. Further, it was topped with an anchovy-basil sauce, giving it a very different look. Meanwhile, Joichiro's team went in a completely different direction, making a crepe using a traditional batter mixed with finely grated potatoes, an interior featuring a potato galette with dried sardines and cheese, as well as the sliced steak with a red wine sauce using the beef drippings. The crepe was topped with more melted cheese.

Senzaemon then had each team taste the other team's dish to determine the winner before having each of the five students point to the team they thought had the better dish. To everyone's astonishment, each student pointed to the opposing team, each of them acknowledging their own defeat. As they began to argue with each other over the merits of their opposing team's dishes, the three adult chefs began to chuckle, as it seemed that Senzaemon's plan to have them recognize each other's strengths was working far better than he expected. He then had everyone else taste the dishes, which the servants delighted in and were left in awe of how delicious they turned out, despite not being the regular version.

Now having developed a greater sense of teamwork and camaraderie, the five students turned in for the night, awaiting the next day when they would confront Azami and the Council of Ten to set the terms of the regimental food war. When the train stopped at the designated station, they emerged seemingly in the middle of nowhere, as the station was the only man made structure anyone could make out for miles. As they waited in the chilly afternoon, Azami was the first to arrive, skiing down the mountain towards the platform opposite of where they stood. Soon after, they were joined by the other long-time members of the Council.

At this time, Nene read off the terms of the upcoming regimental food war – that it would take place on Rebun Island, which served as the last testing site for the first-year advancement exam, one month from that time. The terms of the food war were then reiterated – namely that the council seats would be vacated by the current occupants if the rebels won, while the remaining rebels would be expelled, and Joichiro would close his diner and go into Azami's service if they lost. In addition, there would be no limits on how many people could be recruited for each team, provided that they were current students.

Once this was made clear, Azami then stated, "Of course, Erina will be competing for Central." As the other rebels murmured in confusion, Azami added, "Naturally, as a member of the Council of Ten, it's obvious that Erina would compete for our team." He then faced Erina directly and said, "Erina, your time in the outside world has now ended. It's time for you to come back here, where you belong." At first, Erina froze up in fear, and the other rebels were worried that she would comply with Azami. However, she regained herself after a bit of hyperventilation, and slowly, but clearly, stated that she was sticking with her comrades and was resigning from the council, much to the astonishment of the people on the opposite platform.

While Azami looked relatively indifferent, the other rebels could tell that he was seething inside that Erina was daring to defy him. Azami then stated, "Expulsion would be too light for you, Erina. As punishment, should you lose, you will come back to me and work for Central for the rest of your life, and never disobey me again." This raised some eyebrows on the rebel side, as this was extremely harsh, especially considering what they were already putting up. Plus, it would mean that Erina would be a prisoner for the rest of her life if she accepted these terms and they lost.

With this in mind, Daniel stepped forward, and before Erina could reply to Azami's ultimatum, he stated in a seemingly calm manner, "Yeah, that's not happening." Daniel looked at Azami eye to eye as he added, "That's not part of the deal, nor is it going to be." As Erina and the other rebels looked at Daniel in surprise, Azami seemed amused as he asked, "Oh, really? And what's to stop me from calling this whole thing off if Erina doesn't agree to my terms? After all, you rebels were the ones who challenged me." Daniel grinned as he stated, "Because if you don't rescind that term, you'll be up to your eyeballs in a lawsuit." Azami looked at him in confusion as he asked, "What are you talking about?"

Daniel then pulled out his secret trump card – a USB drive – for everyone to see. He had planned on keeping it under wraps unless they all got expelled, but this seemed like an appropriate time to use it. Daniel then explained, "This USB drive contains information on what you've been doing since you took over Totsuki. While changing how Totsuki itself is run is perfectly legal, trying to directly control every aspect of the Japanese culinary industry is another matter. Your plans are not only despicable, but they violate several antitrust laws in this country. Once the government gets a hold of this, I'm sure they will be very quick and efficient in putting you and all your dealings under a very large microscope."

Azami was now looking both very infuriated and quite worried. "You're bluffing," he said, "How would some nobody like you even get such information if it existed?" Daniel continued to grin as he said, "I've been in contact with a number of sponsors with longtime ties to Tostuki. And guess what? They don't like what you're doing! They were only too willing to provide me with this information. It's enough to finish you in the industry – you will never be allowed to gain such power ever again." He then put the USB drive back in his pocket as he stated, "Personally, I feel that you should be in jail for what you've done, but that's a conversation for another time."

Daniel then crossed his arms and had a confident look on his face as he said, "If you don't rescind that last stipulation regarding Erina serving Central for life, this goes to the government and your life is turned upside down by this time tomorrow." As everyone else looked at Daniel in astonishment that he had the guts to confront Azami like this and that he had such a weapon to use against him, Azami was seething. However, he saw that he had little choice as he said, "Very well – I won't make Erina return to Central. However, if we do win, you hand over the information you have to me and agree that you will never use it." After thinking a moment, Daniel nodded in agreement to the latest terms. With that, Azami stormed off in anger with the other council members behind him.

After Azami and the Council left the station, the rebels then congratulated Erina on the courage she showed her father and for standing up to him for the first time ever. To show how much faith they had in her, the other four rebels, including Daniel, handed over their student IDs to Erina for safekeeping – putting their fates, both figuratively and literally, in her hands. As everyone was boarding the rebels' train, the attention then shifted back to Daniel, as they were still shocked that he had been able to stare down Azami and win.

"That was quite a clever ploy, my boy," Senzaemon commented. "Thank you very much for doing that for Erina." Daniel smiled and nodded in acknowledgement before Erina asked, "Just how did you know to get in contact with the right sponsors? I thought almost everyone had given in to my father." Daniel grinned and replied, "I didn't know who exactly would help us – but Hisako had a good idea." As the other rebels' eyes widened, Daniel explained, "Don't get mad, but I told her my idea in confidence, and she provided me a list of people who would be the most willing and able to help us. All those years as your secretary, she knew exactly who the best bets were!"

Erina's eyes widened even further as she asked, "So you weren't just bluffing!?" Daniel nodded with a smile before Erina sighed and said, "Well, thank you for doing that for me, but what will you do if we lose? You won't be able to use that information." Daniel sported a grin as he stated, "Azami only said I couldn't use the information. He didn't say anything about someone else using it – say, the Sendawara sisters, for example?" As eyes widened again at the realization he was correct about that, Takumi suddenly asked, "But wait, wouldn't the information just be traced back to you?" Daniel shrugged and asked, "Why? For all anyone knows, the Sendawara sisters gathered everything to begin with. They do have the means and wherewithal, after all."

Joichiro burst out in a hearty laugh at this and stated, "Oh, man! You really are the son of a lawyer, aren't you?" Daniel continued to grin as he responded, "And proud of it!" As everyone else began to chuckle, Erina replied, "But still, you shouldn't have had to use that just for my sake." Daniel shook his head and said, "It's okay. Consider it the fulfillment of a promise I made to Hisako. Before we left the station in Sapporo, she made me promise to look out for you while you two were separated." As Erina's eyes widened – being so touched that Hisako continued to think of her – Daniel continued, "But, I would have done it even if I hadn't made that promise. To me, what he did to you is unforgivable. No parent should ever do to their child what he did to you." He then took out the USB drive again as he stated, "One way or another, Azami is going down!"