The next day, Daniel, Soma, and Megumi were waiting for class to begin when they were informed that their instructor had resigned, as he refused to follow the instructions of Central. As the class murmured in surprise and concern, it was announced that they would have a guest lecturer for the time being. At that, into the classroom walked the first seat himself – Eishi Tsukasa. He initially introduced himself in his usual self-deprecating manner, which confused everyone.
Tsukasa then addressed the class, telling them that he would be instructing them on how to 'properly' prepare several French dishes, and asked for a volunteer to assist him. While most of the class was too intimidated to volunteer, Soma went up there enthusiastically, much to Daniel and Megumi's surprise. During the course of the lecture, Tsukasa instructed the class how to make five different dishes, with Soma assisting him in a way that made things run smoothly and efficiently. The rest of the class was, needless to say, impressed with the dishes Tsukasa made, as they were all superbly delicious and looked very elegant.
At the end of the lecture, most of the people filed out – including Megumi, who was called for an emergency meeting of the Regional Cuisine Research Society – while Soma and Daniel stayed behind, with Daniel wanting to know why Soma decided to help Tsukasa. This was answered soon enough as Soma was bragging about how he had been able to show off what he had learned under chef Shinomiya. 'Ah, so that's it,' Daniel thought. 'He just wanted to show off a bit.' As he sighed, realizing this was just typical Soma, Soma suddenly realized he had been helping the enemy and cursed himself.
Tsukasa then surprised both Soma and Daniel, as he offered Soma a position in Central as his right-hand man, and even offered to convince Momo to provide Daniel the same position with her. Both were definitely intrigued by what the offer meant – it meant that they were being taken seriously and recognized by the best chefs in the school – but they weren't too keen on how Central was choosing to run things. Soma was the first to speak, declining the offer, saying, "I don't want Central to get a hold of my Yukihira-style cooking." Tsukasa immediately replied, "Oh, we don't actually want that. We just want your skills."
Shocked at the bluntness of his response, Daniel and Soma attempted to ask what he meant by that when Tsukasa challenged Soma to an impromptu food war. If Tsukasa won, Soma would agree to his offer. The theme would be French, using venison as the star ingredient, an ingredient that the classroom just happened to be stocked with, as it had been what the original lesson would have focused on. Soma accepted the challenge, while Daniel just stood there dumbfounded that Soma would do it. He knew Soma was generally reckless by nature, but this was a fool's errand. Soma just had to do it – he had to make the point that his style of cooking could match up with anyone, even Eishi Tsukasa's.
As they began cooking, Soma questioned Tsukasa as to why he was doing all of this. He was already the number one seat and could probably work at any restaurant he chose (or even own one, for that matter). So why did he vote to install Azami and align with Central? Tsukasa answered with an absolute bombshell – that the point of all of this was beyond Totsuki, and that the ultimate goal was to shut down most of Japan's restaurants as soon as possible, leaving only the ones that Central deemed worthy. When Soma asked if that also included restaurants like Mitamura or his own Yukihira, restaurants that families and individuals had poured their hearts and souls into for years, Tsukasa answered, "Yes, I think that would be inevitable," like it was no big deal.
At that, Soma got down to business. There was no way he could join Central and allow that to happen to so many good restaurants – and quite frankly, Daniel agreed and no longer had any qualms about Soma doing this. Well, maybe just the one about the possible consequence of losing. In any case, Soma was now in that mode of his where he would turn up the intensity and give everything he had. Even if it was a very small one, Daniel could see that he at least had a chance to win this one. In addition, Daniel was deep in thought as to what he could do to help prevent this horrible plan from going forward.
As Daniel watched Soma's battle with Tsukasa, he caught a glimpse of a trio of familiar looking heads of hair occasionally sticking up above the windowsill trying to look into the classroom. He also noticed the differences in the two chefs' styles. While Tsukasa was very deliberate and methodical, it could be tough at times to tell what direction Soma was going in with his dish. He not only saw him go for his signature portable hibachi grill, but he was also digging though his bag for some candied chestnuts at one point.
When they finished, the two chefs realized that they hadn't thought about how to judge the contest. As Daniel was Soma's best friend, he was considered too biased to judge. It was then that Soma went over to the windowsill and pointed out Erina, Hisako, and Megumi listening in, asking if they would be suitable judges. 'I'm surprised that he even noticed them while he was cooking,' Daniel thought. It came as a surprise to Tsukasa as well, as he screeched at realizing that the girls had been watching the whole time. Nonetheless, he agreed to have them judge the dishes.
Soma's dish was the first to be tasted – Charcoal-Grilled Venison Round Steak with Chestnut Sauce. While the method of cooking the venison – namely the brazier charcoal grill – was not generally considered a French method, the meat had a nice char on the outside while the inside was still juicy and tender. This was very unexpected of this cooking method. In addition, the sauce he made was unmistakably French in Erina's opinion, as the use of the venison stock and candied chestnuts was something that was widely used in French game dishes. Plus, the coffee Soma used rounded out the sauce and the overall dish nicely. It may have seemed illogical on paper, but it somehow all worked together to create a high caliber dish.
Next was Tsukasa's dish – Roasted Venison in Two Expressions. He cooked the venison using the venison fat in a way that prevented the meat from ever directly touching the pan, keeping the meat moist, tender, and flavorful. He also created two sauces for the dish, one was made from a venison stock mixed with black pepper, while the other was a sauce made with various forms of different berries as an acidic component to subdue the richness of the meat. Both sauces seemed to subdue and enhance the venison simultaneously – as though Tsukasa could speak directly to the ingredients and make them work for him in perfect harmony. Even Soma was overwhelmed by how delicious it was!
When all three girls had finished tasting the dishes, it was time to pick a winner. As good as Soma's dish was, the difference in skill between him and Tsukasa was painfully clear. In the end, all three girls picked Tsukasa's dish as the winner. Erina looked on with a serious look on her face, while Daniel, Hisako, and Megumi looked at Soma worriedly, now that Soma would possibly be forced to join Central. Even Soma was resigned to that possibility. However, Tsukasa decided to call off the terms of the battle, as it hadn't been a formal food war anyway, and he felt that having Soma as his assistant would just cause him to worry even more. "You're too much of a wild card for me to trust you with that," he said.
As Tsukasa walked away, Soma tried to protest and accept the consequences of losing the battle like a man of honor, but Hisako and Megumi pulled him away, yelling at him to shut up and not look a gift horse in the mouth. Even Daniel got in on it, giving Soma a "Shush!" every time he opened his mouth. He even gave a pre-emptive "Shush!" when Soma continued to protest before he finally gave up on the issue and made his way back to Polar Star with the others. Upon returning to Polar Star, Daniel immediately went up to his room, closed the door, and called his father. When he picked up, Daniel gave a relatively cheerful greeting before getting down to business. "I have a question I hope you may be able to provide answers for, dad….How much do you know about Japanese antitrust law?"
The next day was the second round of the Straggler Hunt, as more research societies, clubs, and seminars battled representatives of Central in an effort to avoid disbandment. Daniel and the rest of Polar Star came out to watch, as Megumi, Zenji, and Ikumi would all be doing battle for their respective clubs that day. All three were victorious, with Megumi sweeping the match for the Regional Cuisine Research Society, Ikumi winning handily for Bowl Club, and Zenji pulling out a victory for the Miyazato Seminar. As it turned out, these were the only victories for the various clubs over Central that day, leaving very few clubs and seminars remaining in operation.
That evening, as the dorm residents and other honorary members (Hisako, Ikumi, Takumi, and Isami) gathered together for good times at Polar Star, they were met by an unexpected and unwanted visitor. Apparently, Azami had somehow figured out that Erina was staying at the dorm and decided to drop in. Although the people there were still a bit intimidated by him, they still stood their ground and demanded that he leave. While Azami professed an innocent reason for being there – namely seeing his daughter – there was a threatening aura surrounding him the entire time.
Just when it seemed Erina would give in to her fears and follow her father back with him, Fumio interjected, demanding in no uncertain terms that Azami get out and leave everyone alone – including Erina. In fact, she looked absolutely disgusted with Azami, commenting that it was pitiful to see how low he had sunk, and even referring to him by the name Nakamura – the family name he went by before marrying into the Nakiri family. She then revealed that Azami had been a resident of Polar Star during his time as a student, and had been the number three seat in his first year before becoming the number one seat during his second year and holding it until graduation.
This revelation stunned the current students – both that Azami was a Polar Star alum and that he had tried to tear down his old home. This made them even more furious at him, wondering how heartless he could be to want to do something like that to a place he lived in. They once again demanded – calmly, but firmly – that Azami leave. Even Isshiki (dressed in his loin cloth) politely asked Azami to leave, even though he knew this would almost certainly mean the end of his time on the Council of Ten.
Seeing the resistance and not wanting to cause an incident at that point, Azami agreed to depart, and leave Erina in the hands of the dorm residents for the time being. As he made his way to the limo waiting outside the dorm gates, Soma and Daniel caught up to him, demanding to know why he had been so gung-ho about knocking down his old dorm. Azami replied that he hadn't desired it, but that the dorm's existence simply got in the way of his plans. He then revealed that his ultimate desire and plans for the culinary world had been driven due to the current system having 'ruined' a great chef – a chef and classmate that he had respected and admired above all others – Joichiro Saiba.
Both Soma and Daniel's eyes widened as Azami mentioned the name of Soma's father. "Did you say 'Joichiro Saiba'? 'Cuse that's my father," Soma stated. Daniel then added, "Yeah, what does Soma's dad have to do with this? He's never seemed like a ruined man to me." Azami, though, was still stunned at learning that Soma was the son of the person he was doing all of this for. He then chuckled, wondering how much of this was fate, and how much was it a coincidence. "It's only fitting," he said, "that Saiba's son will see the dawning of a new culinary world brought about by my revolution." This only left Soma and Daniel further questioning his sanity.
As they turned around, they saw everyone else gathered in the doorway, as Ryoko was showing Erina the photo they had of the dorm with Soma's father, and Megumi was explaining to Takumi who Joichiro Saiba was. Erina and Hisako (especially Erina) were stunned that Soma had such an amazing chef as his father, while Takumi was left wondering just who exactly Soma really was. Daniel then turned to Soma before stating, "I don't know what connection your dad has to Azami, but it's clear now that what's at stake here is much bigger than any of us. This is going to get rough."