"You can't possibly be serious!" Daniel exclaimed. Azami grinned as he replied, "Oh, but I am. Very serious, in fact." The rebels were absolutely fuming at Azami's arrogance as Yuki shouted, "Get out of here! There's no way we would ever agree to continue this with you judging!" Daniel nodded as he added, "This is beyond B.S. – you can't possibly have us expect a fair judgment from you of all people!" Azami looked unfazed as he stated, "But you have agreed to it." As the rebels looked confused, Azami pointed out Senzaemon in the crowd, explaining that it was the old master who had agreed to allow Azami to serve as a judge for the remainder. As the rebels looked towards Senzaemon, he looked back and gave a grin and a nod.

At this, Daniel began to speak softly to Erina, asking, "I know your grandfather likes to play mental three-dimensional chess with people, but has he gone senile on this one?" Erina shook her head as she replied, "I know this doesn't make any sense to us, but we have to trust that grandfather knows what he's doing." Daniel sighed as he realized that this meant that there was nothing any of them could do about this. He had no choice but to trust master Senzaemon's – and Erina's – judgment on this turn of events.

As Azami made his way to the judges' table, the three judges already present began to protest, stating that they had taken an oath "on the book" and were bound to see this competition to its completion. At this, Azami brought out two other people he had selected to be the other judges for the remainder of the competition – two very beautiful looking women whom Anne recognized instantly. One was a blonde with pale skin and medium-length hair named Courage, the other a taller, tanned woman with long black hair named Decora – both of whom were first-tier reviewers from the WGO. As the two women began clinging to each of Azami's arms and the rebels were gawking at how Azami had managed to have such influence with the WGO, Anne insisted that she be allowed to stay at the table as a fellow first-tier reviewer, which Azami granted.

However, Azami's sudden usurpation of the judges' table grated at even the members of his own Central team, as Rindo began yelling at him about what he was doing, saying that he should have faith in their ability to get the job done. She continued to go about her cooking regardless, but now with a scowl on her face, which confused Takumi as he observed what his opponent was doing at her workstation. Soon after, Azami called for some fine wine to go with the dishes that were to be served, and Takumi finished his dish and brought it to the table for tasting.

With the spear squid theme, Takumi chose to make his version of a classic Italian dish known as Calamari Ripieni. For this dish, Takumi took the main body of the squid and stuffed it with a mix of, among other things, breadcrumbs, cheese, eggs, tomatoes, and the remaining parts of the squid (chopped up). He then chopped up the stuffed squid into medallions, which somehow held together, before topping it off with a sauce made from cream, pepper, and the juices of the squid. After charring the outside of the main body, the stuffing and the sauce reinforced the squid flavor while also providing a balance of salty and sour to the tastebuds. The three judges (as well as Anne) gave the dish high praise. Even Azami couldn't deny how well-made the dish was.

Then, Azami commented, "Now on to the main attraction," as Rindo came up to the table to present her spear squid dish. Rindo's Spear Squid Causa was her take on a classic dish from Peru, which featured a number of round layers, including a lightly fried squid burger, a layer of mashed potatoes that were given its yellow color with aji Amarillo, and a layer of paiche, a rare fish from the Amazon that was considered the largest freshwater fish in the world. Thanks to her expertise with rare ingredients, she treated it perfectly, as it had a similar texture to chicken.

As the judges began to cast their votes, there was a consensus that Rindo's dish was the superior one, and even Anne had to admit that she couldn't object to their analysis. As the judges finalized the 3-0 victory for Rindo, the rebels in the cage groaned at seeing one of their members taken down. Rindo then commented that while Takumi's dish looked very tasty, the difference in skill level was still very apparent. Takumi had to concede this point, stating, "Yes, I admit, this is the very best that I can do at this point in time."

Meanwhile, the wild rabbit battle between Isshiki and Eishi was coming to its climax, with the winner once again having the opportunity to regain a huge amount of momentum for their team. Isshiki was the first to present – and his dish was somewhat of a surprise. While wild rabbit would tend to gravitate a chef towards French cuisine, Isshiki chose to go with Japanese cuisine. At first, it looked like a traditional clear Japanese soup known as suimono, served in a traditional lacquer bowl. The soup was done absolutely perfectly, as it was clearer than anyone could have imagined – like crystal, with the garnishes as the mochi at the bottom clearly visible.

The judges then began tasting the soup and the stock had been rendered and strained to perfection, with nothing but the pure flavors of the dashi to linger on the tongue. As the judges were tasting, Nene once again came up to Isshiki as he continued to remain cheerful throughout the process, despite the fact that he was going up against the first seat. Nene even tried to get Isshiki to recognize that he couldn't win, which Isshiki disputed. Isshiki then asked the judges to break up the mochi, after which, the clear soup began to become cloudy, like a miso soup. Inside the mochi, he had ground up the wild rabbit and mixed it with miso so that the soup would transform once the mochi was opened. Despite the wild rabbit's gamey flavor, it didn't overwhelm the soup, as the miso was able to balance the flavors. The judges (at least the female ones) were in awe that Isshiki had created what was in essence a transforming soup that acted like two different dishes in one – both of which were superb!

At this, Nene looked down as she began to pout about how it was just like when they were kids – how Isshiki always made her feel inadequate next to him. It was then that Isshiki gave his own version of the story. He told of how when he first came to the Kinokuni household, he was about ready to quit cooking altogether. But then, he saw how Nene was always working on her skills – not only cooking, but everything else – and was putting everything she had into everything she did. This inspired him to keep going and to make a vow to himself to always enjoy himself when cooking. Nene was stunned at what Isshiki said, especially when he commented that if it weren't for Nene, he probably wouldn't have ever gone to Totsuki.

As the two of them locked eyes and Nene's blush became even brighter, Eishi interrupted their moment to offer Isshiki a position as his right-hand man at Central if he agreed to quit before the end of the match. Everyone present stared at Eishi incredulously as Daniel shouted, "Are you freaking kidding me!? They were having such a heartfelt moment and you ruined it for that!?" Isshiki just chuckled, saying that while he admired Eishi's persistence, he had no intention to ever stop cooking the way he wanted to, and declined the offer. As Eishi walked away in a depressed state, he prepared to present his own dish to the judges.

Eishi's offering was a classic French dish – Hare a la Royale – something that was first served in the court of the French monarchy. The wild rabbit made up the outer layer and surrounded a core of foie gras, and was served with a sauce made of bitter chocolate, red wine, and rabbit's blood. This was considered one of the most complicated dishes in French cuisine to make, and Eishi's skills showed as the judges began tasting. The dish was done perfectly, as the richness of the dish was very apparent, and the flavors all melded perfectly – each one being apparent while working with the others in perfect harmony. However, the wonder and delicacy of Isshiki's dish made the judges initially gravitate towards the former seventh seat.

The rebels began to get excited, thinking that Isshiki had pulled off the impossible and beaten Eishi. Suddenly, however, Courage pointed out that there was something else beneath the roulade and sauce – three extra layers that enhanced and complimented the rabbit simultaneously. The first was a custard royale made from porcini mushrooms, with a layer of chestnut puree beneath that, and an apple and fig puree making up the bottom layer. All of these layers went perfectly both with the rabbit roulade and the chocolate sauce, as well as with each other, keeping the harmoniousness of the dish while elevating it further than anyone expected.

Not even Isshiki's creativity with his soup could match up to this, and in a tremendous blow to the rebels, the judges awarded Eishi the victory in a clean sweep. This meant that the teams were once again even at the end of the day in terms of numbers, with Soma, Erina, and Daniel remaining for the rebels, while the Central team had the top three seats – Eishi, Rindo, and Momo – left. In addition, the three Central members were third years while the rebels were all first years.

As Urara began to announce the format for the next day, with the usual three matches in the morning, and afternoon matches coming if neither team got a clean sweep. Suddenly, she was interrupted by Senzaemon, who declared, "No! Tomorrow morning will be the final match of this regimental food war!" As the crowd buzzed in confusion, he stated, "For tomorrow's match, each team shall present a three-course gourmet meal to the judges, consisting of an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert, with the winner being determined by the best overall meal!" Azami thought that this was a splendid idea, as he figured it would show once and for all that his ideals of gourmet cuisine as demonstrated by Central, were far superior to what the rebels could offer.

It was then settled that it would be a three-on-three match the next morning for all the marbles, with each chef in charge of one course for their team. With the room buzzing with anticipation for what was to come the next day, the teams filed out and headed back to their respective kitchens and dressing rooms to strategize, plan, and practice for the next day. As they decompressed from the day's matches and began to brainstorm about their approach for the next day, Erina asked Daniel if he could get any recon information from his spy. Daniel then sent a text and awaited a reply. When he received it, Daniel shook his head and explained, "Sorry, but we're not getting anything useful for the last match. The top three seats are in lockdown mode right now. Nobody – and I mean nobody – is going in or out of the room they're in, and no information is being communicated. It looks like we're on our own."

A few hours later, as Daniel was sitting at one of the counters with his head in his hands, and Hisako, Megumi, and Isshiki behind him – all watching Soma and Erina continue to bicker as they had been since after Daniel's failed attempt to get information, it was clear that they were getting nowhere fast. The only thing they had even agreed upon was that Daniel would be the one to make the dessert course, as that was his specialty. Meanwhile, Soma and Erina couldn't even agree on who would be doing the appetizer and who would be doing the entrée.

As Daniel grew frustrated with his teammates' antics, he sighed and took out his Irish coin from his pocket to calm him down. As he fidgeted with it in his hand and looked over it, he began to reminisce about that trip his family took the summer before moving to Japan. He remembered all the good times they had, including the times they ate in some of the pubs. As he began to recall all of this, his eyes widened as he felt he had come up with something to use as a gameplan. He then turned to Hisako and asked, "Do you have a pen or pencil and a pad of paper, by any chance?" Hisako nodded, and took out the requested items from her bag. Daniel then got a very concentrated look on his face as he began to jot down what he was thinking.

As Daniel was doing this, Hisako and Isshiki looked at him curiously, while Megumi was able to get Soma's and Erina's attention and bring them over, saying, "I think Daniel may have an idea!" As Erina and Soma came over, also curious about what Daniel was doing, Soma saw the look in Daniel's eyes and grinned. "I think we should listen to what he has in mind," Soma said. "He comes up with his best ideas when he gets that look." Erina nodded in response, at least willing to see what Daniel was coming up with.

When Daniel was finished, he told everyone that he had come up with a plan for all three dishes so that they would all go together and create a cohesive meal. At first, it seemed like his ideas were too simple for this competition, but Daniel went through each dish, explaining how he saw them being elevated for the match into a gourmet meal. As he was going through his ideas, everyone in the room, including Erina, was very surprised that he had been able to come up with all of this on his own in a matter of minutes. When he was finished, everyone else looked towards Soma and Erina for their takes. Soma enthusiastically endorsed Daniel's plan, and even Erina couldn't help but say, "This could actually work – it's really well thought out." Once she got over her shock at admitting this, she said to Daniel, "You really continue to surprise me. I think I understand now what Hisako has been telling me about you." Hisako smiled with pride in her boyfriend, while Soma gave a friendly slap on the back to Daniel and told him, "Great job!"

Now that the menu had been determined, the only thing left to decide was who would be cooking the appetizer and who would be cooking the entrée. As Soma and Erina began to bicker again, Daniel held up his hand to get their attention. When they turned to him, he stated that it should be Erina who gets to be in charge of the main course. As Soma looked at Daniel with a slight look of betrayal, Erina grinned and said to Soma, "See? Even your best friend thinks my cooking skills are superior to yours."

Daniel then shook his head and said, "Actually, I think the two of you are about even when it comes to your cooking abilities. You have very different approaches, but you're even on pure skill level." As Soma sported a grin and Erina got a slightly indignant look on her face, Hisako asked, "Then how did you decide on Erina for the main course so quickly?" Daniel replied, "Because it has to be her." As he got looks of confusion from everyone, he explained while turning to Erina, "The main course is going to be the highlight of the meal, and you have to use this opportunity to confront your father, and break free from him once and for all." Erina tensed up for a moment before nodding in understanding, and even Soma nodded at Daniel's reasoning, as he then agreed to the plan. The stage was now set for the next day, when the fate of Totsuki would be decided.

I hope you all like how I set up the final matchup (3-on-3 instead of 2-on-2), and how I had Daniel be the one to come up with the gameplan. Tune in next time to see what dishes Daniel came up with! As usual, please review and comment (but no flames).