If the French aspic Kojiro Shinomiya had eaten earlier-made by Erina-could be described as shit...
Then this bowl of noodles was at least a hundred times worse than that aspic.
That was why he said what he said.
But the moment the words left his mouth, Kojiro Shinomiya realized something was wrong.
Very wrong.
He had said something he absolutely shouldn't have said.
And then-
Although Senzaemon Nakiri, Yukihira Jōichirō, and Gin Dojima-who were all in equally miserable states-pretended they hadn't heard anything, Hinako Inui stared straight at him.
Dumbfounded.
"...How do you know shit doesn't taste this bad?"
Could it be-
Hiss-
Kojiro Shinomiya watched Hinako Inui's expression slowly shift into pure horror, and his scalp instantly went numb.
"Stop!"
"I think I know exactly what disgusting thing you're imagining, but that's absolutely not what I meant!"
He desperately tried to explain.
But if Hinako Inui could calmly listen to explanations, she wouldn't be Hinako Inui.
So-
The judges' table descended into chaos.
With Shinomiya and Hinako at the center of it.
And once the judges' table fell into disorder, the surrounding audience naturally began whispering among themselves.
The official result hadn't been announced yet.
But everyone already understood one thing-
Among all the dishes, Jaden's instant noodles were the most normal.
Not delicious.
But edible.
As for Asahi Saiba-
Judging from the reactions at the judges' table...
Without exaggeration, the highest evaluation his noodles received seemed to be-
"Shit."
Who won and who lost was obvious.
Since the outcome was already clear, most people were quite tolerant of the chaos at the judges' table.
But Jaden had no intention of dragging things out.
He walked straight over.
"Um."
At his voice, Kojiro Shinomiya and Hinako Inui both fell silent.
Jaden's gaze landed on Asahi Saiba, who looked completely lost.
He smiled faintly.
"Whether it's shit or worse than shit..."
"Why don't we ask him directly?"
"After all, it's hard to recreate a taste you've never experienced yourself, right?"
"Don't you think so, Saiba?"
Huh!?
Asahi Saiba opened his mouth several times.
No words came out.
Ask him?
He didn't know either.
How could it be inedible?
His dish was made from dozens of carefully blended spices!
How could it possibly taste bad!?
They were lying.
All of them.
They were ganging up on him.
Bullying him.
He didn't believe it.
Asahi Saiba ignored the stares.
He picked up a bowl of his own noodles.
And took a bite.
Gag-
He dry-heaved violently.
His body swayed.
Then he collapsed to the floor.
Barely managing to choke out a single sentence.
"...Worse than shit."
Hiss-
Kojiro Shinomiya immediately understood.
He had said that earlier because he had eaten Erina's aspic before.
So this Asahi Saiba-
He stopped himself.
-No. Don't think about it.
If he pursued this topic any further, the now-quiet Hinako Inui would absolutely start up again.
So Kojiro Shinomiya said nothing.
At that moment, Senzaemon Nakiri spoke.
"In that case, announce the result."
With his authority, there was no suspense.
All five votes went to Jaden.
5-0.
A complete victory.
Asahi Saiba didn't even seem to care.
He was still trapped in the aftertaste, drowning in self-doubt.
Jaden wasn't interested in the aftermath either.
He left the cleanup to Senzaemon Nakiri and the others and walked over to Erina.
She was staring blankly at the scoreboard.
Jaden spoke slowly.
"What's wrong?"
Hearing his voice, Erina smiled faintly.
"Nothing."
"I'm just... a little amazed."
"Even Asahi Saiba, with Cross-Blade at that level, was completely suppressed by you."
Jaden looked at her smile.
He remembered what she had said before.
That she would never admit defeat.
"So..."
"Are you planning to surrender?"
He had thought about this question carefully.
He had even considered what he would say if she hesitated.
What kind of reassurance she might need.
He was prepared to respect her decision.
And prepared to bear the consequences with her.
But when Erina heard the question-
She didn't hesitate at all.
Her smile only deepened.
"Who would surrender?"
"Even if Asahi Saiba has Cross-Blade, I have the God's Tongue."
"I'll surpass any technique sooner or later."
"Even flavors I can't reach yet with my current skill-I'll reach them eventually."
"Just because he can't do it doesn't mean I can't."
She hadn't wavered when she lost to Jaden before.
She wouldn't waver now.
What truly left her in awe had nothing to do with Asahi Saiba.
It was Jaden.
If she hadn't understood before why she felt that inexplicable sense of security after being expelled from Totsuki with him-
She probably understood now.
Most of her anxiety came from the trauma her father had inflicted on her as a child.
Even now, she wasn't confident she could oppose his decisions face-to-face.
And yet-
Even when thinking about her father.
Even with fear still lingering-
She could smile when she looked at Jaden.
When she was flustered.
Confused.
Angry.
Lost after her sudden expulsion-
Jaden stood beside her.
Indifferent.
Calm.
Emotionally steady from beginning to end.
She probably sensed it back then.
That sense only proved itself again and again.
When he casually took on the title of "The Wild Tiger."
When he fought a super rookie in his first Kengan match.
When he faced the perverted murderer Meguro.
When he knowingly provoked Toyo Electric-a corporation so massive it would make ordinary people despair.
Erina didn't know why.
But whenever Jaden faced problems that would crush most people-
He might hesitate over small details.
But he never truly treated them as threats.
It was as if he always believed he could resolve them.
As if he never considered them real problems to begin with.
The more you understood him-
The more clearly you felt the strength beneath his calm.
And the more she felt that strength-
The more her trauma was quietly dissolved.
Replaced with an overwhelming sense of security.
She was relying on him.
-And that reliance had likely existed since their very first conversation.
Erina didn't intend to change that.
She didn't see it as a flaw.
In fact-
She felt happy when she noticed Jaden seemed worried about her.
Jaden, meanwhile, was a little confused by her smile.
Seeing his expression, Erina turned away.
She laughed softly, her back to him.
"Let's go."
"It's almost noon."
"Since you were thinking about that, I'll let you know-my cooking has improved a bit~"
"So..."
"Should we have a Shokugeki?"
"Like before?"
"Of course."
Jaden and Erina left together, chatting casually.
Everyone else was still discussing the Shokugeki.
Most didn't notice them leaving.
And those who did assumed it had nothing to do with them.
But not everyone.
Alice Nakiri had been watching the whole time.
When she saw them leave, she blinked-
And immediately followed.
...
At Toyo Electric headquarters, Hayami Katsumasa received the report of Asahi Saiba's defeat.
His expression didn't change.
"Asahi Saiba lost that quickly. Useless."
"Forget that trash."
"Have Etsuya Eizan begin his actions."
"Chairman... shouldn't we wait a little longer?"
"No."
"If we wait, Eizan will only expose himself."
"It's better to use him as an insider now."
"Have him help abduct the God's Tongue."
"If Totsuki falls into chaos, he might be able to hide for a few more days."
"Before the Kengan match, he might even poison Totsuki's fighter or cause other disruptions."
"In short-he can still be used once more."
"...Understood."
The subordinate bowed and went to contact Etsuya Eizan.
Hayami Katsumasa looked at the influence map before him and sneered.
"The fishermen those people across the sea sent won't get far."
"At best, they'll clean up some trash."
"The nuclear plant plan remains unchanged."
"They're just expendable pieces."
"If the Totsuki plan succeeds, I can secure two or even three additional slots."
"That will give me dozens more supporters in the Kengan Association."
"And if I resolve the Nogi Group issue..."
"My influence will exceed half."
"After that..."
"The Kengan Annihilation Tournament."
To unseat Metsudo Katahara-
Who had ruled as Chairman for decades-
Hayami Katsumasa had prepared only one true card.
-Julius Reinhold. The Monster.
Everything else was contingency.
Fishermen.
Assassins.
Totsuki.
Osaki.
All of them were preliminary moves.
If they succeeded, great.
If they brought unexpected gains, even better.
If they failed-
It didn't matter.
Because-
"Julius will never be defeated."
So-
Hayami Katsumasa smiled slowly.
"Metsudo Katahara..."
"How much longer can you sit in that chair?"
...
Etsuya Eizan's scalp went numb the moment he received Toyo Electric's order.
"Kidnap the God's Tongue... are you insane?"
"The God's Tongue should be with Jaden right now..."
The instant he thought of Jaden, Eizan didn't feel anger.
He felt fear.
Pure fear.
He still remembered how effortlessly Jaden had crushed his arrogance.
How completely his confidence had been destroyed.
Those indifferent, condescending eyes-
Eizan couldn't even imagine resisting him.
If he had a choice, he would never want to see Jaden again in this lifetime.
But this was an order from Toyo Electric.
He couldn't refuse.
Eizan clutched his head in agony.
Then-
He thought of something.
A solution.
He grabbed his phone and scrolled through his contacts.
A number he had categorized long ago.
One he had never used.
-The contact for the Kure Clan.
"I can't do anything to Jaden."
"But if it's the Kure Clan..."
"That should be fine."
That was the solution he arrived at.
If he outsourced it to the Kure Clan-
As long as he paid-
He could eliminate Jaden.
The man who had left him with a psychological scar.
And complete Toyo Electric's task.
A perfect solution.
-A win-win.
Eizan's finger trembled as he dialed.
A girl's voice answered.
"Is this the client...?"
Then the phone was abruptly snatched away.
"Karura, stop it. This is a client call-"
After some noise, a steady, low male voice came through.
"Are you the client?"
"This is the Kure Clan."
"State your mission."
Eizan suppressed his irritation.
He didn't dare show disrespect.
He took a breath.
Calmed himself.
Then spoke.
"I want to commission you to kill-no."
"...To capture."
"No, to capture two people."
"One is Erina Nakiri of Totsuki Academy."
"And the other..."
"...is a man named Jaden Yuki."
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