Food Wars: Taste Reversal

Holding a giant tuna as tall as half a person, Shiraki finally stood up from the riverbank and walked toward the cooking room with Megumi Tado.

At this moment, Hinako was still sitting leisurely in the same spot, sipping tea. The students around her had mostly dispersed, leaving only a few who had already caught their ingredients and entered the cooking room.

In this assessment, students were required to obtain ingredients using their own abilities and then use these 'uncertain' ingredients to prepare dishes. In such an unfamiliar environment, their vision narrowed, their thinking dulled, and the chances of making mistakes increased significantly.

A chef unable to handle such a minor challenge had no place in Totsuki Academy.

Watching most of the students rush toward the river, a faint smile appeared on Hinako's face. It seemed today's assessment would eliminate a lot of participants.

Just as she was entertaining this thought, a student holding a giant tuna appeared at the gate, catching her eye.

"Poof!"

The tea in Hinako's mouth sprayed out as her face froze in shock, coughing uncontrollably. She was simultaneously stunned by the massive tuna in the student's hands and choked by her tea.

—What is this? Can a river even produce a fish this big?!

Even if such a fish existed in the river, how could someone catch it with the ordinary fishing rods provided in the warehouse?

Hinako, who had been enjoying her leisure moments, now stared at Shiraki and Megumi Tado with wide eyes as they walked into the classroom. She had only known that Totsuki Academy had stocked various ingredients in the courtyard but had never expected such a massive tuna among them. Her shock mirrored that of the other students in the room, who wore expressions as if they'd seen a ghost.

—Where did this guy even find such a big tuna?!

Takumi, who had just entered the room, had been searching for Shiraki when his eyes landed on the giant tuna being placed on the board. The duck he was holding nearly slipped from his hands, saved only by Isami, who caught it just in time.

"So, that guy... Did he really pull that fish out of the river?"

Takumi couldn't imagine how such a feat was possible with a standard fishing rod. While he'd found it odd when Shiraki's group prepared to cook fish earlier, now it was clear—this guy wasn't just impressive; he was extraordinary.

Initially, Takumi thought students preparing fish dishes might struggle to pass this test. However, with an ingredient like that tuna, Shiraki was almost guaranteed success, even if others opted for grilled fish. Shiraki could easily prepare sashimi or another refined dish.

The massive tuna was placed on the board, but Shiraki ignored it for the moment. Instead, he took the smallest river fish from the bucket Megumi was holding and used the A-grade cooking card: Salt-Baked Grilled Fish.

Under the card's influence, Shiraki's body moved as if guided by an unseen force. With a light motion, he pressed the fish onto the board, holding its head with one hand while expertly scaling it with the other.

In about five minutes, the fish was fully prepped, sliced in half, and ready for the next step. Shiraki lined a baking tray with tin foil and salt, placed the fish vertically on the coarse salt, wrapped its bottom tightly, and covered the rest evenly with salt.

Every action was precise, like a textbook demonstration. Once the salt-covered fish was ready, he placed it into a preheated oven. Now, it was just a matter of waiting for it to bake.

Using this gap, Shiraki began preparing another dish. This time, he wasn't relying on the system card but experimenting with something he'd always wanted to try: the notorious dark dish known as stargazing fish.

Reflecting on his earlier fishing efforts, Shiraki considered the giant tuna before him. How should he prepare this beast?

Though lacking flour or bacon, the essence of dark cuisine lay in its "dark" nature. As long as the dish embodied its core spirit—making the fish look unnervingly lifeless—the other elements could be substituted, such as using fish offal.

Arranging the fish head in a lifeless pose and crafting a "mass grave" aesthetic with its body parts, the final product would be both eerie and unforgettable. Whether it was edible, however, was another story entirely—though the answer seemed obvious: probably not.

With the salt-baked fish in the oven, Shiraki sharpened his knife and turned to the giant tuna. His impressive knife skills were on full display as he gently sliced through the fish, finding the ideal entry point along its natural texture. He cut all the way along this line, turned on the faucet at the cooking station, and began removing its internal organs during the cleaning process.

Processing a fish of this size would normally take even a seasoned chef at least fifteen minutes. But Shiraki wasn't aiming for perfection. After a rough cleaning, he cut a chunk of meat, mashed it into a fish paste, and prepared it in a basin-sized portion.

"Is this going to be fish balls?" Megumi wondered aloud, finally recovering from her initial shock.

Though unsure of Shiraki's intentions, Megumi couldn't help but notice how fluid and mesmerizing his movements were. Yet, an occasional chill ran down her spine, reminiscent of seeing Soma Yukihira experimenting with peanut squid in the kitchen.

It had to be her imagination.

Megumi reassured herself. Shiraki wasn't known for dark cuisine, and this was an assessment—Soma himself wouldn't dare create a dark dish here... right?

"Megumi, can you get me a bigger box?" Shiraki asked suddenly while pouring the fish paste into a mold.

"Ah? Oh, okay!" Megumi, startled, quickly obeyed and headed toward the storage area.

As she searched for a suitable box, her mind lingered on Shiraki's earlier movements. Every action had been deliberate yet effortless, almost as if he were being guided by some culinary force. It was no wonder Shiraki always seemed to thrive under pressure.

When Megumi returned, she saw Shiraki had already started experimenting with the fish paste. Despite the chaos of his methods, there was an undeniable confidence in his cooking. It made her wonder just how far Shiraki could push his limits—and how the judges would react to his unconventional approach.