"Good afternoon, everyone!"
"I am your host, a freshman from the junior high section, Urara Kawashima!"
A young girl with black hair and a ribbon on her head waved to the crowd in the audience stands. Her lively and confident demeanor immediately garnered the goodwill of many.
"Now, please welcome the contestants to the stage!"
Seeing the atmosphere in the venue being stirred up, Urara Kawashima, whose heart had been somewhat tense due to this being her debut, felt much more relaxed. She then turned her gaze toward the passageways on both sides.
"First to make his entrance is...?"
From the shadows, a figure gradually revealed its form.
A shiny bald head appeared before everyone's eyes. Feeling the gazes surrounding him—some filled with worship, some with envy, and others with disgust—a faint smile of assured victory remained fixed on Natsuo's face.
"The Vegetarian Expert, Mr. Natsuo!"
Upon entering, he performed a palms-together bow toward the audience.
"Oh, oh!"
"Natsuo! Natsuo!"
With Natsuo's entrance, the atmosphere at the scene was instantly ignited, and the audience erupted into a burst of cheers.
"To think there are so many donors looking forward to the Shokugeki between this humble monk and Donor Okabe; I am truly honored. I will absolutely present a spectacular culinary duel for everyone coming up next."
"If anyone is interested in the Dharma, you are welcome to join this humble monk's newly created Buddhist Vegetarian Research Society."
Looking at the audience, which was several times larger than during his duel with the Vegetarian Research Society, Natsuo couldn't resist propagating the Dharma.
After all, following his defeat of the Vegetarian Research Society, only two new students had been willing to join them; the others simply ignored him, evidently failing to grasp the profundity of the Dharma.
However, once he wins this Shokugeki against the Sequence Rank 1 today and proves his strength to the world, these fellows before him will all become believers of the Buddhist temple.
They might not know the Dharma, but they certainly respect the strong.
As long as they become believers, sooner or later they will comprehend the Dharma; save the body first, then save the mind.
"Hehe, ha... well then, the next to enter is?"
Looking at Natsuo, who had suddenly started preaching the Dharma in front of her, a subtle expression appeared on Urara Kawashima's face.
To prevent the atmosphere from being led astray, she turned her gaze toward the other contestant passageway. At this moment, Okabe also walked out from the tunnel, coming into everyone's view.
However, what greeted him this time was not cheers, but a uniform silence.
Everyone sized him up with curious gazes.
Although he had defeated Ikumi Mito, Ikumi Mito was a contestant ranked near the bottom of the Sequence; she had some strength, but not much, and could not serve as a basis for judging Okabe's strength.
Coupled with the fact that Okabe had kept an exceptionally low profile during this period, having no other dazzling performances aside from doing well in class, the vast majority of people held a skeptical attitude toward his level as Sequence Rank 1.
Nevertheless, the dignity of the strong cannot be insulted.
Despite their skepticism regarding Okabe's strength, no one dared to jump out. Or rather, up to this point, only Natsuo dared to engage him in a direct Shokugeki duel.
Even if others wanted to test Okabe's actual situation, they dared not start directly with a Shokugeki; the price of failure was something they could not bear.
"Now entering is the freshman certified by Tōtsuki as Sequence Rank 1, Okabe."
Urara Kawashima evidently sensed the subtle atmosphere at the scene as well, but she steeled herself and raised her voice to stir up everyone's emotions. Meanwhile, within this atmosphere, Okabe arrived at his cooking station, quietly scanning everything at the scene.
"Now, let us confirm once again. There are a total of three judges. The theme is 'Ramen.' There are no restrictions on the main ingredients, and the time limit is four hours."
"If Natsuo wins, Okabe's status as Sequence Rank 1 will change hands, and he will simultaneously inherit Natsuo's seat at Sequence Rank 10."
"If Okabe wins, he will obtain the Vegetarian Research Society currently in Natsuo's hands—now renamed as the Buddhist Vegetarian Research Society—and his current Sequence Rank 1 seat will remain unchanged."
Looking at the two standing on opposite sides, Urara Kawashima looked toward the judges' table not far away, then confirmed the stakes of both parties once more.
"Donor, this poor monk offers his polite greetings."
Watching Okabe come up from the contestant passageway, Natsuo performed a palms-together bow toward him.
That smile always on his face, giving off an appearance of easily controlling the big picture, made it impossible to pick out any faults while simultaneously making one feel somewhat annoyed.
"Cut the chitchat, let's hurry up and start the duel!"
Thinking of the various preparations he had made for this battle, a high-spirited will to fight emerged on Okabe's face, completely failing to perceive Natsuo's psychological warfare against him.
By responding with a smiling, flat demeanor, one causes the opponent to feel irritable and angry.
As a lower-ranked individual challenging a higher-ranked one, such a performance is the easiest way to make people angry. In the past, he had always done this, disturbing the opponent's state of mind so they could not perform beyond their usual level during the competition.
But today, the situation with this guy before him seemed a bit different from what he usually encountered...
"Then this humble monk will respectfully obey."
Although Okabe was somewhat unconventional, Natsuo did not hold much fear in his heart. On the contrary, the thought that this guy was somewhat interesting arose in his mind as he walked with a vigorous, tiger-like stride to his cooking station.
At this moment, his cooking station was covered by a layer of red cloth.
He reached out and lifted the red cloth in front of him, revealing the ingredients inside to everyone.
Beef bones, old duck, Jinhua ham.
In addition to that, there was black hog pork, sea urchin caviar, lobster, and more.
"So... so luxurious!"
In the audience stands, within the area where the Polaris Dormitory residents were seated.
Yuki Yoshino's eyes went a bit straight as she looked at the ingredients Natsuo had brought out.
She couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva, then rubbed her eyes. After confirming that what she saw was not an hallucination, her heart shook violently.
"That guy, there must be a considerable faction behind him helping him; otherwise, it would be impossible to collect so many ingredients from all over the world in such a short time."
Looking at the precious ingredients on Natsuo's cooking station, Erina Nakiri, who had originally looked relaxed, now also revealed a solemn expression.
"Have you noticed one point? The vast majority of these are meat products. Aren't monks forbidden from eating meat? Why would he bring out so much meat..."
Ryoko Sakaki was equally shocked, then couldn't help but mutter.
"At the inception of Buddhism, there were no taboos regarding food. In the earliest times, they practiced begging for alms, which meant going door to door asking for food."
"They ate whatever the host family had. In other words, if the host gave meat, it was a very sincere gesture. People who believed in Buddhism couldn't say 'I abstain from this' at that moment; that would create a discriminatory mind, and a discriminatory mind is the true great taboo in Buddhism."
"It wasn't until later, during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period in China, that Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, based on Mahayana classics like the Mahaparinirvana Sutra and the Lankavatara Sutra, promulgated the 'Text on Severing Liquor and Meat,' forcing monks and nuns nationwide to quit liquor and meat, and incorporated vegetarianism into the precepts."
"By now, Emperor Wu of Liang has been dead for who knows how many years, so the laws he promulgated naturally no longer bind monks and nuns. Those monks who like to eat vegetarian food only slowly transitioned to it after their cultivation reached a certain level."
The voice came from a distance drawing closer. A boy with orange hair and a robust physique walked over from afar, stopped at the Polaris Dormitory area, and smiled at the group.
"So that's how it is..."
Hearing the explanation, Ryoko Sakaki revealed a look of realization. She then looked at the man before her and discovered with surprise that she didn't know him.
Thus, puzzled confusion surfaced in her eyes once again.
Who is this guy?
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Satoshi Isshiki."
"I should be considered your senior, and also a resident of Polaris Dormitory."
Sensing Ryoko Sakaki's gaze, the orange-haired man introduced himself. His face carried a warm, gentle smile, though his eyes were squinted so slightly that his pupils couldn't be seen.
"You are the Senior Isshiki that Senior Kobayashi mentioned?!"
Hearing Satoshi Isshiki's self-introduction, a look of surprise appeared on Yuki Yoshino's face.
The others also looked over. previously, after hearing about the family Satoshi Isshiki was born into at the dining table, they had become curious, wanting to see exactly what kind of personage he was.
"I've heard about the competition. I didn't expect that during the time I was away, such a powerful hero would come to Polaris Dormitory."
After introducing himself, Satoshi Isshiki looked toward the Shokugeki arena not far away.
"Oh, the opponent has brought out a lot of incredible ingredients. Can Little Okabe defeat the opponent under these circumstances? I'm starting to look forward to it a little!"
Rindo Kobayashi's figure had appeared in the Polaris Dormitory area at some point. Looking at Okabe standing opposite Natsuo, the corners of her mouth raised in a smile.
On the Shokugeki arena, after Okabe saw the meat ingredients on Natsuo's cooking station that were rich and luxurious to the extreme, a look of astonishment flashed across his face for an instant.
He realized he seemed to have been somewhat prejudiced, subconsciously assuming that because the other party specialized in vegetarian food, he would definitely use vegetarian food to participate in this Shokugeki.
So much so that the ingredients he prepared were all vegetarian...
Using vegetarian food to battle Natsuo's meat cuisine—there was no need for much doubt; he was at an absolute disadvantage from the start.
This was not an arbitrary statement.
This was decided by genes during human evolution; humans are a carnivorous animal.
"Fortunately, I was reminded by Erina last night and grasped the true essence of vegetarian dishes. Otherwise, temporarily improving the recipe today would have been dangerous."
"Since you choose to use meat to make ramen, then let's see if pure vegetarian ramen can defeat pure meat ramen!"
Despite his astonishment, Okabe was not discouraged; instead, an even stronger fighting spirit was aroused.
"Hey, monk."
He suddenly spoke up, looking at Natsuo.
"Donor, is something the matter?"
"If there are ingredients here that the Donor needs, this humble monk can lend them to the Donor unconditionally."
Hearing Okabe's remark, Natsuo turned around from the cooking station. That smile remained on his face, yet the words he spoke gave people a sense of sarcasm.
"When you make the ramen later, make an extra portion. I want to taste your cooking."
"In exchange, I will also make an extra portion of yours. When the time comes, let's see whose cooking is superior."
"I would be honored."
Hearing Okabe's words, a look of surprise flashed across Natsuo's face.
Especially upon seeing the confidence on Okabe's face that was as immovable as a mountain, an emotion named uneasiness inexplicably arose in the depths of his heart.
But he didn't show it, simply deciding that the other party was bluffing. He must be bluffing!
"Then, let the competition begin! Both sides take your positions at the cooking stations!"
"The loser will lose everything. The crucial contest on the tip of the tongue, the Shokugeki—starts now!"
Seeing that the atmosphere at the scene had been stirred up, Urara Kawashima revealed an excited expression, then held her microphone high to announce the start of the competition.
Swish, swish—
At the same time, Natsuo grabbed the beef bone in front of the cooking station. Holding a saw in his other hand, he began to saw the bone, cutting it into small segments about seven centimeters long.
Next, he washed them with running water to remove the blood.
Clang—Hum...
Meanwhile, he took out an urn made of Zisha (purple clay). He tapped it lightly three times with a small wooden mallet, and a crisp, lingering sound rang out from within.
"This is a Zisha urn this humble monk brought from the temple. Due to its unique internal double-pore structure, it possesses a higher specific heat capacity and lower thermal conductivity compared to metal pots."
"Place the beef bones, rinsed of blood, inside. Place the urn in a charcoal kiln and simmer over a gentle fire at 120°C for 2 hours, then add roasted kombu."
"After two and a half hours, open the lid and remove the grease floating on the surface inside, and you can obtain the ultimate high stock!"
As he placed the beef bones, rinsed clean of blood, into the Zisha urn and then sent it into the coal that had been preheated, Natsuo's voice resonated through the venue.
In order to propagate the Dharma, he explained while cooking, using this to make the audience interested in Buddhist Vegetarian cuisine so they would choose to join the Buddhist Vegetarian Research Society after the competition ended.
"That sounds so high-end."
"Indeed, this monk really has some skills!"
"Such a powerful expert is only ranked at Sequence 10? What kind of monsters are those guys further ahead!"
"I feel like Tōtsuki underestimated him."
In the audience stands, hearing the things Natsuo boasted about, the onlookers comprising the new students couldn't help but discuss it, their faces brimming with excitement.
For ordinary cooks like them, seeing an expert display exclusive techniques in cooking was a rare adjustment in their dull lives.
"He said so much, but isn't it just a clay pot version of beef bone broth..."
Beside them, Yuki Yoshino couldn't help but curl her lip.
This monk had boasted for a long time, yet what he was making was extremely ordinary.
"There are still some differences."
"The clay urn allows the flavor of the beef bones to be released more comprehensively. Moreover, based on the ingredients he prepared, his soup base seems not to be that simple..."
Watching Natsuo, who had finished processing the beef bones and turned back to the cooking station to pick up the old duck, Satoshi Isshiki opened his eyes, revealing a profundity within them that others couldn't understand.
On the other side, Natsuo deftly removed the head and claws of the five-year-old duck, separating the frame from the skin and meat entirely. He put the whole thing into a steam pot with the ham, using 100°C steam to force out the original juices, collecting the essence contained within the steam.
The remaining duck frame, along with dried scallops and goji berries, was placed into a clay pot with the steam water and mountain spring water. Maintaining a simmering state, he hung the soup for a full two hours to draw out all the flavor.
"This is..."
"Is he preparing to make two pots of high stock?"
Watching Natsuo's operations, the scene fell into a brief silence.
"Could it be that he plans to taste the flavor when adding the noodles to the stock, to see which one is better and choose that one to serve to the judges?"
Looks of confusion appeared on everyone's faces.
In their understanding, one serving of ramen meant one bowl of high stock; noodles paired with high stock was the optimal combination.
"Hah!"
Amidst the discussions, Natsuo took out a bag of flour from under the stove. After tearing it open, he poured it onto the kneading board. Then, he pulled out a gourd the size of a baby's arm from his robe.
Opening the lid, a clear, cold water vapor carrying a faint mineral scent slowly spread out from within, drifting to the tips of the noses of everyone in the audience.
"What is that?"
Someone asked in confusion, but received no answer; clearly, no one knew what it was.
Natsuo raised the gourd in his hand and poured it out. The clear, cold fragrance poured onto the flour. Then he added rock salt and formed the Guanyin hand seal.
The surrounding people only saw his five fingers slightly close together, his wrist drawing circles, as he began to knead the dough frantically with skillful force. This process lasted for a full half-hour.
"Everything is ready."
Looking at the kneaded dough, a relaxed expression appeared on Natsuo's face. Then he looked at Okabe and found him standing in front of the soup pot, yawning and looking sleepy.
"Did you not sleep last night?"
Watching his appearance, Natsuo's brows furrowed imperceptibly, and he asked suddenly.
"Something like that. There was a slight problem with the cooking last night; by the time the remedy was finished, it was morning."
"I'll go back and catch up on sleep after the competition ends; it won't be too late."
Okabe nodded. For a martial artist, pulling an all-nighter wouldn't bring much negative impact, though the drowsiness of a few yawns was unavoidable.
"A dish only perfected this morning?"
A touch of ridicule imperceptibly appeared on Natsuo's face. It seemed this so-called Sequence Rank 1 was even more useless than he had imagined.
"Looking at your cooking, it should be vegetarian ramen, right?"
Natsuo narrowed his eyes. His gaze swept over the brightly colored tomatoes, various mushrooms, and bean products on Okabe's cooking station, and the corners of his mouth hooked into a certain arc.
"Exactly."
Okabe moved his somewhat stiff neck and turned to look at him, his words carrying a bit of teasing: "How about it? Want to admit defeat in advance?"
"Heh..." Natsuo chuckled aloud, saying no more. He turned and continued to tend to his pot of beef bone stock that had already been simmering for two hours.
The charcoal fire licked the bottom of the Zisha urn, and the aroma of beef bones and charred kombu seeped out through the urn walls in wisps. He handled the floating grease with practiced hands.
Okabe also withdrew his gaze, taking a deep breath, his eyes instantly becoming sharp.
He quickly lifted the lids of the three small clay pots in front of him. Inside were purple, yellow, and green tomato purees that had been roasted at different temperatures and times, respectively.
A rich acidic fragrance spread in all directions as the lids were lifted. Okabe's expression remained unchanged as he mixed the three together and poured them into the main soup pot bubbling gently beside him.
In the soup pot, the fifth version of the soup base finalized last night was emitting an incomparably rich fresh fragrance.
The mellow base of the mushroom compound high stock, combined with the three-dimensional tomato acidity added at this moment, as well as the complex sweet aftertaste brought by the dried tangerine peel, lily bulb, and dried figs, was slowly blending under the urging of the flames.
"Next..."
Okabe muttered to himself.
He lifted the lid of the pot next to him, scooped out a ladle of milky-white liquid tinged with yellow, poured it into the boiling soup pot, stirred it evenly with the ladle, and then covered the lid.
"What is that?"
"It looks a bit like soy milk..."
Okabe's movements were fast, but they were still spotted by Soma Yukihira, whose attention was on him, causing him to mutter involuntarily.
"It is soy milk, but not ordinary soy milk."
A mysterious smile appeared on Erina Nakiri's face. To keep some suspense for the upcoming competition, she didn't plan to spoil it for the others so early.
"Eh?!"
"You're actually keeping us in suspense..."
Yuki Yoshino couldn't help but complain.
"Look quickly, Okabe-kun has started pulling the noodles!"
Ryoko Sakaki's voice rang out, causing the others to cast their attention over, completely forgetting the pot of vegetarian high stock that was bubbling "gulu gulu" on the stove.
_____
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