3 bar menu

Volume 3 Chapter 4 Part 1

Chapter 4: A Culinary Battle! Yoshiharu VS Mitsuhide!

On the day of the culinary showdown between Yoshiharu and Mitsuhide, all 36 members of Sakai’s Kaigi Gunshu have gathered in the shrine designated as the competition grounds.

「That Owari’s Daimyo Oda Nobuna wants to announce a new specialty cuisine? 」

「The market is like a battlefield. Will a warrior be able to do such a thing? 」

「Let us see just what she can do. 」

In the courtyard, two tents had been pitched, and on the flags outside the tents, ‘New flavor of Takoyaki’ was written.

At this moment, Imai Sogyu and Tsuda Sokyu entered the stage.

「What I recommend is Sagara Yoshiharu-dono’s new flavor of Takoyaki. 」

「I am willing to be the guarantor of my old friend, Akechi Mitsuhide. 」

「Ohhh, so this is going to be a Takoyaki showdown! The Takoyaki was monopolised by Naya until now…. If we can buy the selling rights of the new flavor, then… then now is not the time to tighten our purse strings! 」

All of the members of the Kaigi Gunshu started muttering to each other like that. Until now, the situation has been developing within the expectations of Imai Sogyu, who was prepared to gamble his whole fortune on this.

「So, master of Naya, we have reached a time when the representative of the Kaigi Gunshu is looking to retire. The only two candidates for the next representative are you and me. But, the one who can succeed that position has not been decided yet, yes? 」

「Your words are correct, Boss of Tennojiya. 」

「How about we decide it by using this showdown as a proxy? If Akechi-sama wins, I will take the position of the representative, but if Sagara-sama wins, then you will be the new representative. 」

「Ohh, this idea sounds good to me. 」

「Is it really a good idea to answer so readily? Sagara-sama does not seem to know much about cooking. No matter how I look at it, Akechi-sama’s chances of winning this competition are higher. 」

「I see no problems with it, really. 」

「Damn it, old man Sogyu, what the hell are you doing? Don’t just decide on important things on your own like this! 」

With a headband on his head and a cook’s attire already put on, Yoshiharu, who was standing behind the tent was shaking from anxiousness and excitement.

「Sagara-sama, are you really okay? 」

「In the end, we couldn’t think of a successful cuisine. How worrying. 」

Goemon and Hanbei, who rushed over to help him all the way from Kyoto stood at Yoshiharu’s side. Both of them wore the same attire as Yoshiharu.

「But you two, is it really okay for you to abandon Kyoto to come here to help me? 」

「After the showdown ends, we will immediately return to protect Kyoto, so it should all be fine. 」

「Yes. This matter will decide whether or not Yoshiharu-san will be demoted to a manager of the kitchens in Gifu castle, so we decided that we needed to help you win this competition, no matter what it might take. 」

With a strict face and eyes that looked like they are ready to spit flames, Hanbei’s small hands held her eyeleteer up high.

The eyeleteer, a small tool shaped like an awl, is a necessary tool for making Takoyaki.

「If things really go south, we can use the eyeleteer and assassinate Mitsuhide when her guard ish going to be down. 」

Goemon’s terrifying mumblings scared Yoshiharu shitless.

「It’s not good to rely on violence, Goemon. We should compete with our cooking skillsand have a fair and square culinary battle. 」

「Is it really okay though? 」

「Ahhahaha! You should just give up now while you still have the chance, Sagara-senpai! I have bought my way through Kyoto and Sakai and gathered lots of high quality ingredients just to make sure that the victor of this battle is going to be me and no one else! 」

At the other tent, wearing the same attire as Yoshiharu, Mitsuhide was shouting at him with her forehead shining in the sun.

「Maeda-san, first, please warm the pan up with fire. 」

「I got it…. 」

Maeda Inuchiyo was standing at the side, assisting Mitsuhide.

「… But why am I, Inuchiyo, the only one at Mitsuhide’s side..? 」

She asked with an unwilling expression on her face, meaning that she was most likely roped into helping Mitsuhide.

「Both sides, do your best! If you lose, you will be sent over to Gifu Castle’s kitchen where you will have to manage them while wearing this exact attire! 」

At the audience seat, the young girl, Kichi, and Imai Sogyu were sipping tea while looking at the contestants.

(You sure enjoy watching this show, huh?)

Yoshiharu scolded Nobuna silently in his heart.

Nobuna raised a paper container shaped into something akin to a modern day loudspeaker and started doing live commentary.

「Everyone, I am the only daughter of the Uiromochi store owner’s of Owari, Kichi, here to bring you the commentary for this showdown between these would-be chefs! Assisting me with the analysis will be the one beside me, the boss of Naya, the one and only Imai Sogyu! 」

「When it comes to cooking, then no matter the type of cuisine that you’re trying to make, as long as you put enough hard work into it and give it your all, the result should be something that’s quite tasty. Good day to you all, I am Imai Sogyu. 」

「Was there really such a thing called colorful commentary in this era? Because I thought it’s still too early for that. 」

Yoshiharu didn’t seem to understand what was going on around him.

「The theme of the showdown is…. Takoyaki! The duration is 1 hour, and as an added bonus, the result of this showdown will be used to decide who is going to be the new member of Sakai’s Kaigi Gunshu, so there is definitely a lot of things at stakes here, which only makes this more exciting! Now, without further ado, let the contest… begin! 」

「Ohh. Short and sweet. Her commentary is good! 」

「And her voice is clear too! 」

「What an adorable girl! 」

「How I wish she could and be the poster girl for our shop! 」

*Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!*

The members of the Kaigi Gunshu all gave a round of applause for Nobuna.

「Thank you, Thank you very much, everyone! 」

With a seemingly overjoyed face, Nobuna smiled and waved at everyone.

「Damn it! Forcing other people into such a position, yet enjoying herself like this. This is Inhumane of her! 」

「Uhm, Yoshiharu-san? Our pan hasn’t even been preheated! 」

「Hanbei-chan, what is preheating? 」

「It means that before we start cooking, we must first warm up the pan to the appropriate temperature. 」

「Mitsuhide’s side has already finished! 」

「Is that so? Damn, we really are lagging behind. There isn’t much time, so we don’t have a moment to lose! 」

「Anyway, light up the fire first… *pant*pant*…Eh, the wood is all wet! I can’t light it up! 」

「Leave it to me! 」

Goemon threw a bomb at the stove in a hurry, and then…

*BOOOM!!!!*

The bomb caused a big explosion that lit the wet wood, but as a downside, in a blink of an eye, Yoshiharu’s tent became covered in dust, and the members of his team have been all buried under the ashes as well.

「Goemon! What are you trying to do by destroying the tent!? 」

「Whoops~~ It seems like I didn’t control the firepower well enough. What a failure on my part. 」

「*Cough* No, everything’s not lost just yet! The pan is still okay, so we can keep going! 」

「Ohh, the monkey team seems to have some issues between the members! And it looks like they have even self-destructed most of their tent! Seems like their relationship will take a huge plummet from now on! 」
「Sagara-sama’s partners seem to be wasting their time. Though they seem very strong in the battlefield, but…. If this goes on, will they be able to finish their Takoyaki in time? 」

Nobuna was so enthralled in the spectacle that she no longer cared about the correctness of the sentences she was speaking as she stood up and commentated excitedly.

Looking at the complete mess at Sagara’s side, Mitsuhide seemed to be proceeding smoothly while she commanded Inuchiyo along.

「The preheating is done. It’s finally time to put the high quality ingredients in! Oi, assistant, hurry up! 」

「…..Oi, Inuchiyo isn’t your assistant or anything, so why should I do as you ask? 」