The next morning, everyone is having breakfast at the diner, but they are missing someone. Megumi asks, "Eh? Where is Soma-kun? Did anyone of you see him?"

"I haven't seen him. Maybe he overslept?" Yuki replies.

"Isshiki-senpai, have you looked for him?" Ryoko asks.

"I have, but he is also not in his room." Isshiki sighs, but he knows where Soma is, after all, he is the Phantom Seat, and he is doing the Shokugeki right now.

On the stage, Soma, who is wearing a black cloak with a white mask, is now standing in front of a person, he is no other than the Number 1 of the Elite 10: Tsukasa Eishi. And at the stands, the whole Elite 10 are watching, except for Isshiki Satoshi.

"As stated in the rules, if I win this Shokugeki, not only I will continue to become the Phantom Seat, but also take over the west kitchen as my own private one." Soma says in a cool tone.

"That's fine by me." Eishi says. "But still...can't you take off your mask every time we do this? I mean, that mask looks quite scary..."

The Elite 10 sighs at what Eishi is panicked about in the end, and in the second seat, Kobayashi Rindo yells, "Come on, Tsukasa! Put it together!"

Erina asks, "So what is the deal with this Phantom Seat? Sounds like he is a mysterious character."

The ninth Seat: Eizan Etsuya, says, "If you don't know, the Phantom Seat is the Number 0 of the Elite Council, he doesn't appear in the meetings, and when he does, he is just like that, wearing a mask and a cloak like that."

The Number 8: Kuga Tenori says with frustration. "Every one of us has been challenging him to a Shokugeki so that we will know who is under that mask, but we always lose to him...I can't believe that he beat me with ease!"

The third seat: Megishima Totsuke says, "Especially we third years have been trying to get a win against him, but he always beat us with ease. Only Isshiki is the closest to win against him with the 4-1, though."

Rindo says, "But this is Tsukasa's first battle against him as the Number 1 of the Elite 10, he has been trying to get his revenge on him for a long time, I am sure that he will definitely win this time."

And in the end, Tsukasa loses the match and the announcer says, "The judges have decided! This Shokugeki was won by the Phantom! This means that he is going to keep his seat as the Number 0 as well as his identity!"

The Phantom just walks towards Eishi and he says, "You have improved a lot, but then again, I'm also improving."

He takes out his hand and Eishi stands back up, he says, "I thought that I would win against you this time, but it seems that I have lost again."

"As part of the deal, not only I won't be showing who I am, but the kitchen in the west is mine." Soma says. "But since you have improved, I'll give you a hint of my identity."

This causes the crowd to be surprised, and Soma says, "What I can reveal is that I was just a Junior High Student when I become the First Elite 0 member."

After that, he leaves swiftly, and the Number 6, Kinokuni Nene, mutters, "So according to the data we have about him, he is now a Grade 1 Student."

The fifth seat, Saito Soumei says, "That really narrows down the people to look for. But...to be able to defeat the whole Elite 10 as a Junior High..."

The tenth seat, Nakiri Erina is now thinking, "So if I am going to be the top, then all I need is to beat that guy...considering he is the same age as me, there will be some times when I meet him in the upcoming events. And I'm going to beat him."

As Erina is about to leave, Hisako rushes to her side and she says, "Erina-sama! That man..."

"What is it? Hisako?" Erina asks.

"It seems that he passed Chapelle sensei's class with the highest marks, that Yukihira Soma." Hisako says.

Erina is now furious and she says, "Don't mention that name in front of me! Hisako!"

"I'm sorry, Erina-sama." Hisako bows.

Erina thinks, "As for that guy, he is definitely not the Phantom. Judging by the Phantom's cooking, he has to be in the Junior High division if he can beat those 9 with ease... and I will make sure that I get rid of him from this school no matter what."

Back at the dinning room, Soma sees everyone who just finished breakfast and is looking at the TV, he asks, "What's going on?"

"Soma-kun?" Megumi says, and Yuki yells at Soma, "Where have you been? Fumio-san says that you haven't eaten breakfast! And Isshiki said that you were not in your room either!"

"I was just walking around the area, considering it is new for me." Soma says. "But what is on the TV?"

Isshiki says, "The number 1 of the Elite 10, Tsusaka Eishi, is challenging the Phantom once again."

"The Phantom?" Soma asks, and Megumi says, "I have heard of him...when we entered the Junior High division...we have heard this Phantom managed to beat all the members of the Elite 10 with ease."

"And he just revealed that he was the same age as us!" Yuki adds. "But nobody knows who is under the mask. That's why the Elite 10 keeps challenging him."

Soma looks into the screen and says, "Oh, so he is the Phantom?"

"You know him?" Everyone looks at Soma with surprise, and Soma sighs, "He was my examiner when I'm having the transfer exam. And he was just calling me when I was jogging."

"What did he say to you?" Daigo yells. "Yeah, and do you know who is under the mask?" Shoji adds.

"Believe me that I want to know that as well." Soma says, "He just told me that he is going to give me that kitchen."

"What? The Phantom wants to give you that kitchen? But why?" Megumi asks.

"The truth is, that kitchen was my mom's kitchen. Ever since she graduated, that kitchen was taken away by the Elite 10 but never used, so I asked the Phantom to help me out..." Soma says while eating breakfast.

"Who knows that the Phantom is such a nice guy." Shun mutters.

After talking for a while, Soma and Megumi are now walking alone as they are heading to the Research Societies.

"There are a lot of societies in Totsuki that specialize in different types of cooking." Megumi says. "After school, they develop new dishes or participate in cooking contests outside the school together. It might be something like clubs in Normal schools. I'm part of the Local Cuisine Research Society."

"I see..." Soma says as he notices the Donburi Research Society, he says, "There is even a Don one...that makes me want to make a new Donburi dish... Tadokoro, let's go."

"Wait, even me?" Soma grabs Megumi's hand as they start to run towards the club, but as they enter the club, they can only see a man sitting on a chair and his face is as pale as he sees a ghost.

"I'm sorry, but please leave, the Donburi RS is going to get shut down." The senior says.

The two are confused and they introduce themselves, and the senior is Konishi Kanichi, the chief of the Donburi RS, and a second year student.

"Are you okay, senpai? You seem depressed about something." Soma asks with concern.

"Hehehe, laugh at me...I couldn't even protect my own place..." Konishi says.

Megumi finds a book and she reads it, she says, "This is a recipe complication It seems these are dishes the Donburi RS thought about."

Soma decides to peek at it as well, and he says, "From mainstream to eccentric dishes, all of them have this sharpness in their device. I think all of them are interesting. But Why does this place have to be shut down?"

Konishi suddenly gets back into full energy and grabs his shoulder, "You understand? Yukihira! Donburis are fast, tasty, and cheap, the beauty of the casual style! Manliness completed in one bowl! I can't die without mastering donburis!"

Megumi says, "He is like an amazing person..."

"Yeah, he has this annoying sultry." Soma says.

"But if only Nakiri Erina wasn't here..." Konishi mutters.

Soma remembers how Nakiri Erina does in the school, she cuts the budget or proposes the reduction of the clubroom of associations she doesn't like, after forcibly getting the approval to do that. The other party's situation gradually worsens until their only option left is turning the tables in one go, with a Shokugeki. Nakiri puts even more absurd conditions to accept the shokugeki and makes everything go the way she wants, and like that, she continues to gain more influence.

Megumi asks, "But what about the other members?"

"As soon as they heard that the opponent this time is one of Nakiri's subordinates, they all ran away..." Konichi mutters.

"So what kind of opponent are you facing?" Soma asks, and then the door opens, revealing men with construction clothes and a blonde young girl with the revealing clothing.

"As we thought, rather than remodeling it, destroying it completely and rebuilding it is faster." The girl says.

"What are you trying to do, Mito? You can't just barge in like this!" Konichi yells at the girl.

"Well, I came to get an early preview. Because the result is obvious already." The girl suddenly leans closer to the chief and says, "Right? Mr. Chief? If you're confident in beating me, then the story is different."

"Damn, Nikumi..." The chief mutters, but the girl just takes out the knife and cuts a small portion of his hair, she yells, "It's Ikumi. If you say that one more time, I'll kill you."

Soma sees the girl and says, "I think I have seen her before...Mito Ikumi, a chef known by the alias "Meat Master". In the Junior High division, she always had superior grades. Especially in the meat dishes class, her mastery has only earned her "A's" The depth of her knowledge of meat is top class in the school."

Ikumi says, "Hey! You're hindering my preview, so could you leave? You can come back in about an hour."

"No way! The match isn't settled yet!" Konichi says.

"Erina-sama said it, that no matter how much you fixate on Donburi, it's nothing more than a B-class gourmet vulgar dish. That is something that isn't needed in Totsuki, no matter what kind of dish you make, it won't beat my super high-grade meat."

Soma decides to step in and says, "I think rejoicing over the ingredients' cost is a disgrace for a chef."

He suddenly walks towards the chief and says, "Senpai, I'll take this Shokugeki."

"What's with you? Outsiders should stay out of this..." But she stops as she notices that the person is no other than the one at the opening ceremony.

"That's great. I wanted to try talking with you. To think you would try to butt in other people's Shokugeki, you must be really confident in your skills." Ikumi says.

"If you want we can battle in your arena...with meat dishes, I'll win either way." Soma says with a smirk.

"Then, if you lose to me, will you quit Totsuki?" Soma flinches a little, and Ikumi says, "Keh! If you don't have any guts, don't go saying big wor..."

"That's fine with me." Soma says, cutting off the girl and making her shocked. "But if I win, you're going to join the Donburi RS and contribute to develop the Donburi's culture, as an apology for the troubles you've caused."

Megumi and Konichi are shocked at Soma's words, and Ikumi asks with a sweatdrop, "You really plan to win against me? If that's the case, contractors, we're withdrawing today!"

After the workers leave, she says, "Then, I accept the right to choose the theme, the main ingredient is "meat", the dish to make is a "donburi". The match will be just as planned in three days."

After she leaves, Konichi turns to Soma and asks, "Yukihira-kun, why'd you step up for us like that?"

"Our family runs a cheap, little family restaurant, and that made my Mother suffer during her years in this school. But if she can overcome it, then so do I. We just can't just sit back and listen to him say that pricey meat is the best just because it's pricey. Most of all, this place is too cool to be shut down."

"But Soma-kun, do you have any chances of winning?" Megumi asks with concern, and Soma sighs, "Of course, but for now, let's prepare for the battle."

I'll end the chapter here, as you can see, in my story, Soma is OP, and he is capable of beating the Number 1 of the Elite 10. He is good friends with the members of the Elite 10, they are challenging them just so they want to know who is under the Phantom's mask. I hope you like this chapter and the next one will be the Shokugeki with the Meat Master.