"If I'm exposed, then I'm exposed. What does it matter? Once we share our strength, you'll be the strongest—strong enough to destroy planets with ease. What are you afraid of?"
"People are social creatures in the end. No matter how extraordinary I become, I can't possibly exist apart from society."
"That makes sense!"
The Shirous seemed to like his final remark. They all nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, Sakurai Shirou quietly let out a sigh of relief:
The most dangerous moment had finally passed.
I Agree to Close Down
Chapter 53: I Agree to Close Down
"By the way, why didn't Black Dragon come today?" Mizukage Shirou asked curiously. "With his strength, he shouldn't have run into any danger, right?"
"Black Dragon took leave yesterday. He said he was going to the Dominator of Specters Guild to pick a fight, so he won't be coming in for the next few days," Celestial Dragon Shirou said casually.
"So he went off to bully some kids."
Mizukage Shirou chuckled, then clasped hands with Celestial Dragon Shirou. A moment later, he froze slightly, surprise appearing on his face.
"Why does everyone love bullying kids so much? You tore off one of Kaido's arms just like that? For him, that was completely unprovoked."
"Aren't you the same? You went to Konoha to bully the Nine-Tails. It was such a tiny fox, yet you mercilessly chopped off all nine of its tails. That's so cruel!"
"Well... we're all guilty of the same thing, haha..."
Sakurai Shirou watched the two calmly, continuously analyzing their personalities in his mind.
It seemed these two Shirous weren't good people either. If it were them, they probably wouldn't be dissatisfied with what I'd done, right?
No, there was no way to know for sure. Even if they had originally been the same person, different experiences would naturally result in vastly different personalities.
"Do you gather here at this time every day?"
"That's right." Celestial Dragon Shirou glanced toward the treasury and smiled. "We've placed some treasures we each collected over there. As long as it isn't something especially important, feel free to take it and use it."
"What exactly counts as 'especially important'?"
"Good question! Naturally, non-renewable resources. Take the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, for example. It's a one-of-a-kind treasure. If you want it, you should at least tell me beforehand, right?"
Celestial Dragon Shirou paused before speaking again:
"As for renewable resources like gold and healing potions, where there's as much as you could ever want, feel free to use them. As long as you don't take everything at once, no one here will care."
Sakurai Shirou fell into thought and confirmed it once more:
Sure enough, the Shirous here were all mentally closer to who I had been in my youth. They never cared about worldly possessions.
"How long do these gatherings usually last? When do they end?"
"Anywhere from half an hour to two hours. If you have something urgent, just leave. At the end of the day, we're all the same person. There's no superior-subordinate relationship between us."
"Then... I'll be leaving first?"
"Go on. See you tomorrow."
"Okay."
After Sakurai Shirou left, the others also departed from the White Mist Space one after another.
Food Wars World.
"Damn it! What should I do? If I handle this poorly, this cheat might become a death warrant."
At that moment, a knock sounded outside the office door.
"Come in."
The door slowly opened, and a young woman in office attire with a curvaceous figure entered with her head lowered.
"Boss, I'm sorry. Things... didn't work out."
"And you still have the nerve to see me? What, do you want me to teach you how to do your job?"
"No, I... I just..."
"Tell me. What happened?"
"There's a little restaurant called Yukihira. Their food is incredibly delicious, and I let it slip that I'd compete with them in a cooking showdown."
"Is your brain growing below your neck? Just looking at you, I can guess what happened."
At that moment, Sakurai Shirou suddenly realized something.
Yukihira? That surname sounded familiar.
"Yaeko, was the person who challenged you to a cooking match some red-haired brat?"
"He's a male high school student. Does Boss already know him?"
So it was him!
If I remembered correctly, Yukihira Soma had also faced the Totsuki young lady's obstruction during the entrance exam.
The difference was that he had connections and backing, so he easily overcame that hurdle.
But I had gotten stuck at the very first step and embarked on a road of no return.
"I'll handle this personally. Also, since you failed, you should accept punishment. No problem with that, right?"
"Yes, I accept."
"Come here."
"Yes."
That morning, Yukihira Soma was experimenting with a new dish when a burst of commotion suddenly erupted outside.
"What's going on? It's so noisy out there!"
He had not wanted to bother with them, but the noise outside only grew louder, leaving Yukihira Soma no choice but to step out of the kitchen.
The moment he opened the restaurant door, he froze on the spot.
Outside the restaurant, a large group of familiar neighbors from the street were waving kitchen knives, rolling pins, mops, and other items as they shouted loudly.
In front of them, the woman who had caused trouble at the restaurant yesterday and whom he had driven away with his cooking stood respectfully behind a fat man.
"What are you trying to do this time?"
Minezaki Yaeko leaned close to Sakurai Shirou's ear and whispered:
"Boss, that's him. He drove me away with his cooking yesterday."
"How useless. It was only cooking, heh..."
Sakurai Shirou waved a hand, and the residents behind him immediately began shouting:
"Close down! Close down!!"
"Soma, hurry up and shut down your Yukihira restaurant! Don't stand in the way of us getting rich."
"Yukihira, don't be foolish. Your place is closing today, whether you like it or not."
The scene left Yukihira Soma utterly stunned.
Why were the neighbors who had stood with him against a common enemy yesterday now standing behind that construction businessman?
And why were they all glaring at him angrily, as if he had done something terrible?
"What is going on? Uncle Yamazaki, didn't you tell me the day before yesterday that you'd never close down? Aunt Fujii, why did you change your mind too..."
"Enough nonsense! Close down already!"
"That's right, that's right! If you want to be stubborn, don't drag us down with you."
Yukihira Soma took a deep breath and shouted:
"Dad isn't here, so I'm in charge. I will never close down!"
Having said that, he turned to Sakurai Shirou:
"You're the one behind all this, right? Dare to compete with me in a cooking match? If I win, you won't trouble this street again."
Sakurai Shirou did not reply. He merely sneered and waved his hand again.
This time, all the residents charged forward menacingly.
"Close down! Close down immediately!!"
Faced with this situation, Yukihira Soma felt a faint sense of fear. But when he thought of the restaurant behind him and the memories of the past, his expression gradually became resolute.
"Never! No matter what you say, I will never close down. Coward, fat bastard, you don't even dare compete with me."
"Is that so... Then I won't hold back."
Sakurai Shirou snapped his fingers.
The next moment, Yukihira Soma's neighbor—the father of his childhood friend—suddenly charged forward with a kitchen knife.
Before Yukihira Soma's terrified eyes, the man stabbed the knife into his own shoulder, splattering Yukihira Soma's face with blood.
"Close down immediately, Soma. Otherwise, I'll die right in front of you."
The sight left Yukihira Soma dumbstruck. He stood there blankly, completely unable to move.
After a long while, he questioned them in a slightly hoarse voice:
"Why? Just to make me close down, you're willing to go this far? How much did he give you?"
"Close down!"
The blade was pulled out and stabbed into the shoulder again.
It was not only stabbing into that man's body—it was stabbing into Yukihira Soma's heart.
"I... I agree to close down."
There Are Too Many Unreasonable Chefs in This World
Chapter 54: There Are Too Many Unreasonable Chefs in This World
With a mournful expression, Yukihira Soma said those words, then looked at Sakurai Shirou again and gritted his teeth.
"But I demand a match with you! After the match, whether I win or lose, I'm willing to close down."
"There's no need for that. Just close down."
Sakurai Shirou waved a hand and turned to leave.
"Coward! I already agreed to close down, and you still don't dare compete with me?"
When he saw that the other man did not turn back and did not even pause, anger flashed across Yukihira Soma's face as he roared:
"Are you that afraid of losing? Fat bastard! Coward! You big fat pig..."
Amid the stream of insults, Sakurai Shirou stopped and turned back with a sneer.
"Brat, don't tell me you think the whole world is your parents and has to indulge you? A match? If you can jump off a hundred-story building, I'll agree to your match."
"Fat bastard! You're just afraid of losing..."
Sakurai Shirou said nothing. His gaze shifted to the father of Yukihira Soma's childhood friend, and he slowly raised a hand.
At that instant, Minezaki Yaeko realized something was wrong. She hurriedly stepped forward, wrapped her arms around his arm, and smiled.
"Boss, how about just teaching him a lesson?"
"Oh...? You want to stand on his side?" Sakurai Shirou turned his head and looked at her with a faint smile.
"No... I... I just..."
"Add ten years."
"I..."
"You don't want to? That's true. Your contract only has three years left anyway. Giving up your freedom to help a stranger... heh..."
Before you continue