"Waaaah—"
"So spicy!"
"But it's so good! How can it be this delicious?!"
The moment little Ace put the first piece of bright red tofu into his mouth, his whole body seemed to come alive.
He was completely immersed in the extraordinarily fiery yet incomparably delicious taste.
Seeing how much he liked it and that he could handle the heat, Terunori Kuga finally relaxed.
Earlier, he had internally criticized Sakazuki for feeding such spicy food to a seven-year-old child.
He had even specifically requested the addition of the Sea Star's hottest Soul-Severing Pepper.
After all, the food Terunori Kuga normally made for Sakazuki already used Scovillain.
Of course.
Terunori Kuga's mapo tofu was not spicy alone.
With his superb culinary skills, he had elevated its numbing, fresh, fragrant, crisp, tender, and piping-hot qualities to the same level as its spiciness.
It would never make anyone feel that this dish was merely spicy.
It could be said that, based on this mapo tofu alone, his skill was no worse than Liu Maoxing's back then.
"Not bad."
Sakazuki took a bite of tofu, then a bite of rice. Narrowing his eyes, he offered his praise without reservation.
Terunori Kuga's cooking truly suited his tastes.
Ace liking spicy food as well was something he had not expected, but it made him very happy.
Just hearing the name Soul-Severing Pepper made it clear how potent it was.
Though it had now been surpassed by Scovillain from Jupiter.
"Hah—so good—Uncle Sakazuki, can I ask you for something?"
"What is it?"
Sakazuki set down his chopsticks and calmly looked at Ace.
"A few days ago, we passed the regional qualifiers. The Spring Regional Tournament will begin in September."
"At that time, eight teams will compete for two spots in the World Championship."
"If we make it