Food Wars: Taste Reversal

With the stirring of Shiraki's hands, the river gradually spread out in a circle of ripples. Under the gaze of everyone, a dark shadow seemed to be constantly moving beneath the surface. Then, Shiraki's entire arm sank into the water, directly lifting the shadow out of the river.

This time, the prey was twice as big as before. Shiraki looked at it, and the fish in his hand was about ten catties—an ideal size for cooking.

"Isn't this a coincidence?"

Soma Yukihira was stunned. He sat with his fishing rod, waiting for a fish to bite, but after all that time, there was no movement. Meanwhile, Shiraki simply reached into the river and grabbed two fish directly. What was this? Could he be part bear?

The other students were equally silent, especially the one who claimed to specialize in fish dishes. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he watched Shiraki's seemingly chaotic movements.

"Coincidence... It has to be a coincidence!"

The student kept repeating this to himself as if to convince himself. To strengthen his argument, he tugged on his own fishing rod. He had fished countless times before, able to judge the size of the fish by the bubbles and the rod's movements. By his judgment, there shouldn't have been any fish in the area where Shiraki stood, but...

It must have been luck!

Megumi Tadokoro ran to Shiraki with a bucket of water. Her footsteps were hesitant, her gaze fixed on the ten-catty fish in Shiraki's hand. She could hardly react. However, she quickly remembered their task of gathering ingredients and said hurriedly, "Shiraki-kun, we have enough ingredients now. Should we go back to the classroom to start cooking?"

"Don't worry. The cooking will only take fifteen minutes. Let's catch a few more fish first," Shiraki replied, glancing at the A-grade cooking card. "We only need salt for the dish."

"Is that so?" Megumi nodded hesitantly. While she spoke with him, Shiraki reached back into the water.

This time, he fished out another even larger catch—about fifteen catties. The silver scales shimmered under the sunlight as he tossed the fish into the bucket. The splashes echoed loudly, drawing more stares from the surrounding students.

The students around him were rooted in disbelief. Some of them even tried imitating Shiraki. They squatted by the riverbank, carefully stirring their hands in the water, mimicking his casual yet deliberate movements.

However, after an exhausting effort, none of them managed to catch anything—not even a pebble. They exchanged defeated glances, wondering if they were doing something wrong.

"I wonder if there's a half-human-tall tuna or something like that..." Shiraki muttered as he swirled his arm underwater, seemingly unfazed by the attention.

—If there is, it would be a ghost! This is a river, not the sea!

The students, including Soma Yukihira, couldn't help but retort inwardly. Though amazed by Shiraki's skill, they couldn't believe he could catch a tuna from the river. That would defy the ecosystem!

Unbeknownst to them, the area had been temporarily stocked with various animals and fish by the school staff in preparation for the event. Yuanyue's top-tier culinary school ensured their ingredients were of the highest quality. Even sea fish were placed in the river temporarily, to be retrieved later by staff.

As Shiraki continued stirring the water, a dark shadow slowly approached him. The nearby students widened their eyes in shock, holding their breaths as they watched the scene unfold. Suddenly, Shiraki's expression changed. He clenched his fist and stood abruptly.

Splash!

A huge sound erupted as a massive tuna, half the size of a person, was hauled from the river—clenching Shiraki's fist in its mouth!

"No way!"

"How can there be a tuna in the river?!"

"This is cheating!"

"Wait... It really happened?!"

The commotion drew the attention of nearly all nearby students. When they saw the enormous tuna hanging from Shiraki's hand, they were stunned.

Megumi Tadokoro froze at the sight of the fish's massive head emerging from the water. Its scales sparkled like a polished sword under the sunlight, making it appear even more majestic. Soma Yukihira, who had been fishing, dropped his rod in disbelief. The other students were no better.

Judging by its size, the fish weighed at least 200 catties. A tuna of this caliber would fetch over a million yen in the market. While it wasn't comparable to 700-pound oceanic giants, it was undoubtedly the top ingredient among the students' catches.

Some students began murmuring among themselves, their tones a mixture of awe and frustration.

"How is this even possible? Does Shiraki have some secret technique?"

"Secret technique? This is more like a magic trick!"

"Forget it. There's no way we can compete with that..."

Looking at the tuna in Shiraki's hand, then at the tiny river fish in their own buckets, the students were left gaping. They had struggled all day for a single fish, while Shiraki casually snagged the top ingredient.

"So, there are giant tuna in the river... Haha…" Soma Yukihira muttered, scratching his head as cold sweat covered his brow. Though common sense told him it was impossible, the evidence was irrefutable. Shiraki had caught a half-human-sized tuna from the river.

His mind raced with questions. Could his past knowledge have been a lie? Was Shiraki a prodigy or some kind of fishing savant? Soma Yukihira began doubting everything he knew about fishing and life itself.

Meanwhile, Shiraki studied the tuna with a calm yet satisfied expression. Its weight tested the strength of his grip, but he handled it as though it were a mere routine catch.

"Not bad," he remarked, placing the fish into the bucket, which now seemed impossibly small to contain the massive creature. "This should be enough for today. Let's head back."

Megumi nodded, still dazed. Her thoughts were jumbled as she tried to make sense of what had happened. The other students remained silent, their morale utterly crushed.

As Shiraki walked away, his bucket sloshing heavily with water and fish, the students couldn't help but trail behind him, hoping to uncover the secret behind his extraordinary skills.