"Then, let's get started..."
Tsuna spoke calmly with a smile as everyone started putting on their aprons.
He turned to Soma, who had come to learn what he could improve on after all, so Tsuna had to finally give Soma what he needed since he had already helped him by coming to the class.
"Soma, what you did yesterday was not bad. But it was just so-so..."
Soma nodded in acknowledgment.
Tsuna glanced at the ingredients and explained, "There are six ways to improve your recipe, and I'm going to explain them to you gradually as you go. Now, start cooking."
"Alright, let's do this..."
Soma nodded before going to the workstation at the front. Tsuna turned to the students, who were watching with curiosity.
"There are five steps to create a perfect hotpot. Soma will demonstrate them to you, and I'll describe each step. Make sure you take notes so you won't mess up later."
Tsuna's way of asserting his control over the class made Karasuma nod, satisfied with how the class listened and behaved nicely.
"The first step is preparing the broth!"
Soma skillfully moved, combining dashi broth, chicken broth, sake, soy sauce, mirin, miso paste, garlic, ginger, and rice vinegar in a large pot.
As Soma was doing this, Tsuna added the first tip to improve the hotpot, "Soma, add a piece of kombu and a splash of fish sauce to the dashi..."
"...!"
Soma widened his eyes, his mind racing with thoughts as he realized it made sense. He nodded and added the kombu and fish sauce.
Tsuna turned back to the class and explained the process without a stutter, earning awe from the students as they easily followed the steps.
After that, Tsuna continued with the next steps, giving Soma instructions on how to improve his recipe.
Soma's skillful performance, Tsuna's charismatic and calming voice, and the aroma slowly dominating the whole classroom made everyone look at them in shock.
"...Rio-chan, I think I've fallen in love."
"..."
Hinano, a student with wavy chin-length orange hair, spoke while looking at Tsuna with her eyes glimmering with a hopeful gaze.
"Hmm?"
However, hearing no response from Rio, she turned in confusion only to see the usually chatty Rio with a lovestruck expression, intently staring at the same person.
Hinano blinked before a fierce glint slowly appeared in her eyes as she muttered, "...I might be your friend, but I won't give up on this, Rio-chan."
Similarly, everyone, including Karasuma and Korosensei, was pretty impressed with the performance.
"Ohoho, look at that. Seems like he's worth 4 million yen per session. Don't you think so, Karasuma-sensei?"
"Yeah, he seems like a natural..."
Karasuma nodded, looking at Tsuna in a different light. He had only seen the teen as someone who placed money above everything. However, despite that being true, Karasuma could now see it as a good trait since such skillful capability backed it up.
However...
The one who was the most shaken was Soma after he carefully analyzed all the improvements Tsuna had mentioned earlier.
The first improvement would give a deeper umami flavor and enhance the overall taste of the hot pot.
The second, which was to marinate the beef and pork in a mixture of sake and soy sauce before adding them to the pot, would tenderize the meat, giving it the best texture as it would melt in the mouth.
The third was to alter the vegetable selection slightly.
Soma thought it was just a preference, but after seeing the result, he realized it was deliberate. Tsuna's choices had a diverse texture, making the hot pot to be less boring to eat which was pretty smart.
"And he only tasted one bite..."
Soma looked at Tsuna in shock.
He couldn't believe that with just a bite, the guy in front of him, who had been describing the steps without stuttering from the beginning, could see through everything and make an improvement!
Then, there were the fourth, fifth, and sixth ways to improve the recipe, which made the hotpot absolutely perfect.
"Can I even beat him?"
For the first time, Soma felt a bit doubtful about his chances.
He tightly gripped his fist as he looked at the simmering hotpot in front of him, lost in his thoughts.
"Alright... Now, before you all get started and cook your own, I'm going to finish the bet first," Tsuna said, turning to Terasaka, who scoffed at him.
Tsuna chuckled before turning to Korosensei, who was salivating profusely, "Korosensei, would you like to have a taste?"
"...!"
He grabbed a spoon and gestured it to Korosensei, who gulped and asked, "C-Can I really?"
"Yeah, why not?"
Tsuna smiled gently, which looked suspicious to Karasuma as he felt a sweat rolling down his forehead.
However, Korosensei couldn't resist the aroma that had completely dominated his senses. His figure suddenly vanished before appearing right by Tsuna's side as he took a bite, including the spoon.
"...?"
Tsuna frowned at the chewed spoon.
"Mhhmmmmm!"
Korosensei seemed to be in pure ecstasy, letting out weirdly ecstatic sounds that echoed throughout the room, making all the students uncomfortable.
They could see it was so good that they gulped their saliva, turning to Tsuna with hopeful gazes, wanting to have a bite as well.
"Alright, everyone, relax. I'll let you have a taste later, but for now..."
Tsuna chuckled before turning to Korosensei, his smile suddenly vanishing. "Korosensei, offer me your tentacles."
"...?"
"...Pardon?"
Korosensei blinked his beady eyes in confusion. The others seemed confused as well, but Tsuna didn't seem to care as he continued, "Don't you want more? If you do, give me at least three of your tentacles."
His voice grew colder, and Korosensei felt a shuddering feeling wash over him, realizing Tsuna was serious.
Korosensei realized that if he didn't give Tsuna what he wanted, he might be banned from eating Tsuna's cooking forever!
"Ha, is this how you want to prove your be--!"
Puchi! Puchi!
Terasaka, who was about to scoff, couldn't help but widen his eyes in shock at the scene in front of him as he then shouted in disbelief, "NANI!?"
Korosensei broke off three of his tentacles before regrowing them, then took another bite with an expression of complete bliss.
"Keke, this isn't over yet..."
Tsuna glanced at the shocked students, impressed by Korosensei's obedience, before turning to Soma, who seemed lost in thought.
"Huh? Soma, take that out..."
Realizing Soma didn't seem to be responsive, Tsuna shook his head and approached.
Tap!
"...!?"
Soma was snapped back to reality by a pat on his shoulder, widening his eyes as he saw Tsuna frowning at him.
"Yo, we're done with the demonstration. Take it out..."
"...Ah? Right now?"
Soma scratched his head awkwardly.
Though confused, he still followed the instructions and took out a small white jar filled with something that looked like octopus tentacles in a dark fluid with bubbles forming at the top, making it look completely horrific.
"...!"
Seeing this alarmed Korosensei. His figure suddenly vanished before appearing in the corner of the classroom, looking defensive.
"T-that thing..."
Korosensei's eyes were locked on the octopus tentacles in Soma's hand. With Soma having the same expression as his father, Korosensei felt his heart beating really hard.
He could never forget how those things had traumatized him!
The students also seemed to feel the tension as they gulped nervously.
"I-Ito-kun, t-there's no way you're gonna make me---"
"Eat it..."
"...!"
Tsuna's voice cut him off, and Korosensei's body turned completely blue.
He was completely shaken as Soma giggled evilly before taking one tentacle out and waving his chopsticks at Korosensei.
Tsuna continued, "You don't have to eat it..."
"R-Really!?"
Korosensei's expression brightened, but...
"...but you should understand the consequences, right?"
"...!"
Hearing those words completely deflated Korosensei's will to resist Tsuna's instruction.
After that...
"()#!&*(#&!(*&"
A loud gargling sound and a terrified scream echoed through the whole school.
"See? If you can cook like me, even if you feed him anything deadly, he'll take it..."
Tsuna turned to the class and saw everyone's mouths wide open in shock while looking at him, smiling gently, with Korosensei squirming on the floor.
They couldn't help but think, "H-He's a demon!"