At Totsuki, both Joichiro Saiba and Gin Dojima were undisputed legends, but in terms of public recognition, Gin Dojima was a bit more famous.
Joichiro was either traveling the world or quietly running his small restaurant, so he rarely showed up in the public eye. By contrast, Gin was not only an Eight-Star Chef but also the director of the Totsuki Resort, so he appeared in the spotlight often.
The students, upon seeing Gin Dojima, erupted in excitement and immediately shifted their conversation to him.
Roland Chapelle, standing beside Gin, was mostly ignored, understandable, since Roland was a respected teacher at Totsuki whom students already saw regularly, even though he was an impressive chef in his own right.
"All right, everyone, settle down. I'll go over the schedule for the next lessons…" Roland's voice carried through the hall via the speakers, and the chatter that had been buzzing around Gin Dojima quieted.
The schedule was straightforward, Roland finished explaining it in a few sentences. Then came the real event.
"Now, your mentors will lead you to the assessment areas. Let me introduce your mentors—the graduates of Totsuki!"
As Roland finished, twenty graduates walked up from behind the podium.
Kael watched them closely. The original story only introduced a few graduates, but here there were easily two or three dozen.
Among this group, aside from Gin Dojima, the strongest was Kojiro Shinomiya — a Seven-Star chef. Unfortunately, Kojiro's mindset had faltered, and his cooking had stagnated for years.
The others were mostly Six-Star chefs. At Totsuki, graduating students typically left as Five-Star chefs; Six-Star graduates were rare and usually belonged to the so-called Golden Generation.
The higher the rank, the harder it was to improve, so even years after graduation these alumni often remained at Six Stars; Seven-Star chefs were exceptions.
While the students were eyeing the graduates, a voice suddenly cut through the hall. Kojiro Shinomiya stepped forward and spoke.
As in the original story, Kojiro used a harsh example to set the graduates' authority — a prearranged show of force. Otherwise, with such a flimsy excuse, neither Gin Dojima nor Roland Chapelle would have let them get away with it.
But everyone stayed silent, and the student singled out had no choice but to be dismissed.
"You actually expelled a student just like that?" Soma Yukihira asked in confusion. He'd heard how strict the dorm training could be and knew he had to take it seriously.
He'd assumed his skills would protect him from being summarily expelled, but the reason they used now made him worry he could be dismissed for any small misstep.
"This is to set an example," Kael said. "The graduates planned this. Otherwise, Chapelle-sensei or Gin-senpai wouldn't let them run wild."
"Judging by how the graduates talk, they've probably sized this student up from every angle," Kael continued. "For this dorm training, that student had almost no chance of passing. So they expelled him now as a warning—to strengthen their authority."
The graduates did have the power to suggest expulsions, but they couldn't act without reason. Only Kojiro Shinomiya among them would act rashly.
In the original story, Gin Dojima had noticed Kojiro's problem when he invited him back; even if Soma hadn't intervened, Gin would have disciplined Kojiro later. So Kael wasn't overly worried that the graduates would pull anything too outrageous.
"That's possible?" the others murmured, surprised. They hadn't thought that deeply about it, but Kael's explanation made sense.
"By the way, Kojiro's sense of smell is pretty sharp," Kael added. "There are over a thousand people here, and he still detected perfume and pinpointed the student."
"Wait—does Kojiro have a special ability like Divine Hearing or God's Tongue?" some students whispered, realizing his olfactory skill was beyond normal.
"Not quite that level, or we'd have heard about it already," Kael replied. "But his sense of smell is definitely exceptional."
Even if it wasn't a supernatural talent, Kojiro's heightened smell had helped him reach Seven-Star status. The problem was his mindset. Climbing to the upper ranks doesn't rely only on technical skill; high-ranking chefs fuse emotion into their dishes, elevating them. Kojiro's emotional state affected his cooking, which is why he'd stalled for years.
Part of the reason was Totsuki's system. The Elite Ten system grants tremendous power and resources to its members, shaping them into leaders. But once they leave Totsuki, those without strong backgrounds struggle. Kojiro had risen too quickly, chose to go international rather than stay at Sakura, and then found a Five-Star reputation didn't cut it in the broader culinary world.
Pride led to a cascade of problems. Gin Dojima had made a wiser choice: he graduated as a Six-Star and stayed at Totsuki. He understood the power and resources he'd had as an Elite Ten member and chose stability—an option that had paid off.
While the students discussed, the graduates began to move. They weren't just there to keep good relations with Totsuki—they were scouting. High-end restaurants demand high standards; even kitchen helpers must perform.
When Soma had worked in Kojiro's kitchen in the original story, he'd seen how much a lack of skill could slow a brigade down. So these graduates wanted to recruit promising students for their restaurants—a win for networking and a way to save hiring costs.
They'd already received school dossiers and knew this year's cohort was strong. Two students in particular drew attention: Erina Nakiri and Kael. But neither was recruitable.
Erina was the Nakiri heiress and possessed God's Tongue; these restaurants simply weren't on her level. Kael, too, was untouchable: a Four-Star chef rumored to have Divine Hearing on a par with God's Tongue. His future promised at least Six Stars by graduation, possibly Seven.
Any graduate who recruited him risked ending up with someone equal or superior.
So the graduates ignored Erina and Kael and focused on others—students who stood next to Kael, most of whom were Three-Star chefs. According to the dossiers, many of them were on track to reach Four Stars by their second year; clearly talented.
Two graduates set their sights on Megumi Tadokoro. They had keen eyes—Megumi looked unassuming, but talentwise, only Soma could slightly outshine her in the Polar Star Dorm. Even Satoshi Isshiki didn't match her.
Megumi had lost time early on because she got nervous easily, but once she adjusted her mindset she caught up quickly and surpassed many peers. Her potential was obvious, so it made sense the graduates would target her.
When one of the graduates, Donato Gotoda, approached, Megumi instinctively shrank behind Kael—she found him a little unsettling.
"Donato, don't scare her. Back off!" Hinako Inui, who had been a step slower to arrive, scolded as she stepped forward. She'd already marked Megumi on the dossiers—her current state reminded Hinako of her own when she'd been in school: less brash and more reserved, though life had thickened her skin since then.
"Ah, Hinako," Donato said, and withdrew—he knew Hinako's strength. Though most of them were Six-Star chefs, Hinako was close to Seven Stars; Donato wasn't about to offend her.
"Megumi Tadokoro, is it? Would you be interested in working at my restaurant after graduation?" Hinako asked bluntly—if Megumi didn't slack off, graduating well shouldn't be a problem.
"Everyone, this isn't the time to make scenes. Back to the podium!" Roland Chapelle's sharp voice cut in, and the graduates stiffened. They all respected the teacher too much to argue; one by one they returned to the stage.
"Gin, I'll hand it over to you," Roland said.
"Thank you, Chapelle-sensei. I'll say a few words…" Gin Dojima took the microphone and didn't give a long speech or spout platitudes. Now wasn't the time. His priority was to solidify the authority Kojiro had just established.
Gin told the students the graduates had significant power—they could recommend expulsions—to deepen the students' respect and fear. He didn't explain the limits: graduates could indeed propose dismissals, but not without reasonable cause. By leaving that unsaid, Gin let the impression stand that graduates could do as they pleased, encouraging better compliance.
That tactic worked—so long as the graduates behaved. If one of them acted like Kojiro, it could backfire.
With Gin's words finished, the students followed their graduate mentors toward the assessment areas.