Although Anne was merely Mana Nakiri's secretary and had no blood relation to her, she was much like Hisako Arato.
Even after becoming a First-Class Executive, she still chose to remain by Mana's side as her secretary.
Naturally, Anne wanted to see Mana continue to recover and move forward. So when something like this happened—when Mana was pushed into a rage—Anne was furious as well.
After all, whoever did this was clearly trying to drag Mana back into the abyss she had only just climbed out of.
With Anne seething, her expression was anything but pleasant. After issuing her orders, the staff who saw her stormy face didn't dare ask unnecessary questions.
They immediately contacted every executive still at headquarters. Rank didn't matter—First-Class, Second-Class, all of them were to be notified.
"What on earth happened? They actually summoned all the executives?"
Lanterby was completely bewildered. When she saw the notice—and how urgent the timing was—it was obvious this was no small matter.
She didn't dare slack off. By the time she arrived at the meeting hall, quite a few people were already seated.
After Lanterby, more executives arrived one after another. Some of them had tried asking what was going on when they received the notice, only to be told that Anne—Mana Nakiri's secretary—was visibly furious.
That alone told them everything they needed to know.
If the meeting wasn't called by Anne herself, then it could only mean one thing: Mana Nakiri was in a rage.
No one wanted to be the unlucky one to provoke her.
So every last executive rushed over without delay.
As time passed, Mana Nakiri finally entered the room. After several days of rest, her condition had improved slightly.
"Everyone," Mana said calmly, "I'll keep this brief. I've called you here for one reason only—the Midnight Chefs."
"I don't care what methods you use, or what means you resort to. I want you to hit the Midnight Chefs hard."
"Afterward, submit detailed reports of your actions. I will issue rewards accordingly."
Mana knew better than to make people work for nothing. Rewards were necessary.
As for what those rewards would be, they would naturally be assigned based on merit.
Promotion to Second-Class Executive wasn't out of the question. Advancement beyond that was difficult, so alternative rewards would be offered instead.
For First-Class Executives, direct guidance from Mana herself would be more than enough.
After all, they were chefs. A bit of personal instruction from Mana Nakiri—one of the pinnacles of the culinary world, a chef beyond Nine-Star—could save them years of detours.
The meeting ended as quickly as it began.
But everyone walked away with one thing firmly in mind: Mana Nakiri was furious.
She was usually stern and reserved, but the atmosphere now was entirely different. The pressure she carried when she entered the room was overwhelming—the kind of presence cultivated by someone in power over many years, amplified by her emotional state.
Compared to before, the pressure was on a completely different level. And her tone made it even clearer.
The simpler the command, the more serious the matter.
In the past, while the WGO had never looked kindly on the Midnight Chefs, Mana had never truly gone after them. At most, she dealt with those who directly provoked the WGO.
But this time was different.
She was targeting the entire Midnight Chef community.
And she had made it clear—any means necessary.
"I've been sick of those rats for a long time. Now that we have the Special-Grade Executive's approval, I won't be holding back."
Among the WGO executives, many already despised the Midnight Chefs' behavior. Now that they finally had a green light to act, none of them planned to refuse.
Whether they hated the Midnight Chefs or felt indifferent, everyone was motivated. Mana's words alone were enough.
The WGO was the largest organization in the culinary world—its equivalent to the Light Cooking World from Chuuka Ichiban!.
Once it mobilized in full force, the impact was enormous.
The Midnight Chefs were caught completely off guard.
It wasn't that they were weak—rather, they lacked unity. They had no single faction holding them together.
Normally, their friction with the WGO never escalated beyond small clashes. But this time, the WGO moved with terrifying speed and zero restraint.
Before the Midnight Chefs even realized what was happening, they were already hit.
Meanwhile, the Midnight Chefs in Japan were utterly dumbfounded. Early in the morning, they received notices ordering them to leave the country.
They could refuse, of course.
But they would have to bear the consequences themselves.
Those who already had Shokugeki scheduled saw them canceled outright.
"Malcanta, did you find out what's going on? Why did the Nakiri family suddenly expel all Midnight Chefs?"
Asahi Saiba was confused as well. Over the past few days, he had recruited another subordinate. Although Sarge and Bunnyhair had both been taken in by Kael, there were still plenty of others.
So many young Midnight Chefs had gathered here—it was practically a treasure trove.
He had planned to expand his forces.
Instead, he woke up to this.
He immediately sent Malcanta to investigate.
"I've confirmed it," Malcanta replied. "Last night, one of Sarge's obsessed followers tried to assassinate Kael with a weapon. He failed, but the incident put the entire Nakiri family on high alert."
"So they decided to expel all of us."
"And there's more. Several Midnight Chefs under my command were attacked. The ones who made the move were WGO executives."
"It's happening worldwide. Midnight Chefs everywhere are being targeted."
The WGO had acted with ruthless efficiency.
After all, these were tangible achievements. If you didn't move fast, someone else would take the credit.
So the executives showed no mercy.
Some hired local gangs to harass Midnight Chefs—dirty tricks usually reserved for Midnight Chefs themselves.
Others used their own networks to attack the organizations backing them.
Some even went straight to the source and issued direct challenges.
The methods were endless.
For a while, the Midnight Chefs were utterly disoriented.
They couldn't even tell who the real Midnight Chefs were anymore.
Because what the WGO was doing looked exactly like their own playbook—sometimes even worse.
"That idiot actually went after Kael in the middle of the night!"
"And those executives targeting us—this has to be Mana Nakiri. She's the only Special-Grade Executive in the WGO. There's no way this isn't her doing."
Asahi immediately connected the dots. Being expelled here and the WGO's rapid response elsewhere—it was obvious Senzaemon Nakiri had contacted Mana.
"But why go this far?" Claude frowned. "Even if Kael is talented, he wasn't even hurt. Starting a full-scale war with the Midnight Chefs over this feels excessive."
"I think there's more we don't know," Asahi said quietly. "Mana Nakiri's reaction is too extreme."
He wasn't wrong.
The fact that Kael had temporarily resolved the drawbacks of Mana's God's Tongue was known only to a select few.
If they knew that, none of this would seem strange.
"Enough thinking," Asahi said at last. "Pack up and leave. This is Nakiri territory. Staying here any longer is asking for trouble."
From Mana's reaction alone, it was clear how important Kael was to both her and the Nakiri family.
Asahi didn't need to know the reason.
He just needed to run.
A wise man doesn't stand beneath a collapsing wall.
As for the other Midnight Chefs—that wasn't his problem.
And Soma Yukihira?
Asahi wasn't interested right now. This trip hadn't been about Soma in the first place.
The timing wasn't right.
He still needed to grow his own power base—enough to eventually take everything Soma had.
Under pressure from the Nakiri family, most Midnight Chefs left in disgrace.
Those who refused to leave were given a firsthand demonstration by Senzaemon Nakiri of what it meant to vanish from the world.
This series of events reminded everyone just how ruthless he could be.
True to his name, the Demon King struck without warning—and his strikes left only death behind.
When those Midnight Chefs went missing, the ones who had already left finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Damn… one wrong move and people just disappear. And those WGO executives—when they get serious, they're even more ruthless than we are."
Even Claude, who already looked like a villain, couldn't help but wince.
He honestly couldn't tell who the real villains were anymore.
"More than a dozen people—none of them came back alive," Malcanta said grimly.
"We should be more careful in Japan from now on. I don't want to end up as fish food."
"Agreed," Asahi said, a trace of fear flashing in his eyes.
He finally realized that culinary skill alone wasn't everything.
Power, influence, and methods mattered just as much.
You could be the strongest chef alive—but if you offended people like them and lacked backing, your fate was sealed.
Joichiro Saiba might look like a wandering chef, but he had deep ties with major powers. He even held ten nominal positions at Totsuki.
The positions themselves meant little—but they symbolized his connection to the Nakiri family.
Asahi's sense of crisis intensified.
He needed to build his own forces—fast.
No matter what, he couldn't remain a lamb waiting for slaughter.
All of this chaos—Worldwide upheaval in the culinary world—Had been triggered by a single obsessed fan attacking Kael.
When the rest of the Midnight Chefs learned the truth through their own networks, they were left speechless.
They never imagined they'd be driven into such misery…
Because of a simp.