story
Hooray! Pantasia's won again! But... why, exactly? The viewers want to know, and unfortunately Kuroyanagi's the only one who ate both breads... and he's still frozen in haniwa-form. Someone approaches and offers to explain- it's Tsubotzuka! He explains that he's been watching all along, since he was called in to be a guest commentator. He explains that the secret to Pantasia's victory lies... with Kanmuri! To fix the "juice leaking" problem when the bread was baked, Kanmuri used salt flowers, both to reduce the sweetness of the mango, and to absorb the excess juice. Moreover, the salt was "high tide salt", and came from the sea around the area. The second secret is with Azuma- he used protease-filled juice to make the dough liquidy, destroying the gluten in the dough and making the result act like high quality tempura powder! Then, using a haniwa-shaped mold, he was able to create something soft like a pancake, but also crunchy like tempura- a bread-waffle! The extra care that Azuma put into creating the mold was the cincher, adding "his love" to the bread for the win.
The crowd cheers, happy with Tsubotzuka's explanation and performance. However, Tsubotzuka expresses one concern- he wants the other members of CMAP to be able to learn to love again... Kanmuri tells him not to worry- even though they've currently frozen as haniwa from the shock, they are back in contact with people, so he's sure they'll learn again! And, as the Manager says, "They all lived happily ever after." (...Really?)
Ah~ another battle over with, one less to worry about. We cut to Azuma's Grandfather, Umatarou, who has apparently created some kind of flour and sent it to Azuma, in hopes that his grandson will create a delicious bread for him, because he's going to visit Azuma! He's so excited he can hardly wait!
Meanwhile, Azuma ponders what to make with the flour... it's difficult, because, no matter what he does, the dough refuses to knead correctly. Kawachi offers an explanation: though good quality, the flour is Japan-grown, and therefore not of the ideal bread-making quality. Since Japan's climate is unsuited for growing flour, the quality drops. Kanmuri shows up and, as usual, has the explanation: the flour that Umatarou has sent is ideal for something- Kanmuri promises to make something really great for Umatarou's arrival!
That evening, Umatarou, Inaho, Azuma and Kawachi are seated at a table, awaiting Kanmuri's "surprise". Grandpa is still excited to see what kind of bread Azuma made. Kanmuri enters, and unveils.... udon?! Yes! Kanmuri has created delicious udon by first having Kawachi and Azuma stomp the flour to create a smooth texture, then cooking the noodles in an iron pot to bring out their flavor! Umatarou is disappointed- he wanted Azuma to make bread! But it couldn't be helped, because the flour that he sent
was udon flour!
Later on, Azuma and Kawachi are walking along, discussing Grandpa Umatarou and the udon. Kawachi turns suddenly, getting a weird feeling that they're being watched... but nobody is in sight. The topic of discussion turns to family, and worry about Team Pantasia (since they're on TV so much). Kawachi says that his family is worried about him, now that he's on TV all the time. Azuma echoes his remark, and questions Kanmuri about his family... Kanmuri looks uncomfortable, but Kawachi quickly starts talking about Suwabara- that's it, his family must be the reason that he doesn't want to appear on Yakitate!! 25! Meanwhile, hidden behind a lamppost, one of two shadowed figures glares at Kawachi, thinking "like hell that's why...". Hmm...
Regardless, Kanmuri soon turns to talk business, discussing which square Team Pantasia should choose next. Eventually it's decided that they will choose square "A", because it poses the least risk if they happen to lose the battle. On to the next battle!
At the studio, Kawachi warily eyes their new opponents. Two bakers, dressed as... ninjas? Try as he might, Kawachi can't take them seriously. He regards them as simple cosplayers. After he complains (and Kuroyanagi yells at him for it), Team Pantasia makes their choice. It opens to reveal- Ohmagari! Kuroyan gives a brief rundown, especially stressing the point that they love things that are
bent there. Ok, to Ohmagari then! While leaving, Kawachi again expresses curiosity over who the ninjas are- when Azuma offers to go ask them, the ninjas take off! What's up with that? Hidden around a corner, the ninjas- referring to each other as "Kai" and "Monika".... wait... Kai and Monika? Suwabara explains that this is the only way he can fight them at their best- if they don't know his identity, he can fight them at their peak... and beat them!
Soon, our teams are in Ohmagari. Unlike other cities, Ohmagari is close by and accessible. The teams discuss specialties... what? Ohmagari doesn't have a specialty ingredient? Well, not technically, but since Kuroyanagi stressed the
bent angle (ha! Get it? Angle?) of the match, one idea is to use... the bent onion! Both teams know about it, and plan to use it. As Team Pantasia arrives at their destination, they discover that... the ninjas are already there! Seeing as how the ninjas took a car and Team Pantasia walked to save money, it's no wonder. Kawachi, meanwhile, is more curious than ever to know who these mystery people are... finally, he can't take it any more, and frolics over to steal their masks and discover their identities! Reaching for the female's mask, he grabs, pulls, and... pulls down her pants instead?! The "male-nin" is furious, and with an outburst of "in the short time I haven't seen you", gives himself away as... Suwabara! Great, now what's he going to do?
(We'll find out, next time!)
