After the intense battle, the spectators were given a small respite to recover their breaths. While the votes were tallied, the chefs returned to their stations to await the verdict. Byakuya looked as calm and relaxed as ever. Tōshirō looked rather glum, but somewhat relieved too.

"I'm so glad this is finally over..." He muttered.

There was a deep drum fanfare, and Gin walked on to the stage, under a shower of applause and cheers. As short as it had been, the wait had been simply too long for everyone, such was the tension in the air.

"Thank you everyone, we're back with the results!"

More cheers. Tōshirō winced internally.

"It was supposed ta be the Chairman here to read them, but I'm afraid he ain't feeling too well. So I'll do my humble best."

There was a murmur and some clapping, a somewhat heartfelt feeling of good wishes for the Chairman to recover promptly. Gin, in the meantime, had his usual narrow grin and seemed to be having a grand old time. He coughed slightly and adopted a more formal pose.

"Today we've had the first battle here in Kitchen Stadium. We had great hopes for the opening cooking duel, and hoped it'd revolutionize cuisine in Soul Society forever."

Dramatic pause. Some people started to clap but were hushed quickly. The tension was high.

"Fer the first battle, we had young Hitsugaya Tōshirō as the Challenger, a kid from the Rukongai who turned a self-made man and Captain in the Gotei 13. He's the most triumphant example of the strength of the new generation, admired by many and respected by all."

A few light beams fell on him, to make him stand out in the middle of the Arena.

"Our Iron Chef was Kuchiki Byakuya, head of one of the four great Noble Houses, and upholder of tradition both in his household and out of it. One of the most famous Captains in the Gotei 13, he's also the president of the Calligraphy Society, and that tells us all we need to know."

The same light beam treatment was given to Byakuya.

Another dramatic pause. Nervous murmurs.

"And now!" A piano solo started suddenly. "After an unforgettable tasting, that will go down in history, now... Who takes it? Whose cuisine reigns supreme?"

A few more seconds passed as the piano chords became more dramatic. Suddenly several more beams of light fell on one of the Chefs.

"Challenger, Hitsugaya Tōshirō!"

Fireworks started going off, and flower petals and confetti rained slowly on Tōshirō, who had just become petrified. After just a moment, his two assistants reacted.

"We... We won!" Matsumoto cried out.

"We won! We won! Rangiku-san! Tōshirō!"

"Yaaaay! Yay yay!"

The girls started jumping in their happiness, and a moment later Matsumoto embraced Tōshirō from behind in a bear hug with extra-large marshmallows, and unable to resist, Orihime did the same and embraced both from the front, and the two girls jumped up and down in happiness as they nearly suffocated Tōshirō.

"Well, well, let's look at the scorecards, shall we?" Gin called, over the roar and booms of the fireworks. "Zaraki Kenpachi, 20 to 18 for the Challenger! Ukitake Jūshirō and Urahara Kisuke... Couldn't turn in the score cards, unfortunately, as they left the tasting area in great haste. Well, they were carried away in great haste, but that's just details. So! Winner, by single and unanimous decision! Come on everyone, let's give a big hand to Hitsugaya Tōshirō!"

It was the battle that revolutionized cuisine in some parts of Soul Society.

Namely, the 11th Division.

On that day, the legend of the Kenpachi grew even bigger. For generations, Kenpachi was the name and title given to the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society, the one who loved battle most, the one who killed the most enemies.

That day, the Kenpachi was also deemed so only if he had the strongest...

Stomach.

Author's Closing Thoughts ^_^

There you have it folks, the battle is over! Truth to be told, I've never been told whether poisoning all but one of the tasters to win was a valid tactic in the original Iron Chef or not, since noone has ever been skilled enough to apply it.

Thank you everyone, for the kind and encouraging reviews and comments, the alerts, and the favourites. It's been really encouraging! It's good to see that my occasional insanity does at least amuse someone besides myself.

And curiously enough, this marks my first ever completed fanfic on this site. :)