Chapter 8: The Second Half of the Cooking Test x ‘Ninja’ Hanzō
“I can’t eat anymore!”
Buhazi sat on the ground, clutching his belly, which was several sizes larger than before, his face filled with contentment.
Hmm.
Although his stomach had only expanded a few sizes, Buhazi had forcefully devoured seventy whole roasted pigs. Moreover, except for Lorin’s, all the others’ pigs were entirely unprocessed—no blood drained, no innards removed.
Given the size of a Snout-nosed Rampaging Pig, each one easily weighed over two tonnes, so seventy pigs amounted to… one hundred and forty tonnes!
Seeing this scene with his own eyes, Lorin’s expression stiffened slightly.
Of course, he knew Buhazi, as a nen user, must have used some kind of nen ability to assist, but even so, one hundred and forty tonnes was outrageous.
Looking at Buhazi, Lorin could only marvel at how he seemed to belong in the wrong world.
If he weren’t a Gourmet Hunter in the world of Hunter x Hunter but instead a Gourmet Hunter in the world of Toriko, then with Buhazi’s appetite, he would absolutely be a super rising star in the Gourmet Hunter world!
“The test is over!”
Menchi rolled her eyes at her partner, then announced, “Seventy people have passed the pig cooking test!”
Standing up, she addressed the numerous examinees below, “I won’t be as lenient as Buhazi. My test is extremely strict.”
After thinking for a moment, she continued, “For the second half of the cooking test, I want to eat—sushi!”
“Sushi?”
“What kind of dish is that?”
“Never heard of it…”
All the Hunter examinees were bewildered, exchanging glances as they confirmed that none had ever heard the name of this dish.
“Hehe, you don’t know it, do you? But that’s normal because it’s a local dish from an obscure little island nation, not well-known.” Menchi grinned mischievously.
“However, I can give you a bit of help. The basic ingredients and tools for making sushi have already been provided. Here’s a hint: I will only accept nigiri sushi!”
After finishing, Menchi ignored the still-confused faces of the examinees and directly announced, “The second half of the Hunter Test’s cooking exam begins now, and the time limit is until I’m full.”
However, unlike in the first half, where Buhazi had announced the start and all the Hunter examinees rushed out of the test venue, this time, they were all perplexedly studying the ingredients Menchi had prepared in advance—namely, a large pot of already steamed rice.
Except for Lorin and… a certain ninja who was openly chuckling.
“He’s smiling so happily…”
“He must know this dish.”
Some examinees near Hanzō had already noticed the ninja’s conspicuously open laughter.
Exchanging glances, a few decided not to confront him directly but rather to secretly follow Hanzō and observe how he prepared the dish.
…
“Cooking with rice?” Gon was full of curiosity.
“There should be other ingredients! Look at the prepared knives; you wouldn’t need them just for rice. They’re probably for handling other ingredients,” Killua analysed seriously.
“And nigiri sushi—it must be a dish formed by shaping it with your hands,” Kurapika mused.
With his broad range of reading—oops, I mean extensive book knowledge—Kurapika felt like he had seen something about sushi in a book before.
“I recall reading that sushi is a dish made by combining rice mixed with vinegar and other seasonings, along with fish,” Kurapika successfully retrieved the relevant memory from his vast knowledge base.
But that was all he could recall, as Kurapika’s reading preferences did not include cookbooks!
“Fish! But there isn’t any fish prepared here!” Leorio exclaimed in surprise.
Hmm.
It was in a completely normal voice, without any attempt to lower the volume.
Instantly, the examinees present turned to look, and the next moment, everyone rushed out.
“We need to add vinegar too!” Lorin looked as though he had just learned something.
Hmm.
Though he knew what sushi was, he only knew what the finished dish looked like.
He wasn’t much better than the others when it came to knowing how to make it or what seasonings were needed.
That was also why Lorin hadn’t rushed out immediately to catch fish.
…
In the forest, Lorin emerged from the lake, holding a carefully chosen fish… of an unknown species, but at least it looked normal. He then returned to the testing venue.
Because of his meticulous selection in the lake, when Lorin returned, many examinees were already lined up to deliver their dishes to Menchi.
However…
There were sushi rolls made from minced fish wrapped in large chunks of rice, sushi consisting of an entire fish encased in rice, small portions of rice enveloping tiny fish, and skewered fish and rice ‘sushi’.
It’s worth noting that all these fish were completely unprocessed live fish; to call this ‘dark cuisine’ would be an understatement.
Even a dog would shake its head at such things, let alone Menchi, a Gourmet Hunter with exceptionally high standards for food.
Still, Lorin found it rather entertaining.
Just as Lorin returned to his cooking station, a confident bald-headed Hanzō approached Menchi with a plate of sushi.
“Finally, it’s my turn! Ta-da, here’s your sushi!” Hanzō presented his dish with great confidence.
Judging by its appearance alone… it was indeed far superior to the previous ‘dark cuisines’.
Most importantly, the fish on top was finally not one of those unprocessed, scale-covered live fish.
At long last, seeing a normal dish, Menchi breathed a slight sigh of relief.
However, just by looking at the sushi before her and at Hanzō in his ninja attire, Menchi could guess his background.
So…
After taking a bite, Menchi said bluntly, “Fail. It tastes terrible. Do it again!”
“What did you say?” Hanzō was stunned, staring at Menchi in disbelief.
“I said it doesn’t taste good. Go back and redo it!” Menchi reiterated seriously.
“What do you mean it doesn’t taste good?! Sushi is just rice shaped into a bite-sized oblong, with a bit of wasabi and raw fish. Anyone making this dish would have a similar result!” Hanzō shouted angrily.
The next moment.
“It’s over!” Hanzō turned to look at the other Hunter examinees below, realising his mistake.
At that moment, the examinees’ eyes gleamed with excitement.
“You idiot,” Menchi’s temper flared instantly.
Originally, Menchi intended to have Hanzō redo the dish to see if he could come up with some creative new type of sushi.
But who would have thought he would be foolish enough to blurt out the method for making sushi?
“Menchi!” Buhazi quickly stepped in to prevent Menchi from hitting Hanzō and managed to calm her down.
Returning to the sofa, Menchi was still visibly annoyed.
“There’s no helping it. Since the method for making sushi is already known, we’ll now focus solely on evaluating the taste!” Menchi said angrily.
“Evaluating taste…”
Buhazi was speechless.
Not to mention Menchi’s own cooking skills, which could rival any five-star hotel chef, but her current attitude…
As her partner, he knew Menchi’s personality well.
When she mentioned judging by taste at times like this, the evaluation criteria…
“We’re doomed!” Buhazi sighed silently, using his phone to send the details and his predictions to the Hunter Examination Committee.