Obsession X Malice

No!

Baishi was a little disappointed.

Menchi had many talents, but they all centered on cooking ingredients.

For him, with a fight against Hisoka possible at any moment, they were of no use whatsoever.

Perhaps once he had made it through this inexplicable test that had fallen into his lap, and if he had plenty of uses of Emulation to spare, he would have the leisure to emulate one or two of them to satisfy his own palate.

Food Luck Kitchen... Super Taste... Taste Puppetry...

Even without being able to analyze the specific information on the two [Purple] entries, Baishi could roughly guess what they did from the names of the talents and Nen Ability alone.

What a shame...

Baishi narrowed his eyes and shook his head inwardly. Seeing that Menchi was still gripping his arm and watching him warily as she ate, he was left speechless and rolled his eyes.

"All right, you've already eaten it. Aren't you going to let go?"

Munch, munch, munch~

Having finally tasted delicious food, Menchi gave Baishi a somewhat puzzled look and released his arm with her slender hand, still chewing the sushi nonstop.

As she ate, she came to her senses and stared at Baishi, a trace of regret flashing in her eyes.

She regretted letting her stubborn temper drive her to make a decision about the test so quickly. If only she had waited a little longer and tasted more, until she got to the food made by No. 108 in front of her...

Wouldn't one person passing have been better than everyone being eliminated?

"Menchi!"

Buhara, having finished his phone call, walked up behind Menchi with his usual honest expression and lowered his head as he offered her the phone.

"The committee wants to speak to you..."

"You..."

Menchi glared fiercely at Buhara, snatched the phone, and began the call with an irritated look.

"Hello? This is Menchi."

[This is Beans... About the test results...]

"Huh?! The results have already been announced. They won't be changed..."

[In light of the reports submitted by the first two examiners... there are many promising applicants this year... Could you perhaps change the cooking assignment and...]

"No! The results have already been announced!" Noticing the angry glares from the applicants, Menchi curled her lip as her stubborn streak resurfaced. "I'm not interested in testing a bunch of rookies who don't know how to respect food again..."

[Examiner Menchi... Please remember the examination rules you were informed of beforehand... A violation...]

"A violation of the examination rules? How did I violate them?"

A vein bulged on Menchi's forehead. "Wasn't it decided from the start that only food I considered 'delicious' would pass?!"

[That was only to remind the challengers to pay more attention to the details...]

"Shut your mouth!" Menchi flew into a rage. She picked up a piece of sushi and bit down hard, forcing her emotions under control. "Didn't Buhara tell you?"

"Something happened during the test. One of the applicants knew how to make the dish, and he leaked the secret to everyone!!"

"How am I supposed to evaluate them under those circumstances? Anyway... the decision is final! I'm not changing it!"

Beep-

She hung up.

Swish, swish, swish! Swish, swish, swish!

The applicants, who had also heard the heated conversation, all turned to look at Baishi, then glanced over at Hanzo.

Seeing this, the habitually glib Hanzo rubbed his nose, looking a little embarrassed.

Heh~

Under their strange gazes, Baishi shrugged and narrowed his eyes, meeting them directly.

As far as what had happened went, he hadn't told everyone how to make the dish like Hanzo had. At most, quite a few people had copied him while he was demonstrating it to Gon and the others.

Besides, wasn't this test supposed to be about observation?

What, now that the test was over, were they all planning to discard him once he'd served his purpose?

At the thought, a hint of danger entered Baishi's narrowed eyes. The applicants meeting his gaze promptly looked away, seemingly ill at ease.

Bang!

"I won't accept this!!"

An explosive crash suddenly rang out.

Hm?

Baishi turned his head in surprise.

A wooden cooking station a dozen meters away had been violently smashed to pieces. A fat, burly applicant wearing number 255 on his chest charged at Menchi, seemingly furious.

"I don't give a damn about becoming some cook or gourmet! I'm going to be a bounty hunter!"

"How can you Gourmet Hunters be the ones deciding whether I pass?!"

Before he had finished speaking,

Todo reached Menchi and lunged to seize her in a powerful bear hug, his face twisted with rage.

"You've got to be kidd-"

Whoosh-bang-

The air exploded with a sudden crack.

Buhara had swung his enormous right palm out without expression, so fast and with such force that the air itself cracked for an instant.

Caught squarely by the huge palm, Todo shot backward like an arrow, smashing uncontrollably through the warehouse's thick wall under the shocked gazes of the applicants. He then spun through the air for another dozen meters before hitting the ground hard.

"Tch... Meddlesome!"

Menchi, who had been sitting motionless on the sofa, looked up at Buhara behind her in displeasure.

"..." Buhara glanced at the double-edged kitchen knives that had appeared in Menchi's hands at some point behind the sofa. A hint of composure showed on his honest face. "If I hadn't stepped in, that guy would have ended up like sashimi..."

Hmph!

Menchi curled her lip and slowly stood, deftly spinning the double-edged kitchen blades in her hands. She looked down at the intimidated applicants, a faint chill in her voice.

"It doesn't matter what kind of Hunter you want to be, but first... you have to possess strength beyond that of an ordinary person!"

As her words fell,

Boom-hiss!

An aura of Nen filled with malice and killing intent surged outward, enveloping everyone present.

The air seemed to tremble and warp!

The bone-chilling malice instantly triggered a stress response in everyone!

Fear... hostility... indifference... fright... excitement... shock...

Their expressions varied.

Only a handful remained standing where they were without a change of expression.

"..."

Baishi had quietly retreated to one side. The moment the aura enveloped him, he used Nen Aura in the form of [Ten] to dispel its intimidating malice. Having already experienced Hisoka's probing, he had no interest in going through it again.

Swish~~

"Don't think Gourmet Hunters don't have to fight. Finding unknown ingredients and dealing with hunters who break the rules both require us to venture into many dangerous places..."

Menchi withdrew her malicious aura and looked down over the warehouse testing ground, which had fallen unusually quiet. The kitchen blades paused at her fingertips, and she glanced, seemingly without intent, at Baishi as he tried to hide. A meaningful smile curled her lips.

"Forget it! What I originally wanted to test was whether you had the courage to challenge the unknown. Judging by the results of your cooking, then..."

Menchi paused and suddenly realized something. She glanced at the sushi Baishi had made, realizing she had grown a little stubborn again.

Whoosh, whoosh! Hummm-

Just then, a roaring wind sounded outside the warehouse roof, accompanied by the distinctive hum of an airship's engines.

At the sound, Menchi and Buhara's expressions changed, and they immediately hurried out of the warehouse. The puzzled applicants followed one after another.

Tap, tap, tap! Tap, tap, tap!