When it came to seizing any opportunity to show off in front of beautiful women, Leorio had never been one to hold back. So before Lu Ou could even open his mouth, Leorio had already jumped forward.
"I had a feeling this exam might involve something from the water," Leorio said, gesturing animatedly as he repeated Lu Ou's earlier reasoning. Afraid his words alone wouldn't be convincing enough, he bent down and pulled out a huge bundle from beneath the cooking table.
It was something Lu Ou had made himself—using several large, old leaves from the Orange-Sweet Tree, fashioned into a container resembling a fish tank.
The sap secreted by Orange-Sweet Tree leaves had excellent waterproof adhesive properties. With just a small cut, the leaves could be bonded together firmly.
The container was a deep, rich green throughout, calming to look at. Menchi walked over from the sofa area and circled the tank curiously. It was roughly eighty centimeters long and forty wide.
"You came up with this?" Menchi asked Lu Ou, increasingly convinced that this boy knew far too much for his age—a genuinely promising candidate.
"Yeah," Lu Ou replied calmly. "I figured fish should be as fresh as possible for cooking, so I made something to keep them alive for now."
"Oh?" With her keen hearing, Menchi had already caught the faint sounds coming from inside the tank. Hearing his explanation, she showed a look of just as I thought, her eyes filled with approval. She liked people who were strict and serious about cooking.
Even Buhara came thundering over to take a look. Of course, if he weren't licking the corner of his mouth every now and then, people might have actually believed he was only there out of curiosity.
"Menchi, this is pretty good," Buhara commented.
"It is," Menchi agreed. "The only question is how it'll be cooked."
She smiled at Lu Ou, then returned to the sofa with Buhara. While she appreciated him, there was no way she was going to give any further hints.
Tap, tap, tap.
In the meantime, several examinees had already returned with fish—the man covered in piercings, Hisoka with his painted face, as well as Pokkle, Hanzo, Tonpa, and others. More than ten people came back in one go.
When Hanzo saw Lu Ou and his group—and the fish on their cooking table—he felt a surge of pressure. As expected, these monsters were his real rivals. He needed to speed things up.
This time, Hanzo didn't say a word. He lowered his head and went straight to his own cooking station, focusing on preparing the rice and sushi as quickly as possible.
Pokkle glanced at Lu Ou's group several times. He considered greeting Kurapika and Leorio—they had been through life-and-death situations together, after all—but when he looked down at the fish in his hands, he decided against it. The exam came first.
"Pick a fish first," Lu Ou said quickly to Gon and the others amid the noise. "Remember—sushi vinegar is made by mixing sugar, salt, and vinegar in a 5:1:10 ratio. Mix it into the rice, then place the fish on top and shape it by hand."
Although Lu Ou himself only had theoretical experience, it was still far better than the others going in completely blind.
"Got it! Just watch me, Ou! I'll definitely make great sushi!" Leorio declared, immediately opening the Orange-Sweet Tree tank and grabbing the first fish he saw, clearly intending to head back to his station and start working.
"Wait—no, not that one. We should all use the same fish."
Seeing Leorio grab an ordinary weed fish, Lu Ou suddenly realized his mistake—he'd forgotten that Gon and the others had no idea which fish were suitable for sushi.
Careless in the middle of chaos.
"Why only one kind?" Leorio asked. "Aren't there plenty of fish in here?"
Gon and the others, who were also about to scoop out fish, looked at Lu Ou as well. To them, a fish was a fish—did the type really matter?
Thinking of how, in the original events, they had confidently presented live fish wrapped in rice as sushi to Menchi, Lu Ou felt a chill. These guys were absolute kitchen disasters. If that happened again, it would completely disgrace his future reputation as a top-tier Gourmet Hunter.
"No," Lu Ou said firmly. "For sushi, this fish is the best. The meat is fine-textured, tender, and slightly chewy—perfect for nigiri sushi."
He pointed to a red fish swimming energetically in the green tank, resembling a salmon.
The commotion finally caught Menchi's attention—she had been keeping an eye on Lu Ou the entire time. Seeing them all gathered together, clearly doing something unusual, she grew curious and quietly walked over.
Noticing that Menchi had come over without saying anything—and was simply standing there watching—Lu Ou knew she had no intention of stopping him.
This is it, he thought. Time to perform.
He pulled out another tank from beneath the cooking table. This one had been prepared separately—it held the fish intended specifically for sushi.
It was the larger of the two salmon-like fish.
He opened the lid. The fish swam lazily around its new home, completely at ease, utterly unaware of what awaited it.
"First," Lu Ou said, "we should let the fish eat something. Even death-row prisoners get a good final meal."
He turned to Gon. "Gon, give me one of the red fruits."
"Okay, Ou!" Gon replied, quickly pulling out a fruit the size of a baby's fist. Its surface glowed red like a gemstone, dazzlingly bright.
"That's a Juyuan Fruit (OC)—a rare product of the Shimeru Wetlands with powerful restorative properties," Menchi said in surprise the moment she saw it. "It only grows on massive trees that can be climbed exclusively by Man Face-Ape monkeys. It's extremely hard to obtain. These kids really are something."
Her evaluation of the group rose once more. She realized she absolutely could not underestimate them.
Lu Ou took the fruit and began feeding it to the fish. Once cracked open slightly, it revealed translucent red flesh, emitting a strange, alluring fragrance that made anyone who smelled it want to take a bite.
Gulp.
Buhara, standing behind Menchi, swallowed hard. After eating seventy-one pigs, his stomach seemed to protest all over again.
But these were the examinees' ingredients. Even if he desperately wanted some, Buhara had principles.
Still, he couldn't help but feel intensely jealous of the fish.
This, truly, was the tragedy of being human.
Clap, clap, clap.
After the plump, healthy salmon finished eating the Juyuan Fruit, Lu Ou brushed the crumbs from his hands.
Everything was ready.
"Now," Lu Ou said casually, "it's time to witness a miracle. Come on, Mr. Salmon—do me a favor and swim a few fast laps."
The people standing around didn't react immediately.
But the other examinees—already paying attention due to Menchi and Buhara's presence—burst into laughter first.
"Heh, heh, heh—"
Mocking chuckles spread through the crowd as people started talking all at once. Ordering a fish around like this was something they had never seen before.
In no time at all, even more people gathered around to watch.