Menchi's assigned test was sashimi.
Compared to the original sushi, the difficulty had been significantly reduced.
Even so, the examinees were completely clueless and had no idea what kind of dish sashimi was.
Only a certain bald ninja was secretly delighted.
Watching the bewildered examinees, Menchi walked directly to the center of the neatly arranged cooking stations.
"I'll give you a hint: the tools and ingredients on these cooking stations are all things used to make sashimi. Additionally, I'll give you the biggest hint, the ingredients for this dish are limited to aquatic animals."
Menchi raised her index finger, a smile on her face.
The examinees looked at the cutting boards, utensils, seasoning bottles, and small amount of vegetables on the cooking stations, still utterly confused.
Faced with a completely unfamiliar dish they had no concept of, even with so many hints, it was difficult for them to grasp a general idea.
Among the examinees, Hanzo secretly clenched his fist, struggling to suppress his excitement. Seeing the other examinees sweating profusely, he couldn't help but feel secretly pleased.
However, since the other examinees were all focused on the cooking stations, no one noticed his reaction for the time being.
"Well then, the test begins now. When I'm full, that's when the test ends. During this time, it doesn't matter how many times you attempt it."
After giving the biggest hint, Menchi straightforwardly announced the start.
The examinees, not knowing what sashimi was, could only follow Menchi's hint about aquatic animals and run toward the nearby rivers and streams.
Hanzo was among them, heading toward the river at a leisurely pace.
Although he knew what sashimi was, seeing the other examinees all running purposefully toward the rivers and streams, he couldn't help but feel a bit regretful.
He thought that if Menchi hadn't given such an obvious hint, he might have truly taken the lead, or even become the only one to pass this test.
If that had really happened, he probably would have laughed in his sleep.
This is a traditional dish from my country, I must pass!
Hanzo consciously avoided crowded areas and headed toward a more remote river.
—--
Near the warehouse venue.
Gon and his group didn't act immediately.
Because Kalluto knew what sashimi was.
"I've eaten this dish on a small island nation called Jappon. It involves slicing fresh fish and shellfish into thin pieces and eating them with dipping sauce."
Kalluto didn't mention his relationship with Menchi, only bringing up his experience visiting Jappon.
Leorio was stunned. "It's that simple?"
"Yes."
Kalluto replied calmly.
A glimmer of light flashed in Barbara's eyes. She hadn't expected that squeezing into this small group would bring such an unexpected advantage.
My luck isn't bad, I might actually get the license smoothly this time.
—--
In the forest near the warehouse venue.
Morrow carefully confirmed his direction and then headed toward the Serpent River.
Even though the second phase test had changed from sushi to sashimi, it didn't affect his pre-planned strategy of catching migratory sea fish.
He felt that, given Menchi's personality and style, even if she had lowered the difficulty of the test, she probably wouldn't let the examinees pass easily.
That hint limiting the ingredients to aquatic animals, while seemingly pointing the examinees in a direction, was actually still a big trap. After all, whether it's sashimi or sushi, seafood is typically the main ingredient.
Even without using Shooting Star, I can quickly reach the middle and upper reaches of Serpent River.
Morrow gazed ahead, consciously gathering more aura output in his legs.
But before he officially set off, he once again detected Hisoka's unmistakable aura.
This time, however, he didn't wait for Hisoka to appear. The aura gathered at his feet suddenly erupted, and his entire body shot forward like an arrow from a bow, swiftly weaving through the forest and disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Hisoka had just appeared, only catching a glimpse of a fleeting shadow at the edge of his vision.
He didn't stubbornly give chase. Instead, he stood in place, staring in the direction Morrow had vanished, savoring the brief but explosive burst of aura he had just witnessed.
Everyone was making great strides forward.
From the subtle details, Hisoka sensed that Morrow's strength had improved yet again.
This discovery made the excitement within him grow even more restless.
By the time Morrow returned to the warehouse venue with a migratory sea fish, many examinees were already busy at their cooking stations.
Menchi sat upright on a single sofa, a square table placed in front of her.
She held chopsticks in her hand, her brow furrowed, and her right foot tapping impatiently on the ground.
Scattered on the floor beside the table were the remnants of numerous tableware, but no dishes were in sight.
It seemed a group of examinees had already presented their dishes, but perhaps due to poor presentation or improper preparation, Menchi hadn't even tasted them before overturning them.
Then, those dishes that had greatly dissatisfied Menchi ended up, fresh and glistening, in Buhara's mouth.
That was Morrow's speculation. His gaze swept over the still-busy examinees, and he could see expressions of frustration and anger on their faces.
Paying no mind to the atmosphere in the venue, Morrow chose an unused cooking station nearby and began preparing the raw fish.
Menchi noticed Morrow, and her furrowed brow gradually relaxed.
She had spotted the migratory fish he brought back, and a glimmer of anticipation stirred within her.
Truth be told, given a Gourmet Hunter's digestive capabilities, she didn't strictly require the examinees to present a sashimi dish made from sea fish.
Even if the taste wasn't emphasized, they should at least make full use of the ingredients provided on the cooking station while preparing their dishes.
That was the hint given from the very beginning.
Yet, these examinees had completely failed to grasp the hint, and there was even one foolish bald-headed examinee causing trouble.
This had put Menchi in a somewhat irritable mood, but her judging standards remained strictly professional, unaffected by personal emotions.
At one of the cooking stations in the warehouse, Hanzo seemed to sense Menchi's targeted gaze and shivered slightly.
Dammit, why didn't it pass?!
Isn't sashimi just about cutting fresh fish into slices?
Staring at the dwindling amount of fish on his station, Hanzo racked his brains but couldn't figure out why his dish had failed.
—--
Elsewhere.
Since Hanzo had revealed the method for making sashimi, and Kalluto and the others' first-round dishes had been outright rejected by Menchi, they had lost their first-mover advantage.
But the problem was no longer about the cooking method.
Like Hanzo, they couldn't understand the reason for their failure and could only keep trying to make adjustments.
Yet the results were the same.
At first, Menchi would take a few bites, but later, she would merely glance at the dishes before tossing them to Buhara behind her to eat. Two hours passed like this, and not a single candidate had qualified.
The examinees' emotions grew increasingly restless.
But this atmosphere did not affect Morrow.
Holding a kitchen knife similar in style to the Chef's Scarlet Knife, with the enhancement of his aura, he deftly deboned the migratory fish, then sliced the flesh along its grain into pieces as thin as cicada wings.
The richer, fattier portions were cut into chunks.
Even the fish roe wasn't wasted, placed in a bowl for later use.
Accustomed to the Poultry Scarlet Knife and with aura enhancement, handling the ingredients isn't exactly effortless, but it's almost effortless. Still, this alone probably won't satisfy Menchi.
Morrow's gaze fell on the various condiment bottles on the counter.
Unlike in the original, Menchi's table didn't have pre-prepared dipping sauce, which meant they had to use the available ingredients to create their own dipping sauce to accompany the sashimi dish.
But that still wasn't enough.
Morrow bent down and opened the cabinet beneath the cooking station.
Inside were stacked several types of plates, but his eyes immediately landed on the larger sashimi plate.
He took out the sashimi plate and opened the nearby refrigerator, where, as expected, crushed ice had been prepared in advance.
As long as I properly utilize all the tools and materials on the cooking station, I should meet the passing standard... unless Menchi stubbornly judges based on taste alone...
Morrow began arranging the plate, his peripheral glance catching a headlamp strapped to the cabinet shelf, and a thought flickered in his mind.
This headlamp seemed to be provided for the convenience of the examinees diving to catch fish.
So, based on this equipment hint alone, the options for aquatic animals in the stream were essentially ruled out.
Yet many examinees hadn't realized this.
Although this was largely due to a lack of culinary common sense, their insufficient observation and judgment were undeniable facts.
After some effort, Morrow meticulously completed the sashimi platter, covered it with a lid, and carried it over to Menchi.
By now, all the examinees in the venue had already presented their first round of dishes.
Only Morrow, who had returned last, was just now presenting his dish.
For a moment, many eyes were fixed on Morrow.
Menchi had already straightened up, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
She had seen Morrow's ingredient preparation process earlier.
Only during the final plating stage, as other examinees successively brought their dishes forward, she had only caught a few hurried glimpses and hadn't seen the fully plated appearance.
Even so, she felt it was enough for Morrow to pass directly.
After all, among all the examinees, only Morrow had brought back a sea fish.
But this factor wasn't that important; what mattered was that Morrow had perfectly understood her hints, utilizing the tools and supplementary materials on the cooking station just right.
Morrow approached the table and, under Menchi's eager gaze, placed the sashimi plate on the table, then slowly lifted the cover.
A miniature iceberg built from crushed ice emitted a wispy chill, with colorful shredded vegetables faintly visible within.
On one side of the miniature iceberg, crystal-clear slices of raw fish were neatly arranged like fish scales, each slice so thin it was translucent.
On the other side, rich, fatty fish chunks were layered, accompanied by a bowl of plump, round, pale red fish roe, garnished with tender green sprouts that enhanced its freshness.
Beside the roe was an elegant dipping dish filled with a simply prepared dipping sauce. But what truly captured attention was...
A gentle radiance emanated from within the iceberg, casting a dreamy, lustrous glow over the entire dish.
A glowing dish!
Menchi stared blankly at the sashimi platter Morrow had meticulously prepared.
She had expected Morrow's dish to be well-executed, but she never imagined it would be this outstanding, even going so far as to embed light bulbs inside the miniature iceberg.
Forget the taste; just the thoughtful presentation alone was enough to satisfy her.
The other examinees, led by Hanzo, who had been watching the scene, were also stunned by the exquisite glowing display.
What in the world?
Since when did food glow?
After their initial shock, the examinees were even more surprised to see Menchi break into a smile.
It seemed to signal that examinee No. 502 had already passed.
Dammit, he beat us to it!
Hanzo's earlier smugness had now turned into sheer frustration.
At the table.
Slurp.
A gulping sound suddenly came from behind Menchi.
Buhara stared longingly at the beautifully presented sashimi platter, wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth.
"None for you."
Menchi protectively wrapped her arms around the entire sashimi platter, shooting Buhara a warning glance over her shoulder.
Buhara scratched his head in disappointment.
Menchi turned her attention back, solemnly picked up her chopsticks, lifted a slice of fish, lightly dipped it in the sauce, and placed it in her mouth to savor slowly.
The dipping sauce was mild, intended to accentuate the natural sweetness of the fish.
The fish had been sliced along the grain, the knife work was flawless, and the chewiness characteristic of migratory fish was fully showcased.
Pass, absolutely pass-worthy!
Menchi's smile widened, a sense of satisfaction welling up inside her.
She knew part of this satisfaction stemmed from her fondness for Morrow.
But her evaluation criteria and final judgment were impartial and completely devoid of personal bias.
Instead of announcing the result immediately, Menchi finished every last piece of sashimi.
The other examinees looked at Morrow with either envy or complicated expressions.
"Delicious."
Menchi set down her chopsticks contentedly, her face beaming.
This was the first time she had tasted a proper dish prepared by Morrow himself. Even though it was part of the exam, it brought her immense joy.
Morrow was touched by Menchi's radiant smile, a slight grin appearing at the corner of his mouth. He gave her a slight nod before turning and walking back to his cooking station.
Inside the venue, all eyes were fixed on Morrow, and then they saw Hisoka carrying a small plate, passing by Morrow as he headed toward Menchi.
When Morrow returned to his station, he noticed that the leftover fish scraps were gone.
Just then, Hisoka arrived before Menchi, set down the plate, and lifted the cover.
On the plate was a small mound of crushed ice, topped with irregular, scattered slices of fish.
Amidst the faint chill, shredded vegetables of various colors were haphazardly piled atop the crushed ice.
How about it~?
Hisoka smiled as he looked at the masterpiece he had brought to the table, thinking that imitation might just be enough to pass.
But Menchi instantly recognized that the fish on the crushed ice was nothing but Morrow's leftover scraps.
"???"
Menchi shot Hisoka a disgusted look, then lifted the plate and forcefully flung it backward. Buhara opened his mouth and swallowed the fish along with the crushed ice.
Menchi, expressionless, declared, "This is the worst dish I've seen today."
"!!!"
Hisoka was deeply shocked, his face slightly petrified. He mechanically turned back to his cooking station and silently crouched down to draw circles on the ground.
Morrow glanced at Hisoka, thinking to himself how he'd never noticed before that this guy had a bit of a sense of humor.
The test continued.
"Unacceptable."
"You didn't even remove the fish bones!"
"Disgusting."
Menchi returned to her previous foot-stomping state.
They all had the answers right in front of them, yet they couldn't even copy properly!
Menchi persisted for two more hours. Aside from Morrow, no one could meet her standards, and she eventually put down her chopsticks.
"I'm full. The second phase of the exam is over. Only one examinee has passed."
Facing the stunned gazes of all the examinees present, Menchi announced the result without any pressure.
—--
Outside the warehouse, on a tree.
Satotz, who had stayed behind to watch the spectacle, saw the outcome of the second phase through the open door.
Only one examinee passed...
Satotz found it surprising and felt sorry for those high-level examinees.
Should he report his judgment to the Chairman...
He pondered.
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1chapter today 3 tommorow