Killua's height was about the same as his own, so with such a noticeable height, he should have been able to spot him immediately.
"Don't worry about those two. Morin will definitely be fine, and that boy named Killua... he's not quite like ordinary people either."
Kurapika and Leorio were only concerned about the status of their three companions.
A group of people, including Hisoka and Illumi, were all carrying roasted whole pigs as they sprinted back to the factory.
"What is that smell?!"
"It smells so good! It's making me hungry!!"
"Now that you mention it, I'm starting to feel a bit hungry myself."
"Just smelling it makes me hungry."
The examinees, upon returning, immediately caught a whiff of the delicious aroma in the air. Some of them subconsciously swallowed their saliva.
"Ahem, Buhara, your test dish of roasted whole hog-nosed pig is here."
Menchi wiped the grease from the corner of her mouth and sat back on the sofa, adopting a nonchalant attitude.
Where were you earlier?!
Buhara looked at Menchi with a face full of resentment. But there was nothing he could do about her.
"Alright, next up is the tasting of the roasted whole pig dish."
With their appetites whetted by Morin's roasted whole pig, they couldn't be satisfied again. So, they could only set their sights on the roasted whole pigs prepared by the examinees in front of them.
Fortunately, the original flavor of the hog-nosed pig wasn't bad, and no matter how the examinees messed with it, it shouldn't be too terrible... right? Buhara's eyes fell on the charred black thing Illumi brought, and he fell into silence.
But luckily, the other examinees' dishes were barely passable. At least Buhara found them quite tasty. Although the taste was certainly not as good as Morin's roasted whole pig, at least it could fill the stomach.
After Buhara even ate the indescribable mass of black charred something Illumi brought—
"I can't eat anymore."
Buhara spat out a piece of burnt bone, rubbed his belly, and was barely satisfied.
"Dong!"
Menchi, sitting on the sofa, had been waiting impatiently and couldn't hold back anymore. She directly struck a gong beside her.
"The first half of the second test, the roasted whole hog-nosed pig cooking test, 70 people passed!!"
"Next, we'll proceed immediately to the second half of the second test, which will be based on my question."
Menchi announced loudly, her eyes intently on Morin.
"Great, Killua, I couldn't find you guys and thought you got lost!!"
Gon, seeing Killua and Morin, immediately breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
"Lost... you really underestimate us, don't you?!"
Killua walked over to Gon's side with a face full of resentment and a look of utter defeat. He put his hands behind his head, exuding a low-pressure aura.
"What's wrong with you?"
Gon tilted his head.
"Nothing..."
Killua turned his head away. He didn't want others to know about being coerced by the examiner.
"Seventy people passed the first test, which means he ate seventy-one roasted whole pigs..."
"That's a monster!!"
A group of people looked at Buhara, whose belly was so large it was almost rolling, leaning against a pile of pig bones, and they were sweating profusely.
"As expected, those who can be called Hunters are no ordinary people!!" Gon exclaimed in awe.
"Impressive, yes... but I don't want to be like him."
Killua shook his head. He currently had no fondness for the Gourmet Hunter group.
"This is simply illogical. Clearly, the food he ate is much larger than his own size." Kurapika frowned, puzzled.
"You don't have to be so serious about it..." Leorio said, speechless.
"And yet they all said it was delicious..."
Menchi glanced at the black bones Buhara spat out at her feet. Even without tasting it, Menchi could tell just from the smell that this "71" dish was definitely unqualified.
But since Buhara said it was good, she had no reason to judge further. Besides, she had taken a roasted whole pig from Buhara earlier.
There really wasn't much more to say.
"Seventy-one people, huh? Hmm, the standard is quite high this year!"
Satotz squatted on a large tree outside the factory, resting his chin on his hand.
"Indeed, striking the forehead of that kind of pig with a weak but powerful blow can easily kill it."
"To execute such a precise attack requires considerable courage, judgment, and physical strength!!"
"But...?"
Satotz thought back to when all the examinees had just left.
"I didn't expect there to be a tool that could conjure food out of thin air, that's really interesting..."
His nose twitched, recalling the special aroma of roast pig that had wafted through the factory earlier. Satotz sniffed again.
Honestly, after smelling the roast pig, he was a bit envious.
"Although everyone passed the roast pig challenge, the real difficulty lies ahead... dealing with that troublesome woman."
The scene of Menchi challenging the examinees further solidified Satotz's thoughts.
"Menchi, the Gourmet Hunter, is one of the world's top chefs. Her artistic sense of taste is fully expressed in her cooking."
"With an insatiable curiosity, she searches for all kinds of ingredients, never forgetting a taste she's tried. For her contributions to culinary culture, she earned the title of a one-star Hunter at just twenty-one."
"I wonder what kind of test she'll come up with."
"But no matter how difficult the test, that person will definitely have no problem."
To get a better view of the unfolding drama, Satotz jumped down from the tree and walked towards the factory.
He was increasingly eager to see how things would develop.
"Alright, congratulations to everyone for passing the first half of the test. But unlike Buhara, I'm not so easygoing. My examination will be very strict!"
Menchi said as she walked to the front of the crowd, circling them twice before clapping her hands.
"For the second half of the second round, what I want to eat is... sushi!!"
Upon hearing this, all the examinees had a bad feeling. They had never even heard of such a dish.
"What kind of dish is it? Do you know?"
"No..."
"We have no clue at all."
"How can we make a dish we know nothing about?"
Seeing the examinees frowning one by one, Menchi regained a bit of her authority as an examiner and nodded in satisfaction.
"Judging by your confused faces, it's no wonder you don't know. This is a traditional dish from a small island nation."
"A traditional dish from a small island nation?"
The examinees looked incredulous.
"Just as I thought! I was hesitating whether it was that sushi, given how many dishes share the same name but are entirely different. But a small island nation? Traditional dish? It matches perfectly."
"Fantastic! I never expected the test to be my homeland's traditional dish. I'm sure to win this test!"
A talkative bald ninja was initially stunned upon hearing the topic, then filled with joy, which he quickly suppressed, returning to a calm demeanor. However, his twitching eyebrows and eyes somewhat betrayed his current mood.
"Let me give you a hint! Look here!!"
"This is where you'll be cooking!!"
Menchi led the examinees to the cooking station inside the house.
Knives, cooking stations, rice, and other essentials were all there.
"This is where you'll make the dish. The basic tools and ingredients are already provided, and I've prepared the rice, which is indispensable for sushi."
"And here's the biggest hint: among sushi, I only recognize nigiri sushi as the final product."
Menchi stood with one hand on her hip, excited about the upcoming test.
Originally, she was curious about what the examinees could produce, but now?
With Morin's exceptional performance earlier, even if this group of examinees produced a pile of garbage, it wouldn't matter!!
As long as she could taste a nigiri sushi that satisfied and amazed her, anything would be fine!!
"Alright, get ready to start. The test will end when I feel full. Until then, you can make as many sushi as you like."
After giving all the necessary hints, Menchi announced the start of the test and found a sofa to sit on.
With an expectant gaze, she looked around at the examinees, specifically in Morin's direction.
"Nigiri sushi..."
The examinees began to rack their brains over how to make this dish, feeling at a loss.
"A traditional dish, huh?"
Kurapika frowned.
"It's hard to determine what this dish is like. I've read many books, but there's only a little record of this."
Kurapika frowned in thought, while Leorio scratched his head.
"Hehehe..."
Among the group of frowning people, a bald man trying to suppress his laughter stood out.
"This test is in the bag for me! I never thought my homeland's traditional dish would become a test topic!!"
Hanzo clenched his fist, never feeling so confident before.