Chapter 66 – Sushi (Final)
When it came to showing off in front of a beautiful woman, Leorio always charged ahead without hesitation.
So before Osren could even speak, Leorio leaped forward.
"Osren predicted we might need something from the water for this test, so he had us catch a bunch of fish earlier!"
Leorio waved his arms enthusiastically as he explained, afraid Menchi might not find it convincing enough.
To seal the deal, he bent down and dragged out a large bundle from beneath the workstation.
It was a makeshift water tank—constructed by Osren using several thick, mature leaves from the Orange-Sweet Tree.
The sap of those leaves had strong waterproof adhesive properties.
Just a small cut caused the sap to seep out, and once pressed together, the leaves stuck seamlessly.
The entire "tank" was a deep forest-green, calming to look at.
Menchi walked over from the sofa and circled it curiously.
It was about 80 centimeters long and 20 centimeters wide—simple, natural, and surprisingly sturdy.
"You came up with this?" Menchi asked, her eyes shining with interest.
She already suspected Osren knew far too much for a regular examinee; he was clearly a rare talent.
Osren nodded.
"Fresh fish makes better sushi. I wanted to keep them alive until we needed them, so I made this."
He didn't use any fancy words or boast—just a calm, grounded explanation.
"Oh?"
Menchi's sharp hearing easily picked up the faint splashes from inside the leaf-tank.
Hearing Osren's reasoning, she showed an as-expected expression, satisfaction flickering in her eyes.
She loved people who treated cooking with sincerity and precision.
Even Buhara thudded over to take a look—
and if he hadn't kept licking the corners of his mouth, people might've believed he was merely curious.
"Menchi, this is pretty good," Buhara said.
"It is good," Menchi replied, "though I'm very curious to see how you plan to use it."
She gave Osren a small smile before returning to the sofa with Buhara.
She appreciated Osren's meticulousness, but offering him further hints would be out of the question.
Just then—
Tap, tap, tap—
Footsteps approached.
In just a short while, several examinees had already returned with fish—
the man whose face was full of nails, the color-splashed Hisoka, as well as Hanzo, Tonpa, and more.
Within moments, over a dozen people had come back.
When Hanzo saw the variety of fish laid out on Osren's team's workstation, his pressure spiked instantly.
As expected, these brats were his true rivals.
He needed to move fast.
For once, the talkative ninja shut his mouth, lowered his head, and hurried straight back to his station to start preparing the rice for his sushi.
Pokkle glanced toward Osren's group multiple times.
He originally wanted to greet Kurapika and Leorio—they had been through danger together, after all—
but after seeing the fish he was holding, he decided to forget it.
The exam came first.
"Pick a fish first," Osren said, taking advantage of the noisy environment to quietly instruct his teammates.
"Remember, sushi vinegar is made by mixing sugar, salt, and vinegar in a 5:1:10 ratio.
Stir that into the rice, then top it with sliced fish and shape it by hand. That's nigiri sushi."
Osren's experience was mostly theoretical, but even that was leagues better than his friends, who were clueless kitchen rookies.
"Got it! Just watch, Osren—I'll make great sushi!"
Leorio immediately puffed up with confidence, opened the leaf-made water tank, and grabbed the first fish his hand touched.
"No, not that one. Don't use that fish—let's pick just one."
Osren quickly stopped him.
He'd completely forgotten: none of his teammates knew which fish were suitable for sushi.
A rare mistake.
"Why only one? Aren't there plenty here?" Leorio asked.
Gon, Killua, and Kurapika also looked at Osren questioningly.
In their understanding:
Fish is fish, right?
Was there really a difference?
Seeing their confusion, Osren felt compelled to explain—
If he didn't spell it out, they might recreate the infamous disaster from the "original timeline,"
like wrapping raw fish around rice in the wrong direction… or worse.
As a future top-tier Gourmet Hunter, he could not allow such indignity.
"No. For sushi, the best choice here is this one—the flesh is delicate yet slightly firm. That's what you want for nigiri."
Osren pointed to the bright red, salmon-like fish swimming lazily in the green leaf tank.
Their conversation quickly caught Menchi's attention.
She had been quietly observing Osren the whole time.
Seeing the group huddled together over something, she walked over silently.
She didn't interrupt—just stood there watching.
That alone told Osren she wasn't opposed to him helping others.
The moment had come.
Osren pulled out a smaller water tank he had prepared earlier—the real star of this sushi round.
Inside was the larger of the two salmon-like fish they had caught.
It drifted leisurely in its temporary home, blissfully unaware that its fate was approaching.
"First, you want to let the fish eat something good," Osren said calmly.
"Even death-row prisoners get a proper final meal, after all."
He then turned to Gon.
"Gon, give me one of the red fruits."
"Here, Osren!"
Gon quickly pulled out a fruit the size of a baby's fist.
Its surface shimmered with a ruby glow, almost jewel-like.
"That's a Source-Bloom Fruit…
A rare recovery fruit from the Milsy Wetlands.
It grows only on giant trees that Human-Faced Apes can climb."
Menchi's eyes widened slightly.
"These kids really are something."
Osren cracked the fruit open, revealing aromatic crimson flesh.
Even from a distance, the sweetness was intoxicating.
"Gulp."
Buhara had trailed behind Menchi and now stared at the fruit with glowing eyes.
Despite having eaten seventy-one whole pigs, his stomach protested again.
Why was the fish allowed to eat gourmet food when he wasn't?
However, these belonged to examinees, and even Buhara had principles.
(He was merely… profoundly jealous of the fish.)
After the salmon devoured the fruit, Osren dusted off his hands.
"Alright," Osren said with a grin.
"Time to witness a miracle. Come on, salmon—do me a favor and take a few energetic laps."
At first, the group had no particular reaction.
But the examinees nearby, noticing Menchi and Buhara gathered around Osren, began to crowd in.
"Pfft—haha!"
The surrounding candidates burst into laughter.
Ordering a fish to "go for a swim" was definitely something none of them had ever seen.
Within moments, a large circle of people had formed to watch the show.