Chapter 268 The Flavor...

'Just passing by?'

'Who would believe such a stupid lie!'

Biscuit looked at Netero speechlessly, guessing the real reason for his visit. To be honest, she was also quite curious about the relationship between Law and Netero.

Buhara, who had been staring at the food, instinctively stood up and cautiously observed Law and Netero. He was quite afraid of Netero.

Law examined Netero. This was his first time meeting Netero, and Netero looked no different from how Law remembered him over a decade later.

Thinking of this, he stepped aside and prepared to let Netero in, then casually said, "This is the 230th floor of the Heavens Arena. The chances of you just 'passing by' are zero, right?"

"Hmm, that was just a random excuse I made up."

Seeing that Law was so rude in calling him out, Netero didn't mind. He walked into the room calmly and admitted it without any pressure.

"..."

Hearing this, Law was speechless and followed Netero inside.

The two of them took their seats. Machi went to the kitchen to fetch a bowl and chopsticks, then placed them on the table next to Netero.

Netero glanced at Machi, his eyes lingering on her flat chest for a little over a second before calmly looking away.

At this moment, Netero suddenly noticed a pair of eyes on him. Looking up, he saw Law staring at him with dead fish eyes, the look in his eyes seemingly saying: "You old pervert."

"Cough."

Netero coughed lightly, pretending not to notice. He picked up his chopsticks and scanned the table full of delicious dishes, and a strange look flashed across his bright eyes.

Machi didn't notice Netero's subtle action. After setting down the bowl and chopsticks, she walked over to Law and sat down beside him.

Seeing Netero focus on the feast he had worked so hard to prepare, Law wondered why Netero suddenly came to visit, 'Was it because of Biscuit?'

Thinking of this, he glanced at Biscuit, who noticed his gaze and immediately turned her head away, acting like she couldn't be bothered with him.

'Still mad, huh...' Law smiled bitterly.

"Um, can we start eating?"

Buhara swallowed his saliva. Before he could finish speaking, an unconcealed Aura fluctuation came from the back of Law's hand as Kuro appeared, floating on Law's side.

Except for Netero, everyone present was already familiar with Kuro's existence, so when the Aura fluctuation occurred, none of them reacted.

Netero wasn't aware of this, but the Aura fluctuation was quite obvious. Even as Kuro appeared, he showed no reaction, as if he hadn't noticed it at all.

Had he really not noticed? That was impossible.

The reason Netero didn't react was simply that the Aura fluctuation carried no malice. In fact, Netero had noticed it faster than anyone else at the table, but chose to ignore it because of this.

"Pick up your chopsticks… except for you."

Law said, then looked at Kuro and ruthlessly excluded him.

Hearing this, Kuro extended his claws and said leisurely, "No problem. I'll use my claws."

Buhara couldn't hold back any longer. He grabbed his chopsticks and started eating, and the others followed suit.

Netero picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and chewed it. The moment the flavor hit his taste buds, his eyes narrowed slightly.

The taste wasn't extraordinary, as the ingredients used were quite ordinary. But after he tasted it carefully, there was something unique about it. He wondered if it is the difference in cooking methods.

There were two things that stood out to him.

One of them is... the seasoning. Or rather, the perfect fusion of seasoning and ingredients.

In the Hunter x Hunter World, ingredients that are ranked by grade have an inherent advantage. However, it is precisely because of this advantage that it is difficult to incorporate seasonings and spices into the ingredients.

This is one of the reasons why it is difficult for ordinary chefs to cook high-quality ingredients. There are also challenges like the difficulty of handling such ingredients, which is another reason.

Ordinary ingredients don't have this drawback. Although they are inherently inferior to high-grade ingredients, nine-star chefs can use their skills and a variety of spices to bridge the gap.

However, Netero, who had tasted all kinds of flavors in the world, still keenly noticed something different about the dishes.

The other special aspect was the dishes themselves.

There were twelve dishes on the table, three of which looked very familiar to Netero. When he saw those three dishes, he instinctively thought of two old friends.

One is Maha Zoldyck and the other is Linne Horsdoeuvre.

The former is an old monster from the Zoldyck Family and Zeno's grandfather, and the latter is the oldest Gourmet Hunter in the Hunter Association. Few people alive today had tasted her cooking, and Netero and Maha were among them.

Why did these three dishes remind him of these two old friends?

To explain it from the beginning would take a long time, and there wasn't enough time to go into detail.

So, let's not talk about it.

After swallowing the meat, Netero's chopsticks danced across the table, picking up a bit of each dish and placing it in his bowl. His movements were so fast that Buhara and the others instinctively stopped eating and stared at Netero in surprise.

Meanwhile, Biscuit was relatively calm. Among those present, she was the only one who understood Netero's true strength. In fact, Law, who had read the original work, also understood.

Under everyone's gaze, Netero tasted each dish leisurely and contentedly. Then he came to the conclusion that every dish on the table indeed had its unique qualities.

"Is that your Nen Beast?"

Netero raised his chopsticks and pointed at Kuro, who is floating in the air. He ignored the food and looked at Kuro curiously.

"Yeah." Law nodded.

"It has strong autonomy and remarkable intelligence. It's a very good Nen Beast." Netero commented.

Although he hadn't paid much attention to Kuro, Netero could easily tell that Kuro was no ordinary Nen Beast. Not to mention his autonomy, such level of intelligence was quite rare.

"He's just a troublemaker." Law said with a smirk.

"Hohoho…"

Netero chuckled, then turned his chopsticks toward the table, and changed the subject, asking, "Did you cook all these dishes?"

Law nodded again.

"Impressive culinary skills." Netero praised, then suddenly changed the subject again and asked, "Is it related to your Nen Ability?"

Law's eyelids lifted slightly. He didn't hide it and admitted: "How did you find out?"

He was certain that there was no trace of Aura left on any of the dishes on the table, but Netero had still noticed this.

"The flavor."

As Netero said this, he quickly moved his chopsticks and swept down the dishes on the table again. The speed was so fast that Buhara was frightened.

"The flavor...?" Law was puzzled.

Netero chewed at an astonishing speed, swallowing all the food he had picked up. Then, he placed his chopsticks down in a gesture of gratitude.

He opened and closed his eyes, then quietly looked at Law. Instead of answering Law's question, he steered the conversation in another direction.

"Thank you for the meal. After eating, I feel like moving around a bit. How about playing a game with this old man?" He looked at Law with a smile as he made the request.

"Volleyball?" Law was stunned for a moment and instinctively asked.

This time, it was Netero's turn to be surprised. After all, he hadn't specified what kind of game, yet Law had guessed it was volleyball.

"Yeah, how about it?"

As Netero said this, he glanced at Biscuit, who shook her head slightly, indicating that she did not reveal Netero's habit of teasing juniors with this particular hobby.