Tonpa didn't care what a Lion's Head was. He was completely clueless about cooking. Right now, he just needed to stick close to Law.
The benefits of knowing a top expert were evident here. Although the process was heart-wrenching and tortuous, at least the result was good.
Furthermore, the more difficult the cooking-related questions were, the better. That way, a large majority of the examinees could probably be eliminated.
If only he and Law remained in the end, that would be even better. Perhaps they could even receive their licenses directly?
Noticing Tonpa moving closer, Law didn't show any particular reaction, but he did intend to help Tonpa get through this test.
Gurgle...
Buhara's stomach rumbling echoed, momentarily overpowering the discussions of the examinees in the venue.
'So, what exactly is a Lion's Head?'
Menchi poked Buhara's belly again. She was growing more and more curious.
Buhara lowered his head, a puzzled expression on his face.
Menchi glanced at the examinees present and, feeling helpless, reminded him, "You should announce the start."
"Oh."
Buhara, slow on the uptake, nodded and announced, "Well then, the test begins."
As soon as he finished speaking, the examinee closest to the door immediately started running.
"Ah, I'll give you two hints. First, pork. Second, a sixty-forty split," Buhara added at that moment.
'What?!'
The examinee at the front stumbled and fell, causing a chain reaction.
"It's not a lion's head?!" Many examinees shouted in unison.
"Nope," Buhara replied calmly.
Their previous conclusion was mercilessly overturned.
"Pork and a sixty-forty split?" Menchi momentarily forgot her status as an examiner and tried to guess what kind of dish Lion's Head was based on the two hints Buhara gave.
While the many examinees stood still, speechless, Law drifted away, with Tonpa following closely behind.
After a while, the examinees in the factory building also left one after another.
No matter what kind of dish Lion's Head was, they just needed to get their hands on some pork first.
'Since Buhara gave hints, the test's difficulty will drop significantly. No matter, let's get through this stage first.' Law and Tonpa entered the forest.
"Law, make my portion too later," Tonpa said with a sly smile.
Law nodded, agreeing to Tonpa's request.
The two immediately began searching for the only pig in the Visca Forest, the Great Stamp.
Inside the building, Menchi was deep in thought.
'Pork, sixty-forty split. What connection do these two hints have with the dish name 'Lion's Head'?'
'Moreover, the gesture Buhara made subconsciously when he proposed the dish probably indicated the dish's volume.'
"Buhara, this isn't like your style," Menchi looked up at Buhara and said. "With your appetite, you shouldn't be satisfied with such a small dish. If pork is the main ingredient, I thought the test question you'd propose would be Roast Whole Boar."
"Hmm." Buhara nodded honestly, grinning, "Originally, I was going to propose Roast Whole Boar, but..."
He stopped mid-sentence and changed the subject. "By the way, Menchi, you actually know the dish Lion's Head?"
"Mhm."
Menchi blinked, a sly glint flashing in her eyes. "The sixty-forty split, I know."
As a top Gourmet Hunter familiar with all culinary systems, she really didn't want to lower herself to ask about the true nature of the Lion's Head dish. So, she could only use a little trick to fish it out from Buhara.
"Yeah, sixty percent fatty meat and forty percent lean meat," Buhara said with a smile.
Menchi narrowed her eyes and, relying on her rich experience, instantly came to the answer. She said with a sly smile, "Meatballs, huh."
"Mm-hmm." Buhara, not noticing anything, honestly confirmed.
Menchi swung her fair legs and said calmly, "Buhara, you know that person covering their head and face, right?"
"Uh..."
Buhara was stunned for a moment and chose to remain silent.
"Don't tell me you leaked the location of this second test to him..." Menchi said softly.
"No!" Buhara immediately shook his head vigorously. He hadn't mentioned the second test location to Law.
"Haha."
Menchi laughed heartily a few times and patted Buhara's belly with her hand. "I know you wouldn't. I was joking."
Buhara heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
Menchi stopped laughing and looked at the wide-open door.
At first, she thought the person outside was a traveler, but it turned out to be an examinee. And they arrived nearly two hours early. That was just too abnormal.
However, she also believed that Buhara wasn't the type to break the rules.
'Interesting.'
'Someone who could make Buhara show that kind of expression. I really looked forward to seeing what kind of dish he could make.'
She thought to herself.
In the forest, the Great Stamp faced their doom as over three hundred examinees hunted them everywhere.
Those with superior skills quickly hunted down boars, while those with poorer skills died miserably under the boars' charges.
Just hunting for ingredients alone eliminated over fifty people.
Law and Tonpa were the fastest.
They left and returned with the corresponding ingredients in less than five minutes: a large piece of pork belly, pork bones, river shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, and bamboo shoots.
It took them less than five minutes to gather so many ingredients.
'Incredible speed. And as expected, he knows how to make Lion's Head.' Menchi watched the ingredients Law brought back, a flicker of understanding in her eyes. More obvious was Buhara's breathing becoming heavier behind her.
Seeing that the building was empty, Law and Tonpa directly occupied one of the cooking stations.
After instructing Tonpa to take the bones to make broth, Law looked at Buhara and asked, "Steamed or braised?"
"Both!" Buhara replied impatiently.
"Okay."
Law agreed.
'Two cooking methods?'
Menchi thought in surprise. Then, her eyes focused as she saw that Law didn't use a knife at all. With a wave of his hand, he processed all the ingredients except the pork. Even the river shrimp were instantly stripped clean.
'Was his Nen Ability developed specifically for processing ingredients or cooking?'
Menchi was very surprised inwardly, but her face remained expressionless. However, her impression of Law changed drastically, and her favorability skyrocketed.
As a Gourmet Hunter, she strongly agreed with Law's philosophy: using Nen Abilities as part of creating delicious food.
Law didn't know what Menchi was thinking. Using his ability, he processed all the supplementary ingredients in a few seconds.
Then, he picked up a wide noodle knife and began chopping the pork.
Thump thump...
The sound of the knife hitting the cutting board was richly rhythmic.
Lion's Head is a dish where fatty and lean pork are chopped into a paste, mixed with egg white and shrimp meat, and then wrapped around at least two types of vegetables to form a meatball.
Just chopping the meat couldn't be done carelessly. It had to strictly follow the method of fine slicing and coarse chopping to ensure the meatball's texture was just right.
This was the first and most crucial step.
The reason Law didn't use his ability to process the pork was precisely because of this.
Under the watchful eyes of Buhara and Menchi, Law quickly finished processing the pork. Then, he kneaded the chopped shrimp paste and the diced shiitake mushrooms and bamboo shoots into the meat paste.
Finally, he added two types of spices he brought back from the Dark Continent.
As Law kneaded the meat paste, his expression was serious, and his movements were gentle and precise, as if the meat paste were a woman's most alluring curves.