No person, nor any living creature, can completely conceal their killing intent. They can only dilute it to a level difficult to perceive, depending on their skill.
When Illumi pulled out the needle, before translating his thought into action, he emitted a wisp of killing intent, which then dissipated.
Because when he threw the needle, he wasn't specifically targeting anyone. He held an attitude akin to casually tossing trash… if it hit grass, so be it, and if it hit a flower, so be it.
Then, that needle flew towards Gon.
Even the examiners, Buhara and Menchi, only realized it afterward.
In the entire venue, only Law and Tonpa detected Illumi's action in advance.
Both of them had ventured into the Dark Continent and were highly sensitive to killing intent.
So, when Illumi pulled the needle and leaked a faint trace of killing intent, even though it wasn't directed at them, they immediately noticed it.
However, while Tonpa was sharp, he had no means to stop it. He could only watch as the needle was about to pierce Gon's temple.
Right at that moment, accompanied by an almost inaudible soft sound, under the panicked gazes of Gon and Killua, the round-headed needle abruptly changed direction, passed by several examinees, and embedded itself in the wall.
Those few examinees who were almost affected remained completely unaware that danger had just brushed past them.
Gon and Killua stood frozen in place, unsure of what had happened.
Illumi and Menchi sharply turned their gazes towards Law, who was sitting against the wall. His posture hadn't changed at all.
'Too fast,' Menchi thought gravely as she looked at Law. She hadn't even seen what had hit the needle to change its trajectory.
Then, she turned her gaze to Illumi, whose body was covered in round-headed pins, deeply feeling the threat emanating from this person.
'This man was strong!'
It was only because of this action that Menchi noticed Illumi, who was constantly erasing his presence.
'It was a grain of sand.'
But Illumi had seen clearly. What knocked the needle away was just a single grain of sand.
Although the thrown needle contained not a shred of Nen, while that grain of sand was wrapped in Nen, having a grain of sand catch up from behind and knock away the needle was an extremely difficult feat.
Illumi silently watched Law, as if looking at a slumbering fierce tiger.
In his heart, he formed the same evaluation as Menchi.
Too fast.
Not just the speed of catching up from behind, but also the kind of speed that, after the hand movement, left absolutely no trace.
If not for judging by the grain of sand's trajectory and the fact that Law was the only person in that direction, it would truly be difficult to find any evidence afterward.
Illumi was puzzled by Law's meddling. He also didn't care about the examiners' attention. He pulled another round-headed pin from his body, intending to randomly kill any examinee to seize a cooking station.
Under Menchi's cold gaze, just as Illumi, holding the pin, was about to make his move, his action suddenly froze.
In that instant, a wisp of Aura, light as a breeze, locked onto his right arm. It was as if countless chains had instantly bound it, so that even though his mind gave the command, his arm failed to move.
That wisp of Aura also came from the same direction.
Illumi turned his head to look in the direction of the Aura. Before his line of sight had completely shifted over, that wisp of Aura vanished in an instant. Then, he saw that Law's seated posture still showed no change at all.
Illumi felt no fear or apprehension, only deep confusion.
He, himself, had been locked down by a wisp of Aura that could be dispersed with a casual swipe, unable to make a move.
'That won't do. I still need to kill one,' Illumi thought to himself. This time, he wouldn't hesitate again.
However, just as he was about to act again, an examinee in the venue finally finished their Steamed Lion's Head and excitedly carried the dish towards Buhara and Menchi.
In an instant, the rising killing intent dissipated without a trace.
Illumi simply put away the round-headed pin and walked towards the now vacant cooking station.
The motive for killing was to occupy a cooking station.
Well, since a cooking station had become available, there was no need for the unnecessary act of killing.
This principle of motive, similar to killing based on accepting a commission, was deeply ingrained in Illumi's values, which was why he stopped so decisively.
Law's eyelids lifted slightly. He glanced indifferently at Illumi's back, then continued feigning sleep.
Tonpa, who had watched the entire scene from the side, wasn't surprised at all by Law's intervention to save someone.
However, he confirmed that among all the examinees, aside from Law, this Needle Guy was the most dangerous.
Menchi shared the same sentiment. She coldly watched Illumi walk towards the vacant cooking station.
There were only 158 cooking stations in the venue, but there were 341 examinees. Only the efficient examinees could seize a cooking station first. Those who were slower could only wait in line obediently or use forceful methods.
'This Needle Guy was clearly very strong, so why was he so late?'
If Menchi knew that the reason Illumi arrived so late was because he spent the extra time pondering whether or not to attempt cooking, which he wasn't good at, one wonders what she would think.
At his cooking station, Killua glanced covertly and apprehensively at the Needle Guy. He still didn't know that this Needle Guy was his most feared brother, Illumi.
Gon, coming back to his senses, realized he was covered in a cold sweat, and his heartbeat still hadn't stabilized.
At that moment, he thought he was going to die.
"What's wrong with you guys?"
Leorio, noticing that Gon and Killua weren't acting right, asked with concern.
Gon and Killua looked at each other, unsure how to respond.
A moment later, Gon shook his head, found a random excuse, and let the matter drop, focusing on the cooking at hand.
Seeing this, Leorio didn't ask further. He placed his finished Lion's Head into a bowl, full of confidence.
Over at the sofa, Buhara ate the Lion's Head brought by the third examinee. Menchi just glanced disdainfully at that bowl of Lion's Head before closing her eyes, no longer paying attention to the subsequent dishes.
Having witnessed Law's process of completing the Lion's Head firsthand, with a single sweep of the venue now, she saw only amateurs. She didn't even need to taste them to judge that the flavors were not up to standard.
"You pass."
Buhara didn't say it was delicious, and he only announced that the third examinee had passed.
That examinee, upon hearing this, excitedly pumped his fist and then stepped aside.
In reality, with Law's dish setting the precedent, the Lion's Heads made by the subsequent examinees were all subpar. However, Buhara was very hungry and somewhat indiscriminate due to his hunger.
So, just like in the original work, he significantly lowered the evaluation standard.
After the third, came the fourth...
The examinees who arrived earlier successively brought up their own Lion's Heads. Without exception, they all passed. Leorio, who worked quickly, was also among those who passed.
As Buhara consumed bowl after bowl, the number of passing examinees gradually surpassed sixty.
It looked easy and simple, but Kurapika shrewdly noticed a slight change in Buhara's expression, 'Was it impatience, or was it starting to become difficult to swallow?'
Noticing this, Kurapika subtly reminded Gon and Killua to hurry up, then brought his own Lion's Head over and successfully passed the test.
It wasn't just Kurapika who noticed, many examinees with decent observational skills also realized it.
They suddenly became aware that from this moment on, the criterion for passing the test was no longer taste, but efficiency.
They needed to present their dishes as quickly as possible, before Buhara became unwilling to endure any more. If not, the first failure might appear.
Realizing this, the atmosphere in the venue changed. At the same time, disputes began to arise among the examinees competing for the limited cooking stations.
The root cause of this phenomenon entirely stemmed from the two plates of Lion's Head that Law had made, setting the bar high from the start.