Except for Pariston, ten Zodiacs' members had arrived. Excluding Pariston, this naturally included Botobai, the Dragon.
Seeing Law enter the meeting room, Botobai's expression darkened slightly. His arm, which was taken by Law back then, still hadn't been restored.
To restore the arm, two steps were needed.
First, find a Nen Exorcist.
Second, find a healing Nen Ability.
The second step was relatively simple, but the first was quite difficult.
According to the Association's Exorcist, she might not be able to digest the Nen lingering on his arm.
With her exorcism method, she absorbed the Nen remaining on the target onto herself, then slowly digested it.
If she couldn't digest the Nen within a specific time limit, it would be equivalent to transferring the Nen onto herself, which was very risky.
Thus, the Association's Exorcist refused.
Botobai felt helpless about this.
Seeing Law now, it was to Botobai's credit that he restrained himself, only his face looking a bit grim, without any outrageous actions.
"Plenty to share, plenty to share."
Law ignored everyone's gazes, shook the three-tiered bento box at Ging, then walked to a seat.
The Zodiacs' members silently watched Law walk over. They weren't Pariston, so they chose silence.
If Pariston were present, there would inevitably be a flurry of soft, needle-like barbs.
However, seeing Law at the meeting scene, most people could guess today's meeting agenda.
'Hmph, thinking you can get the seat that easily? No way!'
More than half of the Zodiac members harbored malicious thoughts.
Many things were done to accommodate Netero's wishes, but this time, they absolutely wouldn't relent!
Gell, the Snake, looked at her colleagues' reactions, then at Law's relaxed expression, thinking: 'To be honest, I don't want you in the Zodiac's seat either.'
Law looked at the three empty seats, noticed one was covered in dust right next to Ging, so he sat directly down and placed the bento box on the table.
Ging looked at the bento box, rubbed his hands together, and asked, "You made this?"
"Yep," Law nodded.
Hearing this, Ging's eyes lit up. "Perfect, I'm hungry. What good stuff is inside?"
"Five dishes, all meat!" Law waved a hand grandly.
"Wow!"
Ging cooperatively clapped his hands.
Seeing Ging's act, the other Zodiacs' members' faces darkened slightly.
They could tell that this guy Ging and Law were on good terms.
Law patted the bento box and said seriously, "Listen up. The first meat dish is called 'Charcoal-Roasted Ash Crystal Pork Knuckle'!"
"Nice, nice!"
"The second meat dish is called 'Gathering of Dragons Poached Sea Shrimp'!"
"Impressive, impressive!"
"The third meat dish is called 'Ten-Mile Spring Breeze Red Light District'!"
Hearing this, Ging asked curiously, "What kind of dish is that?"
Law blinked. "You'll find out in a bit."
Bang!
Watching Law and Ging's back-and-forth, Cheadle couldn't take it anymore and slammed the table.
The others, meanwhile, seemed to develop faint black lines on their foreheads.
Hearing the table slam, Law and Ging immediately looked at Cheadle, who had animal ears and wore glasses.
Meeting their gazes, Cheadle said calmly, "My apologies. I just saw two flies and couldn't help it."
Law and Ging looked enlightened, then went back to introducing the fourth dish as if nothing happened.
Everyone watched Law and Ging, who acted as if no one else was there, feeling the urge to swat away the bento box.
They watched helplessly as Law solemnly introduced five meat dishes, then ceremoniously opened the bento box.
Truth be told, the aroma wafting from the box was quite tempting.
Just hearing the names Law announced, each sounded imposing, suggesting they were made from high-grade ingredients.
Ging knew of Law's culinary skills.
With his ability, combined with special spices and seasonings, even ordinary ingredients could be given excellent flavor.
Looking at the first dish on top, swimming in red oil, a slightly spicy scent hitting the nose, mostly tomatoes and bell peppers, with thin slices of beef faintly visible at the bottom.
Just smelling it made one's stomach feel warm.
"Is this 'Ten-Mile Spring Breeze Red Light District'?" Ging guessed.
Law nodded and took the dish out.
"The color is too strong, I can't tell what grade the ingredients are," Ging said.
The others forced themselves not to look at the dishes in the box, but hearing Ging's words, they unconsciously pricked up their ears.
They knew a bit about Law's background, covering multiple fields, with the culinary field being particularly outstanding.
They had heard a bit about last year's test, and the jerky Netero had shared with them, all made by Law.
"They're nothing special, just ordinary ingredients you can get easily," Law said, taking out the second dish of poached shrimp, complete with a special dipping sauce.
Generally speaking, from Law's position, saying this would make others think it was a setup for boasting.
In fact, Ging and the other Zodiacs' members thought so too.
What Law called 'easily' might very well be hard-to-obtain B-grade ingredients.
"B-grade ingredients?" Ging probed.
"Not that high-grade. Just ordinary ingredients bought from the supermarket next door," Law said matter-of-factly while taking out the dishes.
"..."
Hearing Law's words, everyone couldn't help but picture the supermarket fifty meters from the Association's building.
'So, they were all bought from that supermarket.'
Just then, the door opened again.
This time, the person entering was Pariston.
Looking up at the clock on the wall, it was exactly noon.
"No wonder it's so lively. We have a guest," Pariston said, seeing Law sitting in the [Monkey] seat, a flicker of surprise in his eyes, a smile on his face.
Very little in the Association escaped his notice, but this meeting's agenda was something he truly didn't know. Seeing Law now, he basically understood.
He didn't stand on ceremony, directly labeling Law as a 'guest'.
Law simply ignored Pariston, took out all the dishes, and served Ging a bowl of rice.
Right in front of the Zodiacs, the two started eating lunch.
Gulp.
Ginta, the Sheep, bit his thumb and said softly, "Could I have a bowl too?"
"Oh, sure. With three people eating, it should just about be enough."
As Law spoke, he readily served Ginta a bowl of rice. Ginta took it and happily started eating.
Pariston watched calmly, unconcerned. He simply sat in his seat, propping his chin on his hands, maintaining his nearly constant smile.
Regarding Law's recent movements, he had been keeping an eye on them.
Seeing Ginta eat happily, Cheadle and the others sighed inwardly, 'They say if you eat someone's food, your words soften, and if you take someone's gifts, your hands shorten...'
After a while, Netero arrived at the meeting room with Beans.
Seeing Netero arrive so early today, those present weren't surprised. After all, even the perennial absentee had shown up.
Glancing at Law's trio who seemed to be having a gathering, Netero showed no reaction, while Beans looked utterly helpless.
It was all because Netero never corrected this. Usually, it was fine if members ate bento boxes or had afternoon tea, but now it had turned into a full-blown gathering.
Netero sat in the main seat, pointed at Law who was wolfing down rice, and said, "You all know him, so I won't introduce him. Today's meeting agenda is whether Law is qualified to become the Monkey in the Zodiacs."
"May I ask, is it a voting system?" Cheadle asked.
"As you wish," Netero said with a smile.
'So casual!'
Everyone felt helpless internally.
"Then it's a voting system. I have no objections," Cheadle said, looking at everyone.
"Don't rush to vote yet. That's too subjective and not interesting at all."
Law put down his bowl and chopsticks, materialized his book, and took out Botobai's arm.
Then, looking at everyone, he said seriously, "How about giving me a chance to bribe you first? Otherwise, if all the votes go against me, wouldn't I be terribly wronged?"
Seeing the arm Law took out, everyone's eyes changed slightly.
Ginta stopped his chopsticks, saying blankly, "Then does this count as me already being bribed?"
Hearing this, Law placed the arm on the table, looked at Ginta, and smiled. "I think so."
"..." Ginta.
Botobai glanced at his own arm and said coldly, "Even if I don't retrieve my arm, I won't acknowledge you sitting in that seat."
'Quite stubborn,' Law thought with a smile.
"I have a proposal," Pariston said then.
"Let's hear it," Law looked at Pariston.
"If it's subjective voting, I'll definitely vote in favor," Pariston said with a smile.
'I'd be a fool to believe you,' Law thought, his expression unchanged.
"However, relying on impression-based subjective voting makes each vote seem too lightweight."
"So I suggest..."
"That we use 'acknowledgment' as a condition to get votes from us."
"For example, I want you to jump from this floor right now and guarantee you come back unharmed. If you can do it, I'll give you my vote."
Pariston said with great interest.
Cheadle covered her forehead, thinking this guy had just made things even more complicated.
As for Pariston's proposal, Law quite approved.
After all, if it were ordinary subjective voting, he felt he could get at most two votes.