Chapter 28: Rainbow Seasoning
The moment Kai took his first bite, he knew.
The table in front of him was piled high with a feast Menchi had prepared herself. Meat, vegetables, dishes of every color... an array of Hunter x Hunter cuisine he couldn't even name. Ginta was right. Menchi was a culinary genius. Even a simple head of cabbage, after she was done with it, seemed to melt in his mouth. A common ocean fish was so delicious he wanted to swallow his own tongue.
But that wasn't the point.
After that first bite of fish, Kai felt a surge of warmth.
The heat spread through his body, and in an instant, it felt as if every Aura Node he possessed had been flung wide open. Most importantly, his Aura—which had been nearly depleted from his morning training—was suddenly recovering at an explosive rate! It was as if his Aura itself had tasted the food and gotten a jolt of adrenaline. His physical stamina was regenerating just as fast.
One bite of fish, and his exhaustion was nearly gone.
Kai didn't say a word. He just grabbed his chopsticks and began to inhale the food like a whirlwind.
His reaction was all the confirmation Menchi needed.
She puffed out her chest, proud, and held up her hand. A ball of Aura condensed in her palm, forming a small, ornate spice jar.
"Rainbow Seasoning! This is the Hatsu I developed!" Menchi declared. Kai didn't even stop eating to listen—which, to a chef, was the highest form of praise.
She continued, "Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet! The Aura I pour into this jar becomes one of seven special seasonings, each with a different effect! The meal you're eating right now... was made with this!"
She gave the jar a shake, and a sprinkle of sparkling, bright green powder drifted out.
"The Green Seasoning of Recovery!"
Kai almost choked. Did this girl... did she develop this just because she was salty about my Star Marker's healing?
He glanced at Ginta, who was just eating calmly. The recovery effect of this seasoning was way stronger than his Star Marker's passive heal. For her to develop it this fast... there had to be a Restriction.
He didn't even have to ask.
"I'm a chef, so I can't lie to my own heart," Menchi said, her voice filled with a chef's pride. "Food that isn't delicious... doesn't deserve this power! So, Rainbow Seasoning will only activate if I myself am satisfied with the dish!"
It was a self-imposed shackle, but she wore it as a badge of honor. She gripped the jar, her eyes sparkling with that unique light all Hunters have. "Nen... is just so much fun! Hehe."
Kai asked, "The rainbow has seven colors. So, six other effects?"
"The Red Seasoning is for combat~" Menchi said with a wink, de-Conjuring the jar. "As for the rest... secret!"
Kai just smiled. "To be honest, I'd be more worried if you did tell me."
"Why?"
"Because then I'd feel obligated to tell you my secrets, or else..."
"The Orange Seasoning is—"
"Or else I'd feel like I was just tricking a dummy—WHY ARE YOU PULLING OUT YOUR KNIFE?!"
Ginta ignored their bickering and calmly focused on clearing his plate. Such good food. Can't let it go to waste.
And just like that, the new year began.
Ten more days passed. It was now January 10, 1995.
Kai did the math. It had been nearly 20 days since he'd arrived in this world. And he had been training his Nen for over two weeks.
Every single day, he had given it his all.
...Well, "full-auto, AFK grinding" was still giving it his all.
He hadn't even needed the Star Marker to force himself to train lately. The daily grind was forging his willpower, and he could now push through the entire exhausting regimen on his own.
The results of his two-week "hell training" were astounding.
He'd built a solid foundation in his Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu. His advanced applications—Gyo, Ken, Shu, Ko—were good enough to earn a nod of approval from Ginta, a Zodiac.
His Emission training was going smoothly. He could fire off basic Nen bullets without thinking, and his Divine Flick could now unleash respectable power with minimal charge time.
As for his Manipulation...
Kai, who had now been holding a perfect, maximum-output Ken for over an hour, didn't even feel tired. He was, in fact, busy contemplating his newest ability.
A new branch of his Manipulation Hatsu.
He'd filed it under his primary Hatsu, Song of the Earth.
It wasn't the Star Marker. It was the Moon Marker.
Kai glanced at his palm. A faint, crescent-shaped, dark gray mark was there.
He'd gotten the idea from his Star Marker's evolution—the ability to communicate with his target's mind. He had isolated that "communication" aspect, refined it, and developed it into this new mark.
He envisioned a "Sun, Moon, and Star" system. He decided "Moon Marker" sounded lame, so he'd call this Crescent Moon (Jiao Yue). If he ever developed a third mark, he could call it Blazing Sun (Lie Yang).
If the Star Marker's core was Control, then the Crescent Moon's core was Communication.
Pure telepathy.
He hadn't had a chance to test its range yet.
But the single greatest achievement of his training... was his total Aura (P.O.P.).
When he'd started, his P.O.P. was a pathetic 100. He could place one Star Marker and be gassed.
And now...
Kai, still holding his Ken after an hour, wasn't even breathing hard. He'd timed it. If he pushed himself to his absolute limit, he could now hold Ken for 100 minutes.
His total Aura pool was 6,000.
To put it in perspective, he could now fire off nearly one hundred Star Markers in a row.
His P.O.P. was already double that of Gon and Killua at the end of the Greed Island arc.
"Kai, you're still training? You're a madman..."
Menchi walked over, carrying a plate of stir-fried pork. She casually Conjured her Rainbow Seasoning and sprinkled some of the green powder over it. "Hey, did you hear about those weirdos asking questions in town? I heard the Blanchett Company finally got the official word from Kakin, so they're letting the Ochima officials into the reserve. They're hiring locals to help, amateurs and pros..."
"You interested?" Menchi handed him the plate, and Kai's Aura instantly began to surge. "Or are you just going to go back to hustling tourists at the park?"
Kai popped a piece of pork into his mouth, savoring the taste and the instant jolt of energy.
He grinned. "The timing is perfect. My new skills are complete."
"It's time to come out of seclusion... and go recruit a teammate."
(End of Chapter)