Gourmet Hunter (HxH Fanfic)

Law had encountered many Nen Users, but one thing cannot be denied, that is, the proportion of Nen Users within the vast population was pitifully low.

Having never seen any Nen Users other than Sabro in Elba City, Law had almost started to believe there were no other Nen users here. Who would have thought that the owner of a tavern in the slums would be one?

Running a tavern in the slums was hard to imagine in the first place, but having a Nen User hiding there was even more unbelievable.

"Young man, are you looking for me?"

After sizing up Law for a moment, the bartender grinned, his words hitting the mark directly.

Law's mind stirred, but his face remained impassive. Seeing no reason to hide his intentions, he nodded and walked straight to the counter.

The bartender watched Law approach, then pulled out two bottles of artificially diluted, sealed beer from the cabinet below and handed them to the two scruffy men seated at the counter before waving them off.

The two scruffy men happily took the beers and scurried off to squeeze into another spot, clearing the space in front of the counter.

Law walked over and took a seat in the now-empty spot.

The bartender, who was also the owner of the bar, took out another bottle of beer. There were many stains on the bottle, and it was obvious that it was a bottle that had been recycled many times.

He pushed the beer in front of Law. Then, with a flick of his thumb, the cap flew into the air, spinning rapidly in a straight vertical line above the bottle.

"First-time guests always get a beer on the house."

As the bartender spoke, he removed his hand from the bottle, then casually caught the spinning cap as it fell and tossed it into a cardboard box by his feet.

Honestly speaking, the bottle's appearance alone was enough to kill anyone's appetite, but Law acted as if he didn't notice. He thanked the man, picked up the bottle naturally, took a swig, then set it back down.

"How's the taste?" the owner asked with a grin.

"Too much water mixed in." Law answered bluntly.

The bartender laughed when he heard this, completely unbothered by Law's blunt critique, then said, "For things in the gutter, as long as the money's right, anything can be arranged."

The 'in the gutter' refers to shady, under-the-table dealings.

Law suddenly asked, "How big is yours?"

The boss was taken aback for a moment, then revealed an ambiguous smile and replied bluntly, "500,000 to tell you, 1 million to inspect the goods."

'A million just to see a damn 'stick'?'

Law wasn't crazy. He'd only asked to test the waters, and sure enough, just as the old bald man had said, this guy had zero principles… as long as the money was right.

"What about the Desert Forbidden Zone?" Law skipped the nonsense and cut straight to the point.

The bartender's smile froze slightly, and he glanced around. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he looked at Law, who looked calm, and said in a low voice, "Five million, I'll tell you everything I know."

"Money doesn't come from the wind. Whether your intel is worth 5,000,000 or not depends on what you say first." While Law said this, in truth, Law's money did come from the wind.

Hearing this, the bartender returned to his usual smirk and said indifferently: "This is a take-it-or-leave-it deal. If you're willing to continue, you can keep sitting on that seat. If not, finish your beer… I won't see you out."

Law remained silent for a moment before nodding and pulling out a handful of golden beads from his pocket, which should be worth five million Jenny, and placed them on the table.

If he thought that the information given by the bartender was not worth the price, Law had plenty of ways to take the payment back.

The bartender's eyes lit up when he saw the golden beads that were shining with a faint luster, but he did not rashly reach out to take the golden beads.

After all, the transaction had just begun, and he couldn't just take the payment upfront.

"The Forbidden Zone is located in the heart of the Kandhia Desert. It is ruins of a thousand-year-old imperial capital. It is surrounded by violent sandstorms all year round, and there are dark, thick storm clouds hanging above it."

"If you manage to cross the sandstorm's perimeter, you'll find a valley. And inside that valley lies the Millennium Imperial Capital."

"There are four narrow paths leading into the city, east, west, north, and south. The ground of each is said to be piled high with bones. And no one who's gone in has ever come out alive."

As he spoke, the bartender kept glancing at the golden beads beside Law's hand.

"If no one's ever made it out, how do you know what's inside the valley?" Law immediately pointed out the contradiction in the bartender's words.

"Good question." The boss smirked and explained, "Because every hundred years, the sandstorms around the Forbidden Zone vanish without warning. Sometimes, they disappear for about forty seconds before reappearing. Other times, it's one or two minutes… sometimes even five or six. The duration is inconsistent, but the one thing they have in common is that the window is always short."

"Bold folks take advantage of that brief moment to rush inside. After all, that Millennium Imperial Capital was once the richest and most powerful nation in Kandhia Desert's history. Even scraping off a tiny fragment of its legacy would be enough to live in luxury for life. But when the sandstorms return… well, no one inside has the power to escape t."

"On the other hand, some cowards take one look at the bone-covered paths and chicken out at the last second. So it's not that strange for people to know about the valley's interior."

"As for how to confirm that the Millennium Imperial Capital is within the valley, the maps left behind from ancient times can serve as sufficient evidence."

At this point, the bartender spread his hands, looked away from the golden beads, and looked at Law, who still looked calm, and said: "That's all I know. So, do you think it's worth it?"

Law's hand moved, lightly pressing down on the golden beads.

When the bartender caught a glimpse of this scene from the corner of his eye, his expression suddenly changed slightly, but before he could react, Law asked one last question: "Last question, why do the people here treat the Forbidden Zone as a taboo subject?"

The bartender was silent for a while, then suddenly raised three fingers and said, "There are three countries in the Kandhia Desert, namely, Elba, Wate, and Goro. You're asking why Elba's people refuse to even speak of 'that place'? It's because Elba is too conservative."

That single statement, Elba is too conservative, encompassed the entire answer.

"Well, I'll give you one last piece of information. All three nations believe that the Millennium Imperial Capital holds the greatest treasures in this land. Even the piles of bones in those valley paths are said to hide unimaginable riches… wealth belonging to the dead."

"But only the people of Goro have the reckless, death-defying madness to charge into those sandstorms every year, trying to reach the Millennium Imperial Capital. As for Elba? The only one with any interest is probably the Third Prince… which is exactly why the old king can't stand him."

"If you're serious about the Forbidden Zone, I'd suggest heading to Goro and looking up a gang called the 'Desert Hawks'. The people in that gang are mostly thugs, but they've never given up on breaking into the Forbidden Zone. They'll have more detailed intel."

"Oh, by the way, if you are going to Goro, watch out for the sand bandits. Even if you're a Nen User, there is no guarantee that you can escape from the sand bandits. They are a group of disgusting, persistent bastards."

As long as one uses Gyo to see Law using Ten, one can conclude that Law is a Nen User, but the bartender is unable to see the depth of Law's strength, so he warns Law to be careful of the sand bandits.

"I'll pass on the drink. It really wasn't good."

As Law said this, he withdrew his hand and turned to leave.

"Around here, you're lucky to have any alcohol at all." The bartender quickly pocketed the gold beads and said that as he watched Law walk away. Whether Law heard him or not was anyone's guess.