Gourmet Hunter (HxH Fanfic)

'There was no way this could be a natural quicksand… it had to be that bastard's doing!'

The leader roared in his heart as he scrambled to his feet, his eyes gleaming with the unique light of Nen. He watched as Law approached slowly, step by step, feeling as though an entire mountain was pressing down on him.

The surrounding air seemed to have been stolen away, making it hard to breathe.

The evening heat could still make the blowing wind feel scorching, yet a blizzard seemed to rage along his spine, the cold instantly spreading through his entire body.

"Damn it, run! Everyone, run now!"

The leader was nearly suffocating. The pressure Law was exerting on him was terrifying, far more terrifying than even their leader!

The ability to artificially create quicksand was every living creature's worst nightmare in the desert.

Realizing this, the squad leader made the most correct decision of his life: even with absolute numerical superiority, running away was the best option!

In truth, the sand bandits didn't need his orders. The moment they sensed the quicksand forming, they had already started moving, desperate to escape this unnatural quicksand.

"Do you really think you can run?"

Law watched as the leader abandoned the armored bull without hesitation and turned to flee, along with the hundreds of bandits who had just been standing in formation. A faint, amused smile played on his lips.

Before encountering the quicksand traps created by the Abyssal Maw, Law had never considered using Nen to create quicksand. Now, with his first attempt, it felt like discovering a whole new world, feeling utterly fascinated.

It was like a child's first time molding clay, an entirely novel experience.

Every new encounter had the potential to become part of Law's accumulated hidden wealth. Just like now, as he seeped his Domain into the sand beneath, intending to bury these bandits alive where they stood.

His first attempt was clumsy. Though the quicksand formed, it was far inferior to the Abyssal Maw's traps, allowing some of the sand bandits on the outskirts to escape… including the leader, who was now running at enhanced speed thanks to his Nen.

"A few got away. Well, it doesn't matter."

Law's expression remained indifferent as he watched the majority of the sand bandits sink like they were trapped in a swamp. As he grew more familiar with the manipulation, he accelerated the quicksand's pull.

"Pull me up! Hurry, pull me up!"

"Ropes! Throw the ropes!"

"Save me!"

About twenty or thirty bandits managed to escape the quicksand pit. They stood just outside the affected area, watching their trapped comrades beg for help, their faces dark with dread and lingering terror.

At first, the quicksand's pull had been slow, but once Law fully grasped the technique, its speed suddenly increased, surpassing even natural quicksand. By then, the sand bandits had no chance of rescuing their comrades even if they wanted to.

Moments later, the sand seemed to come alive, rolling over and refilling the pit until it was smooth and undisturbed once more. Buried beneath were over three hundred sand bandits and their armored bulls, surely dead by now.

Had they not seen it with their own eyes, who would believe that over three hundred living, breathing men had just been standing there?

The surviving bandits stared at Law from a hundred meters away, their bodies frozen with terror as he simply smiled at them in silence.

"I'd rather not see you again. Is that alright?" Law said to the escaped sand bandits.

The leader shuddered, and then without hesitation, he jumped onto one of his subordinate's armored bulls, sharing the saddle.

"What are you idiots waiting for? Run!"

The leader smacked the back of the bandit's head in front of him.

At his command, the remaining sand bandits didn't dare delay any longer. Spurring their armored bulls, they charged into the boulder field, hoping to cut through and circle back to Red Rock Canyon.

With the main force annihilated, the nine bandits tailing from the rear also chose to retreat.

Law quietly watched as the bandits fled in disarray. Leaving one bandit alive might not have been convincing enough, but letting over twenty escape should suffice.

At that moment, the members of Desert Hawks, who had rushed over to assist, stopped beside Law, staring dumbfounded at the now-calm sand. They had witnessed the quicksand swallowing over three hundred sand bandits.

"The desert is truly dangerous. Deadly quicksand traps can appear anywhere. I was ready to show off my skills, but fate had other plans." Law remarked, sighing dramatically as he looked at the group.

Hearing this, everyone shifted their gaze from the former quicksand pit to Law, their expressions turning strange.

'This guy… could he be the legendary Chosen One?'

'The sudden quicksand pit had appeared just twenty meters away from him. Had he charged at the bandits ten seconds earlier, he might have fallen into it as well.'

To them, Law charging alone against hundreds of bandits was nothing short of suicide. If not for that sudden quicksand pit, he would have surely died. And they had never heard of quicksand appearing near the boulder field.

'What an absurd coincidence!'

'Was it the sand bandits' terrible luck, or was his luck just too good?'

Under everyone's strange gazes, Law remained perfectly calm. Burying the bandits in quicksand was far less gruesome than exploding their heads.

Meanwhile, William and Gel looked at Law with complicated eyes. As Nen Users themselves, they knew exactly who was behind the quicksand.

'This Nen… feels familiar…' A thoughtful look emerged on Gel's face. She carefully observed Law's face, searching for any signs of disguise. She then recalled the voice of that detestable man she had always avoided, 'There was a very obvious difference.'

Despite this, Gel still had some doubts in his heart.

'Could it really be that bastard?'

The reason Law's face showed no traces of disguise wasn't because Fatima's human skin mask was flawless, but because he had used his God Hand to perfectly fuse himself with the mask.

As for his voice, with enough bodily control, even a slight adjustment of his vocal cords could alter it completely.

The group, who are still shaken by their 'incredible luck', couldn't calm their racing hearts. But as night approached, they carefully skirted the area where the quicksand had appeared and entered the boulder field to set up camp, preparing a simple resting place for the night.

The rocks of the boulder field served as natural barriers against nocturnal desert creatures.

However, the crevices and undersides of the stones were teeming with venomous insects. To spend the night here, they had to scatter insect-repelling powder around their campsite.

The Desert Hawks' members busied themselves with preparations, while Law chose not to participate. Instead, he climbed onto the tallest rock, watching as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon, savoring the last moments of daylight.

Before the sun had fully disappeared, the moon had already risen on the opposite side of the sky… a fleeting moment when both sun and moon shared the same sky.

Law noticed Gel moving through the boulder field. From his vantage point, he watched as she effortlessly pushed aside a massive boulder, revealing a thick, blood-red centipede nearly as long as a man's arm. She swiftly extracted its venom.

'Did she come to the Kandhia Desert just to collect poison? Are there that many venomous creatures in the Forbidden Zone?" Law thought silently, 'If only the Demon Island hadn't been wiped out… it would've been paradise for her.'

Using her Nen Ability, Gel efficiently harvested the venom before tossing the lifeless centipede aside and moving on to her next target.

She could feel Law's gaze on her but paid him no mind, focusing solely on her task.

After observing her for a while, Law withdrew his gaze, a mischievous thought forming in his mind.

He still had the [Surprise Box] left behind by the Ghost Lady, which can also be used to fuse various poisons into one. If he were to create an unsolvable, ultimate poison and then flaunt it in front of Gel, he wonders how the other party will react.

Just imagining it was amusing.

'Speaking of which, if the Forbidden Zone is full of venomous creatures, I might as well collect some samples too.'

Desert Hawks spent the night in the boulder field and set out again the next morning.

A week passed, and whether it was due to Law's plan or sheer luck, the bandits never appeared again, so their journey remained peaceful.

Among the twenty-something escaped bandits, at least one was a Nen User. They must have realized the quicksand was Law's doing.

Nearly half a month had passed since leaving Goro, and they were likely only a few days away from the Forbidden Zone.

That night, Ali took out an ancient-looking leather map and studied it by the firelight.

Law came over, looked at the intricately drawn map, and asked, "Are we close to the Forbidden Zone?"

Ali looked up at him and shook his head, "We'll have to go for a few more days. I'm not sure exactly when we'll arrive."

Law nodded slightly, his eyes still fixed on the map.

Back in Elba, he hadn't even found a rough sketch of a map, let alone something this detailed.