Gourmet Hunter (HxH Fanfic)

The moment the pale red poisonous mist dissipated, the poison took effect immediately. Desert Hawks' members, and also Buhara and William, collapsed to the ground without any reaction, losing consciousness instantly.

The only ones still standing were Law and Gel.

Though Gel hadn't fallen, her slightly dark face was now streaked with fine blood vessels, her brows slightly furrowed as if she were in pain.

"Poison?"

Law quickly glanced back at the shattered gramophone plant he had destroyed, then ignored Gel's gaze and immediately stepped over the fallen bodies, rushing to Buhara's side.

Buhala's eyes were tightly shut, his exposed skin covered in blood-red streaks, his expression twisted in pain.

Law placed a hand on Buhara's chest, activated his Nen Ability, and a unique glow flickered briefly before he withdrew his hand, encapsulating a tiny droplet of the poison within a small sphere compressed by God Hand.

In his mind, the White Smoke Font immediately provided information about the poison.

Kurako Flower Poison: Victims would lose consciousness within three seconds of exposure, followed by symptoms of intense bodily heat and muscle weakness. If no antidote is administered within ten minutes, the victim's blood vessels will rupture, leading to fatal internal bleeding.

"What a terrifying poison."

After reading the details of the poison, Law felt a chill. The three-second unconsciousness effect was a nightmare for solo travelers, as once poisoned, there would be almost no chance to administer an antidote.

If it weren't for his Domain being able to isolate the poisonous mist, this sudden blow would have wiped out their entire team.

The members of Desert Hawks weren't Nen Users, so coming to a place like this was a death sentence. Even Buhara and William, who knew Nen, with the former being quite skilled, still fell victim.

This was the brutality of the unknown world. Even with Nen, there were no absolute guarantees.

Law carefully controlled the Kurako Flower Poison in his palm, watching as the faint blood streaks on Buhara's body gradually faded. He let out a slight sigh of relief before raising his head to meet Gel's gaze.

Gel was enduring the burning pain in her organs, sweat beading on her forehead.

The reason she hadn't lost consciousness like the others was due to her exceptional resistance to poisons. But because she remained conscious, she had to endure the excruciating pain.

While Law was extracting the poison from Buhara, she had injected herself with a universal detoxifying serum she had prepared. However, it had no effect.

After all, in this world, there was no such thing as a truly universal antidote.

"Ten minutes should be enough."

Law's gaze swept over the unconscious bodies scattered across the ground. Then, activating his Nen Ability, he teleported dozens of meters in an instant, appearing right in front of Gel, much to her shock.

"You…!"

Gel's mind was in turmoil.

This newcomer to the Hunter Association's Zodiacs wasn't yet the mature and formidable woman she would become over a decade later. While vaguely recognizing Law's identity, she was stunned by what seemed to be even greater strength than before.

"Don't move."

Law spoke briefly before pressing his hand against Gel's stomach, activating his God Hand to swiftly extract the Kurako Flower Poison and contain it in his palm.

The ability to automatically distinguish targets was one of the highly practical aspects of his Nen ability… precisely because of its utility, it came with the restriction of not being able to directly harm enemies.

The poison was forcibly extracted, a method even more powerful than a special antidote. As soon as it was removed, the blood streaks on Gel's skin vanished, and the burning sensation in her organs disappeared.

"Give me an empty glass vial." Law stared at Gel, who was now right in front of him.

Gel's expression shifted, her gaze at Law filled with indescribable complexity. Gritting her teeth, she spat out, "It really is you!"

Law extended his hand toward her, saying nothing. His ugly human skin mask twisted into a leering grin, but in fact, he was just smiling lightly.

Gel's emotions at this moment were more complicated than ever. Knowing that Law intended to save the others, she reluctantly handed him a specially made glass vial.

"Thanks."

Law released the control over his throat, returning to his original voice. After taking the glass vial, he immediately began treating the members of Desert Hawks, extracting the Kurako Flower Poison and storing it in the vial.

Gel stood there in a daze, watching as Law busily moved between the unconscious bodies. For the first time, she began questioning her own ambitions and profession.

She was a professional Poison Hunter. Yet, just moments ago, everyone, including herself, had been poisoned, with only Law unaffected. It was her duty to protect her team from poison threats, but she had failed completely, even becoming one of those waiting to die.

At this thought, Gel fell into deep confusion.

An outsider, relying solely on his Nen Ability, had avoided poisoning, detoxified others, and didn't even need to prepare an antidote.

If that was the case… what was the point of being a Professional Poison Hunters? What did all her years of effort amount to? In the end, she was outperformed by an amateur's Nen Ability.

'Why couldn't I develop a Nen ability like that?'

Law had dealt Gel a heavy blow… not only leaving her lost but also making her doubt herself.

Law didn't notice Gel's distress, as he's fully focused on extracting the poison from everyone.

After five or six minutes, he had finally removed all traces of the Kurako Flower Poison from the victims. This act of rescue effectively turned every member of Desert Hawks into one of his 'pages'.

The extracted Kurako Flower Poison was stored in a glass vial specially made by Ge'er and then carefully put away.

With the addition of the Zangzi Flower toxin, he now carried four types of poison.

The black scorpion venom, which causes powerful paralysis.

The poison of the red-headed dart frog, which has a muscle-dissolving effect.

The poison of the spurred sea slug, which can put someone to sleep for seven days and nights in just a tiny dose.

The first three had been obtained through an exchange with Gel. They were rarely used, as none were lethal… they were functional poisons. But the Kurako Flower Poison he had just collected was terrifyingly deadly.

Despite directly extracting the poison, Buhara, who had a strong constitution, still showed no signs of waking. This proved just how potent the Kurako Flower Poison was.

And they had traveled less than 150 meters along the mountain path… who knew what other lethal dangers lay ahead.

Law recalled how Silva had fought Chrollo in Yorknew City in the original work. Chrollo had cut Silva with a dagger laced with a powerful paralyzing poison, but Silva had barely been affected.

Then there was Killua's immunity to potent laxatives and Gel's current display of toxin resistance.

While using poison is dishonorable, its practicality in battle couldn't be denied. However, the world was full of strong individuals, and some had incredible poison resistance.

If he relied too much on poison, he might end up cornering himself. If he ever decided to use poisons in the future, he could collect a variety of deadly poisons and fuse them using [Surprise Box] to create a poison no living being could resist.

Law temporarily set aside this sudden idea and noticed Gel's bewildered expression, and was immediately puzzled.

He had no idea that his unintentional actions had deeply shaken this future member of the Zodiacs, whose potential had been recognized by Netero.

After ten minutes, the group gradually woke up, all looking confused.

Once everyone had regained consciousness, Law picked up a golden bracelet he had dug out from beneath the bone pile and waved it in front of them, "How does it feel to come back from the brink of death?"

The group exchanged glances, unsure what he meant.

"I can save you once, maybe twice, but I can't guarantee it every time. If you keep going deeper, you're just walking to your deaths. So..." Law scanned the members of Desert Hawks and said, "If you're here for treasure, dig through these bones. Take what you can, then turn back."

At his words, many of their expressions darkened.

"Tam, what do you mean by that?" Ali asked, eyes burning with anger.

Luo looked at him, pursed his lips and said nothing.

He felt he had made himself perfectly clear.