After spending a few hours expl, Larry turned his camel towards the city ter, where most of the hotels were located. He khe progress bar for Pokémon breeding was moving slowly, meaning he would likely be staying in the desert for a while.

  No problem. He had plenty of time to take things slow. If the progress bar wasn’t full after expl Mardiya City, he’d just move on to the desert settlement and tinue his journey. Unlike most people who spent their days training and pushing their Nen abilities to the limit, Larry had a much simpler approach to growing stronger—he just traveled. There was no pressure, no petition. He did what he wanted, when he wanted. No one could force him into anything he didn’t like, and that was the way he preferred it.

  A Week Later “e o a little more. What’s with that face? Is the food I’ve been giving you too good, and now you're picky?” Larry held out a rge spherical cactus to his three-humped camel, half coaxing, half threatening.

  The camel let out a tired sigh, its droopy eyes full of helplessness. Over the past week, it had experienced both pure bliss and utter misery. On one hand, Larry was an incredibly generous owner—buying it luxurious multi-ball cacti to sna every day, something other camels could only dream of. Back at the rental shop, it had beeandard fodder. An old camel, rumored to be its mother’s cousin, once said that many camels lived their entire lives without tasting a single spherical cactus.

  But Larry's generosity had its dowhe camel shifted unfortably and looked down at its belly—a belly that had once been lean and strong but now bulged noticeably, making it resemble a floating swimming ring. Larry had been too eager to sample every dish the market had to offer, often buying more than he could eat. And instead of wasting food, he had stuffed everything he didn’t want into the camel’s mouth. Larry scratched his head awkwardly as he looked at the camel’s rouomach. Maybe he’d gone a little overboard.

  “Hey, is it a good time to talk?” A crisp, fident voiterrupted Larry’s thoughts. He turo see a woman with blue-green hair, styled into several sky-high braids, standing nearby. Her fair plexion and youthful features made it clear that she was still quite young. She wore a striking outfit—a purple sheer top yered over a white crop top, paired with bright green shorts. Larry reized her immediately. Menchi.

  Even though her outfit differed from what she wore in the inal Hunter x Huory, there was no mistaking her identity. Menchi was a renowned Gourmet Hunter, and if Larry’s memory served him right, she was only about 20 years old at this point. Despite her age, she had already achieved the title of a oar gourmet hunter, making history as the you person to earn the rank.

  The Hunter Association’s ranking system sisted of four levels—no stars, oar, two stars, and three stars. To earn even a siar, a hunter had to make signifit tributions in their respective field. Larry’s eyes narrowed slightly. He hadn’t expected to run into someone like Menchi here. With his camel still eyeing him pitifully, Larry set the cactus aside and gave Menchi a nod. “Yeah, sure. What’s up?”

  Menchi crossed her arms and smirked. “I’ve been watg you for a while. You're... different.”

  Larry chuckled. “I get that a lot.”

  She raised an eyebrow, clearly not amused. “No, seriously. Most people e to the desert with a goal in mind—survival training, artifact hunting, maybe even looking for lost civilizations.” “But you?” She gestured to his camel’s bloated belly. “You’re just eating.”

  Larry shrugged. “Is that a crime?”

  Menchi sighed. “No, but it’s... unusual. I’m a Gourmet Hunter, so I appreciate the love for food. But this pce isly a five-star restaurant.”

  Larry smirked. “You’d be surprised.”

  “What’s the matter?” Larry asked, his tone calm and posed.

  Menchi led him into a small alley, her expression serious yet hopeful. “If I’m not mistaken, you’re a Nen user, right?” Though phrased as a question, her fident tone made it clear she was certain.

  Larry nodded. “Yeah, I am. And you don’t have to call me ‘Mister.’ Just call me Larry.” Hearing his id-back response, Menchi let out a small sigh of relief. Though he hadn’t heard her request yet, his easygoing nature made her feel a bit more optimistic.

  “My name’s Menchi, and I hope I’m not b you, Larry…” she began, quickly diving into the reason she had sought him out. Menchi had e to Gordeau Desert in search of a prized B-rank ingredient—the Pale Fang Scorpion.

  Simir to the Gilded ts, Pale Fang Scorpions were uo the desert. However, while the ants were useful for navigation, the scorpions were highly sought after for their ary value. In the hunter world, ingredients were ranked based on their rarity and difficulty to obtain. The food most people ed was typically cssified as D-rank, with k ingredients being a bit more scarce. But B-rank ingredients? They were in high demand and required siderable skill—and often Nen abilities—to acquire.

  Larry recalled that in the inal story, the Violent Great Stamp Boar also fell into the B-rank category.***Name: MenchiStrength: B+ to A-ype: Materialization Abilities: Possibly capable of materializing cooking tools to assist in gourmet hunting, fog on both ingredient preparation and defensive applications if needed.***

  Larry wasn’t surprised by her Nen ability—it suited her perfectly. What caught his attention, however, was her fluctuating strength rating. It indicated that Menchi was on the verge of breaking through from B+ to A-. Given her age, that was already an impressive achievement. Despite her experiend skill as a Gourmet Huhe Pale Fang Scorpioed a unique challenge.

  While not particurly dangerous in terms of raw power, the scorpion’s bzing speed and incredible burrowing ability made it nearly impossible to catch. It could vanish into the sand within the blink of an eye, burrowing hundreds of meters deep in seds. This unmatched escape ability was the primary reason the scorpion was cssified as a B-rank ingredient.

  Menchi had discovered Larry by sheer luck. Two days ago, she had been haggling in the marketpce when she sensed a sudden fluctuation of aura—Larry had teleported without his camel, and the burst of aura caught her attention. Realizing that he might possess a teleportatioed ability, Menchi had been keeping a for him ever since.