Gourmet Hunter (HxH Fanfic)

Nen is a fascinating and intriguing force, which is born from the imagination and talents of humans.

As the saying goes, 'In every profession, there are masters'.

Nen Abilities that align with one's profession are not uncommon.

Uncle Bill is a Hacker Hunter, with over twenty years of experience in the field. He loves money but is always cautious, never using his professional abilities to amass illicit wealth lightly. Even when opportunities arise, he patiently waits until the risk is reduced to zero.

For him, hacking is the only path in life.

His Nen Ability, [Hacker's Methods], is a direct reflection of this belief.

Ever since the advent of computers and the internet, he immersed himself in that world, growing from a vibrant youth into a prematurely balding middle-aged man. To this day, he's still single, never having experienced love. A true bachelor through and through.

His first love was computers, and his lifelong partner is the internet.

Conjuring a laptop with intricate internal structures isn't something an average Conjurer can do, but Uncle Bill achieved it.

His Nen Ability, Hacker's Methods, can locate the target's firewall after verifying the target's conditions, and then break through the target's firewall, obtain the target's corresponding data, and then choose to infiltrate or destroy it.

Theoretically, after successfully infiltrating the target, it is possible to control the target, but this involves Manipulation-Type Ability.

If Uncle Bill were to further develop his ability for direct control, the difficulty of breaching firewalls and infiltrating systems would increase exponentially, potentially deterring him from even attempting it.

Law was one of the potential recruits they had set their sights on. Uncle Bill's original plan was merely to breach Law's firewall, gather relevant body data, and implant a harmless backdoor as an initial foothold.

However, to achieve full infiltration or destruction, the target must be within a one-kilometer radius, as this is the maximum range he can establish a 'network connection'. Extending this range would significantly increase the difficulty of infiltration.

This limitation is not an intentional Vows and Limitations, but rather a passive one, representing the natural ceiling of Uncle Bill's Nen potential. Breaking past this limit would require him to impose an active Vows and Limitations.

However, before even attempting an attack on Law, Uncle Bill never anticipated that just locating his firewall would be so challenging. If it were not for Luby's Rhythm of Life supporting him, he might not even be able to find the firewall's position.

Even with all that effort, the laptop exploding after finally finding the firewall's position was something he couldn't comprehend.

Why is this happening?

If he had to explain it logically, was it because the 'processor' couldn't handle the overload and self-destructed?

As the person who understands this Nen Ability the most, Uncle Bill was shocked. What was so special about the young man named Law?

If his current ability couldn't breach a target, his ability would have directly informed him it was impossible, denying him even the chance to begin the process.

The fact that it allowed him to attempt the process meant there was a possibility for success, meaning the 'processor' deemed Law to be within processing capacity.

And yet...

The whistling sound of the mountain wind was the only sound in the area.

The three of them exchanged looks and remained silent for a long time.

"… What now?"

After a long while, Luby finally said with uncertainty.

His usually restless and flamboyant nature had been completely subdued by the scene they had just witnessed, and he no longer dared to joke around.

Uncle Bill and Aya remained silent.

Noticing that Law had been active in Gru Mountain recently, they concluded that Law was one of the few people who had access to intelligence. Moreover, Law was also a Nen User, so they wanted to recruit Law to join their group.

At present, they have recruited twenty people, and Law is the twenty-first.

Among these twenty people, five are Nen Users, and the other fifteen are just ordinary people with good physical fitness and professional knowledge.

The more people a team has, the greater the chances of success in executing something.

Counting the three of them, the total group now stood at twenty-three, which should be enough to start their mission.

However, before they could enter Stargie's Tomb, they were still missing one critical element.

That is... a Nen Exorcist.

They had yet to find a suitable Nen Exorcist, which meant their team still remained in a preparatory state. Until they could secure one, their best course of action was to expand the team further, increasing their chances of successfully conquering Stargie's Tomb.

Law was just one of the candidates they had set their sights on, and they didn't necessarily want him to join.

However, if Law refused to cooperate and insisted on lingering around Gru Mountain, they had initially planned to quietly bury him under a tree at the foot of the mountain.

That was the original plan, but... Uncle Bill's failure changed everything. The failure itself wasn't the issue, it was how he failed that made them realize Law was far from ordinary.

So, assuming Law doesn't agree to join their team tomorrow, would they still go through with eliminating him?

Luby voiced the concern aloud, reflecting their new uncertainty.

"Don't act rashly without understanding our target. This is our code of conduct." Uncle Bill exhaled deeply, wiping the sweat from his plump face and bald head with his pudgy hand.

Aya bent her index finger slightly, put it in her mouth and bit it gently, whispering: "Who the hell is that kid? Uncle Bill, has your Nen Ability ever failed like this before?"

Uncle Bill glanced at her and said in a deep voice, "Never. This guy is seriously strange."

"So… if he doesn't agree to cooperate tomorrow, we won't provoke him, right?" Luby asked.

Uncle Bill and Aya exchanged looks, then nodded almost simultaneously.

…

The ruins of Palo City.

With spring approaching, the number of tourists coming to the ruins had increased significantly.

On this particular day, many couples lined up at the entrance to pay their fees and enter the ruins, eager to pay homage to the legendary statue of the Goddess of Love, where they could make heartfelt wishes. Others had come to fulfill promises they had made in the past.

Among the crowd of waiting couples, a blonde girl with twin ponytails was particularly eye-catching.

First, she appeared to be around thirteen years old, and secondly, she was alone.

Everyone here is a couple without exception, except her, who is alone. That would be fine, but she is a girl who looks less than sixteen years old.

Some of the couples in the queue glanced at her briefly and turned away, while others looked at her for longer time.

The girl wore an adorable red dress with frilly accents. She was nearly 1.6 meters tall, with delicate and lovely features. Her burgundy eyes shone with a faint luster, like a beautiful ruby.

If Law were here, he would immediately recognize this charming little girl, because her appearance hadn't changed at all from how she looked over a decade later. However, this wasn't her real appearance or age.

In reality, based on the timeline, she was already over forty years old and stood nearly two meters tall. She is a 'fake loli' and also a Master of Shingen-Ryu!

Biscuit, that's her name. She is very powerful in both physical combat and Nen Techniques.

Facing the strange looks from her surrounding, Biscuit remained focused, impatiently waiting for the line to move forward. She was eager to take advantage of this opportunity to make a wish before the statue of the Goddess of Love.

Compared to the task that Netero had entrusted her with, there were other matters she deemed far more important, things that ranked higher on her personal priority list.

The reason why she hasn't started the task yet is simply because she doesn't take it seriously at all.

If it weren't for Netero...