"It's finally over." After seven days, Daniel and Killua left the valley and headed towards the port.
"Courting death." As soon as they approached the port, they heard a cold snort followed by several screams. When Daniel and Killua arrived at the scene, they saw Hisoka, wearing a suit with playing card symbols, walking slowly forward. Behind him lay ten corpses, each with a blood-stained playing card embedded in a fatal spot.
"Teaming up to ambush here, huh? Not a bad choice, but they picked the wrong opponent." Looking at Hisoka's back and the ten corpses, Daniel could guess what had happened earlier.
Although the Hunter Exam does not prohibit casualties, not everyone is a killing maniac. For instance, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio only took number plates and did not kill. Especially Leorio, who, despite his usual tough demeanor, is fundamentally against taking lives as he aspires to be a top-notch doctor.
Those who had their number plates taken naturally didn't want their Hunter Exam journey to end there. So, they teamed up and prepared to ambush the returnees at a crucial juncture, planning to snatch their number plates.
Until they reached the harbor port, the Hunter Exam wasn't over. Some people, even if they had enough points to pass, would attack others to eliminate more competitors and increase their own chances of passing. If one could eliminate everyone else and be the sole survivor, they would undoubtedly pass, regardless of the means.
Just like how Killua, in his second year taking the exam, knocked everyone out at the start and took all the number plates.
Poor Ponzu's second attempt at the Hunter Exam ended like this, and there was also the unfortunate Tonpa, who aimed to break the record for the most attempts at the Hunter Exam. Nearly every year, Tonpa participated with the goal of ruining others' chances.
Tonpa, with his record of over thirty unsuccessful attempts, was actually only the second most frequent participant in the exam. There was another true master above him.
In this context, apart from Gon, Leorio, Kurapika, and Killua traveling together, the rest were solitary.
Under such circumstances, encountering ten people teaming up to attack was a certain defeat for the average person.
Of course, those who took the exam weren't fools. Many anticipated such situations and chose to wait at the return entry point, discussing and joining forces to pass the final hurdle together.
For instance, at that moment, Daniel sensed four people lurking nearby with his observation ability, but they didn't need to wait any longer as Hisoka had cleared the path.
After Hisoka left, Hanzo, who claimed to be a ninja, was the first to jump out. Despite his claim, he lacked the patience of a true ninja.
"Uncle, you go first. I'll wait here for Gon."
After Hanzo appeared, Killua asked him about Gon's whereabouts. Upon learning Gon hadn't passed by, Killua decided to stay and wait, and Hanzo immediately left after answering.
Following Hanzo's departure, the other three hidden individuals emerged one by one and headed towards the port. Without prior communication to form an alliance, even if some harbored thoughts of eliminating others, they wouldn't act recklessly for fear of becoming someone else's prey.
"Alright." Daniel didn't object to Killua waiting for Gon. He nodded and left.
At the gathering point, Daniel didn't have to wait long before Killua, Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio returned together. Among them, only Killua and Gon had relatively clean clothes, while Kurapika and Leorio's clothes were torn, and they had some wounds, indicating a tough battle.
Gon's clean clothes were due to his lack of intent to take others' number plates and his adventurous spirit inherited from the Freecss family, which led him to target Hisoka's number 44 plate from the start.
Hisoka's formidable strength awakened Gon's adventurous soul, much like when he fished for the King of the Swamp on Whale Island.
Unfortunately, Gon was too focused on Hisoka and didn't realize he was also a target. If not for Hisoka's surprise at Gon's feat of using a fishing rod to steal his number plate, Gon would have been eliminated from the exam.
"Time's up." As time passed, everyone boarded the airship, preparing to head to the next exam location. At this moment, Hisoka's expression changed, and his gaze swept over the remaining participants with excitement.
Hisoka's excitement stemmed from the absence of Illumi's disguised identity, Gittarackur.
Illumi's disguise could fool Killua but not Hisoka.
"Did Illumi get eliminated? Who did it? How exciting."
Hisoka and Illumi knew each other because of a mission where they fought and ended up acknowledging each other after realizing neither could defeat the other.
Although Illumi was a rare strong Nen user, he wasn't Hisoka's target because Illumi's assassin style clashed with Hisoka's pursuit of bloody, spectacular battles. Hisoka sought fights with powerful Nen users, willing to wait for Gon to grow and fighting in the Heavens Arena for the thrill of turning the tables.
Illumi couldn't provide such battles for Hisoka.
Since Illumi was eliminated, it meant he was beaten by someone, which piqued Hisoka's interest. Especially since such a powerful individual remained hidden among the candidates without Hisoka noticing.
"I'll find you sooner or later."
In the depths of Kukuroo Mountain, the Zoldyck family's home in the Republic of Padokea, Illumi lay on a hospital bed, half of his body wrapped in bandages, having been brought back to the family's base.
The Zoldyck family, the top-ranked underground assassins, not only possessed strong Nen abilities but also advanced technology. In modern society, not understanding modern technology would be a significant disadvantage. Milluki Zoldyck, the second child, specialized in using advanced technology to kill.
He could even perform remote assassinations from home using a computer. Many of the Zoldyck family's modern weapons were his creations. He excelled in both modern technological weapons and traditional weapons, having made Killua's yo-yos.
"What happened? Who did you encounter?" Standing by Illumi's bed were two figures, a middle-aged man and an old man, the family heads Silva and Zeno Zoldyck.
Upon learning of Illumi's severe injuries, the Zoldyck family dispatched several butlers and Silva himself to bring him back.
Knowing Illumi's strength, Silva and Zeno were shocked. Illumi's abilities meant only one of the top five Nen users could have severely injured him. Moreover, Illumi had just participated in a simple Hunter Exam.
Upon bringing Illumi back, the Zoldycks obtained the exam roster, noting Hisoka as a concern, but others were no match for Illumi. Although Hisoka was strong, he couldn't inflict such severe injuries on Illumi.
"It was a strange guy." Illumi recounted his encounter.
"Him." Upon hearing the story, Silva and Zeno immediately identified the culprit.
"Alright, rest up. I'll take on your task." After confirming Daniel's identity, Silva nodded and left with Zeno.
Despite the advanced medical facilities and Illumi's Nen abilities, recovery wouldn't take long. Serious injuries in this world don't take a hundred days to heal.
Even so, Illumi couldn't complete his task without a Hunter License. As legal, tax-paying assassins, the Zoldycks followed some rules, unlike other assassins who would use any means.
Illumi needed a Hunter License to access certain places that only licensed Hunters could enter, even though he could easily infiltrate them otherwise.
Proper identity required adhering to proper regulations.
Ging Freecss faced similar issues with Netero's design. Although Ging had the strength to reach the Dark Continent easily, he couldn't do so through official channels without fulfilling four conditions: permission, means, qualification, and contract. Lacking any of these prevented him from going, so he had to join Beyond Netero's team.
While Silva prepared for Illumi's task, Zeno returned to training. As for Daniel, the Zoldycks wouldn't take any action against him since Illumi wasn't dead.
The Zoldyck family had peculiar rules, with no notion of revenge. For the right price, even family members would be targets.
Of course, the price would be astronomical, out of reach for most people.
Silva and Zeno confirmed Daniel's identity to care for Illumi and ensure their intelligence network didn't miss a detail, preventing a situation where they accepted a contract on Daniel without realizing his strength, which would be a huge loss for the family.
Like when Silva took a job to assassinate Phantom Troupe's No. 4. Although successful, it led to multiple encounters with the Troupe's leader.
Given the leader's strength, fighting him repeatedly for no benefit was a significant loss under the Zoldyck family's rules. Knowing Daniel's identity beforehand allowed them to charge much higher for any assassination contract on him.
While Silva took on Illumi's task, Daniel and his group arrived at a luxurious hotel under the Hunter Association. This was the location for the fifth and final exam.
Chairman Netero appeared before them, announcing the rules for the final exam: one-on-one matches where the goal was to make the opponent admit defeat without killing them.
"Seems like he noticed me. Is it because of Illumi?" As they drew lots, Daniel recalled Netero's thoughtful gaze and guessed it was due to his encounter with Illumi.
Others might not know Illumi participated, but Netero surely did.
"Stubborn, aren't you? Lucky you're the main character." Daniel quickly put Netero out of his mind and focused on the matches.
Gon's opponent was Hanzo, the bald
ninja. Despite Gon's strong physique, he was no match for the adult Hanzo. But even after being beaten severely, Gon refused to admit defeat, prompting Hanzo to hit harder.
Of course, "harder" meant breaking one of Gon's arms.
The rule of making the opponent surrender without killing them seemed troublesome but was easily circumvented by threatening severe injury, forcing most to yield.
Hanzo, despite seeming harsh, held back. He could have threatened more severe injuries, such as the loss of eyes, which no one would want.
Ultimately, Hanzo, moved by Gon's determination, surrendered. Although he had other means to force Gon to yield, he couldn't bring himself to harm a child so badly. Additionally, Gon's strong will moved him, much like other main characters' infectious resolve.
"Sorry, Pokkle, but it's your bad luck." Looking at his opponent, Daniel shook his head. Defeating Pokkle was simple; just threaten to break his right arm, and Pokkle quickly surrendered.
Such steadfast refusal to give up only suited the main character Gon; others trying it would only end up worse off.
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"Is Hisoka already preparing to deal with the leader?" Daniel couldn't help but think as he watched Hisoka whisper something in Kurapika's ear before surrendering.
Though Hisoka's voice was low and he used Nen to conceal it, Daniel still heard what he said to Kurapika: the Phantom Troupe would appear in Yorknew City on September 1st.
Despite the vast difference in strength between Kurapika and the members of the Phantom Troupe, Hisoka still had faith in Kurapika. This showed that Hisoka not only had immense strength but also far superior wisdom.
In fact, Hisoka's action was simply casual. He only gave a piece of information, and even if Kurapika didn't live up to his expectations, Hisoka wouldn't lose anything.
Afterward, Killua easily won his match. As a member of an assassin family, Killua had many ways to make his opponent surrender.
Only Leorio struggled in his fight. The two combatants were evenly matched and fought until they were both exhausted. Leorio won through sheer willpower.
The battles continued, giving the losers a chance to redeem themselves. By evening, seven participants had qualified, with two unexpected qualifiers due to Daniel's intervention.
Pokkle didn't qualify in the end. In his redemption match, he faced Hisoka and lost decisively.
The next day in the hotel conference room, the qualifiers sat at random. Soon, Chairman Netero and Beans appeared, and Beans distributed seven Hunter Licenses and seven documents to the seven qualifiers.
Chairman Netero didn't say much, only congratulating the qualifiers before giving a glance to Hisoka and Daniel and then leaving directly.
After Netero left, Beans began to explain the rights that came with the Hunter License and reminded everyone not to lose their licenses, as replacements wouldn't be issued.
According to the Hunter Association's records, most lost licenses belonged to newly qualified Hunters.
After the meeting, Gon, bandaged, and Killua started to see Kurapika and Leorio off. In response to Killua's inquiry, Kurapika shared what Hisoka had told him. Though the auction in Yorknew City was over six months away, Kurapika needed to start planning his revenge early.
Leorio, on the other hand, couldn't wait to go home and then use his Hunter License to enter medical school. With a Hunter License, he could enter any university at any time.
The group agreed to meet in Yorknew City on September 1st.
After Leorio and Kurapika left, Hanzo came over. He first apologized for injuring Gon and then invited Gon to visit him if he had time.
"Hunter License, huh? Is this Nen inside? And what is this?" Curious, Daniel used his Operation Fruit ability to investigate the Hunter License. On the surface, it looked like an ordinary magnetic card, but it contained mysterious powers beyond just Nen, including a strange symbol.
"Hey, old man, where are you planning to go next?" As Daniel examined the license, Killua and Gon approached, having said their goodbyes to the others.
"And you two?" Daniel countered Killua's question with one of his own.
"We're planning to go to the Heavens Arena. Are you coming, old man?" Killua quickly shared their plan. Without Illumi causing trouble, Killua didn't need to be taken home.
Killua went with the flow, following Gon. With little money left and wanting to train and earn money, Gon agreed when Killua suggested the Heavens Arena.
"The Heavens Arena, huh? I need to make some money too, so let's go together." After a moment's thought, Daniel decided to join them. As the world's largest arena and the fourth tallest building, he was quite interested.
Hearing this, Gon and Killua smiled. Compared to before he met Gon, Killua had changed significantly, now smiling much more easily.
"The city of combat." The Heavens Arena was located in a city dedicated to combat. Every year, over a billion people visited to watch fights. On average, over four thousand challengers registered daily, driven by the promise of riches and fame. Reaching the 200th floor could earn up to 200 million, a sum most people couldn't make in a lifetime.
At the Heavens Arena, there were no distinctions based on age. As long as you registered voluntarily, even children could compete.
When Killua was about six or seven, he fought there for two years, leaving after reaching the 200th floor and spending his earnings on sweets within a year. It was an impressive feat, considering most children couldn't spend such a sum on candy.
"The 50th floor." Their first match was quickly arranged, with all three sent to the 50th floor, a privilege for true experts. Ordinary participants had to progress floor by floor.
Below the 50th floor were mostly strong individuals. To go beyond the 50th floor, one needed martial arts training. From the 100th to the 199th floor, the matches were between skilled fighters.
Due to its fame, many fighters came to the Heavens Arena to compete. It was the fastest way to gain recognition, and even those seeking only to train came for the real combat expertise.
Above the 200th floor, it was said to be full of strong fighters, including Nen users. Although Nen had to be kept secret, the battles on the 200th floor and above sometimes surpassed human limits, leading to the explanation of superpowers instead.
"Gon lost. It seems he hasn't undergone the Zoldyck family's special training yet; his strength is still lacking." After the 100th floor, Gon's winning streak was broken by a formidable fighter.
Killua and Daniel maintained their winning streaks, but Gon looked visibly disheartened.
"Gon, look what I got!" One day, while Daniel and Gon were training in a gym, Killua excitedly waved three tickets.
In a place as focused on combat as the Heavens Arena, the training facilities were excellent. Killua rented a gym after Gon lost, as he was quite familiar with such arrangements.
"What is it?" Gon asked curiously while doing squats with a barbell.
"Hisoka. He's here too." Killua announced loudly.
The tickets were for watching a fight between two contestants from the 200th floor and above, a popular money-making scheme for the Heavens Arena. These matches attracted more attention and were broadcasted on large screens throughout the city.
"Hisoka." At the mention of Hisoka, Gon immediately dropped the barbell. His motivation for coming to train was to return Hisoka's number plate from the fourth exam.
"Yes, he's quite impressive, being one of the fighters above the 200th floor."
"The 200th floor? What's it like there?"
"I'm not sure. When I reached the 200th floor, I wasn't interested, so I didn't explore it."
Killua felt a bit embarrassed about his past. Battles above the 200th floor no longer offered prize money and were fought for honor and reputation, so he had left.
"But since Hisoka is interested, we must check it out."
"Yes, we might get a chance to fight Hisoka there."
"It'll be a good opportunity to see Hisoka's true strength. From my investigation, he's very strong here."
With that, they stopped training, took a shower, and prepared to watch Hisoka's match the next day.
"Zoldyck family butlers, huh? The Zoldyck family is indeed peculiar. Why don't they teach Killua about Nen themselves?" Daniel noticed three people following them as they left the gym. He had sensed them since their arrival at the Heavens Arena.
As the young master of the Zoldyck family with insufficient strength, Killua had people secretly protecting him. The Zoldyck family, as publicly known tax-paying assassins, had many enemies. While some might not be able to kill Silva or Illumi, Killua was still vulnerable.
The Zoldyck family wasn't just a few known members; it included many powerful Nen-using butlers. Becoming a Zoldyck family butler wasn't easy, with candidates chosen from the family-run school where most students were orphans adopted by the family, ensuring loyalty.
"Attention, everyone, attention!" The next day, the 200th-floor arena was packed, and crowds gathered around large screens in the city.
"Today's match features the magician Hisoka against the gunman Jimmy." The red-haired young female announcer declared as a cowboy-like youth slowly walked onto the stage. Soon after, Hisoka made a grand entrance through a cloud of smoke.
"Let's take a look at their previous battles in the Heavens Arena." Following the announcer's words, footage of Hisoka and Jimmy's previous fights appeared on the large screen.
"Emission type, huh?" Watching the gunman Jimmy's fight, Daniel guessed his Nen type. The Heavens Arena didn't prohibit any weapons, so theoretically, even rocket launchers were allowed. Jimmy's "guns" were actually his fingers.
From the footage, it seemed Jimmy's ability resembled a handgun, unlike the Phantom Troupe member who used his fingers like a Gatling gun.
"Hisoka, this time I will avenge our last fight." Upon seeing Hisoka, Jimmy's expression changed, indicating a previous grudge.
"I'm not interested in you, but since you challenged me, I'll play along." Hisoka said, producing a deck of cards.
"Begin."
As the referee signaled, Jimmy formed his right hand into a gun shape, firing a Nen bullet. Ordinary spectators couldn't see the Nen bullet; they only saw Jimmy mimic a gunshot, accompanied by the sound effect, "bang."
The shot didn't hit Hisoka, as a thrown playing card intercepted it. Since the audience couldn't see the Nen, they found it strange to see the card
seemingly hit something in mid-air before falling to the ground.
As Jimmy kept mimicking gunshots, Hisoka continuously threw cards. Soon, a dozen cards lay between them.
"Elastic Love, huh? Hisoka's at it again. Why not use Gyo?" Daniel wondered, noticing the pink Nen strings attached to the cards on the ground. This question had puzzled him since he first watched Hunter x Hunter: why not use Gyo to see Hisoka's abilities? Even with Gyo, some couldn't fully see Hisoka's Nen strings.
"Schrödinger's Nen strings?" Daniel chuckled at the thought.
"Elastic Love may not seem powerful, but in Hisoka's hands, it's quite troublesome." Without using Gyo, any of Hisoka's moves could involve deploying his Nen strings.
In the current fight, Jimmy had three places connected by Elastic Love but seemed unaware. Hisoka could finish him at any moment but chose to play.
"Excuse me." As Gon and Killua watched intently, Daniel noticed a new presence beside him. To his surprise, it was a cute girl with golden twin-tails.
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