.
"The true Master does not seek to run away from Death.
He accepts that he must die and understands that there are far, far worse things in the living world than dying."
Albus Dumbledore, on the Master of Death
.
Harry stroked his chin as he looked at the board, showing the battle system later used in the fifth phase.
Judging from the structure, the Chairman of the Hunter Association used the system to support the team on the left more than on the right. The team on the left has more chances of successfully passing phase five than the team on the right.
The system imposed by Chairman Netero is inversely proportional to the elimination system. Each participant only needs to win once to pass this phase. Each participant who loses will advance to the next round, and the examineé who will fail the Hunter Exam is the one who reaches the top in this tournament.
Harry hummed, staring at his photo placed in the second match in the left team. He will be facing the one who loses between Hanzo and Gon.
Weapons are allowed.
Killing is prohibited.
And as long as your opponent surrenders, it is considered a win.
"It was pretty simple."
Harry glanced at Gon, who was crouching down and folding his shoelaces.
The two participants were getting ready to enter the arena. The hall used was big enough for them to fight. There were no barriers to the arena or anything; there was only a board with a match structure; the participants, examiners and security guards standing near the wall, watching the fight.
A referee stood in the centre of the hall, signalling that the fifth and final phase of the Hunter Exam was about to begin.
"Good luck, Gon." The black-haired boy nodded with a small smile.
The two of them entered the area.
Harry raised his eyebrows. He thought the fight would start immediately when the referee finished introducing himself. Still, it seemed that Hanzo was in the mood for a chat.
The bald young man greeted the referee in an attention-seeking tone. He thanked him for his assessment during the fourth phase, which gave him such a good score that he was placed in the elimination team on the left. He confirmed with the referee that every examineé had a tail in the fourth phase.
Standing between Killua and Kurapika, Harry heard the blonde-haired teenager talking to Leorio. "I didn't think it was worth pointing out." Kurapika commented, clearly aware of his observer presence in the previous phase.
Harry hummed in agreement, but hearing Leorio agree with Kurapika's opinion made Harry blink his eyes. He looked to the side to see Leorio's weird expression, and his eyes narrowed mischievously.
He couldn't help but tease the older teenager.
"My, my, you need to hone your expression skills, Leorio~" Harry whispered with a low chuckle.
"W-what are you talking about?" a bead of sweat rolled down Leorio's forehead.
Eyes wide in realization, Kurapika shot Leorio a deadpan look. "You didn't realize that, did you?"
The older teenager didn't dare look Kurapika in the eye and could only pretend not to hear the blonde boy.
Harry snickered out loud.
As the match commenced, the tension began to set in.
Gon started the first move to put some distance between himself and Hanzo. Still, the older teenager could keep up with Gon's pace effortlessly.
Shinobi are, for sure, trained in speed, reflexes, stealth, espionage and many others. But Harry had no idea how the shadow mercenaries were in this world.
Harry was sure that the structure in this world was very different from his original world.
Their language is definitely Japanese, but the written language is different on the whole scale. This world has many undiscovered places, species and many other things.
Truly full of wonder.
Therefore, Harry decided he should visit Hanzo's home country in the future, with it being familiar and all.
As Harry refocused his attention back on the fight, he saw Hanzo use a pressure point on the back of Gon's head to block the blood flow to his brain.
Gon would have lost consciousness if he had been ordinary after a few seconds. But Harry had a very high opinion of the boy.
Not only does he have high resilience, but he has also been chosen by Fate.
'The most outstanding thing about children who are blessed by Fate is their will.' Harry pondered to himself, wondering how long this fight would last.
Killua tsk-ed beside him, his eyebrow furrowed.
Then Hanzo dragged Gon's body to stay awake by sitting him down and pressing the boy's pressure point on the back with his knee.
"Hmph,"
A small chuckle out of Harry's mouth caught Kurapika's attention. The blonde teenager tilted his head, questioning him with his eyes.
"He wants to try to make Gon see the 'reason' why he should give up, and that would be his biggest mistake." he elaborated.
Kurapika nodded.
He remembered what the boy would have done in the cave if Harry had not stepped in at that moment, "Yeah, he's anything but spineless."
"Well, from here on out, it will be a battle of wills." Harry folded his arms across his chest as he watched Hanzo use light torture and psychological warfare against Gon.
He wondered if Leorio, Kurapika and Killua could control themselves to remain calm if they saw their friend being tortured by Hanzo.
Maybe Killua could, but Harry wasn't sure about the other two.
Seeing Leorio and Kurapika somewhat worked up, Harry sighed, 'This is only the beginning.'
Three hours later...
"It's been three hours." the teenager with a pink turban who used a bow averted his eyes.
An examineé number #191, who stands beside the pink-haired clown, commented, "He's stop coughing blood for now."
Harry's eyes glanced at Hisoka for a second and found the Jester's slightly displeased expression at the situation before him.
'Maybe he's not happy because he's not the one in Hanzo's position right now.' But Harry removed that thought from his mind, 'Hisoka does enjoy fighting, but he's not the type to hurt other people for no reason.
Even if he did that to Gon, he must have done it with the intention of making him grow.' Harry nodded slightly at the thought.
He, as the Master of Death, after all, had a good instinct.
Seeing the expressions of the people around him, Harry furrowed his brows. 'It's not only Hisoka who is bothered by the course of this fight.' Harry hummed, 'Looks like this situation is going to get worse quickly.'
And the thought of the teenager with killing-curse green eyes was proven right.
Leorio couldn't keep quiet anymore. He challenges Hanzo to allow him to take Gon's place. Even the security guards turned to Leorio, preventing him from doing more.
Harry smiled slightly at the tall teenager, 'What a kind person. He can't bear the sight of his friend in pain.' he thought, 'Truly, he would be a good doctor.'
Harry closed his eyes for a few seconds. The memory of a young man in his mid-twenties flashed through his mind.
He was a handsome young man who wore a black shirt and pants under a long white lab coat and had black hair and maroon eyes behind his thick glasses. The man had a well-proportioned body. He stood casually, looking at him with his seductive smile.
'This is the second time he appeared in my mind when I think about Leorio and his dreams to be a doctor.' Harry thought. 'It no use to think abut it for now.' Shaking his head, Harry pushed the memory aside for another time.
Harry's attention returned to Gon's fight.
The short-haired boy lay with his blood splattered on the floor. He tried to stand on his two feet while reassuring Leorio that he was okay and he could still face Hanzo. But, it makes Gon's opponent take more drastic measures instead.
Hanzo is now aiming for Gon's arm. However, even with the threat of breaking his arm, the boy still refused to comply.
SNAP
There was no screaming.
Only a tiny whimper of pain could be heard as the tension had thickened.
Leorio gritted his teeth.
His body trembled in anger, his hands clenched into fists, "Don't try to stop me, Kurapika." his voice was thick with emotion, "Gon won't be happy, but I can't hold myself back any longer."
"Stop you? Do you think I would do that?" Kurapika asked back with the same tension in his voice. The blond teenager's eyes began to turn scarlet, "Don't worry. I'm not going to do that!" he stated.
Harry shook his head. Even if he said something at the moment, they wouldn't listen. The fire of anger in their hearts is still burning, dominating their rationalism.
'Or maybe, it's because of my lack of empathy that makes me less worried about Gon.' Harry snorted, 'Whatever, I'll stop them later if they try to do anything.'
For now, he would step back and see.
.
"Gon... I swear..." Harry hugged himself. His body trembled, his ribs prickled from the stinging hex he had cast on himself. He knew it wasn't appropriate to laugh, but Gon's stunt made his day. 'That kid kicked Hanzo while he was monologuing.'
Harry cackled. "That was brilliant!"
"Damn it." Gon cursed in a tone laced with annoyance. "All this pain and your babbling have cleared the cobwebs out of my head," he complained.
"All right!" Leorio punched his hand in the air and pumped. "Kick his ass out of here!" His face was grinning like a gangster in glee. He shouted inappropriate words of encouragement to Gon while Kurapika's mouth fell open, dumbfounded.
"Yeah, his voice is annoying, isn't it?" Harry grinned, his gaze accidentally meeting Hisoka's, and the pink-haired Jester smirked back at him.
"You said you are eighteen years old, which means you are only six years older than me." Gon said, his right hand holding his broken one, "Not to mention, this tournament is not about who's the stronger. It's about whether you can make your opponent surrender."
Hanzo flipped back to his standing position, "I let you kick me." he said with a straight face.
'Shame, his words would be a little more believable if there wasn't blood flowing from his nostrils.' Harry grinned, satisfied with Gon's handiwork, while Leorio booed, calling him a liar.
The monologue continues. Hanzo used a dagger-like weapon between his hands, and the gauze wrapped around his hands. With the weapon, he told Gon that he would begin to target other parts of Gon's body if the kid still refused to surrender.
It started with his legs.
With a determined glint in his eyes, Gon stood, facing him purely with stubbornness.
"I don't think so!" He shouts out loud, like a petulant child he is.
He couldn't contain his laughter anymore.
"Ahahahahaha!" Clutching his stomach, Harry's laughter got louder and louder when he saw all the people frozen, eyes widened, mouths hanging open ridiculously, even Hisoka, "That was priceless!"
"I don't want you to cut my legs off. But I don't want to give up, either. So let's fight another way."
It made Hanzo's mouth twitch, and he lost his composure instantly. "What!? Don't you understand the position you're in!?" Smoke came out of Hanzo's head, his face reddened.
Nudging the silver-haired boy next to him, Harry pointed at Leorio with his chin when he caught Killua's attention, "Look at that face." He whispered.
Killua's eyes that followed Harry's gaze widened. Subconsciously, he chuckled at it before he was taken aback.
He's confused by his reaction.
Eyes full of mirth, Harry watches Hanzo and Gon's interaction like a tennis match.
"Gon is all right now." Harry smiled when he heard Kurapika's voice, "He's dictating the pace now."
"He is so damn stubborn." Leorio throws a comment in.
"That's Gon for you." He agreed and smiled secretly in understanding at the confused Killua.
Hanzo began to threaten Gon again, going as far as trying to pierce his forehead with the tip of his blade. His pupils shake for a second, resolve wavering in front of Gon's pure gaze.
"I want to see my dad." Hanzo was taken aback by Gon's reasoning. "My dad is a Hunter. So, I want to be a Hunter just like him and go to see him after this." A trail of blood dripping from his chin, "I believe I will meet him again someday. But if I give up now I don't think I'll ever see him again."
"So, I won't back down."
Harry focused on Gon's tone, his heart beating loudly in his ears. His eyes narrowed, and a prickling sense of familiarity surrounded his heart. 'Do I know him personally?' Harry furrowed his eyebrow.
In the end, Hanzo surrendered. But Gon remains stubborn and refuses to accept the victory while demanding another way to fight.
Because of that, the resident Shinobi was annoyed and decided to punch him to oblivion.
After Chairman Netero confirms that Gon has passed whatever the child says and does in the future, it will not change the outcome that has been set.
When Hanzo returns from the arena, Killua asks why he let Gon win. Hanzo then explained that with all the torture he was subjected to, the boy didn't hold it against him. And that made him a winner in Hanzo's eyes.
The preliminary round continues.
The second match would be from the team on the right, Kurapika, against Hisoka.
Harry leaned against the wall, watching the fight between the blonde teenager and the red-haired Jester. Judging from his abilities, the current Kurapika was no match for Hisoka. But in Harry's eyes, it looked like Hisoka was accompanying Kurapika to play.
But after a few minutes, Hisoka whispered something in the blonde's ear before withdrawing, leaving a stunned Kurapika in the arena.
Harry tilted his head.
His eyebrow rose as he looked at Hisoka, who had returned to his original position.
The clown winked at him.
Harry snorted. He headed for the arena when his name was called.
Harry's standing with a relaxed stance. He's silently pondering how to deal with Hanzo, not knowing that the bald guy's seething internally because he feels the green-eyed teenager is looking down on him.
Grinding his teeth with silent fury, Hanzo decided to begin his assault whether the teen was ready or not. Ignoring the incoming attack, Harry's body moves with the flow, easily avoiding Hanzo.
'Should I end this quickly? Or maybe play with him a little?' Harry hummed, his eyes observing Hanzo.
He knew that Hanzo was growing impatient and irritated. An open battle is not Shinobi's speciality, but that doesn't mean they'll be disadvantaged. 'But, teasing Hanzo is so much fun.' He smirked.
The audience watches with anticipation.
But Harry noticed some people were bored out of their minds, thinking that Harry was wasting their time, except for the red-haired Jester, who smirked when their eyes met and mouthed, 'Don't.Play.with.your.food.Harry.'
Harry rolled his eyes but silently cast an imperious curse on Hanzo, who immediately stopped on his track and commanded that guy to surrender.
"I surrender." He said to the referee with an empty gaze.
All of the people who watch the match was shocked. Harry walks out of the arena as the referee announces the winner, and once he is back at his spot, Harry lifts the curse.
The light in Hanzo's eyes went back as he glanced around, confused.
Harry raised his hand in a mock salute when Hanzo's gaze was on him. Harry's grinning and said, "I'm not sorry, Hanzo!"
Hanzo pointed at himself and looked at the referee in question. And when he got the confirmation, he bolted in front of Harry and said confidently, "I'll win in the next round!".
Harry chuckled, "Alright, I believe you."
.
After the fifth phase of the Hunter exam ended...
Harry was sitting with the other trainees who passed the exam, listening to a brief orientation on their profession as Hunters.
He yawned with droopy eyes, holding back his sleepiness. But inside, Harry recalled his conversation with Death a few hours ago before one of the examinees died.
Death appeared suddenly, hovering beside Harry with his robes fluttering gently.
Death's arrival without being summoned by him had only two reasons.
Namely, he was trying to annoy Harry,
Or someone would die in his presence.
Harry glanced at Death briefly before ignoring him and returning to the two examinees facing each other in the arena.
Given that Illumi Zoldyck was hiding his true identity, it was likely that there would be trouble when the two of them had a confrontation.
Harry's seeing that Illumi's true nature seemed more or less the same as Hisoka's made Harry a little worried about the silver-haired boy.
[Master, try not to interfere too much.]
'Why?'
Death hummed. [ It would be better to let what was supposed to happen happen.] With a mocking tone, Death continued, [That had nothing to do with Hadrian Black after all.]
Harry fell silent.
'Is Fate getting cranky?' guessed Harry.
Death shrugged. [ You know how she is, Master. ]
Closing his eyes, Harry couldn't help but frown. It's not recommended to irritate Fate if you don't want to be repaid often.
And Harry learned that lesson from experience.
Fate did support Harry from the very beginning. He was born as Harry James Potter in his previous life. But that doesn't always put him constantly on the advantageous side when dealing with Fate.
Especially when he started wearing the mantle as the Master of Death.
Immortality do wonders for one's sense of morality, even if they are deities.
So, no matter how reckless Harry is when Death reminds him, he would always think about the pros and cons if he wanted to do the opposite of what Death's said.
Unless They give him full authority to do what he wants to do.
[This is your first vacation, Master, so being a little more careful doesn't hurt.]
Harry understood that.
He wouldn't interfere much unless something very urgent and dangerous happened. After all, he also had to search for the missing fragments of Hadrian Black's memory.
Harry watched Killua's expression as Gittarackur removed all the needles stuck in his head and turned into a face he had known his whole life.
Killua's eyes widened in fright, his head full of sweat as his eldest brother in front of him.
"Aniki..." Killua whispered with trembling eyes.
"I heard you cut Kaa-san and Milluki." Illumi started the conversation.
"I guess," he replied, expression back to normal, but Harry could still see that Killua was nervous.
Illumi tilted his head, "Kaa-san was crying."
With narrowed eyes, Leorio said, "Anyone would cry if their son did that to them."
But Harry thinks that doesn't seem to be the case.
His intuition proved correct when Illumi said that his mother's cries were tears of joy, causing Leorio to fall backward upon hearing it.
Shaking his head, Harry mumbled, "The Zoldyck family truly is unusual."
"She was so happy to see you'd grown up. But she was worried about you leaving home, so she asked me to check up on you." Illumi explained,
"What a coincidence," Harry snorted at Illumi's choise of words, as he felt there was no such thing as coincidence in the Illumi's dictionary, "I didn't know you wanted to be a Hunter. I'm also trying to get a license for my next job."
" I don't really want to be a Hunter." Killua looked up to him, "I just felt like taking the exam."
" I see… That's a relief." Illumi said, "Then, I have some advice for you. You're not cut to be Hunter. You were born to be a killer."
Killua's taken aback.
Harry could see the dread in the kid's expression that his brother gave him tremendous fear. He can't help but frown at the situation.
Even when Illumi keeps on talking nonsense, Harry can't bother to listen to him. He looks at Killua's trembling eyes. The words that Illumi spouted out had a profound impact on the boy's mental health. And seeing Illumi's nen, he's sure that brainwashing is not the only one in play here.
But before Harry starts musing again, he hears Killua's words.
"I want to become friends with Gon…"
" I'm sick of killing people…"
"I want to become friends with Gon, and to live a normal life…"
Thump
Thump
Thump
Harry unconsciously touches his left chest, where his heart beating anxiously.
Oh boy.
He definitely will beat the shit out of Illumi later.