"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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