As soon as Mr. Beans finishes explaining, Gon and Killua take off, eager to explore the ship. I decide to go with them, telling them I'll keep them out of trouble while Nicholas, Kurapika, and Leorio stay behind to rest. We wander around the ship, and after a while, we end up in the kitchen, scarfing down most of the food. Then one of the chefs pushes me aside and carries the kids out. We move on, and soon enough, Gon asks Killua a simple question.
"Where are your parents?" Gon asks.
"I think they're alive," Killua replies.
When Gon asks what their jobs are, I stand next to them, looking out the window, trying to enjoy the view. That's when I notice the old man coming out of the room behind us and to the left. He has a white ponytail, a thick curled white beard that's black at the bottom, long eyebrows, and stretched earlobes with 2 piercings in both ears. He's dressed in a blue and white kimono.
The old man must be looking for some amusement because he releases a burst of killing intent so sharp that Gon and Killua jump back in shock. I just stay where I am, unmoving. It doesn't feel malicious, and it's not aimed directly at me like Hisoka's was. I glance at the reflection in the window and see the old man. He's letting off controlled killing intent and then casually walks around the nearest corner extremely fast, pretending that the aura we felt wasn't coming from him at all.
He looks surprised when he realizes I'm staying calm. Then his gaze lands on me, and his surprise deepens. I can tell he's shocked because I look almost exactly like he did when he was younger. I've got short white hair, brown eyes, and a muscular but lean build. I'm a lot taller than him, though. He's 5-foot-3, while I'm a good 5-foot-11. Honestly, with my hair down to my shoulders like this, I almost look like older brother Tserriednich.
Gon and Killua are clearly confused and on guard now, trying to figure out who this strange old man is. But they know, deep down, he's the one who just let off that killing intent. They start firing questions at him "Who are you? Where did you come from? What are you doing here? Why did you do that? What do you want?" without giving him a chance to answer.
The old man shakes off his surprise and grins. "Oh, sorry, my name's Netero I was just lonely on this ship and wanted some playmates.," he says, rubbing the back of his head like nothing happened.
Killua doesn't seem impressed. "You're pretty fast for an old man."
"What? But I barely moved?" Netero replies, sounding genuinely confused to Gon when it was obvious to me and Killua that it was an act.
Killua tries to get Gon to leave with him, but the old man suddenly says, "But if you play with me and win, I'll skip the exams and let you become hunters right here and now."
Gon looks curious. "How is that possible?"
Killua interrupts, "It's not. The old man just wants us to play with him. It's a lie."
"It is possible, Killua. This man before you is the chairman of the Hunter Association, Isaac Netero. Isn't that right, gramps?"
Gon and Killua look at me, completely dumbfounded. Netero stares at me in shock. I kind of wonder whether it's because I know who he is, or because I just called him Gramps.
Both Gon and Killua agree to the challenge, so we head to a room on the ship to play. The room has a wood floor, padded walls, and a metal roof. If I had to guess, we're at the top of the blimp since the roof is metal but the floor is wood. Netero pulls out a yellow ball with a black stripe running through the middle.
He explains the rules: "If you get the ball from me in the next 9 hours, you win and pass the exams. But if you don't, you lose. I won't hit you, but you can attack me however you want."
Killua looking excited jumps at the chance to try first trying to beat Gon to winning I presume. Killua uses "Rhythm Echo" to disorient Netero before trying to land a few hits. Netero dodges every single one of them, looking like he's dancing around. Killua tries to break his pivot leg with a kick. Killua almost ends up breaking his own leg and shouts, "WHAT!! Are your legs made of steel or something?!"
Killua tags in Gon, who looks like he's excited and about to burst with energy. Gon rushes forward looking like he is simply going straight at the Gramps but when he jumps he puts far too much force forgetting the room has a ceiling probably and ends up jumping too high and slams his head into the metal ceiling. "OUCH!" he exclaims. Killua yells at him for being an idiot while Netero turns to me and asks if I want to try.
"As I didn't agree to play the game, I won't accept a hunter's license, even if I win," I say. "But I'll play, gramps."
I stand still and make it look like I'm stretching, but in my head, I'm picturing an image of the old pervert surrounded by over 30 nearly nude girls, with only smoke covering their most private areas. It feels perverted to picture it, but even still I focus on it, using my imagination to cast a genjutsu on him.
Right after my genjutsu starts I rush at full speed taking the ball and going to the other side of the room just before the old man explodes in aura.
It's impressive that the old man could figure out how to escape in less than half a second as even a strong top-tier Nen user like Hisoka took over 4 seconds to get out. I guess that's what thousands of battles and an expedition to the Dark Continent gets you.
Netero says that he wants a talk later, and I decide to leave. It's time to get some rest while Killua and Gon keep "having fun" getting beaten down before the next test even begins. We have at least 8 hours until we arrive at Trick Tower and I want a good sleep.