"Hahaha! It's actually Brother Li ke! It's me, me, me, Hanzo!! Hahaha! This is such good luck!!"
The bald-headed Hanzo called out excitedly, his long eyelashes fluttering.
Saitama-sensei, stop pretending.
Everyone knows it's you.
Lik mentally retorted, but his face still carried a smile as he said, "Hanzo, is it? A pleasure."
"Li... Like-sama!!"
A soft voice came from the corner.
It was the green-haired Ponzu, who instinctively rushed over and grabbed Li ke's hand tightly, trembling all over.
For her, it was like a little lamb sneaking into a pride of lions.
She didn't expect to run into the "Big Three" here.
What a headache.
If it were just Hisoka, Li ke might have the urge to crush him right here.
Hisoka's tags were quite good, after all.
But the spiky-haired Illumi was secretly allied with Hisoka, making it uncertain if Li ke could ensure victory in this setting.
Hanzo might be courteous, but it wasn't guaranteed he'd help.
Pons?
Sorry, this NPC is most likely a proverbial punching bag.
"Oh, so it's Miss Pons. A pleasure."
Li ke glanced at Pons, smiling.
Now he had absolute confidence in his ability to protect himself.
His aura nodes were already open!
Though his nen wasn't very strong yet, his tags were simply overpowered.
Moreover, he had the Scarlet Eyes bloodline.
Remember, when Kurapika awakened his Scarlet Eyes and abilities, he could single-handedly defeat Uvogin, the strongest offensive fighter of the Phantom Troupe—and it wasn't even close.
Li ke also had the Scarlet Eyes, so if he activated them, smacking down a little Hisoka shouldn't be a problem, right?
Of course.
The Scarlet Eyes were a trump card, not to be used unless absolutely necessary.
When traveling, the more cards up your sleeve, the better.
"Brother Li ke, take this. With it, we'll have a complete group and can start the exam!!"
Hanzo enthusiastically handed over a wristband.
It was the band used for the X/O voting process, complete with a timer.
"Now that everyone's here, we can go."
Hisoka suddenly spoke, licking his lips as he looked toward Li ke, his smile carrying a hint of wicked charm.
But before Li ke could lose it and beat him to death, Hisoka wisely held back and was the first to walk through the door ahead.
Illumi followed immediately, then Hanzo, who seemed to notice some tension between Li ke and Hisoka.
Pons, trembling all over, stayed close behind Li ke.
Being behind Li ke was the only place where she felt even a sliver of safety.
At least Li ke seemed much more normal compared to the other three.
"Oh? A choice between left and right."
Hisoka suddenly stopped and looked at everyone with a mischievous smile.
"Why don't we each decide randomly? Whatever the result, that's where we'll go. I'll count to three, and we all press at the same time."
The playful Hanzo chimed in excitedly.
"1…"
"2…"
"3!"
4:1.
Ponzu was the only one who chose right; the other four, including Li ke, chose left.
The moment the results appeared, the little girl turned pale as if she had done something terribly wrong.
Then came several more gate choices.
The results were mostly 3:2 or 4:1.
What surprised everyone was Pons' uncanny luck.
Every time, her choices put her in opposition to the group.
When both Hisoka and Illumi turned their heads mechanically to glance at her, Ponzu nearly wet herself from fear!
"Oh? The challenge has begun!!"
Hanzo shouted excitedly as the massive door in front of them rumbled open, revealing a platform extending forward like an arena.
Beneath it was an abyss so deep that an ordinary person would definitely die from the fall.
But Li ke wouldn't.
After all, he was basically a young version of Spider-Man now.
Then, on the opposite end of the platform, five prisoners appeared, shackled and hooded.
They quickly stepped onto the platform, and the leader yanked off his hood.
A burly bald man with a head full of scars—not as shiny as Hanzo's—came into view.
He exuded a vicious, menacing aura.
Just by his appearance alone, he was a textbook villain.
"Oh?"
Li ke was momentarily taken aback. The other group's luck was truly abysmal.
They'd run into his "Dream Death Squad."
And by sheer coincidence, it was the same scar-headed guy who was supposed to encounter Gon and his team. Judging by the four behind him, they were likely the familiar Karami villains.
"We are trial examiners employed by the review committee. You must battle us five in a match!"
"The test will be in the form of one-on-one duels. Each of you can only fight once, and you can decide your lineup."
"In most cases, winning three matches will allow you to leave!"
The bald man shouted, his face brimming with confidence.
Li ke glanced at him.
Name: Heavy Crime Prisoner 1 (Minor characters don't deserve names)
Tags: [Brawny] (Blue), [Brutal] (Blue), [Lecherous] (Blue)
————————
Trash.
Before Lik could even speak—
Swish!
A playing card flew through the air.
Before the man could finish his sentence, the top half of his head was sliced clean off, exposing his brain.
He froze, feeling a sudden chill on his head.
Then, mid-sentence, he collapsed, spilling brain matter all over the ground.
"Urgh—urgh—"
Watching this, Pons vomited on the spot.
She felt like she had walked into a den of demons.
"This kind of time-wasting match is so boring. Who's next?"
Hisoka, holding two cards, smirked.
Killing such weaklings didn't excite him at all.
"He… he got one-shotted?! H-how did that guy do it? A monster!!"
The remaining four prisoners were visibly shaken.
"If we lose, we're dead! Don't forget, even if that clown is strong, he can only fight once. The rest of them look weak!"
"But we can't pick our opponents. The weakest is probably that girl."
"And that black-haired kid!"
"The bald guy looks weak, but the spiky-haired one might be tough."
…
The group whispered among themselves.
"Alright, I'll go next. But about the match rules…"
One of the prisoners, a skinny guy with a cocky grin, stepped forward.
He was the same one who had played the candle game with Gon.
But as soon as he set foot on the platform—
A flash of light streaked past.
Ponzu' skirt fluttered upward.
And then—
The hooded prisoner froze.
A kunai had pierced his forehead.
It was Hanzo!
"Haha! According to the rules, once he stepped onto the platform, the match began. Such weak opponents… At this rate, we'll just need to win the last round."
Hanzo pulled out the kunai, and the cocky prisoner's body fell into the abyss.