Illumi's clear black and white cat-like eyes were still like those of a dead person, dull and lifeless.
Knowing that this appearance couldn't hide anything from Sean's eyes, he said indifferently, "If you found out, you found out. If you want to go, just go. You don't need to worry about my feelings."
'Ah... right now there is only one person in my heart.' Illumi, disguised as Gittarackur, smiled as he looked at Killua. 'Compared to that big brother who is annoying just to mention, my white-haired little brother is obviously the cutest.'
"Eh?!"
"You have a younger brother?"
Hearing Sean's answer, Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio all turned into dot-eyed caricatures, severely shocked.
Sean looked at the three of them strangely. Was it necessary to be so shocked?
"What? Can't I have a brother?"
"Ahem... that's not it, it's just..." Leorio adjusted his sunglasses, scanned the venue, and took a deep breath. "Teacher Ben An, besides your brother, there seem to be quite a few of your fans here."
Rumble... The ground vibrated faintly. Gon and Kurapika followed Leorio's gaze.
A familiar commotion appeared within the crowd, simply a replica of what happened on the Sea God.
It hadn't been long since Sean appeared at the exam venue, and people were gradually recognizing him.
"Black hair... handsome face... three meters tall..."
"Holy crap... isn't this Teacher Ben An?"
"Hey... bro, slap me. Harder. I suspect I'm dreaming! How the hell did Teacher Ben An appear here? I must be seeing things!"
"Pfft... I told you to use force, not that much force! Are you trying to kill me?"
"You asked me to slap you..."
"Fine... fine. You're ruthless. My idol is here, so I won't haggle with you for now!"
"Your idol? That's my idol! Slapping you finally confirmed it for me. Wahahaha! I'm not dreaming. Teacher Ben An, it's me! We met at the 'Festival'!"
"Pfft... are you screwing with me right now?"
The sound of someone vomiting blood from depression could be faintly heard amidst the commotion.
But immediately, it was drowned out by the footsteps of dozens of people sprinting over.
"Well, here comes the work."
Gon, Kurapika, Leorio: "..."
They looked at each other with odd expressions. The scene was so familiar that it almost made the three of them think they had returned to the Sea God.
Tap, tap, tap. The manga fans swarmed in.
They hadn't expected to see Teacher Ben An at the Hunter Exam venue. Within seconds, Sean was surrounded by dozens of fans, three layers deep inside and three layers outside.
Even Killua, who had been close to Sean, was squeezed out.
"Oh ho ho ho... Ben An?" Hisoka witnessed Sean being surrounded by the crowd, and a sharp light suddenly flashed in his narrow, long eyes.
He tilted his head and glanced at Illumi. "How come I've never heard you mention this?"
Illumi said expressionlessly, "Do I have to tell you everything?"
"True..." Hisoka smiled playfully. "I can be sure now... you really hate him."
Illumi remained silent.
Swish. A gust of wind flew past his ear.
Immediately following it was a scream that exploded abruptly, attracting everyone's attention.
"Ah—my hand! My hand!"
A fan surrounding Sean asking for an autograph suddenly had his arm severed by a playing card.
He collapsed into a pool of blood, wailing.
Fresh blood sprayed from the severed limb, and a pair of clown shoes subsequently appeared before his eyes.
"Oh ho ho ho... what's wrong with your hand?"
Hisoka narrowed his eyes into crescents, smiling as he beckoned with his finger. The playing card spun in the air before being caught between his two fingers. Upon closer inspection, it was a Joker.
"It's him! Number 44, the Magician Hisoka!"
'This lunatic is at it again!'
In the crowd, a man who looked like a standard background character with a body shape extremely similar to Gian (Fatty) arched his butt and quietly backed away, putting distance between himself and Hisoka. He had participated in the exam no less than thirty times, and the one that left the deepest impression was the previous one.
It was this perverted magician in front of him who had cruelly injured more than twenty fellow candidates, and even included an examiner he disliked.
Because of that, he was disqualified, and this term was his retake.
"So," the great god Tonpa quietly sneaked up to Sean's side and lectured the group of 'rookies', "As newcomers, you'd better not get close to him."
But some people are simply bad... while others are not only bad, but they also pretend to be virtuous, screwing you over while making you grateful to them.
The eternal repeater—the great god who had gone through thirty-five exams and fought on despite repeated defeats—Tonpa, was a typical representative of this, a complete old slicker and a bad seed.
"Thanks for the reminder, however," Sean looked down at Tonpa from his great height, "Could you please stay away from me? You're blocking me from signing autographs for my dear fans!"
Tonpa: "..."
'Damn, the rookies this term... why are they all so fierce?'
Getting a cold shoulder after trying to be friendly... Tonpa's breath hitched for a moment, and he smiled awkwardly. "Sorry... sorry."
He turned around, sticking out his fat butt as he burrowed into the crowd, hiding far away from Sean.
"Uh... Uncle, I don't think he had any bad intentions," Gon watched Tonpa leave, then glanced at Hisoka. "But that guy feels very dangerous!"
"Yeah," Leorio noticed Hisoka gradually walking toward them, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and quietly leaned closer to Sean. "This guy's smile is too weird. He gives me a gloomy feeling. We must be careful."
"Number 44, the Magician Hisoka. I've heard rumors about him," Kurapika added with a grave expression. "He isn't just simple danger; he is also a hot contender at Heaven's Arena! He has the strength to challenge a Floor Master!"
What kind of concept was a Floor Master at Heaven's Arena? That was the watershed of 'Nen'. There wasn't a single one who was trash unable to use 'Nen'.
"Heh... heh... heh... Subarashii... To be known by so many people, this feeling is truly wonderful!"
Glancing at Kurapika, Hisoka licked his playing card. "Excuse me, let me through. I am also a loyal fan of Teacher Ben An."
Tap... tap... The clown shoes stepped on the ground, leaving a bloody footprint with each step. Wherever Hisoka passed, people retreated.
Soon, a hole was torn in the 'autograph session', allowing Hisoka to walk right up to Sean and stand still.
"Teacher Ben An, can I take a photo with you?" Hisoka raised his head to look at Sean. He was already quite tall, but compared to Sean's gigantic three-meter height, he still had to look up.
Sean smiled. "Of course. How do you want to take it?"
"Ma... ma... how about shaking hands and making a peace sign?" The magician grinned, extending his right hand toward Sean.
It was a hand with long, slender fingers, delicate yet powerful. The fingernails at the tips were sharp and glinted with cold light; they didn't look like nails, but rather like blades... just looking at them made one shudder.
Gulp. The sound of swallowing saliva rang out. The trio standing next to Sean felt their vision blur. Without knowing what was happening, they seemed to see lightning constantly colliding between Hisoka and Sean!
This caused the air pressure in the venue to drop lower and lower, nearly suffocating people.
"Uncle..." Gon tugged gently at Sean's sleeve.
The other party clearly had bad intentions... should they just forget it? Leorio loosened his tie and opened his mouth, wanting to say something.
But he was stopped by a hand Kurapika quietly extended, shaking his head gently at him.
The fan whose hand Hisoka had sliced off with a casual card throw was still wailing. Standing out at a time like this was not a wise move.
Drip. The air pressure was so low it condensed into a drop of water, falling to the ground.
Glancing at the right hand Hisoka extended, Sean smiled slightly. "I said just now, I will never refuse any of my fans."
"Since you are so sincere, as the author, I naturally won't let you down."
Smack. Sean grabbed Hisoka's hand. With an understated pull and tug, he brought Hisoka directly to his side and made a 'Peace' sign at the camera.
The poor magician was stunned. Before he could react, his body tilted, and he almost stumbled. Only then did he notice... Teacher Ben An's speed and strength were ridiculously strong!
"Tsk..." Hisoka pervertedly licked his lips, a look of enjoyment instantly appearing on his face. He knew this was a ripe red apple, but he didn't expect it to be this 'ripe'!
Giving him a surprise right off the bat. "This is truly getting me excited!"
gripping Sean's hand back, Hisoka suddenly applied force to squeeze.
Sean seemed unaware, maintaining a warm smile on his face. In reality, with a single glance, he saw through Hisoka's attributes completely—
"Sage, Appraisal."
[Yes!]
[Name: Hisoka.]
[Bone Age: 27.]
[Strength: 48,150. (Normal person 10) Note: Two-fold Limit Break]
[Speed: 55,140. (Normal person 10) Note: Two-fold Limit Break]
[Aura Volume: 58,170. (Normal person 10) Note: Two-fold Limit Break]
[Nen Proficiency Level: Two-fold Limit Break]
[Comprehensive Strength Evaluation: C]
Strong enough... but limited. Compared to Sean's strength, which had long since crossed the Three-fold Limit Break, his pitiful forty-thousand-plus strength really wasn't enough to look at.
The invisible 'wrestling match' continued. Hisoka followed Sean in making a 'Peace' sign towards the camera, the corners of his mouth pulling diagonally upward until they almost reached the roots of his ears!
"Ah... Subarashii... harder, harder... Oh... I can't take it..."
His palm began to deform. Pain struck.
Hisoka felt like he had discovered a new continent!
He began to tremble with excitement. On the hand gripping Sean, veins popped out like baring fangs and brandishing claws, maxing out his strength.
Unfortunately, he still gradually fell to a disadvantage. It felt like... Sean's hand was an immovable boulder. Let the wind blow and rain beat down; it remained as steady as a mountain, completely unfeeling.
Crack. A subtle crisp sound was heard.
The two separated their hands with tacit understanding, both nodding at each other with smiles.
Obviously, both parties were very satisfied.
"That was wonderful, Teacher Ben An. I will treasure this photo from today very much." Hisoka was trembling all over.
"No need to thank me. If you want, I don't mind taking another one with you." Sean glanced meaningfully at Hisoka's other hand.
Hisoka's left hand imperceptibly shrank back, and he laughed, "One is enough to satisfy me... Ja~na~"
He blew a kiss to Sean, just like a real fan, coming for a photo and leaving after the photo without taking a single cloud... pacing towards Illumi, who was disguised as Gittarackur.
Visibly, the tense atmosphere in the venue loosened, clearly becoming more relaxed.
Gon, Kurapika, Leorio, and the crowd of fans who truly cared about Sean let out heavy sighs of relief.
They surrounded Sean again in a circle.
"What the heck... I thought he was going to attack Teacher Ben An."
"After all that, he really just came for a photo."
Unaware of the situation, the audience whispered complaints.
Sean maintained a warm smile from beginning to end, offering no comment, but suddenly glanced at the corner of the wall.
In the Hunter Association office, the corners of two unscrupulous old men's mouths twitched. They thought to themselves, I knew we couldn't hide from that brat's thief eyes!
They started bickering.
"Oh ho ho... looks like there are quite a few idiots this term too."
"Hey, old man, give me some chips."
The TV hanging on the wall was playing the scene of Sean and Hisoka's first encounter.
Netero glanced sideways. A certain little old man from the Zoldyck family was currently in his office, eating his chips, lying on his sofa, watching his TV, and ordering around his Beans. The crow's feet at the corners of Netero's eyes deepened.
"Sigh... young people these days really have no manners. Fighting with an old man for chips, truly shameless."
Maha lay on Netero's sofa and poured all the chips directly into his mouth. Even though his mouth was bulging like a ball... he didn't leave a single chip for Netero. Finally, he threw the empty bag at him.
"Here... there are some crumbs left. Lick them and you can still taste the flavor."
I do not eat food handed out in contempt! Lick your damn lollipop!
Netero's face darkened as he glared at Maha. "Didn't you say you weren't coming?"
When we spoke on the phone, I recall someone being very arrogant... How come the Hunter Exam just started, and you couldn't wait to run over here?
"Sigh... how would you know the bitterness of an empty-nest elderly person?" Maha turned over comfortably, waving his hand to motion Beans to come over and massage his waist. He glanced at Sean on the screen, sighing continuously. First day my grandson is away, I miss him.
Empty nest? "Heh." Netero stroked his beard and laughed.
Is your family all dead? Are Zeno and Silva not your seed?
"Oh ho ho... if you miss your grandson, just say it. I can understand."
Understand my ass. You don't have a grandson. Maha urged Beans to use a bit more force, then glared at Netero. "Look at that. My grandson just arrived at your place and got bullied."
"This old man's heart aches."
"How about this, I'll name a figure. 10 billion..."
"I'll treat it as if the matter of you all bullying my grandson never happened!"
Netero: "..."
Beans: "..."
Son of a... Crazy for money.
Extorting the Hunter Association, how do you, Maha, even dare to think of that?
"Hmph hmph... very good. This old man has dim eyesight; I didn't expect it to be so serious."
Netero said faintly, "If your eyes are no good, you can consider scooping them out and selling them."
"...That grandson of yours snapped the guy's wrist. With this kind of thing, I don't need to say who bullied who."
"What snapped? I didn't see it." Maha curled his lip. "He insisted on bullying my grandson. My grandson is so honest; it's very normal that he accidentally used a little too much strength, right?"
On the TV, the scene shifted—
Back turned to Sean, Hisoka walked toward Illumi, his body trembling uncontrollably.
Going crazy... going crazy... I... really can't take it anymore...
"Illumi... your big brother is simply wonderful. He is much, much more delicious than you, oh..."
Hisoka clamped his legs together, mumbling neurotically. He finally made it to Illumi's side.
His left hand brushed lightly. In a place no one could see, a layer of film like thin paper fell off, revealing—
His drooping right hand!