Flimsy illusions.
What a successful magician needs is drama, playing with truth and falsehood in the palm of their hand.
Making it so that people can never guess what he is thinking or what he will do in the next second.
Even if his wrist is broken, he cannot let people see the true thoughts behind the scenes. Perhaps this is the basic operation a qualified magician should possess.
Of course...
"Hiss..." Hisoka let out a muffled groan. The smile on his face disappeared, and even his love for Illumi diminished by a fraction.
"Oh ho ho ho... So much force. Are you impatient to be eaten by me? Illumi."
Hisoka glared at Illumi, watching him roughly reset his wrist with acupuncture needles. His face twitched as he considered how to deal with him.
"Oh. This is the punishment for your loss." Illumi pulled out the last needle and said expressionlessly, "How is it?"
"Didn't we agree that you would take care of him for me?"
"No can do. The target is a bit thorny." Hisoka narrowed his eyes, glancing at Sean with a rare solemnity. "If nothing else, your big brother's strength is at least at the triple limit-break level!"
"It's not just strength," Illumi said faintly. "Let me tell you something. Nine years ago, my father had achieved triple limit-break in 'Power', 'Speed', and 'Qi'. In the end, he still lost to that bastard."
"So..." Illumi turned his head to look at Hisoka expressionlessly. "Although I really don't want to admit it, but..."
"If you don't want to die, you'd best not provoke him!"
Die?
"Oh ho ho... Don't you think that's simply wonderful?"
Hisoka smiled that perverted smile that stretched to the roots of his ears. Covered by the shadows, it appeared particularly infiltrating and terrifying.
It made people shudder even from dozens of meters away.
"Uncle, that person seems to be still looking at us," Gon whispered to Sean, noticing the gazes cast by Hisoka and Illumi.
Pokkle, who had just finished taking a photo with Sean, also noticed Hisoka and Illumi, who was disguised as Gittarackur. He spoke with a serious expression, "You guys were the last batch to arrive, so you don't know the situation yet."
"That guy Tonpa was right. You must stay away from Hisoka and that weirdo with needles all over his face."
"Also... besides the two of them, there are many experts here who need to be guarded against!"
Indeed, no one who could enter this venue was a half-baked amateur. They were far beyond what those rookies on the 'Sea God' could compare to.
Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio all pricked up their ears, listening to the senior Pokkle disseminate information on some experts.
For example: Number 103, that 'Indian guy' wearing an Arabian hat and chieftain outfit, holding a pipe and specializing in playing with snakes.
Numbers 197, 198, and 199, the triplets wearing hats of different colors.
Number 246, the weirdo with blue hair and blue eyes, wearing a bulging yellow hat that seemed to have many bugs buzzing inside.
And... the bald guy who tells everyone he meets that he is a ninja and that he wants to become a Hunter to find the Phantom Scroll.
As well as Number 53, Number 225, Number 384...
There were simply too many experts. It made the listeners dizzy.
Until finally, when he finished speaking, Pokkle was parched. Suddenly, he heard Gon staring at him with those innocent eyes and saying:
"Also, hey. You forgot Uncle!" Gon said seriously, "You talked about so many people, but none of them are as amazing as Uncle!"
Uh... Pokkle was stunned. Meeting the serious gazes of Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio, he quietly glanced at Sean, smiled, and did not speak.
Teacher Ben An... I, Pokkle, admit his manga drawing is amazing; he is my idol!
But speaking of strength... I haven't heard of him displaying any 'mighty power' or possessing any 'glorious battle records'.
As for the handshake with Hisoka just now, that was just the other party not being serious. Otherwise, the result would be hard to say.
"Ding ling ling..." Just then, a piercing bell rang out in the venue.
A metal panel opened in the ceiling of the tunnel, and a person floated down from above.
He wore a suit and tie, leather shoes, had grandmother-gray hair, and a mustache that successfully covered his mouth. He carried a peculiar-looking bird in his hand.
The bell sound came precisely from the mouth of the strange bird; it was quite magical.
"The registration time... ends here!"
"The Hunter Exam officially begins now!"
The examiner for this round, Satotz, officially appeared and solemnly announced the commencement of the 287th Hunter Exam.
Gulp.
"It's finally starting."
"Not good, I'm starting to get nervous."
Gon, Kurapika, Leorio, and the numerous candidates all began to feel more or less nervous.
Only a few people, such as Hisoka, Illumi, and the examiner Satotz, showed no signs of nervousness.
Standing in the crowd, Sean waved his hand to sign the last autograph and followed the flow, glancing faintly at Satotz.
Deep in his right eye, a six-pointed star flashed away. He instantly figured out Satotz's depths.
'Double limit-break in Power and Qi, and Speed actually has a triple limit-break. No wonder he became the examiner for this first round.'
In the original work, the first round, the Mists of Romance tunnel run, mainly tested the candidates' 'Speed' and 'Endurance'. Satotz's triple limit-break speed was completely sufficient, perhaps even a bit of overkill.
'Hmm?' Walking in front but keeping his mind on the rear, the gentlemanly dressed Satotz inexplicably shuddered. Looking back, he met Sean's calm gaze, and his eyes couldn't help but narrow.
'He must be the Sean Zoldyck the Chairman mentioned.'
'What a sharp gaze!'
'Interesting. I'm afraid this exam won't be so calm.'
Calmly retracting his gaze, Satotz took the opportunity to glance at Hisoka and Gittarackur nearby.
He steadied his mind.
Turning around, he walked toward the depths of the tunnel.
As he walked, he didn't forget to remind the candidates expressionlessly:
"Before the exam begins, I must confirm one thing..."
"The Hunter Exam is not playing house. The content of the assessment is extremely difficult."
"As long as you lack a little luck and courage, you might get injured or even die."
So... "If you still want to participate, please follow me."
"Those who do not want to participate, the elevator is behind you. You may exit on your own."
Exit? What kind of joke is that...
Having finally made it here, who hadn't gone through untold hardships?
The storm on the 'Sea God'... the bizarre questions at the quiz town... the difficulties from the Kiriko family...
Although the stages each candidate experienced were not entirely the same, thinking back, it was still hair-raising.
But to be told to go back now, wouldn't all the previous grievances have been suffered in vain?
Tap tap... tap.
Dense footsteps gradually rang out. Everyone followed; not a single person exited.
Satotz seemed to have expected this and thought to himself, 'A total of 405 candidates?'
Excluding a certain unlucky guy whose arms were sliced off by Hisoka.
'I hope a few good seedlings emerge from this batch...'
Satotz swung his arms, moving forward like a robot with stiff limbs. He walked at the very front of the team and disappeared into the depths of the tunnel in the blink of an eye.
Seeing this, Gon moved his legs, shouldered his fishing rod, and looked excitedly at Sean. "Uncle, let's go too."
Beside him, Kurapika and Leorio were eager to try, also looking at him.
Unknown to them, Sean had already become the backbone of this four-person team.
Fate was somewhat wonderful.
But... walk there? When there's a horse to ride, wouldn't walking be foolish?
Sean reached out and summoned Yatagarasu, leaping onto its back.
Screech! Yatagarasu spread its broad wings, whipping up gusts of gale-force wind as it flew after Satotz. It cast large shadows along the way, making the candidates envious to death!
"Yatagarasu! Damn it, you can play like this?!" Pokkle was relatively close to Sean and took a face full of wild wind, falling to the ground!
He stared wide-eyed as Sean took off. He was dumbfounded.
So... "I told you earlier, Uncle is very amazing!" Gon carried his fishing rod, stepped over Pokkle, and shouted at the top of his lungs toward Sean, "Uncle, wait for me... I haven't got on the bus yet!"
Whoosh. Yatagarasu passed through like a sharp arrow, flicked its tail, and drilled out of sight.
"This idiot!"
"Does he really think of Teacher Ben An as a free ride?"
Leorio punched Gon on the head. "Please wake up! Everyone now is a competitor!"
"We can only rely on ourselves!"
"Ah?" Gon covered his head and gave Leorio a resentful look. "But why can Uncle's brother catch a ride?"
Brother? Which brother? Suddenly thinking of that white-haired kid, Leorio and Kurapika looked at each other and followed the direction of Gon's finger.
Swish. Killua, with both hands in his pockets, skateboarded rapidly through the middle of the three, chasing after Sean. As he got close, he stepped down with one foot, held the skateboard, utilized his family's 'Shadow Step', and leaped toward Yatagarasu. "Big Brother, give me a ride."
However—
"No."
Sean didn't even look at Killua.
Yatagarasu swept its tail. With a PA, like swatting a fly, it slapped him directly into the ground!
Gon, Kurapika, Leorio: "..."
They instantly turned into dot-eyes. No one mentioned hitching a ride anymore.
"Oh ho ho ho... That really is ruthless." Noticing this scene as well, Hisoka chuckled and glanced sideways at Illumi.
Crack.
A crisp sound. Gittarackur, who was running forward with the crowd, suddenly stopped and dug out a rotten tooth that had been crushed by sheer force from his mouth.
"What's wrong?" Hisoka stopped as well.
Illumi stared gloomily at Sean riding Yatagarasu after he had slapped Killua into the ground. He couldn't control his killing intent and reached out to touch a few acupuncture needles!
'He is mine... mine... You actually dared to hit him. Who told you to do that?'
"Hisoka, do you know? I really want to kill someone right now... really."
"Oh ho ho ho... If the person you want to kill refers to Sean... The words you said to me just now... I return them to you now. Don't go seeking your own death!"
Hisoka unhesitatingly unleashed his killing intent. "Also, a warning to you: that is my prey. Mine!"
Whoosh. It was as if a cold wind blew through the surroundings, making people shiver.
"What are those two lunatics doing now!" Passing candidates avoided them like the plague, hiding far away.
Before long, only Illumi and Hisoka were left deadlocked in place.
After a long while, the stoic-faced smelly younger brother finally seemed to calm down. He took a deep breath and said, "Understood."
He flashed away, chasing after the main group ahead.
Hisoka watched him leave, then suddenly wrapped his arms around himself. "Ah... Subarashii... Why not just kill them both?"
"I really can't take it anymore..."
Driven by bloodlust, the magician hovered frantically between reason and loss of control, twisting his body into a bizarre posture as he chased after them.
"Mm... really quite a headache." Keeping his mind on the rear, Satotz spared a sliver of peripheral vision to glance at Killua, Illumi, and Hisoka, finally fixing on Sean who had blinked into position above his head.
The young man rode Yatagarasu, looking unhurried. Let alone those red-eyed candidates, even he, Satotz, was incredibly envious!
The gentlemanly dressed examiner smoothed his sexy mustache and glanced at the top of the passage.
Faint electronic arcs flickered. The micro-cameras hidden above the tunnel captured the images and uploaded them to the Chairman's office in real-time.
Netero took the tea brewed by Beans, took a sip, and chuckled ho ho. His mood, which had been ruined by a certain old geezer, improved slightly.
"Ho ho ho... It's so exciting right from the start. It wasn't in vain for this old man to wait."
"Chairman, do you think we should send someone to move him out?" Beans glanced carefully at Maha, who was sound asleep on Netero's sofa. The other party's snoring was like thunder, making his head swell. He whispered into Netero's ear.
Unexpectedly, Maha suddenly turned over.
It scared Beans into a jump!
"Heh. What are you afraid of? You have the guts to say it but not the guts to do it?" The old man opened his eyes and looked sideways at Netero. "Kid, speaking ill of a guest right in front of them, no wonder your Hunter Association hasn't recruited a decent talent in three years."
Beans broke out in a cold sweat instantly.
"Hmph. Do you count as a guest?" Netero patted Beans on the shoulder, signaling him not to be nervous, and curled his lips. "Coming uninvited makes you at most an evil guest."
"Wipe that ancient eye booger off your eyes and look. Your grandson is being bullied."
'Bullshit.' Maha didn't even blink. He stretched his feet onto the armrest of the sofa and said disdainfully, "Depending on these crooked melons and split dates? To bully my grandson, tell them to go back to their mother's womb and train for another hundred years."
'Old thing...'
"Is that kid Killua not your grandson?"
Netero had a sneer at the corner of his mouth. "Flesh and blood harming each other. It seems your Zoldyck family isn't any better than my Hunter Association."
"What Killua? I don't know him." Maha yawned. "I only have one grandson, Sean."
"Mm... just him alone."
Black lines appeared on Netero's forehead, and his nose was almost crooked from anger. He had finally seen what a scoundrel was.
Not even acknowledging his own grandson. One could only say, worthy of the Zoldyck family; cold-blooded enough.
"True." Netero slapped his forehead. "Look at me, I'm old and confused. Killua is clearly my grandson; I almost forgot."
"I'll change the kid's surname right away. He'll be called Killua Isaac."
'Nonsense.' Maha glanced sideways at Netero. "Show me the evidence!"
"Appearance is the evidence," Netero said self-righteously. "He has white hair, this old man also has white hair..."
"Yours is old miscellaneous hair..."
"You're even bald..."
"What? You want to practice?"
"Practice then practice. Come on. Don't you just want to see this old man and that kid Sean fight?"
"Do you really take this old man for an idiot?"
The two old men rolled up their sleeves face to face.
Seeing this, Beans, with courage from who knows where, shouted loudly: "Stop it!"
Screech. The office was immediately pressed with the 'mute' button, falling into a strange silence.
Netero and Maha stopped simultaneously and looked at Beans. Beans' legs went soft, and he performed a dogeza directly on the floor. "Sumimasen."
Seeing this, Netero and Maha looked at each other and laughed loudly.
The two old children, whose combined age was several hundred years, had finally satisfied their craving for banter and each held a cup of tea to drink.
"Sigh, that kid Killua is not bad, but compared to Sean, he's still too far behind..." Netero glanced at the screen. The white-haired smelly younger brother had pulled his head out of the ground, looking a bit dazed.
"Hmph! Children and grandchildren have their own blessings." Maha slammed the teacup onto the coffee table. His gaze locked onto Sean, watching the young man riding Yatagarasu, high-spirited and maneuvering vertically and horizontally. He said faintly, "You have to do your best, brat..."
"I'm waiting for you to make a move, and then..."
"Be defeated by my grandson!"
???! Excuse me?
A mouthful of tea got stuck in his throat and wouldn't go down. Netero glared at Maha unconvinced. "Watch out you don't flash your tongue talking big, old man!"
"You want this old man to lose? You might agree... but the world won't agree!"