Chapter 76: A Hyena Should Know Its Place
During the Hunter Exam, the people who recognized that Ross was something different and that there was more to come from him went well beyond Netero and the panel of examiners. Illumi, who had actual real contact with Ross during the 5v5 Majority Rules path, had seen it too.
Illumi was a control freak, no question. But Ross had never once directly interacted with Killua throughout the entire exam, and had made no move to intervene when Illumi was performing his elder-brother-as-patriarch routine. That gave Illumi a cleaner, more objective angle from which to read Ross.
As Killua's older brother, Illumi knew that chest-piercing strike better than anyone. Even with Killua running on pure assassin instinct in that state, the execution had been clean and precise. Someone hit like that should theoretically have had almost no chance of recovery.
But the fact remained: an injury of that severity vanished in under ten minutes, without a trace. As if that thing had personally intervened.
Illumi had noticed that Ross left and returned at the same time as Bodoro. He credited the miracle to Ross accordingly.
No evidence. Just instinct. But instinct was enough.
So when Netero dismissed everyone, Illumi first extracted himself from Gon, who had come back around for another attempt, and then went and found Ross on his own initiative. They exchanged phone numbers.
Without quite realizing it, Illumi had placed Ross in a position that roughly resembled how he regarded Hisoka.
Illumi was strictly professional and strictly money-driven. Right price, he would take the job. These three hyenas, whose ability ceilings were permanently capped and who had no future beyond being bottom-feeders, didn't qualify as real fighters by any standard. If Ross actually made the call, Illumi might even extend a friends-and-family rate. The whole thing would probably be done in the time it took to finish a cigarette.
Of course, Ross had no actual intention of spending that money. He was using it to put pressure on people who would kidnap kids to force opponents into deliberate losses. If they actually tried something underhanded, he would handle it himself.
He couldn't take on Hisoka or Illumi. But these people who only preyed on newcomers?
From one angle, Ross almost hoped they would try something. He was curious what gear would drop off a dead hyena.
Had the goal been achieved?
They were all staring at him like they had seen something impossible. They had been camped on the two-hundredth floor for over a year, had seen all kinds of fighters, had personally baptized a few Nen-ignorant youngsters along the way, but they had never once encountered anyone who put "step out of line and I'll have you killed" this nakedly on the table. Just the one person, ever.
They didn't know whether Ross really had a connection to the Zoldyck family. But the moment he said it, the initiative had left their hands.
"Let's go."
Ross signaled Kuwabara to put an arm around Yusuke, who was still piecing together what had just happened. Room keys and number plates for all four already in hand, Ross gave a casual wave. The four of them were gone, out of the three hyenas' line of sight, each of the three left standing there with their own distinct expression.
"Would they really go that far?"
Kuwabara asked, genuinely curious.
"Yeah. You and the group here have everything to look forward to and probably don't care much about Floor Master status. They don't have that. Barring some miracle, these three have basically hit the ceiling they'll ever hit. They can't beat the actual floor-two-hundred fighters, so all they can do is camp the elevator like hyenas and vultures, waiting for the next newcomer to step off.
"Their whole goal is to hunt newcomers until they scrape together enough wins for a Floor Master title, then use it to give lectures, run training seminars, maybe even found their own schools. For that goal, they'll do anything."
Ross paused, then tapped Kuwabara on the arm.
"Objectively: among the people here right now, your overall strength is the lowest and your guard is down the most. These hyenas might be bottom-feeders, but they've been camped here for over a year and they know how to handle people. If they actually make a move, you're the most likely first target. Kidnapping, probably, then using you to put pressure on the rest of us."
What Ross was actually doing was retelling what these three had done in the original story, and what they had in all probability already done to other newcomers before, and applying it to Kuwabara's situation.
A Kuwabara from fifteen days ago would have pushed back immediately at being called the weakest. But the Kuwabara standing here was in a different place: genuinely uncertain about his own future, and having spent floor-two-hundred fighter access privileges to pull up past public match recordings, he had seen enough to know his own gaps. He had to sit with it.
In the original timeline, Kuwabara had always filled the kidnapped-princess role.
"But you, and all of us, our biggest advantage is being young with everything still ahead."
Ross shifted tone when he saw Kuwabara go quiet.
"Ninety days, a good teacher, proper training. I won't say you'll crush them, but you'd at least be standing on the same starting line."
Ross, who understood the potential of everyone present better than any of them did, still kept his actual read reined in.
Though to be clear: he wasn't including Kurama in that statement.
A demon fox reincarnated in a human body was a different situation entirely. Calling it "training to get stronger" wasn't quite accurate. What Kurama was actually doing was building his human body and Nen to the point where they could receive the power he had carried in his demon fox form. Less like training and more like gradually removing the seal on a reserve that had been sitting there all along.
As for Yusuke, he was at least still human for now. The human framework would do for the time being.
There was also one thing Ross hadn't mentioned: the vast majority of newly licensed Hunters underwent Nen training within their first year, usually arranged by the Association. The Hunter assigned to teach had a certain degree of autonomy in how they went about it, making the whole arrangement a kind of implicit evaluation.
People like their group, who already had some grasp of Nen but lacked proper foundational training, fell into that category as well.
Ross himself didn't need to worry about it. He had the letter of introduction and just needed to show up. As for what path Yusuke and Kuwabara took from here, Ross didn't know, and he wasn't going to decide for them.
The floor-two-hundred rooms were, by any honest measure, presidential suites. The space, the interior, the furnishings: nothing comparable to the lower floors.
The television placed at the most prominent position in the room was lit up and displaying the schedule. February 5th. Tomorrow afternoon, 3 PM. Yusuke's floor-two-hundred debut. Opponent: Gido. The legless one.
"Yes!"
Yusuke made a tight fist, eyes burning.
"Storming through without dropping a single match, the fighter Yusuke steps onto the ring for his floor-two-hundred debut! His opponent Gido comes in with an impressive record of four wins and one loss!"
The commentator was running at full professional intensity.
As newcomers who had swept to the two-hundredth floor without a loss, the group had attracted attention. Still, Ross and the other two had used their floor-two-hundred fighter privileges to buy consecutive seats and settled in to watch Yusuke's first match together.
Yusuke stood on the left side of the ring: pompadour intact, yellow training top, blue training pants.
Gido stood on the right: grey full-body robe, no legs visible, supported by a strange single-limb prosthetic and a crutch.
"And now! The match..."
"Begins!"
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