"Anyone who truly wants to become a Hunter would never be fooled by a Man-Faced Ape in disguise. The moment that guy's license was stolen, I knew he was the impostor," Kurapika concluded.
"I had no idea," Leorio and Hanzo, who were standing nearby, said awkwardly as they scratched their heads after hearing Kurapika's explanation.
Leorio did eventually realize it, but that was only thanks to Lu ou's reminder. Otherwise, he wouldn't have figured it out on his own.
"And that terrifying guy called Hisoka even took advantage of the situation to boldly attack the examiner," Kurapika said, finally understanding what Tonpa had meant earlier by "dangerous individuals." He really was dangerous.
Watching Hisoka—who looked perfectly calm—chatting with the needle-covered man, Lu ou let out a genuine sigh of relief. As expected of the "Apple Orchard Gardener."
At last, the commotion came to an end. But an even more difficult test was about to begin.
"How long are you going to keep staring?" Killua asked when he noticed Gon still looking at the green-clad man and the Man-Faced Ape lying on the ground.
"Mm," Gon replied absentmindedly. He kept staring at the corpses without saying anything. After all, this was the first time he had encountered death at such close range, and the impact was undeniable.
"There's nothing worth grieving about in an ending like this," Satotz said gently. "In a place like the wetlands, life-and-death gambles like these are commonplace."
Satotz actually liked Gon and the others quite a lot and believed they had great potential, so he rarely showed such kindness in offering guidance.
As if to prove Satotz's words, several vultures that had been circling above suddenly flapped down. They landed beside the bodies and began feasting, clearly treating this as a rare banquet.
Naturally, good food never goes to waste. More and more vultures descended, and in the blink of an eye, the bodies were completely covered—leaving no trace behind.
The noisy flapping snapped Lu ou out of his thoughts. Earlier, he had deliberately avoided looking in the direction of the green-clad man, but now that he had seen it, discomfort was unavoidable.
Even Gon, who had grown up in this world, found it hard to accept—let alone Lu ou, who came from a peaceful modern world with no war and no such stark, brutal displays of death.
Still, Lu ou had prepared himself mentally long ago. While he couldn't accept it immediately, he knew he could adapt over time. He reached out and patted Gon on the shoulder in silent comfort. For now, all they could do was support each other.
In this world, death was everywhere. Life was both the cheapest and the most precious thing of all. Once you stepped onto the path of becoming a Hunter, getting used to this reality was inevitable.
Gon nodded slightly at Lu ou's gesture without speaking. For the first time, he didn't look energetic. His mood was clearly low—after all, he was still just a newly turned twelve-year-old boy.
In the modern world, he would have been a carefree student. But in the Hunter world, survival was a matter of life and death.
Killua couldn't quite understand how Gon and Lu ou felt. Having grown up in an assassin family where training with knives began as soon as one could hold a fork, corpses were nothing out of the ordinary to him.
Kurapika had already witnessed mountains of corpses and rivers of blood from his fallen clan, so something like this barely affected him.
"Either you eat others, or you get eaten. That's the law of this wetland," Satotz reminded Gon and Lu ou once more as they regained their composure.
Both of them nodded, sincerely grateful for Satotz's warning.
"All right, it's time to move on to the second test site," Satotz said as he glanced at the Shimeru Wetlands. The lush greenery made it look deceptively beautiful, but his words were a clear reminder to stay on edge.
Satotz's style was always the same. The moment he finished speaking, he broke into a run, his movements clean and decisive—so smooth it was almost elegant.
The examinees behind him, however, were far less pleased. Whether they had been drinking water, resting, or regrouping in small clusters, they all dropped what they were doing and immediately sprinted after the examiner.
After all, this test was time-limited. Someone had already been eliminated despite reaching the examiner earlier—falling even slightly behind could mean disqualification. There'd be nowhere to cry about it afterward.
"Gon, let's go," Lu ou said.
Although Gon was still unaccustomed to scenes like that, he believed Satotz was right. He quickly refocused on the exam. Getting the Hunter License came first—everything else was secondary.
"Yeah, coming. Kurapika, Leorio, Killua—let's move," Lu ou called out as he followed Gon.
Everyone responded and rushed forward. After resting for quite a while, their energy levels were still high.
Tap, tap, tap.
The examinees chased after Satotz, gradually increasing their pace.
This time, it wasn't flat ground. They were running through muddy swamp hills. Every step stuck to the ground, demanding far more effort to achieve what had previously been easy—and that made people worry whether they could last to the end.
"Don't tell me it's another marathon…" Leorio groaned. He was already traumatized by endurance tests, and the muddy terrain made it even worse.
A chunk of mud flew up when Kurapika accidentally kicked it, smacking straight into Leorio's cheek. His appearance was… unfortunate, to say the least.
"Watch it!" Leorio shouted.
"Running on muddy ground consumes much more stamina," Kurapika said calmly. "It's better not to waste energy talking."
After all, both Leorio's and Lu ou's stamina levels were already well-known.
Even at the very start, the group of five naturally split into tiers.
Gon and Killua were in front, Lu ou stayed in the middle, and Kurapika and Leorio brought up the rear. The distance between them wasn't large—no more than a meter—so under normal circumstances, it shouldn't have been a problem.
But Lu ou, familiar with the plot, knew something was about to happen and decided to prepare in advance.
"Gon, Killua, Kurapika, Leorio—the forest is full of danger. I think fog might roll in. If we get separated, help each other if you can. If not, prioritize your own safety. Don't worry about me. I'll look around and see if I can gather some materials," Lu ou said carefully, laying everything out. He didn't want to interfere with their respective destinies.
"Do you need help?" ×4
He had expected only one response—but instead, everyone spoke at once. Even Killua, who rarely volunteered, chimed in. It seemed he was also trying to integrate into the group.
Tonpa watched quietly from the side. As a veteran who had taken the exam many times, he knew very well that fog did indeed form in the Shimeru Wetlands—and that it was a place filled with danger.
He looked at Lu ou. He had already thought the boy was clever, but he hadn't expected his judgment to be this sharp.