"All right, Leorio. This should be enough for now. Your stamina ought to be mostly recovered. Let's head this way."
Lu ou coaxed the man-faced ape Leorio into eating quite a lot of food. Feeling that the "nutritional reserves" were more than sufficient, he decided it was time to move on and meet up with Gon and the others along the way.
Of course, in truth, if it weren't for the fact that the man-faced ape was clearly having trouble swallowing any more—looking as though he was on the verge of vomiting and not far from collapsing—Lu ou had no intention of stopping so soon.
"Thank goodness… I almost became the first man-faced ape in history to die from being overstuffed on vegetables."
Hearing Lu ou finally call a halt was like heavenly music to Leorio's ears. He silently thanked his luck—thank goodness, it finally stopped.
In his heart, the man-faced ape swore that for the rest of his life, he never wanted to see fruit or steamed buns again.
"I hate fruit and buns."
Seeing the look of salvation on the man-faced ape's face, a smile tugged at Lu ou's lips, though it quickly faded back to normal.
Judging by the timing, it should be about right. The time it would take him to head over from here should be roughly the same as the time Gon would need to rush back to rescue Leorio. The margins should match up.
"Right about now, it should be Hisoka's turn to act as examiner. I really want to see it."
Lu ou frowned slightly as he assessed his own abilities and weighed the difference in strength between himself and Hisoka. Concluding that there was no way he could retreat unscathed if things went south, he forcibly suppressed his eagerness.
Strength came first. Everything else could wait.
Without further thought, Lu ou led the man-faced ape into the dense forest.
His judgment was spot-on.
Examiner Hisoka was in the middle of testing the examinees' strength.
"How rude."
With a casual motion, Hisoka killed a man who had boldly questioned him. It was no different from crushing an ant—hardly worth noticing.
"Don't lump me together with you people. Before you die, I'll leave you with a parting gift."
"Magic is omnipotent."
Hisoka paid no attention to the furious, hate-filled stares around him, nor did he feel he'd done anything wrong. Strength was truth. If you couldn't resist, then all you could do was submit to fate.
"Don't joke with us!"
But the world never lacks people who misjudge their own strength—those overflowing with confidence, or convinced they stand on the side of justice. More than one person stepped forward to challenge Hisoka.
A burly man wielding a spiked club rallied several others, clearly intending to gang up on him.
"You're not even qualified to be a Hunter!"
A man holding twin blades leveled one across his body, adopting a fighting stance as he spoke righteously.
"I'll make sure you never show up at an exam site again!" the club-wielding man shouted.
"Is that so?"
"To deal with you people… one card will be enough."
Hisoka didn't even twitch an eyebrow as he calmly raised a single playing card.
"Don't underestimate us!"
That casual gesture only further enraged the already furious crowd. Gripping their various weapons, they charged at him together, determined not to give him any time to react.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the greatest magician of the century—Hisoka—now stands before you."
"Allow me to show you a miracle-filled magic show."
Leaping into the air, Hisoka used his agility and lightness to slaughter nearly ten people with nothing but a single playing card.
The killing only heightened Hisoka's excitement. He burst into laughter, clearly delighted.
Unfortunately, the examinees being hunted down did not share his joy—and had absolutely no desire to offer up their lives for Hisoka's entertainment.
From a psychological perspective, Hisoka was undoubtedly a classic exhibitionist personality.
"Damn it… my weapon's still in that bag."
Leorio clutched his wound as he watched Hisoka begin massacring the examinees. He had no intention of backing down—his only regret was not having a suitable weapon in hand.
Kurapika, still gripping his twin blades tightly, stood firmly in front of Leorio, refusing to retreat even a single step.
"Leorio."
Gon seemed to sense something. Feeling that Leorio and Kurapika must be in trouble, he turned around without hesitation and ran back toward the source of that feeling.
This was no longer something that could be explained by a keen sense of smell. As expected of Togashi's beloved child—this was a life completely switched to cheat mode.
"Gon!"
Killua shouted anxiously, but Gon didn't stop.
"Killua, you go on ahead. I'll catch up later."
With that, Gon ran straight into the thick fog and vanished in an instant.
"Tch, I've never seen such an idiot. Running back to save people at a time like this."
Hanzo was running not far ahead and had seen Gon's actions clearly. He strongly disagreed but didn't intervene—only muttered a few complaints.
Truly worthy of his nickname: the chatterbox Hanzo.
"Yeah… he really is an idiot."
Killua stood there for a moment, stunned. By the time he thought to chase after Gon, it was already too late. All he could do was continue toward the second test site as planned.
But now that he was alone, running on foot felt pointless.
Bang.
Killua tossed his skateboard to the ground, stepped onto it with both feet, and smoothly shot forward—instantly overtaking Hanzo.
Watching Killua pass him without a word, Hanzo could only feel impressed.
Seriously… having something that good and choosing to run instead.
Back on Hisoka's side, the results were already clear.
Out of the dozen or two examinees gathered earlier, only three remained standing: Leorio, Kurapika, and a boy wearing a hat, dressed in earth-toned clothes, with spiky hair.
That outfit clearly marked him as Pokkle—though Lu ou wasn't present, and no one else recognized him.
"All eliminated."
After finishing off the riffraff, Hisoka casually announced the test results, then fixed his gaze on the three still standing.
"Now, there are only the three of you left."
Hisoka looked delighted. The examiner's game was nearly complete.
"Damn it…"
Leorio cursed under his breath.
"Then I'll start with you."
Hearing Leorio's voice, Hisoka decided to make him first. It didn't really matter who he started with anyway.
Step by step, Hisoka walked toward them, each footfall on the grass feeling as though it landed directly on their hearts.
"After I give the signal, we split up and run in different directions."
Pokkle proposed a plan. Since they couldn't win head-on, retreat was their only option.
"What?"
Leorio looked at him in disbelief.
"This guy is too strong. In reality, no matter what kind of assassin it is, there's usually a moment of hesitation right before killing. But he doesn't have that."
Pokkle's expression was grave as he calculated their odds of escape.
If Lu ou were here, he would definitely say:
Kid, you're way too naïve. If that's how you define assassins, you clearly haven't met the Zoldyck family.
"That's true. Even if the three of us teamed up, we'd have no chance of winning."
Kurapika calmly assessed the gap in strength and came to the same conclusion.
"If we don't try, how will we ever know?"
Leorio refused to accept defeat without a fight.
"I'm guessing you're like me—you're determined to pass this Hunter Exam no matter what."
"It's incredibly frustrating to give up like this, but a wise man knows when to avoid immediate danger."
Pokkle stared at Hisoka as he continued to approach, his frustration evident.