"It's like this, Ou," Kurapika said, doing his best to summarize the situation concisely. He explained how Hisoka had impersonated an examiner and how Leorio had been taken away.
"I see. In that case, Leorio shouldn't be in any real danger," Lu Ou said calmly, reassuring the two who were already extremely anxious, afraid that something terrible might have happened to Leorio. "Let's hurry over and see for ourselves."
"How do you know, Ou?" Gon asked. He had a gut feeling that Leorio would be fine, but he couldn't explain why.
Kurapika had exhausted too much mental energy during his confrontation with Hisoka and hadn't fully recovered yet. His thoughts weren't as sharp as before, so he didn't notice it right away either.
"Just like you said—if Hisoka wanted to kill someone, it would be effortless," Lu Ou explained. "So why go through the trouble of taking Leorio away just to kill him later? That would be completely unnecessary. And in the end, he declared you both 'passed.' That means, for now, he definitely won't make a move."
"Hisoka may be fickle, but from what you described, he's a madman with a very strong sense of purpose."
"We can't judge madmen by normal logic—but they all have one thing in common: they're extremely formalistic. Under normal circumstances, they won't do anything that violates the framework they've set for themselves."
"Take Hisoka, for example," Lu Ou continued. "He kept emphasizing that he was an examiner, that he was conducting a test—not killing."
Lu Ou analyzed the situation carefully, easing their tension. Being wound too tight would only hurt them in the upcoming test.
Huff—
After hearing his explanation, both Gon and Kurapika finally let out a real sigh of relief. They no longer felt like taut bowstrings on the verge of snapping.
That said, both of them couldn't help but think the same thing:
Lu Ou knows way too much.
"Still, we should hurry," Lu Ou added. "Based on my guess, there's probably a time limit for crossing the wetland. Otherwise, people could stroll through at any pace, which would lower the difficulty of the Hunter Exam. Hisoka also wouldn't have left so quickly."
"Right—then let's move!" Gon said, immediately picking up speed and dashing forward.
Kurapika silently quickened his pace as well.
"By the way, Ou," Gon said after running for a while, his mind finally relaxing. "Hisoka said something at the end—he said that both Leorio and I had passed. What do you think he meant by that?"
"He mentioned earlier that he wanted to play 'examiner,'" Lu Ou replied. "In other words, Hisoka was using the opportunity to test your abilities."
"I think that's exactly what he meant," Kurapika agreed.
With Lu Ou around, Kurapika felt much more at ease. His sharp mind had returned to its calm, analytical state, making it easier to think things through.
"A test? But all Hisoka did was stare at my face," Gon said, confused. "Don't you have to fight to test someone's abilities?"
"Didn't you make him take a hit from your fishing rod earlier?" Kurapika asked.
"That's true," Gon said. "But Leorio got beaten up so badly—and he still passed?"
"Hisoka has an abnormal, almost superhuman body, as well as terrifying natural talent," Kurapika said. "More importantly, his desire for battle far surpasses ours. For a martial artist who treats combat as second nature, the moment he gets excited, he instinctively senses an opponent's 'scent'—their experiences, strength, and everything else."
"Perhaps in you and Leorio, Hisoka sensed the same fighting aura he has himself."
"The same scent?" Gon asked.
"Yes," Kurapika replied. "Maybe he thought that killing you now would be far too wasteful."
As Kurapika continued, he gradually placed himself in Hisoka's shoes, and his reasoning became increasingly convincing.
But Gon's expression darkened. Whatever he was thinking, it clearly wasn't pleasant.
"I'm sorry," Kurapika said, stopping in his tracks and bowing his head. "I didn't consider how you might feel."
He blamed himself deeply for failing to consider his companion's emotions—something his gentle nature couldn't tolerate.
"No," Gon said quietly. "Killua has said something similar before. He said that people of the same kind can understand each other just by scent."
Gon's mood was noticeably low.
"You and Hisoka are absolutely not the same kind of people," Kurapika said passionately. "That man is far too cruel—he has no right to be a Hunter."
"Is that so…?" Gon said, sounding lost.
"Gon?" Kurapika didn't know what else to say.
"When Hisoka was slowly walking toward me," Gon said in a low voice, analyzing his own state of mind, "the fear was so intense that I wanted to run—but my body wouldn't move. In that moment, when I thought, 'This might really be the end,' when I knew I might actually be killed…"
"…even though the situation was extremely dangerous, I felt something strange."
"I felt… a tiny bit excited."
In his eleven years of life, Gon had never experienced anything like that before. He had no idea how to process it.
"Gon…" Kurapika didn't know how to comfort him. This was something he himself had never encountered.
As expected of Ging's bloodline, Lu Ou thought. The stronger the opponent, the stronger he becomes. He's already starting to show his brilliance.
"Gon," Lu Ou said aloud, stepping forward and placing a hand on his shoulder, "you need to understand that combat has different levels and different forms. They're not the same. Just because you didn't exchange blows doesn't mean you didn't fight."
"The similarity between you and Hisoka lies in one thing only: you both possess keen combat instincts. That's a good thing."
"One day, you'll be even stronger than him. That's determined by your talent—not by being 'the same' as someone else. It's the outstanding blood you inherited from your father. Your father is amazing, right? And you're his son—so it's only natural that you'll be amazing too."
"As for Killua's 'scent,' it's different from ours right now. You'll understand that in the future."
Seeing that the two of them had finished venting and analyzing their thoughts, Lu Ou stepped forward, patted Gon's shoulder again, and encouraged him to relax.
Having just experienced his first true encounter with death, being overly tense was completely normal. No matter how extraordinary his talent, Gon was still just a rookie—a young boy who needed guidance.
"Talent, huh?" Gon smiled again. "Yeah—I'll work hard!"
He dashed forward once more. "Let's go! Hurry up, Ou, Kurapika!"
"Wait for us," Lu Ou and Kurapika said with a laugh, exchanging glances before chasing after him.
The three of them raced each other toward the second test site. They had already lost quite a bit of time—if they didn't hurry, they really would be too late.
Lu Ou calculated the time as he ran, recalling the sculpted stone pillar they had passed earlier. That landmark meant the second test site was very close now.
Feeling that he could run this entire distance without even being out of breath, Lu Ou knew his body had reached a new level of conditioning. He was no longer the weakling who had needed to rely on his "Face Fruit" ability just to jog a short distance.
That, at least, was a very good sign.