Of course, there were also those who could stand steadily on the thin spider threads as if walking on solid ground—people like Hisoka, and Kurapika. And there were even those who could hang from the threads with one hand as if it were child's play—that was definitely Gon.
Naturally, Leorio was lying on the back of the man-faced ape. By the time Gon and the others came down, he already had more than a dozen eggs in his hands. Not a bad harvest.
"Over there."
Lu locked onto a cluster where the eggs were denser and directed the man-faced ape to leap across. With a casual motion, he gathered another five or six. That should be enough.
After all, greed leads to loss. The truth was, Lu felt the load was getting too heavy to carry and difficult to store. The grape spider eggs were fortunate to escape further plundering.
A sharp whistling sound tore through the air. Looking up, Lu saw a massive purple figure falling straight down toward them.
It was Todo.
Truly, good and evil are repaid in time—it's only a matter of when.
"This way!"
Lu reacted quickly, spotting a spider thread and directing the man-faced ape across it. The thread, already strained by supporting two bodies, began to show faint cracks.
But misfortune rarely comes alone. Todo, of all places, fell right in front of that very thread and instinctively grabbed it as his lifeline.
"Waaah! Waaah!"
Flocks of grape spider-birds suddenly swarmed in from the distance. Seeing humans stealing their eggs, they did not hesitate to attack.
The scene descended into chaos.
Anger.
Invaders on their territory—egg thieves, no less. The grape spider-birds were not about to be polite. With their long, sharp beaks, they swooped down and stabbed at the examinees' hands gripping the threads. Wounds deep enough to expose bone split open, blood pouring out in streams.
"Ahhh!"
Many examinees screamed and released their grips, plunging into the river below. In the blink of an eye, they were swept away by the current, vanishing without a trace.
Todo, however, was lucky. Despite dragging his bulky body along, he managed to avoid the first wave of attacks.
Lu had already gathered quite a number of grape spider eggs. He understood the wisdom of quitting while ahead. Directing the man-faced ape, he climbed upward along the lower threads. As he passed near Gon and noticed that Gon hadn't taken an egg yet, he looked puzzled.
"Gon, haven't you chosen one yet?" Lu asked.
"Not yet. I think that one looks good—I'm just about to grab it."
After careful consideration, Gon pointed out the egg he had selected.
Following his gaze, Lu realized it was on the very thread Tony was clinging to. It was slightly larger than the others—seemed better somehow.
"That's a good one," Lu said.
"Eh? Gon, what's that?"
Just as Lu was about to look away, his eyes suddenly sharpened like lightning.
He caught a faint glimpse of a gigantic egg—at least three times the size of a normal grape spider egg. It was far away, partially obscured by a protruding rock, which made it hard to see clearly.
"It should be something good."
Lu's eyes gleamed with excitement. The best way to protect rare ingredients was to put them in his own backpack.
But he needed confirmation. Calling out to Gon—whose eyesight was just as sharp—he sought verification. Wasted effort was not on his agenda.
"It looks like an egg… and it looks really big."
Gon squinted in the direction Lu indicated. It was much farther than the egg he had chosen and difficult to make out. It was also dangerously close to the raging river, with no footholds and steep rocky terrain blocking access.
"It's too steep. There's nothing to step on. It'd be really hard to get."
"Right. Hard for a person doesn't mean impossible for an animal."
Lu glanced down at the man-faced ape beneath him and let out a mischievous grin. This was exactly what it meant to raise an ape for a thousand days and use it in one moment.
He was certain that wasn't an ordinary grape spider egg. Most likely a king-class egg. Just thinking about it made his mouth water. Not claiming it would be a disservice to the nation and its people.
Gon looked at the man-faced ape and understood immediately what Lu intended.
"You go get your egg. I'll climb up first, then send the ape back down."
Since Lu had made up his mind, he was ready to act. He said goodbye to Gon.
"Okay, Lu."
Gon responded and moved agilely toward the egg he had chosen.
He walked lightly along the spider thread as though it were flat ground. Even when the grape spider-birds occasionally harassed him, it made little difference.
Along the way, Lu greeted a few companions before climbing toward the cliff top. With so many eggs on him, he needed to secure them quickly.
"This is the one."
In just a few steps, Gon reached the egg and lifted it easily, smiling with satisfaction.
Thud.
Tony kicked Gon hard in the back and snatched the egg from his hand.
The impact sent Gon tumbling. No matter how steady one's footing, a thin spider thread was not solid ground.
While falling, Gon reacted swiftly, grabbing another thread to stabilize himself.
"This egg is mine now!"
Todo clung to the thread with one hand and held the egg tightly in the other.
Creak—
The thread let out a strained whine. After bearing the weight of Lu and the ape, plus Gon and Todo, it was nearing its limit.
Todo had been irritated watching Gon walk the threads so effortlessly and find an egg so easily. That wouldn't do. Stealing it while Gon was distracted—that was the proper move.
But sometimes, when people become too pleased with themselves, they fall straight from heaven into hell.
Todo was that kind of person.
From joy to disaster.
A massive grape spider-bird swooped down mercilessly, its cold, gleaming beak piercing Tony's only hand gripping the thread.
"Help!"
Instinctively, Todo released his grip. Only then did he realize he was falling. Terror consumed him. His mind went blank. The only words he could manage were those two.
In truth, even if he hadn't let go, it wouldn't have mattered. In that very instant, the thread snapped. It was unclear whether he lost his grip from pain—or whether the broken thread made it impossible to hold on.
Seeing Todo's predicament, Gon kicked off his thread, accelerating downward. He quickly caught up, grabbed Todo's hand, and swung his fishing rod, wrapping its line around a stronger, sturdier thread.
"Gon!"
Leorio, climbing upward, caught sight of the scene and shouted in alarm, nearly scared out of his wits.
But when he saw Gon stabilize himself almost instantly, he relaxed.
Watching this unfold, Roul smiled.
Did Todo really think Gon was just a naive do-gooder?
A performance is best savored slowly to appreciate its flavor.