Almost everyone in his family had already gained this power. It looked like his plan to arrest his whole family and throw them all into prison would have to be shelved for now, which left Killua feeling quite regretful.
He was not the slightest bit worried about whether he could learn this power himself.
Wasn't it obvious? Even a dumb kid like Gon and an idiot old man like Leorio had managed to learn it. There was no way he, young master Killua of the Zoldyck family, the most talented one in the family, wouldn't be able to learn it too.
After most of the examinees had walked out of the tunnel, a sudden boom rang out, and a gate slowly descended above the exit they had just come through.
"Wait for me!"
One examinee staggered to the gate, completely exhausted, and collapsed by the doorway. He had no strength left to move another step. Even though he was only a single step away from making it, he could only watch in despair as the gate slowly fell, pleading hopelessly while stretching out his hand in a futile attempt to stop it.
But this was the Hunter Exam, the harsh selection process for Hunters. Elimination was inevitable.
Seeing this scene, none of the examinees paid any attention to his cries. Not even the examiner reacted.
Even Gon, who was usually warmhearted, made no move.
This was the Hunter Exam. It allowed no carelessness whatsoever.
Anyone who came to take the Hunter Exam had to be prepared from the start.
"Please stay close behind me. If you accidentally wander into a trap, it will be certain death."
Only after the gate had fully shut did Satotz finally speak, calmly warning all the examinees.
As he did so, he instinctively glanced in Roy's direction. By now, Kurapika and Leorio had already gone over to join up with him.
"That's a strange thing to say. If you already know it's a trap, then how could anyone possibly fall for it?"
Just as the examinees were finding it odd, a man covered in blood and dressed in green came out carrying a cloth sack.
"Liar! That guy is lying!"
The real show had begun.
What followed, naturally, was a huge commotion caused by the appearance of both a real and a fake examiner.
Man-Faced Apes were widespread. Some lived deep in the wetlands, while others hunted around the outer edges. The ones on the outside had never seen Roy and Android 18 making repeated trips in and out of the area. Otherwise, they would have been scared out of their wits long ago.
"Roy, which one is the real examiner?" Gon asked as usual.
By now, asking Roy whenever they did not understand something had already become a habit. Even Leorio and Kurapika looked over at him without thinking.
While the other examinees were confronting the real and fake examiners, they were also secretly watching Roy's group, waiting to see which side they would choose.
Roy gave a light cough, and the whole scene immediately fell silent. Every examinee turned to look at him without saying a word.
Roy swept his gaze across the crowd and said, "Satotz. Male. One-Star Ruins Hunter. Obtained his Hunter License in 1994. Born in Gumbic Country. Blood type AB. Thirty-two years old. Calm personality, extremely patient. Distinguishing features include that especially lush mustache under his nose, pinkish-purple hair parted in the middle, and a rather strange walking posture."
Then he turned to look at the fake examiner. "Ilk. Male. Once a fairly well-known robber. Three months ago, while fleeing pursuit from the police in Zaban City, he escaped into the Milsy Wetlands and vanished without a trace after that. Defining trait: obsessed with wearing a green jacket."
The moment Roy finished speaking, Leorio impatiently stepped forward and pointed straight at the green-clothed man, whose face was already beginning to show signs of panic.
"Alright! Now it's clear. You're that robber named Ilk, right? You're the fake one! You actually tried to impersonate an examiner?!"
"Leorio, that robber called Ilk was probably eaten by a Man-Faced Ape long ago. This thing only copied his face to deceive us," Kurapika said as he also stepped forward.
The two of them declared their stance without the slightest hesitation, causing the other examinees to begin whispering among themselves.
Could it be that what that flying guy said was really true?
Just as Leorio and Kurapika were about to move in and capture the fake examiner—
Whoosh!
Swish!
Three playing cards shot at incredible speed toward the man in green, and another three cards flew just as quickly toward Satotz. They were launched at the same time and reached their targets at the same moment, yet the results were completely different.
The fake examiner disguised as Ilk dropped at once, while Satotz caught the cards with ease.
"I see." Hisoka looked utterly unconcerned as he deftly shuffled his cards with both hands, then slipped one card between his fingers and held it there.
The Man-Faced Ape that had fallen to the ground and pretended to be dead sensed that its companion was already dead and that things had taken a bad turn, so it sprang up nimbly and tried to flee. Hisoka finished it off cleanly with another strike.
KO.
"So that's the correct answer. Looks like the flying little brother over there guessed right. That one is the real chief examiner. Naturally, the chief examiner is also a Hunter. Becoming a full Hunter is the goal we're all striving for, so of course a real Hunter wouldn't fail to dodge an attack like the one I just used," Hisoka said.
"Then I will first thank you for those flattering words. But next time, regardless of your reason, if you attack me again, it will be treated as defiance toward an examiner, and your qualification for the exam will be revoked," Satotz said calmly as he tossed away the playing cards in his hand.
After experiencing that almost terrifying level of aura inside the underground tunnel, Satotz was already immune to the faint killing intent Hisoka was releasing now.
"Yes, yes," Hisoka replied absentmindedly.
But anyone paying close attention would notice that he had not taken Satotz's words to heart at all.
Hisoka continued shuffling his cards, his eyes instinctively drifting toward Roy and the others.
A moment ago, while he had the chance, he had wanted to fire a few playing cards at Roy's group to test them.
But Illumi had stopped him in advance.
(End of Chapter)
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