Hisoka had already put away his playing cards. "Oh my, oh my. So there's more than one fruit king? That makes things even more interesting!"
Illumi picked up his cellphone again. "Hello? Father, add one more name to our family's danger list..."
Gon and the others had already backed far away, all of them sighing in amazement.
"As expected, Roy is really strong. And since Android 18 can fly just like Roy, she definitely can't be weak either."
"Yeah, but I never expected her to be this strong. She's basically a monster!"
Killua clasped his hands behind his head and let out a long sigh.
Only Leorio, meanwhile, was shouting at the top of his lungs, cheering Android 18 on. "That's right, exactly! Why should we have to hand over the treasure we found through our own exploration to the Hunter Association?! I support you, Android 18!"
Beside him, Kurapika covered his face with one hand. This was far too embarrassing.
As for the elderly couple standing before Android 18 and Roy, they had long since been scared speechless.
They were Hunter Association staff, after all, and had seen plenty of vicious-looking examinees before. But people this fierce, this terrifying... this was the first time.
Too scary!
At that moment, while Android 18 was arguing over how the treasure should be distributed, aboard the Hunter Association airship—
Netero held the file Beans had gathered on Roy, stroking his not-yet-fully-regrown beard as he read it carefully.
"Roy, male, seventeen years old. Wife: Lazuli, also known as Android 18. Registered residence: Old Silver Mountain City, Yorbian Continent. Ace manga artist of Shonen Magazine. Studied under the somewhat well-known manga artist Luke Lucas.
"Raised in an orphanage from a young age. Clean background.
"Shows extraordinary talent in manga. His work Dragon Ball is explosively popular and has already swept across the entire world. It is a manga on the level of a true mass phenomenon.
"He pioneered a new manga genre: hot-blooded combat manga.
"He has brought a wave of passion and excitement to the market, and his fan support clubs have now spread across all Six Continents.
"He is hailed as the most gifted manga artist of the current age, and some have even called him the greatest manga artist of all time.
"He came to take the Hunter Exam because he had run dry on inspiration and wanted to seek new ideas."
There wasn't a single flaw in Roy's file. Netero could not spot the slightest suspicious point.
That was only natural. Roy himself truly was a person from the Six Continents. That much could not be faked.
Only the soul inside him had been replaced by someone from another world.
Netero stared at Roy's profile for a long while, his fingers unconsciously tapping against the tabletop.
After some time, he raised his head and picked up the phone.
"Hello, Bean. Help me find the complete set of Dragon Ball manga... Yes, that Dragon Ball, the hottest one right now... I know it's still ongoing. Just gather everything that's already been published for me."
After saying that, Netero hung up. His gaze became deep and unreadable.
"The greatest manga artist, hm? A man like that comes to take the Hunter Exam simply to search for inspiration, and he only brought his wife with him. Ho ho ho, how interesting~"
Netero had served as Chairman of the Hunter Association for many years and had dealt with political leaders from many nations countless times. Naturally, he was not lacking in intelligence.
It was obvious that he had already become quite interested in Roy.
After arranging things with Beans, Netero recalled something else—what Roy had told him after their duel, about the Zodiacs.
"Interesting. If there really are people connected to Pariston and Beyond among the Zodiacs..."
Netero thought for a moment, then pulled another phone out from a drawer.
Without dialing, he simply pressed the call button.
"Beep... beep... click!"
"Hello, Cheadle? It's me, Netero. Help me gather all the materials from the previous Zodiac screenings..."
Now shifting the scene back to Battleship Island—
Under Android 18's forceful demands and with Leorio fanning the flames from the side, the elderly couple first called Beans to ask how the matter should be handled. Then they pulled Android 18 aside into a dark corner and whispered with her for a while to negotiate.
After that, the matter was dropped.
As for the other examinees, the rule remained the same as before: all money and treasure obtained from this stretch of sea had to be handed over to the Hunter Association in exchange for the right to use the rooms.
As for Android 18, she returned to her usual icy demeanor and no longer stepped forward to object. Clearly, some kind of deal had been reached between the two sides.
That left Leorio rather dissatisfied, but he did not say anything more. After all, he did not possess strength on Android 18's level.
After that, there was naturally nothing much left to say. Amid a massive storm, the group joined together in the same boat and weathered the crisis side by side.
In the end, the Hunter Association's airship arrived.
All the examinees who had passed were once again taken by airship to the location of the next test.
In the blink of an eye, the fourth phase of the exam arrived.
At noon, the airship landed on a cliff. An examiner wearing glasses and sporting a pineapple-like hairstyle was already waiting there. It was Lippo, whom Roy and the others had seen before. Beside him stood a tall table, and on top of it sat a lottery box.
(End of Chapter)
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