"Of course."
"Then let's go together."
Illumi and Kaizen led the way.
Ponzu followed behind.
Back when Kaizen attacked Siper, Ponzu had noticed something strange—Kaizen seemed to vanish for a moment.
At the time, Ponzu thought he was communicating with Gittarackur, maybe negotiating something post-battle.
But now, hearing Kaizen casually call him Illumi, Ponzu realized that wasn't the case at all.
"The captain just called Gittarackur... Illumi?"
"So Gittarackur was just an alias?"
"His real name is Illumi?"
"And that makes Kaizen and Illumi... cousins?"
The revelation left Ponzu stunned.
She hadn't expected that, out of all the examinees in this year's Hunter Exam, two of the top contenders would turn out to be blood relatives.
But when she thought about it carefully, it kind of made sense.
"Strong people... often come from strong bloodlines."
"But then—what about Hisoka and the captain? Are they related too?"
She remembered watching Hisoka and Gittarackur interact earlier. The way they talked—it was like they'd known each other for a while.
"And who's Killua? They both mentioned him before."
Killua's name surfaced again in her mind.
Among the candidates, he was one of the youngest.
The other being Gon.
Despite their age, both had managed to make it this far in the exam—no small feat.
"Reaching this level at that age... it says a lot about their talent."
"Killua. Gon. They're not ordinary kids."
...
Soon, the trio reached the summit of a mountain.
Below them stretched a dense forest.
In the middle of the woods, four figures were facing off.
None of the people below had noticed the group watching from above.
On one side stood Killua.
Opposite him were the three Amori brothers.
While not top-tier fighters, the Amori brothers had decent strength. More importantly, they had numbers on their side and excellent coordination.
Ponzu squinted at the scene.
"Ponzu, who do you think takes this one?"
"My bet's on the Amori brothers," Ponzu replied. "They're solid—and there's three of them. If I ran into them head-on, odds are I'd lose."
"Unless I stayed completely hidden and used my bees for a sneak attack."
"But if they're ready for that kind of strategy, it won't work."
...
Down below, the Amori brothers split up and began to surround Killua.
Before they could launch their assault—
Killua moved.
In an instant, he vanished.
The Amori brothers blinked—and their target was gone.
The next moment, Kaizen appeared behind Umori.
His hand, shaped like a blade, hovered inches above Umori's neck.
A thin trickle of blood formed where the edge of Kaizen's palm touched skin.
"Hand over your number tag, or I'll kill him."
Imori had no choice but to comply. He tossed his number plate to Killua.
Killua caught it, checked it, and then released Umori without another word.
"...?"
Ponzu blinked in surprise.
Ponzu had just finished arguing that the Amori brothers would win.
And now?
Killua had taken them apart like it was nothing.
"That's it for the Amori brothers?"
"How the hell is Killua this strong?"
Ponzu couldn't believe it.
"Killua's power is far above mine... and even the queen bee doesn't react to him with fear like this."
"So how wide is the gap between me and the captain?"
"If Killua's this far ahead, then I can't even begin to imagine Kaizen's level..."
Killua casually twirled the number plate between his fingers, glancing at the stunned Amori brothers.
He was just about to say something when—
Suddenly, a figure rocketed toward him at blinding speed.
Killua's pupils narrowed.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The forest echoed with the sound of fierce blows.
The Amori brothers stood frozen in place.
The battle unfolding in front of them was completely out of their league. Whether it was Killua or his mysterious attacker, their power was far beyond anything the brothers could handle.
One of them alone could've wiped out all three.
"Unreal..."
"There are monsters like this in the Hunter Exam?"
"This is hopeless."
"Even if we manage to scrape by and pass, we won't stand a chance in the final phase."
"The gap is just too big."
They didn't even care about their stolen number plate anymore.
...
Illumi watched Hanzo and Killua clash below, frowning.
"Why is that guy going after Killua?"
"Killua's not his target."
"And Hanzo isn't Killua's either."
"So why's he picking a fight?"
"I asked him to."
Kaizen spoke up calmly.
"I ran into Hanzo earlier and made a deal with him. Told him to fight Killua once we got to Island. No holding back."
"Hanzo's strong. The match-up works."
"Killua's had it too easy so far in the exam. That's why I set this up."
It was a move straight out of Zeno's playbook.
Back when Kaizen first entered Heavens Arena, Zeno had done the same thing—hired an assassin to ambush Kaizen. A trial by fire.
Those killers had been out for blood.
But Zeno had been watching closely, ready to intervene if things got out of hand.
Kaizen had improved so rapidly that eventually, even the killers couldn't keep up.
By the time Kaizen reached the 200th floor, their attacks were meaningless.
Zeno had stopped hiring them.
Illumi nodded slightly.
"Smart move. It's not bad."
...
Ponzu was stunned once again.
Now, she was beginning to piece it together—Kaizen, Killua, and Illumi.
They were all related.
And not just related. They got along.
Even during the Hunter Exam, Kaizen went out of his way to make things harder for Killua—just so he could improve.
"To go this far during the exam... that's next-level dedication."
"But seriously—this is wild."
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