Ponzu and Bourbon both chose the quantitative route.
Kaizen, however, took the elite path.
A poisonous snake slithered up behind Ponzu, fangs bared, aiming for Ponzu's ankle. One bite, and Ponzu would be in serious pain—its venom would wreak havoc in her body.
But before it could strike—
Buzz!
A bee dived down, its stinger piercing the snake's eye with perfect accuracy.
The snake recoiled in pain, thrashing violently. But the bee latched onto its eye socket with its six legs, refusing to let go.
In its panic, the snake flailed and slammed itself into the ground, blood streaming from its head. It writhed like a twitching red strip of jerky.
Hearing the commotion, Ponzu turned.
Wham!
With one clean swing, she crushed the snake's head with a stick.
This skirmish captured the essence of the fight between Ponzu and Bourbon.
There wasn't a huge gap in strength between them—both had a real shot at winning. It would come down to battlefield awareness and in-the-moment performance.
Their mindsets, though, were completely different.
Ponzu had unshakable confidence. She was part of Kaizen's team. If things got hairy, Kaizen would step in. Simple as that.
Bourbon, on the other hand, believed he had Kaizen and Gittarackur boxed in with his poisonous snakes. Even if Ponzu gained the upper hand in battle, Bourbon was ready to use Kaizen and Gittarackur's lives as leverage. He figured Ponzu would have no choice but to hand over his number badge.
Two different thoughts, one shared feeling: confidence.
But only Ponzu's confidence was justified.
Bourbon was betting on a miscalculation.
...
Meanwhile, Hanzo and Killua's fight was still underway.
"Kaizen, once the Hunter Exam ends... got any plans?"
"Chairman Netero assigned me a task. I'll probably take care of that first."
"How long will that take?"
"About half a month," Kaizen replied after a rough estimate.
Teaching Nen doesn't take long—if the student has talent. Take Gon and Killua, for example. It only took a few hours to open their aura nodes and get them started with Ten. Gon even managed to grasp Ren and Zetsu on his own not long after.
Even someone like Pokkle, who ranked lower in the exam, wasn't bad compared to the average person.
This was, after all, one of the highest-level Hunter Exams in recent history.
"Good. That should work out."
Illumi said, "I've accepted a job. It's a little much for one person. If you've got time, Kaizen, want to team up?"
"The pay's decent."
Kaizen hesitated. "What's the commission?"
"Not entirely sure yet," Illumi replied, shaking his head. "But I can tell you who the client is."
"Who?"
"The Phantom Troupe."
Kaizen's eyes narrowed slightly.
He'd heard of them—more and more ever since the exam started. Kurapika had marked them as his enemies. Hisoka infiltrated them, using a fake identity. Hisoka had even warned Kaizen: the Troupe was watching him.
A possibility started forming in Kaizen's mind.
In the original timeline, there was only one mission where the Phantom Troupe hired Illumi—and even Maha Zoldyck.
That was the hit on the Ten Dons.
A job so dangerous it required Maha's involvement. That alone showed its weight.
After sneaking into the underworld during his past missions, Kaizen understood now: it wasn't that the gangsters of this world were powerful. It was the presence of Nen that complicated everything.
If not for Nen, Illumi could've easily wiped out the Ten Dons himself.
Even the Shadow Beasts—some of the Mafia's strongest—would've been no match.
Back then, both sides hired the Zoldyck family.
The Troupe wanted the Zoldycks to kill the Ten Dons.
The Ten Dons wanted the Zoldycks to take out the Troupe.
The Zoldycks held the power to shift the tide.
Whichever side they supported would win.
"Alright," Kaizen said finally. "I'll take it."
He still remembered what Hisoka said—the Troupe was keeping an eye on him. That made Kaizen cautious... and curious.
Any Nen user strong enough to make Maha Zoldyck act personally? That was worth investigating.
"Great. I'll contact you when the time comes."
"Got it."
...
The fight between Hanzo and Killua was reaching its end.
Killua was losing—mainly due to his mindset.
Boom!
Hanzo's fist smashed into Killua's gut.
Killua's body arched from the impact, sent flying backward.
Crack!
He slammed into a tree. The trunk splintered from the force.
Hanzo walked over slowly. But this time, he didn't follow up with another strike.
He just looked down at Killua.
"Killua, you've got strength."
"For someone your age, your ability is amazing."
"But what are you running from?"
"To be a Hunter, your mindset has to match your power."
"You scared?"
"I'm not just talking about Hunters. Even ninjas, martial artists, fighters... if they act like you, they'll never make it."
"You're just a coward."
"Honestly... I'm disappointed."
"When I took this job, I thought it'd be easy."
"But when we started fighting, I saw your potential. I thought it'd be a real battle."
"I was excited."
"The earlier phases didn't give me a chance to go all out."
"But now?"
"You've got power, yeah. But no guts."
"This is over."
He flicked his wrist and tossed Killua's number badge next to him.
Thunk!
It stabbed deep into the trunk of a nearby tree.
Killua stared blankly, fists clenched tight.
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