The next moment...
All the poisonous snakes collapsed—one after another.
Thudding to the ground.
The instant they landed, they were split in two.
Blood sprayed out like a fountain, drenching the area in red.
Bourbon stood there, stunned, his entire body soaked in blood.
Kaizen sheathed his blade with a quiet click.
Bourbon was frozen in place.
So was Ponzu.
Neither of them had expected this scene.
"Amazing..."
"Is this the true strength of the captain?"
"He wiped out all those snakes with a single strike!"
Kaizen glanced over his shoulder at Ponzu.
"Ponzu. Let's go."
Ponzu snapped out of her daze and hurried to follow.
...
When Kaizen and Ponzu reached the port, several examinees were already gathered at the dock.
A large ship was stationed there, with a ramp connecting it to the island.
An examiner stepped off the boat.
"Congratulations, everyone."
"We'll now begin recording the number plates. Please step forward when your name is called."
He held a clipboard and began reading off names.
"Hisoka. One target plate, three non-targets. Total: six points."
"Bodoro. Own plate and target. Six points."
"Gittarackur… six points."
"Killua… six points."
"Hanzo… six points."
"Kaizen… six points."
"Alita… six points."
...
The examiner turned to Ponzu.
Ponzu shook her head. "I didn't make it."
The examiner nodded. "Understood."
"Congratulations to the eight candidates who have passed and will proceed to the final stage."
"You have ten minutes left."
As soon as he said that, three more figures ran up to the group—Leorio, Kurapika, and Gon.
The examiner's eyes lit up slightly.
"Leorio, Kurapika, Gon. Congratulations—you're in."
"That brings us to a total of eleven finalists."
Kaizen scanned the group.
Compared to the original timeline, two extra people had made it through—himself and Alita.
Kaizen didn't belong to this world. He was a time traveler.
As for Alita, she only survived because he existed here. Otherwise, she might've died at Orion's No. 2 experimental base.
Kaizen glanced at her.
As agreed, Alita acted like she didn't know him. Kaizen didn't completely trust her—regardless of her claims that he had saved her life.
For one, her words might not be true.
And even if they were, that didn't guarantee loyalty.
Kindness doesn't always lead to gratitude. That's true in every world.
Still, Kaizen had played along and made a request of her.
He wanted her to gather intelligence on the world's criminal underworld.
Later, during the Yorknew arc, the Zoldyck family would be making a move on the mafia. If Alita could provide useful intel, it would come in handy.
And if she didn't? Or worse—if she turned around and reported the info to the Ten Dons?
Then he hadn't lost anything.
Kaizen turned to the crystal ball floating in front of him.
The progress bar was steadily advancing.
"Sixty-one percent. Not bad," he muttered with a faint smile.
"Pretty much what I expected."
...
"Everyone, please return to the ship," the examiner called out. "We'll be transferring to the airship shortly."
He turned to Ponzu.
"Candidates who didn't pass will need to disembark once we land. You'll have to find your own way from there."
Ponzu nodded quietly. "Understood."
One by one, the examinees boarded the ship.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The siren blared as the vessel slowly pulled away from Zevil Island.
...
A figure stepped out from the woods.
Siper watched the ship depart, her expression unreadable.
"Kaizen was right. Gittarackur… I'm no match for someone like that."
"We're not even in the same league."
She paused.
"And Kaizen… him too."
Should she contact him?
She considered it.
The reason she'd taken the Hunter Exam in the first place was to become stronger.
But she'd failed. She'd have to wait until next year for another shot.
Still, Kaizen had shown her something different.
A powerful person might not be a good teacher.
But they always knew how to become strong.
...
Bourbon stood in silence, staring at the blood-soaked earth, snakes strewn everywhere.
"I'm still… too weak."
...
Deep in the woods, two bodies lay cold—Amori and Umori.
Of the three Molly brothers, only Imori was still alive.
He had no idea how long he'd been running.
Killua had stopped chasing him long ago, but he hadn't stopped fleeing.
Eventually, he reached the edge of Zevil Island and crawled into a small cave to hide.
"That kid… he's terrifying."
"Umori and Amori are dead."
"What now?"
"How do I explain this to Mom?"
Imori curled into a ball.
Then an idea hit him.
He wouldn't go back.
He'd just disappear. Wander aimlessly. Pretend to be dead.
"Would Mom be sad?"
"But whether I'm around or not... I probably don't matter that much."
...
On the airship.
In a private conference room sat Netero, Menchi, Buhara, Saccho—some of the main Hunter Exam staff.
There were many other examiners involved, from the qualifiers to the tower guards, even the ones at Trick Tower. Some, like Lippo, had only brief roles.
But the core staff, the ones running the final decisions—those were gathered here.
A small green bean-shaped staffer printed out a fax and handed it to Netero.
"Chairman, here's the list of finalists."
Menchi and the others leaned in with interest.
"Eleven, huh? Not bad," Netero said, his beard trembling as he chuckled.
"Except for a few familiar faces, the rest are all fresh blood."
"Been a long time since we had such a lively batch."
Menchi tilted her head.
"Can we take a look at the list, Chairman?"
Netero handed it over with a grin.
Menchi quickly scanned it, while the others crowded around behind her.
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