Chapter 75: I'm Annoyed, But I Can't Argue With That Logic
Outside the Testing Gate, Zebro was gone. The tourists were gone. The bus was gone.
The only person left was Zebro, staring slack-jawed at Kai.
"Holy crap, where did everyone go?"
Kai, equally stunned by the sudden emptiness, nearly lost his focus. The massive, 16-ton doors—32 tons in total—almost slammed back shut on him.
He quickly braced himself, growled, and with a final, shuddering effort, shoved the Fourth Gate open just wide enough to slip back out.
His two months of hellish training had paid off. The constant, agonizing grind of holding Ken until failure was far more painful than just pushing a heavy door. This... this was just heavy lifting.
BOOM...
The massive stone slabs groaned shut behind him, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"You... this... I..." Zebro was sweating more than Kai was. He looked from Kai to the gate, then back to Kai, his brain clearly short-circuiting.
You pushed open two gates to get in... and then just walked back out? And pushed open FOUR gates to do it?! That's 32 tons!
"Stop stuttering," Kai said, wiping a thin sheen of sweat from his forehead and shaking out his arms. "Where did everyone go? I didn't get on the bus yet!"
Zebro couldn't answer. He just pointed mutely to the small door, then walked over and dragged back two piles of fresh, clean-picked bones—the remains of the tourists Mike had eaten.
Kai stared at the bones. Someone got eaten by the dog?
He honestly hadn't noticed.
When he first pushed the gate open using only his muscles, his heart had been pounding so hard from the exertion that he probably missed the influx of Death Aura. Or maybe the adrenaline just masked it.
"Whatever. Guess they ran off," Kai muttered, unconcerned.
He sat down on the dirt, exhausted but grinning. He looked up at the towering gate.
In the manga, Killua had claimed that Gon, after opening just the first gate, could sweep his way up to the 200th floor of Heaven's Arena using pure strength. And Gon did exactly that. A simple shove sent grown men flying.
Of course, Gon had natural combat instincts too. But still.
Kai had just opened the second gate with raw muscle.
Even without using Nen, he should be able to dominate the lower floors just as easily as Gon did.
And with Nen? He had barely managed to open the fourth gate with his 9,000 P.O.P.
Post-Chimera Ant Killua, with a P.O.P. over 20,000, had opened the fifth gate (64 tons).
Kai did the mental math. Killua's 20,000 opened 64 tons. My 9,000 opened 32 tons. Seems about right.
It was a good benchmark. He wasn't cocky, but he was satisfied. The trip had been worth it.
Heaven's Arena, here I come!
Kai stood up, dusted off his pants, adjusted his cap, and shouldered his bag. He turned to leave.
Zebro finally found his voice. "Wait! Aren't you going in? With strength like that... surely you want to visit?"
You pushed open four gates! You have to be someone important! An old friend of the family? A rival? Why else would you come all this way just to push a door and leave?
Zebro was genuinely shaken. The aura radiating off the boy was terrifying.
To Zebro, Mike was a monster. But to this boy? Mike was just a big dog.
He reminded Zebro of the Zoldyck butlers. Those young monsters who, even at ten years old, could slaughter hundreds without breaking a sweat.
"Go in for what?" Kai waved a hand dismissively without looking back. "Are they gonna invite me for lunch? Forget it. I don't know any Zoldycks."
He walked away, his stride confident.
Damn guides ran off so fast... now I have to walk all the way back down the mountain?
...
Zebro watched the boy disappear down the winding road. He stood there for a long time, then sighed.
"Who was that kid?"
A voice from behind made Zebro jump.
He spun around. Two figures were standing there, having approached silently.
One was a chubby, 17-year-old otaku wearing a hoodie—Milluki Zoldyck.
The other was a delicate, kimono-clad child of about ten—Kalluto Zoldyck.
"Master Milluki! Master Kalluto!" Zebro bowed hastily. "He... he was just a tourist..."
Milluki frowned. "Just a tourist? Who opens four gates?"
He had been watching on the monitors, but he'd missed the end because Kalluto had dragged him out here.
"Yes, sir," Zebro reported. "He was a Nen user. He opened the first two gates without Aura. Then he used Nen to open the fourth. And then... he just left. He seemed... satisfied."
Milluki snorted. Four gates was impressive for an outsider, sure. But in the Zoldyck household? The butler interns could do that. Even Zebro, the janitor, had to open the first gate just to keep his job.
Milluki walked up to the gate and casually shoved the first door open with one hand.
Just enough force for one door. Efficiency. Milluki prided himself on that.
"Come on, Kalluto," he said, leading his younger brother inside. "Why are you so obsessed with Killua coming back anyway? Do you miss him that much?"
Kalluto followed silently. "If Killua came back, Mother and Father would be concerned."
Milluki grinned, a nasty, knowing expression on his face. "Concerned that he might remember Alluka, you mean? Heh. If Big Brother Illumi's brainwashing fails, I'm going to laugh so hard."
"Brother Milluki," Kalluto said softly, "you wouldn't dare laugh at Brother Illumi."
Milluki scowled. He wanted to argue, but he couldn't. Kalluto was right. He was terrified of Illumi.
Damn younger brothers... they're all annoying. Only my 2D waifus understand me.
Meanwhile, miles away.
Kai was sprinting down the mountain road. He was moving at the speed of a professional marathon runner, but his breathing was steady and calm. He hadn't even broken a sweat.
As he ran, he held his phone to his ear.
"Yeah, it was super heavy," he said, laughing. "Shizuku, you should try it next time. See how many doors you can open... By the way, are you there yet?"
(End of Chapter)