Heavens Arena. June 23rd, 1999. 06:00 AM.
The first light of dawn was just beginning to bleed through the curtains, but it did nothing to warm the room. The atmosphere was heavy, thick enough to have physical weight.
Three days ago, Gon had officially challenged Hisoka. Now, only seventeen days remained before a duel that the rest of the world considered a suicide mission.
"Kyle, I'm ready."
Gon's eyes were clear and void of hesitation as he completely ignored the person standing beside him. Killua was practically vibrating with tension, his gaze fixed on Kyle with a cold intensity that could freeze water.
"Gon!" Killua stepped forward, interjecting himself between them. His pupils had contracted into the vertical slits of a predator, sharp blue daggers that belonged to a Zoldyck assessing a target. "Are you seriously going to go through with this? We're talking about souls and other dimensions here. The risk is insane."
"I trust Kyle."
Gon's answer was simple, direct, and carried the weight of a mountain.
It was the kind of trust forged in the mud and blood of the Hunter Exam, the kind that didn't ask for evidence or logic.
Kyle didn't waste breath on persuasion. He simply met Gon's gaze and nodded solemnly.
He inhaled deeply to center his mind, focusing his will into the palm of his hand. As he activated his Ren, the aura erupted around him. The visible energy swirled and condensed rapidly until it solidified into a heavy object in his grip—a bronze tome with a cover etched in archaic, twisting patterns known as the Book of Resonance.
As his fingertips brushed the cold metal binding, phantom pains assaulted his mind. Fragments of a life he hadn't lived in this body flashed by like needles; the bite of a steel blade in a world of pirates, and the screech of a kunai tearing through the air on a night of clan extinction in a ninja village.
The phantom chill of death made his fingers tremble, but the fear calcified instantly into resolve. In this world, a place far more erratic and dangerous than the previous two, he had to seize every fraction of power available to him.
"Gon Freecss," Kyle's voice dropped an octave, taking on a ceremonial cadence as the pages of the bronze book ruffled without a breeze. "Do you agree to establish a Resonance Contract, to explore the unknown together, and to share in the fruits of cultivation and the risks that follow?"
"I do!" Gon replied without a second of hesitation.
He flared his Ren, sending a burst of pure, vibrant life energy surging outward like a golden flame. Drawn by the ancient rites of the book, the aura tapered into a single, blinding thread of light that drifted into the bronze pages.
A low hum vibrated through the room.
The book erupted with a gentle but piercing radiance. On the very first page, the golden light moved like an invisible quill to carve the name Gon Freecss in bold, undeniable strokes.
The moment the final stroke settled, both boys flinched as a sensation akin to a static shock snapped between them. It was a mental tether snapping into place, an invisible bond that allowed their auras to resonate in silence.
It worked. Kyle steadied his breathing, knowing the contract was merely the key he needed to turn.
He sank his consciousness into the depths of the book and pushed his aura toward a specific, dormant seal that represented the soul imprint of the High Seas.
"Guh—!"
Kyle grunted as his knees buckled and his body began to shake violently.
He felt as though a sluice gate inside him had been forcibly wrenched open. The Nen he had painstakingly cultivated over five years of grueling meditation was ripped from his body, pouring into the lit imprint like water rushing into a void. His meridians burned with a tearing pain, and his face drained of color as sweat soaked his shirt in seconds.
To the side, Killua and Gon watched in stunned silence as the air in front of Kyle began to twist. Threads of light wove together, warping the space until they coalesced into a shimmering gateway that rippled like water.
The view through the gate was blurred, but the smell was unmistakable; salt, brine, and the rhythmic crash of heavy waves.
"Is that... the door to the other world?" Killua's blue eyes widened, the assassin's calculation warring with a child's wonder.
He shifted his weight instinctively, moving half a step in front of Gon in a defensive stance while keeping his body loose enough to kill or retreat.
Kyle gasped for air, his lungs burning as he felt completely hollowed out.
"The passage... won't hold long," Kyle wheezed, forcing the words out through his exhaustion. "We have to go. Now."
Gon nodded. He glanced at Killua, offering a sharp, confident grin, then turned and stepped into the flowing light without breaking stride. He vanished instantly.
"Killua," Kyle looked at the silver-haired boy, forcing his trembling legs to hold him upright. "Three days. We will return in three days."
He stumbled forward, falling into the light.
The moment Kyle crossed the threshold, the portal destabilized and began to shrink rapidly.
Killua's instincts screamed. He launched himself forward in a blur of speed, hand outstretched to grab the fading edge of the gate before it closed. However, the moment he made contact, he was met with a soft yet irresistible repulsion force that slammed him back.
Killua flipped backward in mid-air and landed silently on the floorboards. He stared at the empty space where the light had been, the aggression fading from his eyes to be replaced by a complex mixture of understanding and loneliness.
"Just as I thought," he whispered to the empty room. "Only those who signed the contract can enter."
The World of One Piece. Shells Town Harbor.
Entering the gate felt like being shoved into a washing machine. The world spun in a kaleidoscope of nauseating colors as gravity lost all meaning, until the floor suddenly slammed into their feet.
Gon and Kyle stumbled, their senses assaulted by the cry of seagulls and the overwhelming scent of fish and tar. They were standing on the wooden planks of a busy dock in a strange new world.
"WAAAAH! IT APPEARED! PEOPLE POPPED OUT OF THE LIGHT!"
The shriek could have shattered glass.
Standing a few meters away was a boy in a straw hat whose eyes were practically popping out of his head. His jaw had dropped so low it nearly touched his chest, and he was bouncing up and down while pointing at them. His rubbery cheeks wobbled with pure, unadulterated excitement rather than fear.
Beside him, the atmosphere was decidedly colder.
A swordsman with green hair shaped like moss had his hand on the hilt of a white-sheathed katana before the light had even faded. His eyes were sharp and predatory, his muscles coiled tight in readiness for battle.
"Luffy, get back," the swordsman growled, stepping in front of the straw-hatted boy. "Who are you?"
"Kyle," Gon looked around with wide eyes, taking in the strange architecture and the oddly dressed sailors while seeming unbothered by the swordsman's killing intent. "Is this the other world?"
"Yeah," Kyle leaned heavily against a stacked shipping crate, trying to stop the world from spinning. "A world of oceans and islands."
He felt weak, and maintaining even a basic Ten to protect his body was a struggle. He was barely stronger than a civilian right now. He took a jagged breath and locked eyes on the boy in the straw hat.
"Gon," Kyle whispered urgently. "Look at the one in the hat. He's a Rubber Human. His body stretches and snaps back like gum, so his fighting style breaks the laws of physics."
Gon's ears perked up at the description.
"You can't use common sense to predict his attacks," Kyle continued rapidly. "Fighting him is the only way to prepare your instincts for Hisoka. Their properties are fundamentally the same, so this experience is vital."
"Eh? You wanna fight?"
The boy named Luffy stopped bouncing. The curiosity vanished, replaced instantly by a grin that split his face from ear to ear. He cracked his knuckles, and his arm suddenly stretched three feet longer than it should have.
"I'm the man who's gonna be King of the Pirates!" Luffy shouted, slamming his fist into his open palm. "Come on then!"