Everything in the early morning seemed to be tinged with a washed-out gray.
Kurapika awoke to birdsong in the oak forest.
He opened his eyes. Last night's slaughter felt like a dream, but when he sat up, his tightly wrapped blanket slipped off, and the cold wind brushed past him. At last, he felt more awake.
It hadn't been a dream. My teacher and I had taken down a whole gang of Mafia members on Twin Bridge and seized the Hokage Eye.
The Shadow Beasts had all been killed by his teacher.
He looked to the side. The campfire had gone out, leaving behind a pile of blackened ashes. Not far away sat a jar containing the Hokage Eye, floating in liquid.
Whose eye could it have been?
The Elder's? His father's? His mother's? Or Pyro's? There was no way to tell.
Kurapika stared silently into the still-terrified eye, then slowly let out a breath.
He had to endure. He also had to stay calm.
The hunt that begins tonight will be a long one. Don't let anger, ignorance, or arrogance unleash the beast in your heart. Use it. Let it become part of the long night that lies ahead...
Kurapika understood that his teacher had said those words for him.
He had recovered the first pair of Hokage Eyes. It was a good start, but many more had been lost and scattered elsewhere. This hunt was destined to be long.
He couldn't burn himself out at any cost. That would be a betrayal of his people.
His teacher was right. He needed to focus more on improving his strength. Otherwise, in a battlefield like last night's, there would always be a limit to what he could do.
Kurapika picked up the jar containing the Hokage Eye and lifted the