The Interview

The captain held a pipe between his teeth and stood at the doorway of the cabin.

The deck was strewn with people lying in all directions. Vomit, seawater, and shattered wooden planks created a scene of utter chaos.

He frowned and swept his gaze over this group of applicants collapsed on the ground.

"A bunch of trash."

His gaze shifted toward the cabin.

A blonde boy lay in a hammock, holding a book in his hand. He turned a page with a calm expression.

A tall man wearing sunglasses sat in a chair, crossing his legs as he ate an apple.

There was also a spiky-haired kid running back and forth across the deck.

He handed water to the seasick applicants and helped the crew clean up broken wooden planks.

The captain glanced at him a couple of extra times.

"Call those three people to my room."

He turned and walked into the captain's cabin.

A crew member froze for a moment. "Three?"

"Three people." The captain didn't even turn his head.

Inside the captain's cabin.

The captain sat behind the desk amid swirling smoke.

The three people stood before him: Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio.

"What are your names, you three?"

"My name is Gon!"

"Kurapika."

"Leorio."

The captain took a puff from his pipe. "I'm asking you, why do you want to become Hunters?"

Gon spoke up first.

"Because my dad is a Hunter! I want to know what kind of job it could possibly be that made him abandon his own son just to do it!"

The captain's hand paused for a moment.

He stared at Gon's face for a long time.

"Are you from Whale Island?"

"Yeah! How did you know?"

The captain didn't answer, turning instead to the other two. "And you?"

Kurapika looked at him coldly.

"I have no obligation to tell you."

"Exactly." Leorio crossed his arms. "You aren't even an examiner, what right do you have to pry and question us?"

The captain let out a cold laugh.

"I'm not an examiner?"

He put down his pipe and leaned forward.

"Let me tell you, from the very moment you set foot on this ship, the Hunter Exam has already begun. Hundreds of thousands of applicants sign up every year, and the examiners simply cannot screen them all. That's why captains like us are the first-round filters."

His gaze swept over the three of them.

"Right now, apart from the three of you, everyone else on this ship has already been eliminated. You two are unwilling to state your reasons? Fine, I will notify the screening committee right now that the two of you are also eliminated."

The cabin fell silent.

Kurapika's fists slowly clenched, his fingernails digging into his flesh.

"I am a survivor of the Kurta Clan. Four years ago, the Phantom Troupe slaughtered my people and gouged out their Scarlet Eyes. I want to become a Hunter, obtain hunting rights, catch them with my own hands, and take back my people's eyes."

His voice was very soft, but every word felt like a blade.

The captain was silent for two seconds, then looked at Leorio.

Leorio turned his head away, his voice a bit muffled.

"I want money. A lot, a lot of money. When I was young, I had a good friend who fell gravely ill and died because he didn't have the money for treatment. I want to become a doctor and treat poor people for free. But studying medicine takes a lot of money, and only being a Hunter can earn you that much money the fastest."

Kurapika glanced at him coldly.

"So it was just for money after all. How vulgar."

Leorio instantly exploded. "What did you say?! Do you think you're so noble? What's the difference between you killing for revenge and me becoming a Hunter for money?"

"Take back what you just said. Otherwise I'll kill you."

"Come on! Who's scared of who! If you've got the guts, let's fight on deck!"

The two turned and marched out the door.

The captain sat in his chair, not moving. He puffed on his pipe, watched their retreating backs, and a trace of an imperceptible smile touched the corner of his mouth.

On deck.

Saitama stood by the ship's rail, wringing out the water in his T-shirt. His expression was extremely displeased.

The cabin door was shoved open with a bang, and Leorio and Kurapika rushed out.

"Come on! Let's settle it right here!"

"My thoughts exactly."

The two assumed their stances.

Saitama glanced at them. Then he turned back to wringing his clothes.

Gon chased out from the cabin, "Stop fighting, you guys—"

Before his words faded, a gale swept past.

Katz, a crew member, was hauling in the last mooring line, but he lost his footing and the wind blew him right over the ship's rail.

"Ah—!"

Leorio rushed over first, reaching out to grab him. He missed by a hair.

Kurapika followed closely behind, but failed to catch him either.

Gon didn't even think, leaping straight out over the rail.

In midair, he grabbed Katz by the wrist.

Yet Gon himself was now suspended in midair. One hand held Katz, while the other gripped the edge of the rail, his knuckles turning white. The ship kept rocking, and the weight of both people hung entirely from that single hand.

Leorio immediately lunged over and grabbed Gon's ankle.

Kurapika also rushed forward and grabbed Leorio's waist.

The three of them pulled together.

But the ship rolled too violently.

Leorio's feet began to slip. Kurapika's shoes inched forward bit by bit on the slick deck. The center of gravity for all three of them was tilting past the rail.

Katz hung in midair, his face pale, unable to spit out a single word.

Saitama stood nearby.

Watching the whole thing from start to finish.

He sighed.

He extended a single finger.

And gently hooked the back of Kurapika's collar.

Pulling it back.

The four of them were hauled back like a bunch of grapes, tumbling onto the deck.

Leorio sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath.

Kurapika propped himself up, his blonde hair disheveled, and looked back at Saitama.

Saitama had already turned back around.

He resumed wringing the water out of his T-shirt.

As if nothing had happened at all.

Katz collapsed onto the deck, panting heavily.

He stared at Saitama's back, his lips moving.

Not a single word came out.

Leorio sat up and scratched his head, "What... just happened?"

Kurapika didn't speak. He stared at Saitama's back, his gaze lingering for a long time.

Gon picked himself up from the ground and grinned, "Awesome! Everyone's okay!"

Leorio and Kurapika exchanged a look.

Both felt a bit awkward.

Kurapika spoke first, "Just now... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called you vulgar."

Leorio averted his gaze, "I was wrong too. I shouldn't have brought up your clan."

The two fell silent for two seconds, then extended their hands at the same time and shook.

Gon laughed even more happily beside them.

Then he turned to look at Saitama.

"Brother Saitama! Thanks for just now!"

Saitama did not turn his head.

"On the way."

Gon froze for a moment, then smiled even more brilliantly. "On the way still makes us teammates!"

Leorio stood up and patted his pants. "Alright, alright, just don't hold me back during the exam."

Kurapika gathered his hair. "Same to you."

The captain stood at the cabin door.

He had watched everything.

The ash in his pipe dropped to the ground, but he did not notice.

His gaze moved from Gon to Leorio, and then to Kurapika.

Finally, it fell upon Saitama.

It lingered for a long time.

Saitama was wringing out his clothes.

After wringing the front, he wrung the back. After wringing the back, he wrung the front again.

The captain watched him for a full five seconds.

Then he turned and walked into the cabin.

In front of the TV, Genos stared at the screen.

The captain's interview. Gon said he was looking for his dad, Kurapika said revenge, Leorio said money. Exactly consistent with the original work.

Kurapika and Leorio argued. Exactly consistent with the original work.

The two rushed out to duel. Exactly consistent with the original work.

Katz was blown over the rail by the wind. Exactly consistent with the original work.

Gon jumped out to save him, and Kurapika and Leorio rushed over to help. Exactly consistent with the original work.

Then it became different.

When the three of them were about to be pulled down, Teacher extended a single finger. He hooked the back of Kurapika's collar and pulled backward. All four people came right back.

Genos replayed this footage frame by frame.

The instant Teacher's finger hooked the back of the collar, Kurapika's body produced a microscopic displacement. Three hundredths of a second later, Leorio's body also produced a displacement. Six hundredths of a second later, Gon and Katz came back too.

Path of force transmission: Teacher's finger → Kurapika's back collar → Kurapika's spine → Kurapika's hand gripping Leorio → Leorio's spine → Leorio's hand gripping Gon's ankle → Gon's leg → Gon's hand gripping Katz → Katz.

Four people, and Teacher used only a single finger.

Moreover, Teacher did not change his expression the entire time. The clothes-wringing action was only interrupted for one second. After hooking the collar, he continued wringing the clothes.

Katz saw it. He collapsed on the deck, staring at Teacher's back, his lips moving, but making no sound.

Kurapika saw it too. He turned his head to look at Teacher, his gaze lingering for a long time. But he said nothing at all.

The captain saw it too. He stood at the cabin door, not even noticing when his pipe ash dropped to the ground. He stared at Teacher for a full five seconds.

Then he turned and left.

He asked nothing at all.

Smart.

Genos wrote in his notebook: Chapter three. Teacher's first proactive rescue of people. Method: A single finger. Expression: Wringing clothes. Afterward reaction: Said "On the way." Among the four people saved, Katz saw it, Kurapika saw it, and the captain saw it. Leorio had no idea what happened. Gon knew Teacher helped, but didn't know how the help was done.

The captain asked nothing at all.

Wise.

Potato chip remaining amount: Half a bag.