Gon's First Battle at Heaven's Arena

The first-floor lobby of Heaven's Arena held sixteen matches at once, roaring with noise. The air was thick with sweat, disinfectant, and the charred aroma of grilled sausages drifting down from the stands. Huge electronic screens hung above the rings, refreshing with new match numbers every few minutes.

Killua leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets. Gon stood beside him, unconsciously pinching the seam of his pants over and over.

"Contestants 1973 and 2055, please report to Ring E." The announcement echoed through the lobby.

Gon's shoulders twitched slightly. "2055... it's my turn." He took a deep breath, then let it out. "I'm suddenly getting nervous."

"Gon, didn't you already open the Trial Gate?" Killua's lips curled upward, his tone relaxed. "In that case, try pushing your opponent away with all your strength."

Gon's eyes lit up as he considered it. Push with all his strength—right, he had pushed that gate. The three of them had worked together to open the final door of the Trial Gate. The marks left by the bandages on his arms had faded to a few pale red traces, but his bones still remembered the feeling of concentrating every bit of strength into his palms. He nodded hard and headed toward Ring E.

His opponent was already standing in the center of Ring E. Gon looked up at the burly man before him, built like a wall—over two meters tall, at least two hundred kilograms, with a face full of flesh and arms thicker than Gon's waist. The man looked down at the spiky-haired child in front of him, a mocking smirk squeezing onto his lips.

Laughter and whistles erupted from the stands.

"Look! It's a little kid!"

"Little brother, if you're going to run, do it now! This isn't playtime!"

"Just send him flying out of the ring in one hit!"

The burly man folded his arms and looked down at Gon, who was not even as tall as his shoulder. He gave a cold snort through his nose. He said nothing, but his eyes said it all—this kid was not even worth warming up against.

The referee stood in the center of the ring and raised his right hand. His gaze swept between Gon and the burly man before returning to the timer in his hand. "In first-floor matches, contestants are assessed based on their performance. Please demonstrate your abilities within the three-minute time limit." He stepped back, drew a breath, and called out, "Ready—begin!"

The burly man immediately charged Gon, raising his right fist high. That fist was bigger than Gon's head, crashing down with a howl of wind. "Brat, I'll finish you with one punch!"

Gon nimbly flipped to the side and easily dodged the attack. The force of the punch brushed past his ear, lifting a few strands of hair, before slamming into the ring floor behind him with a dull thud. The burly man froze for half a beat—so fast, like a grasshopper springing off a leaf.

So slow. Much slower than the fish monster in the swamp. Gon stared at the man's right arm as it was still retracting and remembered what Killua had just said—didn't you already open the Trial Gate? Right, that gate. The gate the three of them had opened together. Leorio's arms had been trembling, Kurapika's breathing had grown ragged, and Gon's own arms had still been wrapped in bandages. But the gate had opened. He had pressed all his strength into his palms, and the gate had opened.

Push with all his strength.

Gon suddenly sprang from where he stood, his body tracing a short arc through the air above the ring. Before the burly man could pull back his punch, Gon's palm had already pressed against the center of his abdomen. No running start, no buildup—he simply concentrated all the strength in his body into his right palm and pushed forward with all his might. The movement was light, so light it looked as though he were pushing open a door that was not particularly heavy.

The burly man's expression froze. Before he could understand what had happened, his body was lifted from the abdomen by an invisible giant hand. His feet left the ground, and his entire body flew backward. The laughter in the stands had not even stopped before he crashed into the wall behind the ring with a muffled boom, dust showering down from the impact.

The burly man slid down the wall and collapsed at the edge of the ring, eyes closed and completely unconscious. The ring fell silent for a full two seconds.

Then the place exploded.

"W-what?!"

"That kid... what kind of monster is he?!"

"He sent a guy like that flying with just one push?!"

"Was that a human hand just now? That was a construction hammer!"

"Hey, hey, is that big guy even real? He wasn't inflatable, was he?"

The referee looked down at the burly man sprawled at the edge of the ring, then raised his head to look at Gon. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. After another look at the man, confirming that he was indeed still breathing, he blew his whistle. "Contestant 1973 has lost the ability to fight! Contestant 2055, Gon, wins!" He put away the whistle and added in a somewhat uncertain tone, "Based on your performance, you may proceed directly to the fiftieth floor."

Gon looked down at his right palm. His fingers spread, then clenched into a fist, then spread again. The edge of his palm was slightly red, the recoil from that push still lingering on his skin. When did I become this strong? Is this the strength I gained after opening the Trial Gate? So I already possessed such incredible power. He stared at his palm for a long time, then looked up at Killua by the ring.

Killua walked to the edge of the ring, his hands still in his pockets and a slight curve on his lips. "Nice job, Gon. Told you that you could do it."

"Killua, thanks for the advice! I had no idea pushing with all my strength was this amazing!" Gon jumped down from the ring, his face full of excitement as he kept looking at his palm.

- This battle gave Gon the qualification to advance directly to the 50th floor, while Killua instantly defeated his opponent with a single hand strike. Though he was originally allowed to proceed directly to the 180th floor, he chose to remain on the 50th floor with Gon.

"Stop playing with your hand. Let's go." Killua turned and headed toward the elevator. He had watched the entire match from beside the ring—the timing of Gon's jump, the angle of his palm, the distance the burly man had flown. After roughly estimating it, he knew that Gon would find no opponents below the fiftieth floor capable of handling that kind of force. The first line of his plan, "Determine Gon's true output limit," could be crossed out. He pressed the elevator button. "The fiftieth floor. The referee was right. At this pace, we'll be able to charge up to the higher floors soon."

The elevator doors opened. Saitama stood inside carrying a plastic bag, his yellow T-shirt stained with volcanic ash from Kukuroo Mountain. He took a bite from the grilled corn he had just bought from a stall at the entrance and chewed twice. The plastic bag was also stuffed with food containers packed from the Zoldyck estate and two bottles of dipping sauce.

Gon paused for a moment, then grinned. "Saitama! You came too! When did you—where did you buy that corn?"

"At the stall by the entrance. The chili sauce isn't spicy enough."

"That's not what I meant—" Gon looked at the plastic bag in Saitama's hand, then at the burn marks still lingering on his T-shirt. "Did you leave with us? How come I didn't see you on the airship?"

Saitama entered the elevator and pressed the button for the fiftieth floor. The numbers began climbing. He finished the last bite of grilled corn and tossed the cob into the plastic bag. The elevator was quiet for several seconds.

"Walked here. A straight line was faster."

Killua leaned against the metal wall and looked at the vent in the elevator ceiling. Walked here—from Kukuroo Mountain to Heaven's Arena, with several transit stops and a vast plain in between, and this guy said he had walked. "How long did it take?"

"Not long. A little faster than the airship. The airship had to follow its route. Walking in a straight line doesn't."

The elevator chimed as it stopped at the fiftieth floor. The doors opened, and Killua walked out first, his steps light. Gon followed behind, slipping the palm that had sent the burly man flying into his pocket. He suddenly looked back at Saitama—he wanted to say something, but swallowed it and kept walking. Saitama ate his grilled corn and followed the two of them. He remembered that Gon and Killua would meet Zushi on the fiftieth floor, after which Wing would teach them Nen. He had watched this episode. No rush. There was still more than half a bottle of dipping sauce left in the plastic bag, enough to last until they finished the lower floors.