The fruit grower

Luo Ye's voice wasn't loud.

It was languid, as though he were strolling through his own backyard.

Yet in this wetland shrouded in fog and fear, every word reached everyone's ears with perfect clarity.

Leorio went rigid, his mind blank.

He wondered if he'd misheard.

If sheer terror had made him hallucinate.

The man ahead of them was Hisoka.

That deranged clown who could slice someone's head off without a second thought.

Wasn't a normal person supposed to turn and run at the sight of him?

How did this Luo Ye dare?

Hisoka stopped walking, too.

He turned around, pure interest appearing in his narrow eyes for the first time.

As though he'd discovered a fascinating new toy.

"Oh?"

He drew the sound out.

"Another interesting little fruit."

"What did you just say?"

His gaze fixed on Luo Ye.

It was intensely predatory, assessing his prey's quality and deciding where to make the cut.

How to squeeze the sweetest juice from this fruit.

Under that gaze, Leorio felt cold seep into his very bones.

Luo Ye didn't react at all.

He even raised a hand and waved at Hisoka.

A flawless customer-service smile plastered his face.

"Hello, hello."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Luo Ye, a helpful fellow examinee."

He patted Leorio, who was practically turning to stone beside him.

"My friend here is a little shy and timid. Sorry about his behavior earlier."

"I'd like to apologize on his behalf."

He sounded utterly sincere.

Leorio desperately wanted to curse.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't get a single word out.

Hisoka's smile widened.

"Hehehe~"

A string of low chuckles rolled from his throat, his shoulders trembling slightly.

"How interesting."

"Your eyes are more interesting than his."

He stuck out his tongue and licked his lips.

"If you're apologizing, why not pay with your life?"

Before he'd finished speaking.

Hisoka vanished from where he stood.

Leorio saw only a blur.

By the time he registered it, Hisoka was already in front of Luo Ye.

Too fast.

His eyes couldn't follow him at all.

A playing card sliced through the air with a sharp whistle, heading straight for Luo Ye's neck.

"Watch out!"

Leorio shouted instinctively.

Luo Ye didn't move.

He didn't even blink.

Here it comes.

There was only one thought in his mind.

The best hunters often appear as prey.

This was exactly what he wanted.

He could dodge it.

But he didn't want to.

The first step of Combat Adaptive Evolution was taking a beating.

Swish.

A faint sound.

The playing card skimmed past Luo Ye's face, scattering a trail of blood droplets.

A long, thin cut stretched from his cheek to behind his ear.

It burned like fire.

But Luo Ye smiled.

It was pure, twisted ecstasy, welling up from the bottom of his heart.

"That's it?"

He stuck out his tongue and licked the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Decent power, but your aim's a little loose."

"Mr. Magician, did you skip lunch?"

Hisoka's pupils abruptly contracted.

He'd expected his opponent to dodge.

He hadn't expected him not to.

Much less to take the hit head-on and look as though he enjoyed it.

This guy.

He isn't afraid.

He isn't putting on a brave face, either.

He's excited?

Hisoka's blood began to heat up.

"Interesting."

"So interesting!"

He raised his hand again.

This time, he used Nen.

Pink aura emerged from his fingertips and instantly wrapped around Luo Ye's body.

Bungee Gum.

An overpowering tug struck.

Luo Ye's body was dragged toward Hisoka against his will.

This is it.

The Nen within Luo Ye surged into overdrive.

His body was memorizing this peculiar Nen, analyzing its composition and breaking down its power.

Bam!

Hisoka kicked Luo Ye in the stomach.

The tremendous force folded him in half and sent him flying backward.

"Cough."

He spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with stomach acid.

It hurts.

His internal organs felt as though they'd been knocked out of place.

But the excruciating pain only made him more excited.

His body was adapting at incredible speed.

Adapting to Hisoka's strength, his speed, and that bizarre Nen.

He could feel his cells rejoicing.

Ravenously absorbing nourishment.

Hisoka didn't pursue him.

He stood where he was, admiring Luo Ye as he struggled on the ground with the gaze of someone appraising a work of art.

"Your body's very honest, isn't it?"

He sensed a wondrous change taking place in the faint but tenacious Nen within Luo Ye.

"What a perfectly ripe fruit."

He prepared to deliver the final blow.

Just then.

"Leorio! Luo Ye!"

A clear, anxious voice came from the thick fog nearby.

It was Gon.

Kurapika's figure also appeared in the mist.

They'd finally found their way here.

Then they saw the scene before them.

Hisoka.

Luo Ye lying on the ground.

And Leorio beside him, scared witless.

Hisoka stopped.

His gaze passed over Luo Ye and settled on the newly arrived boy with spiky hair.

Those eyes.

Clear, bright, and full of life.

An even more delighted smile appeared on Hisoka's face.

"Oh my, oh my."

"What a wonderful day."

"Another little fruit has arrived, and this one looks even tastier."

He withdrew the hand he'd extended toward Luo Ye and released his Nen.

"Never mind."

"That's enough playing for today."

He turned, walked away, and disappeared into the thick fog.

Leaving only a few airily spoken words behind.

"You've all passed."

"Grow nice and big, little fruits."

"I look forward to the day I harvest you."

The danger had passed.

Leorio's legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the ground.

Gon and Kurapika rushed over.

"Luo Ye! Are you okay?"

Luo Ye got up and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

He stared in the direction Hisoka had disappeared, his eyes brimming with a desire for more.

"Tch."

"What a buzzkill."

He turned toward the worried Gon and Kurapika and gave them a huge smile.

"I'm fine."

"We ran into a helpful examiner who gave us a little extra coaching for free."

"I'd say we came out way ahead."

Gon and Kurapika: "???"

They suspected Hisoka might have knocked something loose in Luo Ye's head, too.