Netero's questions

The candidates who had collected their number tags began gathering at the finish line.

The hour was almost up.

Kara stood in front of everyone, registering them.

Killua looked around, unable to keep his nerves from rising.

Don't tell me Cordis, Gon, and the others couldn't collect all their tags.

After Kara finished registering the people in front of her, she was just about to put her notebook away.

Cordis and the other three emerged from the forest.

Kara glanced at her watch when she saw them.

"Just in time. That makes four more candidates."

Seeing that they had really made it, Killua felt all his anxiety melt away.

He happily ran over to Gon, eager to share the interesting things that had happened over the past few days.

That was when he spotted Cordis's right arm hanging in a sling around his neck.

"You idiot! How are you so weak? You even managed to break your arm!"

At that, Cordis instinctively touched his right arm, which seemed to ache a little.

"You're amazing, Killua. I didn't expect you to come back without a scratch."

Killua rubbed his nose, looking a little pleased with himself.

Still, he put on the air of a little adult and declared proudly.

"An exam like this is way too easy for me."

Throughout all this, Gon hadn't said a word. He simply stared at Hisoka below.

His fists clenched.

His eyes were filled with murderous intent.

This was the first time Killua had ever seen Gon like this.

He couldn't help edging closer to Cordis.

Hisoka, meanwhile, had also felt Gon's murderous stare.

He seemed to be looking forward to fighting Gon.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and his lips curled into a smile.

"All nine candidates present have officially passed the fourth phase!"

Kara's voice rang out over the speakers.

Following Kara, everyone boarded the airship with the HUNTER logo that had brought them there.

At Cordis's insistence.

Leorio, Kurapika, and Gon were dragged over to the window to look at the clouds below.

Everyone except Cordis looked thoroughly uninterested.

"I really don't get it. What's so great about these clouds?"

Leorio couldn't help complaining.

Cordis's arm had already been treated by an excellent doctor aboard the airship.

Although his entire right arm was still wrapped in bandages.

At least the waves of burning pain he'd felt at first were gone.

Cordis gazed at everything outside the window.

His eyes shone.

"I've never seen any of this before. It's beautiful, don't you think?"

They had long since grown tired of looking at clouds, so naturally, they couldn't understand what Cordis found so beautiful about them.

Leorio leaned back against the windowsill and suddenly spoke.

"It's embarrassing to admit, but if you three hadn't kept helping me through these four phases, I probably would've..."

"I'll definitely repay what I owe you."

"Um... and thank you."

As he spoke, Leorio turned his face away like a bashful young girl.

Just then, a voice suddenly came over the speakers.

"Chairman Netero will now conduct individual interviews with everyone."

"Candidates whose numbers are called, please come to the reception room on the second floor."

"We'll begin with candidate number 122, Mr. Cordis Paipai."

Cordis hadn't expected to be first. After saying goodbye to Gon and the others in turn.

He headed toward the reception room on the second floor.

He pushed open the door and saw Netero sitting cross-legged on a cushion.

Netero held a notebook and a pen, as though ready to take notes at any moment.

Netero motioned for Cordis to sit opposite him.

Cordis looked around curiously, and after making sure there didn't seem to be anything unusual nearby.

He settled comfortably onto the cushion opposite Netero, sitting back on his heels.

Cordis asked.

"Is this the final test? It seems awfully slapdash."

Netero chuckled before answering.

"Of course not. I merely want to ask you a few questions to help me decide what the next phase should involve."

"Now, the first question: why did you enter the Hunter Exam?"

Cordis didn't seem to have thought about this before.

He rested a finger against his chin and tilted his head up, thinking for a long while without reaching an answer.

Seeing this, Netero asked.

"Did you simply want to take the Hunter Exam?"

Cordis shook his head. That wasn't the answer he wanted.

Suddenly, inspiration struck him!

Excited, he propped himself up and leaned toward Netero.

"I've got it!"

"I want to become the strongest in the world! I want to learn more about the world of Hunters!"

Netero hadn't expected young people these days to be so enthusiastic.

Once Cordis had sat back down.

He continued his questions.

"Of the other eight candidates, who interests you the most?"

This time, Cordis answered without hesitation.

"Hisoka."

Then he earnestly pleaded with Netero.

"Mr. Chairman, please make sure I get to fight Hisoka."

Netero didn't answer. He merely waved a hand, telling Cordis to sit properly.

"Then, the next question: of the other eight candidates, who would you least want to fight?"

Cordis answered.

"Gittarackur, I suppose. After all, I really like him."

Whenever Illumi came up, Cordis always got hearts in his eyes.

Perhaps Netero hadn't expected personal feelings to enter into this.

He couldn't resist asking a little more.

"May I ask why you like him?"

Cordis hadn't expected Netero to be interested in gossip like this, either.

Cradling his cheek in one hand, he answered shyly.

"The first time I saw him, I was captivated by his good looks."

Watching Cordis, who was still lost in his own fantasy world, Netero had a thought.

Could he be an enemy of Illumi's? Netero wondered.

He also began considering whether to tell Illumi.

Apart from Netero's conversation with Cordis, which took rather longer.

Everyone else's interview lasted no more than four or five minutes.

In the end, of course, Netero didn't tell Illumi that Cordis might be his enemy.

Aside from Gon's answers, everyone else's answers differed little from those in the original story.

Netero asked.

"Of the other eight candidates, who interests you the most?"

Gon's answer was the same as Cordis's.

But compared with Cordis's answer, Gon's was much more brutal.

"Hisoka," Gon answered without hesitation.

"I'm going to kill him. No, that's not right. Someday, I'm going to kill him."

Netero continued.

"Then, of the other eight candidates, who would you least want to fight?"

"Cordis, I guess."

Whenever Cordis came up, a smile always appeared on Gon's face.

"He's as gentle as Aunt Mito. If I had to describe it, Cordis feels like a big brother."

I didn't expect writing just this to take up an entire chapter.

But that's all right!

Illumi and Killua's confrontation starts next chapter.

So, will Cordis step in?

And will Killua ultimately listen to his brother and go home?