Gon vs. Hanzo

After everyone had finished asking their questions.

The airship took all the examinees to a hotel run by the Fanchah Association.

Everyone entered the hotel.

They saw the examiners from the previous four phases standing to one side, their expressions solemn.

On the other side stood a group of people dressed in black.

Just as everyone was wondering what the final test would be.

A tall man in black pushed a board in front of them.

Netero lifted the white cloth covering the board.

A chart appeared before everyone.

Leorio looked at it and asked.

"Does this mean only one person can win?"

Netero shook his head.

"You only need to win once to pass."

His words drew startled cries from the examinees.

"So that means only one person will be eliminated?"

Netero nodded in agreement.

"The winners keep moving back, while the losers keep moving forward. Anyone who reaches the top fails."

With that, Netero peeled off the tape that had been covering the very bottom.

Behind the tape were the initial matchups.

Gon was inevitably a little disappointed to see that he hadn't been paired with Hisoka.

Cordis, meanwhile, didn't know whether to consider himself lucky or unlucky.

His first match was against Bokukuka.

Cordis instinctively glanced at Bokukuka nearby.

Bokukuka also sensed the seemingly chilly look Cordis directed at him.

Fortunately, Cordis only gave him a brief glance.

That allowed Bokukuka to breathe a sigh of relief.

"He's kind of cute~" Cordis murmured to himself.

Netero looked at the matchups and nodded in satisfaction.

"Everyone has at least two chances."

But someone soon noticed something unusual.

"Why do numbers 122 and 405 get a whole five chances?"

Netero answered as though it were obvious.

"Because those two had better results, of course."

That didn't sit right with Killua, who protested.

"I can't accept that. I want a more detailed explanation of the scoring system."

Netero refused Killua's request without hesitation.

That only left Killua more baffled.

By all rights, he should have been stronger than Gon.

How was this possible!

Cordis saw Killua standing beside him, biting his lip with a defiant look on his face.

He didn't need to guess what Killua was thinking.

He took two fruit-flavored hard candies out of his pocket, the same kind he'd given Gon when they first met.

While no one around them was paying attention.

He quietly slipped them into Killua's palm.

By the time Killua noticed, he was holding two candies he'd never seen before, each in an elegant wrapper.

His gaze immediately locked onto Cordis, who stood beside him, smiling at him.

He muttered a few words under his breath, then put the candies in his pocket.

He turned his head away.

But from Cordis's angle, he could clearly see a faint pink tint on the tips of Killua's ears.

He couldn't help it-Killua was just too cute like this!

By the time Cordis realized what he was doing, his guilty hand was already stroking Killua's head.

And now Killua's ears turned even redder.

Blushing, he knocked the hand off his head.

"Idiot! Can you stop touching my head all the time!"

Just then, Netero's voice interrupted Killua's anger.

"If you cause your opponent's death, you will immediately be disqualified."

As Netero said this, his gaze seemed to drift toward Hisoka and Illumi.

His meaning was unclear.

Once all the precautions had been explained.

The final test officially began.

The first match was Gon vs. Hanzo.

In the original storyline, Hanzo had overwhelmed Gon from beginning to end.

He had even broken one of Gon's arms.

But ever since Cordis had arrived in this world.

Everything seemed to have begun veering off course.

Although Hanzo still had Gon on the defensive, Gon got back up within a second every time he was knocked down.

And he kept finding awkward angles to land a couple of blows on Hanzo.

Even if those punches and kicks didn't really hurt Hanzo.

Their sheer number was still hard to endure!

And as time passed, Gon gradually began to figure out Hanzo's attack patterns.

He could even dodge some of his attacks now.

But Hanzo's solid fundamentals and stamina still gave Gon trouble.

By now, both of them were covered in injuries.

And Gon was approaching the limits of his stamina.

As for Hanzo, who could say?

Watching Gon seemingly prepare to attack again, Hanzo raised both hands above his head and said helplessly.

"I surrender. Fighting someone like you is just a waste of time."

Gon wasn't happy to hear that.

What did he mean, fighting him was a waste of time?

If he couldn't win, then he couldn't win. Why pretend he had no choice?

"You can't just stop fighting because you feel like it! I want to fight! Come on, let's keep going!"

Hanzo watched Gon raise his fists and charge at him again as though he'd gone mad.

Just then, Cordis called out from the sidelines to stop him.

"Gon, it's over. You won."

Cordis's voice successfully brought the somewhat fixated Gon back to his senses.

Gon looked back at Cordis, his eyes filled with defiance.

But he obediently lowered his fists anyway.

He walked back to Cordis's side.

Cordis naturally picked up on Gon's mood.

He smiled and asked.

"What's wrong? Are you upset?"

The moment Gon saw Cordis's smile, his tightly furrowed brow relaxed.

He shook his head, looking deeply aggrieved.

"Cordis, am I weak?"

Cordis hadn't expected Gon to suddenly ask something like that.

But he answered him anyway.

"No, you're not. You're very strong, Gon."

That only made things worse, and tears began to well up in Gon's eyes.

"Then why wouldn't that guy fight me!"

He said it quite loudly.

Loudly enough for Hanzo, who was nearby, to hear.

Those words immediately set Hanzo off.

He angrily walked up to Gon and demanded.

"You little brat! What's that supposed to mean? I let you win, and you're still talking about me like that!"

Gon shot back, refusing to back down.

"I never agreed to let you surrender! What right did you have to surrender? I still want to fight!"

With that fierce attitude, there was no trace of his earlier wounded expression.

Gon's words left Hanzo utterly speechless.

He wanted to argue with Gon some more.

But before he could speak, the next match began.

The second match: Gittarackur vs. Killua.

The start of the second match also interrupted Gon and Hanzo's argument.

Gittarackur and Killua entered the arena in turn.

Killua stretched his arms and looked at Gittarackur, who stood before him with a smile on his face, his neck constantly twitching.

His eyes were full of disdain.

Hehe~

I'd originally planned to write Illumi and Killua's confrontation in this chapter.

I didn't expect Gon and Hanzo's match alone to take up an entire chapter.

I promise he'll definitely show up next chapter.

The order of the matches is a little off.

It can't be helped.