All four of them looked utterly confused.
The captain adjusted his hat and continued, "Still don't get it? Your Hunter Exam actually began the moment you stepped aboard."
With that, he pulled an ID card from his bag. It bore the Hunter Association's logo, which Kaya and Gon had seen when they registered.
Leorio exclaimed, "Th-this is a Hunter Association examiner's ID!"
The captain put the card away and said solemnly, "Tens of millions of people take the exam every year. Do you think the Hunter Association's examiners alone have enough time to screen them all?"
"That's why the Association hires us every year to carry out the preliminary screening."
"The other passengers aboard this ship have already been eliminated. Once I submitted their information to the committee, they lost all eligibility to take this year's exam."
"In other words, whether the four of you can take this year's exam is up to me. So, would you two like to reconsider my question?"
The captain fixed Leorio and Kurapika with an unyielding stare, waiting for their answers.
Hearing that, Leorio immediately changed his tune. "Well, well, looks like I have to tell you. My reason for becoming a Hunter is..."
"I'm the sole survivor of the Kurta Clan..." Kurapika glanced at Kaya beside him and began answering on his own.
Annoyed at being interrupted, Leorio snapped, "I was just about to answer! Rude little brat."
Having successfully ignored him yet again, Kurapika continued, "I want to become a bounty hunter so I can capture wanted fugitives."
Kaya and Gon asked curiously, "Why?"
Kaya's question made Kurapika's heart tremble. After composing himself, he continued, "Five years ago, my people were brutally slaughtered by a criminal group called the Phantom Troupe. I must hunt them down myself and exact my revenge."
"But the Phantom Troupe are all Class A fugitives. Their bounties may be high, but they're so dangerous that even the finest bounty hunters refuse to pursue them. It could cost you your life," the captain said gravely.
Kurapika gave a bleak smile. "I don't fear death. What I truly fear is that time will make the anger in my heart fade."
How deeply seared into his soul must that pain have been to affect a boy this way?
Both Gon and Kaya were stunned by his impassioned answer.
Kaya couldn't help speaking up. "But if you throw your life away, how will you carry out this revenge of yours? Won't it become nothing but empty words?"
Kurapika's answer had stirred something in Kaya's heart.
It wasn't pity, but a sense of kinship-a pain he could feel as his own.
That was why he tried to persuade Kurapika in his own way.
Although Kaya seemed to have a point, the desire for revenge wasn't something Kurapika could simply abandon.
So Kurapika didn't answer. He only gave Kaya a meaningful look.
Leorio, who had been watching from the sidelines, couldn't resist sniping, "Give it a rest. You could skip wasting time on the Hunter Exam and go straight after your revenge."
Kurapika said, "I thought you only looked stupid. To think you'd ask such a foolish question. It seems I gave you far too much credit."
Furious, Leorio tried to charge forward and lash out, but Gon and Kaya grabbed him, one on each side.
"Only Hunters can enter places ordinary people can't, and Hunters have the most comprehensive intelligence network in the world. That will be invaluable to my mission. Do you understand now, Leorio?"
He put heavy emphasis on Leorio's name, almost as if he were deliberately provoking him.
Leorio bristled and roared, "Call me Mr. Leorio, you little brat!"
"Gon, Kaya, stop holding me back! I'm going to take him on!"
He tried to shake off the two boys, who were playing on his arms as if they were horizontal bars.
Kaya stopped what he was doing, his expression turning serious. "Enough messing around, Leorio. It's your turn to answer."
The captain nodded in agreement and asked, "What about you, then? Mr... Leorio?"
Leorio straightened his tie, a wild gleam entering his eyes.
"One word: money!!! I'm becoming a Hunter for money. With money, I can buy fancy cars and mansions, beautiful women will come knocking, and I can spend every day living it up. Just thinking about it gets me excited!"
With a lovestruck look on his face, Leorio was completely lost in his fantasy world.
"You should save that money and buy yourself some more books, Leorio," Kurapika remarked expressionlessly.
Kaya almost wanted to ask him to teach him. The perfectly timed jab, paired with that serious expression, completely disregarded the bristling Leorio.
"That's the fourth time, kid." Leorio pushed up the sunglasses on his nose. "Come outside with me. Looks like your filthy Kurta clansmen never taught you any manners."
"Take that back, and I can still forgive you, Leorio."
Those words struck Kurapika's sorest nerve. He clenched his fists, using reason to hold back his anger.
"Call me Mr. Leorio. Forget it, whatever. Outside. One-on-one." With that, Leorio headed out of the captain's cabin.
"Just what I wanted." Kurapika followed close behind.
"You two, come back! I haven't finished yet!" The sudden turn of events left the captain bewildered.
"Let them go. If you want to truly understand someone, you need to know what makes them angry. That's what Aunt Mito told me," Gon said earnestly.
The captain turned to Kaya. "What do you think, kid?"
Since Gon and Kaya had grown up together, he felt it was worth seeing whether they shared the same views.
Kaya said casually, "Whatever. No matter why they're angry, it must be over something they care about. They'll be fine after a fight, and they won't make the same mistake again."
The captain laughed. "You two really are family. Good, very good."
"Then, Kaya, why do you want to take the Hunter Exam?"
Kaya yawned and said lazily, "To experience a different kind of life, find my master while I'm at it, and, as a very minor side task, look after him."
He pointed at Gon beside him.
"I'm your least important reason?" Gon asked indignantly.
"If that's how you want to take it, I can't help you," Kaya replied with utter indifference.
As the two bickered, a crewman rushed into the room. "Captain, lightning struck the mast! The first mate is reinforcing it, but with the wind and waves this bad, I'm worried something might happen."
The captain frowned and led the three of them out to investigate.
The ship's lights looked especially feeble in the storm, flickering as though the whole world were about to be swallowed by the tempest.
Meanwhile, Leorio and Kurapika were fighting fiercely.
One wielded twin blades, the other a dagger.
Their weapons clashed at close quarters, the sharp ringing audible across the entire deck.
Their nimble movements looked especially fluid beneath the dim lights.
Their hand-to-hand combat abilities were evenly matched, and both were highly confident in their own skills, so they began to develop a grudging respect for each other.
"Not bad, kid." Leorio wiped the rain from his face and offered genuine praise.
"You're not bad yourself." Kurapika's blue cloak fluttered in the wind, his smooth golden hair flowing freely. The blood-red earring on his left ear swayed with his breathing.
After exchanging compliments, they charged at each other with all their strength and plunged back into the fight.
But Kaya and Gon were focused on the first mate, who was reinforcing the supports high up on the mast.
"This won't do. The storm's too strong. He's in danger," Gon said urgently.
"Okay, you get him down. I'll reinforce the mast."
Kaya was usually lazy and gluttonous, but he'd had a good upbringing back on Blue Star, followed by several years under Mito's guidance.
Though he was still a mischievous brat who enjoyed playing tricks on people, his sense of right and wrong was sound when it mattered.
At a time like this, he certainly wouldn't shirk his responsibility.
Besides, knowing Gon, Kaya was sure he would go to the rescue anyway, so he might as well offer first.
They acted at once, leaping onto the mast.
Ignoring the first mate's protests, Gon took the tools from his hands and passed them to Kaya.
"I'll leave it to you, Kaya."
Kaya took the tools and said, "Quit wasting words and get down there. Leave the rest to me."
He clamped his legs tightly around the mast to steady himself and began reinforcing it with the hammer.
Gon had already brought the first mate safely down to the deck and was watching Kaya anxiously.
Though he knew how strong Kaya was, it was impossible not to worry at all.
A bolt of lightning struck the bow, sending up sparks that the pouring rain quickly extinguished, leaving only the smell of smoke.
The tension rose again.
"That was close."
Kaya steadied his rattled nerves and continued working without a moment's hesitation.
Crack!
A bolt of lightning struck the hammer in Kaya's hand dead-on.
Kaya's body jolted, and he instantly lost all control of it.
Before you continue