The four of them walked out of the port and stopped before a roadside map to study their route.
Just as Leorio had said, the Hunter Exam guide sent to applicants made no mention of a route via the Great Tree. It only stated that the starting point for this year's exam venue was in Saba City.
According to the map, a bus went straight to Saba City, but it ran only once a day, at ten in the morning. If they missed it, they would have to wait until the next day.
Yet the bus route went in exactly the opposite direction from the one the captain had given them.
After agonizing over it for a while, Leorio decided to trust his own judgment.
He glanced at the roadside clock and said anxiously, "It's almost nine. Let's hurry and catch the bus."
Gon shook his head. "The captain must have had his reasons. I'm going toward the Great Tree."
Seeing that Gon disagreed with him, Leorio turned to the others. "Then let's vote. Kaya, you first."
"Me? Either is fine, but I'd personally prefer the bus. Walking is a pain."
"OK, that's one vote to two. Kurapika, what about you?" Leorio asked.
Kurapika thought for a moment. "I'm with Gon. The captain had no reason to deceive us. He said that information was his way of thanking us, so it's very credible."
"I also noticed that he said, 'The exam has already begun.' That means this bus could very well be a trap."
As expected of Kurapika, he had already concluded from a few tiny details that the supposed bus route was a decoy.
Leorio wasn't convinced. "What proof do you have that the bus is a trap?"
Kurapika held up a finger. "First, Doli Island is an island. How could a bus get there?"
"Second, the captain said that the tests on the way to the exam venue were themselves meant to screen the applicants. Most people would choose the bus. Following that logic, only a minority would head toward the Great Tree, so I believe that route is the safer choice."
Kurapika's analysis was thorough and made perfect sense.
Kaya mulled it over and said, "I'm switching sides. I'll go toward the Great Tree too."
Gon grinned. "You should've done that from the start, dummy."
Kaya bristled. "Are you saying you'd already thought of all those suspicious details Kurapika pointed out? You expect me to believe that?"
"Well, actually, it was intuition." Gon scratched his head.
"Now it's three votes to one. What do you say, Leorio?" Kurapika asked with a small smile.
Leorio shouted, "What a pain! Fine, fine. I guess I'll tag along with you."
"Let's go!"
Gon excitedly pointed ahead, but just as he started forward, Kaya grabbed his backpack.
"What's wrong, Kaya?" Gon looked back, confusion written all over his face.
"Aren't you forgetting something important?"
The three asked in unison, "What?"
Kaya gave the three faces crowding in front of him a disdainful look. "That route looks long even in a straight line, and we're already out of food."
"We could hunt, sure, but that would take too much time."
Kurapika nodded in agreement. "He's right. That was thoughtful of you, Kaya."
After all, replenishing their energy was vital on a journey that would demand so much physical exertion.
Naturally, the two food lovers, Leorio and Gon, had no objections either.
Kaya held out his hand and looked up at a bewildered Leorio.
"Hand over the money."
Leorio took two startled steps back.
"M-money? What money?"
Kaya replied with complete confidence, "Obviously, we have to pay for what we buy."
"Then why am I the only one paying?" Leorio protested.
"We're splitting the bill. Divide the food costs by four, and you just pay your share. Give me 10,000 Jenny for now. I'll return any extra, and you can cover any shortfall." Kaya rose onto his toes and held his hand in front of Leorio's face.
Sweating profusely, Leorio crouched down, muttering under his breath, and opened his precious briefcase, making a show of searching for his wallet.
"Huh? Where's my wallet? I can't seem to find it."
"I think that's perfectly fair."
Kurapika was about to take some money out of his shoulder bag when Kaya caught his wrist and shook his head.
Leorio sneaked a glance back, saw this, and flew into a rage.
"You're playing favorites! Why doesn't Kurapika have to pay? I object!"
"You don't have to pay either, on one condition." Kaya gave him a teasing smile.
The instant he heard he wouldn't have to pay, Leorio crouched down and leaned close to his face. "What condition?"
"You carry the supplies," Kaya said. "And stop looking. I know there isn't a single Jenny in that shabby wallet of yours."
Aboard the Sea God, Kaya had grown curious about what treasures Leorio kept in the briefcase he clutched every day.
He had taken a secret peek while Leorio slept, so he knew a little about his "financial situation."
With Kaya running circles around him, Leorio grabbed his hair and tugged wildly. "Good grief, where did a little devil like you crawl out from? If there's any justice in heaven, take him away!"
Gon and Kurapika laughed until tears streamed down their faces, drawing curious looks from the other applicants nearby.
The noon sun baked the earth. The four had already left the city far behind and were walking along a forest path.
Kaya, Gon, and Kurapika strolled comfortably ahead, while Leorio trudged behind them with a huge bundle of food on his back.
"That little brat had better not fall into my hands," Leorio muttered viciously.
As they entered a dense stretch of forest, they came to a fork in the path.
Gon stopped and sniffed the air, then pointed down the left-hand path. "This way."
Kurapika and Kaya trusted Gon completely and followed without hesitation.
With the heavy bundle on his back, Leorio asked between gasps, "How can you be so sure?"
Gon explained, "There's a faint smell of blood coming from the other path, and the scent of wild beasts too."
"Who knows if that's even true," Leorio muttered.
"If you want to know whether it's true, why not go find out?"
Kaya sat on a branch, looking rather unconcerned.
After entering the dense forest, Kaya had stopped walking and begun hopping between the treetops instead.
Leorio pointed at Kaya through gritted teeth. "Don't push me too far!"
"If you've got a problem with me, we can settle it with a little sparring." Kaya narrowed his eyes. "Do you dare?"
Leorio immediately perked up and raised his voice. "No! What are you going to do about it?"
"..."
Figuring that Leorio really was tired, the four sat down in a grassy clearing for a short rest.
Leorio eagerly pulled out a drink and took a huge gulp, then tossed everyone a piece of bread.
Kaya looked up at the Great Tree and let out a long sigh. "We've been walking for ages. Why doesn't it feel any closer?"
Kurapika explained, "Judging distance by sight can be misleading, though it really is quite far away."
They divided up the food so that everyone carried some, then continued on their way.
As they pressed onward, the forest gradually thinned, and the gaps between the trees grew wider.
They slowly emerged from the forest, and the outline of a town appeared in the distance.
By then, dusk was approaching. Kaya and the others finally stood at the town's entrance, though it looked more like an old street than a town.
Weathered, low-rise buildings stood in neat rows on either side, looking unusually dilapidated. Crows perched on the ubiquitous clotheslines, cawing mournfully.
The eerie atmosphere made Leorio swallow nervously.
Gon, however, looked completely unbothered and strode farther into town.
Kaya ambled forward, looking at the buildings on either side.
Kurapika walked beside Kaya, while Leorio brought up the rear.
Leorio scanned their surroundings and complained, "This dump gives me goose bumps. It looks like there's nobody in the whole town."
Kaya pressed a hand to his forehead and shook his head. Leorio really is oblivious. Can't he hear all those people breathing?
Ever straightforward, Gon glanced around and remarked, "That's strange."
"What's strange?" Leorio asked.
"What's strange is that this town is full of people, but I can't see a single one."
Kurapika nodded in agreement. "I heard a crowd's footsteps too."
"Where? Where?" Leorio strained his ears for a moment, then said dejectedly, "You really are monsters. I can't hear a thing."
Kaya secured his long whip around an iron bar on a rooftop and used it to vault up in a few quick bounds.
The higher vantage point gave him a much better view than he had from the ground.
After carefully studying the streets below, he spotted a white figure at a corner off the main road, but it vanished in an instant.
At that, Kaya quickly hopped down via the buildings' eaves and opened a wooden door at the side.
As soon as he opened it, he found a bucktoothed old woman standing before him, peering at him through narrowed eyes.
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