"Kaya, Gon!" Hurried footsteps came from nearby. From the sound of the voice, it had to be Kurapika.
As the footsteps drew closer, Kurapika and his small shoulder bag gradually came into view through the hazy mist.
"Are you two all right?" Kurapika's voice was full of concern.
Kaya rubbed his neck and quipped, "Any later, and you could've collected our bodies."
Of course, Kaya knew Kurapika wasn't the kind of person who would abandon his friends.
Besides, a large part of the reason he had chosen to stay and fight was to buy Kurapika and Leorio enough time to escape.
But sometimes, he just couldn't hold back his biting remarks. He regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth.
In fact, Kurapika hadn't noticed Kaya's fight with Hisoka. Only when he heard Leorio's howl did he realize something had gone wrong over here.
But Kurapika didn't have Gon's keen nose. He could only search for them in the mist by following the general direction, which was why he had arrived so late.
"Kurapika, Kaya didn't mean it like that."
Knowing Kaya had put his foot in his mouth, Gon immediately tried to smooth things over.
Kurapika shook his head slightly. He hadn't taken Kaya's words to heart.
Besides, after knowing him for so long, no one understood Kaya's sharp tongue better than he did.
"Where's Leorio?"
Only then did Kurapika notice Leorio was missing, and he immediately grew tense.
"Hisoka took him," Gon answered.
Worried Kurapika would be concerned, Kaya continued, "Leorio should be fine. Hisoka said he was going to play examiner and judge us by his own standards. The candidates who failed are already dead."
"But he said all three of us passed. We must've met some standard of his, so I think Leorio's safe."
"Besides, if Hisoka wanted to kill us, we'd probably all be dead by now."
Only after hearing that did Kurapika relax. He also marveled at how, despite Kaya's usually reckless manner, his head remained exceptionally cool at critical moments, and his analysis was remarkably thorough.
"Then let's hurry. We're running out of time." Kurapika looked up at the sky. The mist still hadn't cleared.
"But which way should we run?" Kaya looked around, at a loss.
Hisoka had beaten him so badly that his head was spinning, and he had completely lost his sense of direction.
Gon sniffed the air. "I know. Leorio wears a very distinctive cologne. We can follow that smell to find the right way. At worst, we'll still find Leorio."
Kaya and Kurapika were long since used to Gon's doglike sense of smell.
Without lingering any longer, the three hurried ahead, following Gon's lead.
Elsewhere, after Killua and Pokkle reached their destination safely, they released the Man-Faced Ape.
The two, who barely knew each other, exchanged a glance before falling silent.
Hisoka, Kaya, Kurapika, and Leorio still hadn't appeared.
And Gon, as though he had suddenly sensed something, had frantically doubled back to look for Kaya. There was still no sign of him either.
Did they fail to make it after all?
Killua looked back down the path they had taken, a faint sense of disappointment welling up inside him.
Although he was full of curiosity and interest in Kaya and Gon, the differences in their upbringing, along with the brainwashing from Illumi's Nen Needle, had shaped him.
At this stage, Killua had yet to truly grasp the importance of companions.
As a result, he didn't agree with Gon's decision to turn back and help his friends during the exam.
The gates of Biscane Forest Park were currently shut, so the candidates who had arrived could only recover their strength outside.
Just as Mr. Satotz was about to stop his stopwatch, Killua spotted Kaya and the other two. The corners of his mouth unconsciously lifted into a faint smile.
"You finally made it! I thought you..."
Though his expression showed no concern, his words carried warmth.
Kaya answered between gasps, "Thought we were dead?"
Killua gave him a huge eye roll. "No, I thought you wouldn't make it in time."
After all, he was very confident in his own judgment.
Among all these candidates, the individual abilities of Kaya's group of four ranked fairly high.
Based on what Killua had observed, only Hanzo and Hisoka could beat them.
And Hanzo could only beat one of them in a one-on-one fight. Against all four, he wouldn't stand a chance.
Although Hisoka was powerful enough to defeat all four easily, when he had returned carrying Leorio a little earlier, Killua had known the other three were probably all right.
As soon as Gon arrived, he looked around, urgently searching for Hisoka. He needed to make sure Leorio had arrived too.
Hisoka was leaning beneath a tree and pointed something out to them.
Following his finger, they saw Leorio lying unconscious beneath a tree.
"Looks like Hisoka's pretty reliable after all." Kaya let out a breath of relief.
After they shook Leorio awake, he asked curiously what had happened. Apparently, that punch had knocked the memory right out of him.
"Why do I feel like I've gotten uglier?" Leorio rubbed his swollen right cheek, looking particularly comical.
"Not at all. You look exactly the same as usual. No difference." Kurapika held back his laughter and answered solemnly.
Everyone else stood nearby, stifling their laughter.
"Looks like Kurapika likes telling lies too," Gon whispered into Killua's ear.
Kaya took a packet of medicinal powder from his backpack and tossed it to Leorio.
"Take this. The swelling will go down soon."
It was powder made from ground Swift Grass, which was excellent for promoting circulation and clearing bruises.
Just then, Mr. Satotz's voice rang out. "Attention, all candidates."
He glanced at the stopwatch in his hand and continued, "First, congratulations to everyone here on successfully passing the first round of this Hunter Exam. A total of 149 candidates have passed the first round."
"Now, the second round of the exam will officially begin. I wish you all success."
"My task has also been successfully completed. Good luck, everyone."
With that, Satotz put away his stopwatch and disappeared into the forest.
There had been 405 candidates in the first round. By the time they reached the second round, before it had even begun, only 149 remained.
Kaya wasn't good at math, so he didn't know what percentage had been eliminated.
But judging solely by the proportion eliminated through death, it was quite high.
"We finally made it through the first round." Kurapika let out a long breath.
"Wasn't that a given?" Leorio had completely forgotten his fight with Hisoka. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared act so cocky now.
Kaya walked briskly over to Gon and asked curiously, "How did you know I was in danger?"
Kurapika, Pokkle, and Killua were also very curious about this, and their eyes immediately turned to Gon.
Gon blinked and scratched the back of his head in confusion. "I can't really explain it. I just felt a sudden jolt in my chest, and you popped into my head. Then I followed your scent."
Was this what people called being on the same wavelength? Or was it some kind of animal instinct?
Killua's attention was elsewhere. He walked over to Kaya curiously.
"Kaya's scent?" He circled Kaya and sniffed hard. "What scent? Why can't I smell anything?"
Seeing Killua so astonished reminded Kaya of his own shock at Gon's keen sense of smell when they first met.
"Oh, Killua, don't worry about it. Just never play hide-and-seek with him," Kaya said.
"Your nose is better than a dog's." Killua was rather speechless.
"Huh? Kaya's said that about me before too. So is it a compliment?" Gon laughed brightly.
"Uh... not really." Killua's face reddened slightly as he stubbornly denied it.
"But what exactly happened to you back there?" Pokkle asked at that point.
Killua was very curious too. He stopped horsing around with Gon and waited for Kaya's answer.
After Kaya finished explaining, Killua and Pokkle were shaken, and they couldn't help glancing at Hisoka nearby.
"I knew he was strong, but I didn't think he was that strong," Killua said with a sigh. "Kaya, that was way too reckless."
"If it had been me, I probably would've died instantly, just like those candidates earlier."
Pokkle still felt a lingering fear. If Kaya hadn't told him to catch up with Gon and Killua, it was doubtful whether he would even be standing here now.
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