Illumi X Confinement Room X Awakening

As the last door opened, the announcement rang out on cue in the hall at the bottom of Trick Tower.

"Number 406, Kaya, second place. Number 44, Hisoka, third place. Both have passed this test. Time taken: 11 hours and 17 minutes."

Hisoka had carried Kaya through the door, so the system had ranked Kaya second.

By then, Illumi, who had used Nen Nails to give himself a "makeover," had already arrived. He stood in a corner, staring fixedly at Kaya in Hisoka's arms.

"What happened to him?"

Illumi had no fondness for Kaya. He felt the kid had gotten too close to Killua.

"Nothing. Just a little surprise." Hisoka could not hide his elation.

Rather than a little surprise, it was more of a huge windfall.

After all, people like Kaya, who could force their aura nodes open in an instant through their own power alone, were exceedingly rare. And the aura within him was so powerful, too.

Hisoka set Kaya down on the other side of the hall, then walked back over to Illumi.

"I won't allow you to touch him. He's the prey I've chosen."

Hisoka leaned against the wall, looking at Illumi without expression.

"Did I ever say I was going to do anything to him?"

After wearing Nen Nails for so long, Illumi's muscles had begun twitching involuntarily, making a clicking sound.

At that, Hisoka finally relaxed a little. He sat down and said with a smile, "Your bloodlust~ is showing."

"Huh? Is it? I really can't hide anything from you. I thought I'd concealed it pretty well."

Illumi genuinely admired Hisoka's freakishly sharp perception.

As another stone door opened, the entire hall lit up.

"Woohoo! I'm definitely in first... place."

Hanzo had not even enjoyed a full second of celebration before he spotted the unconscious Kaya and Hisoka, who was teaching Illumi how to play Fight the Landlord.

"I'm only fourth? I can't accept this!"

Hanzo clutched his bald head, looking utterly defeated.

Professional ninjas like him were so powerful because they had organizations backing them, and those organizations were bound to have powerful Nen users among their ranks.

Even without learning Nen, Hanzo was already second only to Hisoka and Illumi among this year's candidates at just eighteen.

His strength and talent were truly exceptional.

Completing the third test within thirteen hours was something of a dividing line.

In the original story, the only people who had managed it were Hisoka, Illumi, Hanzo, and Number 384, Geretta, whose head Hisoka had sliced off.

Without the fifty hours Leorio had lost and Tonpa's sabotage, the main group could probably have completed this test within eighteen hours. Their strength was formidable, too.

Just as in the original story, Tonpa had been assigned to the same challenge as Gon's Four-Person Group.

And during the five-on-five matches, Leorio's lust had cost them fifty hours.

The five of them were now in an enclosed break room, cut off from the outside world.

There were no windows or clocks, only a screen on the wall counting down fifty hours.

The distinction between day and night blurred here, leaving them unable to tell which it was.

After those matches, all five of them were somewhat worn out.

Kurapika reclined on a sleeping mat, quietly reading.

Leorio wore headphones and watched television drowsily.

Gon and Killua lay side by side, talking about their childhoods and laughing now and then.

Tonpa sat in a corner, resting with his eyes closed.

The whole room was unusually quiet.

"Do you think Kaya's passed by now?"

Gon's smile suddenly faded, and he looked thoughtful.

With both hands behind his head, Killua stared at the ceiling and replied, "That depends on his teammates. Didn't the examiner just say there were both solo and group routes?"

"But with Kaya's strength, I think he should have no trouble passing, unless..." He abruptly trailed off.

Startled, Gon sat up and asked loudly, "Unless what?"

He was so loud that even the sleeping Tonpa flinched.

"Unless he runs into Hisoka," Killua said worriedly. "If Hisoka wanted to kill him, Kaya wouldn't stand a chance of surviving."

Leorio took off his headphones and looked at Killua. "Don't scare Gon. Kaya wouldn't be that unlucky."

He was reassuring himself as much as Gon.

Kurapika closed his book and said slowly, "Gon, don't worry so much. Even if they meet, it'll be fine. I don't think Hisoka would harm Kaya."

"On the contrary, if Kaya were in danger, I think Hisoka would help him."

"Why?" all three asked.

Kurapika explained solemnly, "Didn't he already acknowledge all of you back in the Numere Wetlands?"

"In that case, at least until the Hunter Exam is over, he definitely won't attack Kaya without a reason."

After hearing Kurapika's reasoning, Gon finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's all Killua's fault. You made me worry for nothing."

Gon grabbed a pillow and threw it at Killua.

Killua immediately fought back. "How is it my fault?"

A pillow fight between the two boys erupted in an instant, breathing a little life into the dreary confinement room.

"Number 53, Pokkle, and Number 371, Goz, have arrived together. Time taken: 30 hours and 27 minutes."

"Goal achieved!" Pokkle had placed sixth, a result he was quite pleased with.

When he looked up, he immediately spotted Kaya slumped in a corner.

"Damn it. I still couldn't beat him."

Despite his words, Pokkle was happy to see that Kaya had passed ahead of him.

He walked over to the hall's buffet counter and picked up a meal each for himself and Kaya.

Then he went over to Kaya and took a close look at his peacefully sleeping face.

"This kid actually looks pretty cute when he keeps his mouth shut. But the moment he starts talking, he's a total demon!"

"Still, isn't he sleeping a little too deeply?"

Pokkle poked Kaya's cheek with a finger. When he got no response, he assumed Kaya was simply exhausted.

As night fell, the exam entered its second day.

More candidates gradually completed the Third Phase, and the hall grew livelier.

Watching Kaya, who was still "asleep," Pokkle began to feel that something was wrong.

He tried to wake him, but Kaya remained motionless, lying limply on the floor.

Alarmed, Pokkle immediately held a finger beneath his nose to check his breathing.

"Thank goodness he's breathing. But what's going on?"

With no other choice, Pokkle stayed beside Kaya to wait for him to wake up. This was the Hunter Exam, after all, and there were far too many people with bad intentions.

But Pokkle had not slept all day either. His eyelids gradually grew heavier until he finally lay down beside Kaya and fell fast asleep.

Some time later, an overpowering stench jolted Pokkle awake.

He opened his eyes to find Kaya crouching beside him, pinching his nose. With his other arm stretched out as far as possible, Kaya was holding an unbelievably foul-smelling plant right beneath Pokkle's nose.

"What the hell is that thing? Why does it stink so much?" Pokkle jumped up in anger.

His voice immediately drew displeased looks from the candidates around him.

Hisoka's slightly irritated gaze, in particular, made Pokkle instantly lower his voice.

"What are you doing?" This time, Pokkle spoke so quietly that his voice was barely more than a whisper.

Kaya put the stinking plant back into a small box, his face expressionless.

"This is Choking Grass. I rarely use it. I only put it in Gon's bedding when he makes me angry."

"But I don't mind using it on someone like you, who puts girls before his friends."

This kid really is cutest when he's asleep! Still, Pokkle only dared think it, not say it.

"How did you pass? Do you know you've been unconscious for an entire day?" Pokkle asked.

Kaya shook his head, indicating that he only remembered getting through the laser chamber with Hisoka. As for why he had lost consciousness or how he had gotten out, he knew nothing.

Pokkle's mouth fell open in astonishment.

It was simply the fact that Kaya had teamed up with Hisoka and successfully passed that amazed him.

That required not only strength, but nerves of steel.

After all, Pokkle's own legs went weak at the mere sight of Hisoka.

Meanwhile, Hisoka was off to one side, concentrating on building his card tower, his eyes occasionally drifting toward Kaya, who had fully regained his energy.

Normally, after releasing such an immense amount of aura, a person should have long since died of exhaustion.

Yet Kaya had recovered completely after just one day unconscious.

That not only showed his astonishing ability to recover, but also indicated that the amount of aura within him was enormous.

Of course, Lippo was also quietly observing Kaya.