The final decision X Everyone passed

In the conference room aboard the Hunter Association's airship.

"Beep."

As the surveillance footage ended, Beans, the secretary, switched off the projector.

"That kid... his potential actually reached that level. I never noticed before. I only thought he was talented."

The terrifying amount of aura Kaya had displayed in the footage left Menchi utterly stunned.

"Chairman, how do you intend to handle this?"

Seeing Netero lower his head in silence, Satotz ventured a question.

"Hahahahaha!"

The previously silent Netero suddenly burst into laughter.

"Kite really pulled one over on me. What a headache."

"Kite?" Confusion appeared on Menchi's face. "What does he have to do with this?"

Chairman Netero walked over to the airship's floor-to-ceiling window, his back to the others. "That brat is Kite's apprentice."

Kite had even written Netero a letter specifically about him.

Of course, the letter wasn't meant to ask Netero to give Kaya special treatment. On the contrary, Kite wanted the Hunter Association to scrutinize him more strictly.

That certainly fit Kite's principles.

The letter had simply said that Kaya needed proper guidance more than anything.

Kite kept emphasizing proper guidance because he knew that once Kaya learned Nen, he would surely discover his identity as a member of the Kurta Clan.

He was afraid Kaya would lose himself in his pursuit of revenge.

What worried Kite most was the possibility of Kaya dying for that revenge. After all, he had long heard of the Phantom Troupe's strength.

That was his original reason for deciding to leave Kaya on Whale Island.

But the Hunter Association, like the world itself, had both light and dark sides. There was no such thing as absolutely "proper" guidance.

Now that Netero understood what Kite had really meant by "proper guidance," he found the question of how to handle Kaya exceedingly difficult.

To Netero, that brat was like a double-edged sword of unknown power.

He could become the Hunter Association's future hope, or a potential source of trouble.

Whether to eliminate him or guide him, Netero had yet to reach a decision.

And that decision would have a profound impact on both Kaya and the entire Hunter Association, so he had to consider it carefully.

Beans seemed to notice Netero's dilemma.

After everyone else had left, he offered a reminder. "Isn't that child quite knowledgeable about plants? Perhaps...?"

Netero instantly understood what he meant, and relief appeared in his clouded eyes.

Slapping his forehead, Netero laughed. "How did I forget about him? Right, a problem like this really is a bit much for an Enhancement user like me."

"Why not leave this thorny problem to him?"

Stroking his beard, Netero let out a hearty laugh, as though a tremendous weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Sixty-two hours had passed since the Third Phase of the exam began.

"What the hell are they doing? Why haven't they come out yet?"

Kaya stared fixedly at the stone door of the exit, growing anxious.

After all, he knew Gon and the others' abilities better than anyone.

Challenges of that difficulty couldn't possibly take them this long.

Even if someone had encountered an outrageously difficult challenge, at least one of them should have arrived by now.

The only reasonable explanation was that they had been assigned to the same group.

Inside the tower, Gon's group of five had just left the waiting room and was rushing toward the bottom.

Seventy-one hours and fifty minutes had now passed, and the exam had entered its final countdown.

Twenty-one candidates had gathered in the hall. The latest arrival was candidate No. 118, who had a monkey with him.

"Even he's out. There's no reason Gon and the others shouldn't be out yet."

The final one-minute countdown began.

Even Pokkle had gone from being certain they would arrive to being convinced that Gon and the others wouldn't pass.

Then Kaya heard movement behind a nearby stone door, and judging by the footsteps, there was more than one person.

Kaya immediately ran to the door, shifting anxiously from foot to foot as he waited for it to open.

As the broadcast counted down the final ten seconds, the stone door finally began to open slowly.

Gon, Killua, and Kurapika's slightly bedraggled faces appeared before him.

Three days without seeing them! Kaya didn't say a word. He first gave Gon a solid punch.

Gon had also worried about Kaya throughout their journey. The moment the door opened, he saw Kaya's familiar face, so even taking that punch felt great.

"Ka-"

Gon had barely begun to speak when Kaya rushed forward and hugged all three of them.

He never wanted to experience that swing from despair to delighted surprise again.

But this kind of overly enthusiastic welcome doesn't really fit my image. Whatever. Once in a while won't hurt.

Gon rarely saw Kaya take the initiative to hug him. He froze at first, then broke into a goofy grin.

"What a... pain."

Killua's pupils tightened, then his gaze softened.

Kurapika simply smiled and patted Kaya's back without saying a word.

"What about me? What about me?"

Having finally squeezed past Tonpa, Leorio saw the four reunited friends and spread his arms to join them.

The four immediately scattered. Leorio's arms closed around empty air, leaving him with no choice but to give himself a comforting hug.

"Oh? You passed too? What a shame," Kaya said, feigning disappointment.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Three days without hearing your snark, and I was starting to feel out of sorts. Now it sounds especially sweet."

Having passed at the very last moment, Leorio was in an excellent mood and had no intention of taking issue with Kaya.

"Well, look at you. Three days apart, and you've matured."

He didn't even get upset! That certainly surprised Kaya.

Everyone was curious whether Kaya had taken a solo route or a group route. When they learned that he had been paired with Hisoka and had even beaten him to become the second candidate out of the tower, they were astonished and clamored for Kaya to tell them what had happened.

Unfortunately, Kaya didn't remember any of it.

Then, at Kaya's insistence, Gon recounted how their group had cleared the challenges.

After hearing about Tonpa's exploits, Kaya charged straight up to him and landed a vicious punch.

Clutching his stomach, Tonpa asked indignantly, "Why did you hit me? I only wasted ten hours at most, but Leorio cost us fifty! Go hit him!"

"None of us have a problem with the time Leorio wasted. But you don't get that privilege." When it came to outsiders, Kaya had quite the double standard.

He had intended to give Tonpa a thorough beating with both fists and feet.

Gon and Killua each grabbed one side and forcibly dragged Kaya back.

"Enough, enough. It hurts me to see you hit him!" Killua gave Kaya a teasing half-smile.

"Huh?" Kaya poked at his ear. "Did I hear that wrong? Are you sticking up for Tonpa?"

Killua frowned. "What are you thinking? I'm worried you'll dirty your hands."

Leorio was rather touched. "Aw, you're usually so sharp-tongued. I never knew you were this good to me."

"Don't get the wrong idea. You're just the least capable, so wasting time is only to be expected."

Kaya gave a disdainful "Tch" without even looking at him.

"Wasn't it... more because he was being a lecher?" Killua added another jab from the side.

Passing was one thing, but if those fifty hours Leorio had wasted really had caused them to fail...

Forget Kaya-even Leorio himself might have wanted to atone with his life.

"All right, the Third Phase of the exam is officially over. Twenty-six candidates have passed."

A familiar voice rang out. Lippo clapped his hands to signal everyone to gather, with a staff member holding a cardboard box beside him.

Everyone's eyes turned toward the examiner with the striking mohawk.

Until now, they had only heard his irritating voice over the speakers. Seeing him in person, they found that his gaudy punk getup fully lived up to their dislike.

Because of Kaya's presence, the number of candidates who passed Trick Tower had risen from the original story's twenty-four to twenty-six.

The two additional candidates were Kaya and wrestler Toby, No. 255.

Lippo introduced himself. "I'm Lippo, the examiner in charge of the third round."

"I'll also be in charge of the Fourth Phase."

He then motioned for the staff member to step forward and continued, "Please come up in the order you left the tower and draw a card from the box."