Potential X Killing Intent

The dining hall in section D of the airship.

Inside a private room reserved for examiners.

Several examiners who had finished conducting their tests were enjoying a meal when they began discussing the quality of this year's applicants.

"...Of the forty-four applicants remaining," Satotz said, setting down his utensils and looking up at Menchi and Buhara, "are there any you have your eyes on?"

"You mean how many applicants can pass the final test?"

Chewing on a large piece of redwood beef steak, Buhara mumbled amiably, "I think this batch of applicants is pretty good. There should be quite a few..."

"Spare us the crap!" Menchi glanced at him and gently set down the glass of wine she had been sipping. "If you ask me, it depends on the tests ahead, but..."

At that, Baishi, Hisoka and the others flashed through Menchi's mind. She chuckled. "If nothing unexpected happens to those half-baked Nen users, they have a good chance of passing!"

"You mean number 108, right?"

Satotz shook his head slightly, looking puzzled.

"There was something strange about him... He barely stood out during the first test, and I hardly even noticed him. But at the start of the second stage, he released his Ren in the forest without any restraint, as if someone had forced him to awaken..."

"Personally, I prefer number 99!"

"You mean that white-haired kid?" Menchi rolled her eyes. "He's so young. He looks pretty capable, but it's still too early for him to become a qualified Hunter!"

"I have high hopes for number 108, though. I've been watching him in secret ever since he presented Buhara with his dish... You might not have noticed, but he's getting stronger at a rate you can see with the naked eye!"

"From the stability of his Ten and the concealment of his Zetsu to the subtle changes in his movements and manner... Like Satotz said, there's something strange about him!"

"But which of us professional Hunters who stood out from the rest isn't strange? And that's exactly what shows number 108 has potential far beyond that of ordinary people..."

Uhhh~

Menchi's bad habit was acting up again.

Hearing this, Buhara chewed on his cola steak and gave an amiable smile without responding.

"What are you grinning at?"

Seeing that both men had fallen silent, Menchi, who had begun to get carried away, rolled her eyes. "What about you, Buhara? Any applicants you think highly of?"

"Number 44, I guess!" A hint of gravity appeared on Buhara's amiable face. "My instincts tell me he's dangerous!"

"During the test, he directed subtle killing intent at us more than once..."

"I made a point of looking him up in the airship's computer database..."

Menchi frowned slightly, a trace of interest appearing on her face.

"He has a record of seriously injuring an examiner in the previous exam. Clearly, he has a strong desire to attack us-strong enough that he could strike at any moment...

"I'm curious how someone with that much desire for killing and fighting has managed to keep it suppressed all this time?"

"Perhaps there's someone among the applicants he's after," Satotz said thoughtfully. "You may not have noticed, but after the Grape Spider eggs were collected, the atmosphere between numbers 44 and 108 was very strange..."

"If the chairman hadn't been there, I reckon... those two would have started fighting without holding back!"

"Wrong! That was the look of a hunter eyeing his prey..." Menchi shook her head and chuckled. "And it was one-sided. No matter how highly I think of number 108, I know perfectly well that at his current level of Nen, there's no way he could be a match for number 44..."

"If anything, it was more like number 44 had an overwhelming, one-sided desire to hunt number 108!"

"What makes me curious is that number 108, who knows this perfectly well, doesn't seem afraid in the slightest. Does he have some trump card that could turn the tables?"

"Perhaps it has to do with the prey..."

Satotz picked up his hot tea and took a calm sip.

"Number 44 is called Hisoka. He's a floor master at Heavens Arena. As I understand it, that guy really enjoys nurturing promising fruit, one after another..."

"Then, the moment they ripen, he utterly destroys them!"

At those words,

The room fell silent for a moment.

"I see. No wonder..."

Menchi came to a realization. "That would explain number 108's behavior. He seems to know a lot about number 44 and is making some kind of plans based on what he knows about him?"

"But for those plans to work, the necessary strength is indispensable! Huh... could it have something to do with a Nen Ability with some special property?"

"That's not something we should be concerned about, Menchi."

Buhara turned to look at a spot beyond the door.

"Don't forget, the chairman is still on the airship..."

"True. Tch! Oh, right... why hasn't the chairman come to eat? Did someone prepare a separate meal for him?"

"Knowing the chairman, food is hardly as important as his hobbies..."

"You mean, hehehe... quite a few applicants are in for trouble..."

"Menchi, you haven't forgotten that the chairman specifically asked about number 108, have you?"

"Uh..."

The small airship, several hundred meters long, had two levels.

The first level was the chairman's private suite and office area, guarded by dedicated personnel. Without Netero's orders, no one was allowed inside.

The second level was where all the applicants were. It was divided into sections A, B, C and D. Sections A and D housed the cockpit and dining hall, while sections B and C contained the main hall, observation deck, training rooms, entertainment rooms, and some rooms where the staff could rest.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap~

Finding them was more troublesome than Baishi had expected. The two energetic youngsters seemed to be running all over the airship, and a moment's inattention could have them passing each other in parallel corridors.

More than ten minutes passed.

Baishi, whose Nen Aura had mostly returned to its peak condition, spotted the two chatting on the observation deck in section C.

At the sight, Baishi breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Their presence there meant Netero's game hadn't begun.

"Go..."

As soon as Baishi spoke,

Boom!

Baishi's pupils shook violently.

An immensely powerful aura of killing intent descended with a roar, as though he had been plunged into the deep sea, cutting his words off in his throat!

It was terrifying!

At that moment, he felt as though he were sinking deeper and deeper into the sea. The suffocating sensation and mental pressure made Baishi turn sharply around in an instinctive reaction.

But the instant he turned, Baishi caught a glimpse of Netero moving at high speed past him out of the corner of his eye. With no roulette wheel conjured, however, and without the aid of Reflex Nerves, he simply couldn't react in a fraction of a second.

His body continued turning around out of habit.

But Netero was already gone.

The terrifying, overwhelming aura likewise vanished without a trace in an instant.

It was as though everything that had happened in that brief moment had been an illusion.

Screee-

The piercing sound of chairs scraping against the metal floor rang out.

Gon and Killua had reacted instinctively as well. As if jolted by electricity, they both spun around and leaped back, their eyes fixed on Baishi, their expressions intensely wary.

Hmm~~~

The whole thing had taken only a moment.

Netero, who had used his aura to test the three of them, noticed that Baishi seemed to have keenly sensed him while he was moving at high speed. A hint of surprise appeared in his aged eyes.

Just then,

Gon and Killua looked at the familiar figure's back in uncertainty.

"Baishi?"

"Was that... did you do that just now?"

Uh~~

"I can't do anything on that level yet..."

Slowly turning around, Baishi looked at Netero, who had appeared silently behind the two of them. He gave a wry twitch of his lips.

"Don't you think you've taken this joke a little too far, Mr. Chairman?"

Whoosh, whoosh!