First, there was Ging Freecss. And now, there was Kaizen.
Old T felt his heart sink to the bottom.
Natsu and Sasuke Uchiha approached him.
"I surrender!"
"I surrender!"
Old T collapsed to his knees, bowing his head deeply. His entire body curled up like a dying old dog.
Natsu and Sasuke listened in silence.
But at that moment—
Old T's figure suddenly withered, crumbling into a pile of rotten wood.
From behind Kaizen, the ground surged violently, and a figure burst forth.
"Brat, go to hell!"
Old T lunged at Kaizen with a ferocious glare.
Kaizen seemed completely unresponsive.
Clap!
A sharp sound echoed as Natsu clapped his hands together.
"Position swap!"
In an instant, Kaizen and Natsu switched places.
Old T's eyes widened in shock. But his attack was already in motion—too late to retract or redirect.
His strike landed on Natsu instead.
"You have another ability like this?!" Old T's pupils shrank.
"With so many Nen Beasts, you still have a technique like this? How much talent do you have, you damn brat?! This is so damn unfair!"
Kaizen now stood where Natsu had been, calmly observing the situation.
Old T's attack slammed into Natsu, who had already assumed a defensive stance.
Boom!
Their bodies collided with immense force.
Meanwhile, a shadow appeared behind Old T.
He sensed it—but he didn't turn around. His full focus remained on Natsu.
Old T's thoughts were simple: I've reached my limit. There's no way I'm getting out of this alive. But before I go… I have to take him with me!
Among Kaizen's summoned beasts, Natsu was the strongest. Even the red-eyed beast couldn't match Natsu's aura.
Old T didn't have the strength to deal with both of them. He made his choice—to defend against Natsu and take the hit from the red-eyed one, all while looking for an opening to strike Kaizen.
Under normal circumstances, this strategy might have worked.
But—
Shhk!
The blade in Chitong's hand plunged deep into Old T's body.
For a split second, he was ecstatic. I survived it! The attack missed my vitals!
But his joy was short-lived.
His expression twisted in horror.
Something was wrong.
His life force was draining away at an unbelievable rate—far faster than when he had taken Natsu's strongest attack.
Boom!
Old T's body crashed to the ground.
His eyes remained wide open, filled with disbelief.
I… died? Just like that?
Chitong calmly slid the blade back into its sheath.
Kaizen cast a brief glance at the scene. With a mere thought, his Nen Beasts vanished.
...
Clank!
A door creaked open.
Kaizen stepped forward, taking one last look at Old T's lifeless body before walking through the door.
By the time he emerged, many other examinees had already arrived.
This was the first floor of the base tower—the checkpoint that signified passing the trial.
Illumi's gaze met Kaizen's.
The two locked eyes for a brief moment before Kaizen sat down at the nearest exit.
Hisoka narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Looks like he had quite the battle," Hisoka mused. "More intense than my little skirmish with him before."
"Who was Kaizen's opponent? That old man? Or one of the other examiners?"
Kaizen scanned the room.
Not far ahead, a large screen flickered to life, displaying a ranked list of examinees.
1st Place: Gittarackur
2nd Place: Hisoka
3rd Place: Hanzo
4th Place: Kaizen
Gon and the others had yet to arrive.
"No surprises here," Kaizen thought. "Illumi, Hisoka, and I are the strongest among this year's Hunter applicants."
"Hanzo is the strongest among the non-Nen users."
"The only reason he finished ahead of me is because I took the group route."
"And then there's Old T..."
"If I had to guess, this was probably Netero's arrangement."
"Gon's situation... has diverged quite a bit from the original story."
...
Before long, the fifth examinee arrived.
Geretta—a man with dark skin, a cane in one hand, a flamboyant outfit, a wide-brimmed hat, and glasses.
He specialized in darts and clubs.
The remaining candidates took considerably longer to show up.
Kaizen casually ate the food provided by the Hunter Association, all while focusing his thoughts elsewhere.
Within his mind, he peered into the world of Sumas.
...
Inside the Sumas space, a figure stepped into the pyramid area.
Sasuke Uchiha.
Both Natsu and Sasuke had undergone major changes since acquiring their second shadows.
Natsu had already demonstrated his newfound power during the fight against Old T.
But Sasuke hadn't yet shown his full abilities.
Kaizen wanted to see them firsthand.
So he had sent Sasuke to the pyramid area.
A perfect training ground—one occupied by an A-rank Nen user from the Mimbo Republic, whose primary ability revolved around ice.
Altan arrived alongside Sasuke.
Kaizen could access all the information his summoned beasts gathered—but only when they returned to him or came within his vicinity.
However, this time, Kaizen wanted a real-time view of the battle.
He pulled out a data cable, connecting one end to his phone.
The other end extended into his pocket, where a small metallic cube lay.
This hollow cube contained a miniature door—an entrance to the Sumas space.
The data cable linked directly to a receiver inside Sumas, allowing Altan to transmit a live feed.
With his phone in one hand and his earbuds in, Kaizen watched the screen as he ate.
At that moment, Sasuke had already reached his opponent.
A man stood before him.
Grant.
The ice user.
Grant opened his eyes, sensing Sasuke's presence.
He snorted. "Again?"
A frigid aura radiated from his body.
Sasuke didn't hesitate.
"Rashomon... Susano!"
A surge of invisible energy swirled around him.
A towering, dark-red translucent giant materialized in the air.
Seven glowing eyes pierced through the darkness—
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