"I don't know why the Chairman of the Hunter Association would seek out a mere examinee like me."
Hyuga Arin looked at Netero expressionlessly.
"Hoho, no need to be so serious. I'm just here to ask a few questions," Netero said with a smile. "Won't you invite me in to sit for a while?"
Left with no choice, Hyuga Arin stepped aside and let Netero enter.
Watching Netero act as if he'd returned to his own home, Hyuga Arin asked helplessly, "Chairman, I shouldn't have violated any rules, right?"
This really did feel like his house.
Netero sat down on the sofa, still smiling. "That's true. I'm simply curious about the nature of your power."
Hyuga Arin crossed his arms and looked at him. He hadn't expected Netero to be so straightforward.
"That's my secret. I don't think it's something the Chairman needs to worry about."
Netero's smile didn't change, but a powerful aura suddenly burst forth from him, pressing down on Hyuga Arin.
"You know about Nen, right? I must confirm whether you're connected to the Dark Continent."
The Dark Continent was an unavoidable topic in the world of Hunter x Hunter.
It was the true center of the world. Compared to it, the continent where humans lived was little more than a tiny island.
Many things from the Dark Continent were capable of destroying that island outright.
For this reason, the Hunter Association had banned exploration of the Dark Continent—though in the future, after Netero's death, that ban would begin to fade away.
The malicious pressure of Nen washed over Hyuga Arin. He felt as though he were wearing only a thin layer of clothing in the dead of winter.
That "clothing" was his chakra.
"Pretty terrifying," Hyuga Arin said calmly.
But it was just cold. Ninja had long endured extreme endurance training—this level of pressure couldn't really affect him.
"I can't prove that I'm not from the Dark Continent," Hyuga Arin continued, "but my only goal is to pass the Hunter Exam. After that, I'll leave."
He really couldn't come up with a better explanation.
After all, a power completely different from Nen could only be associated with the Dark Continent.
If he told Netero about transmigrating between worlds, Netero believing it would be the real miracle.
Even so, his explanation still sounded flimsy, so he added, "During the exam, you're free to monitor me at any time. Even after the exam, you can imprison me if you wish."
After the Hunter Exam, he should be sent back to the Naruto server anyway. At that point, he'd simply disappear—whatever they wanted to do afterward wouldn't affect him in the slightest.
"Hoho, that's quite a good suggestion," Netero said with a smile.
"Then how about this—if I give you a Hunter License right now and count you as having passed, would that be acceptable?"
Hyuga Arin's heart sank.
He wasn't sure whether passing this way would still count toward completing his class-change quest.
But if it didn't count, and Netero prevented him from continuing the exam, his Hunter class quest would be completely ruined.
He hadn't expected Netero to pull this move.
Using Brain Enkephalin to control his emotions, Hyuga Arin put on a bright smile.
"If that's the case, that would be wonderful. Still, I'd like to experience the Hunter Exam myself."
Netero looked at Hyuga Arin's expression, unable to discern his true thoughts.
"Then let's forget it. You can finish the exam properly," Netero said.
Old fox. Hyuga Arin cursed inwardly. This man had been testing him the entire time.
"I won't disturb you any longer," Netero said, then turned and left the room.
Hyuga Arin slowly let out a breath.
"Please don't let any more nonsense happen."
He'd just attracted Hisoka's attention, and now even Netero had come knocking.
All he wanted was to quietly finish this Hunter Exam.
…
The next day.
The airship landed atop a cylindrical tower and released all the examinees before slowly flying away.
Hyuga Arin looked at the countless marks covering the tower's surface.
"Trick Tower."
He glanced toward the protagonist group, where someone was already trying to climb down.
He had no intention of sticking with them—their method of clearing this stage was far too tight on time.
Without protagonist-level luck, they would've been eliminated by a hair's breadth.
Even though Tonpa wasn't around this time, who knew what other complications might arise?
"Byakugan."
With its penetrating vision, Hyuga Arin quickly found a hidden mechanism that could be entered. Without hesitation, he jumped down.
Inside an empty room, a small platform stood at the center, holding three wristwatches.
This was the room he'd chosen specifically—the one requiring the fewest people.
The rooms here varied in difficulty, from five people down to three.
The protagonist group had clearly stumbled into the hardest one—the five-person room.
Truly worthy of being the main characters: when given a choice, they picked hell mode.
"Still missing two people."
Hyuga Arin strapped the watch onto his wrist.
Two figures dropped down from above.
When he saw who they were, the corner of Hyuga Arin's mouth twitched.
"What a coincidence," Hisoka said, smiling so broadly his eyes became slits.
Illumi, standing beside him, nodded at Hyuga Arin stiffly, like a machine.
Coincidence my ass. These two had obviously come here on purpose.
Click. Illumi fastened the watch onto his own wrist.
Hisoka followed suit.
"Looks like we'll be cooperating this time," Hisoka said cheerfully.
Hyuga Arin looked expressionlessly at the door ahead. Two options appeared on it.
Open the door.
Do not open the door.
"Minority yields to the majority. I'm sure you don't want to fail this test either," Hyuga Arin said to the two of them.
"Of course," Hisoka shrugged. There were already plenty of tempting apples in this exam. Until he'd finished tasting them, he had no intention of looking elsewhere.
Farmer Hisoka wasn't someone who got distracted easily.
Illumi nodded as well. He had a mission that required a Hunter License—he wasn't about to give up this exam.
With no conflict, all three chose Open the door.
As the door opened, two deep tunnels appeared.
The three unanimously chose the one on the right.
But when they reached the end, three new tunnels appeared—this time without any choice prompt.
Instead, it clearly indicated: one person per tunnel.
"Looks like this is where we part ways," Hisoka said with interest, eyeing the three paths.
"Each of us pick one."
Without hesitation, Hyuga Arin chose the middle path.
Hisoka went left.
Illumi took the right.
Hyuga Arin swept his Byakugan behind him. The tunnel they'd entered through sealed shut, and the area behind began to reassemble itself.
This tower was being actively controlled. Whatever lay ahead could be manually arranged.
"So the examiner is probably targeting Hisoka," Hyuga Arin concluded.
As long as they weren't targeting him, that was fine.
He walked straight ahead.
As he advanced, torches on both sides lit up one after another.
Soon, he reached a spiral staircase and slowly descended.
"Hisoka, you've finally arrived."
A heavy voice echoed from the darkness.
As the torchlight spread, a scar-faced man sitting there was revealed.
Hyuga Arin: "???"
At the same time, the man saw Hyuga Arin.
"Who the hell are you!?"
Hyuga Arin: That's exactly what I want to ask.
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