The ship slowly docked at the island, all the examinees still waiting onboard.
A staff member holding a timer announced every two minutes for another person to disembark, preventing the exam from ending the moment it began.
Those two minutes were enough for the earlier entrants to make their choices—whether to lie in wait for their targets or to avoid becoming someone else's prey.
The order of entering the island followed the order of the draw. Since Hyuga Arin had drawn last, he naturally went last as well.
Hisoka and Illumi, having drawn first, had already stepped onto the island.
"Two minutes are up. Please, examinee number thirteen, enter the island."
As the staff continued calling out, one examinee after another disembarked.
A total of twenty-four people had made it into the fourth round. Hyuga Arin had effectively taken Tonpa's original spot.
"I wonder if I'm Kurapika's target," Hyuga Arin muttered, glancing down at his number badge. He had no intention of hiding it.
Although most people hid their badges the moment they learned they were targets, there were also those confident enough in their strength to not care at all.
Like Hisoka. Like Illumi. Like Killua.
And then there was one special case—Gon.
Whether it was because protagonists were naturally airheaded, or because he genuinely didn't care, Gon had made no attempt to hide his badge at all. Ever since the draw, he'd been blatantly staring at Hisoka. Anyone with eyes could tell who his target was.
Hyuga Arin was fairly certain that Hisoka was extremely excited right now.
"Really… hard to put into words," Hyuga Arin sighed. Protagonists were truly creatures of frightening innocence.
One by one, the remaining examinees were called.
Soon, no one was left on the ship.
"Two minutes are up. Examinee number twenty-four, please enter the island."
Hyuga Arin stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked along the wooden bridge onto the island. Activating his Byakugan, he swept the surroundings—
He didn't see Kurapika.
But he did see Hanzo hiding.
"So I'm Hanzo's target, huh?"
Hyuga Arin rubbed his chin, then continued forward as if he'd noticed nothing.
Leorio was already beyond the range of his Byakugan; Hyuga Arin couldn't find him.
Hanzo, who thought he was hiding perfectly, followed Hyuga Arin from the treetops.
"At least I'm not dealing with Illumi or Hisoka," Hyuga Arin thought calmly.
He looked up at the blazing sun, squinting slightly against the glare.
At that moment—
Hanzo shot out from the tree, turning into a black shadow that lunged straight for Hyuga Arin's chest.
"Got you."
Bang! Smoke exploded outward.
Hanzo's hand grabbed only a piece of wood.
He stared blankly at the log that fell to the ground, then immediately tried to leap toward a nearby tree.
But Hyuga Arin was already standing above him, looking down from that very tree.
Without hesitation, Hyuga Arin kicked downward.
Hanzo was blasted off the trunk, flipping backward before landing on the ground.
He looked at Hyuga Arin in disbelief.
"How did you detect me?"
He had suppressed his presence to the extreme. His gaze hadn't lingered on Hyuga Arin for more than a second. He hadn't released even a trace of killing intent.
There was no way he should've been discovered.
"You guess," Hyuga Arin replied casually as he jumped down from the tree. "Your target is my badge, right?"
Hanzo's ability to conceal his presence was indeed impressive—but unfortunately for him, Hyuga Arin had the Byakugan. Even without chakra in Hanzo's body, its penetrating vision was more than enough.
Hanzo raised both hands.
"My target is your badge, but I'm giving up. I can just hunt three other people's badges."
After that brief exchange, Hanzo already understood—there was a massive gap between their levels.
Unlike Gon, he wasn't stubborn to the point of self-destruction. Compared to taking Hyuga Arin's badge, collecting three from others was far easier.
Keeping his eyes on Hyuga Arin, Hanzo carefully backed away.
"Hey—you're called Hanzo, right?" Hyuga Arin rolled his wrist.
Hanzo paused slightly, then nodded.
"I should be the only one named Hanzo among the examinees."
Hyuga Arin grinned.
"Perfect. I've been having a lot of issues lately with people named Hanzo."
Hanzo's sense of danger screamed.
Hyuga Arin suddenly dashed forward.
Left with no choice, Hanzo was forced to fight back.
But after only a short exchange, he noticed something disturbing—their combat styles were eerily similar.
Pure ninja-style combat.
Every move aimed to kill.
"Which ninja group are you from?" Hanzo asked mid-fight.
In this world, ninja were organized into hidden factions. For example, the Cloud Style ninja groups. These organizations all knew of each other's existence, acting as both rivals and occasional allies, and had some degree of shared intelligence.
Yet he had zero information on the man in front of him.
From the start, Hanzo had suspected him—after all, Hyuga Arin used shuriken. Now it was confirmed.
This man was a ninja.
"Do you have any other abilities?" Hyuga Arin's speed suddenly increased. He struck Hanzo squarely in the chest with a palm, sending him flying.
"Don't worry about what group I'm from. Let me see what ninja in this world can really do."
He'd already seen Hanzo's taiTechnique. Now he wanted to see more.
Hanzo had no intention of continuing the fight. Twisting midair, he landed steadily on the ground.
Hyuga Arin condensed chakra, a bronze blade forming in his hand.
"Otherwise, die here."
Hanzo's killing intent flared as well—but after reassessing the difference in strength, he pulled out a small pellet and smashed it against the ground.
Bang!
Dense smoke erupted, rapidly spreading in all directions.
Hanzo's presence vanished instantly.
This was meant to create the illusion that he was launching a counterattack, when in reality he was using the smoke to retreat.
Unfortunately for him—
This trick was useless against a blind man.
The smoke contained neither chakra nor Nen. It couldn't block the Byakugan at all.
Hanzo's retreating figure was crystal clear in Hyuga Arin's vision.
Hyuga Arin raised his hand and flung several shuriken.
Sensing danger, Hanzo rolled to evade—but Hyuga Arin appeared instantly beside him, blade slashing down.
Hanzo's pupils shrank. His body twisted unnaturally, bonelessly contorting to barely dodge the strike.
He now understood—
This man had absolutely no intention of letting him leave.
With a flick of his right hand, a hidden sleeve blade shot out, slashing at Hyuga Arin.
Hyuga Arin sidestepped and kicked.
Hanzo barely managed to block with his left arm.
Crack.
He was sent flying again.
This time, he couldn't recover midair. He slammed into the ground, rolling before forcing himself up into a half-kneeling position.
His left arm hung limply at his side.
That kick had fractured it.
"Any more ways to resist?" Hyuga Arin asked, his smile bright and casual.
"Hanzo."
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