"Aha! Hahahaha! It's you, Ryker! And me, Hanzo! Hahahaha! What luck!"
Hanzo, the bald ninja, laughed loudly, blinking his overly long eyelashes.
Stop posing, Saitama, Ryker thought, rolling his eyes internally.
Externally, he smiled politely. "Hanzo-san. A pleasure."
"R-Ryker... Ryker-sama!"
A weak, trembling voice came from the corner.
It was Ponzu.
She practically sprinted over and grabbed Ryker's sleeve, shaking like a leaf. To her, this room was a lion's den, and she was the lamb chop.
Ryker looked at his team.
Hisoka. The murderous clown.
Illumi. The assassin sociopath.
Hanzo. The deadly ninja.
Ponzu. The emotional support mascot.
Headache.
If it were just Hisoka, Ryker might have tried to kill him here. Hisoka's traits were juicy.
But Illumi was Hisoka's ally. Fighting two top-tier Nen users in a confined space was risky.
Hanzo was neutral, but probably wouldn't help.
Ponzu was... well, she was bait.
"Ah, Miss Ponzu. Nice to meet you too," Ryker said gently.
He wasn't afraid.
His aura nodes were open.
He had Gold Traits.
He had the [Scarlet Eyes] bloodline.
Even Kurapika, fresh off unlocking his eyes, could solo Uvogin. Ryker, with his stacked physical stats + Scarlet Eyes + Nen, could probably fold Hisoka like laundry if he went all out.
But he kept his cards hidden. A smart traveler always keeps a spare tire.
"Everyone take these! Once we have them, the timer starts!" Hanzo handed out the X-shaped wristbands.
"We're all here. Let's move," Hisoka purred, his eyes sliding over Ryker with a disturbing hunger. He licked his lips but turned toward the door before Ryker could punch him.
Illumi followed silently, his pin-covered head clicking.
Hanzo bounced after them.
Ponzu clung to Ryker's shadow.
[The First Trial]
"Oh? Left or Right?" Hisoka stopped at a fork.
"Let's vote! On three!" Hanzo shouted.
"One."
"Two."
"Three!"
Beep.
[Left: 4] [Right: 1]
Everyone looked at Ponzu. She had voted Right.
"I-I'm sorry!" she squeaked, terrified as Illumi's dead fish eyes bored into her soul. She looked ready to wet herself.
They continued.
Every vote was a disaster for Ponzu. She consistently picked the opposite of the group.
Finally, they reached a large arena suspended over a bottomless pit.
"Oh? Challenge time!" Hanzo cheered.
Across the abyss, five figures in shackles and hoods walked onto the opposing platform.
The leader ripped off his hood, revealing a scarred, ugly bald head.
"Heh heh. We are prisoners hired by the Exam Committee!" the Scarred Man shouted. "To pass, you must win three out of five matches against us! The rules are one-on-one!"
He grinned confidently.
Ryker blinked.
Wow. These guys have terrible luck.
This was the same group of prisoners Gon's team faced in canon.
Except now, they weren't facing a group of rookies.
They were facing the Nightmare Team.
Name: Bendot (Scarred Prisoner)
Traits: [Buff] (Blue), [Cruel] (Blue), [Lust] (Blue)...
Trash.
"We fight until one side surrenders or dies! The order is up to you—"
Schwing.
A playing card flew through the air before Bendot could finish his sentence.
Squelch.
The top half of Bendot's head slid off. His brain was exposed to the cool dungeon air for a split second before his body collapsed.
Thud.
Brain matter spilled onto the stone floor.
"Ugh... Blergh..." Ponzu bent over and retched violently.
"Such a waste of time," Hisoka yawned, shuffling his deck. "Who's next?"
He didn't even look excited. Killing weaklings was boring.
"H-He got one-shotted?!"
"How?! I didn't even see him move!"
"Monster!!"
The remaining four prisoners stepped back, terrified.
"If we lose, our sentences don't get reduced! We have to fight!" one of them whispered. "That clown is strong, but he can only fight once! The rest look weak!"
"Yeah! The girl is free wins."
"And that black-haired kid looks soft."
"The bald ninja looks like an idiot."
"The pin-head is probably the only other threat."
They huddled, strategizing their own demise.
"I'll go next! But we need to set the rules..."
A skinny prisoner (Sedokan) stepped forward. He was the one who challenged Gon to a candle game in canon.
But the moment his foot touched the arena floor—
Flash.
A blur of motion.
Ponzu's skirt flew up from the wind pressure.
Thunk.
Sedokan stood frozen.
A kunai was buried in the center of his forehead.
Hanzo stood on the arena, posing.
"The rules say the match starts when I step on the platform, right? Too slow!"
Hanzo yanked his kunai out of the corpse. Sedokan fell into the abyss.
"Two down! Three to go!" Hanzo grinned.
Ryker sighed.
At this rate, I won't get any XP.
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