"You will have two minutes to scatter into the forest, then the 12 hours will start." The Examiner said, holding up a stopwatch. "If you are ready, you may go."
The applicants scattered, disappearing into the mist. Kuondo, Pirro, Pietro, and Illuko decided to stay together as best they could, trying not to wander too far from each other and get lost in the mist. Other than that, for Kuondo and Pirro, who were used to the thick forests on Whale Island, the trip wasn't that hard.
Kuondo trotted through the thick brush, ignoring the outstretched twigs that snagged his clothes. Pirro followed close behind. "Pietro, are you okay?" he asked, looking over his shoulder.
Pietro, whose short-but-spiky black hair was covered in leaves, made a face at him. "Yep, just a big picnic back here."
Ignoring the smart aleck comment, Pirro spoke again. "What about you, Illuko?"
Illuko shrugged. It's okay, I guess. I'm just bored. How long have we been running?"
"Two hours," Pirro replied thoughtfully. "Maybe three."
"At least we have a few hours left, then." Kuondo said. Suddenly, he gasped in shock and stopped dead in his tracks, causing the other three to bump into him.
"What the crud was that for?!" Pietro demanded.
Kuondo pointed a finger. When Pietro followed his gaze, he saw a large man, unnaturally muscular and very, very tall. He was standing over one of the Applicants, who was out cold. It looked like the man was about to finish him off.
Pirro rarely got angry, but when he did, he got really angry. "Hey, you!" he called, shoving his way past Kuondo and out of the brush.
"Dummy! What the heck do you think you're doing?!" Pietro whispered fiercely.
"And who the heck are you, brat?" The man asked, looking at him coldly.
"Tch, I should be asking you that! What are you doing to that Applicant?"
"He happened to pass through, and I didn't like his tone. And I'm not sure I like yours, either. They call me Tetsuro, the Bone-Crusher!"
Kuondo made his way to stand beside Pirro. Pirro looked shocked. "My father has mentioned him! His bounty is massive!" Then, he smirked, pulling out his bokken. "Heh, let's see how well I'll do as a Blacklist Hunter, then!" With that, he rushed forward, charging his opponent.
"Crud!" Pietro muttered again. "That idiot's gonna get us all killed!"
Even though he definitely didn't doubt Pirro's fighting skills, Kuondo had to admit that Pietro was right. This was gonna waste all their time! He had to think of a way to finish Tetsuro off!
Suddenly, he got an idea. He pulled his father's old fishing pole out from his backpack and cast the line into the air. The line wrapped around a branch, and Kuondo, leaping into the air, swung towards his target.
Tetsuro had been so occupied with Pirro, he hadn't seen Kuondo coming. Kuondo rammed his fist into the side of Tetsuro's face, causing Tetsuro to stagger to the side. Pirro stared in shock, then smiled. "Nice one!"
But Tetsuro recovered almost immediately. He grabbed the side of Kuondo's face with his large hand and rammed his head into a nearby tree with what felt like all his might.
The last thing Kuondo remembered was the splintering bark scratching his face before he blacked out.