1-on-1 Tournament(Part 1)
Next Morning:
"Hope you all had a good nights rest." Netero speaks up, "This hotel is owned by the hunter exam selection committee. The place is all yours until the battles have concluded."
An instructor then roles a board over.
"For this final phase, it'll be a one-on-one tournament." Netero explains.
"Oh man, this really is gonna be a one-on-one fights." Happy complains.
"So the last person standing passes?" Leorio asks.
"No. You only need one win in order to pass." Netero explains.
"One win?" Wendy questions.
"So in this tournament..." Leorio trails.
"The winners are removed from competition, while the losers continue up the bracket." Netero explains, "In other words, those who finish at the top will not pass." He points at the bracket board, "Do you all understand?"
"So your saying only one person will fail?" Hanzo asks.
"Exactly." Netero confirms.
"If it's anyone powerful, I'm just gonna withdraw, plan and simple." Happy thought.
Netero then reveals the bracket, "Here are the match-ups.
1. Gon vs Hanzo
2. Happy vs Pokkle
3. Wendy vs Gittarackur
(Killua faces whoever loses these ones)
4. Kurapika vs Hisoka(who loses faces Bordoro and onto Leorio.)
"*Phew* that guy looks to be decent."Happy thought, relieved, "But I gotta think of a way to make him give up during our match."
"A cat? Talk about easy." Pokkle thought, confidently.
"That guy looks creepy and I'm stuck with him." Wendy thought, "But at the same time... he looks strong, which I'm kinda nervous."
"Impressive right. After all, everyone has at least two chances to win." Netero states.
"But some people like #405 and #294, get five chances." Pokkle points out.
"Why didn't you use a balanced bracket?" Bordoro questioned.
"A question that much be on everyone's mind." Netero starts explaining, "This bracket was assembled based on your performances thoughout the entire exam. Those who performed better receives more chances."
"That doesn't sound right. Can you explain how you scored out performances?" Killua questions and wants explanation.
"No." Netero makes a dramatic face.
"Why not?" Killua still wants to know.
"Your scores are classified information. So I can't tell out everything, but I can explain out methods." Netero states, "First we consider three major criteria: physical strength, mental strength, and overall impression. For physical strength, we use agility, flexibility, endurance, and perception. For mental strength, we use resilience, adaptability, judgement, and creativity. However, this information is used as a reference point. After all, you all were strong enough to advance to the final phase. Your overall impression is what we're concerned about. This refers to any intangible factors that wasn't mentioned. You could consider an evaluation of your potential as a hunter. And we also incorporate the opinions of your peers. That was our process."
"I should of been ranked higher in terms of performances..." Killua thought and doesn't get it, "Do I have less potential than Gon? Probably Wendy as well..."
"The battle rules are simple. All weapons are allowed. No cheating. If your opponent admits defeat, you win." Netero explains, "However! If you kill your opponent, you will be disqualified immediately. All remaining applicants will pass and the exam will end. Are we clear?"
"As crystal." Happy speaks out for everybody.
"Then, we shall begin the exam's final phase." Netero proceeds.
Everyone then goes to the sides of the platform.
"The first match is Hanzo versus Gon." The referee announces and the two step forward.
"I'll be serving as referee. My names Masta." He introduces, "Best of luck to both of you."
"Hey, good to see you." Hanzo speaks up and looks at him, "You were talking me during the fourth phase."
"You noticed?" Masta asks.
"Naturally..." Hanzo replied, "I'm assuming each applicant was assigned an examiner during the fourth phase. Well, I'm sure everyone noticed."
"I had no idea." Gon thought.
"I obviously noticed." Killua thought.
"I thought it wasn't worth mentioning." Kurapika turns to Leorio.
"Y-yeah..." Leorio stutters.
"And how the heck were we suppose to know that?" Happy whispers.
"Exactly." Leorio agrees.
"Well, Every now and then... I had some feeling there was someone on us." Wendy kinda states.
"And you didn't say anything back then?" Happy questions.
"Because I didn't know if it was true or not." Wendy replied.
"Oh, I see." Happy understands.
"Good guess either way." Killua complements.
"You have my thanks. My rank was higher because your reports on me were accurate. Though the outcome was never in doubt!" Hanzo crosses his arms, all proud of himself.
"He sure is confident about it." Happy mutters.
"Y-yes..." Masta sweat-drops.
"Moving on, I have a question for you." Hanzo points at him.
"What is it?" Masta questions.
"We only win if our opponent surrenders, correct?" Hanzo asks, "It doesn't count if we knock them unconscious. No TKO's allowed, either."
"Yes, that is correct." Masta confirms.
"I knew it!" Happy thought and was glad to be right, "Good thing I was starting to think of ways make my opponents surrender cause knocking them out would of been impossible."
"If that's the case... then that means I can't use my magic, cause it would result in a knock out." Wendy thought, "Now I have to think of another way, cause I'm not really the fighting type..."
"I see." Hanzo then looks down at Gon, "This could be difficult..."
"He looks tough, but we should be even in terms of strength and speed." Gon thought, confident in this match, "I can use my speed to keep on the move until I get an opening."
Masta then steps back, "Now then, it's time to begin."
"Be careful Gon." Wendy thought.
"Go get him, gon." Leorio thought.
"I wonder how he'll do against Hanzo." Kurapika thought.
"how will Gon handle this?" Happy thought.
As they stare off, "Begin!" Masta shouts and commences the match.
Gon makes the first move and quickly dashes past hanzo, "If I put some distance between us..." He thought, but suddenly...
Hanzo appears right in front of him, which surprises Gon, "You must be real confident in your legs." Hanzo speaks with wide eyes, "You have my respect." Hanzo then karate chops him to the neck, paralyzing Gon.
"Ugh!" Gon groans in pain as his vision gets dizzy.
"You did well for a kid." Hanzo complements and Gon falls to the ground.
"!" Wendy, kurapika, and leorio were shocked at gon on the ground.
"What just happened?" Happy was shocked as well.
"Tsk, I could have easily dodged that." Killua scuffs.
"Gon, no..." Wendy trailed.
As the paralyzed gon's vision goes dizzy, "Well, if it were a normal fight then this would already be over..." Hanzo kneels and picks him up, with his knee against his back, "Here, wake up." He thrusts his knee against the boy's back, making him in pain even more, "You must feel terrible." Hanzo notices, " I only hit you hard enough to make your brain bounce around. Do you understand? You have no chance at all against me so you might as well give up..."
"No way..." Gon stutters and refuses, but receives a shove to the side of his head by Hanzo, making his head even more dizzy and paralyzed, "*Cough**Cough*"
"Oh no..." Wendy thought and isn't liking this.
"If you withdraw now, you'll still be in good shape for your next fight." Hanzo explains, "There's no reason to be stubborn.
"This is not good..." Happy trails, "Gon got matched up with the wrong person."
"Just surrender." Hanzo suggests.
Gon struggles, "Never gonna happen!" He shouts and just receives a punch to the stomach in respond, making leorio, wendy, kurapkia, and happy flinch at the site.
"Surrender." Hanzo demands.
Gon doesn't listen, struggles and gets up, but hanzo punches him to the stomach, even harder this time, making him clutch his stomach in pain.
"This is already hard to watch..." Wendy trailed.
"Gon! Don't be silly!" Leorio shouts, "It's not worh taking the beating!"
"Yeah! You still have four chances left, so just..." Happy was about to finish, but...
"You two!" Kurapika interrupts leorio and happy, "If you both were in gon's position, would you surrender?"
"Hell no I wouldn't!" Leorio exclaims and turns back to the fight.
"I would, but at the same I wouldn't because then I'd have to do another fight, which I'm trying my best to avoid." Happy replies and also turns back to the fight, "It just not worth taking that beating."
"That guy thinks he's hot stuff..." Leorio sneers.
"Gon feels the same way!" Kurapika interrupts.
"I know! I know that, but..." Leorio trails.
"It just looks like he has no other choice in this situation." Happy states, eyes shaking.
"That's right!" Leorio agrees.
"My point exactly, but I understand how you feel!" Kurapika states with the same look.
"We all do..." Wendy agrees before they flinch to hanzo kicking gon.
"Please... gon, this is already too much to see." Wendy thinks and begs, "Forfeit this!"
"Yield this fight, gon!" Kurapika thinks and also begs, "This is suicide!"
"Honestly, the chairman's streak is in a class of it's own." Menchi states and looks on.
"What do you mean by that?" Buhara questions.
"The applicants who made it this far are not gonna simply surrender without a fight." Menchi answers.
"That'a true." Buhara agrees before they see Hanzo rams down gon with his fist together.
"This goes beyond a "rather normal fight"." Menchi continues, "This system is just plain crazy. The kid's in danger."
Moments later(thrashing's from fists were heard):
As everyone looks on, Gon is on the ground, with blood splattered everywhere on the floor from taking a long nasty beating.
"It's been three hours." Pokkle reveals looks down from the match.
"There's no vomit left in him." Bordoro states.
"This needs to stop..." Wendy mutters with a really worried expression, shaking a little, "Can't anyone put a stop this...?"
"No one can." Killua answered her, "It's a physical fight to see who'll throw in the towel first. In this scenario, anything is used in order to make your opponent surrender."
Wendy looks at him for a sec before turning back to the match, "But, it's been three hours now..."
"Come on... this fight has already been decided." Happy says, having the same expression as kurapika.
"Get up." Hanzo demands and stands over him.
"Enough, already..." Leorio tightens his fist, very angrily, "I'm gonna kill you! I'll fight you in his place!"
"If you can't take it, then leave." Hanzo looks at leorio, "It's only going to get worse from here."
"What was that?!" Leorio steps forward, but the guards end up stopping him.
"No one may interfere in a one-on-one match." Masta warns, "And if you step in, gon will be the one disqualified!"
"What?" Wendy questions that, stunned.
"No way." Happy is stunned as well.
"Grrr..." Leorio tightens his fist.
"Leorio..." Gon calls and gets up, barely, "This is... nothing..."
"But it is something." Wendy tells him.
"No... I-I can still fight..." Gon looks up.
Hanzo easily trips him over, and puts his hands around gon's arm, "I'm going to break your arm."
The sound of that shocks wendy, leorio, kurapika, and happy.
Gon also is shocked at the thought of that as he's pinned to the ground.
"Don't think about testing me either. I'm not joking around." Hanzo swears and is serious, "So give up and surrender."
"NEVER!" Gon shouts and as a result... Hanzo breaks his arms, which stuns everyone.
Wendy flinches and closes her eyes, "I can't bear to watch."
"He went too far this time..." Happy mutters, looking a little mad.
"He really broke his arm." Pokkle says and looks away from that.
"There you go. You can't use your left arm now." Hanzo states and looks down at gon, who clutches his arms in extreme pain.
Leorio is now very angry and tightens his fist even more.
"Leorio..." Wendy looks at him being angry.
"Guys, don't try to stop me." Leorio warns, "Cause if that bastard does anything else to gon... I don't think I'll be able to control or stop myself."
"Me? Stop you?" Kurapika is shaking in anger too, having red eyes, "There is no way that's happening."
"The match was already decided hours ago, so we ain't stopping you." Happy agrees as well.
"Guys..." Wendy mutters and turns back to the match.
"I'm sure your in too much pain to listen, but hear me out." Hanzo then does a hand stand with one hand, "I am descended from the shinobi, a clan of covert agents. From the day I was born, I was forced to endure harsh training in order to master the art of ninpo. I have trained by body and technique for eighteen years, without rest. By the time I was your age, I already killed a man."
"Tsk, like that's anything to brag about." Killua scuffs in thought.
"Well, I've never killed anybody, and I hope to keep it that way." Wendy thought.
"At this point in time, you can't defeat me in combat." Hanzo stands on two fingers and then one, "I'm trying to be nice, so just admit-"
Gon suddenly kicks him square in the face, knocking him to the ground but still falls, which surprises everyone else.
"Ow... Damn it!" Gon gets back up, "My head's clear after all the pain and blabbering coming from you."
"Even if it's a little, He looks to be a alright now." Wendy thought in relief.
"Boy, was that great surprise attack. He finally got a hit in." Happy smirks.
"Yeah!" Leorio is fired up at gon's counter, "Go, gon! Kick that Bastard while he's down!"
"You're only six years older than me if your eighteen." Gon struggles up, "Besides, this isn't a fight to see who's stronger. It's to see who surrenders first."
Hanzo flips right back up, with a bloody nose, "I let you kick me on purpose."
"Yeah right!" Happy exclaims dramatically in disbelief.
"What a liar!" Leorio exclaims as well.
"You don't understand..." Hanzo wipes the blood off his nose, "This isn't a warning. It's a statement. Is it too hard for you to understand? Then I'll make it easier." A blade then comes from under his bandage wrists, "I'll cut off your legs so they can't be reattached." He then swifts it, "A permanent should do the trick to help wake you up. But I'll ask you again, just surrender." He makes a sinister face.
It's silent for a few seconds until, "That won't do, I won't accept that!" Gon refuses nevertheless, which leaves every dumbfounded and sweat-dropped, including Hanzo.
"I don't want my legs cut off, but I don't want to surrender either. So let's find another way to fight!" Gon suggests, not worried a bit.
"What the hell?! do you understand the situation you're in?!" Hanzo gets dramatically annoyed.
The sound of this makes almost everyone laugh.
"Excuse me." Bordoro tries holding his laughter.
"Your not making the demands here, kid! Are you trying to insult me?!" Hanzo exclaims, "Your legs will literally be sliced off!"
"But I still won't surrender." Gon still refuses, "Besides, I'll bleed to death if you do that." He looks over to the referee, "Masta-san, he'll be disqualified if that happens, right?"
"Oh, yes." Masta confirms.
"See? And neither of us sure don't want that." Gon told him so, "So let's think of another way."
Hanzo just looks at him, dramatically annoyed and can't think of anything else to make him throw in the towel.
"Hahahaha... that was way too funny." Happy laughs and tries holding it in at the same time, "This is 100 times better than the last 3 hours."
"I'll say." Wendy laughs a bit as well, "At least that stopped him from being attacked.
"*Nods* He's in full control, so he should be safe now." Kurapika says.
"He's so self-centered..." Leorio sighs.
"But he succeeded in convincing Hanzo and the rest of us." Kurapika reminds.
Killua doesn't get it and looks around the laughing crowd.
"Something wrong?" Wendy questions after seizing her giggles.
"I don't get how that it's suddenly gone from a dark atmosphere to a lighter one. Killua replies to her, "The situation hasn't changed and gon's arm is still broken."
"It was brutal to watch earlier... but being self-centered is what got him in control now." Wendy replies.
"He can try talking himself out of this all he wants, but it doesn't change that hanzo's still the stronger one." Killua states.
"We'll just have to see, cause it's looking like he's winning by playing mind-games with hanzo." Happy states to killua, "
Hanzo then points his sword at gon's forehead, drawing a little blood, which doesn't bother him, "You don't get it, do you? If you die, there are no second chances for you. If I kill you here, than I'll just take it next year." He threatens, "We are not on equal footing!"
"He's right, Gon. You can try to talk through this all day, but he's way stronger than you." Killua thought in agreement, "This isn't something, you can neutralize on the spot. It all comes to power."
"What will you do, gon?" Wendy thought, worried.
"Now, What's his next plan?" Happy wonders.
It's silent for a few seconds.
"Why don't you just give up this match? It's plain and simple. You can just try again next year." Hanzo says and doesn't get it him, "Is your pride more important to you than your life?! Is that really worth dying for?!
Gon has a determination look, "I'm going to find my dad."
The sound of that surprises killua, wendy, happy, kurapika, and leorio.
"Your dad?" Hanzo questions.
"My dad is a hunter. I'll find him once I become one!" Gon replied, "I believe that I'll find him on day... But I feel that if I give up now, then I'll never find him. So surrendering is not an option."
Hanzo hesitates for a second, "If you don't do it, then you'll die.." He threatens again, but Gon is unbothered, "He defies reasoning." He gets it before moving his blade from gon's forehead and sheathed it, and walks from him, "Okay, you win. I surrender."
The sound of that surprises gon's group, especially killua.
"I can't kill you. And on top of that, I can't think of any other way to make you throw in the towel." Hanzo states, "I'll take this lose and take my chances in the next battle!"
"What do ya know, he won by talking his way out." Happy turns to Killua and teases.
Killua just ignores him and keeps watching.
"I can't accept that. No fair." Gon points at him, which hanzo gets a tick mark, "We both have to think of a way to settle this!"
"He still wants to keep going?" Wendy doesn't get it and is confused.
"Why the heck is he provoking him to fight again?" Happy sighs.
"Heh, something told me you were gonna say that." Hanzo turns around , tick mark, "You idiot! There's not point in settling this cause you'll never surrender!"
"I don't want to win like that!" Gon yells back.
"What do you suppose we do?" Hanzo rebukes and points at him dramatically.
"We can figure that out together!" Gon replies dramatically.
"In other words, even though I surrendered, you want me to fight, but want to try and win again, just so you can feel good about your victory! Is that right?" Hanzo is annoyed.
"Uh-huh!" Gon happily confirms.
Hanzo upper cuts him dramatically, "You moron!"
Gon falls dramatically on the floor and knocked unconscious.
"Not gonna lie, he needed that knock." Happy nods, "Trying to fight again, how suicidal."
"Hey, ref." Hanzo turns to him, "I lose, so let's go on to the next match."
"Understood." Masta understands.
"But I want to tell the executive committee first." Hanzo turns to netero and them, "When he wakes up, he'll probably refuse his win."
"I can definitely see him doing that, and it would be crazy." Happy states and nods.
"Yeah, it sounds like something he's do." Leorio agrees.
"He doesn't have to go that far..." Wendy says.
"As we've seen, the boy is stubborn. Only one person will fail this round, right? If Gon fails then wouldn't that make the rest of our fights meaningless?" Hanzo questions.
"Don't worry. Gon has passed." Netero confirms, "Nothing he says or do will change that."
"*Phew*" Wendy, Kurapika, Happy, and leorio sighed in relief.
"It also wouldn't change even if go were to throw a fit and kill me." Netero adds.
"I don't think he'd go that far." Wendy sweat-drops.
"Aye." Happy agrees as well.
"He license won't be revoked." Netero tells hanzo.
"Very well." He understands and walks back to the sidelines.
As he walks by, "Why did you let gon win?" Killua questions Hanzo.
"Let him win?" Hanzo turns to him.
"I'm sure there was a way you knew to make Gon surrender without killing him. Given your skills." Killua's statement get's everyone curious on the answer.
Hanzo starts explaining, "When I torture someone, I expect them to hate me for the rest of their last. It's more effective and less stressful. Even with training, it's impossible to surprises that gleam of hate and rage, but there was none in gon's eyes. Can you believe? I broke his arm, but his eyes forgotten all about that."
"Wow." Happy trailed, a little amazed.
"So gon exceeded his expectations and didn't hate him, that's why he say something in him and decided to lose." Wendy thought and understands, "At least, it didn't end in violence."
"I guess you could say the little guy won me over." Hanzo tells Killua before moving on, "If you wanted reasoning, well there you go."
Killua is only silent and in thinking of what was said.
After everything settled down, the tournament continues...
This was part 1 guys. Now you all know what's about to happen in part 2... oh boy. Somebody is getting disqualified.