Half an hour later, the first matches began.

We were all lined up on one side of the room. The board that held the tournament bracket was in the center of the lineup and divided the participants of this tournament from the Examiners. I was right next to the board with Killua to my right. Past Killua was Gon, Leorio, and then finally Kurapika. All the other applicants were past Kurapika.

The applicants were arranged randomly, but Ponzu and Pokkle were on the other end of the line. That was good because I didn't want Pokkle anywhere near me...

All of us stared at the Masta. He called forth the first challengers.

"The first match Hanzo vs Gon! Enter!"

The four of us gave our good lucks to Gon. He nodded and walked forward, his attention focused on the fight in front of him.

The two opponents glanced at each other as they took their positions. They turned, faced each other and locked eyes. The two sized each other up... It reminded me of two animals waiting for the other to blink so they could strike.

I looked over the two of them… Hanzo was way stronger than me... If you took Nen out of the equation, he was basically Killua in terms of skill... but with more training, physicality, and an extra foot of height.

This wasn't good for Gon. Or for me if Gon somehow won.

I turned down to Killua who nodded back and whispered.

"Yeah, I know. This doesn't look good for Gon."

I frowned and turned back.

Their body language was tense and stiff. It screamed ready to fight. But, between the two, Hanzo was more relaxed than Gon...

The black-suited examiner looked at the two of them. He studied them and made sure they were ready to fight. He was a guy of average height, but was portly. He had short, spiky hair and black sunglasses on. Very nondescript.

He looked at the two fighters for one last time before speaking to everyone.

"I'm Masta. I'll be serving as referee for the tournament. Good luck. Both of you."

Hanzo looked at Masta from the corner of his eyes and said, "Hey. Good to see you again."

Masta and Gon looked at Hanzo with surprise.

The ninja elaborated, "You were the one who was tailing me around during the Fourth Phase."

Gon looked up at the two, his eyes barely hiding shock. I guess he didn't know we had tails.

Masta answered, "You noticed that, did you?"

"Naturally. I assume that each of the Examiners was assigned an Examinee to follow. Well, I'm sure I wasn't the only one who noticed."

I noticed. Someone had continued tailing me after my fight with the Amori brothers. I eventually lost them, but the way they tracked felt like they weren't trying to fight me, just observe. So it was an Examiner the entire time?...

I guess they were a lot more careful when I was with Killua and Gon. Killua didn't warn me either.

Kurapika turned to us and said, "I noticed, but didn't think it was worth mentioning."

Killua shrugged indifferently.

Leorio looked... yeah, he definitely didn't know when he said, "Uh... yeah."

The smug ninja continued, "I'm very grateful. You recognized my talent and my rank improved as a result. But no surprise there, really," he finished by turning away with a smile. Cocky-ass teen…

"Sure, but..." Masta said.

Hanzo pointed finger at Masta.

"I have a question for you."

"What is it?"

Hanzo's face became serious before speaking, "We can only win if our opponent surrenders. Correct? Knocking them unconscious doesn't count. No TKOs either?"

Masta nodded and replied, "Right. Those are the rules."

I frowned and glared at that.

There goes one avenue of victory for me. I thought I could pull a Trick Tower again and make games... but... this was worse…

Hanzo turned to Gon. I could see in his eyes he was thinking the same thing as I was.

Gon was not going to give up easily.

I tilted my head down to Killua, "Hey..."

He nodded and whispered back. Both of us unable to look away.

"Yeah. I don't know how much our training is going to help with an opponent like him..."

We transitioned from Zetsu into Ten to see everything. We ignored the sudden looks from several people in the room who could use Nen. We focused entirely on the fight in front of us...

"Begin!"

Masta waved the fighters to begin.

For a tense second, neither of them moved...

Like a bomb going off, Gon ran past Hanzo with so much explosive speed that Masta had to raise his hands to block the wind. Gon became a blur as he decided he would use his natural speed to find an opening.

Hanzo turned around and followed the green blur. His eyes wide and disturbingly intense as his vision easily tracked Gon as though he were a mundane tennis ball in play. Like a pro tennis player playing a pickup match.

With a speed that shocked Killua and me, Hanzo was suddenly in front of Gon. Blocking Gon's escape, Hanzo said something to Gon that I couldn't make out. In a blur, ninja raised his left hand and chopped down towards the base of Gon's neck.

Hanzo karate chop fell through the air and hit nothing. Gon rocketed forward as Aura engulfed him, fiery white Ren turned him into a green comet with a trailing white tail.

I felt myself pump a fist as Hanzo's eyes widened in surprise. Gon cut towards one wall of the room like a bullet to get some breathing room...

My stomach dropped as Hanzo blurred again into a black speeding shape and chased after Gon. It wasn't so easy for the ninja to keep up with Gon, but he could... Gon raced across the room, trying to shake off the ninja right behind him.

I felt my jaw clench up. While Hanzo didn't dominate Gon in speed anymore, he could still keep up. A deadly cat-and-mouse game unfolded at high speed. Gon tried to gain some space while Hanzo tried to end Gon. It reminded me of Tron light cycles: a blurring black line chasing after a zig-zagging verdant blur.

Gon cut to his right. Moved, stopped, juked, feinted. He tried everything and anything, but it wasn't working. His was face covered in sweat as he pushed his body faster than I'd ever seen him on Zevil Island. He was a wild beast trapped in a corner and pushing himself to his limits to escape.

Infuriatingly, Hanzo kept pace and got used to Gon's speed. Gon would move to one side of the room in an instant, only for Hanzo to be there nearly at the same time. Every time he appeared, Hanzo would strike out as fast as possible. The ninja moved so fast it was like he was see-through. Gon barely dipping and dodging the ninja's strikes by a hairbreadth. Then he'd zip away, only to be chased down by Hanzo...

Gon kept this up for almost ten minutes before his Ren began flickering. The kid was reaching his limits and couldn't find any openings to attack from... With one final skidding stop and ducking of Hanzo's kick, he ran straight towards the wall.

Against everything I knew was possible, he curved his approach towards the wall and ran directly across it from pure speed. Rising higher and higher toward the ceiling. A green comet that blazed across the vanilla-colored wall.

I couldn't believe it even as I stared at it. Leorio whooped and hollered in excitement.

A black meteor came up behind the green comet and gave chase across the white. Dread hit me as I saw Hanzo had no problem keeping up. They reached as much of the wall as they could before hitting the ceiling. That's when black meteor glided above the green and dropped towards extinction. He was on a collision course with Gon. Hanzo raised a fist...

Just as Hanzo brought down his attack on Gon, the boy jumped off the wall and high into the air.

The kid tumbled in the air, twisting and turning like an out-of-control ball as he reoriented himself through space. It took him a moment to orientate himself into a skydiver position...

Killua yelled out, shocking me out of my concentration, "Damn it Gon! That was the wrong move!"

I swallowed nervously as a feeling of dread hit me, "Wait, what?!"

Hanzo jumped off the wall with enough force that pieces wall fell off underneath his feet. As Gon hung in the air, I realized the fatal mistake.

Gon couldn't move in mid-air. He was completely defenseless.

As I willed Gon to drop faster than Newton's Laws allowed, Hanzo reached the kid and seemed to hover above him as my mind slowed the world down. The ninja posed himself for his attack: left hand in front of him, knees bent, and right hand pulled back in a crunched karate punch...

Hanzo slammed his right fist down onto Gon's back with a thunderous, booming hit that echoed through the room. Gon cried out in a painful, choked noise. My mind seemed to torture me by stretching out the moment longer than it needed to be...

Time speed up and Gon rocketed towards the floor below him and bouncing off it a full foot. The tiles underneath him cracking slightly from the impact. Gon's body settled before sagging slightly in the tiny crater that was underneath him.

I clenched my fists and teeth. That ninja wasn't holding back...

Hanzo landed softly on the ground and sighed. His voice was confident and patronizing. Fucking bastard... that could have paralyzed Gon…

"You're fast, I'll give you that. But I've won-" his eyes widened.

Gon staggered to his feet and regained his balance. He held his stomach in pain as he stared at Hanzo with a determined glare. A translucent coat of Ten surrounded his body and had protected him. An enormous sense of relief hit me as I sighed and my body sagged. This kid is gonna give me a heart attack...

"It's going to take more than that to keep me down," said with a determined, pained glare.

Hanzo narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow, "I see..."

Hanzo straight up disappeared and was suddenly behind Gon. Gon's eyes widened before he blurred and whipped his left arm behind him, sending a back fist towards Hanzo's chest. Hanzo leaned back as casually as one could be and avoided the attack without issue.

Gon used the momentum of his back fist to throw cannonball of a left-back kick at Hanzo. The ninja simply jumped in the air... and landed on Gon's outstretched kick without even a fuss. His arms crossed and his left knee lifted up to his chest. The ninja's mouth was a cocky smile, while his eyes carried a dissecting look as he stared down at Gon.

I couldn't help but look on in shock at the gap in ability. Even with Gon having Nen, Hanzo wasn't even trying...

The boy gritted his teeth and suddenly pulled his leg back. The ninja fell backwards as though caught by surprise. I felt victory come through as Hanzo flew back, eyes wide with shock. Gon's athletic ability was insane to watch as he whipped his leg back and threw a leaping, superman punch with his left fist. Tournabout is fair play bi-

I stopped breathing for a second as Aura flared around Hanzo and he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Gon's punch hit nothing but air as he leaped forward, fist in front of him like a battering ram. His entire body was behind that punch and without any way to stop... Hanzo stood behind the boy with a raised left hand. He brought it down on the base of Gon's neck with his entire body. The hit sounded like a bag of cement being thrown to the ground.

The boy made a choked, strained sound of pain as he fell forward.

All I could hear was the high-pitched sound of my jaw clamped shut in rage. From my peripheral, I saw Kurapika and Leorio lean forward. Even Killua was tensed up.

Hanzo looked down at Gon with respect and annoyance, "That wasn't too bad for a child..."

"Now if this were a regular match," Hanzo said as he kneeled down and reached for Gon's shoulders, "I'd alread-"

Gon did some kind of spinning, breakdancing move with his legs and arms. He launched himself off the floor into a blur and spun like a top. He smashed Hanzo in the face with his right leg with his entire body behind it. A meaty smack resounded through the room.

The ninja entire body twisted as he was sent soaring into the air, his head turning from the force of the kick. He spun through the air before landing on his shoulder with a crash and a bounce. The ninja settled into a heap and didn't move.

"WOOO!" I shouted as I punched the air.

"Yeah Gon! Keep at him! Kick him while he's down and he's finished!" Leorio yelled while jabbing a finger towards Hanzo.

Gon landed on his feet and tried to move forward... then staggered to a stop. FUCK!

Leorio shouted, "What are you doing Gon?! Go after him!"

Kurapika answered immediately, fear in his voice, "It isn't Gon's fault... that hit affected him more than he thought..."

Leorio's tongue clicked in annoyance before he answered, "Damn it! Seeing how tough Gon is... I forgot he was hit at the base of the head..."

Gon stood there like an unstable statue. Shaking and twitching as he fought over control of his body. Gasping and gritting his teeth. Leorio was right, a hit like could cripple you. It was a miracle Gon was even standing, let alone moving...

Hanzo slowly got up, not looking troubled. While there was a red mark on the left side of his face, he wasn't hurt in the slightest. His body language read placid and relaxed, but his eyes held surprise. He slowly wiped a dribble of blood coming down his left nostril.

Killua cursed before speaking, "He went with the blow."

As Hanzo walked towards Gon, I mimicked Killua's curse and replied, "This isn't good. Gon can't move... even if he could, Gon can barely land a hit. If he does Hanzo can dissipate the power by rolling with it…" The skill gap was enormous.

Kurapika nodded, "He isn't holding back either... but he's wary of Gon's strength and toughness. He let Gon tire himself out before attacking in earnest..."

Hanzo stopped in front of the shaking, unmoving Gon, and said, "I'm surprised. Most people would have gone unconscious or even paralyzed from that hit. Especially from the force I put behind it... You fought well, but you can't win if you can't move. Give up. There's always the next fight."

Gon glared at Hanzo with determination in his eyes. He shook his head in defiance and then took a shaky step forward. He nearly collapsed.

Hanzo walked right up to Gon and sighed before speaking.

"I hit you hard enough to bounce your brain around your skull. Don't you get it? You may be tough, but you don't stand a chance. Just give up and spare yourself the trouble."

"No way!" Gon choked out.

Hanzo lashed out without warning, smashing Gon at the base of the ear with an open palm strike from his right hand. Gon's head bounced left and then right from the impact. His eyes turned unfocused and dazed. As if his mind was transported into another world. He suddenly closed his mouth and leaned forward, suddenly sick. It looked as though he was going to vomit, before he muscled through it and coughed.

"Think hard about it," Hanzo said as he dispassionately stared down at the disoriented, unbalanced Gon, "Surrender now and you'll have another chance. But being stubborn isn't gonna get you anywhere. If you give up now, you'll be able to recover in time for your next fight. I can't promise anything after this point."

Gon clenched his teeth as he teetered on unbalanced legs, brown eyes wide and unfocused, pain etched his face. With two clenched fists he roared, "That's never gonna happen!"

Hanzo proceeded to maul Gon. It took everything I had to continue staring.

A right body punch that lifted Gon off his feet with a pained gag from the boy. A left open palm strike to Gon's chin that knocked his head back. A right cross to Gon's eye that twisted his head down. A left kick to his stomach folded him in half. An overhead blow to Gon's back that dropped him to a knee before standing right back up in defiance. A rain of straight punches to Gon's entire body that twisted and turned the kid's body with every hit. Every blow sounded like a building being torn down in the echoing room.

Gon did his best to block and absorb the attacks by moving with them... but...

Please.

The ninja stopped his assault and glowered down at Gon.

Gon stood there, shaking and breathing heavily. He took all of that beating without complaint. His face was swollen and his lip bloody. He was bruised and battered almost beyond recognition. The only thing keeping him up was Ten and his sheer willpower. His legs trembling with all their might to keep his body up.

Give up.

"Say it," Hanzo said with some frustration.

Gon raised his chin up and frowned in defiance

Hanzo uppercutted Gon right on the chin and sent sprawling to the floor. The ninja went to grab Gon's arm but jumped back the moment Gon lashed out with a Ren-empowered back fist. Hanzo couldn't grapple Gon without fear of being crushed by Gon's crazy Nen strength. He wouldn't allow Gon the opportunity to use his power.

Instead, Hanzo kicked Gon across the floor like a pillow. Gon's body crumped from the blow to his stomach as he skidded across the floor.

Gon give up! You don't have to do this!

With incredible effort, Gon got back up. Hanzo sighed, as though a pain in his neck, and went back at it. Pummeling Gon senselessly. Hit after hit after hit... Blood splattered against the floor as Gon's body and head rag-dolled from one blow to another without pause or mercy...

I could hear the high-pitched noise of anger again as my teeth strained and hurt. I stared in horror and hate as Hanzo continued to beat-

I heard something. I heard something again. Some commotion like a muted thud from far away. My eyes tore away from the torture in front of me and to Masta. His mouth was moving and he was pointing at me.

Someone was pulling my clothing from behind me. I saw Killua. I turned away and down to two people who were struggling to push me back for some reason. I was covered in Ren.

What?

"There will be no interfering in a one-on-one match! Stay back! If you try to interfere in any way, Gon will be instantly disqualified!"

I stared down at the two men blocking me, then down at my feet. I was almost three meters from where all the other applicants were. I looked past the guards to Masta. Cold rage numbed my chest as I bared my teeth. I could feel everyone staring at me.

"Your rules mean nothing to me," I growled with a glare. Everyone looked at me in surprise.

I took a single step back, looked at Hanzo, and said, "What kind of Hunter would someone be if they needed to beat and torture a little child? Answer: a very weak and worthless one."

He paused mid punch and turned to face me. Our eyes locked. His calm and composed face began to crack as he glared at me. He opened his mou-

"DON'T INTERFERE!" Gon yelled at the top of his lungs.

The room stared at Gon in shock. He looked at me with anger and offense. He continued, "This is my fight, James... Not yours! If I can't fight for myself than I don't deserve to be a Hunter!"

He glared at me with fury. I frowned but nodded. I think Gon knew what I was trying to do and stopped me. Hanzo would be my next fight if he gave up...

Gon was a lot cleverer than he looked... But a stubborn idiot! Damn it!

Gon stood straight up and nodded to Hanzo, "OK. Let's keep going!" he said with a heavy breath and an arm against his stomach.

Hanzo's stare lingered on me for a moment. I could see in his eyes my words had rattled him. He turned to Gon and looked at him for a moment. He spoke to everyone,

"Know this... I am a descendant of a clandestine group called the shinobi. From the day I was born, I've been subjected to intensive training in order to master the special art of ninpo."

He took a step forward and pulled out a long, retractable blade from underneath his bandages.

"For the past eighteen years, I've tirelessly trained my body and honed my technique. By the time I was your age, I had already killed. At this point in time, you have no hope of defeating me in combat. I'm being nice," he closed his eyes, "So just admit defeat-"

Gon rushed in and uppercutted Hanzo on the chin as he dropped his guard. He fell square onto his back and slid a few meters before stopping and staring at the ceiling.

"For a ninja you sure do talk a lot! From all your blabbing my head had enough time to clear up!" Gon said as he stood over Hanzo. A fist held high and an annoyed look on his face.

Woo! I punched the air, "Go Gon!"

Leorio yelled, "Yeah Gon! Atta boy!"

I turned to Leorio who looked back to me. We nodded and smoothly integrated our cheers together.

"GO GON GO! GO GON GO!"

I heard Killua and Kurapika chuckle at us suddenly becoming a cheering section.

Gon continued, "If you're eighteen, then you're just six years older than me," seven Gon. Your eleven... but ok sure. Boy, Gon's bad at math...

"Besides, this isn't a battle to see who's stronger. It's to see who's willing to throw in the towel first," the Green Machine said as he stood straight up, even after God knows how long he's taken a beaten.

Hanzo lifted his legs to his head and kipped back to his feet. He looked down at Gon while wiping some blood off his lips, "I let you punch me because I wanted to."

Leorio pointed a finger and shouted, "You're a liar!"

I mimicked Leorio and yelled, "Yeah! He hit you fair and square, baldie!"

A large vein appeared on Hanzo's shiny head as he fought back anger. He ignored us idiots in the peanut gallery and continued.

He closed his eyes and began talking down to Gon, "You must be confused. That was not a warning. It was a direct order. Was it too hard for you to understand? I'm quite happy to break it down for you."

Hanzo whipped his right arm to his side as his blade appeared again. He held it in front of himself, horizontally, and touched the tip.

"As tough as you are, a blade will cut you... I'll cut off your legs so that they can't be reattached," he slashed the air in front of him, "A permanent injury should open up your eyes to the current situation. But before we must resort to such things..."

The ninja held his blade up and opened his eyes. He stared down at Gon with a cruel smile.

"I want to hear you surrender."

Gon stared at Hanzo definitely, a frown on his face.

The room stared at the situation before us, tense...

"Well, that's a problem!"

I stared at Gon in pure confusion, frozen along with everyone at Gon's answer.

"I don't want to have my legs cut off but I don't want to surrender, either! How 'bout we find a different way to fight?"

Hanzo stared at Gon with disbelief, before ramping up to one hundred in fury. His professional assassin demeanor finally shattered. I swear to god steam was erupting from Hanzo's vein covered head.

"What the HELL?! HAVE YOU NOT BEEN PAYING ATTENTION?!"

And with the teenager's facade shattered, the atmosphere of the room suddenly changed. Everyone started laughing. The tension in the room was released as everyone suddenly relaxed.

Hanzo waved his blade and pointed at Gon, "Are you really making demands? You messin' with me?! I'm seriously about to cut your legs off!" he said, suddenly sounding nothing like the composed assassin he was before. He sounded like a proper teenager arguing with a kid.

Gon stared at Hanzo with a hundred percent sincerity, "You do what you want but I won't give up!"

Hanzo growled in response.

"Besides," Gon continued, suddenly looking like a normal child. He reverted to Zetsu for some reason, "if you cut my legs off, I'll probably just bleed to death."

"What?" Hanzo said with surprise. I'm sure he deduced that too, like he did Tonpa.

Gon leaned to his side to see past Hanzo and speak to Masta, "Mister Masta? He'd be disqualified for that, right?"

Masta nodded, "Uh... Yes."

Gon gave Hanzo a sympathetic look. Like Hanzo was the dumber between the two. Oh fuck. I busted into a fit of laughter at that.

"See? And that'd be bad for both of us. So, let's think of a better way," Gon said, finishing by giving Hanzo a determined stare.

Hanzo just growled and looked so confused and conflicted.

Kurapika chuckled and said, "I think Gon should be fine from here. He's in control now."

Leorio nodded in shock, "He's just so damn stubborn!"

"But he's also convincing to Hanzo and the rest of us. Impressive," Kurapika said.

Killua nodded to my right and spoke up, "Yeah. No matter how bad it looks, Gon doesn't give up. He always tries to find a way to win."

I turned down to see Killua staring at Gon with pride and respect. I couldn't help but smile.

I turned back to Gon and Hanzo.

Hanzo was straight up not sure at all on what to do. He couldn't beat the shit out of Gon. He couldn't chop him up to pieces. Anger grew on his face and was released with a stab of his blade toward Gon's head. The tension in the room came back in full force.

Hanzo's blade stopped right against Gon's forehead, pricking his skin and releasing a single drop of blood. It rolled down Gon's face like a tiny river before spreading into different branches. This was Hanzo's way of telling Gon he had control of the match.

Gon didn't even flinch. He stared back in defiance. Hanzo barred his teeth in anger.

"I'll see you're not getting it, so I'll try again. Die and you'll never get another chance. If I kill you right here and now, I only need to come back and take the Exam again next year. We are not on equal footing!"

Kurapika, Leorio and Killua were ready to jump in. They knew Gon wouldn't give up, even at death...

I whipped my sword across with my right and blocked them. They looked at me in shock and disbelief. I pointed at the proceedings with my left hand.

"Look," was all I said.

I could see it in Hanzo. He was cracking as Gon just stared at him. As the silence stretched, he began to sweat and grimace. His composure slowly crumbling.

Hanzo wasn't going to kill a child. He didn't want to beat or even torture a child. He was only doing it because he needed to. But he didn't want to, and he was staring at that piercing, unflinching, stare of the Gon's...

"What's wrong?" Hanzo said nervously before continuing, "It's just a stupid sentence! Think! Give up and you can still try again next year!"

Gon said nothing. He continued to stare without hesitation.

Hanzo yelled at the top of his lungs, "Is your pride truly all you care about?! Even more than your life? Is it worth dying for?!"

I lowered my sword and grinned. It was over. Hanzo's will was broken.

Gon stared up at Hanzo with those giant brown eyes of his. His conviction and will as solid as mountains in those eyes of his.

"I'm gonna go see my dad."

All four of us leaned forward. Hanzo looked surprised.

"Your dad?"

"See, my dad is a Hunter. So I'm gonna become a Hunter exactly like he is and then I'll be able to meet him!"

He continued to stare at Hanzo, the barest trace of hope and sadness in his eyes, "I know I'll find him someday. But... I feel like if I surrender now..." a drop of blood dripped down his face and off his chin, "I'm never gonna find him!"

Gon stared at Hanzo without hate or rage. As battered and bruised as Gon was, he stared at Hanzo as he would stare at anyone else...

Hanzo hesitated for a moment before pushing the point of his blade softly against Gon's forehead, "Surrender... or you will die..." Hanzo lied.

Gon pushed back as more blood escaped the end of the point.

Hanzo growled for a moment, turned away, and slipped the blade back into his wrist wraps. He closed his eyes and said, "Fine. You win. I give up, okay? I'm not allowed to kill you. And I just-"

I shouted at the top of my lungs, causing everyone to turn towards me! I clapped my hands fast and loud like the obnoxious guy I was, "YEAH GON WON! WOOOOO!"

Leorio's face grew into a huge grin as he joined in the celebration. Wrapping his giant arms over my shoulder, we mimicked what we did last time at Trick tower. Kurapika and Killua shaking their heads and laughing.

"WOULD YOU LET ME FINISH!" Hanzo screamed and pointed at us. We did not stop.

Gon frowned, "I can't accept that! No fair! We both have to come up with some way that we can have a proper match!" Gon said with a point of his finger at Hanzo. The kid knocked everyone into stone disbelief yet again. Hanzo's face was of supreme annoyance.

Hanzo slowly turned around, "Why am I not surprised..." he jabbed a finger into Gon's face and yelled, "You just said you would never surrender, so what the hell is the point of that, you idiot?!"

"The point is that I don't want to win like this, okay?!"

"Then what do you suggest?!"

"Let's work together and figure it out!"

I doubled over with laughter. Leorio patted me on the back as he laughed as well. Even Kurapika was covering his mouth to avoid bursting out into laughter. Killua was smiling like a cat at Hanzo's annoyance, enjoying his frustration to the fullest.

Hanzo continued, eyebrows twitching, "So, in other words... I've already given up the match but you want me to continue fighting and try to beat you again, right? But first we have to work together to find a way you can win, so you can feel good about your victory. Is that right?"

Gon, without a hint of shame nodded his head and said, "Yeah!"

Hanzo uppercutted him so fast it looked like Mike Tyson vs Little Mac," MORON!"

Gon bounced like a ball before landing to an unconscious stop. All four of us flinched at that hit.

Hanzo turned to Masta, "I lose, so move on to the next match."

"Understood, sir."

Hanzo turned to the rest of us, "Butt I'd like to say something first. Whenever he wakes up, he'll probably decline his advancement. And as we've all seen, he can be incredibly stubborn. Only one person fails this round, right? So, if Gon is disqualified, wouldn't that render the rest of our upcoming fights completely meaningless?'

My eyes widened at that sentence... for a lot of reasons... I turned to see the rest of my team as tense as statues.

Hanzo and Netero locked eyes.

Netero stared at Hanzo evenly and said, "You've no need to worry. Gon has certainly passed. Nothing he says or does can change that now."

I pumped my fist and grinned at Killua, who smirked and looked up at me. Kurapika and Leorio both sighed in relief.

Netero continued, "As a matter of fact, he could even throw a fit and kill me where I stand, but we still wouldn't be able to revoke his license."

"Yes, I see," Hanzo replied with a nod before walking off to his old position on the line.

But the ninja stopped when he walked past me. He turned to me, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Just because the little guy won me over doesn't mean I'll be holding back against you."

I glared back at him. The levity swiftly left as we stared down.

"If you have to."

He glared back, his voice soft and confident, "Everyone here knows the risks of becoming a Hunter. Age has nothing to do with it... It's just like Gon said: if a person can't fight for themselves than they don't deserve to be a Hunter."

I smirked dismissively. I definitely got my hooks into him with my comment.

"Sure, sure, whatever you say. Then we'll see in our fight, won't we?"

"Yes, we will," Hanzo said with a narrowing of his eyes. He walked off and went back into the lineup.

Masta walked up to the center of the room and said, "Would applicants forty-four and four-oh-four please come forward!"

Hisoka smiled and walked up to Masta. Kurapika did the same, but I stopped him with a grab of his shoulder. He turned to me with a focused look on his face.

"What is it?"

I gestured with my finger to come closer. He nodded until I could whisper enough for only Killua to hear, "I recommend you don't fight Hisoka, but that's not gonna happen. Remember: he's faster, stronger, and he's probably as smart as you are. But has way more experience. Also, he has Nen."

Kurapika turned away from me and looked at me as though I was giving him no advice at all. I rolled my eyes and continued, "Can you do the red-eyed mode again? That's the only way I see of you having something of a chance."

He stared at me for a moment before closing his eyes, "I don't know, and I don't know if it would help in terms of tactics to... lose myself."

I frowned, nodded, and patted him on the shoulder. Leorio walked up and patted Kurapika on the back, "Good luck."

Kurapika nodded at both of us. He looked down at Killua and they both nodded at each other in respect. It felt like we were sending him off to an execution…

He turned around and walked up to Masta. Kurapika pulled out his weapons from underneath his tabard-thing. He stood across Hisoka and glared him down. Hisoka smiled back and wasn't phased one bit by Kurapika.

The pale, terrifying clown had a deck of cards in his hands. He was handling them with ease and experience. In his hands, they might as well be fifty-two knives...

Masta raised his hands up and pointed to both fighters, "Round two! Kurapika versus Hisoka," he crossed his arms in an 'X' and shouted, "Begin!" and stepped back.

The two combatants stared at each other. Neither of them made the first move. For two very different reasons.

Kurapika was wary and wanted to feel Hisoka out. He had never seen the mad jester's full capabilities. And our descriptions of our fights with Hisoka didn't help. All Kurapika knew was the end result of fighting Hisoka.

Hisoka continued playing with his cards as he stared at Kurapika. Calm and casual as if standing on any street corner. I fought this fucker twice, I knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted to be challenged. Like a chess master giving an opponent a handicap: he was inviting Kurapika to take the first move.

He spoke with amusement tinged in his voice.

"Well? If you want to be a Hunter you have to beat me. I suggest you don't hold back..." I could almost imagine a heart at the end of that sentence.

Kurapika slowly unsheathed his swords and threw his sheaths to the side. He took up his fighting stance that looked self-taught: two swords crossed in an 'X' in front of him.

Hisoka pulled a four of clubs out of his deck and pointed it to Kurapika with his left, closing his left eye as well...

My eyes narrowed as his Ten slowly moved and wrapped itself around the card. I was worried and... envious. His ability to move his Ten around was amazing. It was efficient, smooth, and effortless...

His Aura began to burn and turn purple as his emotions filtered out from him. Ten turned into Ren as a terrifying sensation of murderous lust slowly began to ooze off Hisoka's body like slime. His excitement literally palpable and in the air. It made me feel sick as it collided against my Ten...

Kurapika tensed up at Hisoka's action... but he couldn't see the Aura. He felt Hisoka's Ren, just like all the other applicants without Ten to protect them. With a shiver and wide eyes. But he also stared at Hisoka like anyone else would: with fear, uncertainty, and ignorance of what was truly unfolding. I turned down to see Killua frowning exactly like I was. This was bad...

Hisoka suddenly frowned. His eyes looked dull and bored for a second. He abruptly cut off his Ren. Then, abruptly, he sighed and dropped all his cards on the floor. Dismissively.

"No reason to play with a full deck if you aren't. It wouldn't be any fun," he said with a dusting of his hands.

He revealed his left palm, then the back of his hand, then his palm again as a card appeared from thin air between his index and middle finger. He held an Ace of Spades for everyone to see. I now understood why he was called The Magician.

"I only need one card to fight a person with one sword..." Hisoka said ominously.

He casually flicked the Aura enveloped card toward Kurapika.

It rocketed off the tips of his finger towards Kurapika. Eerily silent as the thinness of the card cut through the air without any resistance. It curved toward Kurapika's shoulder with frightening accuracy and speed. The piece of paper defying everything I knew of physics and rational thought.

With a quick motion of his right wrist and arm, Kurapika raised his sword and blocked the card. His arm and weapon vibrated from what should have been an impossible amount of force behind a simple playing card. The card ricocheted off the blade and into the sky, fluttering down gently like a leaf. Without hesitation, Kurapika rushed in to close the distance. In less than a second he was on the clown with a swipe of his sword.

But playing cards weren't the only impossible thing he could do as he jumped straight up and backwards, something like five or six meters. He did it casually. His arms crossed and amusement on his face. Flipping, rotating, and tumbling through the air with disgusting ease. He landed as softly as a cat.

Kurapika was still feeling Hisoka out and was being cautious. He slowly edged in, circling toward Hisoka's right with measured and methodically placed steps. It reminded me of a person checking a temple for booby traps. His feet crossed the space with cards on the floor...

Like an explosion, the fallen cards turned into a shower as they flew into the air and blocked Kurapika's view for a second. That was a second too long as Hisoka appeared before Kurapika with a speed that was always terrifying to see in person. To Kurapika it might as well be that he teleported the distance behind the curtain of cards.

My eyes widened as I saw the card that Kurapika had knocked away no longer fluttering to the ground... it rapidly accelerated right toward the Kurta's head.

"Kurapika! Behind you, the card!" I roared.

Kurapika cursed but didn't take his eyes off Hisoka. The teen moved his head to his left and barely dodged the supernatural card as it sailed over his right shoulder. It sliced into his cheek as it passed by his face. He grimaced at the pain and raised his swords to block Hisoka's next attack. Blood dripped onto his clothing as he moved into a defensive position...

Hisoka caught his card with a flourish of his left hand and whipped it down with terrifying speed. The Aura coated card connected with Kurapika's right sword with a loud metallic clang.

Kurapika's sword snapped off at the neck.

The piece of metal flew off and clattered to the floor as everything seemed to freeze for one horrifying second. Kurapika closed his eyes as tiny slivers of metal flew towards his face. A matching cut on his left cheek now added from a piece of his blade slicing his face. Hisoka smiled...

His assault started with an invisibly fast right cross that snapped the Kurapika's head back. An uppercut to the body with the same arm that lifted Kurapika off the ground, followed by a knee that caught the teen as he fell back to earth. A rising palm strike with his left lifted Kurapika's head back up into the air. That set up for a right straight to Kurapika's solar plexus. Kurapika contorted in pain as he slid back from the sheer force of the blow. The teen made a pained choking sound as he doubled over from the blitz, trying to regain the air that was driven out of his lungs.

But Kurapika held strong as he pointed his one sword in his left toward Hisoka. With his other hand, he pulled the string that connected his two blades together and cut it with his blade. He threw his broken blade to the floor and spoke with labored breathing.

"I won't... lose… I have more resolve and reason to be a Hunter than you, Hisoka… Someone like you... does not deserve to be a Hunter!"

Hisoka smiled with pleasantly squinted eyes. When he answered... it was in a happy, dreamy tone, "Hmm... is that so? Maybe you're right..."

In a blur, Hisoka was in front of Kurapika. But Kurapika was ready this time. Kurapika circled away from a sidekick with agility and speed. But the clown continued without missing a beat. He attacked with graceful, yet terrifyingly powerful kicks. The wind alone blew back Kurapika's clothing. Sidekicks, front kicks, snap kicks, and many others I have no name for were barely dodged and swayed away from by Kurapika.

As the assault progressed, Hisoka's attacks became sharper and quicker, and Kurapika was forced to painfully block the hits with his arms and legs. Each attack by Hisoka ramping up with speed and power as Kurapika's defense began crumbling away.

All the teen could do was stay on the defensive and survive. Each counter-attack nonchalantly avoided by Hisoka with disrespecting ease. He'd follow up with a body-doubling knee or a sickening kick that would make Kurapika think twice about attacking. Kurapika's eyes slowly went from defiant to uncertainty as Hisoka picked Kurapika apart. Putting him on the back foot and forcing him to question every move. Just like Hisoka did to everyone else...

Hisoka's raw violence outstripped Kurapika raw talent.

And, unlike Hanzo, Hisoka enjoyed what he was doing...

Hisoka slowly eased up as Kurapika slowed down. He was just playing with Kurapika... like a toy. Hisoka had more fine control with his violence, but that made things disgusting to watch… This was worse than Gon's fight...

After god knows how long, Hisoka decided to use his hands to beat Kurapika silly. Starting by slapping away the teen's sword as he did me in the swamp. Kurapika tried his best to fight back, or even just defend. Trying to hold back Hisoka like he were a wild beast.

Hanzo's words cut through me: Hisoka could just kill Kurapika and do this all over again next year...

All I could do was ball my fists up as Hisoka stopped playing and pummeled Kurapika nigh-senselessly. Fists. Feet. Elbows. Knees. He used all his limbs to beat red out of Kurapika. My body shaking in impotent, helpless rage. It was impossible to tell what Hisoka was thinking, but I could see he truly enjoyed himself... piece of sh-

"Hey, calm down. If you do it again, they'll disqualify you..." I looked down to see Killua staring up at me, sympathetic but frustrated... I noticed I was in Ren again and several of the guards were edging closer towards me. The applicants nearby not named Hanzo or Gittarackur were staring at me with worry.

Leorio stared at me, teeth clenched painfully, "I hate it too... but there's nothing we can do right now."

I frowned, cursed, went back into Ten. I turned back to see Hisoka whispering into Kurapika's ear. Kurapika stiffened and stood there, frozen. A dead-eyed look came over him. That look slowly turned into distraught.

Hisoka chuckled.

The clown stood straight up, turned, and walked away. He raised his hand and said, "I lose this one."

Kurapika stared at nothing for a while before walking back to the lineup. He had won.

He was a Hunter.

Yet he looked defeated...

He didn't say anything as he stood there, stiff. Leorio tried to grab his attention, but Kurapika refused to say anything. Still shaken...

I looked down at Killua who was frowning as he glanced at Kurapika. From several meters, away Gittarackur stared at Killua.

Gritting my teeth and gripping my sword, I walked towards my fight. I didn't even wait for my name to be called.

I need to figure out a way to stop this shit before they get permanently injured...

Masta looked at me with furrowed brows before nodding and turning to Hanzo, "If you would come up then."

Hanzo did so. Before I knew it he was in front of me. We locked eyes, unflinching. Masta looked at each of us to see if we were ready. We were.

Masta waved us to begin. I saw a fist suddenly zooming into my face. From my perspective, it became as massive as a mountain. It swallowed everything in my vision…

"I surrender this fight."

I ducked and stepped out to my left, slipping under Hanzo's punch. He nearly tripped forward as he tried to stop his momentum. He put everything into that punch.

Everyone in the room looked at me in surprise. I simply smiled and shrugged.

"Congratulations, Hunter," I said with a pat on Hanzo's shoulder. He continued to look at me in confusion as I walked back onto the line.

He made some weird noises as he stared at his hands in frustration. He spun around and stabbed a finger in my direction, "You were talking big before, but the moment you fight you chicken out!?"

I shrugged and raised my right hand up, back facing the ninja.

"Hey, well, ya know? Too much trouble..." I said before arriving at my spot in between Killua and Leorio and turning around.

"Hhgk- grr..." he choked out in anger, before calming down and standing up straight. With a hand on his chin and a nod, he continued, "Ah yes, I understand... you knew I was the stronger fighter and made the strategic move to conserve your strength," he nodded and continued, "Though, I should have guessed as much. I did see you fight on Zevil Island, after all..."

Everyone looked at me with curiosity.

He pointed a finger at me and looked at me with respect and seriousness, "You're no fool. You've just been playing one. You're far more dangerous than you look."

I looked at him flatly. Cocky teenager. He's about to wreck my cover... Plus, I was a petty man and wasn't about to let Hanzo say he was a stronger fighter... he was, but still...

I did the one move I knew would infuriate anyone, while simultaneously helping me.

I dismissively waved my hand, like I was assuring him. A sardonic smile on my face and pity in my eyes.

"Nah, it's ok man. You can have this one. It's all good," I said like I was doing him the favor.

Everyone's looked at me flatly. Hanzo stared back at me in disbelief, mouth hanging off of him. He began shaking.

"YOU WOULD HAVE LOST TO ME!" he roared with wave of a fist at me.

"It's ok! Don't worry. Shhh..." I said, patting the air. I nodded dismissively and facetiously. Hanzo's face turned bright red outrage.

An evil grin formed on his face, "Let's go then-"

"Nah. Psssh. I'm good!" I said with one final dismissive wave.

Masta turned to Hanzo and raised an arm. He said, "If you would please leave the fighting area. Congratulations..."

Hanzo turned to Masta, then back to me. His glory denied.

"YOU JUST WAIT! THIS ISN'T OVER!" he said with a fist in one hand and a point of his finger with his other.

I shrugged and smirked. Yeah well, ya know...

He walked off with a huff and imaginary steam pouring off his angry red head of his.

I looked to my right to see all the applicants staring at me with flat looks. I looked to my left to see all the examiners staring at me with flat looks.

Raging fool cover and reputation successfully maintained.

I puffed up my chest and chuckled. But even in my self-indulgence... I could feel my eyes go dull with indifference. The inside of my chest went numb. The smile on my lips slowly faded back into the normal frown I always held.

I glanced sideways, down to Killua, then up to Leorio, before looking past everyone to Pokkle in the distance. I turned back to the arena in front of me. I settled on coldly gazing the fighting area in front of me.

Everyone needed to be off guard...

My plan wouldn't work otherwise...


Hello dear readers! I hope you are doing well and continue to do well!

One more chapter until the Hunter Exam ends. Then we will see how the group deals with Evira before they split. Three big brain people? Let's see how this goes.

Anyways, once James gets back to York New City, that's when I truly get to wreak havoc on the Hunter X Hunter universe. Hehehe.

The people who have been salivating on James becoming more powerful and seeing more of the crazy world of Hunter X Hunter will be happy. Though, as I've shown and will continue to maintain, James won't be the strongest. But he'll be able to hold his own and with his intelligence and talent in Nen. We'll also finally get answers for Zhulong and cosmic horseshit.

We're heading into the end of the first half of the story. So hold onto your butts for the second half. And, pardon my street language, but it's about to get weird up in this bitch.