This situation felt contradictory.
Even Kurapika and Leorio harbored some resentment over the previous cooking test.
Both had their own reasons for becoming Hunters, yet the absurdity of the exam's evaluation method had stripped them of their chance.
Neither of them could accept that.
In the original storyline, Kaizen had observed that Gon's sense of morality was unlike that of ordinary people.
For example, he could easily forgive Bomber who had taken countless innocent lives on Greed Island.
Yet when it came to Neferpitou, who had harmed Kite, his hatred was absolute.
Even at the cost of his own life force, he was willing to do whatever it took to eliminate Neferpitou.
Then there was the way Gon had handled his confrontation with Hanzo during the Hunter Exam.
Despite being completely outmatched, he refused to surrender, forcing Hanzo to make the decision himself.
This led many to criticize Gon.
Some called him a hypocrite.
Others labeled him naïve.
His actions seemed contradictory—illogical, even.
But now, having spent more time around Gon, Kaizen had realized something.
Gon wasn't applying a double standard.
Nor was he blindly kind.
His standards were simply... different.
They didn't align with how most people judged right and wrong.
And because of that, he made choices that others struggled to understand.
However, once you grasped the underlying pattern, his decisions—while still unusual—felt internally consistent.
Even if they seemed irrational, they at least made sense within Gon's own logic.
...
As they continued their journey, Split Mountain finally came into view.
A massive, dome-like mountain with cracked, barren red soil stretched out before them.
Its surface was completely devoid of vegetation, giving it the appearance of a giant, dry, reddish-brown steamed bun.
Or perhaps... the back of a toad.
That must have been the reason behind its name.
A deep, narrow chasm ran down the middle of the mountain, stretching so far downward that the bottom was impossible to see.
"Is this Split Mountain?"
The examinees stared at it with curiosity.
"What kind of test are we taking on a mountain like this?"
"And what's this about eggs?"
As the airship descended, the candidates disembarked one after another.
Menchi, Buhara, and Netero stepped out as well.
"Follow me," Menchi instructed, leading the group toward the massive chasm.
She stopped at the edge and looked down before turning back to the examinees.
"This is your next test."
"The 'eggs' I mentioned earlier aren't just regular eggs."
"They're the eggs of Spider Eagle."
Menchi gestured downward.
"Take a look."
The candidates peered over the edge.
Below them, enormous webs stretched between the cliffs, forming a dense, silken net.
Spider Eagle crawled across the webs, waiting patiently for their prey.
Anything that fell onto those webs had no chance of escape.
The cliffs were nearly vertical, making climbing down next to impossible.
And falling meant certain death.
If you didn't crash into the rocks, you'd land on the web—only to be swarmed by Spider Eagle.
This was how the creatures protected their eggs from predators.
Netero stepped forward, hands behind his back.
"This is why Spider Eagle eggs are so rare," he explained.
A few examinees instinctively tensed at the name.
"Wait… don't tell me we have to—"
Menchi smirked.
"That's right. Your task is to retrieve a Spider Eagle egg and cook it."
She crossed her arms.
"You all love cooking so much, don't you?"
"Then this challenge should be perfect for you."
"It's the ideal chance to prove your skills."
Her words carried an edge of lingering frustration. She still hadn't forgiven the candidates for looking down on Gourmet Hunters earlier.
"But... that's a cliff!"
One of the examinees took an uneasy step back.
Menchi raised an eyebrow.
"So what?"
Without hesitation, she stepped forward—
—and jumped.
Gasps echoed among the crowd as Menchi plunged straight down toward the web.
Just as she neared the surface, she stretched out her hand—
—and grabbed onto a strand of silk.
Dangling there for a moment, she allowed herself to sway before suddenly letting go.
...
In the blink of an eye, she snatched up a dream egg midair.
But the force of gravity kept pulling her downward.
Just as it seemed she would vanish into the abyss, a sudden updraft surged from below—
blasting Menchi back up toward the cliffside.
When she landed in front of the stunned candidates, she casually held up the egg.
"Just do as I did."
Several examinees turned pale.
"That's impossible! Normal people can't reach that height, let alone jump down and survive!"
But before the complaints could continue, some had already leaped.
Gon.
Killua.
Leorio.
Kurapika.
Pokkle...
Kaizen walked up to the edge of the cliff.
While others were making their jumps, he simply stood there.
Then—without anyone noticing exactly how—an egg suddenly appeared in his hands.
Nobody seemed to realize what had just happened.
Except Netero.
The Chairman narrowed his eyes slightly, then walked over to Kaizen with an amused expression.
"Hm? Not planning to jump?"
Kaizen didn't look up.
"Not necessary."
He held up the egg.
"As a specialist in aura beasts, there's no need for me to personally retrieve it if my aura beast can handle it instead."
Netero chuckled.
"Fair point."
His gaze lingered on Kaizen for a moment before shifting topics.
"So… what do you think of the Hunter Exam so far?"
Kaizen glanced at him.
"From an evaluation standpoint, it's well-structured. The tests are varied and comprehensive."
Netero nodded approvingly.
"Did you learn anything from it?"
"A few things."
"Good," Netero said, grinning. "That proves my exam design is solid."
Then his tone became more serious.
"How's Maha?"
"Still strong as ever."
"Glad to hear it."
Netero paused, then casually asked, "After this year's exam, will you be free?"
Kaizen raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
Netero sighed.
"We're short on skilled instructors."
"This year's batch has plenty of promising candidates, but we don't have enough experienced Hunters to guide them properly."
"So," Netero continued, "I was thinking—Kaizen, would you be interested in helping train the next generation?"
Kaizen blinked.
Then his expression turned slightly amused.
"Chairman… I'm still a candidate in this very exam."
"Wouldn't it be a little odd for me to start mentoring my own peers?"
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