"Are you admitting defeat?"
"No."
Hanzo scratched his head.
"Then this is all I can do."
"Hope you can take it."
"Knowing when to surrender is something you still need to learn."
He began torturing Gon, using techniques honed through his ninja training.
As a ninja, you don't just learn assassination or hand-to-hand combat—you learn how to extract information, how to apply pressure. How to break someone without killing them.
What Hanzo was using now was textbook torture—inflicting maximum pain without threatening Gon's life.
"Are you admitting defeat?"
"No!"
No matter how much pain Hanzo inflicted...
No matter how many times he asked...
Gon's answer never changed.
From a friend's point of view, Hanzo now seemed cruel—and Gon, pitiful.
Leorio and Kurapika were visibly furious.
If the rules allowed it, they probably would've stormed the stage.
To punch Hanzo out.
Or to throw in the towel for Gon.
Anything to stop the torment he was enduring.
...
"Thinking about human nature, huh…"
Kaizen wasn't watching Gon.
His eyes were on Netero.
The rules were Netero's doing.
That's why Gon had the chance to fight back in this way.
Kill your opponent, and you lose your qualification.
The only way to win is to make your opponent admit defeat.
If they don't give up, you just have to keep going.
Most people would surrender when the pain becomes unbearable.
But not everyone.
Adults weigh the pros and cons.
Children don't always do that.
Some don't care about logic, gain, or consequences.
They act on instinct.
"The way Gon is acting now," Kaizen murmured, "he's more like a wild animal than a human being."
...
CRACK!
A loud snap echoed through the hall.
Hanzo had broken Gon's arm.
No need to even look—you could feel the pain through the sound alone.But still, Gon didn't surrender.
...
"Kaizen, what should we do? You're the calmest one here!"
Leorio turned to him, desperation in his voice.
"Gon can't keep going like this—he's gonna die!"
Kaizen shook his head.
"No."
"He chose to take the Hunter Exam. That means he chose to follow its rules. This... is his decision."
"Because it's his choice, he has to endure the consequences himself."
To Gon, these rules weren't good or bad. Just a framework.
In terms of raw strength, Gon wasn't the weakest candidate.
If they were using the rules of Heavens Arena—ranking by victories—Gon might have had a decent shot.
But with these rules, someone with Gon's personality would never admit defeat.
Which means pain... injuries... were inevitable.
"And honestly... this isn't even that bad."
Kaizen glanced at Leorio and Kurapika.
"Hanzo doesn't want to be eliminated. He's not going to kill Gon—not if it means coming back next year and wasting more time. He'll push him, but he won't cross that line."
"As long as Gon doesn't die, anything else can be healed."
That was something Kaizen understood that the others didn't.
He already knew about Nen.
In a world with Nen, even a terminal illness might be curable.
Let alone broken bones.
But Leorio and Kurapika didn't know that yet.
To them, a shattered arm might mean permanent damage.A limp. A disability. A ruined future.
...
"Haven't either of you ever been more seriously hurt than this?"
Kaizen wasn't questioning their care for Gon.
But the difference was clear in how they responded.
Leorio and Kurapika were burning with anger.
Killua cared, too.
But he wasn't furious—just watching.
He'd gone through worse.
In training, Killua had experienced far more intense pain than what Gon was feeling now.
"Sometimes," Kaizen added quietly, "psychological pain hurts more than anything physical."
Leorio fell silent.
His mind flashed back to the one he lost—the partner who died because they couldn't afford treatment.
Kurapika remembered returning to the Kurta Clan's village.
Finding nothing but corpses.
Blood that had already dried and darkened.
That memory was the sharpest pain he'd ever known.
...
"I surrender."
Hanzo finally stopped and turned to the examiner.
"Can we end this?"
"Move to the next match."
The examiner nodded.
"He wins."
Gon's eyes widened in disbelief.
Hanzo… surrendered?
Medics from the Hunter Association rushed over and carried Gon off the stage.
Even if Hanzo gave up, he had clearly dominated the match.
The injuries Gon sustained were real.
Deep. Painful.
...
Leorio and Kurapika calmed down.
They couldn't stay angry at Hanzo anymore.
Because deep down, they knew—
Hanzo wasn't the villain here.
Gon had chosen this path himself.
It wasn't Hanzo who forced anyone into suffering.
It was Gon.
It was Hanzo who ended it.
...
Kaizen watched Gon being taken away.
"In the end, it's about freedom."
"Freedom to be selfish."
"To refuse to admit defeat… to refuse to let your opponent admit defeat… and to try to come up with a third option."
"One that doesn't involve losing because you're weaker."
"One that lets you keep your pride intact."
"It sounds fair..."
"But it isn't."
"If Hanzo had really agreed to some new condition, some custom rule just to satisfy Gon's ideals... that would've been unfair to him."
"But Gon's still a child. He'll understand one day."
"After this... I think he'll change."
"The look of shame in his eyes just now—it wasn't fake."
Kaizen finally looked away.
...
Kurapika and Hisoka stepped into the arena.
"Begin," the examiner called.
"I forfeit," Hisoka said immediately.
Kurapika blinked in surprise.
Just like that...?
Hisoka had handed Kurapika a clear path to pass the exam.
Because in the long run, Hisoka needed Kurapika to get stronger.
Stronger for the future.
Stronger for what was coming.
Stronger... for the day they confronted Chrollo.
So, getting Kurapika licensed wasn't just kindness.
It was a necessity.
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