Hello everyone, this is Gon Freecss. After my battle with Hisoka, the story has progressed almost exactly as it did in the original manga, so there isn't much to discuss.
Following Hisoka's victory, both Kurapika and Leorio ended up with one win and one loss, staying true to the original storyline. While Kurapika secured a solid victory, he couldn't control his opponent as effectively as he had in the original story. He delivered two additional blows to Majitani, nearly killing him in the process.
In contrast, Leorio scolded Kurapika for his recklessness and showed his maturity by treating Majitani's injuries. The match ultimately ended in defeat for Leorio, who lost the rock-paper-scissors tiebreaker just as in the original story. However, he refrained from making any inappropriate comments toward the female prisoner and accurately guessed her gender, displaying a level of integrity that wasn't present in the original timeline.
Killua and I proceeded exactly as we had in the original work, resulting in a 4-1 victory for our group, surpassing the original work's win rate.
In the waiting room where our group had to remain due to Leorio's defeat, we briefly rested in amenities that seemed more suited for prison guards than a detention center.
The topic of conversation naturally turned to Hisoka, and Leorio and Kurapika, who had no idea what had transpired, couldn't even begin to fathom Hisoka's true strength.
"Wait, Nen is really like cheating, isn't it? How can a simple deck of cards cut through a knife, let alone slice a person's neck? Anyone who can't use it has no chance of winning."
Killua, who had barely grasped what Hisoka had accomplished, was once again overwhelmed by Nen's extraordinary nature. For instance, if you were wearing metal armor and knew it could be shattered to pieces with a single playing card, it would be utterly demoralizing.
"It's good that you understand Hisoka's strength, but don't think this is normal. In terms of combat power, he's definitely world-class."
"How embarrassing ♥"
Now that Killua and the others had come to understand the true terror of Nen, I suggested we make good use of our waiting time.
"We definitely don't have enough time, but let's start training to awaken your Nen. First, you three need to focus on recognizing the aura flowing around you and learning to keep it circulating around your bodies."
The exercise was meditation. They had to strongly believe they possessed aura, concentrate their minds, and begin by recognizing the aura flowing around them.
"I thought Gon would do that, but he's not forcing it open, is he?"
After confirming that Killua and the others had begun meditating in their preferred positions, Hisoka, who now had some free time, posed this question. Even from Hisoka's perspective, there was no doubt the three possessed talent, so he naturally assumed that opening their aura nodes quickly would be the optimal approach.
"I've mostly learned this on my own and don't know the proper method. I can't risk putting everyone in danger. Besides, Hisoka..."
If there was a chance they might not awaken, that would be one thing, but the three of them awakening to Nen was a foregone conclusion. From my perspective, there was no need to take unnecessary risks, and since I trusted the three of them more than Hisoka did, I even thought he was underestimating them.
"Of course, it depends on the remaining exam schedule, but I think there's a good chance they'll awaken during the exam itself."
I spoke with confidence, and while Hisoka seemed slightly taken aback, he realized that if that happened, his own enjoyment would only increase.
With the three of us having started meditation, Hisoka, now idle, passed the time building a card tower while struggling to suppress the aura threatening to escape his control.
Having exerted himself in battle, Hisoka felt heat building deep within his body and was aware that he would soon be unable to contain it.
Of course, no matter how much talent one possesses, Nen isn't something that can be awakened in just a few hours. With Killua and the others feeling discouraged by the lack of immediate results, we decided to focus on the Trick Tower—the next Hunter Exam challenge.
There were more vicious traps than in the first half, but none of our members were weak enough to be troubled by them. As a result, we cleared the third exam in the same order as the original story, with about ten hours to spare.
After the third exam ended, Killua and the others continued their meditation. Using Gin as a weight for self-training, I was already thinking ahead to the fourth exam.
In the week-long ordeal, how quickly could we gather the license plates? Where would we establish our base for training after collecting them? And above all, how would we navigate the intense competition among the examinees?
Illumi—also known as Gitarakuru—who had already passed the third exam, showed no signs of concern for us. Even I, who knew Illumi from the original story, couldn't understand his motives. I was prepared for the worst-case scenario of Illumi interfering during the license plate battle with Hisoka.
(I have no idea what he's thinking, so the only solution is to prepare for the worst. For the fourth exam, I'll have to rely on Gin to make up for what I couldn't accomplish before.)
My partner, who could barely move due to the effects of compressing his body to the limit, would undoubtedly take the initiative once freed from these constraints. As Tonpa had mentioned in the original story, being a Hunter is a profession where teamwork is crucial, so helping out Leorio or Kurapika shouldn't pose any problems.
When the remaining time dropped below an hour, Tonpa crawled to the goal, bringing the total number of Trick Tower conquerors to 32. We had passed the third exam.
The first full-power battle using Nen between Hisoka and me in this timeline, the battle that would bring significant changes to Hisoka's future, was just moments away.
I struggled to suppress my overflowing aura, unable to hold back the aggressive smile that began to form on my face.
***
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