The giant catfish thrashed its tail, struggling desperately with the force of a heavy truck.
Roy recognized it at a glance. It was the "King of the Swamp" that dominated this lake, the same one that Gon would catch in the future.
That was what convinced Mito to let him take the Hunter Exam.
Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time now. Eating it was out of the question. Plus, its body was enormous, and it had probably accumulated a lot of muddy flavor. The meat was likely coarse and tough. Thinking it wouldn't taste good, he simply retracted his Nen line and let it go back into the lake.
"Young Master, we need to hurry." The official departure time was three o'clock in the afternoon. It was already 2:55. He didn't know if they could still make it.
Gotoh stamped out the fire with one foot and organized their bags.
Roy, however, was calm. The Hunter License was important, but so was training. 'Remaining natural, neither arrogant nor impatient, is the correct path.'
He smiled at him and said, "Don't worry. Things will sort themselves out."
With a flip of his wrist, he shouldered the branch. "Let's go."
"Yes."
Master and servant left the jungle, passed through streets and alleys, and hurried toward Dole Harbor, where the pickup ship, the "Poseidon," was docked.
When they arrived, they were still a step too late. In the distance, they saw a huge, three-masted sailing ship, spewing steam and thick smoke, leaving the harbor. It was estimated to be about three kilometers from the shore, having left a few minutes ago.
"Wait... I haven't boarded yet! Please, stop..." A few unlucky souls, just like Roy, had arrived late. They waved their hands desperately, shouting, hoping to attract the ship's attention and make it turn back.
But this was a serious exam, not a children's game. Once the sails were raised, there was no talk of lowering them to turn around.
"Too late. The ship won't stop. Come back next year." Just then, a pot-bellied old captain walked out of the cabin. He had a red nose, a full beard, a pipe in his mouth, and a sailor's cap on his head. His skin, from years at sea exposed to wind and sun, was dark and rough. He just glanced indifferently at the shore before looking away.
'Looks like a few kids. They really don't take the job of a Hunter seriously...' he thought. On the deck, figures moved. Several people walked over in succession: a blond with two bodyguards, a strange person with a face full of pushpins, and one wearing a blue baseball cap with a katana at his waist. It was as if they had rehearsed it... with a shared understanding, they leaned against the ship's railing to look at the shore. At a glance, they saw the figure holding a cane sword and carrying a branch on his shoulder.
'Roy Zoldyck.'
'Big brother.'
'It's that guy...'
'You're finally here...'
Pariston's mouth pulled up into a smirk. He turned his head to the captain. "Hey, I think we can turn back."
The strange person looked over as well. Then came Kite, who adjusted the brim of his cap without a word.
"Hehehe, sorry, I'm the captain, and I call the shots." The old captain, Mark Seam, undid a button, revealing an examiner's license issued by the Hunter Association. He looked at the three coldly and pointed at the sea. "If you don't like it, you can jump off."
Mark Seam had seen plenty of troublemakers. Wasn't his first mate, Gus, a troublemaker before? And isn't he perfectly obedient now?
"Well, nothing to be done then." Pariston shrugged, looking at the shore with regret.
Although he was in a very bad mood, he couldn't forget the business at hand.
However, the strange person next to him, upon hearing Mark Seam's words, jumped off without hesitation.
"Splash!" Water flew everywhere. The few of them were stunned. Looking again... the strange person, with his conspicuous mohawk, was paddling through the water, swimming rapidly toward the shore. They looked at each other, nonplussed.
"Holy crap, is he an idiot?"
"He just jumped when told? He's not even taking the Hunter Exam anymore?"
"What, are they giving out gold bars on the shore or something?"
An uproar started. Many people watched the spectacle, gloating. One less competitor was always a good thing. They wished there were a few more idiots like that.
"Young Master, what should we do?"
On the shore, Gotoh reached for his phone, already starting to consider booking return tickets.
Just as the captain had said, they missed the chance this year. The worst-case scenario was just coming back next year. In any case, the Young Master was still young; he had plenty of time and opportunities.
But Roy just watched silently as the "Poseidon" got further and further away. His feet didn't move, and he showed no sign of giving up. After a moment, a sea breeze blew...
The young man suddenly said to Gotoh, "Zip up. Don't drop anything."
Under the young butler's stunned gaze, he casually tossed the branch from his shoulder into the seawater. Then he grabbed Gotoh's collar, lifted him, and leaped toward the sea, landing steadily on the branch.
Strangely, the branch only sank a tiny bit before floating back up. With a thought from Roy, it tensed up and, with a "swoosh," shot off like an arrow from a bow, speeding toward the "Poseidon."
"Whoosh!" The waves were shattered. A visible wake extended all the way from the shore, zipping past the strange person's cheek.
He had almost reached the shore. The strange person's body stiffened, his limbs nearly cramped, and he almost sank into the sea. He turned his head, then quickly kicked his legs and swung his arms, turning around to chase.
"Look! What is that?"
The wake was approaching. Two small dots on the branch were faintly growing larger.
A cry of alarm exploded on the deck. Pariston, Kite, the old captain, the bald ninja, the snake charmer, the Kurta clan girl... all leaned against the railing and looked over in unison.
Roy, with his cane sword at his waist and his hands behind his back, brought his loyal butler. His thick, dark hair was whipped back by the sea breeze as he urged the branch forward like a skiff, tearing through the waves and gradually entering everyone's field of vision.
"Hehehe..."
Pariston's shoulders shook as he let out an uncontrollable low laugh.
"Roy Zoldyck, I... really... I really love you! You never fail to disappoint."
'That speed, that presence...' "Hey, Little Hill, it looks like you can't compare to..." Clark noticed his unusual state and blurted out the truth.
The skinny bodyguard shot him a look. He gripped the cross on his chest, his brow furrowed, faintly feeling the pressure.
The young man's calm and composed appearance was like the sun overhead, high above, as if he looked down on everything.
'It really makes it impossible to feel any jealousy...'
"Whoosh!" The sea wind was torn apart. He was closer. The wake was only two hundred meters from the "Poseidon." In just one minute, he had caught up.
Kite turned around, walked away from the railing, found a spot, and sat down. There was no need to watch. The result was already determined.
Two hundred meters, one hundred meters, fifty meters... Amidst the shocked gazes and screams of the people on board...
In the blink of an eye, the wake was right up against the "Poseidon."
This time, without Roy's help, Gotoh patted the satchel on his chest, and with a leap, he landed steadily on the deck. And that branch, casually broken to be used as a fishing rod, was also pulled by Roy with a "suction" from his open hand. It broke through the waves, flew through the air, and was caught firmly in his grasp.
He shouldered it.