"Looks like this year will be more interesting than previous years."
Old Captain Mark Seam noticed the branch Roy was carrying on his shoulder. In a daze, he remembered someone. He also liked to fish.
When he first saw him, he was also carrying a fishing rod on his shoulder, with a red orb at the end. He was the only person to pass the test that year... was his name Ging Freecss?
Mark Seam vaguely remembered this name.
"Welcome... welcome... Roy Zoldyck, we meet again."
A round of applause rang out. Pariston Hill spread his arms, smiling, and walked up to welcome Roy onto the ship.
However, he was ignored by Roy, who walked right past him, found the bow of the ship, and sat down cross-legged. He flicked his rod and continued fishing, tempering his Nen ability.
Still water is not like the living sea. The moving "Poseidon" would add even greater difficulty to fishing. Roy was as steady as a reef, swaying slightly with the ship. Behind him stood Gotoh, silent, facing the crowd, and quietly guarding his back.
"Hehehe... Little Hill got ignored again." First, it was the strange person... now, it's the Zoldyck...
Clark glanced at the sea behind him. The blue surface of the sea was calm, and the strange person's shadow was already gone. Just as he was wondering if the guy had drowned, a hand suddenly grabbed the ship's railing, and he climbed up, soaking wet...
Illumi saw it... that blondie was looking at Big Brother.
'What is he trying to do with his arms open? An embrace...?'
'Danger!' Pariston Hill suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck. He turned his head and met a pair of empty eyes.
It was the strange person!
"Kri... kri..." The strange person sat down, leaning against the railing. Also noticing Pariston Hill's gaze, he simply closed his eyes. 'Out of sight, out of mind.'
The skinny bodyguard Gore noticed something unusual and whispered a reminder, "This person is strange."
Pariston Hill gave Illumi a deep look and shrugged indifferently. "That's... what makes it interesting..."
Roy Zoldyck was here, so nothing else mattered. He, Clark, and Gore also found a place to stay.
Old Captain Mark Seam saw that everyone was present, clapped his hands, and ordered his first mate Gus to bring out a box. He looked around and shouted loudly, "All eyes on me!"
"Everyone, grab a number tag and put it on!"
Many gazes turned over. Gus, wearing a red bandana on his head, flipped the box, dumping out a pile of number tags.
White background, black numbers, and a red button on the side. At a rough estimate, there had to be hundreds...
"What's this? Registering our exam numbers?" The bald ninja's figure flashed, and he was the first to walk up. He casually grabbed a number tag, and as he curiously moved to press the red button, he was stopped by Old Captain Mark Seam.
"If you don't want to be eliminated right now, go ahead and press it." Mark Seam, puffing on his pipe, let out a cloud of smoke. This scared the bald ninja, and his hand trembled, nearly dropping the tag.
"So serious, why didn't you say so earlier, old man?" Yusuke was a bit angry.
As an elite Jōnin from the Cloud-Hidden Style of Sakura Country, if he was eliminated here before even reaching the official Hunter Exam site... forget about not having the face to see anyone, if his master found out, he'd be made to commit seppuku! It would be too humiliating!
"Hmph... say so earlier?" Mark Seam scanned the crowd and raised his voice. "Don't think you're safe just because you're on the ship!"
"I'm telling you, from the moment your foot stepped on this deck, the Hunter Exam has already begun!"
"If you're counting on luck, you might as well quit early!"
"We're already here, who the hell would quit? Old man, just tell us! What do you want us to do?" Someone was impatient.
"Very good!" Mark Seam wasn't annoyed by being cursed at. He picked up a number tag and showed it to the crowd. "1 tag represents one point. My test is actually very simple. It's called the 'Point Scramble'!"
"Before we arrive at the official exam site, Dole Island, whoever has accumulated the most points wins."
The old captain paused here, squinted at the crowd, and raised one finger. "We will only take the top ten!"
'Wait...'
"You're making everyone kill each other!" Someone figured it out. What 'Point Scramble'?
This was clearly telling everyone present to kill until only ten were left!
One stone stirred a thousand waves. Yusuke, the snake charmer, the boy with the bow, the Kurta clan girl... Kite, and Gotoh all looked over in unison.
Mark Seam let out a "Gurarara" laugh, took a hard drag on his pipe, and said, "That's why we gave you a 'surrender button' in advance."
The old man pressed the red button on the tag, which let out a sharp "Whee" sound. He smirked. "If you can't take it, just surrender. We will intervene."
"Of course, pressing it..."
Mark Seam glanced at Yusuke. "...means you are disqualified."
"Whoosh." A sea breeze blew, taking all the noise from the deck with it.
The sound of a book's pages flipping was heard. The girl from the Kurta clan broke the silence: "As far as I know, it's not usually this harsh. Even in the last exam, mass eliminations only happened after reaching the official site."
"You also said 'usually'," Mark Seam said indifferently. "Each exam has its own rules. If you don't like it, you can appeal to the Association!"
'Anyway, this is an order from above. It won't come back to me,' Mark Seam added silently in his heart.
"Then there's nothing more to say." Pariston Hill, after the reckless bald ninja, was the first to step up. He took "No. 1" and pinned it to his chest. He scanned the crowd, his gaze lingering on Roy for a moment, and smiled sinisterly.
"I wholeheartedly support the Association's decision. Trash should be cleaned out early, lest it affects the Association's reputation!"
"It's this guy again!" The image of Donovan being turned into meat paste was still fresh in their minds. Yusuke, the snake charmer, the boy with the bow, the man in bandages... glared angrily, but didn't dare to speak out. They waited until Pariston Hill, Clark, and Gore had each taken their tags and moved aside before stepping up to take their own, one by one, and finding a place to hide.
In the process, a scream suddenly erupted. Someone behind had seen the person in front of them take a tag, and taking advantage of their unguarded moment, stabbed them in the kidney, grabbed the tag, and ran.
From then on, it was as if a boulder had been thrown into a calm lake. One stab initiated the slaughter!
"Welcome to the real Hunter world." Mark Seam noted the person stabbing another, instructed Gus and the rest of the crew to intervene in time if anyone pressed the "surrender button," and turned to go to the captain's room, closing the door behind him.
He was getting old, he couldn't stand the sight of blood. The higher-ups, really... they didn't know how to show consideration for an old man like him...
The old captain thought, leaned back in his chair, and simply closed his eyes for a nap. He left a ship full of candidates to stage a messy game of battle royale in a field of carnage.
"Swoosh!" A brawl erupted on deck. A throwing knife, without eyes, stabbed toward Roy!