Yes, that was Kon, the Foxbear Gon had adopted, the son of the mother Foxbear killed by Kite.
After two years of growth, Kon had become stronger.
Even more remarkably, during these two years, because Gon had been constantly training, this little creature had mostly accompanied him in training.
As Gon grew, Kon had also become stronger and more formidable.
Yet, he remained calm and quiet by Gon's side, like a cat.
If Kastro hadn't witnessed Kon's hunting skills firsthand, he would have thought Kon and Gon were both just innocent kids.
No, in beasts, only the most primal laws of the wild apply. Innocence has nothing to do with them.
"So, your path of training is still very long."
Kastro withdrew his gaze from Kon and looked at Gon: "However, with your current progress, in just over a year, you will be able to graduate from training. By then, I will have nothing more to teach you."
Yes, Gon truly had one of the best talents in the world.
Even though Kastro considered himself a highly skilled martial arts prodigy, Gon's performance made him realize that the world still had hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
A child on this remote island possessed such talent.
His own talent seemed insignificant in comparison.
This realization slightly humbled Kastro, making him steadier.
And this was one of Luke's main reasons for sending him here.
Overly proud people also need tempering.
Too rigid easily breaks, and pride can blind one.
Gon also pushed Kastro a little.
And indeed, Gon lived up to his monstrous reputation.
He completed all the tasks assigned by the Scheduler Clock without exception.
Even such a device could no longer provide detailed guidance.
After all, the Scheduler Clock is just a rigid machine.
Once Gon completed the plans successfully, Luke directly sent Kastro here to teach basic martial arts techniques and related philosophies.
As for Nen, there was no rush.
After he passed the hunter exam, learning them would not be too late.
His body still had room for further improvement.
"In just over a year, I'll almost be ready to graduate?!"
Hearing this evaluation, Gon's eyes lit up.
"So that means..."
He quickly calculated his timeline: "I can take the hunter exam the year after next!!"
Just over a year meant he could graduate next year.
The hunter exam registration and start date were at the beginning of the year.
So, if he graduates next year, he could only participate in the 1999 hunter exam.
Gon had made up his mind and had also determined the time at which he planned to set out on his debut.
"And when the year after next comes, I will just happen to be twelve years old!!"
Coincidentally, just like Ging Freecss back then, he would also be going out on adventures at the age of twelve.
Thinking about this, Gon could not help but feel motivated and continued to throw himself into his training.
Meanwhile, over at the Zoldyck Family, the turmoil caused by the incident in which a hundred people were wiped out was also gradually settling down.
That skinny man thus became the Zoldyck Family's gatekeeper and began doing ordinary menial work there.
And upon learning of this incident, a certain silver-haired member of the Zoldyck Family properly came to the front courtyard.
Of course, he came under the pretext of being curious about that hunter's situation.
But in reality…
"Canary, that's a nice name."
Facing Canary, a child who could be considered roughly the same age as himself, was the Zoldyck Family's third son, Killua.
This individual, currently the most outstanding and most gifted heir within the family, also felt quite a sense of novelty.
He wanted to get to know someone of the same age as him, but unfortunately, constrained by the Zoldyck Family's rules, the other party could only obediently stay in this place.
She suppressed all her emotions and, in the posture of a servant, respectfully faced Killua.
No matter how turbulent her heart was or how strong her desire was to go and play together with Killua, the difference in status was destined to make her not dare to cross the line even one step.
She could only silently watch as Killua left, somewhat disappointed, and continuously apologized in her heart: "Young master, I'm sorry, I can't..."
"If the family head and butler Gotoh were to find out, I would no longer be able to stay in this place."
"And I would also never again be able to see you..."
Such a bittersweet melodrama was very much in line with the many classic tropes in female-oriented stories, unrequited love, feelings constrained by status and unable to be expressed, and so on.
One was a young master of a family renowned throughout the world.
Moreover, he himself was handsome and dashing, extraordinarily talented, and very outstanding, a figure who could be described as a domineering CEO–level.
The other was a Cinderella-like housekeeper within the family... Well, indeed, whether on the surface or in actual status.
The two of them, growing up together since childhood, could be considered childhood sweethearts, also belonging to the category of having grown up together.
And then, due to the estrangement caused by differences in status, they could only watch helplessly as they went their separate ways, walking down different paths…
If written into a novel or adapted into a film or television, it would absolutely be something deeply loved by women.
No wonder there were so many female fans of Hunter × Hunter.
It was not only because of the characters' looks, but also their interactions, couple-shipping, and the like…
There was no need to talk too much about it; those who understand, understand.
However, while Killua left disappointed, he also remembered one thing.
"Professional hunter, huh? Aside from being an assassin, it's the most popular profession out there..."
In his heart, a seed of understanding toward the identity of a professional hunter was quietly planted.
And just as Killua was leaving, in a nearby patch of forest.
A boy two years younger than him, wearing dark purple and with a bowl-cut hairstyle, was silently watching his back.
The mole at the corner of his pursed lips and his red eyes stared unblinkingly at his older brother.
The youngest child of the Zoldyck Family was two years younger than Killua.