Want to read ahead? Join my Patreon for just $7 to get early access to all upcoming chapters!
> Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations
─────
Chapter 137: Abaki Never Leaves Empty-Handed
According to his memories of the original manga's Hunter Exam, Kurapika had explicitly stated that, on average, only one rookie managed to pass the exam every three years.
Given Abaki's status as a Nen user, passing the exam wouldn't be hard. As long as the examiner wasn't someone eccentric like Menchi, and the candidate pool lacked freaks like Hisoka, she should easily pass on her first try. Even if she did run into Hisoka, Abaki had nothing to worry about. The two were old acquaintances. Could the person Kurapika mentioned who passed the test actually have been Abaki?
Ronin harbored this suspicion. Besides, he had already registered for the Hunter Exam himself, so he and Abaki were bound to cross paths again.
"Forgive me for asking, but does your ability only allow you to fish for things you're familiar with or can see, or can you also fish up random objects?" Kurapika asked, bringing up the issue he cared about most.
It truly was a presumptuous question; a Nen user's ability was top-secret intelligence. Yet, Abaki answered with complete candor.
"Both. I can fish for things I've locked onto in advance, or I can just cast my line randomly and wait for whatever bites."
"What kind of random things do you catch?" Ronin was curious too.
"No idea. Everything from trash bags to diamonds, jewels, gold, private collections, or even buried bones and coffins... As long as it exists, there's a chance I'll hook it," Abaki laughed. "I never come back empty-handed, anyway. Plus, I love the element of surprise."
"And what's your casting range?" Kurapika pressed on.
Ronin had already guessed what Kurapika intended to do with Abaki's ability.
"Two kilometers," Abaki gave the exact figure. "That's three times the maximum distance I can cast my line right now."
"Meaning that range can still increase?" Kurapika asked.
Abaki nodded. "Yes, but it's difficult. The main hurdles are my equipment and my own strength."
Kurapika nodded and cut to the core issue. "If you were stationed in a fixed location, is there a chance you could fish up a specific item?"
"Blind casting like that is completely random," Abaki initially shut down the idea. But just as disappointment flashed across both Ronin and Kurapika's faces, she added, "However, if I use a special bait, there's a certain probability I can hook a designated target."
That made sense. But Kurapika had another idea he wanted to run by her first.
"What if we narrowed the area down? Could you fish away everything within that specific zone?"
Kurapika naturally wanted to fish up the Scarlet Eyes. However, he couldn't fathom what on earth could be used as 'bait' for them, so he resorted to asking about the brute-force method.
"That's doable," Abaki confirmed. "It would just take a very long time."
Kurapika nodded. "Then let's talk about the bait."
Abaki didn't answer right away. Instead, she asked:
"So, what exactly are you trying to catch? I need to know the target before I can figure out the bait."
"The Scarlet Eyes," Kurapika said, not bothering to hide it.
"They aren't alive?" Abaki frowned slightly. "I've never tried that. I'm not sure."
She had assumed he wanted to catch a person or an animal. She never expected him to want something that couldn't even bite a hook. What kind of bait worked for an inanimate object?
"If bait doesn't work, what about changing the hook?" Kurapika knew using bait on a dead object was a massive stretch, but he figured it was worth asking.
The answer, unsurprisingly, was no.
"Never tried it." Abaki shook her head, looking a bit bewildered.
Watching from the sidelines, Ronin could tell that Abaki fit the Emitter stereotype to a tee: she was completely rough around the edges.
It was obvious she had developed her own signature move, but she had created the ability entirely based on feeling, without any deep analysis or future planning. That was why she couldn't answer half of Kurapika's questions.
Yet, her demeanor actually made Kurapika's eyes light up. The more he asked, the more he realized she had barely scratched the surface of her ability's potential. That meant Abaki had massive room for growth.
If nurtured properly, her ability might just be the key to silently fishing the Scarlet Eyes away from their collectors. In Kurapika's view, this method would be absolutely perfect for retrieving the largest batch of the eyes from Kakin's 4th Prince, Tserriednich, without making a sound.
"Will you be traveling with us from now on? We've already signed up for the Hunter Exam anyway," Kurapika offered, extending an invitation.
He wasn't instantly making her a teammate, but traveling together was a good way to get to know her. If she turned out to be a good person with a highly useful ability, formally inviting her into the group would be a solid move.
Naturally, Ronin didn't have any objections. Now, it all came down to Abaki's choice.
Abaki hesitated. "I've got a bounty on my head right now. Won't traveling with you guys bring you trouble?"
This time, Ronin spoke up. "You don't need to worry about that. What you should consider is that traveling with us might drag you into even greater danger. After all, I'm much stronger than you, and the people I've pissed off are far more formidable than anyone the Glam Clan's bounty could ever attract."
Abaki blinked, genuinely taken aback. She had never considered that angle. She paused. She had always worried about being a burden to others, never stopping to think that they might end up burdening her with even greater threats.
"Don't stress over it. Our next destination will lock out the vast majority of your pursuers anyway," Kurapika hinted. From the looks of it, he still really wanted to keep Abaki around.
Abaki didn't hesitate for much longer. Her gaze lingered heavily on Ronin's face for a few moments.
"As long as you guys don't mind the trouble, I'd be happy to tag along."
"Then it's settled," Ronin said, finalizing the decision.
As they left the cafe, however, Ronin accidentally caught a glimpse of a crumpled poster sticking out of Abaki's pocket. Just from seeing the corner, he immediately recognized what it was.
It was a promotional poster for his Heaven's Arena match against Hisoka. It seemed Abaki had recognized him from the very beginning. Did that mean her joining the group was somewhat influenced by her connection to Hisoka?
He didn't know her exact mindset, but with Abaki temporarily joining the squad, and Ronin having fully integrated the Scarlet Eyes, the group didn't linger any longer. They quietly departed from Glam Gas Land.
─────
Support this fanfict by leaving Positive Review, Comments, and Power Stones.
For Advance Chapters:
> Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations