"Ring ring ring~~~ Ring ring ring~~"
In a room on the top floor of the Hunter Association headquarters, the landline phone kept buzzing incessantly.
A person pushed open the door and hurried toward the phone in quick steps.
He was dressed in a black suit, less than a meter tall, with a head shaped like a round green bean. His entire face was green as well.
"Hello? Lippo? You're looking for the chairman, but you can't get through to him? Ahem, the chairman, he..."
He hesitated, glancing toward the room outside the door before continuing the conversation with the person on the other end.
"What's wrong? Did something happen during the Hunter Exam?"
His eyes suddenly widened.
"You absolutely have to speak to the chairman...?!"
"Beans, I'll take it."
Hearing the aged yet vibrant voice behind him, the small suited figure known as Beans froze for a moment, then handed over the receiver with a resentful expression.
"In that case, why didn't you answer his call just now?"
"Hohoho~"
The old man who took the phone was dressed in a white robe with blue trim and wore wooden sandals.
He was the highest authority of the Hunter Association, the chairman, Netero.
He lifted a hand to pick his nose and said to Beans:
"If it's not more important than my afternoon tea, I'm not about to waste my precious tea time."
Beans's eyes widened in shock.
"...Afternoon tea?"
He couldn't hold back any longer.
"Chairman, if I remember correctly, this should be the time for the meeting you're supposed to be presiding over?!"
"Hohoho, what's so important about a meeting~"
Netero winked at the speechless Beans with a grin.
"The Hunter Exam is much more fun—important."
Ignoring Beans's sigh, Netero switched the phone to his other hand and brought it closer to his ear.
"Hello, this is Netero. You may speak now."
"In this year's exam, two boys who can use Nen have appeared? And both are exceptionally talented?"
Netero's brows drew together slightly, but from his expression, it was clear that his interest had been thoroughly piqued.
"One of them, the white-haired boy, is very likely from an A-rank criminal organization?"
As he spoke, Netero raised a hand and pressed his temple.
"Not long ago, that little girl Biscuit also called me, saying she'd found two individuals worth paying special attention to."
"Sounds like it's probably the same person you're talking about, doesn't it?"
On the other end, Lippo spoke sternly.
"That white-haired brat—Candidate 232—is absolutely an extremely dangerous individual. I suggest—"
Before he could finish, Netero cut him off.
"You don't have any evidence, do you?"
"While arresting criminals on wanted lists is indeed your responsibility as prison warden, don't forget—before that, he has another identity. A more important one. He's a Hunter Exam candidate."
Netero continued:
"As long as a candidate is still participating in the Hunter Exam and has not violated any rules, we have no reason to revoke his qualification."
Lippo: "...Understood."
Hearing the slightly dissatisfied reply from the other end, Netero chuckled again.
"Hohoho, no need to worry. I'll personally go and meet the two boys you mentioned."
At that, Lippo sounded surprised.
"...Eh?"
Beans's eyes widened as well.
"But you still have the meeting to attend—"
"I'll head over during the final phase of the exam. That settles it. We'll talk about anything else then. Bye-bye~"
Netero sped through his words and hung up with a snap.
He looked at Beans's utterly exasperated expression, blinked, and revealed a conspiratorial smile.
Patting Beans on the shoulder, he said:
"Then I'll leave it to you to investigate everything about Candidates 232 through 235~"
After saying that, Netero flicked his sleeve, hummed an unknown little tune, and swaggered out of the secretary's office.
Beans: "..."
...
On the other side.
Inside a lounge room in Trick Tower.
Just as the countdown on the electronic screen was about to hit zero, Kisho was awakened by Amos.
He climbed up from the mat.
"Ah—That was a great nap."
"Yeah, I can tell."
Amos, wearing headphones and playing a game, glanced sideways at him.
"Did that fight with Biscuit drain you that badly?"
"Not really."
Kisho sat up.
"Her Nen ability is incredibly useful. After the massage, the physical fatigue was practically gone. It's just that the Nen I used up didn't recover as quickly."
Kisho smiled.
"But I'm good now."
Amos nodded.
The people in the room began gathering their belongings.
Kisho walked over to the refrigerator and slipped two bottles of drinks into his backpack.
"Click—clack—clack—"
As the full thirty-hour countdown reached zero, the stone door of the lounge slowly opened, revealing the passage beyond.
"Let's go, everyone!"
Kisho turned to the others who were ready.
"I'll take the lead this time!"
For the latter half of the phase, the four of them seemed almost targeted. Whether Kisho chose left or right, the results were pretty much the same.
Rooms where the floor would suddenly collapse; rooms where rock spikes burst from the walls; rooms that slowly filled with water; rooms full of mechanical puppets that hacked at anyone they saw...
Seven or eight bizarre trap rooms like these stood before the group of four, yet none of them managed to slow down their progress—
Or rather, Kisho's progress.
As long as the candidate serving as the challenger cleared the room, the others could follow directly through the safe passage inside.
For Kisho, the second phase felt like a "four-life side-scrolling game," and he was having the time of his life.
When the final stone slab door opened before him and he was just about to roll up his sleeves for another round, he was surprised to see that inside the semicircular hall, more than a dozen candidates had already cleared the phase and were seated there.
"Congratulations to Candidates 232, 233, 234, and 235. You have successfully passed. Time used: 36 hours and 23 minutes."
As Kisho stood there in a daze, a voice broadcast from somewhere above the hall.
"...Huh?"
Kisho's eyes widened slightly.
"We're already here?"
"I was bored to death."
Amos walked past him, rolling his eyes.
"So you're saying you still haven't had enough fun?"
Kisho looked wronged.
"How was I supposed to know it'd end this fast?"
C·L and Tonpa also walked past him.
"This phase gave us three days too. Looks like we'll have to sit around here for another day and a half."
Kisho muttered while reaching out and grabbing Tonpa by the shoulder as he passed.
Under Tonpa's terrified gaze, Kisho slowly said:
"Mr. Tonpa, when you were making deals with the prisoners earlier, why didn't you trade for a bit more time?"
At that, Tonpa's eyes widened as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard. He shouted in disbelief:
"Y-You—what did you just say?!"
...
Check out my new interesting story "Naruto: Starting by Possessing Kimimaro." A transmigrator appears in Kimimaro's body, inheriting a powerful bloodline limit.