"Lift your foot!"
*Thump!!!*
Just as Zane had said, he wasn't going to show any rcy.
Ignoring Gon's pain, he brought his foot down hard on the boy's chest.
Then, he leaned down.
*Crack!*
Amidst a bone-chilling sound of snapping, Zane ruthlessly broke all of Gon's limbs.
"AAAHHH!!!"
A blood-curdling scream tore from Gon's throat.
"Zane, you bastard, you've gone too far! What the hell are you doing?!" Leorio's voice roared with uncontrollable fury from the distance.
Beside him, Kurapika's eyes flickered with a faint crimson hue.
Unfortunately, Zane ignored them both.
"It hurts, doesn't it? But let tell you, this is only the beginning. Don't think for a second that because the rules require you to surrender, you can just endure it through sheer stubbornness."
"Do you rember what I said when we were in the taxi?"
"Actually, I lied back then. That skinning thod I ntioned? It's real. And I know plenty of other ways to torture soone..."
As Zane spoke with a deadpan expression, before he could even finish, the screams subsided. In their place, Gon, pinned under his foot, struggled to lift his head.
"No matter what you say, I won't give up!" Even though he was trembling with pain, Gon forced out the words to make his stance clear.
Zane paused.
He stared down at the defiant boy beneath him.
"I acknowledge your will. However, I'm not in the habit of losing either. So, I hope you don't push yourself too hard from here on out—otherwise, don't bla if you end up dead."
Letting out a slow breath, Zane withdrew his foot. Then...
*Boom!!!*
A terrifying malice suddenly erupted from Zane's body.
An aura that seed to churn the very air surged violently.
Infused with his killing intent, the swirling malice transford the space around Zane into a black vortex, leaving only a pair of crimson, demonic eyes visible.
When Zane unleashed his malice, the expressions of nchi and the other examiners watching from the distance shifted instantly.
It wasn't just because Zane was using Nen, but because the sheer volu of Nen aura he displayed was enough to pose a threat to nchi and the others.
Compared to the reaction of nchi and her colleagues, Netero remained far more composed, rely watching Zane's performance with a calm gaze.
"Exquisite, isn't it? This is a fresh fruit I worked very hard to find. You're not allowed to steal him, you know." Elsewhere, Hisoka had appeared beside Illumi at so point.
His eyes burned with intensity as he watched Zane in the center of the arena, whispering softly to Illumi.
Given how closely he watched Zane, there was no way he had missed the killing intent that had briefly flared from Illumi when Zane rubbed Killua's head earlier.
Illumi gave no reaction, acting as if he hadn't heard Hisoka—or perhaps as if he didn't even know who Hisoka was.
In the arena.
The terrifying malice manifested as tentacles stretching out from the black vortex, enveloping and crushing Gon with its weight.
*Clatter, clatter...*
His teeth chattered uncontrollably. Despite his broken limbs, driven by pure instinct, Gon's eyes filled with terror as he tried to shuffle backward on the floor, desperate to get away from Zane.
"Let's end it here. Stop running. You've done well enough. Now, listen to your heart and say the words. Surrender..."
The whisper, sounding like a devil's murmur, drifted from the black vortex and crawled into Gon's ears, reaching deep into his soul.
"I... I surrender!"
The voice was a bit faint, but it was clear enough for everyone to hear.
*Whoosh!*
The malice that had looked ready to swallow Gon whole vanished without a trace in an instant.
"See? If you had just given up earlier, none of this would have happened."
As the black vortex dissipated, Zane stepped forward with a bright, sunny smile and grabbed Gon's limbs.
*Snap!*
With great skill, he reset the limbs he had broken just monts ago.
It seed he had applied a certain level of protection when breaking them; not only did it minimize the damage, but it also made them easy to snap back into place.
Zane was all smiles, but Gon was in a bad way.
"I... lost?"
Gon muttered, dazed and lost.
The disappearance of the malice had freed him from the terror, but that involuntary surrender weighed heavily on him.
Kurapika, Leorio, and Killua were equally bewildered.
"Gon surrendered?"
"What exactly happened just now? Was it really the pain of his limbs being broken that forced Gon to give up? But then, why did the examiners look like that?"
'Did I imagine it? Why did I feel an aura from Zane just now that felt just like my big brother's?'
Of the three, Leorio was the most straightforward, simply shocked that Gon had given in.
As for Kurapika and Killua...
Although Zane had controlled his malice well, directing it only at Gon so that non-Nen users couldn't see it...
Soone with Kurapika's keen observational skills could still sense that sothing was hidden, judging by the changing expressions of nchi and the other examiners.
He frowned, lost in thought.
Then there was Killua.
He stared at Zane in the arena with a mixture of shock and suspicion.
Though he hadn't yet been exposed to Nen, his sharp instincts imdiately allowed him to associate Zane's malice with Illumi.
After all, driven by his twisted brotherly love, Illumi had implanted a Nen needle into Killua's head.
"The winner of the first match is Zane!"
Following the referee's announcent, Zane carried Gon—whose limbs had been reattached—to the sidelines.
"Gon, stay still! Let check you over!"
Returning to the edge of the arena, Leorio quickly took Gon from Zane and began a careful examination using his dical knowledge.
"Don't worry. The way Zane dislocated Gon's limbs was incredibly clean. Now that they're back in place, he just needs a bit of rest before he can move again."
Killua looked him over and gave an experienced assessnt.
During the exam, Leorio soon found that things were exactly as Killua had described and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Zane, you were way too scary just now. I really thought you were going to kill Gon," Leorio grumbled at Zane once he realized Gon was fine.
Zane shrugged. "Don't bla . You saw how stubborn Gon was. If I hadn't given him a proper scare, who knows how long it would've taken for us to finish."
"Uh..." Leorio scratched his head, unable to argue.
"Second match: Kurapika versus Hisoka! Please co forward!"
The referee's voice rang out, signaling the start of the next fight.
Hearing his na, Kurapika, who had been distracted and hadn't even spoken when Zane and Gon returned, was suddenly jolted back to reality.
'Now isn't the ti to be overthinking. The most important thing is passing the Hunter Exam.' Kurapika adjusted his emotions and walked toward the center of the arena.
On the other side, Hisoka also took the stage.
Watching Kurapika and Hisoka face off, Leorio's attention was imdiately drawn back to the match.
If Zane and Gon's fight had left him conflicted, Kurapika and Hisoka's match left him deeply worried.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comnts are highly appreciated to keep going.....( 40 chapters) patre0n.c0m/Royal_ink]
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