The Republic of Padokea wasn't too far from the hotel where the final test took place.
Taking an airship, Zane and the other three arrived smoothly at the Dentora region, where Kukuroo Mountain is located, on the third day.
Because of the Zoldyck family's laissez-faire attitude, despite being a family of assassins, Kukuroo Mountain had instead beco a famous tourist attraction in the Republic of Padokea.
So, after getting off the airship, the four of them directly boarded a sightseeing bus bound for Kukuroo Mountain.
'The temptation of money really is an easy way for people to lose their minds.'
Upon boarding the sightseeing bus, Zane imdiately noticed sothing unusual.
The bus was already more than half full before they got on.
How should he put it? If he didn't know better, Zane would have thought he was boarding a military vehicle.
Simply because every single person on the bus was dressed in camouflage combat gear and was openly carrying various firearms.
Such a situation was naturally impossible for Gon and the others to ignore.
The four of them exchanged looks.
'What's the deal here?'
'Who knows?'
'They're probably rcenaries or sothing.'
'Zane, should we get off and catch another one?'
'No need. Looking at them, they don't seem prepared to move against us. Let's wait and see what happens!'
'....'
After a round of non-verbal communication, Zane and the others acted as if they hadn't noticed anything unusual and found empty seats to sit down.
Well...
The main reason Zane and his group could remain so calm was actually their own strength.
Not to ntion Zane.
Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio, who had just begun to master Nen, now had a mindset much like finding a long, straight stick while playing in the woods—they just wanted to take a swing at anything they saw.
Carrying complex emotions of unease, tension, and excitent, the bus slowly started and began to move forward.
"Welco, tourists, to this tour! Our destination is the ho of the world-famous Zoldyck family. That's right, the world's number one assassin organization..."
Zane and his group weren't the only ones who were calm; the bus driver and the tour guide were too.
Both ignored the anomalies on the bus. One drove silently, while the other gave a high-spirited explanation as usual.
This caused Gon and the others to look at the female guide with admiration.
In this dramatic fashion, the sightseeing bus arrived at Kukuroo Mountain without a hitch.
Screech!
The brakes were applied.
As soon as the bus stopped, the rcenaries, who had been as silent as statues, suddenly seed to co alive.
"Brothers, move out!"
"We're finally here. The Zoldyck family! They say just a single photo of one of them can be traded for a hundred million Jenny on the black market."
"Shut up and get to work!"
"....."
The suspected rcenaries quickly scrambled off the bus and ran toward the opposite side.
Directly across from the sightseeing bus was the gate of the Zoldyck family, also known as the Testing Gate, or the Gate of Hades.
The Testing Gate stood as tall as a cliff, and the walls connected to its sides enclosed the entire Kukuroo Mountain.
Seeing the rcenaries rush toward the Testing Gate, Zane and Gon's group also followed them off the bus.
"Are these people trying to climb over this gate?"
Seeing the rcenaries pull out grappling hooks from their backpacks, clearly well-prepared, Leorio spoke in surprise.
"They're probably here for the bounty," Kurapika judged.
When he had looked up information on the Zoldyck family, he had seen their sky-high bounty amounts.
Now, seeing the rcenaries' actions, although he was surprised, it wasn't too unexpected.
Gon stared blankly at the Testing Gate.
Is this Killua's ho? He wondered how Killua was doing now.
Zane also calmly watched the rcenaries' climb.
Although these people looked like they had done so research beforehand, it was clearly very shallow.
Moreover, there were no Nen users among them, which proved that this group was purely here as lambs to the slaughter.
Well... quite literally.
"Aaaah!!!"
Although the Testing Gate was towering, it wasn't too difficult for the prepared rcenaries.
Soon, one rcenary after another successfully climbed the Testing Gate, then used ropes to descend into the interior.
But the line between success and failure was thin.
A shrill scream suddenly echoed from inside the stone gate.
"Monster! It's a monster!!!"
"Don't co any closer! Have rcy!"
"Dammit! I'll take you down with , you monster!"
"...."
Terrified screams, dense gunfire, and even the sound of explosions echoed one after another within the Testing Gate.
After a mont, the sounds faded into silence.
"Oh? Why do people always like to throw their lives away? Hey, Mike, if you get too fat, don't bla !"
A guard station was set up next to the Testing Gate.
After the screams stopped, a balding, chubby middle-aged man walked casually out of the guard station.
Carrying several iron buckets, he skillfully used a key to open the small door beside the Testing Gate.
A second later, a giant pale claw reached out from the small door and tossed out a pile of stark white bones.
Bits of camouflage fabric still clung to so of the bones, making it easy to tell that these remains belonged to the rcenaries who had just entered.
Hiss...
The sound of a sharp intake of breath ca from Leorio beside him.
Zane didn't even need to turn his head to know that Leorio was absolutely terrified right now.
"That must be so kind of magical beast. To be able to finish off that group of rcenaries so quickly, that beast is definitely not simple," Kurapika said, his face solemn as he stared at the bones being gathered by the guard.
A group of heavily ard rcenaries would be difficult for an ordinary magical beast to fight against.
"Hey, mister! Do you know Killua?"
While Leorio and Kurapika were preoccupied with the death of the rcenaries, Gon had already run over to the guard.
"Master Killua?" The guard quickly turned his head and looked at Gon in surprise.
He couldn't help but ask, "You know Master Killua?"
"Yeah! Killua and I t during the Hunter Exam. I ca here specifically to find him. Can you help contact him?" Gon nodded repeatedly, making his request as if he were an old friend.
"This..." The guard hesitated.
If it were anyone else, the guard definitely wouldn't have paid them any mind.
But since it involved Killua...
Let's just say that in the Zoldyck family, Killua was not only the acknowledged successor of the next generation but also everyone's favorite.
"Alright, I'll give it a try." The guard eventually agreed to Gon's request.
Soon, inside the guard station, under the watchful eyes of Zane and the others, the guard dialed an internal number.
"Is this Butler Gotoh? It's Zebro. Here's the thing, I have so visitors here. They say they're friends of Master Killua, so... Yes, yes, yes, I understand."
The call was quickly connected. Amidst Zebro's cautious words, he was soon sweating profusely and apologizing repeatedly.
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