"Hello there!" Zane greeted the two with a smile and a nod.
"Hello!"
"Uh, hello to you too!"
Seeing Gon respond so cheerfully to Zane's greeting, Kurapika felt a bit awkward and quickly followed suit.
"Now that the greetings are over, you can introduce yourselves!" the brandy-nosed captain interrupted.
Gon replied imdiately, raising his right hand and saying brightly, "My na is Gon."
Kurapika followed with a nod to the captain. "I am Kurapika."
"I'm Leorio!" Leorio muttered his na with so reluctance.
Once the three had given their nas, the captain asked, "Why do you four want to beco Hunters?"
"Hey, you're not an examiner. Why are you asking questions over there?" Leorio questioned, pointing an unsatisfied finger at the captain.
"Just answer the question!" the captain's tone sharpened.
"I say, when asking about soone's privacy, you should at least state your identity first. Otherwise, it's easy to cause misunderstandings," Zane said helplessly from the side.
"Exactly. As Leorio and Zane said, if you are personnel from the Hunter Association, Captain, then we will answer your questions regarding the Hunter Exam truthfully. But if not, I will refuse to answer questions involving personal privacy," Kurapika said sternly from the other side.
"Hey, you're younger than , right? How can you address without using an honorific..." Leorio looked at Kurapika with annoyance upon hearing his na being used directly.
He was just that kind of person; once familiar, he didn't care about titles, but with strangers, he was very particular about how they treated him.
Unfortunately, Kurapika completely ignored Leorio, focused entirely on expressing his refusal to answer the captain.
"You brat..." Leorio grew even more infuriated seeing Kurapika disregard him so completely.
Before he could lash out, the brandy-nosed captain took a deep drag from his pipe and exhaled. "It seems you haven't realized the situation yet. The Hunter Exam already began the mont you boarded this ship."
"What?!"
Except for Zane, Leorio, Kurapika, and Gon were all startled.
The captain continued leisurely, "The number of people in this world who want a Hunter License is as vast as the stars in the sky."
"To screen so many people, the number of examiners is insufficient, and there isn't enough ti."
"That's why people like us are hired to filter the candidates first. Currently, apart from the four of you, everyone else on this ship has already been reported as disqualified to the selection committee."
"In short, whether or not you can continue the Hunter Exam depends entirely on my mood. So, think carefully and answer my question."
After those words, Leorio and Kurapika, who had just refused to answer, were caught in an awkward position.
"See? If you had said that earlier, there wouldn't have been a problem," Zane said with a smile.
But his tone shifted imdiately. "However, I must remind you, Captain, that although you are authorized by the selection committee, don't be too impulsive when disqualifying candidates."
"You should know that not every candidate has a good temperant like mine. If you encounter soone with a nasty personality, those words you just said might not end well for you or anyone else on this ship."
'Saying whether we can continue depends on your mood?'
Although Zane knew the plot, he was still sowhat displeased by the captain's condescending attitude.
Just as he said, it was because he had a relatively good temper. Soone else with a foul disposition might not hesitate to slaughter the whole ship afterward.
Zane's words sounded like advice, but they contained a subtle threat.
A seasoned veteran like the captain clearly picked up on it.
Indeed, after hearing Zane's words, the captain suddenly choked on his smoke.
"Cough, cough... Enough talk. Now, tell why you want to take the Hunter Exam."
Stopping his coughing fit, the captain gave Zane a deep look. When his eyes t the calm gaze hidden beneath Zane's smiling face, he felt uneasy and quickly changed the subject.
Kurapika couldn't help but glance at Zane as well.
He had also detected the threat in Zane's words.
"It's because my dad is a Hunter. I want to know what kind of job it is that makes my father so fascinated, so I left Whale Island."
Without overthinking it, now that he knew the captain's role, Gon raised his hand again, full of energy as he explained his reason for taking the exam.
'Whale Island... This kid really is Ging's son!'
The captain was also drawn in by Gon's words.
He had suspected it when he first saw Gon's face; after all, he was the one who screened Ging when he took the Hunter Exam years ago.
"So your old man is a Hunter. No wonder you're taking the exam at such a young age," the blunt Leorio remarked after hearing Gon's explanation.
"What about you, Mr. Leorio? Why are you taking the Hunter Exam?" Gon turned and asked curiously.
Leorio said with an exaggerated expression, "For money, of course! With money, you can buy anything in this world—huge mansions, luxury cars, fine wine..."
"Money can't buy class, Leorio!" A light voice drifted over. Turning to look, they saw it was Kurapika.
He had been observing Zane, but hearing Leorio's incredibly vulgar words, he couldn't help but retort.
"Dammit, I told you to use an honorific when calling my na!" Already annoyed by the retort, Leorio beca even more furious when he realized Kurapika still hadn't used a respectful title.
Zane glanced at Leorio and said nothing more, turning instead to the captain. "My reason is simple: I want to see the true power of a Hunter."
"I see."
Although things were a bit tense a mont ago, the captain nodded at Zane's words before looking at the last one, Kurapika.
Noticing the captain's gaze, Kurapika ignored Leorio once more and said solemnly, "I am a survivor of the Kurta Clan. I am taking the Hunter Exam to hunt down the bandit group that slaughtered my people four years ago—the Phantom Troupe."
"The Phantom Troupe is a Class-A criminal organization. Even experienced Hunters don't dare move against them lightly. You'll just be throwing your life away," the captain said in surprise.
Kurapika closed his eyes, his voice calm. "I am not afraid of death at all. What I fear most is that, over ti, the rage in my heart will eventually fade away!"
At the end of his sentence, he snapped his eyes open. A faint red glow simred within them, as if venting his internal fury.
User Comments
0 comments from readers