Between Two Worlds: Nen and Haki Chapter 9 9 Shortcut × Intimidation

The rainbow always follows the rain.

After the storm of the night had passed, a warm sun greeted the next day.

There were no surprises.

With the bulbous-nosed captain's announcent, Zane, Leorio, Gon, and Kurapika successfully passed the screening.

Ti ticked by.

Finally, the ship reached its destination.

At the port known as Dolle Harbor, several other Hunter Association ships from various regions had arrived alongside Zane's vessel.

The massive crowd of examinees began to disembark.

"Zane, as thanks for saving my crew, I'll tell you about a shortcut to the testing venue. Look at that mountain peak over there—see the giant cedar tree? You should head that way."

Once the group was off the boat, the captain pulled Zane aside to speak privately.

"A shortcut, huh? All right, I got it. Thanks for the tip." Zane looked toward the distant peak, then smiled as he bid the captain farewell.

"What did the captain say to you?" Leorio asked, leaning in with curiosity as Zane returned to the group.

"Nothing much. He just ntioned a shortcut to the exam venue," Zane said nonchalantly.

"What?!" Leorio exclaid. Realizing his volu, he imdiately looked around, terrified that other examinees might have heard.

Having stuck together due to their previous experience, Kurapika and Gon had clearly heard Zane as well and looked over in surprise.

"Is that for real? There's actually a shortcut to the venue?" Finding that no one was paying attention, Leorio suppressed his excitent and whispered to Zane for confirmation.

Zane glanced at him and replied casually, "It's probably true, but I don't plan on taking this so-called shortcut."

He knew exactly what this shortcut entailed.

While called a shortcut, it was actually the second part of the screening process.

Knowing the exact destination, Zane had no desire to be carried through the air by a bunch of magical beasts in the middle of the night.

"Huh?" Leorio was baffled that Zane would pass up a shortcut.

Beside him, Kurapika looked enlightened. "I see. I didn't expect you to be such a stickler for the rules, Zane. Then again, the Hunter Exam is a serious matter; taking shortcuts might be frowned upon. Besides, it could easily be a trap."

"Oh? It's a trap? I thought there was really a shortcut," Gon said, looking disappointed.

Leorio scratched his head. "In that case, I guess we just follow the instructions on the Hunter Association flyer and head to Zaban City to find the venue."

"Yeah, let's go. We'll just take a taxi." Zane nodded and headed straight toward a line of taxis parked nearby.

Leorio, Kurapika, and Gon followed him instinctively.

There was just enough room for the four of them.

Zane picked a car at random and took the front passenger seat while the other three piled into the back. The taxi soon pulled away from the port.

"Leorio, you know, I have a rather unpleasant habit. When it cos to people who try to deceive , I tend to get quite ruthless. I've even specifically researched several thods of punishnt."

As the taxi drove along the roads near the port, Zane, who had been staring out the window as if lost in thought, suddenly brought up a topic.

The three in the back seat clearly couldn't keep up with Zane's change in topic and were montarily stunned.

Before they could figure out why he was bringing this up, Zane continued.

"For example, there's one thod I'm particularly fond of. I call it the 'Skinning thod.'"

"It's actually quite simple."

"First, you bury a person in the ground, leaving only their head exposed."

"Then, you cut a cross into the top of their head and pour rcury into the opening."

"You see, at that point, the person feels an unbearable itch all over their body."

"They want to scratch, but they can't move. So what do they do? Naturally, they try everything they can to escape."

"Eventually, they realize there's a hole in their head, and they'll literally jump right out of their own skin through that hole."

Zane's rhythmic, descriptive tone made the scene feel hauntingly real.

Gulp.

The sound of swallowing echoed. In the back seat, Gon and Leorio stared at Zane with wide eyes, and even Kurapika's mouth was twitching.

Zane acted as if he hadn't noticed the reaction behind him. He turned his head and gave a beaming smile to the taxi driver.

"Driver, you look pretty hot. Why are you sweating so much? Is your skin starting to feel itchy too?"

At so point, the driver's hat had beco soaked with sweat, and his hands on the steering wheel were trembling uncontrollably.

"I... I'm fine! Just sit tight, everyone! I'm going to speed up to get us to the venue!"

The driver forced a strained smile, not daring to look at Zane. After taking a breath to steady his emotions, he looked forward with a grim expression and slamd his foot on the gas.

Whoosh!

Traveling at over 120 miles per hour, the driver displayed skills that wouldn't lose to a professional racer as he wove through traffic.

In the blink of an eye, the port market vanished behind them.

About half a day later, a city finally ca into view.

Screeeech!

The tires skidded against the pavent, leaving two long, scorched black marks on the road.

Finally, the taxi, which looked like it was about to start smoking, stopped in front of a small restaurant next to a tall building.

The door opened.

Zane stepped out of the front passenger seat with effortless grace.

"I can't... I'm gonna barf!"

Compared to Zane, Leorio in the back was a ss. He scrambled out the door and sprinted to a corner to start retching.

"Honestly, who gets carsick these days?" Zane tsked, looking at Leorio with mock disdain.

"Zane, my head is spinning!" Gon followed Leorio out, his head wobbling and his tongue hanging out.

"Gon, your reaction is normal. You'll feel better after a short rest."

Kurapika wasn't doing much better. He comforted Gon, though he himself looked quite nauseated.

Seeing their state, Zane shrugged and turned to look at the driver, who had gotten out of the car and was standing there obediently.

"Not bad. I thought you might try to sneak away," Zane said with a smile.

The driver gave a bitter laugh. "I wouldn't dare."

He was truly terrified.

It wasn't just because of Zane's skinning story; it was because he felt an inexplicable sense of dread coming from the man.

In fact, the driver's feeling wasn't an illusion.

To ensure the driver wouldn't pull any tricks, Zane had been intentionally releasing bursts of killing intent since the mont he started the skinning story.

Don't be fooled by the fact that he had only recently set out on his own in the Great Age of Pirates.

In truth, this was rely his first ti sailing solo.

Since the age of twelve, he had frequently been taken out to sea by the old man for training.