At the critical mont, the red-haired youth sensed incoming danger and dodged in ti to avoid a fatal hit. The arrow grazed his shoulder as it flew by.
A small wound opened.
Just as the red-haired youth was relieved at having avoided a fatal strike, a sudden wave of dizziness swept over him. His face went pale—he realized he'd been poisoned and that his body was gradually losing its ability to move.
With a thud, the red-haired youth collapsed to the ground.
Pokkle walked forward.
Ron gave a slight nod.
"A bow and arrow can be a big advantage in a forest environnt," he observed. "On top of that, Pokkle did a good job hiding his presence."
"No wonder the Hunter Association had their eye on him for the final stages."
"But it's still not enough…"
Ron compared himself, back when he hadn't learned Nen, to Pokkle's current state.
He soon reached a conclusion.
No matter what, Pokkle could never threaten him. Ron would have noticed Pokkle's approach early on, and his chances of dodging the arrow completely were very high. Moreover, that level of poison would have almost no effect on him.
"This skillset doesn't really fit my team either."
Ron gave up on recruiting Pokkle. His bow-and-arrow technique could be replaced by thods Ron already possessed, and in the original story, Pokkle's performance hadn't been impressive. If soone was to serve on the front lines, they needed sufficient combat power, whereas Ron could be more flexible about supporting types.
It was much like how the Phantom Troupe operated. They had strict requirents for combat mbers, but not as much for support mbers such as Shalnark, Kortopi, or Pakunoda, none of whom were all that strong in a direct fight—though, compared to ordinary Nen users, they were still formidable.
The Shadow Beasts, for instance, were on a completely different level; they were far too weak.
Currently, Ron alone could easily sweep away the entire Shadow Beast group without feeling any pressure.
He glanced at a corner of the woods.
A green silhouette was hidden there.
In a flash, Ron slipped away.
The figure lurking in the brush was Gon. But neither Pokkle nor the red-haired youth were Gon's targets, so he made no move. Besides, Gon was fully focused on Hisoka and didn't want to be distracted.
He had even trained specifically for this, using his fishing rod as his main tool. Under normal circumstances, Gon had little chance of snatching Hisoka's tag. He was simply betting on the slim possibility that existed in theory.
Ron reached a clearing beside a creek, picked up a stick nearby, and thrust it into the water with a quick stab.
He skewered a fish with one strike.
The fish in the flowing stream weren't especially large, but they should still taste fine.
He made a quick fire to grill them, no complicated seasoning needed.
Catching over a dozen, he placed them on wooden skewers around the fire.
As the heat did its work, the tempting aroma of grilled fish began to fill the air.
Ron sat on a rock, waiting for them to cook.
The sll grew richer. Ron took one fish down and let it cool briefly before taking a small bite.
"Not bad."
"They've had little nourishnt in the water, so they've grown at their own pace, but the flavor's decent."
Suddenly, Ron set the fish aside and looked toward a thicket.
"You've been watching for a while now—are you not going to co out?"
There was no movent from the brush.
"If you still don't co out, you won't get another chance. You don't really think you're hidden that well, do you?"
All at once, the thicket rustled.
After so shuffling, a girl erged from among the leaves.
Ponzu took a few small steps toward Ron.
"Have a seat," he said, motioning to a nearby rock.
Ponzu sat down.
"You really did notice ? Since when?"
"From the start," Ron replied. "Your hiding skills might be decent against ordinary people, but they won't work on ."
Ponzu smiled wryly.
"Looks like I'm not going to pass the Hunter Exam this ti."
Ron asked, "Why did you join the Hunter Exam?"
Ponzu looked at Ron but remained silent.
"If you don't want to say, that's your call," Ron continued. "But who knows, if you tell , maybe I'll feel generous and just hand over my tag. It's up to you."
Ponzu hesitated.
"I need to get stronger."
She lowered her head.
"My village is in serious trouble. I have to beco strong enough to help them. Becoming a Hunter is my best shot at that."
"I also hoped I could hire so of the candidates taking the Hunter Exam. Because my own strength alone might not be enough."
Ron raised an eyebrow. It made sense that, after failing the exam, Ponzu would end up trying to team up with Pokkle, probably for this exact reason.
"So basically, you need power to solve your village's problems."
"That's right."
"I understand. One more question: why were you so scared of on the boat? Did you notice sothing? How did you figure it out? Be honest."
Ponzu paused.
"If I answer, will you give your tag?"
"Who knows?"
Ponzu took off her hat.
About a dozen bees flew out, circling around her. One or two drifted near Ron, prompting Ponzu to order them back. Then she lifted the hat to show the small hive hidden inside.
In the center was a bee unlike the others.
"This is the queen."
"I didn't see anything unusual about you myself. But she sensed it."
"She's never been wrong, and I've confird it many tis."
"When I got close to you, she warned that you, Hisoka, and Gittarackur were three people absolutely not to be provoked."
"Gittarackur just looks terrifying."
"I've seen enough of Hisoka's performance before the exam and in the Swamp of Discontent."
"But if you set off the sa alarms for the queen as they did, you must be similarly dangerous."
Ron studied the queen. He sensed no Nen from it, just a slightly greater vitality than normal insects.
"It's similar to Machi's intuition, huh?"
A gleam flickered in Ron's eyes.
"It doesn't require direct contact and doesn't use Nen, so Nen users can't sense it. That makes it very handy for gathering intel."
Ron made up his mind right then and there.
No matter Ponzu's overall potential…
----------------------
You can read up to 120 Advanced chapters!
Patreon(.)com/IDKjust
User Comments
0 comments from readers