Between Two Worlds: Nen and Haki

"First Gon, and now Kurapika. Why do we keep running into Hisoka?" Leorio's brow furrowed deeply.

He was truly powerless when it came to facing Hisoka.

Zane watched the arena quietly.

The battle between Kurapika and Hisoka showed no deviation from the original timeline's development.

After a brief exchange, Hisoka whispered a few words to Kurapika before voluntarily announcing his surrender.

Although the result was surprising, Hisoka's concession was a fact, so Kurapika successfully qualified and passed.

The third match was Gon versus Hanzo.

Hmm...

Although Hanzo kept emphasizing he was a ninja, his talkative nature was completely at odds with that profession.

Even with the previous example of Zane forcing Gon to surrender...

Having not yet encountered Nen and possessing an incredibly stubborn personality, Gon wouldn't surrender even though Hanzo beat him until he was black and blue.

After a long stalemate, Hanzo helplessly chose to concede.

This time, Gon's injuries were far more severe than those Zane had inflicted earlier. Out of necessity, Gon had to be taken away by medical staff for treatment.

The fourth match was Hisoka versus Tonpa.

"I surrender!"

Without any suspense, Tonpa raised his hand and surrendered immediately before even stepping onto the field.

No one had anything to say about Tonpa's surrender.

Or rather, no one even bothered to speak of it.

The fifth match began immediately after: Hanzo versus Killua.

Compared to the previous matches, including the one between Zane and Gon, the fight between Hanzo and Killua was definitely much more exciting.

Unlike the original timeline, where Killua had directly conceded to a weak Pokkle out of boredom...

Facing Hanzo now, Killua was clearly very interested.

In his estimation, among the candidates in this Hunter Exam—excluding himself—Hanzo was the strongest fighter after Zane and Hisoka.

Once the start was announced, Killua immediately launched a swift and serious offensive.

He deployed Zoldyck assassination techniques like Rhythm Echo and Silent Step one after another.

Similarly, Hanzo went all out, as if venting the frustration from his earlier helpless surrender.

In an instant, afterimages blurred in the arena as they collided again and again.

Zane watched with interest.

The strength of Killua and Hanzo could be said to be evenly matched.

"Zane, do you think Killua can win this?" Leorio had been watching intently, but after a while, his head spun from trying to track Killua and Hanzo's speed.

In desperation, he could only lean in and ask Zane.

Kurapika, who was nearby, also looked over.

He was also unable to clearly discern the situation in the arena.

"There's a high probability Killua will surrender of his own accord in a moment," Zane gave an answer that caught them both off guard.

Just as Leorio and Kurapika were stunned, as if to confirm Zane's prediction...

"I surrender!"

The fierce battle in the arena suddenly came to a halt.

Killua had pulled back with an unreadable expression and raised his hand to concede.

After speaking, he didn't even wait for the referee's announcement and returned to the sidelines with a dark face.

"Killua, why did you suddenly surrender?" Leorio couldn't help but ask.

"It's nothing. I just felt it was getting a bit boring," Killua said dismissively.

Leorio wanted to say more, but Kurapika stopped him with a glance.

"Killua, when it's your turn to fight Gittarackur, it's best if you don't even go up. Just surrender immediately," Zane said slowly, looking at the dejected Killua.

Killua looked up in confusion and frowned. "What do you mean? You think I can't beat him?"

Leorio and Kurapika also looked at Zane in surprise.

Zane rubbed the boy's head and sighed. "Have you really not realized it by now? This so-called Gittarackur is actually your older brother, Illumi!"

He exposed Illumi's identity simply because he couldn't stand to watch any longer.

It would be one thing if Illumi were just using his strength to suppress Killua, but the man was twisted enough to use his Nen ability to manipulate Killua's behavior.

Such a method was more than enough to use against a sworn enemy.

In fact, Zane had rubbed Killua's head multiple times not just because it felt nice, but to secretly probe for the Nen needles in his head.

But unfortunately...

Zane hadn't been a Nen user for long. After several attempts, he found that the Nen needles in Killua's head were exceptionally secure. With Zane's current methods, he simply couldn't help remove them.

"Big brother?!" Killua was completely stunned and instinctively looked at Illumi, who was standing nearby.

Not just him—Leorio and Kurapika also looked over with faces full of shock.

It had to be said that besides his excellent disguise skills, Illumi's control over his own presence was incredibly strong.

So much so that throughout the exam, he had been almost entirely overlooked.

Whether it was Killua or the other two, their impression of Illumi was at most that he might be strong, but they would always subconsciously ignore him.

'Hm?'

The gazes of the three could not escape Illumi's senses. Following the source of the look, Illumi ignored Leorio and Kurapika, focusing entirely on Killua.

'Did he find me?' Illumi quickly deciphered the meaning behind Killua's stare.

He was quite surprised, but quickly accepted his exposure.

After all, he had planned to reveal his identity during his match with Killua anyway.

With that thought...

Illumi raised his hand and began pulling the Nen needles out of his face one by one.

As the needles were removed, Illumi's appearance underwent a rapid and eerie transformation.

First, his body expanded and contracted repeatedly. Then, his straight, long black hair flowed from the back of his head like a waterfall until his originally zombie-like, ugly face became exceptionally refined and beautiful.

"What's going on?"

"A disguise?"

When Leorio and Kurapika, looking at Illumi alongside Killua, saw that total transformation, both wore expressions of pure disbelief.

Killua was in a daze.

That familiar face and that frozen, indifferent expression...

All of this told him that his older brother, Illumi, had actually been hidden among the candidates.

In a purely instinctive reaction, Killua took a step back, his hands clenching into fists.

"As expected of a Manipulator-type Nen user..."

"What a terrifying aura. This person is definitely no ordinary character."

"So this is what he looks like? He's quite pretty, but his vibe is really unsettling."

"..."

Along with Illumi's transformation, others in the examination hall were also drawn to the scene.

The examiners, being Nen users themselves, had naturally sensed something unusual about Illumi to some extent.

So now that Illumi had lifted his disguise, the examiners were more surprised by his true appearance than anything else.

"Sixth match: Leorio versus Tonpa. Will the two candidates please step forward!"

The referee was professional and did not let the outside drama delay him.

His announcement forced everyone to pull their attention back to the test once again.

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