Reborn in HXH: I Plundered Infinite Traits

Riku looked toward the voice and suddenly saw a familiar face.

Amidst a group of fierce and malicious-looking figures, a highly nervous girl walked out with great difficulty. Looking at her expression, she was almost about to cry.

An old acquaintance, Ponzu.

The carry-leeching loli from before.

She tremblingly took out the ID badge lot she had drawn.

Her luck was absolutely rock-bottom.

In the previous phase of the exam, every single time she drew a choice, it placed her on the opposing side of Riku and the other demons.

And this time, she directly drew Riku's number.

In fact, the moment she got this number, she wanted to just throw it away!

The image of that guy being sliced into chunks of meat during the last exam couldn't help but surface in her mind.

Too brutal!

Would she also be sliced into meat chunks?

"Lord Riku... I... I... I'll give my ID badge to you. You saved me before... I choose... I choose to forfeit..."

Tears flickered in Ponzu's eyes as she tremblingly took out her own ID badge.

246!

"Riku-nii..."

Gon-kun and the others all looked toward Riku.

Clearly.

As kids themselves, they felt that Ponzu, who also seemed like a kid, looked rather pitiful.

She was directly choosing to eliminate herself before the competition even officially started.

She was even proactively giving her ID badge to Riku.

She understood.

The moment she drew Riku's number, she had essentially already lost this phase of the exam.

Because if she wanted to pass, she needed to get at least three other one-point badges, but among the candidates present, she truly couldn't find three people weaker than herself.

"What an idiot! Making it all the way here only to choose to give up your badge. Since you don't want it, I'll take it!"

A muscular man rushed out from the crowd, staring fixedly at Ponzu's badge.

This was exactly what he needed.

As long as he got this badge, it meant he secured a ticket to the final phase.

Even if snatching a badge right now carried risks, it was absolutely worth a try.

This guy had a bulky build, but his speed was quite impressive.

In just a single breath, he dashed right in front of Ponzu.

Got it!!

A look of excitement couldn't help but appear on his face.

He had already made up his mind: after grabbing the badge, he would immediately hide in the jungle and camp out until the end of the exam.

But in the split second his hand was about to touch the badge...

An afterimage swept past.

It was none other than the silver-haired Killua, his hands swiping past like razor-sharp claws.

Blood splattered.

The muscular man collapsed heavily to the ground with a blank expression, the ID badge in his hand rolling away.

Killua bent down, slowly picked it up, glanced at it, and tossed it to Riku.

"Riku-nii, it's not the badge I need."

105, huh?

Riku glanced at the badge.

It wasn't needed by anyone on the team.

A 1-point trash badge.

"L-lord... my badge... here..."

Ponzu's hands were trembling.

To be honest, making it this far only to give up directly was naturally hard to swallow internally.

But she also knew she had almost no chance.

Furthermore.

The looks the other candidates were giving her were incredibly unfriendly.

It could be said.

She had already been marked as a soft persimmon.

Obviously, what came next was an elimination tournament in the truest sense; the weaker the competitor, the faster they would be eliminated.

There would even be a risk of losing one's life during the elimination process.

"You've already made it this far, wouldn't it be a shame to just give up directly?"

Riku glanced at Ponzu.

A green-haired loli. Perhaps when she grew up, there was a high probability she would be a beautiful girl.

Right now, she was clearly the 'raising' type.

If he remembered correctly, her ability involved the many bees kept inside that large hat on her head.

She had the ability to control bees.

Name: Ponzu

Traits: [Bee Control] (Blue), [Analysis] (Blue), [Melee Combat] (Green), [Timid] (White), etc.

A considerably... weak loli.

However.

Bees... might actually be quite useful in the upcoming exam venue.

At least before anyone developed the Nen technique 'En', the detection range of the bees was absolutely the largest among all the candidates.

In fact.

In the original plot, Ponzu also utilized the detection range of her bees to seek fortune and avoid disaster.

She even managed to take down the snake charmer Bourbon.

She could be considered a radar scout.

"I... I..."

Ponzu instinctively took a step back, looking at Riku in terror.

She truly couldn't associate the rather handsome face in front of her with the demon who killed without blinking an eye.

"Are you interested in joining our team?" Riku suddenly asked.

"Ah!?" Ponzu thought she had misheard.

"L-lord... did you just... say you want me to join your team? But I'm so weak, I don't have..."

"Everyone has different abilities. Your ability happens to be exactly what I need. If you consider joining, I can help you pass this phase of the exam," Riku said calmly.

"I agree! I agree!! My Lord!!" Ponzu immediately nodded repeatedly in excitement.

"Give me your ID badge."

"Ah!?" Ponzu was dumbfounded.

Didn't he just agree to let her join his team? Why did he still want to take her ID badge?

But without her ID badge, it meant she would be completely eliminated.

However, out of instinctual trust, Ponzu still handed her ID badge over to Riku.

But in the next second.

She watched in astonishment as Riku handed his own ID badge to her.

"This works. My ID badge is also worth three points. Keep it with you for now. It's highly likely no one will want to try and snatch my badge." Riku shrugged, playing with Ponzu's ID badge in his hand. "Let's go!"

"Whoa!! Welcome to the team, I'm Gon-kun!!"

"Leorio, but please call me Mr. Leorio!"

"Kurapika."

"..."

...

Ponzu was stunned. After snapping back to reality, tears welled up in her eyes, a bright smile blooming on her face as she chased after them.

This Lord Riku... didn't seem as bad as she imagined.

So he was actually such a warm person!

During the last phase of the exam, he must have sliced that man into meat chunks to protect her.

A blush spread across Ponzu's pretty face as she hurried to catch up.

"..."

The numerous candidates behind them all looked in the direction of Riku's group with bizarre expressions.

"Hahahaha! This Riku is truly a fascinating guy!" Hanzo scratched his bald head and laughed heartily.

"Everyone! Will those participating in the Fourth Phase please board the ship! We expect to arrive at our destination in two hours. Additionally, all candidates who passed the previous phases will enjoy free travel and accommodations to and from the exam site next year."

"So if you don't pass this year, there's no need to be disappointed. We welcome you all to come back and challenge the exam next year."

The pretty tour guide lady said to everyone with a smile.

The other candidates also boarded the ship one after another.

After all the candidates had boarded, the ship's horn blew, and the vessel slowly sailed toward the direction of the next exam site.