Fortunately, Number Two was only testing the waters. He dispersed his Conqueror's Haki and retracted his finger.
Obeying the will of the main body, he was here to play. He wouldn't be so classless as to actually destroy the Hunter Exam venue. Otherwise, if that old geezer Netero found out, he would likely come over to pester him again.
"Phew..." Seeing this scene, Satotz, Lippo, and all the candidates let out a sigh of relief.
'Good heavens. I don't know if being in the same batch as Teacher Ben An is a blessing or a curse. Thanks to him, many people indeed passed the first two rounds, but this business of being forcibly knocked unconscious every now and then... calling it a disaster wouldn't be wrong either.'
"Ahem, well then, let the exam begin now," Satotz glanced at Sean and gave a dry cough.
All the candidates immediately woke up from their "coma" and began searching for the secret doors leading from the top of Trick Tower to the interior, racing against time.
"Damn it!" "Ouch!" "Creak!"
As secret doors were discovered one by one, fewer and fewer candidates remained standing atop Trick Tower.
Kurapika had been keeping an eye on Number Two's movements. He saw him admiring the scenery from the top of the tower, unmoved. When Number Two looked over and smiled at him from a distance, Kurapika quickly returned a smile.
He decided to learn from Number Two. He didn't blindly run around rummaging everywhere like Leorio.
"Hey, Kurapika, why aren't you searching?" Leorio, sweating from his busy work, turned around to see Kurapika looking at him as if he were a fool.
Kurapika rolled his eyes at him and gave him a single word: "Wait!"
Sure enough, an excited shout soon reached their ears. Gon and his dog-like nose were online.
"Old man, I found five secret doors!" The spiky-haired brat squatted in front of a square floor tile, waving excitedly at Sean.
Number Two smiled. 'Good dog.' He reached out and rubbed Gon's face, not spending time on his praise. "You inherited that nose from your dad. It's much sharper than a dog's."
On the deck of the Sunny, Ging fell silent.
The corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably. He glanced coldly at Sean and said, "Why do I feel like you are cursing me in a roundabout way?"
"No need to feel it, I am." Sean lifted his fishing rod. A beautiful yellow croaker leaps out of the water and lands on the deck with a splat . Today's lunch was secured.
"Hey, let's go too." Back at the top of Trick Tower, with Gon's help, Kurapika gestured toward the spiky-haired boy and walked straight past Leorio.
The shame of having his intelligence crushed hit Leorio. He pursed his lips in exasperation. 'Thanks for the insult.' He lifted his foot and followed in Kurapika's footsteps.
Five secret doors, one for each person.
Gon grinned broadly, following closely beside Number Two. His smile revealed his large, pearly white teeth. "Hey, old man, here... here, and here. They are all secret doors."
He pointed out five locations. These five spots were clustered together. It was hard not to suspect there were traps underneath.
"Five in such a small area? I think that's very suspicious." Having just had his intelligence shown up by Kurapika, Leorio carried his briefcase in one hand and put the other in his pocket, acting like Sherlock Holmes as he analyzed carefully. "Maybe there are traps underneath all of them."
"That will depend on individual luck and strength." Kurapika, Gon, and Leorio all secretly glanced at Sean. Teacher Ben An certainly wouldn't have any issues, but they wondered if he had any new prophecies.
"Don't worry, there are no traps under the five doors." Noticing the cautious gazes of the trio, Number Two swept his eyes across the area. His Observation Haki penetrated the structure, and he had already seen through the entire Trick Tower. He rubbed his chin and smiled playfully. "However, five secret doors, four people... leaving one door empty is somewhat of a waste."
Whoosh.
A thread of Armament Haki shot out from Number Two's finger. With lightning speed, it appeared in front of Tonpa, wrapped around his waist, and yanked him over.
"Stop!" One second he was looking for a secret door, and the next he was in front of Number Two. Tonpa looked up to meet Number Two's distinct black and white eyes and was so scared he almost wet his pants on the spot.
'I'm done for! Why am I so unlucky to be targeted by this great demon?'
Tonpa was about to cry. He had hidden himself so well, deliberately waiting for Sean to go down the Trick Tower first so they wouldn't cross paths. Who would have thought plans couldn't keep up with changes? What could he even do?
The perennial rookie crusher looked at Number Two with a bitter face. "Teacher Ben An, I didn't provoke you, did I?"
"Who said you didn't?" Number Two glared at him, pointed a finger at the sun, and said unhappily, "The weather is so nice today. You saw me but didn't greet me. Are you looking down on me?"
Tonpa was speechless.
Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika were speechless.
Their eyes turned into dots. 'Please, can you find a decent excuse next time?'
"This Tonpa looks a bit familiar." On the Sunny, noticing Number Two taking such "care" of Tonpa, Ging looked at Sean in surprise.
The young man sat steadily on the "fishing platform," chuckling noncommittally in his heart. 'Of course he looks familiar. That guy is from the same intake as you, you fly.'
A lock of bangs was teased by the sea breeze. He seemed to have no intention of explaining. Ging felt snubbed and looked back at the screen awkwardly.
"Hey, Tonpa-san, it's one secret door per person, not one door for five people," Gon extended a finger to remind Tonpa. The child was too kind. It was only because he was young that Teacher Ben An didn't hold it against him.
Otherwise, with that skewed perspective, it would be hard not to think he didn't want to live anymore.
'Eh? That's right!' Tonpa was stunned for a moment, and his eyes instantly lit up. 'Damn it! How did I forget that? One door per person means everyone won't be in the same room. Then what the hell am I afraid of?'
Tonpa suddenly felt confident again. He smiled at Number Two. "I'm sorry, Teacher Ben An. Although I really want to explore Trick Tower with you..."
"But look, conditions don't allow it. It really is regrettable..."
'Damn it. One secret door, one path. You take your high road, I'll cross my log bridge. We go our separate ways. Even if you, Ben An, are awesome, you can't do anything to me if you can't see me.'
"It's a pity..." Number Two looked at Tonpa with a faint smile. "It doesn't matter. Since you want to explore with me so much, I will fulfill your wish."
"Let's go."
He stomped lightly on the ground with one foot. The secret doors beneath Tonpa, Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika all opened simultaneously. The four of them felt their bodies sink as they fell downward along with Sean.
Bang. Feet hit the ground, making a muffled sound. In the dark, enclosed space, the lights suddenly turned on.
Gon, Tonpa, Leorio, and Kurapika looked around vigilantly, then their eyes went wide and they all froze.
"H-how are you here?"
"I should be the one asking that!"
The group stared at each other. They looked at each other in dismay, then instinctively looked toward a certain direction. Under the illumination of the lights, a young man a full three meters tall stood with his hands behind his back, looking at them with a spurious smile. Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika laughed awkwardly on the spot and scratched the backs of their heads.
Only a certain old fat man hugged himself miserably, opened his mouth, and wanted to cry his eyes out.
'Screw the Hunter Exam. Can secret doors connect to each other? You son of a bitch game planner!'
"Boss, I feel like he's cursing us." Inside the monitoring room at the bottom of Trick Tower, a prison guard lackey glared at Tonpa. "That fat guy looks a little familiar."
"His name is Tonpa. This is his thirty-fifth time participating in the Hunter Exam."
"Thirty-five times?"
"Oh, I remember now. It's that trash."
"Trash?" Lippo bit off a piece of daifuku with a crack , swallowed it, and said meaningfully, "He is not trash."
"Although I don't know what shining points this person has, just the fact that Sean Zoldyck insisted on binding him to his side shows..."
"He is not ordinary!"
None of the examiners for the Hunter Exam were simple. Lippo pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose and said to the two stunned lackeys behind him, "Go down and prepare."
"Yes." The door to the monitoring room was pushed open, leaving Lippo alone staring at the image of Sean, Tonpa, Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika. After dazing for a moment, he seemed to make a decision and reached out to press a button.
The image on the monitor changed to reveal a corner of the tower.
There were five prisoners wearing blue prison uniforms with handcuffs on their wrists.
They vary in height. Through certain protrusions, it could be vaguely seen that there was a woman among them.
The leader was burly. The prison uniform couldn't hide his muscular chest muscles. He looked up at the camera, knowing it was their turn to appear, and raised his handcuffed wrists toward Lippo.
"I've been waiting for this day for a long time. Please, Warden, remove our handcuffs."
"Of course!" Lippo's eerie voice came through the speaker. "Do you remember the sentence reduction rules I set for you?"
"I know." Bendot lifted his hood, revealing his shiny bald head, and smiled ferociously. "Delay the opponent for one hour, reduce the sentence by one year."
"Thank you for your gift, Warden Lippo, letting us stay seventy-two years less!"
The exam rule was to pass through Trick Tower within seventy-two hours. Bendot and the other four clearly intended to drag Sean, Tonpa, Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika, who were entering their stage, to their "death" here.
However... confidence is a good thing. Whether they could achieve it was something Lippo would not comment on.
He crossed his arms, leaned back in his chair, and said in a deep voice, "The rules have changed now!"
"It's no longer one year. Instead, if you delay the opponent for one hour, your sentence is reduced by five years!"
"In other words... if the five of you can delay the five incoming candidates until they are eliminated..."
"I guarantee you right here, every single one of you will be released upon completion of your sentence!"
Five hours? Released upon completion of sentence?
Bendot and the four prisoners behind him were all stunned.
Then, an unprecedented scorching light suddenly erupted from several pairs of eyes.