Chapter 28

And so, under the manipulation of Chairman Netero, the final trial's match-up chart was quickly posted for everyone to see.

When Killua saw that he and Gon were placed in the same group, he immediately turned around and stared at Gon with his peculiar eyes.

After a full minute, he finally returned to his usual self, as if deep in thought.

In contrast, Hisoka, who had temporarily lost his Nen ability, curled his lips into a perverted and excited smile, as if he had seen something interesting.

Soon, at the referee's command, the two of the first group slowly walked to the center of the arena.

Noticing that his opponent was still in disguise, Gon immediately reminded him, "Are you sure you don't want to remove all those needles from your head and show your full strength?"

"Ah! I almost forgot."

Without another word, Killua quickly pulled out all the needles from his head, which were infused with Nen.

In just a few seconds, he transformed from the bizarre appearance of a Zoldyck to his normal self.

Especially with his long, straight black hair and a slightly androgynous face, he looked completely different from before.

"Big... Big Brother?!"

Kurapika's pupils dilated instantly, and his face showed unmasked shock and fear.

"Big Brother? Is he your family?" Gon asked with great curiosity.

"Yes! Killua, the eldest son of the Zoldyck family, my big brother," Kurapika replied with a slightly trembling voice.

"Such a great disguise!"

"The strongest assassin family, the Zoldycks..."

Leorio and Kurapika also showed signs of surprise.

To be precise, except for Gon and Hisoka, who had seen Killua's true appearance, the other candidates found it hard to believe that such an incredible transformation was possible.

"Phew—this is much easier. By the way, I really don't want to fight you. Your abilities are just too troublesome and unpredictable," Killua complained with a blank expression.

"But I'm the opposite! I'm very much looking forward to fighting you," Gon said, activating his aura to form an impenetrable defense around his body.

He was very clear that the key to fighting a Manipulator was to absolutely prevent the opponent's Nen-infused needles from piercing him, or the battle would be over the moment they did.

"Hmm? You seem to know my ability!"

Seeing the "hard" aura surrounding Gon, which was several times more intense than when he fought Hisoka, Killua became suspicious.

Maintaining such a level of "hard" would consume several times the normal amount of aura.

If he didn't know that Killua was a Manipulator, a regular "hard" would have been enough to deal with the non-lethal needles.

"No, I'm just being cautious. Referee, can we start now?" Gon turned to ask the man in a suit.

The referee immediately raised his hands and shouted, "First match of the final test! Begin!"

As soon as he said that!

Killua immediately attached his Nen to the needles and threw them forcefully.

But Gon simply raised his arm and lightly waved it, knocking all the needles to the ground.

Clearly, with the enhancement ability, the Nen needles thrown by Killua couldn't pierce his defense.

"Troublesome! Hisoka was right, you do have the traits of an Enhancer."

While increasing the amount of aura infused into the needles, Killua charged forward, apparently planning to engage in close combat.

"Oh? Did you exchange information about my abilities privately?" Gon glanced at Hisoka, who was sitting on the ground, and activated his ability.

[Nen Ability—Enhancement]

[Attribute—Destruction]

The next second...

A large amount of aura concentrated in his right hand, and he swung it forcefully.

Boom!

With a loud explosion and intense vibration, a large amount of debris scattered!

When the smoke cleared, a crater over twenty meters in diameter and one meter deep appeared on the floor of the hall.

"Are you kidding me?"

Leorio's mouth dropped open, completely disbelieving what he saw.

"Such incredible destructive power! No wonder the captain of the ship said that Gon and we have a chasm-like difference in strength. It wasn't an exaggeration, but the truth," Kurapika was also greatly stimulated, his eyes turning a fiery red.

He even began to imagine, if he had such power, could he immediately go to seek revenge on the Phantom Troupe?

In contrast, Kurapika focused on his big brother.

Killua was standing at the edge of the crater, holding his severely deformed arm, with a rare look of seriousness on his face.

If he hadn't dodged in time, it wouldn't have been just a broken arm, but he would have been lying on the ground and taken to the hospital.

"Truly worthy of being the eldest son of the Zoldyck family! Your judgment of the situation and perception of danger far exceed the norm!" Gon glanced at the needle that had fallen at his feet and praised him.

Killua had planned to use "hard" to insert the needle into Gon's body through close contact, then use his manipulation ability to make Gon surrender.

If Gon's agility hadn't far exceeded Killua's, and he hadn't struck first with his enhanced destructive punch, Killua would have succeeded.

Unfortunately, he was just a step too slow.

And upon realizing the danger, he quickly concentrated his aura on his arm to form "hard," barely blocking the attack.

"You do know my ability!"

Killua quickly inserted several needles into his broken arm, using his manipulation ability to temporarily restore its function.

Just as Gon was about to launch an attack to force Killua to reveal his true strength, the eldest son of the Zoldyck family suddenly raised his hand and said to the referee, "I surrender!"

"What... what?"

The referee was clearly taken aback, seemingly unable to believe that this intense battle had ended so abruptly.

"I surrender!"

Killua repeated his decision.

"Winner! Candidate 105, Gon!"

The referee loudly announced the result of the first match to the audience.

When Killua turned to find his beloved little brother Kurapika, Gon suddenly stopped him and asked, "Why did you surrender? You haven't used even half of your strength."

"Because the result was already determined! I'm not like some people who enjoy the thrill and excitement of battle. I care more about the outcome. Given the current rules, environment, and our familiarity with each other, I don't think I can win."

Killua stated his reason for surrendering without hesitation.

However, since he always maintained a blank expression, with deep, dark, and lifeless eyes, it was impossible to tell if he was telling the truth or lying.

"Alright, I understand. Typical assassin thinking."

Gon sighed regretfully and didn't press the issue further.

From Killua's perspective, what he said was indeed correct.

After confirming that he couldn't win, decisively surrendering and retreating was a necessary quality for a qualified assassin.

This could be seen in the Nen he had instilled in Kurapika...

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