Why run into Hisoka here?
Rather than dwell on that question, it'd be better to close the elevator door quickly.
Killua frantically pressed the close button, completely ignoring the elevator attendant's words from start to finish.
Compared to Killua's intense reaction, Hisoka appeared much calmer. During the brief moment before the elevator door closed, he examined Killua and Gon with interest, having not seen them for half a year.
To achieve such results within six months, aside from natural talent, they must have encountered a remarkable teacher.
Hisoka slowly raised his right hand, his slender, pale index finger tracing his chin. Through his narrowed eyes, an uncontrollable hint of greed already seeped through.
When it came to expressing his 'fondness,' he never concealed it, always open and unabashed.
Inside the elevator cabin, feeling Hisoka's gaze upon them, Gon and Killua felt goosebumps rising all over.
Tap, tap...
Killua increased his button-pressing speed, but for some reason, the elevator door remained unresponsive.
Watching Killua's actions grow increasingly violent, the elevator attendant, driven by professional duty, struggled to suppress her anger. Forcing a smile, she said, "S-Sir, please calm down. Stop..."
"Mind your own business! Damn it, why isn't it responding at all?" Killua retorted without turning around.
The elevator attendant's lips twitched. Taking a deep breath, she still managed to maintain her smile and said softly, "Sir, other guests need to use the elevator. Could you..."
"Will you stop bothering me?!" Killua showed no intention of stopping. He glanced up at Hisoka outside the elevator and saw the corners of Hisoka's lips curling upward. He couldn't help but shudder again.
But Gon suddenly sensed a dangerous aura.
However, this aura didn't come from Hisoka, but from...
Puzzled, he turned around and saw the elevator attendant silently rolling up her sleeves, her body beginning to radiate a faint golden aura.
"Huh?"
Seeing this, Gon reacted with shock and instinctively tugged at Killua's sleeve, mumbling, "Killua, stop pressing..."
Just as Killua was about to ask why, he suddenly heard a soft ding. Immediately after, the elevator door finally began to close.
"It's closing!"
Seeing the elevator door shutting and noticing that Hisoka outside made no further moves, Killua felt a wave of relief, then wondered, "What was that about earlier? I pressed it so many times, and it didn't respond at all."
"Are you satisfied now?" the elevator attendant suddenly spoke, looking at Killua with a strained smile.
Killua still ignored the elevator attendant and casually pressed a floor button.
However, the button didn't light up.
"Huh?"
Killua frowned. At that moment, he finally sensed the dangerous aura right beside him.
He spun around abruptly, and what met his eyes was the elevator attendant, her entire body emitting a faint golden aura output.
Without any basis, in that instant, Killua inexplicably reached a conclusion.
This woman in front of him was definitely an Enhancer!
"You...!?"
Killua's face showed the same stunned expression as Gon's.
The elevator attendant had already cast her professional demeanor aside. Her fist, enveloped in aura, swung directly toward Killua's head.
A moment later, a ding sounded. The elevator, which had been motionless, slowly opened its doors.
Outside, Hisoka remained standing in place, watching the elevator doors open with keen interest.
"Gentlemen, we've arrived at the first floor."
The elevator attendant wore a professional smile as she unceremoniously tossed the bruised and battered Killua and Gon out of the elevator, one in each hand.
She then turned directly to Hisoka and asked politely, "Sir, are you going up?"
Hisoka glanced down at the two awkward figures at his feet, then looked up at the elevator attendant and shook his head lightly.
"Very well."
The elevator attendant nodded with a smile and promptly closed the elevator doors.
Killua and Gon sat slumped on the ground, looking utterly bewildered by life.
Killua couldn't understand why an elevator attendant could be so ferocious.
Meanwhile, Gon rubbed the swollen bruises on his face in confusion. He hadn't done anything; why had he been beaten up too?
Hisoka crouched down, staring at the two with an amused smile curling at the corners of his mouth. "You two... which floor did you reach?"
He seemed certain they were already competitors at Heavens Arena, so he directly asked about their floor level.
Killua tensed up, his eyes filled with wariness, and he pressed his lips together without saying a word.
However...
"The 150th floor," Gon answered without hesitation.
"..."
Killua facepalmed, feeling utterly helpless at Gon's honesty.
"What a good boy~"
Hisoka's smile widened further, his gaze lingering on Gon with a sticky intensity, as if admiring a fruit that, though not yet ripe, was already emitting an enticing fragrance. He said meaningfully:
"Then we'll be seeing each other again soon."
Before the words had fully faded, Hisoka stood up and walked with a lazy stride toward the adjacent elevator car.
Sitting on the ground, Killua and Gon sensed a suppressed desire in those words, and in an instant, a chill ran down their spines.
They've been targeted by this pervert...
Without needing to exchange words, they reached the same conclusion.
Just then, as Hisoka reached the elevator door, he seemed to remember something and turned his head to look at them. A dangerous glint flashed in his golden pupils as he asked:
"Could you tell me... who taught you Nen?"
The unripe fruit before him wasn't yet tempting enough to stir his craving. Perhaps he could consider satisfying his thirst for battle with other fruits.
Gon and Killua had initially thought things were getting complicated, but upon hearing Hisoka's question, they immediately perked up.
At the same time, they sensed a wave of malice from the aura Hisoka inadvertently released.
But...
That was the perfect question!
Killua suddenly reached out to stop Gon from speaking, putting on a grave expression and saying in a deep voice, "Hisoka, what do you want with our teacher?!"
"Just... curious, that's all."
Hisoka realized his aura had betrayed his intentions, but he also recognized that Killua and Gon possessed unusually sharp perception.
Killua stood up from the ground and said solemnly, "Don't lie. You definitely want to cause trouble for our teacher. We won't tell you, but it's not because we're afraid you'll threaten our teacher; it's because we're afraid our teacher will kill you!"
"Heh~ Hearing you say that only makes me more curious."
Hisoka raised an eyebrow slightly, ignoring the now-open elevator door, and took a step toward Killua. Smiling, he said, "Why don't you tell me, what kind of person is your teacher?"
Watching the burning fighting spirit in Hisoka's eyes as he strode directly toward them, a flicker of cunning flashed deep within Killua's gaze.
"Since you're so unafraid of death, then..."
Killua deliberately paused mid-sentence.
Hearing this, Hisoka halted his steps, his eyes fixed intently on Killua.
Killua slowly continued: "I'll reluctantly tell you, our teacher is Morrow."
"..."
At the mention of Morrow's name, Hisoka's breath hitched. The fighting spirit in his eyes was instantly replaced by a trace of regret, and the aura that had been on the verge of erupting like claws and teeth swiftly receded.
Given his current strength, he still couldn't engage in a satisfying, all-out battle with Morrow.
He needed to further refine his abilities and system...
The ideal scenario would be to merge the old and new ability systems and devise an unexpected set of tactics.
In short, if the object of his 'affection' was Morrow, now was far from the right time.
As if entering a sage-like state, Hisoka directly suppressed his fighting spirit and desires, promptly retracted his foot, turned around, and entered the elevator cabin just before its doors closed.
To be honest, he never expected that the person responsible for teaching Killua and Gon would be Morrow, who had taken the Hunter Exam alongside him.
No wonder their progress was so astonishing.
Ding.
The elevator doors slowly closed, carrying Hisoka upward.
Killua let out a slight sigh of relief. Although Hisoka's appearance had caught them off guard, he hadn't shown any malice, a small mercy in an unfortunate situation.
Then, recalling the earlier scene, a mischievous, triumphant smirk curled at the corner of Killua's lips.
"Gon, did you see that?"
Killua nudged Gon with his elbow and said, "Hisoka's reaction was hilarious just now. I wonder if he remembered being beaten up by our teacher, haha!"
"..."
Gon opened his mouth but ultimately swallowed his words.
He touched the bruise on his face and suddenly felt that the elevator attendant's earlier beating of Killua wasn't without reason.
In a way, Killua really deserved a good thrashing.
The two deeply bonded young men seemed equally helpless against certain traits in each other.
"Why do I feel like that freakishly strong she-ape was even more powerful than Hisoka?"
With the crisis averted, Killua glanced warily at the closed elevator doors, then gently touched the lump on his head and grumbled:
"If it weren't for the cramped space in the elevator, I wouldn't have taken so many hits. And she really is Enhancer."
"Yeah, her fists were incredibly powerful."
Gon's mind flashed back to the image of the elevator attendant's body surging with golden aura output.
Although they hadn't intended to fight back and had limited space to dodge, the elevator attendant had managed to break through their Nen defense.
Calling her a freakishly strong she-ape seemed quite fitting.
—--
Meanwhile, Morrow reverted to his original appearance and arrived at the floor where Kastro was.
Having received the message in advance, Kastro and Calista had been waiting for some time.
Although mentally prepared, when that long-unseen, familiar figure appeared, the two couldn't suppress their excitement.
They then enthusiastically invited Morrow onto the Floor Master's exclusive arena.
According to Kastro, this was to let their teacher evaluate their growth over this period.
The outcome was, unsurprisingly, as expected. Even without utilizing his 'Starlight Convergence' ability, Morrow could effortlessly defeat Kastro and Calista with his first-class 'Ryū' technique.
Moreover, with his exquisite control, he struck their weaknesses without causing them the slightest harm.
This demonstrated his growth over the past two years.
Master's 'skills' have become even more terrifying... Both Kastro and Calista realized during the actual combat that Morrow's technical level far surpassed what it used to be.
However, they weren't surprised by this.
In their understanding, their master had always been diligent and relentless in his training.
Of course, they were the same, never slacking off even a single day at Heavens Arena.
Despite this, they still found it difficult to close the gap between themselves and their master.
As if thinking the same thing, Kastro and Calista glanced at each other with tacit understanding, feeling a bit lost but not too much.
They were more happy about Morrow's arrival.
Calista playfully said: "Master, did you suddenly come back because you missed us?"
"A little."
Morrow chuckled lightly, saying: "But the main reason I'm back this time is to bring two students to Heavens Arena for training."
"Students?"
Kastro showed a curious expression.
"Yes."
Morrow said truthfully: "I've taken on two students. When they reach the 200th floor, I'll need you to help temper their practical combat ability."
"No problem."
Kastro smiled slightly, developing a strong interest in these two students he hadn't met yet.
After all, he knew that since winning the Battle Olympia championship, their master had been too lazy to return to Heavens Arena, even giving up the opportunity to defend his title.
Now he specifically made this trip just to bring two students to train at Heavens Arena...
This showed that their master must value these two students greatly.
Calista also thought of this and immediately became somewhat interested as well.
Morrow smiled and said: "They just registered today. If they need to complete two matches, it might take some time."
As he spoke, Morrow took out his phone and sent Killua a message asking where he was.
Unexpectedly, Killua replied instantly, saying he was currently exploring inside Heavens Arena.
It seemed they had already finished their matches.
"Wait for me at the first-floor elevator."
Morrow sent another message to Killua, put away his phone, and looked at Kastro and Calista, saying: "I'll go bring them up."
"Okay."
The two nodded lightly.
—--
A moment later, Morrow arrived at the first-floor lobby but didn't see Killua and Gon.
He figured they were still on their way.
Morrow waited by the elevator, his gaze sweeping across the lobby, as bustling with people as ever.
Various promotional posters still covered the many pillars in the lobby.
However, not a single poster related to him could be seen anymore, replaced by some new faces.
Meanwhile, Kastro and Calista, and even Wing... All appeared on posters as Floor Masters.
Morrow withdrew his gaze. Before coming here, considering the potential impact of his reputation, he had deliberately changed his appearance.
Now it seemed he had overestimated things.
Perhaps it was also related to him looking more mature; the passing crowds didn't seem to recognize him as the former Battle Olympia champion.
After waiting by the elevator for about five or six minutes, Gon and Killua finally arrived.
"Hmm?"
Morrow immediately spotted the two with bruised and swollen faces, feeling slightly startled inside.
He had pressed the elevator button in advance. As Killua and Gon approached, he frowned and asked, "Did you encounter a strong opponent in your matches?"
"Uh..."
Gon and Killua didn't know how to respond and simply shook their heads.
Morrow was puzzled.
Killua promptly changed the subject: "The opponents in the arena were all weak, but... we just ran into Hisoka."
"Is that so."
Morrow wasn't particularly surprised by this.
Ding.
Just then, the elevator doors opened.
"Let's go up first."
Morrow led the way into the elevator.
Killua and Gon followed closely behind, and suddenly, they both spotted the elevator attendant who had beaten them up earlier.
"It's you again, you gorilla with freak strength!"
Killua blurted out, pointing at the elevator attendant.
Gon quickly reached out to cover Killua's mouth, but it was too late.
Seeing the infuriating Killua, the elevator attendant's lips twitched again, but then she noticed Morrow.
"Ah!"
The elevator attendant recognized Morrow at a glance, even if he hadn't been around for a long time. The anger that had just surfaced on her face was instantly replaced by delight.
"M-Morrow... please give me your autograph!"
Stars sparkled in her eyes as she somehow produced an autograph book out of nowhere, bending over to hand it to Morrow.
Gon and Killua froze on the spot.