"Kurapika, don't feel down. It was just that your blade was a little inferior. otherwise, you definitely could have won!" Seeing Kurapika somewhat dejected, Leorio comforted him softly.
However, upon hearing Leorio, Kurapika glanced at him and shook his head lightly, saying nothing more.
In truth, halfway through the fight, Kurapika already knew the result, but he was just somewhat unwilling to accept it.
"Why didn't you counterattack the whole time?" Kurapika asked Takeru with a complex expression.
"Why? Because your attacks gave me pressure, allowing me to use it to improve my skills," Takeru replied with a smile.
"So that's it." Hearing Takeru, Kurapika felt slightly better. At the very least, Takeru didn't not counterattack because he looked down on him...
He also understood that apart from the beginning, where Takeru was forced back by his attacks, later on, no matter how he attacked or moved, Takeru always stayed within a very small circle dealing with his attacks, which was very defeating for him...
The carefree Leorio never saw through this, as Kurapika always held the absolute upper hand...
"Alright, the third match is Bodoro facing Hanzo!"
As the fight began, everyone noticed their strength was not on the same level at all. Though Bodoro appeared extremely dominant, he gained no advantage against Hanzo's attacks.
After being continuously attacked for over an hour, Bodoro could only despairingly choose to surrender.
Next was Hisoka against Kurapika. After some exchange, with Hisoka holding the absolute upper hand, he whispered something to Kurapika's ear and then chose to surrender.
This left everyone in disbelief, but due to the rules, they could only accept the result...
The next fight was Umaru vs Killua. Without waiting to see what Killua thought, Killua directly chose to surrender. This left everyone extremely surprised.
Even Umaru didn't expect to win by default like this. According to Takeru, Killua's strength was very high, and she was mentally prepared...
Since Killua surrendered, Umaru softly thanked him and then waited on the side for the final Hunter License...
Next was Hisoka against Bodoro. After beating the already injured Bodoro again, Hisoka whispered something to him, and Bodoro again chose to give up...
After that, it was Killua against Gittarackur...
"Match begin!"
As the referee spoke, Killua began slowly walking towards Gittarackur. Just as he was about to launch an attack, Gittarackur spoke...
"Long time no see, Killua." After greeting Killua, Gittarackur began removing his disguise, pulling out the special nails from his head.
As the nails were continuously pulled out, Gittarackur quickly regained his true appearance...
"Big brother!" Seeing Gittarackur's appearance, Killua showed extreme shock.
"Hi. I heard you stabbed Mom and Milluki." Illumi looked somewhat blankly at Killua.
"It was nothing much..." Hearing Illumi mention this, Killua said quietly.
"Mom even cried, you know." Illumi said flatly.
"Of course she'd cry! Her son did something so excessive to her!" Leorio said seriously.
"She was super touched. She said seeing her son grow like that made her so happy. But letting you go out alone inevitably worried her a bit, so she asked me to check on you if I had time. What a coincidence, I never thought Killua would want to become a Hunter and participate in the exam!"
The different thought process of the Zoldyck Family wasn't something Leorio could understand, so the moment he said 'super touched', Leorio was stunned on the spot...
Illumi then explained he was taking the Hunter Exam because of an upcoming job, but didn't know Killua would also be interested.
Hearing this, Killua, with a hint of timidity, quietly said he wasn't doing it because he wanted to, but because it seemed interesting...
"Is that so? Then I'm relieved. That means I can give you advice without worry. You are completely unsuitable to become a Hunter. The most suitable profession for you is assassin. You are a dark puppet. You have nothing you want." As he spoke, Illumi used Aura to hypnotize him...
Illumi had always implanted this thinking in Killua, constantly repeating and instilling it to make him the ideal assassin...
Takeru clearly knew that Killua had been implanted with Nen Needles by Illumi.
When facing powerful or evenly matched enemies, he would instinctively flee, unless he had absolute certainty of victory...
These Nen Needles could protect Killua well, but similarly weakened his strength significantly.
Of course, once Killua awakened and could remove the Nen Needles himself, he would undergo a great transformation...
"I indeed didn't come to the exam because I wanted to be a Hunter. But, even for me, there are things I want." Killua said seriously.
"You don't."
"I do have. Right now, there is something I sincerely desire."
"Hmm, then tell me what you are desiring." Seeing Killua's state, Illumi looked at him calmly.
"I... I want to be friends with Gon. I'm tired of killing. I want to be friends with Gon, to play and fight normally." Under Illumi's repeated urging, Killua trembled and said what he wanted.
At this moment, Killua finally understood what he wanted most. Thinking of his experiences with Gon, being around Gon felt so relaxed and happy, unrestricted.
"Impossible. Someone like you, how could you possibly make friends?" Illumi mocked.
Hearing Illumi's words, Killua instantly felt doubt. Could someone like him really be worthy to be friends with Gon?
"Enough! That's really too much! Aren't you his older brother? Why are you like this to your younger brother?" Umaru couldn't help it and spoke out angrily.
As for older brothers, Umaru had one and knew how happy it was to have one. But after hearing the conversation between Illumi and Killua, she couldn't help but shout out.
However, Illumi, upon hearing Umaru's words, gave her a faint glance before turning back to brainwash Killua...
"Killua, what Umaru said is right. That guy is just a scumbag. Don't listen to his nonsense. You said you want to be friends with Gon? What are you thinking? Aren't you already friends? No matter what, Gon definitely thinks so too. So, right now, you just need to defeat the guy in front of you!" Leorio said excitedly.
Hearing Leorio's words, Killua's spirit shook. So, he and Gon were already friends?
"Is that so? Then that's troublesome. So the other party considers Killua a friend. Well then, let's kill Gon." Hearing that, Illumi thought for a moment and reached a conclusion, stating it flatly.
Upon hearing Illumi's words, many on the field were shocked, looking at Illumi with a hint of hostility.
"An assassin fundamentally doesn't need friends. They will only be a hindrance in the future. Where is he now?" Illumi paid no heed, directly turning around to look for Gon.
"Please wait, the match isn't over yet..." The referee tried to stop him, but before finishing, Illumi used special needles to control him, making him involuntarily say Gon's location.
As Illumi almost reached the door, several figures directly blocked him.
"What a headache. Because of work, I absolutely need a Hunter License. If I kill them now, I'll be disqualified, and Killua will pass the exam." Illumi said flatly about his troublesome matter.
"Right. I'll kill Gon after passing the Hunter Exam. Once I pass, even if I kill everyone here, my Hunter License won't be revoked, correct?" Illumi calmly asked Netero.
"Hmm, according to the rules, there's no problem." Hearing him, Netero didn't has any change of expression and looked at him calmly.