"Moritonio, let's go!"
"We still need to prepare for the performance."
"He… seems like he's still breathing…"
In the northern part of the Yorbian Continent, located in the northeast corner of Yorknew, on the road to Glam Gas Land, known as the Capital City of Enjoyment.
A bleeding boy collapsed on the ground brought the circus troupe's convoy to a halt.
Neo, the troupe leader, crouched down and, ignoring the protests of his troupe members, walked over to the boy to check his condition, "Boy… can you still speak?"
"We're still quite a distance from Glam, and I've heard this area is pretty chaotic. Could this kid have been attacked by bandits or mountain thieves?"
"…"
In response to the old man's inquiry, the boy lying in a pool of blood moved his finger slightly.
Seeing this, the troupe leader said softly, "My name is Moritonio, a traveling performer… And you?"
The red-haired boy in the blood stiffly twisted his neck, revealing a face with sharp features yet possessing a somewhat bewitching quality, murmuring in a barely audible voice, "Hi… so… ka…"
"Hisoka, I understand."
The troupe leader nodded and reached out to lift the injured boy.
The troupe members in the convoy, seeing this, were all dissatisfied with the leader's decision… and their gazes toward Hisoka were quite unfriendly.
However… there was one exception.
It was a boy who appeared to be around the same age as Hisoka, with a black crew cut and freckles dotting his cheeks… He stared at Hisoka in the troupe leader's arms with fearful eyes, as if he had seen some venomous beast.
"It's actually him!"
Jonathan's throat involuntarily bobbed, and the scene unfolding before him caused memories to flood into his mind like a tide.
Jonathan was his name in his previous life; in this life, he was called Akira.
He was a transmigrator…
He had just transmigrated less than half a month ago.
The moment he opened his eyes, he was already in this circus troupe… At the same time, through his time here, he also learned… he had arrived in the world of Hunter!
Hunter x Hunter.
A classic anime he had loved deeply in his previous life.
However, he didn't think too much about it. Being reborn was ultimately a good thing… Moreover, as a transmigrator, he was very familiar with the Hunter x Hunter plot.
This world was extremely dangerous!
But for ordinary people to live out their lives peacefully wasn't too difficult.
Although he was currently just a member of a circus troupe, living a wandering life, by using his foreknowledge of the plot, he could at least achieve more than an ordinary person in the future.
And what he needed to do now was… train hard and strive to become a Hunter as soon as possible!
But the unexpected scene before him made Akira uncomfortable. With Hisoka's arrival, sealed memories were unlocked… The circus troupe he was in was no ordinary group of entertainers! Nor were they a troupe of regular artists… but rather… the breeding ground that had created Hisoka, this pervert and madman.
This story wasn't from Togashi's own work, but from another very famous anime in his previous life—it was drawn specifically for Hisoka's character by the author of Tokyo Ghoul… and had been stamped and approved by Togashi himself.
Because this plotline didn't belong to the original Hunter manga, Jonathan had never taken it seriously.
Now… Hisoka's appearance made him realize the problem was quite serious!
"To actually be with him…"
Akira's heart was filled with mixed feelings.
The only consolation… was that this guy Hisoka wasn't a Nen user yet.
Not as terrifying as in the future!
"Akira, look after him for a bit."
As luck would have it, the troupe leader walked over carrying Hisoka and instructed him.
"Yes."
Though Akira was unwilling, he could only comply.
He took Hisoka and carried him into the wagon.
Picking up someone from the roadside… to everyone, it was just a minor incident. At most they'd argue with the troupe leader for a bit, and then the convoy would once again head toward their destination.
"This circus troupe… I remember… the troupe leader is also a Nen user, and moreover a serial killer known as Hundred-Face John Doe, quite famous on the Yorbian Continent, who eventually died at Hisoka's hands. Hisoka's Nen ability, Texture Surprise, was also learned from Moritonio…"
Inside the wagon, Akira used a towel dampened with water to help Hisoka remove his blood-stained clothes, then wiped his body.
But his thoughts were on the troupe leader…
"Originally… I thought this was just an ordinary circus troupe. As long as I saved up enough money and built a solid foundation, I'd find an excuse to leave… But unexpectedly…" Akira narrowed his eyes. In his memory… the troupe leader seemed to teach every member to train in Nen, but unfortunately, only one girl named Abaki learned it; the rest didn't have the aptitude.
Akira felt somewhat anxious… He didn't know if he could master Nen.
Nen was the key to measuring whether a Hunter was powerful or not!
Only by becoming a Nen user could one truly cross the threshold into being a Hunter.
His current body had only joined this circus troupe a few months ago, not much earlier than Hisoka.
He was a wanderer, picked up just like Hisoka, with similar circumstances.
So far, the troupe leader had shown no intention of teaching him to train in Nen…
Hisoka…
With this thought, Akira looked down at the unconscious boy beside him, and a wicked idea flashed through his mind.
If… if he killed Hisoka right now, would that mean… the famous "fruit farmer" would exit early? And there wouldn't be so much trouble later?…
"No, this guy is one of the protagonists. If he dies, the plot will become chaotic and change, and my only advantage will be gone… Moreover, currently my relationship with him is that of strangers… There's no reason or necessity to kill him."
Soon, Akira dismissed this thought.
'Congratulations, host, for officially interacting with a plot character. Your path of growth has been initiated!'
'Please strive to become the supreme will of this realm!'
'Host template has been filed, loading auxiliary functions…'
Suddenly, a mechanical voice echoed in his mind, startling Akira.
A virtual screen then materialized before his eyes.
It displayed a data panel.
It showed his personal physical attributes and growth direction.
"Huh?" Akira's expression brightened with delight.
The personal stats were simply to give him a clear understanding of his own strength.
But the most practical thing was the system's auxiliary functions.
It provided detailed introductions and many training methods and techniques most suitable for his current condition, as well as suggestions for his growth direction, among other things.
This way, he could avoid many wrong paths.
It was like having an online mentor.
For example… he was currently just an ordinary person, and the first thing he needed to do was strengthen his body, train in physical techniques, gain combat experience, etc., and the system had conveniently laid out a training plan and cultivatable methods.
"Mostly Chinese martial arts… Does this system's database store knowledge based on my previous life's experiences…"
Akira quickly realized this.
He chose to trust big data!
After all, having intelligent AI assistance was better than groping in the dark by himself.
"Heh."
At that moment, a laugh startled Akira awake.
Looking down, he discovered that Hisoka, who had been lying in the wagon, had opened his eyes at some point, and within the narrow slits, a light that was impossible to fathom flickered.
The reason Akira was startled was because he feared Hisoka had seen his system screen… But his worry was quickly dispelled; he discovered that Hisoka apparently couldn't see the panel.
"You staring at me like this… isn't that a bit impolite?"
Hisoka wore an ambiguous smile, his tone somewhat playful.
Akira came to his senses and understood it was a misunderstanding… Due to the angle of his line of sight, he had actually been looking at the system panel the whole time, but from Hisoka's perspective, since he woke up… this black-haired kid about his age had been staring at him without saying a word.
"As someone who's taking care of you… you should express your gratitude first, shouldn't you?"
Under Hisoka's gaze, Akira steadied his nerves and responded with equal sarcasm in a roundabout way.
"How would you like me to thank you?"
Hisoka's lips curved into an arc, the eyes beneath his bangs inscrutable.
"Just remember this favor for now. I'll tell you when I think of something."
After saying this, Akira unceremoniously tossed the hand towel onto him, "Since you're already awake, wipe yourself…"
With that, he turned to jump down from the wagon.
With a sideways glance at the crowd outside the wagon, he said flatly, "A word of advice—this circus troupe isn't doing well. For the troupe leader to randomly pick up a stray dog from the roadside is undoubtedly adding to the troupe's burden… If you want to stay with the troupe, try to get along with them."
"You're really… quite heartless, aren't you…"
Seeing that Akira meant what he said about not caring for him anymore, Hisoka sighed softly.
"Tch!"
Akira clicked his tongue. As expected, he couldn't get along with this person Hisoka… and had no favorable impression of him…
At such a young age, one could already see the shadow of the future pervert in his demeanor.
Then, Akira jumped out of the wagon.
Hisoka propped himself up with his arms and tidied himself with the damp towel.
Then, resting his chin on one hand, his eyes peered through the wagon door, sweeping over every single person in the troupe, as if scrutinizing them, observing them, or perhaps collecting something…