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Chapter 389
🕑 Added 2025-02-23 16:02:02 +0000 UTCChapter 389
Ron and Illumi’s casual attitude toward the Hunter Exam left Ponzu feeling conflicted.
Other participants were fighting with everything they had—some even giving their lives—to pass the exam and earn a Hunter License. Yet Ron and Illumi didn’t seem to take it seriously at all. If the other participants knew, how would they react? The difference between people was simply staggering.
“Still, considering the strength of Captain Ron and… Illumi, it really is child’s play for them. Nobody can compete.”
Meanwhile, Killua and Hanzo’s battle raged on. Killua couldn’t figure out why Hanzo had suddenly attacked, but with no time to think, all he could do was fight back. Hanzo was on a completely different level than the Mori Brothers—Killua found him extremely troublesome.
They clashed repeatedly, each blow landing in a new spot as they moved through the trees and across the ground. It looked as though a giant creature had plowed through everything, leaving destruction in its wake.
Ron glanced at the crystal ball in front of him. Ever since the fight between Killua and Hanzo broke out, he noticed it was absorbing aura traits faster. Strictly speaking, more Nen “particles” were appearing around them than before.
“Killua and Hanzo…both have excellent talent. It’s already at fifty-three percent.”
At the same time, Ron sized up Killua and Hanzo’s abilities. There wasn’t a huge gap between them, but Ron noticed one thing in particular: during the fight, Killua seemed to be holding back. Hanzo, on the other hand, showed no such restraint.
“It’s probably because of Illumi’s needle,” Ron thought, recalling a detail from the original events. Illumi had embedded a Nen needle in Killua’s forehead to force him to follow certain family rules—only striking foes he was absolutely certain he could defeat. Although it was meant as a form of protection, it also limited Killua’s potential.
Right now, even though Killua was capable of going toe-to-toe with Hanzo, part of him kept wanting to back away. If Hanzo weren’t pressing so hard, Killua likely would have fled the scene already.
Of course, only Ron and Illumi noticed these subtleties. Ponzu and the Mori Brothers were just amazed by the raw power on display.
“So strong!”
“I can’t even see their moves.”
“That kid can’t be more than twelve or thirteen, and he’s already this strong?”
“Where in the world did he come from? It doesn’t make sense!”
“That bald ninja guy is no joke either.”
Right then, Ron casually glanced behind him.
“Ponzu, be careful!”
She snapped to attention just in time to see a dark shape lunging toward her—a venomous snake, mouth wide open. Ponzu jumped backward, narrowly avoiding the bite.
A figure emerged from the nearby brush.
“Bourbon!” Ponzu’s eyes wavered uneasily. “Are you after me?”
Bourbon took in the sight of Ron, Illumi, and Ponzu.
“Ponzu, Ron, Gittarackur…I never thought I’d find the three of you together. If time weren’t running short, I wouldn’t be doing this right now. But I guess it doesn’t matter. You’re already surrounded.”
As he spoke, countless snakes appeared from every direction—on the ground, across rocks, perched in tree branches—encircling the three of them completely.
Ponzu’s face turned grim.
Ron’s expression barely changed.
Illumi kept his eyes trained on Killua and Hanzo’s duel, as though none of this commotion existed.
“Ponzu,” Ron asked mildly, “need me to step in?”
“It’s fine, Captain. I’ll handle it myself.”
Ponzu looked straight at Bourbon.
“Could we move somewhere else? Your real target is me, right? If you defeat me, I’ll hand over my tag.”
Bourbon let out a low, humorless laugh.
“No can do. I worked too hard setting this trap, and now you’re all in the middle of it. Besides, I already have two perfect hostages right here. Why should I give that up?”
He looked at Ron and Gittarackur.
“I don’t know your abilities in detail, Ponzu, but I do know that if I lose this fight, I can threaten their lives and still force you to hand over your tag.”
Ponzu said nothing, though the thought of someone trying to hold Ron and Illumi hostage was almost absurd. Did he truly believe a circle of snakes would be enough?
“Captain, I’ll have to fight him here.”
“No problem. Go right ahead.”
Ron waved a hand casually.
Ponzu removed her hat. She wasn’t planning to pass this exam anyway—Ron was her real goal. He could help her gain the power she needed. So she saw no reason to simply give up her tag, either.
Reaching into her hat, Ponzu triggered a surge of bees. They streamed out in large numbers. More were drawn from other parts of the island too—some she’d released earlier and others naturally found here. Altogether, they formed two distinct swarms:
One group was Ponzu’s special breed of bees. The other was ordinary bees. Outwardly, they looked the same, but their bodies were built a bit differently. Normal bees lose their stinger—and their own life—after one sting, but Ponzu’s special bees, more like wasps, could sting repeatedly.
At once, the fight began.
The snakes lunged at Ponzu, while her bees met them in midair. Ponzu also swung a staff to knock back any snake slipping past the swarm. At the same time, another wave of bees buzzed around Bourbon, clouding his vision and forcing him to split his focus—he couldn’t devote his full attention to controlling his snakes.
Both sides used strikingly similar tactics: leveraging an army of creatures to fight by proxy. In that regard, there was a certain parallel to Ron’s own Nen-beast style.
