Chapter 499 Are You Waiting For The Needle People?

Deep in the woods…

Satotz, hidden atop a tall tree, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

'That examinee No. 301... who is he?'

Feeling that intense Aura, Satotz realized that he had underestimated Illumi's terrifying presence.

'Fortunately, Mr. Moses participated in this Hunter Exam...'

With this thought, Satotz managed to regain some composure.

As the examiner for the first phase, he could observe the following tests, but he was strictly prohibited from intervening.

And examinees like Illumi, with his formidable strength and willingness to act recklessly, were always the worst participants in each year's Hunter Exam.

Satotz could already imagine —

If it weren't for Moses's unorthodox approach to joining, every examinee who passed the first phase might end up dead at Illumi's hands.

This was the one point Satotz felt most grateful for.

However, Satotz would never know that it was the existence of the butterfly Moses that led the Hunter Exam to the most serious situation.

Elsewhere, hidden in the shadows-

Hisoka observed the center of the killing intent with excitement, murmuring to himself: "Witnessing a control freak like him completely lose his composure… what a rare experience ♡"

From the moment Illumi released his killing intent, Hisoka knew there was a high chance of a showdown between Illumi and Moses.

Now, the situation was playing out exactly as he had anticipated.

And so, a new spectator joined the battle scene, brimming with intrigue.

If this spectator had been a member of the Phantom Troupe or some rogue criminal, they would likely have watched the two fight, waiting for the right moment to kill Moses, or perhaps even both of them.

But Hisoka would never do that.

Even though he'd been humiliated by Moses time and again, he would not take advantage of the situation.

What he desired had always been a direct, face-to-face battle with his chosen opponent.

From Hisoka's perspective, he genuinely hoped both Illumi and Moses would survive.

At the location for the second phase of the test, somewhat distant from the center of the killing intent-

"Menchi..."

Inside the warehouse, the extremely hungry Buhara's face suddenly changed, and he looked at the vaguely visible woods beyond the door in doubt and surprise.

"This killing intent must come from that examinee No. 301!"

"Yeah."

Menchi frowned, and the frequency of her leg bouncing became noticeably faster, revealing a hint of anxiety.

Unlike Buhara, who had taken a while to sense it, her more animalistic instincts had immediately picked up the provocative aura from Hisoka and the unmasked killing intent from Illumi.

That was the source of her restlessness.

Buhara retracted his gaze and looked at Menchi, who was seated on the sofa. After a moment of hesitation, "So…we're just going to wait here? That examinee No. 301..."

"It's fine."

Menchi suddenly thought of something and she stopped bouncing her leg.

'The examiner cannot interfere with the test process, but despite being an examiner, Master is also technically an examinee this time, so...'

'With Master here, he would surely be able to handle these two troublemakers, right?'

When she thought of this, Menchi let out a long sigh, and her anxiety melted away like snow in spring.

"Are you sure..."

Buhara muttered skeptically.

In his opinion, the examinees who had finally made it to the second phase of the exam would most likely meet their end at the hands of examinee No. 301.

In the worst-case scenario, examinee No. 301 could appear alone before them, carrying nothing but a roast boar.

"With my Master here, there's nothing to worry about."

Menchi replied confidently.

"Master?!"

Buhara looked at Menchi in complete confusion.

As a fellow Gourmet Hunter, he is Menchi's junior, but he has never heard of the youngest Single-Star Gourmet Hunter in history actually having a master!

In the forest-

Illumi's Aura mixed with killing intent had no real effect on Moses, and at best, it was like a lion baring its fangs and claws, displaying an attack posture.

While this killing intent aura had little actual impact, it did affect an unlucky guy who was actually just passing by the scene.

'How could there be such a monster...'

Hidden within the dense foliage, Hanzo's face was covered in sweat.

As a descendant of 'ninja', although he had to go through all kinds of harsh training since birth, he had never encountered a killing intent like this, crashing over him like violent waves.

The overwhelming scene shook him to the core.

Had he not been trained to conceal his presence instinctively, his presence would probably become disordered when he was affected by the killing intent.

But in fact-

When Hanzo was frightened, the Zetsu that had been unconsciously honed through countless days and nights was ultimately difficult to maintain, and a trace of his presence was revealed.

In the clearing-

Illumi's brow furrowed slightly.

It wasn't that he sensed Hanzo's presence, rather, in such a short period of less than two minutes, with the speed of his Needle People, they should have arrived at the scene long ago.

But-

Not one of them had shown up.

"Are you waiting for the Needle People?"

Moses showed a playful smile.

"..."

Seeing this, Illumi's eyes narrowed.

'Could it be…'

He realized something.

Moses smiled and said, "Then you'll likely be disappointed. So, how about reconsidering my suggestion from earlier? You have about five seconds left."

"…"

Illumi remained silent, his cheeks twitching slightly.

Suddenly…

He flung a bead-headed needle outward.

However, instead of aiming at Moses, he directed it toward the top of a nearby tree.

'I was discovered?!'

Hidden within the treetop, Hanzo, who had been contemplating his best course of escape to leave this dangerous place without being noticed, froze as he saw the needle hurtled toward him, his whole body turning cold.

At this time-

A hand darted in front of Hanzo's terrified eyes, and then accurately grasped the bead-headed needle that was pointing directly at Hanzo's forehead.

After narrowly escaping death, Hanzo, with a stiff neck, slowly turned to see who had saved him.

But what came into view was the second Moses.

"Gah!?"

Hanzo was instantly dumbfounded. After quickly glancing back at the Moses in the clearing, he froze again.

'Two of them?!'

'This must be -'

'The Clone Technique!'

Hanzo stared in disbelief at the second Moses mere inches away, and the words that Moses had said in the passage echoed in his mind.

"It would be great if I could also clone myself. That would be really cool… It would be great if I could also clone myself. It would be great if I could also clone..."

That voice reverberated in his ears, echoing down to the depths of his soul.

For a brief moment-

Hanzo, caught in shock, wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

'The real fool was me all along!'