Chapter 336

Killua walked straight over to Ron.

"Ron."

"You know me?"

"Four years ago, I was at Heaven's Arena as well."

"And?"

"If the chance arises during this Hunter Exam, how about we have a match?"

Killua fixed Ron with a blazing look.

"Four years ago, I earned the right to go to the 200th floor at Heaven's Arena. But someone told me I wasn't ready. I asked how big the gap was between us, and that person said it was huge. But now it's been four whole years,

And I want a shot at you."

Gon and Leorio both wore confused expressions. They knew nothing about Heaven's Arena.

Kurapika had heard of it, but didn't have much concept of what the 200th floor entailed.

"All right," Ron replied with a nod.

Ron owed much to the Zoldyck family. So he was more than willing to pay it forward to a younger member— Agreeing to a match with Killua was no problem.

He just hadn't expected Killua to care so much about it.

Ron figured that after nearly four years, Killua might have forgotten him entirely.

In the original storyline, Killua didn't seem too attached to Heaven's Arena. But evidently, Ron's presence had changed things.

Hisoka glanced first at Killua, then at Illumi. He already knew Killua's identity—Illumi had told him.

And as a "friend" Illumi understood Hisoka's nature well.

With Killua's talent, he might intrigue Hisoka. But Illumi wouldn't allow Hisoka to harm Killua.

Hisoka's face showed a subtle expression, while Illumi's remained unreadable.

Killua, meanwhile, looked briefly surprised by how easily Ron had agreed. Ron himself felt a spark of anticipation—he wondered what Killua's reaction would be once he learned Ron's true identity and realized their connection. It was sure to be entertaining.

"Ron, what exactly is Heaven's Arena?" Gon asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

"It's a public venue for martial competitions," Ron said. "Anyone can register, then fight matches.

When you win, you move up floors, and when you lose, you might drop. The higher the floor, the stronger the fighters.

Heaven's Arena has a total of 251 floors."

Gon's eyes lit up.

"Sounds really interesting. Once the Hunter Exam is over, I'll go check it out!"

Hearing that, Kurapika had a similar thought— But he dismissed it almost immediately.

"That won't work for me. I need to take revenge. If I appear in a public arena, my enemies might gather intel on me. That'd be disastrous."

Leorio showed little interest until Ron brought up money.

"Winning matches earns you prize money, and the higher the floor, the bigger the rewards.

Eventually, it can reach tens of millions of Jenny or more."

At that, Leorio's eyes lit up.

As someone who wanted to be a doctor—one with real compassion—he also knew the harsh truth of poverty.

In his youth, a friend's non-fatal illness turned lethal purely due to lack of money for treatment.

Partway through a soccer game, that friend collapsed and never got up again. Ever since, Leorio understood: poverty was the world's worst disease.

At this point, Killua finally noticed Gon, finding it interesting that someone his own age was taking the Hunter Exam too.

He knew Ron's "young genius" reputation from Heaven's Arena, but Ron was four years older than Killua.

"Ron, are these guys with you?" Killua asked.

"No. We just bumped into each other during the prelims," Ron said.

Killua stared with interest at Gon.

"I'm Killua. What's your name?"

"Gon Freecss. You can call me Gon."

"Gon…"

Killua stepped closer, comparing their heights.

"I'm twelve years old this year. How about you?"

"No way, me too—I'm twelve."

Two kids of the same age naturally had a lot to discuss, leaving the others momentarily out of the loop.

Just then, someone approached them.

"You folks must've had a rough trip," said Tonpa, wearing a friendly smile. "I don't recognize you, so I'm guessing this is your first time at the Hunter Exam?

Reaching this point proves you're doing great already.

Thirsty? Care for some soda?"

He pulled out four bottles from his bag—one for each of them.

"Hey, mister, I'm really thirsty. Could I have another?" Killua asked, staring at Tonpa.

Tonpa's eye twitched slightly, but he handed Killua a second soda. Internally, he was bewildered.

He'd laced that drink with a special substance, and he'd clearly watched Killua consume it, but the kid seemed perfectly fine. Strange indeed.

Killua popped it open, tipping his head back and guzzling it down.

Ron opened his own bottle, sniffed it lightly, and recognized it as a kind of herbal laxative. Not exactly harmless, but far from deadly—and it wouldn't affect someone of his constitution anyway. If even Killua was fine, Ron would be too.

He'd undergone the same types of training as Killua—and more.

At his current level, he'd be completely immune.

Seeing Ron and Killua both drinking without issue, Leorio and Kurapika assumed there was nothing to worry about and opened theirs too.

Tonpa watched them with eager eyes.

"This isn't a game, kids. Once you drink the special something I added, let's see how you handle the next part of the exam.

I can't wait to see your reactions.

Beginners… so naive.

Here's your first lesson from a veteran: never trust anyone.

This is the end of your Hunter Exam journey—take this as your big takeaway."

But at that moment—

"Pffft!"

Gon spat his soda out in one strong spray.

"This is weird—it's gone bad!"

Leorio and Kurapika looked at each other in alarm, quickly putting down their drinks and turning to Tonpa.

"Mister, that's going too far! How can you give us expired soda?"

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