Chapter 46: The Third Match – Yamcha vs. Killua

"One last question: Among the other eight candidates, who do you least want to fight?"

"Candidate #301 Gitarrakur and Candidate #44 Hisoka."

"Why?"

"Because they are the strongest."

A very decisive and straightforward answer.

Whether he could win or not was one thing; whether he wanted to fight was another.

"..."

Faced with Yamcha's response, Netero fell silent once again.

"Alright, that's all. You may leave."

After Yamcha left, Netero rubbed his face helplessly. He had always considered his own thoughts to be rather unexpected, but this guy had managed to surprise even him.

Despite being incredibly strong, Yamcha was oddly timid?

Which led to the question—how did he even get that strong?

As he stared at the now-empty wall behind him, stripped bare after the scrolls were taken away, Netero fell into deep thought.

After Yamcha left, the other examinees entered one by one to answer Netero's three questions.

Hisoka: "I most want to fight Candidate #1 and Candidate #99. I least want to fight Candidate #405 and Candidate #99."

Killua: "I don't have a preferred opponent. I least want to fight Candidate #53."

Bodoro: "I most want to fight Candidate #405. I least want to fight Candidate #44."

Hanzo: "I most want to fight Candidate #405. I least want to fight Candidate #1."

Gitarrakur: "Candidate #99 and Candidate #44."

Leorio: "I least want to fight Candidate #405."

Kurapika: "If I have a reason, I can fight anyone. If I don't, I won't fight anyone."

Gon: "I most want to fight Candidate #44. I least want to fight Candidates #99, #403, and #404."

After gathering everyone's responses, Netero created a match table.

The final test of the Hunter Exam—

A one-on-one elimination battle.

However, unlike the common idea of "winners advancing," Netero designed a reverse-elimination system: losers advance instead.

In other words, theoretically, only one person would fail, while the rest would become Hunters.

Winning just once was enough to pass.

Compared to the other convoluted tests, this final stage was surprisingly simple and merciful.

Yamcha's match was the third in order.

The first match was Candidate #294 Hanzo vs. Candidate #405 Gon. The loser would then fight Candidate #53 Bodoro.

The second match was Candidate #44 Hisoka vs. Candidate #404 Kurapika. Their loser would fight Candidate #403 Leorio.

And in the third match, Yamcha's opponent was...

Candidate #99 Killua.

The loser of their match would face Candidate #301 Gitarrakur.

"What a shame, I was hoping for Candidate #53 Bodoro instead," Yamcha muttered as he looked at the match table, slightly disappointed.

Missing out on the weakest opponent was unfortunate.

"If I lose, I'll have to fight Illumi next..."

"I really don't want to deal with that guy. I'll leave that brotherly drama to you two."

So...

Sorry about this.

Yawn.

Watching the ongoing match that was dragging on endlessly, Yamcha let out a bored yawn, his eyes watering.

The first match—Gon vs. Hanzo—had already lasted over three hours.

Not because their strength was evenly matched. In reality, Hanzo had overwhelmed Gon within seconds.

But Gon refused to surrender.

The final match of the Hunter Exam had no ring-out rule like the World Martial Arts Tournament, nor a ten-count knockout rule.

The only way to lose was to verbally admit defeat.

This rule was proving to be quite the headache.

A match that should have ended quickly had now dragged on. Theoretically, if both contestants were stubborn enough, they could keep this going for days.

For three whole hours, Hanzo had mercilessly beaten Gon.

For three whole hours, Yamcha and the others had watched Hanzo beat Gon.

Three hours!

There were so many better things he could have done in those three hours.

Eventually, Hanzo grew so frustrated that he decided to surrender just to move things along.

But Gon refused to accept that.

Despite being outmatched, refusing to surrender, and now even preventing his opponent from surrendering—he insisted on winning fair and square.

This behavior...

Was pure stubbornness.

"Gon, you already lost fair and square."

Yamcha finally spoke up, unable to watch this ridiculous display any longer. He just wanted them to wrap it up:

"At this point, you're just being unreasonable."

"Don't act like you're doing something noble."

"Hanzo is just holding back because he doesn't want to seriously hurt you. Let it go already."

Yamcha's words earned glares from Gon's friends, but he didn't care. Gon hadn't done anything for him, and he was out of patience.

Gon's personality could be seen as simple and straightforward... or completely self-centered.

In the end, under Yamcha's intimidating gaze, Hanzo knocked Gon out in a single strike and surrendered to the judges.

Gon passed.

Even though Gon only won because of sheer stubbornness, Yamcha still had to respect his persistence after enduring three hours of punishment.

At the same time, he became even more determined to stay away from Gon.

Among the main cast of Hunter x Hunter, Yamcha actually respected Killua the most.

Because as the later storylines revealed, Killua was the real deal.

Despite his assassin background, he was a true friend.

As for the others... Leorio was tolerable since he didn't get much screentime, even if he was loud and annoying.

Kurapika, on the other hand, completely changed whenever the Phantom Troupe was involved. Given the genocide of his clan, it was understandable—he would give up everything, even his soul, for revenge.

Second Match: Kurapika vs. Hisoka

It ended shockingly fast.

Despite Hisoka's overwhelming power, he whispered a few words to Kurapika and then surrendered.

Kurapika advanced.

Third Match: Killua vs. Yamcha

"I've been looking forward to this," Killua said, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

Throughout the exam, Yamcha had shown remarkable skill.

Yet after four exams, Killua still couldn't gauge Yamcha's true strength.

Other than the gun skills he displayed in the first exam, Yamcha seemed barely stronger than a normal person.

If not for their brief interaction on the airship, Killua might have assumed Yamcha had just been lucky this whole time.

This only made him even more intrigued.

His excitement was second only to fighting Gon.

After all, in terms of physical age, they were both the same age.

"This is going to be fun."

(End of Chapter)