Chapter 3

" The second applicant to pass, number 44, Hisoka Morrow. "

' Second? ' Hisoka thought, intrigued. Why wouldn't he be? He's observed all the applicants and knows none of them would be able to complete all the tasks before him, well except for one, but he likes to go at his own pace and can't be forced. Money won't work unless you want someone dead.

Luffy looked away from his spinning top, the announcement entered his ears but his brain was lagging in processing the information. Looking at the tall, red-haired man, his appearance reminiscent of a clown, Luffy made eye contact with him.

" Oh? "Hisoka's mouth parted, eyebrows heightening in surprise, and his intrigue peaked. How could he forget the man who managed to beat some sense into that woman with such sound logic? And the very same man bested him, completing the 3rd phase faster than he could.

Walking over to Luffy, who kept watching him, on edge as Killua had mentioned him to be someone to avoid. After all, he most definitely did all the tasks which included fighting to the death to get here safely, if the tears in his clothing are any indication.

" So, how did you pass before me? " Hisoka asked, curiosity dripping from every word spoken, staring intensely at Luffy, who in return was observing him closely.

" Didn't do anything special. Got lucky at the beginning and played a game, won the game, and got a free pass to the end. " Luffy answered simply.

" Hmmm... That right. And what is this game you played? " Hisoka asked, still intrigued. A fast track from the beginning of the phase to the end is indeed lucky, but Luffy had to win a game first.

" A game of marbles. " Luffy answered, taking his eyes off Hisoka and grasping his spinning top.

" Marbles? " Hisoka questioned.

" Yeah. All you had to do was roll marbles into a goal. Think of it as miniature football, there was a goalkeeper and two defenders and I needed to score goals against them while they were moving. Still don't know how they were moving on their own, plus they were life-like and that timer just appeared into thin air as well. " Luffy said, staring at the spinning top, seemingly lost in the small act of rotation.

' Conjuration combined with manipulation or vice versa. ' Hisoka thought. ' It doesn't seem he was troubled by the challenge either. Was the game that easy or was he just that good? '

" I see. " Hisoka responded, walking away from Luffy to another corner of the room to play his cards to pass the time. Luffy watched him leave before going back to his top. A silent space, with two people in it, and the only audible noises were the rolling of a top on the ground and cards being handled by a "bored but not in the mood to kill at the moment" clown man.

...

" Man, we don't even get a break. " Leorio whined, laying against the ship, the motor of the ship roaring. Luffy was standing, enjoying the nice sea breeze brushing against him. Staying in that room for almost three days unable to go outside was quite annoying.

" This is our break. Until we arrive, we can enjoy our time on the boat to relax. " Kurapika said, reading a book that he was in his bag. He looked up from his book to see Killua walk up towards them with Gon tagging along.

" Oi. " Killua called out, tugging on Luffy's sleeve.

" What's up? " Luffy asked, not bothering to move his head from its position.

" When did you complete the 3rd phase? " Killua asked. This gained the attention of Leorio, Kurapika, and Gon. Luffy was already in the room when they arrived, so they were glad that he passed, but it's still a mystery when he arrived compared to everyone else.

" I came first. " Luffy answered.

" Really? " Killua asked skeptically.

" You came in first! " Gon said excitedly, his voice audible to a few applicants on the boat, looking in his direction at the commotion but looking away soon after not bothering. Leorio stared in shock while Kurapika showed surprise.

Their trial held many physical and mentally draining activities, yet Luffy came in first. Someone they wouldn't have thought much about or expected to come in first would be Hisoka, considering his prowess and arguably the strongest applicant in the exam. But Luffy says he came in first.

" How did you finish so fast? " Gon asked, his curiosity overflowing but his tone was dialed back from exclamation a few moments ago.

" Won a game, got a free pass to the end. " Luffy said simply.

" Oh, okay. " Gon said, accepting the answer easily, but his curiosity had subsided seeing that Luffy was paying very little attention to them, something that the others noticed.

...

" Alright, everyone... " A woman called out, holding a clipboard in her hands. Everyone turned towards her, as she had introduced herself as the rotor for the fourth exam before they left.

" Welcome to Zevil Island, your new home for the next 7 days. " She said, yet only returned patient and many determined faces. After three phases, each applicant strengthened their resolve. They had come too far to turn back now.

"Your task for this phase is to survive your stay on this island and collect points. The box in front of you holds tags with the number of different applicants participating in the exam. The tag you choose is your main prey, their tag equaling 3 points, every other tag is worth 1 point but your tag, the one with your applicant number, is worth 3 points. You need 6 points to pass. Once the time is up, you will have to come to this location before time is up for examination. " She explained.

The applicants who understood her words quickly took off their tags and stashed them away while others followed the crowd getting the point a few moments later, while some kept their tags on them for all to see.

" Now then, it's time to choose your tags. We will be going in order of completion of the 3rd phase. This order will also be used when people step on Zevil island. The next person has to wait five minutes before they can enter. First-place finisher, Luffy. " She announced.

Whipping their heads toward Luffy, somehow not snapping their necks at breakneck speed, They stared in surprise, watching Luffy walk down the aisle, hands in his pockets towards the box.

Everyone was surprised as well. Hanzo rubbed his eyes, not believing that the plain man in front of him, someone who didn't strike him as someone dangerous, finished before the two monsters who were in that room with him.

Placing his hand into the box, Luffy lifted a tag from the box. The examiner quickly wrote down the number as Luffy placed the tag into the empty box and walked away. His target is applicant 105, a man with short red hair, a purple turtle neck shirt, and most prominently, a mashed-in red nose.

' Number 15. ' Luffy thought, remembering the order.

" You weren't kidding. You come in first! " Leorio said as Luffy sat down.

" Yep. " Luffy responded.

" You don't care about it, do you? " Leorio grumbled.

" Meh, got lucky. " Luffy said responded.

...

Walking onto Zevil Island, Luffy enters the forest, heading deeper inside, and disappearing from the other applicants. Looking at the watch used in the 3rd phase shows the amount of time left for the phase. Knowing when he first entered, Luffy kept walking. Luffy learned his targets name, Kyu, when his name was announced by the examiner.

Since he finished 15th in the 3rd phase, he would enter the forest after the first 14 people entered, so he quickly calculated that Kyu would enter in 70 minutes. 1 hour and 10 minutes to cover as much ground as possible, to simply come back around to the start and follow him. He doesn't know who has him as their prey, but he knows he should avoid all the ranged fighters from his side.

' Coming in first is also going to help me, considering everyone stared at me in surprise and were looking at me with caution. I doubt they will attack me out of the blue but it would be better to avoid them as much as possible. ' Luffy thought.

' Hisoka should be entering now. ' Luffy thought, looking towards the docking point. ' Best to avoid him as much as possible. '

35 minutes in, Luffy walked uphill from the starting point and went towards his right most of the time and managed to find a relative pathway to walk on. It lead directly to the shoreline with minimal trees in the way and Luffy decided to walk down. his original plan was to get down and try to tail his target from behind anyway.

20 minutes left until, his target steps foot on the island. Luffy had made it to the shoreline but made sure to hide behind trees and bushes. He ponders on his gun and knives. Which one should he use?

If he uses the knives and goes for the kill, will he be able to beat Kyu while taking minimal damage to not be at disadvantage later?

Should he use the gun and shoot him in the head, killing him instantly, the noise from the gun would absolutely alert the other applicants. If he chooses this option, he would need to run as fast as possible to hide from others.

He could wait this out, he has seven days after all, however, the island is massive, and the chances of running into someone stronger or far greater than running into his target. Getting three tags vs one, he would choose one. Plus, he knows when his target will enter.

!5 minutes left.

Closing the gap, Luffy walked behind trees and made sure to stay out of sight of applicants entering. He kept his hoodie up and leaned against a tree, while others passed by. 11, 12,13, and 14 walked in the same direction from the boat, similar to what he did. Surprised, Luffy decided to wait along the trail.

If his target also walks along this path, it would be very advantageous for him. To the best of Luffy's ability, he can say that there's no one following him. No one on his tail at the moment. Kyu just stepped onto the island.

Now or never.

His heartbeat got louder, it came in through his ears, and he could feel it pulsing inside his chest. Kyu kept walking forward, sword in hand in the same direction as the others. Luffy waited near the tree, standing still, waiting.

' He's relaxed, in thought, probably thinking of a plan to pass the exam now that he's actually on the island. ' Luffy thought.

Kyu walked closer to the tree, Luffy could hear his footsteps approaching with how focused he was. Luffy glanced at him as Kyu kept walking, his hand gripping the gun, Kyu's eyes looking forward at the path.

Another tree, so Kyu stepped to the right. Luffy waited before taking a wide step forward, heading in a straight line, closing in the distance as much as possible, and aiming the gun at Kyu's head, Luffy pulled the trigger.

Luffy felt the recoil of the firearm affect his body, yet was surprised by the absence of a loud "BANG" from the launching of a bullet. His eyes watched as Kyu's body fell forward, hitting the ground, a hole in his skull. Blood poured out as Luffy stared for a good few seconds, letting out the breath he was holding.

Instinctively, he put the moment on hold, rushing towards the body and searching for the tag. Finding it, Luffy placed the tag in his pocket and ran. He needed a place to stop and think. He walked in the same direction as others, the same path. He knew it already and kept walking, It would only be a matter of time till he finds a hiding spot.

...

10 minutes. That's how long Killua stood next to Luffy, who was leaning back against a rock. It was a good place to hide, he'll give him that. If Killua wasn't so bored, he wouldn't be checking out places to scare people who were hiding and wouldn't have found him.

" Oi. Are you alive? " Killua spoke loudly. Killua watched Luffy intently, a bit impressed that Luffy didn't jump in fright. Did he know Killua was next to him and was just ignoring him or was he just really good at controlling himself?

" Killua. When did you get here? " Luffy asked.

" 10 minutes ago. Got my tag easily so now I'm chilling. What about you? I bet you don't have your tag yet. " Killua said, trying to push Luff's buttons.

" I already have my tag. " Luffy said.

" Eh? You do? " Killua asked skeptically. It's weird, Luffy is around the same level as Leorio yet he already has his badge. Guess his target was so weak that even Luffy could beat him.

" Well congrats. " Killua said. " So how did you get his tag? "

" I shot him in the head and looted his corpse. " Luffy said. Luffy tried, he tried so hard, but he couldn't remove the excitement from his voice yet his eyes were remorseful and Killua noticed when he whipped his head in Luffy's direction.

' The hell... He actually killed him! ' Killua thought.

" Oi, Killua. Have you ever killed someone? " Luffy asked.

' A lot. ' Killua thought.

" Yeah. I have. " Killua said.

" I killed my target to get his badge and a bit on the fence about my emotions. On one hand, my heart is beating loudly with excitement at the memory, from the hiding and waiting before the kill, and yet remorseful as I still killed another human being, and that remorseful feeling is quickly going away." Luffy said, thinking about that moment again.

" That's great and all, but why are you telling me? " Killua asked.

" No reason that you need to concern yourself with. " Luffy said, sighing as he looked at his watch.

" So... why did you kill someone? " Luffy asked.

" I'm from a family of assassins—been training for a professional career since birth. But recently I wanted to change career paths. " Killua explained, sarcasm with a pinch of reality mixed in yet wasn't salty enough to be noticed by most.

" Must be shit. " Luffy said.

" It is. " Killua said. " Are you always this boring? "

" I've been watching the clock tick down for a few days now to pass the time, even before entering the exam. I have nothing to do anyway. " Luffy said.

" No job? " Killua asked.

" Quit. " Luffy said.

" You sure you didn't get fired? " Killua asked.

" Can't get fired if I hand in my resignation before punching my shit boss. " Luffy said smirking.

" You punched your boss? " Killua asked, subconsciously sitting down next to Luffy.

" Punched him so hard the surrounding turned into a black and white image. " Luffy boasted.

" Yeah right. Like you can punch that hard. " Killua said.

" Believe or not to believe, that is the choice. " Luffy said in an accent.

" I don't believe. " Killua deadpanned, before chuckling along with Luffy who couldn't help it.

...

" Gon. You finally made it. " Killua waved, gaining the attention of the green-clad 12-year-old who walked over to him and Luffy with Kurapika and Leorio following.

" Seems like we all passed. " Kurapika states.

" That's pretty obvious. " Leorio snarked.

" Alright, everyone. Times up and it's now time for the examination. " The examiner said. " Show your tags when I call your name. "

" Number 150... Pass. "

" Number 44... Pass. "

" Number... "

...

" So 10 people passed this year. " Netero muttered, staring at the list of applicants.

" Alright, make an announcement. I want to have a one-on-one session with each applicant before I make the pairings. " Netero said.

" Understood sir. " replied a tiny green bean.

...

" How many times have they tied now!? " Leorio asked.

" It's nearing 100 ties on one game. " Kurapika said, a bit of sweat dripping from his forehead.

" Shut the hell up and watch. " Killua ordered, his entire being focused on the match.

Gon and Luffy were currently invested in a game of rock-paper-scissors. Neither strayed away from the flurry of hands, morphing into a fist, palm facing the ground, and a horizontal peace sign directed at the other player.

" Applicant 150, please head to room 100. Applicant 150, please head to room 100. " An announcer said over the speakers.

Luffy's focus was broken, his hand coming down as rock, yet he wanted to play scissors while Gon played paper at the same moment.

" Yes!! " Gon cheered, winning the game.

" Well, that's unfortunate. " Luffy commented.

" Why would they want you to go to that room? " Kurapika wondered.

" Don't know. I'll go check and tell you when I get back. " Luffy said; getting up and walking out of the room.

" Wait, he was about to play something else, but his hand didn't change. " Gon said out loud.

" Huh. What are you talking about? " Leorio asked.

" Luffy got distracted by the announcement. He was going for something else, not rock. " Killua said.

" I don't accept this victory. " Gon said resolutely.

" Technically, you still one though, fair and square. " Leorio said.

" Doesn't matter. It isn't a victory unless I decide it is and that's final. " Gon said, crossing his arms while Leorio sighed, knowing how stubborn Gon is.

Meanwhile, Luffy entered the room, and sitting in front of him was the chairman of the association, Isaac Netero, eating the plate of cookies in front of him.

____________________________________________________

Sup.

Had a flow going and didn't feel like stopping, so you guys get another chapter.