Whatever, I'll just fly there myself. Saiki Kusuo started to get up but felt a very light tug.

Hisoka's "gum"? When did he do that?!

"If you want to leave, Little Pink, the car might end up with a big hole in it. If you're gonna pay for damages, maybe cover the whole rental while you're at it."

This guy… Unbelievable. Saiki Kusuo's face darkened. Technically he could restore the car with his powers now, but what, go back seven years? The car looked pretty new, so that would probably turn it into a pile of parts.

So we're just waiting for Hisoka to take care of Chrollo and come back? What a joke. Like that'll ever happen.

[Three minutes. If he's not done in three minutes, I'm leaving, no matter what your ability is. You can deal with the mess yourself, alright?] Saiki Kusuo laid down the condition.

"Hm? Can't I spend a little more time with Chrollo? How about ten minutes? Whatever's there won't disappear that quickly."

Hisoka had already guessed that Saiki Kusuo was in a hurry to get something from the Small World Tree, so he agreed. Ten minutes—Saiki Kusuo reluctantly accepted and sat back down.

That gum-like ability of his is seriously annoying though. Can't he cancel it before he leaves? I'm being nice here.

But Hisoka was already gone—and right after, Chrollo walked in wearing casual clothes.

Saiki Kusuo flipped open a travel brochure in the car. It showed the Small World Tree, tall and thin, reaching high up into the clouds.

He only read Hunter x Hunter up to the Chimera Ant arc. He remembered hearing about the Dark Continent afterward. Not sure if Togashi ever finished it. If he did, maybe he'd know more about Alluka's future.

Not that he'd get to see it anyway.

The car sank slightly—someone had boarded. Saiki Kusuo looked up and instantly frowned.

Hisoka brought Chrollo onto the bus.

Wait, weren't you supposed to deal with Chrollo? You're not just here to mess with me, are you?

"Sorry, but to keep Chrollo from leaving, I had to leak that there was treasure on this little pink guy."

He gave up the one thing he really shouldn't have. This guy's seriously dangerous—you can't let your guard down for even a second. Next step: just hope Chrollo doesn't figure out I'm the same guy from a few days ago...

Chrollo: [After all that effort and still no clue, and now we run into each other here.]

Yeah, guess that's out the window.

"What's in the treasure?"

[No idea.] Who knows what's in there besides that ability-suppressing thing?

"What's it worth?"

[No idea.] I don't even know what it is—how could I know how much it's worth?

Chrollo paused but didn't get off the bus. Instead, he sat down in the seat in front of Saiki Kusuo—pretty much the farthest from Hisoka.

If there's one thing everyone agrees on, it's that you should stay far away from freaks like Hisoka.

"Treasure's only interesting if you see it with your own eyes, right? Chrollo, you're only here because you heard there was treasure, too. You came all this way just because some ruins hunter found something, didn't you?" Hisoka's raspy voice drifted over.

Chrollo didn't reply. It was like he didn't even hear Hisoka. Only Saiki Kusuo could tell he was thinking.

[Why would Hisoka go out of his way to explain himself? Afraid I won't trust the info and leave? Doesn't he know Saiki can hear people's thoughts? If he has that kind of ability, then the info must be real. And even if it's not, he could find the truth anyway. As long as someone here knows where the treasure is, Saiki Kusuo can lead us to it, right? Saiki Kusuo.]

Stop talking to me with telepathy. It's creepy.

Saiki Kusuo sighed. People like this knowing about his powers was a pain. Hopefully they wouldn't learn about more of them.

The bus drove smoothly and soon arrived beneath the Small World Tree.

They'd have to climb it themselves—over a thousand meters tall—but the three of them stood beneath it without a shred of doubt they could make it.

The two of them didn't doubt themselves, but they definitely doubted Saiki Kusuo.

Both Hisoka and Chrollo looked at him. They didn't say anything, but their faces and thoughts were clear: You sure you can do it?

Don't underestimate a psychic.

Saiki Kusuo didn't answer. He hesitated—should he show his flying ability? Or use teleportation with no cooldown for now? Or just levitate with psychokinesis? Or maybe walk up through the air?

Chrollo noticed Saiki Kusuo's hesitation and thought: [Maybe we let Hisoka go up first and swap places with Saiki Kusuo once he's at the top. Maybe teleporting's hard for him because he can't find a landing spot.]

No, my teleportation's fine. I just don't want to land and break this scrawny little tree. It looks fragile.

Hisoka shuffled his cards and thought: [Maybe I'll just sacrifice a bit and use my Bungee—love to launch the little pink guy up.]

No thanks. Hard pass. I don't want that gum touching me again.

Saiki Kusuo sighed. These two were strong, but they were actually worrying about him. He'd even turned on the power that lowers his presence, but around these two, it felt like it didn't even work.

Still, it had to be said—don't underestimate a psychic.

Saiki Kusuo made up his mind. He'd teleport up. They probably already guessed he could do that anyway. He'd just act like it had a 3-minute cooldown so they wouldn't catch on that it didn't, and from now on, he'd wait 3 minutes on purpose to keep up the act.

"Hey there, you three planning to visit the Small World Tree?" a voice suddenly came from behind. Saiki Kusuo turned and saw a tall, thin man with long white hair wearing a hat. He lowered the brim a little, revealing sharp eyes.

Kite?

The moment Saiki Kusuo heard the name, he immediately thought of who he was and remembered what happened in the Chimera Ant arc.

Kite... he remembered that Kite was Ging's student.

If he was Ging's student, then there was no need to hide anything.

Saiki Kusuo: [No, I'm just here to pick up something Ging left for me. He said it was at the top of the World Tree.]

"Huh? Pinky just came right out and said it?" Hisoka looked surprised. Just a moment ago, Saiki was so careful not to let anything slip in front of Chrollo.

Chrollo was a bit surprised too. Someone he knows?

"So, the other two aren't threats. Are they people you know?" Kite turned his attention to the other two.

He knew who Saiki Kusuo was, and the traits matched. If this really was Dr. Saiki Kusuo, the two nearby nen users could just be hired bodyguards. He needed to make sure they were safe.

This was something Ging had left behind—if they were nen users, they had to know how valuable it was.

Saiki Kusuo: [Don't worry, they're not a threat.] To me.

Not a threat?

Both Hisoka and Chrollo could hear what Saiki Kusuo said. It was probably the first time anyone had described them like that.

Even Kite seemed taken aback: "You mean people you trust? Absolutely loyal? Got it. I haven't introduced myself yet—I'm Kite, Ging's student. He told me to wait here and help you climb the World Tree."

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