Click, click, click. Illumi appeared in front of them, stared at Alluka for a moment, then sat down cross-legged.

What's he up to? Isn't he going to watch the match?

Illumi pulled out a nail from his mouth, and Saiki Kusuo immediately had a bad feeling.

Saiki Kusuo picked up on Illumi's plan—he wanted to provoke Alluka.

[Make Alluka feel guilty toward Killua. Then I'll convince Killua to drop out of the exam. Alluka will feel even more guilty, and that way I can keep them both at home.] Illumi's thoughts were crystal clear.

"Alluka," Illumi said, "do you recognize me?"

Killua had already warned Alluka that the man with nails was dangerous, but with Saiki Kusuo protecting him, he stayed calm.

Still, the sudden voice made his heartbeat skip.

Don't overthink it—it's just nerves. Alluka had almost always only been around family since childhood, and he remembered every family member's voice perfectly.

This voice belonged to his oldest brother. The man with the nails in front of him was his big brother!

"Good. That makes it easier. What do you think? I don't see why Killua should work so hard only to go home empty-handed," Illumi said. "Have you even looked at where you're ranked? Compared yourself to those people? Thought about how to win…? Have you?"

If Gon lost to Chrollo, then Alluka's first match would be against Gon, the second against Killua, and the third against Illumi after conceding to him. Saiki Kusuo glanced at the whiteboard.

Honestly, it was hard enough for three Nen users to fight in this kind of competition—wasn't that too much?

"Have you thought about beating the blond guy? Or fighting Gon?" Illumi asked, looking at Alluka.

The "blond guy" meant Chrollo the knight.

That's just unreasonable. Even if Illumi didn't know the knight was Chrollo, he should have known the knight was a Phantom Troupe member.

"I… I'll just do what Killua says, big brother." Alluka lowered his head. He wasn't afraid of Illumi the same way Killua was—this was a different kind of fear, like facing a very strict elder.

To Alluka, the eldest brother was like a father figure, and his words had to be obeyed. He always had to be well-behaved. But this time, he had run away from home. He had done something wrong, so he was nervous.

"No, you're hurting Killua. Killua will have to lose the first match because of you. Why should he? And if your match line doesn't overlap with Killua's, will you ask him to beg for you?"

"Then… I can give up the Hunter License…" Alluka said.

"Weren't you planning to travel the world? A Hunter License is essential for that—it lets you go to so many places for free."

Saiki Kusuo: Wait, did something I didn't know about just come up? Traveling the world? Has Illumi been listening to every word?

Alluka was shocked. "How do you know that, big brother?"

Illumi reached up to brush his hair, realized he had none, and lowered his hand. "You're my little brother. I just know."

Saiki Kusuo: Who are you trying to fool? You obviously overheard it with your mind-reading.

Illumi: [I'm more used to guiding my brothers when I have long hair. When I fight Killua later, I'll remove all the needles. It'll make things a little easier for him.]

Saiki Kusuo: Wouldn't showing your real face be scarier and more intimidating?

Alluka looked down and fidgeted with his fingers, opening his mouth but not daring to say anything.

"Are you going to go home? Or try a bit harder? Killua has already done this much for you…" Illumi whispered like a devil. "Alluka, Killua only has four matches. If he forfeits two of them for you, the third will be against me or Kusuo—do you think he'll win? And in the fourth, I know Hisoka. He'll fight to the very end. You know how strong Hisoka is, right? Do you think Killua can win?"

"Huh?" Alluka looked up at Illumi, his small eyes wide with shock.

"So in the end, Alluka, you'll get your Hunter License and Killua won't. He won't be traveling—he'll stay home for training. If you think about it, that's actually a pretty good ending."

Illumi said this calmly.

Saiki Kusuo caught the trick in his words. The "he won't be traveling" part was misleading—whether or not either of them got a Hunter License, they'd both be dragged back home. But by emphasizing this point, Illumi made Alluka think that getting the license meant traveling, and not getting it meant staying home for training.

This way, Alluka would feel like he was holding Killua back.

Saiki Kusuo glanced at the match schedule. Even if Hisoka might hold back because of "Apple," it wasn't certain that Killua would face him last. Hisoka would face Kurapika, then Bodoro, then Buhara. Would those last two really have the resolve to make Hisoka give up? They didn't have anything Hisoka would admire.

"Yes, Alluka is a good kid. Just listen to Killua. That's the ending I want too." Illumi patted Alluka's head affectionately, but the gesture brought him a crushing amount of mental pressure.

"For the next match, Gon Freecss versus the Knight!"

Ah, the next match has started? Did Kurapika's match end that quickly?

At the end of the match, Hisoka whispered something in Kurapika's ear, then announced his surrender. Because of that one sentence, Kurapika's eyes turned red.

Saiki Kusuo looked toward the arena.

[What did Hisoka say to him? Red eyes only appear when he's angry. Did he tell him he's a spider?] Chrollo was still thinking about the end of the last match.

Saiki Kusuo realized: Did he notice? Hisoka is going to reveal information about the troupe.

Chrollo: [Probably just trying to provoke him into a fight. His fun is none of my business. Should I remind him later not to leak any troupe info? Even though I already explained when he joined.]

Just a reminder? Hey, Hisoka is selling out the troupe right in front of you.

Where does your trust in Hisoka even come from?

"Both sides, get ready. Match start!"

The examiner announced, and Chrollo finally focused on Gon.

[A kid? This child's eyes don't look like he'd give up easily, but Nobunaga's personality is kinder. That might make a kid think I'm going easy on him, which would be troublesome.]

Saiki Kusuo: Then just don't act like Nobunaga.

Chrollo asked the referee next to him, "Mr. Referee, can I confirm something?"

"What is it?" the referee replied.

"To win, the opponent has to admit defeat out loud, right? Even if they pass out, there's no countdown, and there's no draw, correct?"

"That's right. One side must verbally surrender or make a surrender gesture, and the referee has to confirm it."

[Then I'll need to act more decisively.]

Saiki Kusuo: I have a bad feeling about this.

Chrollo locked eyes with Gon, silently thinking. This was the last exam. All this time, he believed killing would lower the examiners' impression of him. Now the final exam's rules were clear—and troublesome. He still couldn't use the simplest, fastest method of killing to win.

---------------------------------------

You can read 15 chapters ahead on patre on

patr eon.com/JYouyi