19 Chapter 19 The Final Exam

*Author's Note*

So many reviews and stones. Motivation Max! Here another chapter.

Chapter 19 The Final Exam

The boat that dropped off the participants returned after exactly one week. Someone on board used a megaphone loud enough for the entire island to hear to make an announcement.

[The fourth round of trials has come to an end. You have one hour to return to the starting point of the test. Those who do not make it back within the hour will be disqualified. Badges stolen from now on will not be counted. Those who break this rule will be disqualified from taking part in next year's exam.]

From their hidden grove, Rayleigh and the others happily got up and returned to the clearing of trees where the ship dropped them off. Rayleigh confirmed that the Badges had tracking devices in them when he went off on his own, and he confirmed that the option to physically head to the Tavern was not available. Thankfully, everyone loaded up on food at Trick Tower's cafeteria, so they didn't have to resort to hunting the wildlife and giving their hiding place away.

Those who passed the trial were instructed to wait for the blimp-copter to show up, while those who failed would be taking the boat to the nearest port. As a consolation prize, those who made it this far and failed would be given the instructions for how to personally reach next year's exam site so they wouldn't have to find a guide.

Those who passed the trial were Rayleigh's group of five, the dangerous feeling needle-faced guy, Hisoka, and Hanzo, for a total of eight.

The survivors who returned without passing included the two women in the group, the three brothers, a guy with a bow, the martial artist Rayleigh defeated, Tompa, and the guy with the monkey.

From the number of badges vs how many passed, only Hisoka and Kurapika had three badges rather than their assigned targets, so only twenty of the twenty-four badges were accounted for among the winners. The remainder of the badges, including Kurapika's target, were scattered among the surviving losers.

It didn't take too long for the blimp-copter to return and load everyone up. Rayleigh headed for the kitchen to stock up on supplies. He didn't think they'd spring two wilderness trials in a row, but it never hurt to have delicious food in your backpack, and the kitchen was free to use for participants.

Just as Rayleigh was finishing up, the blimp's onboard speakers sounded in every room.

[In a moment, you will each receive an invitation to speak with the President of the Hunter Association. When you are called, please come to the first reception room on the first floor. Candidate #44]

Rayleigh sped up a bit. His number was right after Hisoka's and likely to be called next. As if on cue, once Rayleigh finished packing up his munchies, he was called next.

Rayleigh made his way to the first floor and over to the reception room. It was empty when they explored it the first time they were here, but now the chairman sat on a pillow watching him enter the room.

"Welcome, sit please."

Rayleigh complied and asked, "How's it going?"

"Pretty good. There are usually several years between exams where first-time participants pass, but now we have seven new guys all passing at once! It's very exciting."

That meant that even needle-face was a first-time participant.

Rayleigh stated, "Feel free to expect more in the future. Especially from my age group."

The chairman nodded and said, "I have noticed that. I can't imagine what kids these days have been eating."

The subtext beneath that statement means that the Chairman was aware that the kids of some of the Hunters were geniuses. Perhaps they already had Hunter Licenses without the Exam. Still, he seemed completely nonchalant about it, which was good for the Players.

The chairman continued, "Before the fifth trial, I'd like to ask you some questions. First, above all, why do you want to become a Hunter?"

Rayleigh shrugged, "I want to get stronger, but apparently I can't learn how to use Aura without a License."

The chairman gave a quick smirk before nodding. "I see. Then, among the other seven candidates, which one seems the most promising?"

"Promising? Hmm. Honestly, it'd have to be Gon. Killua is stronger at the moment, but Gon's the type that just grows faster." Even without Metaknowledge, Rayleigh had Gon pegged as the main character. Not only did he get Hisoka as his target, he even found an unconventional way to succeed and wasn't killed in retaliation.

Netero smiled and said, "Hehe, I think so too. Alright, last question. Who do you want to fight the least?"

"Needle-face. Him and Hisoka, but at least I can get a read on Hisoka's character. I got nothing on Needle-face other than the fact that he's too dangerous."

Netero nodded once more and seemed to be writing a few things down. "Very good. You can go back now."

Rayleigh gave a small bow of respect and left.

On the way out, he saw Killua speaking with Hisoka. Killua looked like he was panicking, and when he saw Rayleigh, he asked hopefully, "Hey! There's not really going to be a test in there, right? There's no paper test waiting for us, right?"

Rayleigh could pretty much tell that Killua asked Hisoka what happened, and Hisoka was trolling him.

Rayleigh gave his friend a somber look and said, "I'm sorry. I can't tell you, that would be cheating. Good luck though." Rayleigh then gave Killua a comforting pat on the shoulder while the assassin slumped to the ground in despair.

Hisoka did not bother to hide his amusement. Rayleigh wasn't the type to lie, but he didn't exactly lie, just implied. This made Killua believe it all the more.

The announcement for Killua came from the speakers, and Rayleigh just decided to stand there and wait. Hisoka didn't actually leave but was waiting before a corner, not intending to miss the show.

Unsurprisingly, Killua emerged a few minutes later completely pissed off, "Dammit Ray!"

And thus Rayleigh collapsed into a fit of laughter and the suppressed chuckles of a deranged psychopath could be heard around the corner.

The blimp landed and everyone was released into a resort-like hotel they were given three days to relax and recover. On the third day, the president called everyone over to a large room with a stage and explained the details of the land round.

"The last trial will be in the form of one vs one duels. The matchings are as follows."

Round 1 [Rayleigh Vs Hanzo]

Round 2 [Kurapika Vs Hisoka]

Round 3 [R1L Vs Gon]

Round 4 [R3L Vs Killua]

Round 5 [R2L Vs Leorio]

Round 6 [R4L Vs Needle-Face]

Round 7 [R6L Vs R5L]

It certainly didn't look normal.

Once everyone was sufficiently confused, the Chairman explained, "Good. Now here are the rules in the last round. It's very simple. One victory and you pass the Exam. In other words, in the tournament, the winners quit the game one by one. Only the loser will continue fighting in the next round."

Hanzo asked, "So there will be only one loser?"

"Exactly! And everyone has at least two chances to win."

Leorio who was one of only two people with the minimum of two matches, asked through gritted teeth, "Why aren't the match-ups more balanced?!"

Netero's eye's twitched at being called out for such blatant favoritism, but he answered calmly, "That's a logical question. These groups were chosen using the results from your previous rounds. Simply put, those who did the best in the previous rounds have more chances to pass."

Killua looked over the match-ups again and calculated that he, along with Hisoka and Kurapika, only had three chances, just one better than Leorio and Needle-face. He wore a scowl and said, "I don't like it. Explain how you calculated the points."

Netero gave a flat answer of, "Impossible. Our method of counting must remain an absolute secret. However, I can still give you some explanation of our ways. First, the basis of the evaluation. They're based on three essential points. Strength, mind, and charisma. Strength takes into account speed, flexibility, toughness, and the use of the five senses. Mind is evaluated by fortitude, adaptability, appreciation, and creativity. Of course, I cannot tell you how these are all referenced. Charisma is difficult to quantify, but pertains to an essential quality that every Hunter possesses. The details for which come from the answers to the questions you gave me earlier."

Rayleigh wondered how much of that was BS the chairman made up on the spot and how much was BS he made up beforehand. Either way, he was in charge, and questioning him would not change the results.

Netero continued, "The fight rules are simple. Weapons are allowed, and you must push your opponent to give up the victory. However, killing is not permitted. If you kill someone, you will automatically be declared the designated loser, ending the exam."

An announcer called out, "On that note, let's begin the Final Round. First match, Hanzo Vs Rayleigh. I'll be the referee of the match, good luck."

Hanzo smirked at the ref and said, "You were the one who followed me during the 4th round, right?"

The ref asked, "You saw it?"

"Of course. Each candidate was followed by a Juror during this round. I couldn't have been the only one to have noticed it."

Ray nodded, "Yeah. Unless they were killed, everyone had a Hunter following them using the tracking device hidden in the badges."

Hanzo nodded and then smiled at the ref, "I should thank you then! If I was placed so well in the match-ups, it's thanks to the report you did on me!"

"Yes..."

"But there's something I want to make sure of."

"What?"

"The win condition is to make your opponent give up? So there's no knockout?"

"Yes."

Hanzo gave Rayleigh a hard look and said, "Well, do you want to give up now or later?" It was both intimidation and the beginning of a negotiation. Rayleigh was someone who talked down a sea monster, so a battle of words was certainly an option.

Rayleigh smirked and answered, "Well, if I gave up, I'd fight Gon next. And then the loser would fight Killua. We could do that... or, I could call in that debt you owe me for throwing you that badge." Unfortunately for Hanzo, negotiation was a specialty of the Jedi and Force-Trained in general.

Hanzo practically shouted, "What?! No fair! How can you call that kind of debt in now?!"

"It's perfectly reasonable. What I did helped you pass the fourth trial. Now you can pay me back by helping me pass the fifth."

Rayleigh then extended his lightsaber and carved a line through the stone floor. "If you decide not to honor your debt. I'll take what you owe with this. It completely cauterizes the wound, so no matter how many segments I slice your limbs into, or how many fingers and toes I separate from you, you won't die of blood loss. Is that worth it? Even if you pay me back, you still have more chances to win than anyone else. Make your decision."

The room went silent for a moment while Hanzo checked to see if Rayleigh was bluffing. He wasn't. The look in his eyes told Hanzo that it wouldn't be personal, it was just paying back a debt. What was worse was the absolute confidence he had in going through with it. This wasn't a bluff or even a threat. To Rayleigh, it was a statement of fact. Hanzo gritted his teeth for a moment before shouting, "Dammit! Fine! I give up! With this, we're even!" The risk really wasn't worth it.

Rayleigh nodded, "Good call," and disengaged his Lightsaber. This was the scene he saw through that shatterpoint when Rayleigh spotted that badge from one of the three brothers. If Rayleigh fought with everything in front of all these people, the Needle-face would see how strong he was. He didn't know why, but that would lead to a bad ending.

Rayleigh had no intention of leaving and sat down by the wall next to Killua. The latter said, "That was pretty sneaky. You knew this would happen, right?"

"It's only sneaky from a certain point of view."

Killua scoffed and smiled.

Rayleigh said, "If you get matched with Gon, you should challenge him to Rock-Paper-Scissors."

Killua considered it and nodded. As long as Gon agreed to it beforehand, he'd accept the result, and they wouldn't have to fight.

The announcer called out, "Second Match, Kurapika vs Hisoka.

Kurapika had a pair of short swords, and Hisoka had his playing cards out. The match started, and the two exchanged a number of blows. Hisoka was not going at his fastest speed and didn't have an ounce of killing intent. Still, minor cuts surfaced over the pair as the fight went on until eventually, Hisoka just stopped. Without any intent to attack, he seemed to whisper something to Kurapika before walking away and calling out, "I quit."

"The third match. Hanzo Vs Gon."

Killua and Rayleigh both let out a short sigh. Gon was not as good at gauging the strength of his opponent and still thought he had a chance. At the start of the match, Gon tried to outspeed Hanzo but the ninja vanished from view, took his back, and struck him in the back of the neck, knocking him out in one blow, while Ray and Killua winced.

Ray shook his head and asked Killua, "Can you match that speed?"

Hanzo was fast. It wasn't that he was that much faster than Killua or Rayleigh, but his legs were just longer and his strides took him further. In close combat, it wouldn't affect the fight, but in movement speed, he exceeded Rayleigh and Killua just because he was older and had higher physical limits than they did.

Killua answered, "No. But I'm stronger."

Rayleigh nodded. Among the three of them, Rayleigh felt he was a bit faster than Killua, but Killua had greater physical strength, since Rayleigh's weight training only revolved around speed, not strength. Gon on the other hand, was incredibly adaptable in combat, as any good Main Character should be.

Hanzo woke Gon up and tried to lecture him about how in over his head he was and to just give up. Gon refused, of course, but Hanzo was trained in torture tactics and had little choice but to use them.

Rayleigh said, "I can heal him if anything permanent happens. Even if he's missing a limb, I can heal it back to as good as new, so don't mind the fight."

There were consequences to using Dark Transfer, which could even heal the recently dead, but if Gon was stupid enough to take the fight that far, he'd be willing to pay whatever the cost of completely recovering would be. Ray only told this to Killua so he wouldn't be upset by the fight. He wouldn't use it unless Gon sustained permanent injuries.

It was a good thing he did, as Gon's beatdown continued for three full hours.

Leorio was losing it watching his friend get beaten to a pulp like that, but there was nothing he or Kurapika could do. If either stepped in, Gon would automatically lose and may not forgive them easily.

Gon stood up once more and tried to calm Leorio down, but Hanzo didn't appreciate the fact that Gon still thought he had a chance, so he locked him down and threatened to break his arm if he didn't quit. Gon refused and was met with the sound of a loud crack, followed by a scream of pain.

Gon almost passed out from the pain, and Hanzo started lecturing again, telling Gon he trained for eight years in the secret ninja arts and that he'd killed his first man when he was younger than Gon.

While Hanzo entered his own little world of lecture mode, Gon got up and kicked his face in, breaking his nose to the delight of the assembled candidates.

Gon winced as the torque from the kick sent a rush of pain through his arm, causing him to collapse back to the ground while complaining, "I don't believe it! The pain and your talking woke me up!"

With blood dripping down his nose, Hanzo said, "I let you kick me," though that statement was met with cries from Leorio of, "LIAR!"

Hanzo ignored the jeer and continued, "I will make this clearer. If you do not give up, I will cut off one of your legs. You won't be able to use it ever again." He pulled out a hidden blade from his arm and said, "When you see a fatal injury, you'll understand the fear of death. Final chance. Say I lose."

Killua looked back at Rayleigh who nodded that he could heal a severed leg, especially one cut through cleanly with a blade.

Against the threat of death after three straight hours of torture, Gon replied, "That's not good. I don't want you to cut my leg, but I don't want to lose. Let's fight another way."

After being completely stunned for a moment, Hanzo shouted, "WHAT?! Don't you understand the situation?!"

The remark was so out of left field, several observers had to stifle their laughter while others were completely dumbfounded.

Hanzo repeated, "You won't give up, huh? I'll cut off your leg! I'm serious!"

Gon countered, "That doesn't mean that I will say I lose. If you do that, I'll bleed to death." Gon turned to the Juror and asked, "In that case, he could lose, right?"

The juror shook off the stupid look on his face and answered, "Ah, yes. That's right."

Gon nodded and continued, "You see, that won't be good. Think about it. We should find another way."

Killua was one of the only ones not laughing. He softly asked, "Why? Nothing has changed. How did Gon turn things around in a few seconds?"

Rayleigh answered by giving his thoughts from earlier. "I'm fast, you're strong, and Gon is adaptable. If you or me fight someone faster and stronger, we don't have a great way to win, but Gon is more adaptable than Hanzo, which in this fight, gives him the advantage."

Killua mulled it over, but didn't completely get it. Adaptability wasn't as important to an assassin as strength and speed.

Hanzo raised his blade towards Gon's skull, where the tip caused a trail of blood to drip between Gon's eyes. Hanzo coldly stated, "You don't understand. If you die, everything is over. Nothing will stop you from coming back next year if you lose. But if you don't give up, I will kill you. We are not equals! Understand?!"

Gon didn't move. He just kept staring at Hanzo, waiting for them to figure out another way to fight.

Hanzo asked, "Why? It's just two words. You can just come back next year. Is this really more important than your life?!"

Gon stated, "I want to meet my father. I really think one day I'll meet him. But if I lose here, I think I won't be able to ever meet him. This is the reason why I won't go back on my decision."

Hanzo continued to try and determine if Gon was really willing to die rather than give up. He sighed, retracted his blade, turned around, and said, "I've lost."

As he walked away, Gon cried out, "No! Wait, we have to keep going. Let's find a way to continue this fight."

Hanzo grumbled, turned back towards Gon, and said, "Let me see if I understand. I've already given up, but you want us to keep fighting a match you refuse to give up until you find a way to beat me in a fight. Is that about right?"

Gon smiled and confidently exclaimed, "Yeah!"

Hanzo shouted, "IDIOT!" while uppercutting Gon hard enough to send him to the other side of the room, completely knocked out.

Doctors with stretchers came to take the victorious Hunter to get checked up. Rayleigh didn't interfere, as there was no permanent damage.

Rayleigh looked over at Killua and asked, "Do you think you can beat him in Rock-Paper-Scissors?"

Killua rolled his eyes. He doubted the fight would be the same. Ray and Gon both beat Hanzo through sheer, brutal, honesty. Ray wasn't bluffing when he said he'd cut off Hanzo's limbs and Gon wasn't bluffing when he basically said he'd rather die than lose. Honesty would not have that effect normally, but the trained interrogator knew they were not lying, which forced him to concede. Killua was not the type to give his life for a pointless fight, so there would not be a repeat performance.

"The fourth match. Killua Vs Hanzo."

Killua walked up to the area, but before taking a stance, he asked, "Why did you really give up? Gon doesn't have a laser sword, and you don't owe him anything. Someone in your position must have ways of making Gon give up. So why did you quit?"

Killua's question wasn't asked quietly, so everyone turned silent to hear the answer. Hanzo considered it for a few moments before explaining, "Well, when I torture people, I assume the fact that I will incite a feeling of hatred toward me. Even though it's not personal, it's just fairer that way. No matter who it is, once you've injured someone who is unable to fight back, there will always be a negative light of hatred in their eyes. Even with training, that light is impossible to hide. The thing is, I didn't see that in his eyes. You probably wouldn't believe it, but even after I had just broken his arm, there wasn't the slightest bit of hatred in his eyes. It was like he had already forgotten about it. And, well, I liked that. If you're looking for a reason for my defeat, that's it."

Rayleigh laughed to himself. Main Character Charisma strikes again.

Killua used his skin stretching trick to change the shape of his fingernails into claws and Hanzo pulled out his sword. The pair vanished from the sight of normal folk, and small trails of blood could occasionally be seen falling from the path of the numerous exchanges.

Hanzo was faster than Ray or Killua, but Killua was far more used to high-speed combat than Gon was, and his battle experience wasn't lacking compared to Hanzo's.

At one point, Killua's expression turned colder. His movements were sharper and more calculated. Hanzo seemed to be getting pushed back, and after a few more exchanges, he revealed an opening Killua could use to kill him.

Killua went for the kill, but at that moment, Hanzo said, "Should you really be aiming there?"

Killua shook himself out of his colder mentality, but doing so created a gap that Hanzo used to stab his sword through Killua's chest.

Everyone looked shocked, but Leorio shouted, "Killua! Don't move!"

Rayleigh recognized it too. Hanzo threaded his sword between Killua's esophagus and lungs. It was barely a flesh wound, but if the sword moved, it would become fatal.

Hanzo stated, "Sorry for tricking you. A Ninja has more of an advantage in a fight like this than an assassin. Do you give up?"

This gave away what had happened. When Killua changed his mentality, he acted like a perfect assassin. In a fight where killing your opponent means losing, Hanzo took advantage of this to create an opening he could use to leverage Killua's loss.

Killua was different from Gon and Rayleigh. He couldn't honestly tell someone he'd rather die than lose, especially since he didn't have that great an interest in being a Hunter in the first place.

Killua calmed himself down and said, "I give up."

Rayleigh walked up to the stage and said, "Keep the sword in."

Killua grabbed the blade to prevent it from being moved or removed. He trusted his friend.

Rayleigh walked behind Killua and used Force Healing and Dark Transfer. In the eyes of the Force, the wound appeared to be a large crack with thousands of tiny fissures from the point of entry. Rayleigh wanted to practice Dark Transfer on a small wound like this and felt this was a good chance.

"Ok, remove the sword."

Killua did so without flinching and Rayleigh called upon the Force to gently fill in the cracks and tiny fissures. The area was a luxury Hotel and didn't have anything wrong with the Force around, so using it to heal a tiny wound like this wouldn't have any detrimental effects.

Using Force Healing to prevent it from getting worse while using Dark Transfer to do the work of healing was a way around the fact that using Force Healing alone cost the life force of the Jedi using it. Rayleigh wouldn't use pure Force Healing when he had something better unless the area was badly polluted.

Once Rayleigh was done, Killua checked the inside of his shirt to confirm there wasn't even a scar. "Cool."

Rayleigh nodded. He was cool. Though he was still showing off, using a cool healing ability in front of others was very different from using a completely different combat system in a world where the primary system relied on Aura.

"The fifth Match. Leorio Vs Hisoka."

As Leorio walked up to the area, Hisoka asked, "How long can you keep up? I hope you don't give up too soon." He then gave what was certainly the most perverted, nightmare inducing smile anyone in that room had ever seen.

Leorio instinctively covered his ass out of fear and shouted, "I give! I give!"

Hisoka then gave a cheeky smile, but no one knew if he was being serious or not. There was certainly no one willing to test it out.

The sixth match started and Killua walked up to the stage to meet Needle-face.

The latter greeted him, "It has been some time, hasn't it, Killua."

Killua didn't recognize the man who clearly knew him, but the mystery was resolved when needle-face removed the needles from his face.

Once the last one was removed, his face contorted like clay, and his hair changed color to charcoal black. His face set itself into a completely different appearance from the one in which he'd taken the entire exam.

Killua was quite freaked out when his opponent's face started changing, but it almost looked like his heart stopped when he recognized the face his appearance had changed to.

"Illumi! My brother."

The no longer needle-faced Illumi spoke with a soft monotone and had lifeless black eyes. He asked, "Mother and Milluki told me you hit them. Is that true?"

It was only the first sentence, and Killua was nervously sweating. "You could say that."

Illumi continued, "Mother was crying. She was happy that you expressed yourself by breaking her face, but she was worried to see you leave. After thinking a lot, she called me."

That sentence made very little sense, yet gave valuable insight into the Zoldyck family dynamics.

He continued, "It's unexpected, she feared you'd like being a Hunter. To tell the truth, I wanted accreditation for my next work."

Killua explained, "I don't especially want to be a Hunter. I just wanted to try the Exam."

"That's reassuring. So I can talk to you openly. You won't become a Hunter. Because you are an Assassin. You are a puppet in the dark. You have no passion, nor desire. You feed on shadows, and you only gain pleasure from death."

Rayleigh wondered if he just found HK-47's soulmate.

Illumi asked, "You are just as Father and I made you. What were you expecting in becoming a Hunter?"

Killua looked like he was struggling not to stammer, but he answered, "It's not that I wanted to become a Hunter that led me here. There's something else I want."

Illumi countered, "No, there isn't anything here."

"Yes! There is!"

"Then tell me. What would you want?"

"Well?"

"I want... I want to be friends with Gon and Ray. I'm tired of killing. I just want to have friends. I want to have fun, just like a normal kid."

Illumi directly stated, "That's impossible. You can't make people be your friends. The only thought you have on other humans is knowing if you can or cannot kill them. Because that's what we taught you. You are impressed by those two, but you're not together because you are friends. If you stay close to them, one day you'll want to kill them, simply because you'll ask yourself if you are able to or not. Because you're a natural born killer."

Leorio was about to shout, but Rayleigh spoke up first. He asked "Is there something wrong with your head?"

Illumi turned to face Rayleigh who continued, "Killua isn't a copy of you. Just because that's how you see the world, doesn't mean you can impose your view on others. Gon and I are both Killua's friends, and nothing you say will change that."

Now that the needles were out and Illumi revealed himself, Rayleigh finally had a read on the guy. He was basically HK-47 and treated Killua as another droid of the same make and model.

Illumi responded with, "Eh? Really?" As Rayleigh predicted, such logic did not compute.

Illumi started thinking, "That bothers me. If you already consider yourself his friend... Then, I'll just have to kill you both."

The Judge stated, "Rayleigh is already a Hunter. If you attack him, you will be disqualified and Killua will be declared the winner and become a Hunter as well."

Illumi looked irritated at the logic and complained, "Damn it. If only I didn't need the License for my next job. Ah, I know. I'll just pass the exam, then I can kill them both. Even if I kill everyone here, my title cannot be taken back once I've won, can it?"

The president amiably answered, "No. There is no special rule like that."

Illumi said, "Hear that, Killua? If you don't win, you won't be able to save them. Will you fight for friendship?"

The sound of Rayleigh's Lightsaber ignited.

"Hey, Killua. Don't worry about us. If he thinks your friends are weak, I don't mind educating him."

Rayleigh then gently placed his hand on the ground, specifically on a shatterpoint he noticed in the stonework. He then used every ounce of his connection to the Force to flood the cracks.

In a single instant, the stone floor became a crater a meter deep, and the cracks extended throughout the entire room. The roof shook and the walls shuddered, showing that it wasn't just this room, but the foundation for the entire building that was affected.

Now Rayleigh understood why he couldn't allow others to see him fight Hanzo. Doing so would give Illumi a measure of his strength. He couldn't negotiate with him from a position of weakness, it was better to be an unknown quantity.

Hisoka looked interested, but a moment later remembered something and then seemed to stop caring. Rayleigh already told the Magician that he could break things that didn't dodge.

Killua smiled and said, "I give up. And if you don't hurt my friends, I'll give up on the final match too."

Illumi looked more than a little surprised. Killua was in a far weaker position, but was actually negotiating with him? That didn't make sense. He didn't understand what kind of effect Rayleigh was having on him because Killua getting influenced by others didn't compute.

He looked over at Leorio and asked Killua, "Is he your friend too?"

Leorio shouted, "Why not! Of course we can be friends!"

Illumi's eyes narrowed, and killing intent could be felt towards Leorio, but the latter's senses couldn't detect it. Rayleigh felt it was off. It was not that he wanted to kill Leorio, it was more like he wanted Killua to kill him, but felt he wouldn't be able to force him to do so.

Illumi said, "Very well."

Rayleigh tapped on the Mandalorian Melee Shield's activation switch an instant before three needles were thrown from Illumi's hands. Something about them reminded Rayleigh of the ball Netero used to block his Lightsaber, meaning they might not melt in contact with his blade. Still, it was fine. He couldn't stop their momentum with telekinesis, but he could nudge them from the side.

Before just about anyone else could react, everyone only saw three flickers of light leave Illumi's hands, and when everyone turned to see the unfortunate soul those lights targeted, they only saw Rayleigh sitting safely in his self-made crater. On the wall behind him were Illumi's three needles. All three missed, and Rayleigh seemed to be covered in a field of humming energy.

Killua was about to shout in protest but stopped when he saw Rayleigh sitting there unharmed.

Rayleigh got up and took a stance and asked, "Are you sure you want to do this? What kind of assassin kills someone without being paid? Are you certain you are the right person to be teaching Killua?"

Illumi's killing intent vanished, "Ah, you're right."

Rayleigh turned off his lightsaber and shield as if nothing happened. He didn't fear Illumi once he knew how the man worked. He'd spent years speaking with HK-47. How could he not know what makes him tick? Jedi were the best negotiators for a reason, and Rayleigh had successfully made himself an unknown quantity that Illumi could not accurately gauge the strength of.

Illumi said back to Killua, "Return home. I won't touch your friends."

Leorio shouted, "As if you can!"

Everyone in the know rolled their eyes. Killua shared a look with Rayleigh who nodded back with a confident smirk.

With Killua's voluntary surrender of the last match, Leorio became a Hunter and the Exam finally ended. But Rayleigh didn't believe for a moment that events were going to die down. No, things were just getting started.