Hunter x Hunter: The Sunny Boy of Zoldyck's Family

The next day,

Balalil Airship Terminal.

"Dear passengers, please note.

The airship numbered FT2441, bound for Dentora in the Republic of Patokia, is about to take off. Passengers who have purchased tickets, please enter the gate and board the ship on time."

Hearing the announcement, Hiro stood up and said to Illumi, who had come to see him off:

"Xiao Yi, now that you have a good friend, are you really not going home with your brother?"

Faced with Hiro's teasing, Illumi pretended not to hear and went straight to the point:

"Brother, I need my hunter license for the next commission, so I'm going to take the Hunter Test. I have no plans to go home for now."

"I understand. Your elder brother has long been used to loneliness. Just spend some time with your best friend, and don't worry about me."

Hiro waved at Illumi — who wore the familiar expression that seemed to say "That's enough, big brother" — and also nodded to Hisoka, who was smiling faintly at him from a distance.

Then Hiro boarded the airship and began his journey home.

Sitting on the comfortable sofa in the VIP room, Hiro was not as focused on painting as he had been when he first came.

When the work is done and he finally has time to relax, Hiro always takes the opportunity to reflect — to review whether there were any areas that could have been improved, and to plan his next steps.

This habit was already deeply ingrained in his nature.

After a brief recap, Hiro felt that his luck had been pretty good this time: his newly acquired Nen ability, [Painter's Fear Model], turned out to be just right for the job.

Not only did he get a chance to practice his new ability, but he also helped Illumi solve his problem with ease.

Of course, even if luck hadn't been on his side, Hiro already had a Plan B — it would just have taken more time and energy.

He could have used [Sudden Inspiration] to plant psychological hints in each senior member of the Spiritual Practice Society, making them play out the so-called divine punishment on their own.

The only problem with that was, Hiro wasn't sure how effective psychological suggestion alone would have been in creating the terrifying hallucinatory torture effect that [Painter's Fear Model] delivered.

At the very least, though, it would have been enough to satisfy the client.

As for the success of the exhibition — that was inevitable. With his god-level painting skills, making money was a trivial matter.

But money had never been his main concern, so he didn't spend too much energy thinking about it.

Although the exhibition wouldn't end for another two days, Hiro felt that just appearing on the first day was enough. The rest he could safely leave to his agent, Colleen.

Hiro trusted this woman's business acumen — after all, she was a talent he had personally hired at a high salary.

From this perspective, though, the biggest gain from this trip was undoubtedly meeting Mizaistom Nana, one of the Twelve Zodiac of the Hunter Association.

With the connections of this Hunter Association big shot, many things would become much more convenient in the future.

After all, in the world of Hunters, the privileges and resources gained by becoming a licensed Hunter are enough to drive ordinary people crazy.

And as one of the top figures in the Hunter Association, Brother Ox surely had more privileges and resources than an ordinary licensed Hunter.

Being able to get to know such a big shot was definitely a great fortune.

The matter in Balaril had come to an end. It was already late December, so it was time to take part in the Hunter Exam.

From the moment he realized he had transmigrated into the world of Hunter × Hunter, Hiro had made up his mind — he had to participate in the 287th Hunter Exam.

Therefore, in the past few years,

Even though his life and work often felt inconvenient, he resisted the urge to take any earlier Hunter Exam.

Because he'd had no friends in his previous life, Hiro longed for the feeling of a group of close companions going on adventures into the unknown world together, just like the protagonist group.

Every time he heard the theme song "Good Morning", the atmosphere of friends facing the challenges of a brand-new day together would come to his mind, making him yearn for it even more.

Gon was cheerful and lively, always insisting on being himself.

Kurapika was cultured and strong, gentle on the surface but firm inside.

Leorio was kindhearted, aspiring to become a doctor.

These three could be said to be the most familiar "strangers" from Hiro's previous life. If he had the chance to meet them in this life, he absolutely couldn't miss it.

Hiro couldn't wait to join their adventure.

As for Killua, he was his adorable little brother who had been by his side for 13 years — they were so close already.

As his older brother, Hiro was determined to help Killua break free of his haze and do what he truly wanted.

Therefore, to achieve all this, participating in the 287th Hunter Exam was the most important first step.

Thinking of this, Hiro suddenly felt a little worried —

Would Killua, that little foodie, refuse to run away from home just because he couldn't bear to part with his cooking?

If he didn't run away from home soon, wouldn't that mean he couldn't take the 287th Hunter Exam?

That wouldn't do. It would be such a shame if Killua and Gon didn't meet and become friends.

In order to help his bratty little brother meet the light of his life,

Hiro made up his mind.

No matter whether Killua wanted to run away from home or not,

Once he got back, he'd find a way to trick him into taking the Hunter Exam!

...

The next day, Kukuru Mountain, Zoldyck Estate.

"Hiro, are you sure the Hunter Exam is really that fun?"

Killua asked curiously while skating around, a lollipop in his mouth.

Hiro, who was fishing in the mountain stream, nodded and replied seriously:

"Yes. Think about it — the exam content is decided by the examiners themselves every year, so there are lots of variables.

"And variables mean unknowns, which makes it more difficult and really tests the candidates' all-around abilities.

"You're recognized by the whole family as the number one genius after your eldest brother. Don't you want to test your own strength?

"Imagine — all the other candidates can't pass, but you succeed. Isn't that cool? Isn't that awesome? Wouldn't that be fun?

"And the most important thing is that you get to meet all sorts of people out there. They're not assassination targets — if you're lucky, you might even make friends with them."

After hearing what Hiro said, Killua landed cleanly from the air, grabbed his skateboard, sat down next to Hiro, and stared at the float bobbing on the water. After a long silence, he finally said:

"Hiro… I've actually wanted to go out and explore for a long time. But I'm just afraid Dad won't let me."

At that moment, the float suddenly moved —

The fish was hooked!

Without even looking at Killua, Hiro kept playing with the rod and said casually:

"Don't worry. I'll back you up and deal with Dad.

"As for Mom — no big deal. Just let me know when you leave, and I'll personally walk you to the door."

Seeing the time was right, Hiro gave the rod a sharp tug, and a fat, fresh fish was pulled ashore.

"It's settled then. Let's go. I'll go pack my bags."

Killua patted the dust off his pants and stood up.

He had only walked a few steps when he suddenly stopped, turned back, and looked at Hiro.

It was as if he wanted to say something, but he hesitated.

"Hey— what's with that look? Are you feeling touched by how good your big brother is to you, and now you want to thank me properly?

"Go ahead, your big brother is listening. It's been a long time since I've heard little Killua say 'thank you.'"

Seeing Hiro's expectant expression, Killua's cheeks flushed red. He quickly turned his head away:

"So annoying! I'm not thanking you. I just wanted to say… I've decided to eat lunch before leaving!

"You have to cook this fat fish for me. Hmph— as my parting gift to my big brother, it's… barely acceptable."