(I'm back stronger than ever ^-^ Thank you all for your patience)
"What the hell is this black thread? Why is it harder than my claws?!"
Every family knows its own business. As a Magical Beast, the Kiriko was born with a physique far stronger than that of a human.
Even if its claws weren't quite as hard as steel, they weren't something ordinary swords could cut through.
But the fact was, faced with the "Armament Nen threads" Sean had flicked out, the creature had only resisted for a moment before losing a claw and being dragged straight onto the small boat.
Thud.
It landed face-first, falling flat like a dog eating dirt.
"Holy crap! That's a huge fox!" Leorio was startled, paddling the oars in his hands even faster. Traumatized by the pythons earlier, he couldn't handle giant creatures right now.
To the side, Kurapika glanced at him, patted his forehead speechlessly, and shifted his gaze to the Kiriko father. Remembering the wooden plank floating on the water earlier, he determined—this must undoubtedly be a Magical Beast.
'And a fox-shaped Magical Beast...' Kurapika narrowed his eyes, suddenly recalling that right after getting off the Sea God, Sean had asked Gon if he smelled a fox.
His heart shook, and he gained a clearer understanding of just how unfathomable Sean was.
The blond teenager quietly stole a glance at Sean, guessing that he might have predicted the appearance of the fox Magical Beast here before they even landed on the island.
He turned his head to look at Gon and said, "Gon, smell it carefully again."
"There should be three more foxes nearby."
Kurapika clearly remembered that Sean's previous prediction mentioned four of them.
"Eh? There are more?" Gon rubbed his nose and was about to sniff again when he was suddenly startled by a sharp shout.
"No need to smell! I'm the only one!" The Kiriko father climbed up from the boat in a wretched state.
He stared straight at Kurapika, shocked by the blond teenager's words.
'Damn it. These guys haven't even reached the cedar tree yet, and they've almost exposed my entire family's information. Could there be a mole among the examiners?'
'Did someone leak the information in advance?'
The Kiriko father was bewildered but eventually ruled out the possibility of cheating.
With Chairman Netero in the Hunter Association, no one would dare to risk universal condemnation.
'But... this is strange.'
'To be able to state the number of my entire family... unless one of these examinees has awakened a Nen ability related to prophecy!'
'Who could it be?'
The Kiriko's gaze swept over Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio one by one, finally locking onto Sean.
That strange black thread binding his ankle was being held in that person's hand. Who else could it be but him?
"Hey, big guy, let me go quickly. I am the navigator for this stage. If you dare treat me like this, aren't you afraid I won't take you to the exam site?" The Kiriko leaned close to Sean, baring its teeth.
"Eh?"
The trio was shocked, their eyes bulging out.
'Oh mother... The navigator? This is a huge misunderstanding. Beating up the navigator or examiner? Can we still participate in the Hunter Exam?'
Leorio and Kurapika looked at each other in dismay. The former coughed dryly and looked tentatively at Sean. "Cough, cough. Teacher Ben An, why don't you let him go first?"
"Let him go?"
Sean glanced at him expressionlessly. "Did you not hear him threatening me?"
Leorio fell silent.
His breath hitched, and he awkwardly shut his mouth.
"But... Uncle, he said he's the navigator..." Gon pulled quietly on Sean's sleeve. "What if he doesn't take us to the exam site?"
"What do you mean 'what if'?" The Kiriko father scanned the group, finally glared at Sean, and sneered coldly, "You few have already violated the exam rules. As the examiner for this stage, I have the right to announce—you are eliminated!"
"Huh? How can this be?"
'I haven't found my dad yet... I haven't become a doctor yet... I haven't avenged my clan yet...'
A bolt from the blue. They hadn't expected it to descend so suddenly. Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio looked as if they had lost their parents, completely stunned.
Seeing their dejected appearance, which looked like they were mourning a death, the Kiriko father smiled triumphantly. He felt incredibly satisfied.
Unfortunately... "Aren't you celebrating a bit too early?"
Spots of red chakra suddenly spread out from Sean's body. Sean spoke expressionlessly to Sage. "Tell Kurama that the magical beast I promised him has been caught."
[Yes!]
A familiar white glow extended outward, accompanied by the consciousness space. A suffocating pressure, along with the red spots, wove into a cloak of flames that covered Sean. Nine-Tails let out a loud shout of joy, "Yahoo!"
Then the void trembled and was violently torn apart by a massive claw. Kurama...
He grabbed the Kiriko father by the neck and lifted him up. "Sean, this is the shape-shifting Kiriko you mentioned? Just this thing?"
"Weak. Too weak. So weak I can't bear to look at it. It's simply a disgrace to my fox clan!"
The flame cloak took the shape of the Nine-Tails. Nine giant flame tails, a hundred meters long, swayed. The Kiriko father's eyes bulged, and he was dumbfounded on the spot.
"An... Ancestor?" The pressure originating from a superior bloodline acted directly on his soul. The Kiriko father's mind swayed; instead of being afraid, his eyes grew brighter and brighter. He was so excited that he forgot he was being choked. He stared straight at Nine-Tails and muttered, "Pure... too pure... I've never seen such pure blood. Yes, you must be the pinnacle of pure blood, the Ancestor of the fox clan..."
'Pure? Or stupid?' Nine-Tails glanced at Sean. "What nonsense is this guy spouting?"
Sean rolled his eyes at him. "Don't actually choke him to death."
He waved his hand, manipulating the flame cloak to release the Kiriko father.
The Kiriko father landed on the deck with a thud, suddenly sucking in fresh air. Then, with a whoosh, he executed a graceful and smooth sliding kneel, hugging Sean's thigh directly. "Great Ancestor Fox, I failed to recognize Mount Tai and offended you. Please punish me..."
'Huh? What ancestor? What punishment? Why... why the hell is he kneeling to Uncle Sean/Teacher Ben An?'
The trio, immersed in their depression, were bewildered again by the Kiriko father's sudden antics. Gon poked Leorio. "Hey, Leorio, isn't he the examiner? Why is he suddenly hugging Uncle's thigh?"
"How the hell should I know?!" Leorio glared grumpily at Gon, pushing up his sunglasses. The question marks popping out of his eyes were no fewer than those of a certain spiky-headed brat.
"There is no such thing as begging for mercy without reason in this world. Perhaps something happened..." Kurapika sat near the stern of the boat, forcing himself to focus. He looked deeply at Sean, and his tea-colored eyes slowly shifted toward a fiery red color. The Kurta Clan, a natural "Specialist" race. Once the Scarlet Eyes were activated, they could see things ordinary people couldn't, such as—Nen!
The blond teenager narrowed his eyes and looked. A Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, comparable to a small mountain, turned its head and grinned at him—
Kurapika's body shook instantly, and he uncontrollably fell backward, almost scared to death.
"Curiosity will only get you killed, young man."
Sensing the anomaly behind him, a leisurely voice drifted over. Sean glanced meaningfully at Kurapika, then kicked his leg, shaking off the Kiriko father. "Can you lead the way now?"
The Kiriko father didn't mind in the least. He scrambled up excitedly, patted his chest, and nodded hastily in assurance. "Please rest assured, Ancestor. I will definitely not let the Ancestor be late. It's getting late now, why don't we go to my place first to rest and reorganize before setting off..."
"My wife cooked—"
"Curry!" Sean interrupted the Kiriko father with a chop of his hand. "Cut the crap, lead the way."
"As expected of the Ancestor, this nose is sharp!" Mention of elimination was dropped entirely. The Kiriko father gave Sean a thumbs-up in admiration, turned around, and led Sean, Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio away from the lake, rushing toward the cedar tree at the top of the mountain.
Poor Gon and Leorio followed, confused and oblivious to what had happened, bracing themselves as they went. Before long, they saw the cedar tree the Red-nosed Captain had mentioned.
Under the cedar tree was the Kiriko family residence. Wisps of cooking smoke were faintly rising.
The Kiriko mother and her two children—a son and a daughter—were guarding the dining table, waiting.
"Why isn't Dad back yet?"
"The curry is going to get old..."
In the small wooden cabin built against the cedar tree, the Kiriko daughter watched the curry simmering in the pot, drooling wildly, gazing anxiously for the Kiriko father.
"You... wait a little longer." The Kiriko mother glared amusingly at her daughter, swatting away her unruly little hand. "Your dad went down the mountain to scout."
"He'll be back soon."
"Ah, but I'm hungry..." The Kiriko daughter slumped over, sprawling shamelessly on the table.
The Kiriko son, who was adding firewood to the side, looked dotingly at his sister and said to his mother, "Mom, let sister eat first."
"If she's full, she can act better, right?"
"You, don't let your dad hear that." The Kiriko mother slapped the back of her son's head and said seriously, "This isn't called acting, it's a mission."
"Our family can live peacefully here entirely because of this mission, which allows us to receive the protection of the Hunter Association."
"Otherwise... with our identity as Magical Beasts, it wouldn't be easy to survive in the human world..."
The Kiriko daughter pursed her lips. "I haven't seen humans being that amazing anyway."
"Just like those examinees, we spin them around in circles..."
"Don't talk nonsense... Hmm? Your dad is back!" The Kiriko mother's nose twitched; she smelled the Kiriko father's scent from several meters away.
"It seems he's not alone! There are a few examinees too!" The Kiriko son looked at his mother and sister, quickly wrapped the bandages around himself, and urged, "Mom, Sis, stop talking. Hurry up and get ready to act."
"Coming, coming."
The Kiriko mother immediately released her human form, reverting to her original form, and grabbed her daughter by the collar, lifting her up.
The Kiriko daughter stuck out her tongue, dabbed a little saliva, and wiped it on the corner of her eye, revealing a terrified expression. She glanced at her big brother out of the corner of her eye and couldn't help reminding him, "Brother, you're not lying down properly; half your butt is showing."
The Kiriko son blushed, quickly pulled at his pants, looked at the door with "despair," and waited quietly for the "audience" to arrive.
Creak. The wooden door was pushed open from the outside.
The family received the signal and was just about to start their performance—the Kiriko mother even bared her teeth—when suddenly they saw the Kiriko father walk in, contrary to normal behavior, in human form and limping!
They froze on the spot.
"Uh... Dad/Husband, why is it you?!"
The Kiriko family was confused. Shouldn't the examinees come to the door while you hide to the side?
Why did you come in first now, and why have you turned into a human?
You aren't following the pre-arranged script!
"Cough, cough... Why can't it be me?" The Kiriko father glared at his son and daughter and coughed dryly. "Why are you still standing there in a daze?!"
"Hurry over and pay your respects to the Ancestor and your uncles!"
???!!!
The Kiriko family: "..."
'What the hell, "Uncles"? The youngest one looks only about ten years old...'
'You want us, who are nearly a hundred years old combined, to call a ten-year-old kid "Uncle"? Dad, have you lost your mind?'
The Kiriko daughter and son looked at each other in dismay.
They stared blankly as Sean, Kurapika, Leorio, and Gon walked in casually.
Their brains crashed directly.
"How do we act next? I don't know how..."
The Kiriko daughter looked timidly at her dad, then looked helplessly at her big brother.
The Kiriko son's eyes suddenly narrowed. He pushed himself up from the ground, released his human form to return to his original state, and bared his teeth. "Act my ass!"
"Didn't you see the rope tied to Dad's leg?"
"He's been kidnapped!"
"Ah?"
The Kiriko mother and daughter quickly looked at the Kiriko father's ankle and found that there was indeed a black rope. They reacted immediately and got angry!
They all transformed into their fox forms and pressed toward Sean, Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio!
"It seems we aren't welcome here," Sean said with a faint smile, holding the Kiriko father.
Cold sweat instantly poured from the Kiriko father's forehead, impossible to wipe away. He hardened his face and roared straight at his wife and children, "Nonsense!"
"Who's been kidnapped?"
"I'm doing this voluntarily!"
"Can't you hear? Hurry up and change back to entertain the Ancestor and these uncles of yours?!"
The Kiriko family: "..."
Gon, Leorio: "..."
Kurapika remained silent.
Except for him, everyone looked down and saw... damn it, it seemed like their integrity had shattered!
'Screw this... can it really play out like this?'
"Dad, what are you afraid of?" The Kiriko son couldn't take it anymore. He glared at his father, hating that iron could not become steel. "We're all here; are you worried we can't save you? Mere humans..."
"Boom!"