The endless running dragged into its fourth brutal hour.
The tunnel's air had grown thick like syrup.
Applicants panted, some staggered, others collapsed.
But Satotz never slowed.
He ran ahead, tireless — like a ghost.
The weak were falling behind fast.
---
Silent Tension
Noah kept pace easily, his chakra keeping his body in perfect flow.
Gon stayed close to him, breathing hard but smiling.
Kurapika stayed sharp and steady, reading the flow of the crowd.
Leorio cursed under his breath every few minutes, fighting through the pain.
But all of them felt it now.
The wrongness in the air.
Something dark was moving among them.
---
Hisoka's Hunt
Up ahead, the line of runners twisted through a wide open cavern.
There,
Hisoka finally struck.
Without a word,
he lashed out at the nearby applicants —
limbs twisting, cards slicing, bodies crumpling to the ground.
Blood splattered across the stones.
Applicants screamed and scattered.
Some tried to fight back — but they didn't even see his hands move before they collapsed.
A pure massacre.
---
Noah slowed slightly, shielding Gon and Kurapika instinctively with his body.
His Sharingan fully activated now — spinning in a slow, deadly circle.
He watched Hisoka's every movement, analyzing.
Precise. Ruthless. No wasted energy.
Hisoka wasn't just killing —
he was playing, like a cat with mice.
---
Protecting Friends
A desperate rookie tried to tackle Gon from behind in panic.
Before Gon could even react,
Noah flicked his fingers sharply.
Thunk!
A tiny compressed chakra needle, almost invisible, struck the attacker's knee —
causing him to collapse harmlessly into the dirt.
Gon blinked, unaware.
Noah stayed silent.
No need to tell him. Just keep moving.
Kurapika noticed though.
He gave Noah a small nod of thanks — silent respect between warriors.
---
Hisoka Notices
In the middle of the carnage,
Hisoka suddenly stopped —
turning his head slightly, like a wolf sniffing the air.
For a moment,
his golden eyes locked onto Noah.
Interest flickered across Hisoka's face.
A grin curled his lips.
You're different, Hisoka's gaze seemed to say.
Noah met his eyes calmly, no fear in his stare.
Not yet, Noah thought.
Save it for later.
Hisoka chuckled softly — and turned away, continuing his slaughter elsewhere.
---
Regrouping
Satotz never even looked back.
He simply called out:
"Applicants who can no longer run...
are no longer applicants."
The surviving contestants, pale and shaking, pushed forward, desperate to survive.
Noah, Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio stayed together —
moving steadily through the tunnel's twists and turns,
as blood and fear faded behind them.
But all of them understood one thing now:
The Hunter Exam was not a test of skill.
It was a test of life and death.