But okay, no need to panic. Any of the three strong guys behind me could easily—

Saiki Kusuo glanced back. Hisoka… was blocking the doorway?

The other two hadn't noticed anything happening here at all—because Hisoka was standing in the way, blocking their view!

Hisoka: [Well then, let's see how much my little pink-haired buddy has grown~]

…Saiki Kusuo gave Hisoka a deadpan look. At the same time, he moved left and right, avoiding every flying knife as if he knew exactly where they'd go. Each step was just right—nothing extra.

Hisoka: [Ah… such perfect calculation. That delicate body is being wasted. How should I raise him… gotta find the right moment…]

The spinning knives just kept coming. Saiki Kusuo frowned slightly. His teleport was still on cooldown. What now?

This guy was an examiner. But even though he was an examiner, he clearly had some kind of personal grudge with Hisoka. And he wasn't a first-time examiner either. The only reason he was attacking now was because he didn't realize Saiki wasn't Hisoka.

Saiki Kusuo took two more steps forward, dodging blades as he moved closer. He shouted a message straight into the man's head:

[I'm not Hisoka. Not even close. The real Hisoka is behind you!]

Examiner: "Huh?" So this guy wasn't…

Finally figured it out. Thank goodness. The one standing at the door behind me is the real deal.

[Then you must be working with Hisoka! He gave you the card, didn't he? He actually *cares* about you!]

Saiki Kusuo: ?

The man caught the four flying knives and suddenly lunged forward, locking Saiki Kusuo by the neck. The blades arched dangerously close to his throat.

"Hey, Hisoka! I've waited long enough!"

Okay but… what does catching Hisoka have to do with grabbing me?

At that moment, Illumi and Chrollo finally realized something strange was going on inside the room.

Hisoka, hands on hips, finally looked seriously at the examiner. His narrow eyes filled with confusion: "Who are you again?"

Knife examiner: [You seriously forgot who I am!?]

Saiki Kusuo: The blade's way too close—hey, the one at my waist is cutting into my coat.

[Kill them all. Every last one. Only their deaths can wash away my shame!]

This examiner… is seriously messed up. Saiki Kusuo looked at the reflection on the blade in front of him—it was aimed at the perfect angle to strike. In the reflection, he could even see the examiner's face in full-on murder mode.

From his thoughts, it was clear he didn't even register Saiki's existence anymore. All he saw in his head was Hisoka, surrounded by flying knives and blood.

Come on… if you really want me dead—

*Splat!* The knife examiner made his move.

[Huh?] Hisoka's eyes widened slightly. The knife meant for Saiki's throat did fall—but it landed on Saiki's wrist guard. But the other knife, the one at his waist, pierced through his coat. Blood quickly soaked the fabric.

Knife examiner: [How… is that possible?]

That's right—when the attacker stabbed at him, Saiki Kusuo wrapped an arm around his own waist, breaking two ribs and causing his waist to sink inward. Because of that, the knife went through the lab coat and stabbed into the examiner instead.

It hurt, sure—but the other guy was clearly in more pain and let go because of it. Saiki Kusuo crouched down and slipped away to the side.

Ugh, his lab coat was soaked in blood, and even his clothes got stained. Saiki Kusuo was clearly unhappy. Since he didn't want to show his powers in front of everyone, he couldn't fix the injury. That meant the blood would have to stay there until the exam ended.

Saiki Kusuo held his waist and reset the bones. Thankfully, his undershirt wasn't torn. Going three days without a shower would already be rough, and having to deal with dried blood on top of that would be even worse.

"Bang!"

What was that? Saiki Kusuo turned his head and saw Illumi, covered in needles, slamming the examiner's face into the ground.

[You dared to touch my little brother? You're dead.]

Even in this freaky Tatarara form, Illumi was giving off a terrifying vibe.

[Uh… Big bro, I'm fine. The blood isn't mine.]

Saiki Kusuo stopped using his power and opened his coat to show him. The knife had only pierced the outer layer—his undershirt was completely untouched.

The blood looked scary, and from the angle of the hit, any experienced fighter would assume it landed. That's why Illumi lost it.

"You've got some real talent for misdirection, huh, little pinky?"

Even Hisoka had sweat on his forehead. Illumi's killing intent was off the charts right now.

[Will Il-chan take it out on me? Maybe he'll want to fight... that would be fun.]

Hisoka really hoped that wasn't where this was going.

[Did I really misjudge it? That was too close. But how did he escape under that kind of threat? Couldn't he just take off the glasses?]

Chrollo.

There were plenty of ways, but only a few good ones. And turning to his petrification ability was the last thing Saiki Kusuo wanted to do.

Just as Saiki Kusuo was starting to relax, Illumi crouched down in front of him, turned him around, and pulled open the coat to check carefully.

Wait—don't tell me he noticed something weird?

[No wounds at all? The wrist guard blocked the neck… were his wrists hurt? Hmm? What's this wrist guard made of? Is it heavy?]

Illumi's inner thoughts.

So he was just worried. Saiki Kusuo sighed and let himself be inspected.

Hisoka chuckled nearby, "What a thoughtful big brother~"

Chrollo: [Wait, they're brothers? Genetically that checks out, I guess… but the taste? Man, it's almost as bad as Rebov's. Just barely.]

Please, whatever happens, don't let Rebov and Illumi meet. Hisoka's already ruined Illumi enough—we don't need it getting worse.

The chaos died down, and the exam moved on.

For some reason, probably because the bright blood on the white shirt really stood out, in the next stage, just as Saiki Kusuo was about to teleport again to dodge a trap, Illumi placed a hand on his shoulder.

*Click, click, click.*

[Don't use your powers so freely. If your ability has a cooldown, save it for when you really need it. Don't act reckless just because I'm here.]

Okay, but big bro… why do you think I can understand you?

Saiki Kusuo could only slowly walk around the patch of thorny vines on the ground, while the three people ahead of him just leapt ten meters at a time to get past it.

I could've done that too, you know. Seriously.

As he moved at a snail's pace, Saiki Kusuo used his clairvoyance to check on Alluka and found that the main group had once again been locked up in the punishment room.

He thought replacing Tonpa with Alluka would make things better—but it ended up just the same?

Huh, they're actually close to the goal already.

Even though their pace slowed a lot because of Saiki Kusuo, they still handled every problem instantly. In the end, they were the first to reach the goal.

There was food waiting at the finish line. The exam was three days long, and they had cleared it in just ten hours. The remaining time was going to be long and boring.

Saiki Kusuo calmly pulled out a book from his bag, and to his surprise, Chrollo held out his hand.

Chrollo: [You have more than one in there, right?]

Saiki Kusuo: …Sometimes I really wish I had a ring that blocked people from hearing my thoughts.

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