Hunter x Hunter: Unleashed

Enjoying the comfort on board his airship and, in all reality, his second home, as well as the cooking of Marsha, who provides Auren, Neffi, Vanessa, and the newcomer Leroute with fresh meals, including some of the girls’ sorely missed rice dishes, the mood on board is quite good.

While working hard and staying in constant contact with the Hunters supervising the exam from the ground, Auren is quickly informed about the progress whenever something of note happens.

Unexpectedly, the first badge capture and knockout is done by Examinee No. 53, Pokkle, who manages to knock out a decently strong, yet arrogant, examinee named Kyu by shooting him with an arrow coated in a muscle-relaxing poison, earning him three points. Also, obeying the rules, he sticks a special tag on him, causing him to be picked up by the Hunter in charge of him.

Though, despite his success, thanks to Auren’s newly established rules, six points are not even close to enough to pass. The goal of ten points requires him to take out four more examinees or, more realistically and safely, gather four of the thirty tags hidden on the island, or take possession of the thirty tags Auren drops from his airship at irregular intervals.

Standing on top of the deck as his airship flies over the island, Auren can’t help but smile in satisfaction. Using Gyo, Auren looks down onto the island with curiosity.

Hehe! This is what I call an exam. Even from up above, I can see multiple people following the airship, desperate for the points.

This change I made makes it impossible to simply hunt one examinee and then hide. They have to be constantly aware of their surroundings.

I’ll only turn off their scanners for six to eight hours every night... and sometimes I’ll just turn them back on in the middle of the night.

This will be a dreadfully difficult exam. Seven days of pure stress and constant worrying about ambushes. In addition to that, to get ten points, constant effort is required.

And even after all of that... those points can still be stolen, giving examinees the chance to turn everything around in one shot by stealing points close to the end of the exam.

Even those eliminated with the special tags and barred from participating for a day still have a shot at passing.

As time passes, Auren finally gets a call from one of the temp Hunters.

“Examiner Auren,” one of them says, sounding worried. “Examinee No. 301, Gittarackur, was attacked by Examinee No. 80, Siper, who tried to shoot him down with her sniper rifle. However, it looks like he used some sort of object as a throwing weapon, leaving Examinee No. 80 in critical condition. Afterwards, he just took the tag and left.”

“Is Examinee No. 80 alive? Are you in charge of her?” Auren asks.

“Yes to both,” the Hunter replies immediately.

“Good, then rescue her and bring her to the small camp at the landing zone. Give me an update once you can assess her condition. If it’s critical and you can’t make progress with normal means, call me,” Auren replies.

“Understood!” the Hunter replies.

Just an hour later, the same Hunter calls again. “Examinee No. 80 is awake. It seems her shoulder is fractured from the impact of the object, which appears to be a thick needle. Aside from that, she’s just tired and has lost some blood. It looks like her injuries might only be temporary. However, I’ve disqualified her from the exam, as she wouldn’t have been able to continue without help.”

“Good job,” Auren replies, satisfied with the response.

Looks like Illumi respects me enough not to outright go against my wishes. He made a wise decision.

“Examiner Auren...” Auren hears another Hunter report. “Examinee No. 405, Gon, is training with a fishing rod he brought with him. He seems to have gone insane.”

“Who is his target?” Auren wonders.

It couldn’t be... that coincidence would be too remarkable.

“Examinee No. 44... Hisoka,” the Hunter replies.

How come these things keep happening, as I remember... I’m quite sure these things are exactly the same. How can that be? Surely with all the differences and changes... that’s quite unrealistic. Is this... fate? No... I can’t be silly. Whatever, it does not matter.

“Well... if he wants to steal that tag, desperate training seems like the only choice. The decision to go after the three points his tag is worth instead of the other opportunities for points is another matter entirely. Let him be. It’s your job to observe, not to give advice,” Auren orders.

Auren then hears various reports about the progressing exam. Examinee No. 16, Tonpa, teaming up with Examinee No. 118, Sommy, who tamed an ape as his pet and helper, deceives and ambushes Examinee No. 403, Leorio, who manages to defend himself but still gets his tag stolen, only for Examinee No. 404, Kurapika, to ambush the ambushers, allowing both of them to take Tonpa and Sommy out. Following that, they team up.

Throwing tags from his airship, Neffi, Vanessa, and even Leroute each decide to throw them down at random times and in random locations.

Some fall directly beneath the ship, while others are tossed a little farther away, so examinees who are not confident or capable enough to directly compete with those chasing after the airship still have a chance to get at least some tags.

Overall, Auren is astounded as nearly all of his tags are picked up within minutes.

That’s thirty guaranteed points... I didn’t expect that. Maybe with my adjustments, more and not fewer people will qualify?

Auren, Neffi, and Vanessa also drop other supplies, like energy bars, bottles of water, and other high-calorie drinks, as well as basic items like blankets and pillows.

Because they have less time for survival-related tasks and need to constantly search for and chase after more points, it’s only fair that I grant them that much. It also deepens the battles and keeps them from being just about points, but about various resources as well. After a few days, these supplies could make the difference between a tired and malnourished fighter and someone who is energized and ready to fight.

Listening to the various reports, the events over the next week almost all happen the way Auren expects and vaguely remembers them.

Much like Auren remembers, Gon, despite all the changes and differences, succeeds in stealing Hisoka’s tags, but in return gets both his own and Hisoka’s tag stolen by someone who had been stalking him, much like Gon himself had been stalking Hisoka.

However, because of the slightly changed contest rules, the defeated fighters of Hisoka, like Examinee No. 281, Agon, and the non-licensed Hunter using poisoned darts, Examinee No. 384, Gereta, who stole Gon’s and Hisoka’s tags, are not killed, but only heavily wounded and left unable to continue.

Feeling no surprise or shock when the Hunters inform him about those events, including the fact that Hisoka, for some reason, returns Gon’s tags and then knocks him out when he shows defiance, Auren remains firm in his position as an examiner, choosing not to interfere.

Another examinee, No. 89, Shishito, actually dies in a direct confrontation against Examinee No. 246, Ponzu, who uses her bees to sting him, only for him to feign losing consciousness and then try to ambush her with a hidden knife. In the end, Ponzu, partly by accident and obviously in self-defense, redirects his attack towards his own throat, killing him in the process.

Auren, of course, lets that slide, as it is completely within the rules, even his own limited ones.

Instead of resting, even after successfully hunting their targets, everyone keeps going, as a total of 10 points is required to pass.

Examinee No. 99, Killua, expertly defeats the Amori brothers and, unlike how Auren remembers it, keeps their tags, a total of eight, most likely allowing him to pass.

Examinee No. 294, Hanzo, watching from the shadows, is tailed by one of the Hunters, who reports earlier that his target noticed him but ultimately ignored his presence, and then decides to intervene, confronting Killua directly.

This is new... it’s because of my new rules. Apart from lacking any Nen skills, Hanzo is capable enough to easily see through the Temp Hunter in charge of him. That’s at least somewhat impressive.

Still... I can’t interfere... Hanzo might be slightly more experienced and maybe a little stronger, but Killua is still far deadlier, with highly dangerous and unpredictable techniques.

If... he would fight... but can he do that with his current... limitations?

However, to Auren’s surprise, the Hunter reports that Killua, instead of fighting, flees after just exchanging a few moves with Hanzo, having realized his opponent's skill.

The chase continues for many hours, with Killua finally getting cornered near the cliffs at the edge of the northern part of the island.

“What is the update on No. 99 and No. 294’s fight?” Auren asks, slightly worried, but also curious about further developments.

“The... fight is over!” the Hunter reports. “It’s... a draw. It seems they’ve come to some sort of agreement. It looks like No. 99 handed over two tags. Since one of the Amori brothers was his target and he took a total of eight tags from them, he can afford to hand over up to three and still pass.”

That’s... interesting. He traded with his enemy. It’s a smart choice... but not the one I expected.

As Auren carefully oversees the exam, taking only short breaks for food, during which he consumes large amounts of the special rice, as well as the occasional nap he’s allowing himself, he constantly uses Gyo or En to train his Nen abilities and observes the exam at the same time.

A week of spectating turns into one of pure Nen training, with Auren using every opportunity to improve his skills, using any opportunity for growth available to him.

Meanwhile, Neffi and Vanessa sometimes assist him, keep watch over the exam when he takes a break, and chat with him from time to time.

They also both help Leroute, who is slowly awakening her Nen abilities. Vanessa, with Neffi’s help, since she did not walk this path herself, is guiding her in opening her Aura nodes through meditation, allowing her to make quick progress on the way to achieving Ten.

After a few days of recovery, Gon gets back up and meets up with Leorio and Kurapika, and, to Auren’s surprise, with Killua as well. Together, they decide to gather more of the tags hidden on the island, eventually targeting the snake tamer Bourbon and escaping his lair together with Ponzu, who had been trapped inside.

As time passes, more and more fights happen directly beneath the airship; some of the examinees, still lacking points, grow more and more restless and resort to desperate gambles, seeing no other solution than to take on heavy risks. 

Hisoka and Illumi both act independently, ruthlessly exposing the examinee's desperation as they easily spot them chasing after the airship, and each takes out one of them, earning multiple tags at once, allowing them to pass rather easily.

In the end, the week passes, with Auren spectating carefully, his information about the points not being fully complete, as even the Hunters following the examinees are not able to know every last detail. However, the scanner shows multiple people with a large number of badges.

As his airship lands at the familiar landing site, he already sees the large Association airship in the distance.

Giving commands, Auren uses the speakers on board the ship to loudly announce, “You have one hour to return to the landing point. Anyone not here will automatically fail. Once you arrive at the landing site, you are neither Hunter nor Target! Any attempt at a last-minute trick or deception once you arrive at the Landing point will result in disqualification.”

Now... I wonder who passed?

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!