The bearded man's singing suddenly stopped, clearly having noticed someone behind him.
He wasn't annoyed. He cast a sideways glance at Kisho behind him.
"Kid, instead of staying in the cabin, how did you sneak over here?"
"The cabin's too crowded. I'm not used to it."
As he answered, Kisho walked in openly and without hesitation.
He sat down on the low cabinet near the door, curiously observing how the bearded man steered the ship.
The bearded man glanced back at him, the corner of his mouth curling up.
"Kid, you'd better hold on tight!"
Kisho: "...?"
In the next instant, a massive wave dozens of meters high crashed straight toward the ship.
"Take off—!"
With the bearded captain's shout, the entire ship flew into the air.
Kisho, who nearly flew up as well: "—Hey, this is a sailboat, not an airship!"
"Hahahahaha!"
After hearing Kisho's words, the bearded captain burst into hearty laughter.
At that moment, a sailor ran over and stood by the door.
"Captain, water's coming into the hold, and there's a crack in the mainsail. If we don't deal with it soon—"
Hearing the bad news, the bearded man merely responded calmly.
He turned to the sailor.
"Switch. You take the helm. I'll handle it."
The sailor answered cheerfully, stepped up to the wheel, and began steering while casually humming the same tune the bearded man had hummed earlier.
The entire cockpit was filled with an ease that had nothing to do with the current situation.
"What interesting fellows."
Kisho withdrew his gaze from the two of them.
"So this is a 'Hunter'?"
For some reason, Kisho suddenly felt excited.
The bearded man walked to the door but didn't go out immediately. He paused and looked at Kisho.
"Kid, aren't you scared?"
"Not at all. One look and I can tell you're an experienced captain. The ship won't capsize."
Kisho shrugged.
"Besides, in a situation like this, being scared wouldn't help anyway."
"Heh, hahahaha~"
The bearded captain laughed, a flash of light passing through his eyes.
"Kid, what's your name?"
"The name on my ID is Noah."
Kisho replied.
"But you can call me Kisho."
"Hmph, good. Kisho."
The bearded man reached out and ruffled Kisho's hair, then walked out of the cockpit.
"Come with me to check the cabin."
...
Inside the cabin.
The moment the bearded man pushed the door open, an extremely foul smell rushed out, only to be quickly carried away by the sea wind and rain pouring in.
Dozens of examinees were sprawled across the floor in disarray, their faces pale and sickly.
Some were even crying while muttering in low voices,
"I'm not taking the exam anymore. I want to go home…"
"What's with these guys? And they want to pass the Hunter Exam?"
The bearded man's gaze swept across the room, then he spoke with clear disdain.
He lifted a hand to adjust his hat and looked at Kisho beside him, as well as Kite standing in the corner.
"It seems in this batch, the only ones who won't have to go back where they came from are these two kids."
Thinking this, he called out,
"Hey, you over there— and Kisho, come here for a moment."
Hearing him, Kite walked over.
"Wait."
Kisho suddenly thought of something.
"Didn't that sailor just say there's water in the hold and a crack in the mainsail? Is it really fine to leave it like that?"
He didn't lower his voice deliberately. The surrounding examinees heard him, and despair immediately spread across their faces.
"What—?"
"Oh God, help!! I don't want to die here!"
Listening to the terrified screams rising one after another, the bearded man frowned at Kisho.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you? You little brat stirring up panic!"
Kisho stuck out his tongue.
"I didn't— I just wanted to ask if you needed help."
"No rush."
The bearded man turned around.
"Come with me first."
...
In the captain's cabin, the bearded captain and the three sailors behind him looked at Kite and Kisho.
"This year, only these two are qualified."
The bearded man muttered softly, then went straight to the point.
"What are your names? Why do you want to become Hunters?"
"My name is Noah."
Kisho didn't intend to hide anything and continued,
"I want to become a Hunter because there's a lot of information that only Hunters know. And also, I heard that once you become a Hunter, you can earn a lot of money."
"Kite."
After Kisho finished, Kite spoke.
He frowned slightly, as if considering his words for a moment before continuing.
"I want to become a Hunter to complete my teacher's final test."
"Oh?"
The bearded man lit his pipe and looked at Kite.
"And what is that final test?"
Kite raised his eyes slightly, looking at him with displeasure.
"Do I have to say that too?"
"Hehe~ This is my ship. On my ship, you listen to me."
The bearded captain smiled as he pulled a Hunter License from his pocket.
"In fact, you two should have already realized it. The Hunter Exam has already begun."
The bearded man revealed a sly smile.
"If you don't answer properly, I'll tell the Hunter Association to cancel your qualification to participate."
Kisho stared at the license in the bearded man's hand and thought to himself,
"As expected, he's an examiner from the Hunter Association."
"Alright. The final test my master left me is to 'find him.'"
Kisho suddenly felt something was off. He turned his head to look at Kite and frowned.
"Your master… is he hard to find?"
"Yes."
Kite nodded.
"He's also a Hunter, and he deliberately hid all information about himself and his whereabouts."
"If I don't have Hunter qualifications, it would be impossible for me to find him."
"Besides, many secret realms and ruins scattered around the world can only be entered by Hunters. So to complete the final test, I must obtain Hunter qualification."
"Hunter," "hard to find," "deliberately hiding his whereabouts"…
Kisho thought of someone— and certain things that person had said, like not coming back just because he was nearby, and teaching one or teaching two being the same.
He looked at Kite.
"Your master wouldn't happen to be Ging, would he?"
Upon hearing the name "Ging," Kite's expression changed instantly.
"How do you know? —Have you met him?"
Kisho, who had only mentioned it casually, widened his eyes as well.
"It really is?!"
He answered,
"I ran into him by coincidence on Whale Island and learned a bit from him."
Kite frowned.
"Whale Island…?"
The bearded captain chuckled, drawing both Kisho and Kite's attention.
"More than ten years ago, Ging also set out from Whale Island to take the Hunter Exam."
The bearded man showed a nostalgic expression.
"Back then, he was on this very ship."
He withdrew from his thoughts and looked at Kisho and Kite with a smile.
"No need to continue— you two pass."
...
On the deck.
Amid the violent storm, sailors without Nen couldn't complete the repairs. They could only stand beneath the mast in frustration.
Kite and Kisho exchanged a glance and nodded at the same time.
Kite took the repair tools from a conflicted-looking sailor, leaped a few times, and followed the ropes up to the crack in the mast.
Kisho followed closely, positioning himself on the other side of the crack.
Kite raised a hand and pressed down on the wooden plank.
Kisho pulled out long nails from his pocket and, through the plank, aligned them with the damaged section of the mast. Using the power of Nen, he drove the nails straight in.
—Though it was only a crude temporary fix, it was enough to withstand this storm.
He looked at Kite. The wind was too strong to speak, so he gave a thumbs-up.
Kite nodded lightly.
When the two leapt down from the mast back onto the deck, the sailors standing there gave them generous applause.
Kisho scratched his head.
"Hehe~"
Meanwhile, Kite turned slightly to look at the distant horizon, his gaze sharpening.
...
The storm gradually subsided, and the sun slowly rose.
The destination of the second pre-exam trial was close at hand.