Rebirth in HxH World With Gardevoir

Larry glanced at his number—403. It was the same number Leorio had in the original story. 'Looks like the three main characters hadn't arrived yet.' "Thanks, Beans." Larry gave him a small smile, casually waved, and walked forward at a relaxed pace.

Beans blinked in surprise. Only the president had ever called him that before. More importantly, out of over 400 examinees, Larry was the first and only person to thank him. Watching Larry walk away, Beans recalled something Netero had once said: "That kid is a pure one."

On the surface, Larry appeared calm and collected, but his mind was constantly analyzing his surroundings. The underground exam venue was vast, at least five or six stories high. Rows of red light bulbs lined the walls, casting an eerie glow over the space. The air was heavy, a mix of poor ventilation and the nervous tension of hundreds of candidates.

In Larry's eyes, nearly every examinee looked on edge. A tense silence filled the room, so quiet that even a pin drop would echo. One thing was certain—this wasn't just a test. It was a battlefield. The diversity of candidates was another reminder that this was the world of Hunter x Hunter.

Among the crowd, he spotted a woman wearing sunglasses despite being in a dimly lit underground tunnel, a martial artist in his fifties still chasing his dream, and a strange-looking man with needles sticking out of his head. The last one caught his attention—Illumi Zoldyck. His entire presence was unsettling. His face was void of emotion, and the eerie clicking sounds from his movements made him seem like a wind-up doll straight out of a horror story.

Larry decided not to pay him any more attention and instead found a quiet corner to lean against the wall, casually observing his surroundings. He had no intention of getting involved with anyone just yet. But trouble had other plans. Diagonally across from him, a peculiar man dressed like a circus clown had been watching him. He had long, slicked-back red-orange hair hair and strikingly sharp features. A star was painted on one cheek, a teardrop on the other. His sleeveless white top was adorned with red hearts and black club symbols, and a sash wrapped around his waist, emphasizing his slender figure.

There was no mistaking him—Hisoka Morow. A madman who thrived on battle. If you got caught in his game, there were usually only two outcomes: either you died, or you somehow managed to kill him first. He was known as "The Magician"—but among Hunter Exam applicants, he had earned a far more fitting title: "The Rogue Examiner." He wasn't here to pass the exam. He was here to hunt.

Whenever he found a promising examinee, he would mark them as unripe—a fruit not yet ready for harvest. Instead of crushing them immediately, he would let them grow, watching them ripen into the kind of opponent he truly craved. But once they reached their peak, once they were at their strongest, he would pluck them from the tree—a perfect kill, at their absolute best. And now, Hisoka's gaze was locked onto Larry.

A devious smile curled on his lips as he shuffled his deck of playing cards with dexterous fingers. Hisoka was bored. And Larry? To him, Larry was just another plaything. A fresh fruit, filled with potential. A perfect distraction.

A sinister pink aura burst forth from Hisoka, crashing toward Larry like a tidal wave. In an instant, the space around him distorted. Pink and black hues swirled, wrapping around him like a suffocating cloud of chewing gum. The air thickened, pressing down like an unseen weight, making it hard to breathe. The pressure was overwhelming. The killing intent was suffocating.

Larry's eyes darkened as he turned toward the source. Across the room, Hisoka met his gaze, still wearing that unsettling, fox-like smirk. Hisoka thought he had already won. What he didn't expect—was that this time, he had kicked a steel wall.

"Heh, are you making fun of me?" Larry's lips curled into a faint smirk. In that instant, a massive, menacing shadow loomed behind him—a beast-like presence so overwhelming that it felt suffocating.

Hisoka's golden eyes narrowed sharply. For a moment, the world around him shifted. The tunnel, the walls, the people—all disappeared. He found himself standing in an endless desert, surrounded by an ocean of golden sand.

ROAR!!

A towering steel-plated beast materialized in front of him, its crimson eyes gleaming with raw savagery. A tyrannical aura radiated from its body, pressing down on everything in its vicinity. It was a king of the desert, an undisputed ruler—undeniable and absolute. Hisoka's usual clown-like smile faltered. His pupils first shrank, then dilated as his body instinctively reacted to the crushing presence before him. His legs buckled. Without realizing it, he had already fallen to his knees. His body's natural defenses kicked in, and his aura flared wildly in an attempt to shield himself. But it was futile—his blood felt frozen, his energy sluggish, as if something was forcefully suppressing the very life inside him.

The beast's roar echoed in his soul, leaving an indelible mark. Every instinct in Hisoka's battle-hardened body screamed the same message:

Run. Run. Run.

But he couldn't move. Hisoka barely managed to squeeze out a word, his voice hoarse— "You…"

Larry's cold, piercing gaze locked onto him. "Do you want to die?" The pressure from Tyranitar—Larry's most fearsome beast—was suffocating. Hisoka couldn't respond. Not because he didn't want to. But because he physically couldn't.

A few tense moments passed before Larry finally reined in his aura, signaling Tyranitar to withdraw its killing intent. As soon as the oppressive force vanished, Hisoka gasped desperately for air, his chest heaving as if he'd just surfaced from drowning. Nobody around him understood what had just happened. Except for one person. Illumi, who had been casually tilting his head side to side with quiet 'click-click' sounds, paused for a moment. He cast a single glance at Hisoka—who was still trembling—and seemed to piece together what had just unfolded.

Hisoka, now somewhat recovered, looked up at Larry. For the first time in a long while, fear flickered in his eyes. Without a word, he stood and turned away, putting distance between himself and Larry. He had no intention of lingering any longer.

While Hisoka loved a good fight, he wasn't reckless. He assessed opponents carefully, grading them in his own way. And just now, Larry had completely shattered Hisoka's expectations. That wasn't a battle. It wasn't even a fight. It was one-sided dominance—something Hisoka despised, whether he was the one overwhelming his opponent or the one being overwhelmed.

At his current level, he had no chance of winning against Larry. So he left. But as he walked away, a strange thrill lingered beneath his shaken expression. His pale face, still recovering from the shock, was now slightly flushed. His pulse quickened—not from fear this time, but from something else entirely. Anticipation. Excitement. Hisoka's body trembled again. Not out of terror, but out of eagerness. No matter how far ahead Larry was right now, Hisoka would catch up one day. He would train, he would grow, and one day, he would fight Larry properly. That thought alone sent a rush through his veins.