February 2nd.
In the Republic of Padokea, Dentora Region, at the entrance of the Dead Volcano—the Kukuroo Mountain Range.
The so-called "Gatekeepers" of the Zoldyck family, Zebro and Seaquant, a pair of middle-aged men—one fat, one thin—stood watching two eager teenagers in front of them.
One of the teenagers had just recovered from an arm injury, his hair spiky and wild—Gon.
The other looked far more mature, almost like a working professional, carrying a briefcase—Leorio.
About twenty days ago, after obtaining their Hunter Licenses, they had come straight to Kukuroo Mountain, hoping to meet Killua. But the massive gate before them had blocked their way.
This enormous gate, as tall as a fortress wall, was known as the "Gate of Limbo" or the "Testing Gate." It consisted of seven nested doors stacked on top of each other.
The first and smallest door alone weighed four tons. Opening the second added up to eight tons, the third sixteen tons, and so on, doubling with each level.
If they wanted to visit Killua as guests, they had to push open at least the first door—meaning they needed to move a total of four tons.
At that time, Gon's arm was still wrapped in bandages. He and Leorio, using only three hands between them, gave it their all but failed miserably in front of the Gate of Limbo.
Afterward, they learned more details from Zebro, one of the gatekeepers.
If they tried to enter by any other means—scaling the walls or unlocking the side door with a key—they would be attacked by the giant guard dog, Mike and torn to pieces.
They had already seen Mike with their own eyes and knew just how terrifying he was.
Gon and Leorio, left with no other choice, decided to accept the rules of the Zoldyck family and enter properly through the "Testing Gate."
For the next twenty days, they underwent special training under Zebro's guidance.
Gon, true to his potential as a future Enhancement-type Nen user, recovered from his hand injury in just ten days—his healing ability was downright monstrous.
Finally, today, Gon and Leorio challenged the "Testing Gate" once again.
"They look pretty confident, huh?" Seaquant muttered lazily, a lit cigarette hanging from his mouth, his half-lidded eyes as lifeless as ever.
He had opposed Zebro's decision to train Gon and Leorio from the start.
Later, he claimed he didn't care whether they succeeded or not, throwing in a few sarcastic remarks before walking away. But in reality, he had been watching them closely the entire time.
Now, at this crucial moment, he stood by the "Testing Gate," silently witnessing the scene.
Zebro squinted, leaving only a thin slit of his eyes visible, while absentmindedly rubbing the mole under his nose. With a smile, he said:
"I think they just might pull it off. After all, they're Young Master Killua's friends."
"Heh." Seaquant scoffed but said nothing more, choosing instead to observe quietly.
Zebro and Seaquant stood on the inside of the "Testing Gate," waiting to see what Gon and Leorio would do from the outside.
Gon was the first to push the gate.
He exerted all his strength and managed to push open the first door. However, instead of stepping inside, he let go and backed away.
The moment he released his grip, the door quickly swung shut again.
Seeing Gon push open the first door, Zebro smiled knowingly, as if he had expected this outcome all along. Even Seaquant seemed slightly impressed.
Outside the "Testing Gate," Gon cheered excitedly and hugged Leorio in celebration.
Because as long as he could push the door open, it meant he had succeeded—the past few days of training hadn't been in vain.
The reason he didn't enter the Testing Gate immediately was because he wanted to go in together with Leorio.
Leorio then stepped forward, handed his briefcase to Gon, and took off his shirt, revealing his lean upper body.
Summoning all his strength, veins bulging, he pushed with everything he had. With a deep rumble, he forced the second door open.
Both Zebro and Seaquant were visibly shocked.
Even though Leorio had ten more days of training than Gon, the fact that he managed to push open the second door was beyond their expectations.
After all, even young master Killua could only push open three doors at this stage.
This time, Gon followed Leorio past the Testing Gate. The moment they stepped inside, they spread their arms wide and ran toward each other, embracing in excitement.
Seeing the two drenched in sweat, celebrating their success, Zebro chuckled heartily.
"Incredible. They managed to push open the Testing Gate in just twenty days. And Leorio even got through the second door."
"So what?" Seaquant flicked the cigarette from his fingers, throwing cold water on the moment. "They still have to pass the Gatekeeper if they want to reach the mansion."
At the mention of Canary, the apprentice butler, both of them felt a chill run down their spines.
Seaquant knew better than anyone just how strong Canary was. Back then, he and his comrades had all been defeated by her—when she was only ten years old.
After learning what it truly meant to be "out of his league," Seaquant was given the title of Gatekeeper in name, but in reality, he was just the caretaker of Mike, the guard dog.
Zebro's expression grew serious. "You're right… Gon and Leorio still have a lot of challenges ahead of them."
"Even if they manage to get past Canary, there's still Gotoh and the others…"
Before his words even finished, a deep rumbling sound echoed again from the direction of the already closed "Testing Gate."
Huh?
Surprised, Zebro and Seaquant, along with the now-alert Gon and Leorio, all turned toward the gate.
Someone else is pushing open the "Testing Gate"?
And—it's actually opening!
Before they could see who was doing it, their instincts made them start counting how many doors were being pushed open.
One… two… three…
Hmm…
Four… five…
Wait, what?!
Six… seven?!
Zebro and Seaquant almost thought their eyes were playing tricks on them. They rubbed their eyes, then counted again.
This time, they were absolutely sure—seven doors had been pushed open. The two exchanged shocked glances.
When was the last time all seven doors were opened? Usually, only Maha, Zeno, or Silva Zoldyck could manage such a feat.
But… they were all at the Zoldyck estate on Kukuroo Mountain right now.
Could it be… Chairman Netero?
Gon and Leorio were just as stunned. They had struggled to push open even the first and second doors.
Yet someone had just casually pushed open all seven?! It was unbelievable. How was that even possible?
All four of them turned their gaze toward the man who had done it.
He looked young—definitely not Netero.
The man was dressed in a black Hunter robe, wearing a triangular hat. He walked forward slowly.
Seeing the four people inside staring at him in complete shock, the man—Germain—paused in place, furrowed his brows, and reflected for a moment. Then, he finally spoke.
"I remember that the rule of the Zoldyck family is that as long as you push open the 'Testing Gate,' you can enter directly. Has the rule changed?"
Zebro quickly recognized the visitor. "Ger... Germain, sir?! What brings you here?"
He and Seaquant still remembered that Lord Silva had specifically instructed them—if Mr. Germain arrived, they must treat him with the utmost hospitality and immediately inform the mansion.
This meant that, just like Chairman Netero, Mr. Germain was an honored guest of the Zoldyck family!
"Did I do something wrong?" Germain pointed at the now-closed gate that had rebounded shut. "If necessary, I can wait outside."
He wasn't someone who disregarded etiquette and had great respect for the Zoldyck family's traditions.
"No, no, no!" Zebro quickly waved his hands, sounding a little flustered. "You did nothing wrong! Everything is perfectly reasonable!"
Germain nodded thoughtfully and then said,
"That's a relief. I told my companions about this, and they all seemed quite interested in pushing open the 'Testing Gate'..."
Before he could even finish speaking, they heard a "Heave-ho!" from Shizuku as she pushed open the massive gate once more with a loud rumble and strode inside.
Adjusting her glasses, she turned back to look at the gate, which had rebounded shut again, and started counting with her fingers.
"One, two, three, four, five, six... Hmm, one less than you. What a shame."
She patted her right hand against the bicep of her left arm and said to Germain with a blank expression, "I'm not in top form today."
"Hmm, yeah, you're not in top form today," Germain nodded, acknowledging her statement.
Zebro swallowed nervously, Seaquant's cigarette fell straight to the ground, and Gon and Leorio, who were huddled together, looked as if they had turned to stone.
But it was clear that things weren't over yet.
********
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