"Someone Ron mentioned?" Killua murmured. "But…"
He frowned and continued, "Why would he say 'you two'? Gon, you never mentioned that I was with you. How would he even know we were together?"
"That's a good point," Gon said.
"And how does he know we came to Heaven's Arena in the first place? Did my dad tell him? Or maybe Cousin Ron? But if Cousin Ron did, he would have mentioned it to us…"
Sadaso's curiosity was clearly piqued. "A teacher from the Hunter Association?"
Killua explained, "Gon and I took the Hunter Exam before coming here. We both passed, and that's how we met. On our way here, I learned about Nen and tried asking Cousin Ron to teach us. But he refused and said the Hunter Association had already arranged someone to instruct us—apparently, someone better suited for the job."
After a short pause, Sadaso asked, "Is the Hunter Exam difficult?"
"It has a lot of stages," Killua replied. "It's hard to say whether it's difficult or not—maybe both. Hundreds of people take the exam, and usually only a handful pass. Honestly, this last exam had more successful candidates than usual."
Before the "official exam," there was a pre-selection phase that eliminated countless participants. Killua thought about his standing among those who passed. He was only in the middle if you considered people like Illumi, Hisoka, Ron, Chii, and Hanzo—who all surpassed him. Near the bottom was Pokkle.
Hearing that passing the exam would lead to formal Nen instruction from the Association left Sadaso feeling envious. He'd learned Nen the hard way, nearly dying in the process. If not for his prior mental resilience, he might have ended up like those traumatized "rookie killers."
"So your teacher is coming now?" Sadaso asked.
"Yeah," Gon said.
"In that case, let's go meet him outside," Sadaso suggested. "He might not find us here in this private room."
"Sure," Killua agreed.
The trio left the booth, and at that very moment, someone rushed into the café, breath coming in short gasps. Even with his skill, Wing was out of breath—he must have hurried at top speed. Instantly, he spotted Gon and Killua. Confirming their aura nodes were still closed, Wing exhaled in relief, but his gaze shifted warily to Sadaso.
Wing felt a surge of annoyance. He had carefully planned how he would teach Gon and Killua—using Zushi to arrange a casual encounter, then guiding them toward Nen in a subtle, step-by-step process without ever revealing his true identity as their official instructor. He'd intended to test them first, even though Chairman Netero had already given his approval. If they failed Wing's personal standards, he wouldn't teach them Shingen-ryu properly.
But now, Sadaso's sudden involvement had forced Wing to show his hand.
"Killua, Gon, I'm Wing. The Hunter Association sent me to be your teacher," he said.
Zushi, following Wing, peered curiously at the two boys.
"Hi. Could we see some proof?" Sadaso asked, sounding skeptical.
"Proof?" Wing repeated, caught off guard. Under his original plan, no one would have requested such a thing because he wouldn't have revealed he was their official instructor until much later.
Sadaso's expression grew cautious. "If you really are a teacher sent by the Hunter Association, you should have something to prove it. We need a reason to trust you. You're a Nen user—what if going off with you is too dangerous?"
Even if Gon and Killua were talented, a skilled Nen user could easily kill them.
Wing thought it over. "…Would a Hunter License suffice?"
Sadaso glanced at Killua and Gon. Killua shrugged. "When we passed the exam, the Chairman said every successful candidate gets a Hunter License. Some lose theirs afterward anyway, and they're not registered to an individual. Anyone can use a Hunter License if they find one, so it's not solid proof of identity."
Looking at Wing, Sadaso said, "So a Hunter License doesn't prove anything."
Wing fell silent for a moment. "Then I'll call the Chairman. You've met him, so you should recognize his voice."
He dialed a number, and once it connected, he held out the phone. "Chairman Netero can speak with you directly."
Sadaso took the phone, checked it briefly, then handed it to Killua. Killua and Gon listened together.
Netero's voice came through:
"Hello, Killua, Gon. Long time no see. Your caution does you credit. But Wing really is the teacher I arranged to show you Nen. He may look a bit scatterbrained, but he's a good instructor."
Gon, however, voiced another concern: "Chairman Netero, how do we know it's really you speaking? Voices can be faked."
He recalled the time at the Zoldyck Mansion when he tried calling the butlers and was warned that voices can be imitated.
"Ho-ho! You have a point," Netero replied with a hearty laugh. "Any solutions in mind?"
Netero's tone suggested he wasn't offended. He sounded amused, tossing the problem back to Killua and Gon.
Killua hesitated. "Chairman Netero…could you contact Cousin Ron first? He's also in Heaven's Arena, and I trust he can figure out some way to confirm things."