DUELS ④

The spiky-haired man stands with arms crossed, declaring, "THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT IT, HE'S..." A close-up reveals his confident smile as the crowd labels him "A GAME MASTER!!" Nearby fighters mutter, "HM... THESE SLOBS, COMING TO GREED ISLAND WITH SUCH A HALF-ASSED CONVICTION...!" and "YEAH, THAT'S FINE." One man adds, "THE PROBLEM IS THAT GUY!!" while another says, "IN THAT CASE, IT'S OKAY, BUT..." Gon and a girl with a ponytail watch from the side. Gon asks, "BUT WHAT ABOUT THE SUMO MATCH?" The girl replies, "EVEN THOUGH, UP UNTIL NOW, HE WAS SAYING, 'SUMO'S ABSOLUTELY GOING TO BE MINE.'" The Game Master points and states, "YOU CAN EVEN PICK ONE FROM THAT BUNCH IN THE BACK THAT LOOK LIKE THEY'RE JUST HERE SO YOU COULD HAVE ENOUGH MEMBERS." A fighter answers, "I DON'T CARE WHICH ONE OF YOU GETS THE DEFAULT WIN!" Another voice asks, "HM? AH... OH WELL, YOU CAN HAVE THE WIN."

Four stern men glare forward in close-up portraits. In the next panel a tall figure in a vest declares to two smaller opponents, 'WELL THEN, YOU JUST GOT A DEFAULT WIN FOR SUMO.' One of the smaller fighters reacts with shock, 'HUH ? WHA-ME?' Nearby, Gon and Killua stand together; Gon says, 'WE'RE DOING WELL,' while Killua adds, 'WITH THIS WE HAVE FOUR WINS!' In a spacious indoor arena, several players including a large muscular man with topknots struggle in a group grapple while two onlookers watch from the sides. Close-ups follow: feet in distinctive shoes, a partial face, and the words 'FIGHTING WITH EIGHT PLAYERS APIECE...' A voice continues, 'WELL THEN, MY THEME IS...' The page ends on a dramatic splash of the spiky-haired man grinning confidently as he announces 'DODGE-BALL!!' with radiating speed lines.

The spiky-haired man stands with hands on hips and smiles as he calls out, 'EIGHT PLAYERS! CHOOSE YOUR MEMBERS.' Above him, Gon and Killua are shown mid-air with a surprised '!?'. Shattered rock-like shapes and motion lines fill the background. In a wide panel the spiky-haired man poses confidently in front of seven masked, numbered opponents wearing jerseys marked 1 through 7; the masked players stand ready with aggressive stances. At the bottom the spiky-haired man grins again while declaring, 'CAUSE THIS SIDE'S ALREADY DECIDED.' Beside him, a blond man with a star on his cheek and another man with light hair and a sweat drop look on silently.

The group debates the match rules. A spiky-haired man questions how wins and losses will be tallied if each person counts as a win. The bearded man confirms that the side with eight wins takes the match. He explains there is a system where Laser balances the books alone by defeating many small-fry opponents. The Fourteen Devils appear behind him, revealed as his Nen ability. Several players panic and refuse to fight, shouting they will return home or have no part in facing that guy.

The spiky-haired man explains the balls are regular ones and warns that a Nen-charged hit would be lethal. Players in the stands react with shock. The bearded man curses and tries to persuade others while some insist on leaving. Gon and the spiky-haired man discuss selecting only capable fighters. Gon states they must coax the unwilling onto the court. In the final exchange the spiky-haired man refuses to let only six capable fighters handle everything.

Gon shouts angrily at the spiky-haired man, "STOP KIDDING AROUND!" The man replies calmly, "Even though you're all by yourself?" He continues explaining, "Otherwise there's no meaning behind making you gather is people, right? During an eight-man duel, you have to properly do it with that amount of people." Gon hesitates, "If a game character says this kind of thing, we can't help it, but..." A close-up shows the man's serious face and a small speech bubble with dots. In the next panel the man states, "At least eleven counts have been confirmed. Homicidal, burglary, homicidal, rape." Gon reacts with shock, "!?" The man presses on, "What did that Bopobo guy do that was so bad you had to kill him? You were companions, right?!" From the side, Killua exclaims, "EH?!" The spiky-haired man declares firmly, "This is reality, here." Gon stares intensely. In the final panel the bearded man concludes, "This game is occurring in reality. Greed Island exists some-where in the real world."

The bearded man points at the spiky-haired man and declares, "He's a living human being. That guy-Laser- is a game master." Gon looks up in surprise. The bearded man adds, "He's one of the guys who created this game." In the background a group of players stands in a hallway while the spiky-haired man, now identified as Laser, explains, "Letting someone who believes that this is inside a game you enter and play hear that is a strict taboo. Bopobo broke that, so he was executed." The bearded man continues, "Under the condition of absolute obedience being hired by a pro-hunter isn't unheard of. Bopobo and the rest of that group are probably actually death-row convicts." Gon and Killua react with confusion, "Eh? Then... huh?" A black panel shows Gon alone with the words "The real world..." and "This is..." In the next scene Biscuit and Killua stand together; Biscuit says, "I hadn't even so much suspected it." Killua replies, "I hadn't noticed." The spiky-haired man, Laser, looks aside with a sweat drop, thinking, "damn... even though I had wanted to explain it."

Gon and Killua stare in surprise at the volleyball floating in the air. The spiky-haired man holds the ball and explains that even though this space is isolated from the outside world, it has not changed. He adds that this place is essentially the same as the game. Gon, looking shocked, realizes the implication and shouts, "ON GREED ISLAND?!" He wonders aloud if Jin could be here too. The spiky-haired man reacts with surprise, saying "JIN?" Gon confirms his identity with a cheerful "YEAH!" The man responds, "I SEE, SO YOU'RE GON."

A dramatic panel shows a figure leaping through the air with intense speed lines. The scarred spiky-haired man smiles and delivers a message: "IF YOU COME HOME... DON'T HOLD BACK... THAT'S WHAT I WAS TOLD.... BY YOUR DAD." Gon’s face shows shock and tears. A flashback sequence depicts several people fleeing in panic, one shouting "I'M GOIN' HOME! AIN'T NO WAY I'M DOIN' THAT!" while another cries "I CAN'T DO IT! I DON'T WANNA DIE!" and "H-HEY!" Killua watches with a tense, sweating expression.

The muscular man with the headband steps forward as the spiky-haired man and the bearded man stand nearby. A small figure lies on the ground. 'BUT THEN OUR MATCH WILL-' the headband man begins, but the spiky-haired man cuts in firmly. 'IT'S FINE, LET THEM GO.' The headband man looks shocked, eyes wide with surprise. 'IT'S FINE, TAKE THE PLACE OF THREE PEOPLE,' the spiky-haired man declares. 'NO OBJECTIONS, I ASSUME?' he asks the group. 'IT'S THE SAME AS WHAT YOU'RE DOING,' he adds to the bearded man. 'NOW IT'S EIGHT ON EIGHT,' the spiky-haired man states. 'NO PROB- LEM,' another man replies with a slight smirk. The numbered hats appear in a row: 7, 1, 5, 2, 3, 4, 6, each with a grinning face. At the bottom, Gon, Killua, the bearded man, another bearded fighter, a woman with a star on her cheek, Biscuit, a girl with pigtails, the spiky-haired man, and the goateed man all stand in a line, watching intently.

On a glowing court crackling with energy, players wearing numbered hats stand in position. Seven inside the court and seven outside prepare for the game. 'THIS GAME WILL START WITH SEVEN IN ONE OUT, SEVEN IN ONE OUTSIDE THE COURT, SEVEN INSIDE!!' a voice announces. 'I'LL EXPLAIN THE RULES NOW!' another voice declares. A team loses when none are left within the court. However, including the single person outside the court when they start, a player may be revived and come back in just once. When a player inside the court is hit with a ball thrown by an opponent, they are out and move to outside the court. The slicked-back haired man smiles confidently in the foreground as the players take their places around the central circle.

The instructor emphasizes a key rule while pointing forward. The ball goes over to the opponent's in-court side, so be careful. However, if the ball lands outside the court where there isn't at least one player, it is calling back and can be used at any time. As an extreme example, that means if you called back at the same time as the game starts, all eight players can play in the court. For instance, if a ball I throw hits enemy player A and rebounds, a cushion system is in effect for deciding if a ball hits. Exactly, someone confirms. Then if B catches the ball directly, A is also safe. Both A and B are out. And if it hits enemy player B, then player B falls to the floor. Then the one who is out is C. And directly if my team member player C hits the floor, but if a ball I throw hits enemy player A and rebounds, the cushion system applies again.

Killua asks if an outside court player hits someone, are they still out. The instructor replies that basically just either avoid or catch the ball. However, the only one who can come back inside is the one who calls back in the end. Number 0 appears as referee, stating he is Number 0 and will be acting as referee, pleased to meet you. Well then, let's start the match. A bearded man holds up a small creature, noting Gon team outside court, Goreinu's Nen beast. Laser team outside court, Number 1. Players take positions on the court. Ready, the throw-in will signal the start of the match.

A bright starburst erupts with the word GO! as a black-clad figure is hurled backward through the air. In the next panel Gon leaps high, arm extended, and spikes the volleyball with tremendous force, sending shock lines across the court. Killua watches from below with wide eyes and a startled expression. On the far side of the net the opposing team stands ready in formation. A large motion SFX rips across the bottom of the page. The spiky-haired man grips the ball, declaring a needless favor, while the bearded man beside him grins and offers to give the first serve.