Respective Reasons (それぞれの理由, Sorezore no Riyū) is the 7th chapter of the Hunter × Hunter manga, written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi.
Synopsis
The first stage of the marathon continues and Nicholas begins to huff and pant heavily and thoughts of defeat begin to run through his mind as he says to himself that it is impossible for him to lose this way. Sweating profusely and unable to keep up anymore, he drops his computer and tries to make a last-ditch attempt to burst forward. He runs into the middle of the Amori Brothers who had been staying behind to keep an eye on his performance and they begin to taunt him. Saying it has only been six hours and asking how someone like him had managed to get this far. As Nicholas finally gives in and stops running after having made it 80km they tell him he was the exam's most pathetic participant this year and rush forward.
As the Amoris catch up to Tonpa he commends them for their part in getting Nicholas to give up and hands them some money. Thanking him, they return the compliment and acknowledge Tonpa's skill at homing in on a person's weaknesses. The runners think to themselves how exceptional the newbies are during this year's exam and some of them had even begun to doubt that none of the newbies would drop out this year. As the tunnel begins to end they all look forward in interest as they notice a new addition of a long flight of stairs. Satotz says it is time to pick up the pace and starts striding forward quicker up the steps and the examinees begin their ascent after him. Geretta expects that they will lose some more of the newbies at this stretch.
Kurapika asks Leorio who has taken off shirt and coat and tied them around his waist, how he is holding up. Leorio, sweating profusely, responds that he found some extra energy after discarding his worry about his looks as he took off his top and focused on the running. Saying he is willing to go stark naked if needed Leorio rushes forward and says Kurapika can pretend he doesn't know him if he wants to which the boy responds that Leorio has a point as he takes off his tabard and continues to run forward.
Catching up to Leorio, Kurapika asks him if he is really aiming to become a Hunter solely for the money, as he says he has met people motivated only for money and that none of them showed the dedication that Leorio did. He huffs and says that Kurapika doesn't know a thing and the boy responds by telling him that the Kurta Clan were targetted because their eyes turned scarlet whenever they experienced intense emotion and if they died in that state then the eyes would stay that color forever which was highly valued. Going on to say that the eyes were taken from all the corpses of the Kurta Clan after the massacre, Kurapika says that he has sworn vengeance on the Phantom Troupe and wishes to retrieve the eyes of his fallen kinsmen.
Leorio says that the eyes would have been sold on the black market long ago to wealthy and powerful clients who normal people could never even get close to. Kurapika retorts that a Hunter under contract to a rich and powerful client can gain such access and that is his goal, Leorio is skeptical saying such Hunters are looked down upon but the young boy simply says his own pride doesn't compare to the suffering of his clan. Leorio goes quiet and then responds that he does not have such lofty ideals and that everything in life has a price. Kurapika rebukes him for this but Leorio responds that it is true and if his friend had gotten the price of his life perhaps he might have been alive today. Kurapika is shocked at this revelation and asks if his friend was sick and Leorio responds that he could have been saved but the cost of the surgery was incredibly high and he was unable to afford it. Saying he next aimed to become a doctor to cure anyone else with that same disease and then not charge a penny for it he says that the cost of medical education on its own was incredibly high and that he wanted money because it had always been the biggest obstacle for him as Kurapika looks on at him with a deeper understanding of his companion.
As Satotz reaches halfway up the steps, 37 examinees have dropped out, with Gon and Killua leading the pack. Gon notices this and mentions it to Killua who says that the others have fallen behind because of their slow pace which tires them out faster. Curious, Gon asks Killua why he wanted to be a Hunter and the boy responds that he didn't want to be one and only took the exam because he had heard it was difficult but so far had not found it to be so. Killua then asks Gon about his reason to be a Hunter and Gon replies by saying that he wanted to be one to follow in his father's footsteps and Killua asks what his father was like to which the boy responds that he does not know. Laughing, Killua says that Gon is weird and Gon continues to say that he had been raised by his aunt Mito and that he had only learned more about his father from another Hunter called Kite who was one of his father's students.
Kite had told him that his father Ging had many great achievements, such as discovering the ruins of the Lurka civilization, establishing a breeding program for Two-headed Wolves, excavating the Congo Gold Vein, and taking down the Kute Gang of Thieves among others. He had told him that his father was eligible to be a Triple-Star Hunter but had never bothered to apply for the rank. Impressed, Killua asks if his father was really that amazing and Gon responds that Kite believed so, saying the Hunter had been prouder of Ging than he was of his own self and that was why Gon wanted to emulate his father. Suddenly, the examinees note that they have finally reached the end of the steps and the exit shone before them like a bright light.
As they all reach the exit and come out of the tunnel and look out at the wide and vast Milsy Wetlands, also known as the "Swindler's Swamp" as Satotz tells them. He says to continue to follow him and to be on their guard as the swamp was inhabited by various sneaky creatures who would aim to devour them. He tells them that this is the next phase of the first leg of the exam and that if they are deceived they will die.
Characters in Order of Appearance
- Nicholas
- Amori
- Umori
- Imori
- Tonpa
- Cherry
- Todo
- Geretta
- Hanzo
- Ryu (Debut)
- Satotz
- Bourbon
- Leorio Paradinight
- Kurapika
- Pietro (Mentioned)
- Killua Zoldyck
- Gon Freecss
- Ging Freecss (Mentioned)
- Kite (Flashback)
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