No good...
I've got nothing.
That two billion reward per spider is attractive,
but finding them will be impossible.
Yeah...
Hey, we could ask for concrete information on the Net.
Like about the Troupe's current location.
We could offer a large reward.
Hold on...
We don't have the money for that.
It'll be fine.
Very x Sharp x Eye
Gon and his friends are pursuing the Phantom Troupe,
and have now obtained the money
to buy the information they need.
That's crazy...
You actually have money.
Man, you really pawned your Hunter License?
You're insane.
So, what should we do first?
Let's start by purchasing a Southernbees catalog.
Here is this year's Southernbees auction catalog.
Thanks.
There it is!
Greed Island !
Seven total copies on sale...
The minimum starting bid is 8.9 billion.
Just as expected.
Now we wait for the information to come in.
First, we catch one of the spiders and make them tell us where
the rest are hiding, so that we can bag them all!
Huh?
What's wrong, Gon?
This is...
Oh, a Ben's knife.
A Ben's knife?
A hundred years ago, a mass murderer designed it.
He was a famous blacksmith.
This is one of his original works.
It's a lesser-known piece that a lot of rabid collectors are after.
So, you recognized it.
No, I didn't.
Huh?
It happened to catch my eye, so I got curious
and I used Gyo.
That's when I noticed a faint aura on it.
Gyo ?
A form of Nen.
Basically, you look really hard at something.
You're right.
Let me have a look.
Nope, I don't see a thing.
You will, once you spend more time training in Ren.
Right! There's another way!
Another way?
Another way to make money.
Remember how four-eyes mentioned that
really talented people use Nen without even realizing it themselves?
Four-eyes?
Wing-san.
He taught us Nen.
If we search for items with aura on them, like this knife,
it's likely some genius made them.
I get it!
We can find hidden gems
with no formal appraisal training.
Then we auction the items at a higher price!
If you guys want that, write down your price.
Customers are supposed to name their own prices?
Yeah, that's how this market works.
You write down what you're willing to pay,
and when time expires, the highest bidder wins the item.
Understand? Popular items
will see their prices shoot up.
I get it now.
Well, then let's get started.
I'll check the online forums.
Okay!
This is a weird pot, but I detect aura...
Someone already bid!
If a bid has already been placed, enter one that's 2.5 times higher.
Even if you end up bidding too high, you'll succeed in discouraging any rivals.
500 multiplied by 2.5...
Let's see...
It's the same person!
Same on your side?
I found a couple items,
but both had bids already placed by "Zepile."
And after I entered a bid 2.5 times higher,
he multiplied that by 4.
Then it isn't a coincidence?
No.
What should we do?
Keep placing bids until the deadline.
There are two of us, so we'll win some!
Okay.
So ultimately, we won three and lost one.
Yeah, he got that weird pot.
Well, that wasn't too bad.
Let's take these to the auction house now.
I am very sorry.
But the auction house cannot accept any additional items,
once the catalog has been published.
Isn't there any way?
We really want to auction these.
I suggest that you give the trade market a try.
The trade market?
The trade market...
Professionals will be here, so if one of these is genuine, we should get a great price.
I wanted to sell these at the auction, though.
How much do you think we'll get?
Let's find out.
Oh, you found these in your cellar?
Yep!
Dad said to sell them if the price was right.
These are wonderful pieces.
Only fifty copies were printed, and yours has
a single-digit serial number.
And an authentic autograph.
We know.
That's where the aura was coming from.
I'd guess it's worth at least 150,000.
This antique doll is also excellent...
It's in great shape,
and the pristine condition of both box and doll raises the value.
I'm estimating 300,000.
However,
this one isn't worth much, unfortunately.
Huh?
The box and statue are from different periods.
The box was made recently.
The statue is rough and doesn't adhere to any theme.
I'd say it's only worth 1,500 Jenny.
But there is a little aura...
However, that would be its appraisal as an artwork.
The wood itself is quite valuable.
So I'll make you an offer.
If you sell me the painting and doll for 420,000,
I'll buy the wood for 80,000.
A total of 500,000?
What do you think?
Feel free to think it over.
But I doubt anyone will quote you a better price.
In the meantime, let me check this wood's age.
Wait!
Put down that statue.
Wh-Who are you?
Don't let him scam you, kid.
He's offering a fair price for the painting and doll,
but he's lying about the statue!
I-I never lied!
Really?
No collector would pay 80,000 for that wood.
You're interested in
the contents of that statue!
It's a wooden trove.
A wooden trove?
Three hundred years ago,
these were a popular way for the wealthy to hide their money.
To hide their money...
If it's real, there should be valuables inside.
You planned to steal the contents, while pretending to check its age!
I-I would never do that...
Wait.
Can you prove that this is a genuine wooden trove?
What?
The wood is certainly over three hundred years old.
But that only tells us the material's age.
The statue itself could be modern.
This technique is known as hoodwinking, boys.
Technique?
He's referring to a counterfeiter trying to trick a professional appraiser.
But that isn't what I'm doing.
Here's a seam that an amateur
would never recognize.
The seam contains an adhesive
used back in that period.
You're insisting this is a real wooden trove?
Yeah.
But it is possible that it was opened once to swap out its contents,
and the statue was reassembled.
We'd call that a dud.
It's called double-dipping,
placing new adhesive on top of the old to create a dud.
But only an amateur would try that.
A professional would melt the adhesive with a flame,
before resealing it.
That way, it would appear as though the statue had never been opened.
That's known as welding.
It hasn't been welded.
If fire were used, the wood would be scarred or the adhesive would have discolored.
Even the pros have a hard time weighing those details.
I can't trust you.
I'm a pro appraiser!
I swear by my eyes...
This is a real wooden trove!
It's never been opened,
and the treasure inside hasn't been swapped out!
Okay,
let's assume that this is a genuine wooden trove.
If the contents have been swapped out,
what would you do?
I'll be your slave for the rest of my life.
Give up.
Wow! Awesome!
Oh, so you're Zepile.
Thanks, Zepile-san.
You don't need to thank me.
Consider it give and take.
Twenty percent sounds fair.
Huh?
My cut when you sell the treasure.
What?
You're going to rob us?!
That's uncalled for.
It's my fee for providing advice.
I don't see a problem.
He helped us back there.
Now, look here...
We need to collect as much Jenny as we possibly can.
I might be willing to buy him lunch.
Really?
Then I'll settle for that.
Huh?
So, Zepile-san...
Hmm?
I feel bad, so we'll pay you a fee.
There you go again!
Nah, it really is okay.
In return, just tell me something.
What tipped you off to bid on these items?
Is it okay to tell him the truth?
Well, it beats paying him.
I see, Nen aura...
If you're telling the truth,
that explains why you bought the statue,
not realizing something was hidden inside.
So, why do you need money so badly?
We can answer that question, but not for free.
Afterwards, you have to answer our question.
Sure, that's fine.
There's an item we want to buy at the auction.
That's why we need money.
Oh, which item are you interested in?
It's our turn now.
You estimated that this treasure was worth 300 million, right?
Could we receive that much at the trade market?
At the trade market?
They mainly deal in hard cash...
If you show up abruptly, you won't get a fair price.
What?
Seriously?
Now it's my turn.
I'll repeat the question.
Which item do you want?
A game called Greed Island.
Oh, that ridiculously expensive game?
How much is that weird pot that you bought worth?
Huh? This?
It's garbage.
Nothing at all.
Why do you want that expensive game?
I believe it costs 6 billion?
The asking price is 8.9 billion.
We're looking for his dad.
That game has a clue inside.
Oh...
Why did you choose that pot?
If you knew the wooden trove was real,
shouldn't you have bid on the more valuable item?
But you went for the pot.
Why?
You see...
I made this pot.
Huh?
But it wasn't an original creation.
It was a replica.
In other words, a counterfeit.
When I was destitute, this was how I made Jenny.
Once I became an appraiser and began earning money,
I quit doing that.
When I see how poorly these are made,
I feel mortified!
So I browse the markets and buy them back.
How much would a real one cost?
It's my turn.
What does your dad do?
He's a pro Hunter.
How much would a real one cost?!
Forty to fifty thousand.
Is that so? A pro Hunter, huh?
There are a few in the antiques world,
and not one of them is ordinary.
Won't it be impossible for you two to find him alone?
It'll be fine. I'm a pro Hunter, too.
Huh? Seriously?
Okay, your turn to ask a question.
Okay, this is my final question.
Can I help you with anything?
Huh?
If you want to make money at an auction, you'll need an appraiser.
You could even say that with an appraiser,
you can always turn a profit.
You can set the price you want to pay me.
How's that?
Then you have to answer our last question.
Why do you want to help us?
Because it made me happy...
It made me happy that this piece of junk
actually caught your eye.
It's not a piece of junk!
It definitely holds your Nen.
Everyone has some aura...
But it's incredibly difficult to harness!
You must concentrate and train for a very long time.
I can tell how much effort you put into making that pot!
You have a lot of talent!
I still think it's a weird pot, though.
My eyes didn't deceive me.
When you appraise objects long enough,
you also become a good judge of character.
I look at the sellers and the buyers too, not just the merchandise.
It's a lot harder to appraise humans
than it is to appraise antiques.
When I saw you, I knew right away...
That I wanted to work with you.
That's my answer.
What's yours?
Looking forward to it.
We'll decide your fee after we see how you do.
Okay! With that settled...
But first...
Huh?
Teach me those techniques
you talked about earlier.
You're interested?
Yep!
Hoodwinking, double-dipping, welding...
What else is there?
Seriously...
That isn't important at all!
But they sound fun! Like magic tricks!
We're not here to have fun!
Now I understand why this kid interests me.
He doesn't care about right or wrong.
When I admitted to making forgeries
and when that trader gave me a hard time...
He didn't react with accusatory glares
or by plotting his own evil deeds.
His reaction was very simple.
Innocent curiosity!
He opens his mind to everything that impresses him, right or wrong.
Which means that he's dangerous...
Someone who can never truly be appraised.
Welding is the hardest technique to see through.
But recently, a new technique has surfaced.
It's known as exposing.
You plainly reveal the opened statue
along with a fake treasure.
Because people assume
that you wouldn't open the statue if the treasure were fake,
you can fool them.
But now this technique is getting old.
When people started to get suspicious, a new technique emerged.
Can you guess what it is?
I know.
The treasure inside is also fake!
Wrong!
I know!
Remove the treasure from a different place!
Bingo!
You can create a new opening and remove the treasure,
then insert the fake treasure and seal the hole.
This is known as side-stepping.
Side-stepping...
Many veteran appraisers have been fooled.
They assume the statue is real if the adhesive hasn't changed color
from the application of fire.
That's how they fool the pros.
You live in an incredible world.
Hello?
What? A spider?
Yeah, this looks real.
There's a video attached.
We have two targets.
A man and a woman.
I'll leave now, so let's meet there.
Got it.
Let's go, Killua.
Yeah.
Hey! What about the auction?
We'll let you handle it!
Try to get us a good price!
Huh?
Okay! I've got it covered!
Gon and Killua have learned about a whole new world.
And they are about to make contact with the Phantom Troupe.
Brush Your Teeth. Unripe Fruit
Gon and Killua's Hunterpedia
Coming up, we have Gon
and Killua's
Hunterpedia!
It's Gon
and Killua's
Hunterpedia!
Gon and Killua's Hunterpedia
Today, we introduce Shizuku.
A Phantom Troupe member.
A member of the Phantom Troupe.
She can conjure the vacuum cleaner Blinky.
Conjurer who uses a conjured vacuum named Blinky.
But it can't suck up anything alive.
Its capacity is immeasurable!
Where do you go if you're sucked in?
No one knows.
Next Time: Pursuit x And x Analysis.
Right or left?
Right.
Do we go after the man or the woman?
The woman.
Should I use red or blue?
You can decide that for yourself!