Sky-High Chatter

"Quick, Black Wolf! Catch up to them! We've almost got that brat!" Baines shouted urgently.

Soon, they reached the Triple Rashomon in their pursuit.

"Hmph!"

Ron snorted coldly. Without another word, his burly frame leaped into the air, and he threw a heavy punch.

The enormous gate was pulverized by the blow.

"Brat, you won't get away this time!"

A savage grin spread across Ron's face. They still had plenty of "ammunition" in their satchels, more than enough to stop that bizarre vehicle of theirs!

But no sooner had he finished speaking than he froze, his head snapping up toward the sky!

"Hey, Ron, what are you waiting for?"

Baines hurried over to his side. Seeing Ron standing there in a daze, he couldn't help speaking up.

"What's that..."

Ron raised a thick arm and pointed unsteadily, looking slightly stunned.

"Who has time to worry about that nonsense right now... Wait, what's that?!"

Baines spoke impatiently, about to retort, but when he looked in the direction Ron was pointing, he too froze in a daze.

"Th-that's the brat... He... they flew away?!"

Baines couldn't help crying out in shock.

Sensing his Nen master's anxiety, Black Wolf hurriedly barked at the plane climbing into the sky. "Woof, woof!"

"Hey, stupid dog, what are you barking at?! Watch me smash that dog head of yours!"

On the plane, Uvogin heard the noise and glanced down. His lips curled into a grin, and a mischievous urge seized him. He hurriedly rummaged through his belongings.

Two seats behind him, the usually taciturn Franklin promptly handed him a palm-sized stone, a guileless smile on his face.

Nobody knew why he was carrying something like that in his pocket.

"Haha, this stone's perfect!"

Uvogin quickly took it.

Sandwiched between the two of them, Nobunaga watched their exchange with dead eyes. He... was a little afraid of heights, but he was even more speechless at their behavior!

"How boring..."

Seeing what Uvogin and Franklin were doing, Feitan, sitting in the very back of the plane, held his head and grumbled.

"Here it goes!"

Uvogin paid him no mind. He gathered his Nen and hurled the stone downward with all his might!

The next moment, Feitan, Nobunaga, and Franklin looked just like curious kittens watching the fun as they hurriedly leaned over the side of the plane and peered down.

How about it? Will it hit?!

"Awooo!"

"Woof woof woof woof!!!"

Black Wolf's furious curses suddenly rang out from below, and Uvogin and the others on the plane clutched their stomachs with laughter.

There were many things in this world that could leave people awestruck.

Soaring through the sky was undoubtedly one of them.

"Vroom... vroom..."

The stone plane's propeller wasn't very loud, but to everyone sitting in its single row of seats, it sounded wonderful.

The young Chrollo's face had also lost a trace of its usual maturity and composure.

He leaned over the side of the plane and looked down, his eyes filled with profound astonishment. He closed his eyes, savoring the wondrous sensation of his body slowly leaving the earth behind.

He had always loved books and knowledge.

Everything before him stirred him and gave him a genuine desire for a Nen Ability.

But more than any of that, what concerned him was the boy piloting the plane at the front—Ian.

What kind of person could accomplish something like this?

All along the way,

Ian had solved one problem after another.

He was clearly only about Chrollo's age, yet he had already displayed talent that could no longer be described as merely "outstanding."

Chrollo knew very well that he was already among the most gifted of his peers.

He was confident of that much.

But in Ian's presence, he was utterly outclassed.

His expression dimmed somewhat, not because he was jealous of Ian, but because he was thinking that if... he had met Ian earlier, perhaps the tragedies of the past wouldn't have happened...

If Ian could have heard his thoughts,

he probably would have served Chrollo a dose of cynical advice on the spot: "All the misfortune in this world is caused by the people involved not being capable enough..."

In the middle of the plane, Pakunoda rested her cheek lightly on her hand, her gaze somewhat distant.

They had spent the whole journey fleeing in tension.

Now that things had suddenly become peaceful, she wasn't quite used to it.

Even though she had grown up in a chaotic place like Meteor City, everything they had experienced along the way had been strange enough.

She had tasted food she'd never tried before, seen scenery other than deserts and mountains of garbage, watched important figures she'd never seen before get toyed with by her group, and now, she was actually flying through the sky.

They had relied on that boy all along the way.

At that thought, she couldn't help sneaking a glance at the boy in front. But... when her eyes fell on the purple-haired girl staring intently at his back, her gaze dimmed slightly.

"I can finally breathe easy!"

Ian slowly let out a breath and leaned back, relaxing a little.

Piloting this hypnotized stone plane wasn't complicated. It was a creation brought about by the "power of belief" to begin with.

Otherwise, who knew how a few rocks had somehow joined together and taken flight?

It didn't follow science!

"Thanks for all your hard work, Ian!"

Behind him, Machi knew they had made it this far thanks to Ian. For some reason, her heart ached especially for the boy before her, and she couldn't help speaking up.

"Yeah... it was pretty tiring. If someone could massage my shoulders, I think I'd feel a lot better."

As soon as the words left his mouth, a pair of slender, fair hands landed on his shoulders and began kneading them, clumsily but with great care.

Ian had only been joking, but once Machi started massaging him, he found he couldn't refuse.

All that running had been exhausting, at least for him, since he had rarely faced hardship!

"Phew..."

Almost in the blink of an eye, Ian tilted his head back and began to snore.

Machi was momentarily stunned. Then her pretty face went pale. They were still flying in the sky!

She hurriedly shook Ian and said anxiously,

"Hey, you can't sleep, Ian! We're still up in the sky!"

"Ha! Scared you, didn't I? I'm not asleep!"

Ian suddenly opened his eyes, winked at Machi, and laughed loudly.

Machi's pretty face reddened slightly, and she gave him a few light pats. But her small hands soon returned to his shoulders, gently massaging them.

Ian grinned, enjoying Machi's thoughtfulness.

He turned his head to look down. The plane was about a thousand meters up, and the scenery below already looked tiny.

He could still just make out Ron and the others.

But they could never catch up to them now.

"It's a shame we couldn't get revenge for Uvogin this time!"

"That guy Ron—we'll definitely deal with him when we come back. He really went too far!"

Not only had he beaten Uvogin, he'd chased them like rabbits!

Ian had made a note of that humiliation in his little book. Sooner or later, he'd make Ron pay!

"Mm, we'll have a chance," Machi said behind him, nodding her head.

"Forget it. Once we get to Ejin City, let's settle down first. Give it a little more time, and everything will work out!"

Ian believed that as long as he had a little more time and signed in for enough items from the 4D Pocket, he wouldn't have anything to fear!

Meteor City elders? So what?

Meruem? So what?

The V5? So what?

The Dark Continent? So what?

They could all get out of his way! The Dark Continent would be his backyard someday. He'd come and go as he pleased, and he'd see who dared stop him!!

"Oh, right, which way do we fly to get to Ejin City?" Ian suddenly asked, taken aback.