Master Inventor from Hunter x Hunter - Part 2

"Even the most famous Phantom Troupe guys are still just little brats."

Mog shook his head, setting those thoughts aside for now. Whether time came early or late, he had to look after himself first.

The top priority was filling his stomach.

"I need to find someone else who's hungry too, someone who'll come to me and issue a [Commission] or [Request]. That way I can get an invention related to food..."

Well, that kind of person was everywhere in Meteor City.

Most people were running around for food.

But then~~~ how many of them could actually be trusted to issue [Commissions] and [Requests] to him?

Mog felt that might be even harder than snatching food straight from their hands.

"A bit troublesome..."

Mog furrowed his brow.

And right then~~~

A sudden commotion erupted outside his door, cutting off his train of thought.

"What's going on?"

He got up, walked to the door, and cracked it open a sliver.

Before he could even see what was happening, a furious roar rang out from outside:

"You bastards, daring to steal on my turf—you've got some nerve~!!"

On top of a hill made of piled-up trash stood a tall, burly man with an afro, wearing a tattered vest and shorts.

"You scumbags, I'm not letting you off this time! Just wait to die!!"

He crossed his arms, baring his teeth in a vicious snarl: "But if you hand over the stuff nicely, I'll let you die quick!!"

"If you try to run~~~"

He flexed his dark, muscular frame: "I'll make you wish you were dead, kill you ten times over!!!"

"..."

Perched on a nearby trash pile beside the towering man was a little girl with pinkish-purple hair, looking like a wild ape-child.

She was waving a broken wooden stick around, putting on airs.

But the calm expression on her face—whether natural or deliberate—kind of undercut her intimidation factor.

Under the combined threat of the burly man and the little girl, the group they were facing scattered in all directions.

"That guy's still as dumb as ever!!"

"Dead either way, why would we go over there?!"

"And talking about 'turf' in a place like Meteor City? Is this Uvogin guy really that stupid?"

"If he doesn't die once, that thick-headedness of his isn't gonna change~~"

As the group fled in all directions, they didn't forget to jeer and mock the man on the hilltop.

Of course, talk was talk, mockery was mockery—their bodies still wisely picked up the pace.

In a danger-ridden place like Meteor City, getting injured meant a hard time surviving.

Going head-to-head with a dim-witted but physically formidable guy like Uvogin was clearly not a smart move.

Winning brought no benefit, losing was painful, and if you got hurt in the fight, things got even worse.

"Stop right there~!!"

Seeing so many people run, Uvogin roared again. Instead of standing still, he rolled up his sleeves and charged down at the crowd.

"..."

The little pinkish-purple-haired girl hopped along behind Uvogin.

Truth be told, at just thirteen years old, Uvogin already had a build and physique comparable to an adult.

That kind of physicality clearly showed great talent.

But unfortunately, against the many seasoned old-timers of Meteor City, he was completely outplayed.

He exhausted himself and still couldn't catch up to more than a few, forced to watch helplessly as the group slipped away right under his nose.

"Those bastards~!!"

Uvogin plopped down on the trash pile, panting heavily, and rubbed his hair in frustration.

"What are you looking at?!!"

When he noticed someone staring at him from behind, he whipped his head around and glared at the clueless guy.

Couldn't he see he was in a bad mood? And he still came over now~~~

If it weren't for the fact that the guy looked younger than him and wasn't holding anything—clearly some naive fool—

Uvogin would have already punched him.

"Thought you were just some idiot who didn't run away, but you're just a dumb kid. Tch~~~"

Utterly bored, Uvogin snapped impatiently at the person: "Get lost already, you want me to punch you?!"

Mog glanced at Uvogin, whose whole body radiated irritation and an overbearing alpha vibe, then looked at Machi, who had a ragged wooden stick raised in front of her and was sticking close to Uvogin, still in her child form.

He thought it over, then asked:

"You guys... hungry?"

Chapter 003: Hungry? Of course hungry, how could we not be...

For Uvogin, having a bunch of outsiders barge into his turf and scavenge stuff from it was already annoying enough.

And what pissed him off most was that he hadn't managed to catch a single one—they all got away.

Then, right when he was in a foul mood, some clueless kid shows up in front of them.

And naively asks him if he's hungry...

Uvogin almost laughed from sheer irritation.

"Hungry? Of course hungry, how could we not be..."

He lifted his head, glaring fiercely at this dumb kid, a grin slowly spreading across his face:

"Right now, I'm really in the mood to eat you~!!"

"I see~~~"

Mog wasn't intimidated by those threatening words at all. He just nodded.

"If you're hungry, then follow me."

He turned around first. "I have food over here. It can help you replenish your strength."

Huh?!!

Hearing that, Uvogin couldn't help raising an eyebrow, taking a second look at that dumb kid's back.

In the thirteen years he'd lived in Meteor City, this was the first time he'd heard of someone willingly offering their own food to share with others.

Someone like that was either naively stupid or schemingly malicious.

And usually, stupid people didn't survive in Meteor City.

Especially some kid he'd never really seen before, suddenly popping up to ask if he was hungry...

So that meant~~~

Uvogin's gaze gradually turned vicious.

"What? Didn't you say you were hungry?"

Sensing no movement behind him, Mog turned back and happened to catch Uvogin's hostile stare.

"I know what you're thinking, but I don't have any bad intentions."

Mog stated calmly and directly: "If you don't feel safe, or if you're scared, then you don't have to come."

"It's entirely up to you."

With that, he ignored whatever the two behind him might do and walked off toward his own place.

"..."

Uvogin stared at the direction Mog had gone, his fingers twitching unconsciously.

Then, a ragged wooden stick suddenly popped up in front of his face.

"Even though I think his invitation is pretty weird, I don't sense any danger..."

At that moment, Uvogin's face showed a calm and steadiness that was completely at odds with his burly build.

"What do you think, Machi?"

He looked at his partner, the one he'd been through life-and-death battles with.

If Uvogin were really just some reckless, brainless brawler who only knew how to fight, he'd have died countless times by now.

"..."

The dirty little face, still smudged with dust from the chase, shook its head calmly, lowering the wooden stick.

Even though her face was stained with dirt, you could still vaguely make out the delicate features of a future beauty.

"I see. So you don't think there's anything wrong either?"

Seeing that, Uvogin's furrowed brow slowly relaxed, and a grin spread across his face:

"Your sixth sense is even sharper than my instincts."

"Then let's go see what that dumb kid really means!!"

"It can't be that he actually intends to treat us properly, right?!"

He slapped his butt, stood up, and swaggered off in the direction Mog had gone.

Machi stayed silent as always, following step by step behind Uvogin.