Hidden Appetite

Chairman Netero and the Zodiacs have all arrived.

The moment Oboro landed, a venue was arranged in preparation for his interrogation.

As for Menchi and the others, they had already reported the details of their mission to the Association on the ship. They were completely unaware of the deaths during the Journey to the Saiyu and were therefore excluded from the discussion.

The key point is still about Oboro.

The coastal city is quite far from the Association's headquarters, so the Association's senior management came here specifically for this occasion.

Even the president was alarmed.

The death of one of the Zodiacs is no small matter.

The three members of the Zodiacs branches, Biscuit, surrounded Oboro and escorted him to the entrance of a building.

Biscuit and Oboro's friendship was, their relationship remained temporarily adversarial until their guilt was cleared.

However, compared to the solemnity of Mizaistom and Kanzai, Biscuit seemed very relaxed, chatting with Oboro the whole way, mainly complaining and scolding her. Based on her understanding of Oboro, there must be some hidden reason... Besides, if Oboro wanted to run away, it would be difficult for Gel to stop her by herself.

"Oh, you're here too."

An old friend I hadn't seen in a long time was standing at the entrance of the building.

Wing.

After many years, he was still dressed the same.

His demeanor is more composed, and his strength has increased dramatically since his time in the Heavens Arena.

However, no matter how much Wing breaks through, his speed is still far behind his own, and the longer time goes by, the greater the gap will become.

Wing still prefers to tuck one side of his shirt into his waistband, leaving the other side exposed, which looks rather incongruous.

His coming must have been because he received news and was worried about Long's situation.

Seeing Long's contented expression and her familiar waving to him, Wing felt secretly relieved. He pushed up his glasses and asked meaningfully, "Are you alright?"

"It's okay... don't worry."

Long walked past him and smiled.

"That's good."

Then, Wing didn't say much and went upstairs with the others.

Wing was not involved in the questioning and trial process; he could only wait outside.

Meanwhile, the four of them, including Long, went up to the conference room on the top floor.

As you push open the door and enter, the people sitting at the round table come into view one by one.

His appearance instantly drew everyone's attention.

"Oh, even you've come?"

Long was slightly surprised.

Ging Freecss ...

"Just bored... and let's see what fate awaits you, you sinner." Jin rested his chin on one hand and tapped the table with the other, appearing somewhat impatient.

Clearly, he disliked and felt somewhat uncomfortable in this kind of gathering.

"Then I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."

He smiled faintly.

"I didn't have high expectations to begin with."

Jin pursed his lips.

"Hehe... Now everyone's here, please sit down." Netero laughed heartily, waving his hand, as if today wasn't a day to judge Oboro, but a joyous family gathering... His behavior was seriously inconsistent with reality.

"President!"

Yorkshire reminded him, somewhat angrily.

"Ahem... Alright, since Oboro is already here, let's begin."

The old man spoke with a slightly more serious expression.

At that moment, Oboro stared at Pariston, who was standing very close to him. The man had his hands crossed on the table, his chin resting on his hand, and he met Oboro's gaze with a broad smile.

This was the first time Oboro had looked at him properly since joining the Association.

The two exchanged glances for only a moment.

Over there, the Beans was already holding the documents and reading aloud the details of Oboro's mission, as well as the records of all the members during the mission, detailing what each person did and when. Oboro's report was also there, and its content largely matched the others' reports, but there was a blank space in it.

Unsurprisingly, this blank period is where the story of killing Saiyu takes place.

"According to Gel, he has already confessed to killing Saiyu." After the Beans finished speaking, Yorkshire stood up and said sternly.

Mizaistom and Kanzai also raised their hands and chimed in, mentioning some of the things Oboro had said on the way here.

"That's right, I killed him with my own hands."

Long nodded.

"Then there's nothing more to say. According to the Association's rules, after internal processing, it will be directly transferred to the Department of Justice." Yorkshire stared at Lone.

"Don't rush to condemn me. According to the rules, if Saiyu attacked me first, it would be normal for me to kill him in self-defense. It was just self-preservation."

Long extended one finger.

"Where's the evidence?"

Yorkshire pressed on relentlessly, "It's true you killed Saiyu... but you claim Saiyu harbored hostility towards you, yet you have no evidence!"

"Since the person is already dead, you can arbitrarily evade and distort the truth."

Yorkshire said calmly.

Meanwhile, Netero, sitting in a chair, watched the scene with interest, showing no intention of intervening or interrupting, as if he were simply enjoying the spectacle.

He even had the Beans brew him a pot of tea.

"Hmm... He's got some brains, but not many... That's why you haven't been able to beat him all these years."

Long suddenly changed the subject, looking at Yorkshire and then pointing to Pariston, who was smiling.

"Huh? Are you talking about me?..."

Pariston's smile remained unchanged. He feigned ignorance and surprise, "Sorry, I didn't realize it for a moment... This is the first time you've acknowledged my existence."

Bang! Yorkshire's cheeks flushed red as she slammed her hand on the table. "We're discussing your murder, don't bring up anything else!"

"First, Saiyu was sent by the vice president to participate in the mission. I think the vice president knows better than anyone what his intentions and purposes are." Long then looked at Pariston and smiled slightly. "Second, we encountered an investigation team sent by the Kakin Empire on the island. They are all Nen user, and some of them are even top-tier experts... If they were just here to investigate, they wouldn't have launched a surprise attack on the team. So, it's certain that they're after me."

"I can prove it."

Gel raised her hand.

She saw the corpses of those experts that Long had mentioned... If they had attacked her and Menchi, the team would undoubtedly have suffered casualties.

But it didn't happen.

Instead, they all died at Oboro's hands; that couldn't be clearer.

"The Samsung mission is classified. Their timing for landing on the island was too precise and clever... It means it was premeditated, the mission has been leaked, and there's a traitor within the team. If this gets out, it will definitely damage the Association's reputation."

"You mean... all of this was orchestrated by Saiyu and the other side?"

Yorkshire's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.

"But... why kill you? What's the reason?"

The reason is...

Long paused deliberately as he spoke.

"Alright."

At this moment, Netero suddenly interrupted, "What Oboro said is basically true. I have also received some physical evidence regarding the relationship between the Journey to the Saiyu and the Kakin Empire."

After speaking, the Beans handed over a document.

Seeing this, Yorkshire already understood... the chairman probably knew the truth all along.

He and Long were just going through the motions, giving the Association... and them an explanation.

The document was opened, and it contained records of people entering and leaving the palace of the Kakin Empire Saiyu, and even... photos.

"The royal family of the Kakin Empire?"

The Zodiacs looked at each other in bewilderment.

Ging Freecss didn't even look at it; he had already anticipated this outcome.

Pariston opened his eyes, which had been narrowed the whole time... and looked into Oboro's eyes, which showed a change.

These photos and materials are not something that ordinary people can obtain.

This proves at least one thing... that there are members of the Fills Family in the royal palace of the Kakin Empire.

"Don't be too surprised, there are many more things that will surprise you in the future..."

Long glanced at Pariston and said something meaningful.

"Was this prepared especially for me?"

Pariston seemed very happy.

"In cahoots, you are the jackal, and I am the one prepared for the wolf... You are just a sideline, not worthy enough."

"No matter how clean you wipe your butt, it'll still smell..."

Long shook his head, offering a blunt sarcasm.

Pariston remained remarkably calm despite being publicly insulted.

The other Zodiacs looked over and felt that there was clearly something wrong between the two.

What encrypted messages are they talking about? The Saiyu was arranged by Pariston, so attacking from that point is basically useless.

The latter must have handled everything properly and there's no evidence against them.

At least in the president's eyes, there was no trace of Pariston; all the motives stemmed from Beyond.

"Regarding this matter, the Association will send people to conduct a follow-up investigation... Oboro has not violated the Association's rules for the time being and is innocent." Netero put down his teacup, his smile fading.

The fact that Long sent this information to him in advance... undoubtedly indicates that everything is related to his son.

Yorkshire held the documents in her hand, her expression resentful.

There's more to this than meets the eye... The chairman knows, and so does Oboro, but the old man has already decided not to tell them.

It can be confirmed that what Oboro said is true... but it is definitely not pure innocence.

She didn't believe that Long had absolutely no desire to kill Saiyu.

Why? The Zodiacs? Now that there's one less spot, Oboro can logically replace Journey to the Saiyu.

Unconsciously, Yorkshire seemed to see a giant hand reaching towards the throne that symbolized the Hunter Association.

She sat back down in her chair.

It was such a failure... She rushed into things without understanding anything, making herself look like a ridiculous clown.

In addition, Yorkshire's recent comment that she couldn't beat Pariston made her wish she could disappear into a crack in the ground.

He knew too?

Suddenly, Yorkshire looked at the calm Pariston.

The man noticed her gaze, turned his head, and smiled.

Asshole!

Yorkshire looked on the verge of tears.

"Now that things have come to a temporary end, given the circumstances of Journey to the Saiyu's passing... Oboro, you will..." Netero suddenly said softly.

Everyone knew what the chairman was going to say... and this time, without consulting anyone else, it was a direct appointment.

"I'm sorry, President, I don't want to be one of the Zodiacs. You should find someone else."

His words were startling.

The Yorkshire, who had been looking down, suddenly looked up, his face filled with disbelief.

Everyone else was also surprised.

Only Ging Freecss stared at Oboro with a serious expression.

Pariston also figured out what Oboro was playing...

"This guy... has too big an appetite!"

The Golden Secret Passage.

Based on current observations, Pariston's first encounter with Oboro is most likely to end in a draw.

Pariston certainly got what he wanted, but he couldn't take advantage of the situation to kick someone when they were down.

Should we stop it?

But it's probably too late to stop it now.

Kim glanced at Netero again and frowned.