The Value of Ants

Within the Hunter Association.

Kido Yorkshire received a call from the chairman, who said that the matter concerning the shadow was over.

This greatly surprised Yorkshire, because according to the information she had, from the time Oboro arrived at the prison until now... only a little over an hour had passed.

This efficiency... is simply astonishing!

The Association was even prepared to execute their follow-up plan if Oboro was unable to handle Jed ...

"Yes, President, I understand."

After a long while, Yorkshire put down her phone, her emotions still unsettled.

This is Oboro's ability—an individual ability that doesn't rely on the Association.

Although Jed and his subordinates have been eliminated, the impact on the Association continues to unfold. The Association has detected someone live-streaming the execution of the Association members online and has also revealed the identity of the imprisoned Netero, saying that he will kill him in front of the whole world.

However, the network signal has been blocked, so not many people saw it... The Association is capable of calming down this disturbance.

The most important thing now is to notify v5.

Soon, the higher-ups at V5 also learned about the situation and realized that it was Oboro who had made the move.

It's not surprising that the matter was handled properly, after all, it was that man.

In V5's eyes, Oboro's danger was hundreds or thousands of times greater than Jed's resurrection... The two were simply not in the same league.

As for Oboro's move, it was within V5's expectations.

On the other side, Netero finished his phone call.

He stretched his limbs and slowly stood up.

He glanced at Oboro and asked, "Jed... is he dead?"

"No."

Long smiled slightly.

As expected of the old man, so perceptive... He must have sensed that the aura of the Cursed Grudge did not dissipate immediately after the Rakshasa Annihilation.

Instead, it was trapped in the Rigge's Lantern and transformed.

"What are you going to do?" Netero asked directly. "The energy of Cursed Grudge has no advantage over Nen... Although it can quickly gain power, it has too many weaknesses... And once you go too deep into it, it is easy to be dominated by negative emotions and become less human."

His words were undoubtedly a reminder to Oboro.

"Hmm... I know."

Long nodded, then waved his hand, "Since there's nothing else, I'll be going now... The Association's spaceship should be coming to pick you up later."

"Goodbye."

He didn't come here to catch up with Netero.

Now that he'd achieved his goal, there was no point in staying any longer. Menchi and the others were waiting for him to go back for extra training...

"You saw him, right...? What did you think? I'd like to hear your opinion..."

Watching Oboro walk away, Netero didn't try to stop him, but just chuckled and said something.

"As expected of someone who bleeds your blood."

Oboro's voice came through, providing an answer.

The two people are referring to... by Beyond.

Oboro wasn't surprised. He had a prior agreement with the old man, and even if he promised not to go to the Dark Continent for the time being, Netero would definitely keep an eye on his every move. Apart from a few minor flaws in his personality—at least in Oboro's eyes—such as being too benevolent and taking on burdens that weren't his own, the old man was absolutely wise and shrewd. If he, Pariston, and Ging Freecss were truly enemies, they would definitely not be able to outmaneuver this old man.

Therefore, Netero will inevitably find out about Kakin's situation.

As for the Chimera Ant, Oboro believed that Netero had also noticed them... but looking at the old man's entire life, he had never been defeated and had twice traveled to the Dark Continent. He was too confident in himself! He believed that no matter what kind of threat it was, he was capable of dealing with it... In addition, Netero subconsciously wanted to take on the challenge.

This led him to underestimate the danger posed by Chimera Ant.

After all, information about Chimera Ant is currently unavailable to the outside world.

Oboro clearly remembered that when Netero was fighting the Chimera Ant King Meruem, images flashed through his mind... He had challenged various martial arts styles in his youth, and the same was true after becoming Nen user. He didn't know when it started, but all his opponents eventually bowed down to him, submitting... He never even had a chance to use his full strength. Over time, Netero learned to stop short of defeat. He lost the thrill and passion he once felt in pursuing the ultimate martial art...

This is what Long meant when he said, "The higher you climb, the colder it gets."

When a person is too strong, they may feel lonely and become numb...

Killua disappear, then glanced at the guild master. The little guy clearly didn't understand the content of their conversation.

But he knew... that both sides seemed to be referring to a certain person.

"Oh no... This is way past the time Gon and I agreed on. Gon must be really worried right now... And that old woman..." Killua muttered, putting aside his other thoughts.

"I'm leaving now..."

He waved to Netero and hurriedly chased after Oboro.

Netero smiled and nodded.

Killua is preparing to board the Fills Family's spaceship... It's unclear when the Association's spaceship will arrive.

After the two left, Netero emerged from the ruins and went to the place where Jed had died.

He let out a soft sigh, his expression complex.

For Oboro, the matter of Shadow was just a minor episode.

The spaceship carrying Killua arrived at a nearby city in Grusia, where there was a terminal building that provided direct Kakin Empire.

Killua needs to return to the game using the game equipment on Greed Island.

That is, the location of the tycoon Battera.

Given the extremely poor relationship between the Fills Family and Kakin, they were unable to send him to his destination and had to leave first.

Then, a few days later, Oboro returned to his teammates' training ground in the wild.

Menchi and the others seemed quite calm about his quick return.

"It's already spread within the Association... that you handled this incident. Interestingly, neither the president nor the Zodiacs seem willing to reveal the truth, but the one who leaked the news... is Pariston! He seems to be helping you... which makes it even more likely that you will succeed as president in the future."

"Is he trying to make amends with you?"

After a while, during a break after training, Menchi wiped the sweat from his face and spoke to Long.

"A gesture of goodwill?"

Long leaned against a tree, basking in the sunlight, looking rather lazy.

A faint mist swirled around him, and he held the Rigge's Lantern in his hand, swaying it back and forth.

"He's just speeding up the process, making that day come sooner... He's eager to see what I'll do, what changes I'll bring to the Association as president... and most importantly, how to kill him."

Long smiled gently.

"Because if I can't kill him... he'll have broken my technique and can cause all sorts of destruction and disgust people without restraint."

Menchi frowned. "You mean, he already has a plan to deal with you?"

"Who? Beyond?"

Fante joined the conversation.

As teammates, they now know about the conflict between Oboro and Pariston, and between Beyond.

Judging from the allies around Pariston, the only one capable of stopping Oboro is Beyond.

However, it is impossible to guarantee his safety 100%.

"Could it be Ging Freecss? Didn't the captain say... that he and Kim also have conflicts because of their different ideologies?" Anthony chimed in.

"No... From what I know, Pariston and King don't seem to get along, and it's even less likely that Pariston would make an enemy of the captain for the sake of the former."

Menchi shook his head.

Rita and Gabe Vich couldn't get a word in edgewise; they were completely unaware of the complex factions and power dynamics within the Association.

"If the president is really dead... judging from the cards Pariston has, the effective counterattack he can mount is negligible... he should know the captain's level," Fante said in a deep voice.

"A person's power has many layers. Killing or eliminating someone is not as difficult as you might imagine... Even a powerful figure like Netero, who stands at the pinnacle of the human world, was outmaneuvered. The key lies in intelligence, in knowing how to leverage resources and plan... And most importantly, you must see through your target. You must have a clear understanding of the target's personality and what kind of behavior and actions they will take."

"If Netero hadn't intervened after the Chimera Ant King's birth and had simply left the mess to V5, he wouldn't have died... Pariston and Beyond were certain that the old man would personally get involved, and that's exactly what happened."

"Whatever Pariston wants to do, the premise is... that he thinks he has figured me out completely."

"And leveraging external forces isn't just about finding an individual or a nation to lend a helping hand..."

"What else?"

Menchi answered.

"What can you think of that could pose a threat to me? Just like dealing with Netero, there were no factors in the human world that could threaten the old man, so let's just create one... Because with their methods, they can't take advantage of V5 or Kakin. Kakin and Beyond are just cooperating, and their relationship is based solely on their pursuit of the Dark Continent. They won't concern themselves with anything else."

"But I'm different from Netero ..."

"You mean, Kakin is teaming up with V5?"

Menchi was startled.

"They don't have that kind of power, and even if they did, it would take them a long time to plan and deploy it... Besides, if you can think of it, how could I not? Pariston knows that such superficial plans are useless to me... The real threats are often hidden in the shadows."

"What else could it be? Captain, stop beating around the bush..."

Anthony was getting anxious.

They are now in the same boat as Long.

Aside from top-tier human forces like V5 and Kakin, who else could threaten the captain? "It's all under your noses... It's right there in front of you."

He smiled.

"You mean... Chimera Ant?"

"Is he planning to use the Chimera Ant against you?"

Menchi suddenly realized.

"He knows... I will definitely get involved with the Chimera Ant, and that's the only thing he can use."

"Pariston is provoking me. He wants to see if I can kill him... but that will have to wait until after the chairman election, while the Chimera Ant's chaos will end before the election. The timing is different... If I kill him before the election, it would violate the death ultimatum I gave him, which would be considered breaking my promise and losing... Even if I kill him, this matter will always bother me. He paid with his life but won, while I'll be left with a lingering worry... That's why I say, this guy is troublesome..."

"My involvement with the Chimera Ant, just like Netero's battle against the Chimera Ant King, was inevitable. He realized that my covetousness for the Chimera Ant was definitely not just for the position of Chairman. This person's insight is quite terrifying and very sharp."

"So... they want me to be unable to kill him after the Chimera Ant are gone... not to use the ants to kill me, but more likely to use the ants to weaken me so that I can't touch him afterward."

"In this way... I've essentially slapped myself in the face."

"I'm curious to see what he'll do."

In the end, Oboro laughed.