The Fruit Farmer Attends the Gathering × Gotoh's Embrace

"Whoosh~"

As spring transitions into summer, the days grow longer, and the wind gets warmer...

The Testing Gate suddenly swung open, revealing the first hint of dawn breaking through the darkness. The radiant sunrise painted half the sky crimson, and at the same time, it draped a Rosy Garment over the young man at the very center of the gates— Sun-Earring Boy had shed his Sun-Earring Boy naiveté and now possessed a hint of adulthood.

"It's open... He actually pushed the door open before me..." A mountain breeze blew, causing Illumi's smooth black hair to sway slightly.

The Sun-Earring Boy stood behind Roy, watching him bathe in the morning glow, his single hand supporting the door as if holding up the sky, effortless and even somewhat relaxed... The sense of disappointment he had imagined did not materialize.

Is the gap so large that one simply cannot muster the will to "compete," or is it...?

I've always been genuinely happy for Nii-san, even for the smallest progress and achievements.

Illumi lowered his eyes slightly, his vision blurred and indistinct. He only knew that he hadn't always been like this.

Just then, the darkness faded, and the red sun finally peeked out from behind the clouds. Illumi, slightly dazed, suddenly heard a voice. "Illumi, come to my side."

He subconsciously looked up and saw Roy tilting his head, smiling and waving at him...

The Sun-Earring Boy walked over without a word, and in the suddenly opened doorway, beside his older brother, he watched the sunrise with him. Suddenly, he felt a warmth on his forehead; Roy's large hand had grasped his head and gently rubbed it.

"Little brother, let's take a picture."

"See..."

Illumi's voice was as faint as a fly or a mosquito.

Roy smiled slightly and glanced at Zee: "Zee,"

"Coming... Young Master!" The bald man sprang to his feet, pulled out his phone, and snapped a series of photos of Roy and Illumi. After a moment, he handed the phone over. "Young Master, would you like to see this?"

"Need not,"

"I know that the present moment is the best time,"

As he spoke, he loosened his right hand.

The seven Testing Gate, each weighing 256 tons, slammed down with a deafening roar, making the ground seem to tremble and simultaneously shutting out the commotion outside...

With a whoosh, dust billowed up.

Roy then swept his arm away with "Wind Breathing," creating a gentle breeze that dispersed the attack...

The darkness, spanning three feet in front of him, vanished along with it.

The Sun-Earring Boy then winked at Illumi: "I'm hungry, I'm going now."

As soon as he finished speaking, he transformed into fireflies, instantly merging into the morning glow. Following the flow of light, he traversed the Kukuroo Mountain, drifting leisurely towards its summit... In the blink of an eye, he vanished without a trace.

Only Illumi and Zee remained, staring blankly into space as they ate.

"Give it to me," Illumi, after a moment when not a single piece of Roy's clothing was visible. He took a deep breath, seemingly reverting to his former lifeless, empty-eyed state, Zee, saying without room for argument, "Give it to me."

"What?"

"Cell phone."

"A cell phone?" Zee realized. "Young Master, you mean the photos, right? Don't worry, I'll go get them developed right away and deliver them to you." "I want the photos, and I want the cell phone too," Illumi, staring at Zee in an unyielding gaze. "It contains photos of me and... him."

Zee:..."

A barely perceptible twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth as he fawned, "Young Master, give me a minute, at least... let me delete my browsing history..." Unexpectedly, Illumi wouldn't even give him a second. He brushed past him like a ghost, and then... Zee felt a chill in his palm. Looking closely, he realized his phone was in Illumi's hand, carried by him up the mountain towards the Zoldyck Family Ancient Castle...

"Young Master," Zee's face fell, he waved his hand, watched Illumi leave, and finally sighed helplessly.

Perhaps it was due to age, or perhaps it was because he spent his days guarding the gate and dealing with many tourists taking photos and sightseeing, that the old gatekeeper forgot... For the master, the Zoldyck butler had no secrets.

In short, this early morning "farce" came as a surprise and a bit of a novelty to the eyes of a certain withered old man.

With a creak, in the dimly lit room on the first floor of the Zoldyck Family Ancient Castle, Maha rocked his rocking chair, dismissing Zeno, and listened to cartoons with his eyes half-closed. He only opened his eyes briefly when Roy passed by.

As the Sun-Earring Boy's footsteps faded into the distance, a mist of Nen Qi Nen Qi emanated from the person's body.

Betty Zoldyck, her golden ponytail cascading down to her waist, appeared and immediately nestled against Maha, wrapping her arms around his neck and sitting on his lap. Her gaze pierced through the walls, subtly landing on Roy as he strolled towards the bedroom, her beautiful emerald eyes sparkling... "Does it look like him? How so?" Maha gently put his arm around Betty's waist, his hand just about to wander inside when Betty reached out and slapped it away with a "smack."

The woman retorted playfully, "Where is it not the same?"

Betty; Zoldyck, as if Zoldyck, began counting on her fingers. "They're all ' Conjuration, all rebellious, and they're always startling people, making you uneasy, and..."

One by one,

Betty Zoldyck recounts Roy's actions and contrasts them with Jager's.

Maha simply closed his eyes and listened quietly, without arguing. Only after Betty finished counting did he add, "You forgot, there's more..."

"Bold!"

The old man snorted coldly, annoyed, "One dares to make a deal with a god, and the other... hasn't even done anything yet, but dares to boast and challenge the gods with a sword..."

"Betty,"

None of our children are easy to deal with!

"Or, you can keep going," Betty Zoldyck chuckled, covering her mouth, just like in her youth. She wrapped her arm around Maha's head and said, "It's nothing for us to suffer a little. As long as the children are okay, everything is fine."

"Before, you wouldn't let Jager take that road, but he insisted on going anyway. Now Roy has gone too. If you don't keep an eye on them, I'm really afraid something might happen to them..."

"You're just treating me like a donkey." Maha glared at her, turned his head away, and pretended to be angry.

Betty giggled, then forcefully straightened him again, scolding, "What are you saying? You've seen how fast Roy is growing. Maybe in a few more years, he won't even need you."

What good is his individual strength?

Maha glared. "Do you want him to die along with me, taking you, Brook, Randall with him?"

Those thousands upon thousands of graves are still floating today.

The nationwide massacre was not a dream, nor a fantasy. Betty was a witness, a participant, and a martyr. The fact that she retains a remnant of her soul today is due to Maha's "Nen" and "former divinity."

The woman fell silent.

For a moment, I didn't know what to say...

Seeing this, Maha felt a pang of pity and gently patted her back, comforting her, "That's why I reminded him that he must not neglect his Believer," "Only by leading his Believer together can he hope to overthrow God's kingdom and truly do as he said, 'draw the sword and question God!'"

"But how long will that take?" Betty Zoldyck's expression softened slightly, but she said with a touch of melancholy, "Giving is always harder than receiving. [God] has Holy Water and can rely on 'divinity' to bestow 'protection' upon his Believer. Roy, this kid, doesn't even have divinity. Even if he wants to help his Believer, what can he do?"

Maha fell silent...

He understood the principle, Betty understood it, and he believed the Mysterious Skeleton Leon, who had come to witness the birth of Kalluto and deliver a gift, also understood it. However, the most difficult thing was how to put it into practice, and to do it beautifully, so that all his Believer would "ascend to heaven" with him! After a moment, Maha Youyou softly: "Sometimes, the difference between people is greater than the difference between a dog and a person. Talent is like that, it cannot be forced..." "You also said that forcibly changing a person's talent and giving them 'blessing' is something only [God] can do..." "Gurgle gurgle..." At this moment, the faint sound of a food cart rolling over the stone floor of the corridor could be heard outside the window. Betty Zoldyck could vaguely see the young butler pushing the food cart closer through the window. In a flash, with a surge of Maha's Nen, the butler silently disappeared into the old man's body.

"Grandpa, I've brought you your meal."

Following instructions, Gotoh pushed the food cart and knocked on the door.

Maha continued rocking in his rocking chair, watching him through the door, silently shaking his head inwardly... The Believer chosen by his grandson was clearly a "shortcoming" with "extremely poor talent."

Even though saying it might upset Roy, Maha had made up his mind.

He was advised to give up on the Gotoh as soon as possible and instead find some seedlings with greater potential to cultivate.

He gave a curt, indifferent "hmm," and said, "Come in."

Let Gotoh in, set out breakfast, bow and leave.

"Grandpa, please enjoy your meal."

The lid was lifted, revealing the shredded pork with garlic sauce that he had specifically requested...

Gotoh pushed the food cart away, turned around and closed the door. Then she brought Zeno the tomato and egg stir-fry he had requested, and finally, with a "glug glug glug..." sound, she pushed the food cart to Roy's bedroom.

"Young Master, I'm back." The young butler seemed to only truly relax and smile in front of Roy.

He served Roy his meal with ten times the attentiveness he showed to Maha and Zeno.

As the morning sun rose, Roy sat down at the dining table, eating while Browse the "Game Strategy Guide" his father had given him. In reality, it was a "Real the Game" adapted from the Dark Continent, based entirely on his grandfather Jager's Nen Ability, [re; The Game of the Dead]. He only glanced at the sections on "Bandle City," "Security Corps," "Entry Permit," and "Shack District."

My heart felt heavy, and I couldn't help but think of it again.

The elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Marknola, whom I once saw in the forest outside Bandle City, who were willing to sacrifice their lives to feed the "monsters" so that their granddaughter, "Little Mattie," could go to the city and have better living conditions, were...

This time, I'm determined to venture deep into the Dark Continent, into the Samir Principality, into Bandle City, and wreak havoc on it all, while also... finding out about my grandfather Jager and... everything related to the Curse...

"A person shouldn't die from holding in their pee."

"People won't just sit and wait to die,"

Roy took a big bite of his baguette and drank it down with his cream of mushroom soup. Suddenly, he remembered... "The True God Cult," frowned, glanced at Gotoh, and said, "Has Holl gathered any intelligence over there recently?"

"He called last night," Gotoh pushed up her glasses. "At that time, the Young Master was asleep, and I was thinking of reporting to him in the morning, so I didn't tell Young Master."

"Explain,"

"Guzman is not dead."

"Tell me something I don't know..."

Roy had already guessed that he couldn't kill him without eliminating the owner of the [Substitute Doll]. He had verified this, as had his grandfather, Jager.

"Yes," Gotoh nodded, and continued, "And there's that Hisoka Moro that Young Master is concerned about. He killed a bishop, but not only was he not treated as a heretic, according to Holl's informant who went deep into the Divine Sect, he was recently seen penetrating into the inner circle of the Divine Sect and meeting with Guzman several times, seemingly under the influence of Chongyue..."

"Crunch... crunch..." Roy popped a few slices of bacon into his mouth, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

Killing followers and yet not being punished... This so-called "truth" is a double standard to this extent. It's truly despicable... "Anything else?"

"Furthermore, according to a report from Holl's informant, Hisoka Moro appeared on the continent of Yorbian a few days ago. Someone witnessed him. He appeared at an auction in Yorknew City the day before yesterday, Holl said..."

"Say what?"

"Tell the Young Master to be careful," Gotoh said solemnly, "He's very likely heading towards Meteor City..." One... two... ten meals, finished... Roy remained noncommittal, pulled out a tissue, slowly wiped his mouth, and said calmly... "He's from Meteor City, it's only natural for him to go home and visit, no need to make a fuss."

"Of course," she said, changing the subject.

Roy smiled, his eyes narrowing. "If he has other ideas, I don't mind. I'll play along."

Gotoh cautiously reminded him, "Young Master, you forgot, last time you poured him... into the wall."

"Really?" Roy tossed the crumpled tissue into the trash can. "Then let's refill it again."

Ideally... he also had a [Substitute Doll] with him!

The Sun-Earring Boy glanced at the [Targeted Tracking Technique lying quietly in the skill bar.

Some of these pretentious charlatans, if they really think they can cause trouble and run rampant with just a few tattered puppets... Roy wouldn't mind taking them all down too!

This will also help [Taiyi] further solidify his position in Meteor City, preach the Spider, and establish his authority!

"Whoosh!" The crumpled tissue hit the trash can.

Gotoh has finished reporting.

Start clearing away the dishes.

Roy snapped out of his thoughts, glanced at him again, and waved to stop him, saying, "Don't bother, I have a task for you."

"Young Master, please speak." The young butler straightened his back.

His eyes bulged, and he saw Roy slash open his own palm in the cemetery...