Maha's Punch X Chimera Ant X Pariston

"How strong am I?" Maha chuckled, his voice hunched over.

Perhaps it was due to his age, or perhaps it was because he hadn't made a move in a long time, but it seemed that no one had asked him this question for a very long time.

The old man gazed intently at Roy. Separated by a window, though seemingly so close, the two appeared to be in two separate worlds...

Roy's gaze was intense, with two Great Sun slowly burning within his pupils... The [Eye of Truth], capable of discerning Blood Qi, was activated, and in an instant, it was cast upon Maha... Instantly, the Sun-Earring Boy's gaze sharpened, and he held his breath, as if looking into an endless abyss.

What a feeling it was! Like an ant straining its neck, yet still unable to glimpse even a corner of an elephant; like a frog at the bottom of a well, limited by its own understanding, unaware of the vastness of the world. Then, a stream of information flooded into its mind... [Maha Zoldyck... Rank unknown... Constitution unknown... Manifest/ Potential Aura unknown...]

The old man, with his hands in his pockets, said calmly, "Are you asking me? Or are you asking Him?"

Roy forced himself to remain calm, slowly withdrew the Great Sun from his eyes, and said frankly, "I'm asking my great-grandfather, and I'm asking Him!"

Maha gave a noncommittal "hmm," took a step, and the land beneath his feet shrank dramatically, shrinking from a line into a single point, as if the ends of the earth were just Chi Chi Tian Ya... The ends of the earth were measured within the span of his footsteps, and the concept of "length" was instantly lost.

"Step:...--" The moment the soft sound of feet touching the floor was heard;

One second Maha was inside the house, the next he was leaping over the window and wall, standing in front of Roy, looking up at him and saying, "I'm not as good as Him, I don't know how strong He is, but if you want to know, I also have a punch here, do you want to take it?"

Maha smiled and slowly took his right hand out of his pocket.

Roy swallowed hard, his gaze shifting downwards to the withered hand, skin and bones barely covering the flesh, almost devoid of blood and blood. He remained silent for a long time... then smiled...

"They say if you want to learn how to hit someone, you have to learn how to take a hit first."

"Great-Grandpa, you've already said it, so of course your grandson has no reason not to accept it!"

Roy straightened his back abruptly, his expression becoming solemn, and looked at Maha earnestly, saying, "Please enlighten me!"

Maha watched the Sun-Earring Boy quietly, his weathered eyes, filled with the epic history of time, flickering with a poignant memory... If he remembered correctly, on the day Jager was brutally beaten, he, like the Sun-Earring Boy, stood tall and defiant, stubbornly meeting his gaze, even after... hitting a wall and bleeding profusely, he never looked back...

Xu Xu nodded slowly and said, "Alright... alright... you bunch of brats each have your own reasons."

"The old man can't argue with you guys..."

His withered right hand slowly clenched into a fist. Maha followed suit, saying nothing more, but simply bent his elbow slightly and gently pushed the fist towards Roy's chest...

In an instant, the world changed... To Roy's horror, he suddenly discovered... the bright blue sky had vanished, leaving only a large patch of sunlight...

The ancient Ancient Castle overhead, the white clouds above the Ancient Castle, and the patch of azure sky above the clouds—all of it was dark and oppressive... suddenly covered by a gigantic fist!

"Boom!" Crackling and popping sounds, followed by continuous thunder, echoed between heaven and earth!

Kura and his sister, who had just returned to the Butler Villa with Tsubone, were processing the previous battle in their room when they were suddenly startled. They rushed to the window and looked up at the sky...

Within a radius of ten miles, wind and clouds gathered, lightning flashed, all of which were clenched in a single fist, slowly pressing down towards the ancient Ancient Castle atop the mountain.

Kurapika's eyes bulged, and he plopped down on the ground, panting heavily, unable to utter a single normal syllable!

Beside him, Kurajing opened her mouth, completely stunned!

Then came panicked shouts in my ears... "What is that?!"

"Why is it dark?!"

"Who knows!"

"Boom!" Just then, another clap of thunder rang out, and the entire Butler Villa erupted in chaos!

On the top floor of the villa, in the bedroom belonging to Tsubone, the old housekeeper, with two pink ponytails, rushed back, carrying Amane in one arm and Canary in the other, humming a nursery rhyme to soothe the two little ones who were frightened by the thunder. Her old eyes followed the sky outside the window, and she murmured to herself, "Grandmother..."

His pupils were completely filled by that enormous fist that blotted out the sky!

"Ho ho ho... Is the old man planning to destroy this family with his own hands?"

Inside the training room on the first floor, Netero, having changed out of his Martial Way uniform and into a sports vest, was playing volleyball with Zeno by himself, trying to relieve his itchy hands. At one moment, the old man's Buddha-like ears twitched backward, and he caught the volleyball that Zeno had thrown at him with one hand, then darted out the window, glancing sideways at the dimly lit little room on the first floor...

Maha's seemingly light fist, though small, was surprisingly large, and it seemed poised to crush Roy Sun-Earring Boy in an instant. "Grandpa's serious!" Zeno, his white hair swaying, flashed to Netero's side, looking up at the sky... A fist higher and larger than the sky, even more powerful and ferocious than Roy's nuclear explosion strike in the dream world!

It's like we're not even on the same level, not even in the same dimension... it's almost suffocating!

"Silva!" In the garden, under the parasol, the woman, holding the baby, nervously nestled into the man's arms. Silva, his silver hair cascading to his waist, reached out and embraced Kikyo's waist, taking the baby from him, and silently gazed at the sky.

Wind, Thunder, sunlight, and rain—all were contained within Maha's fist as he Youyou thrust it toward Roy's chest. Roy's heart pounded with anxiety, alarm bells rang in his head, and every hair on his body stood on end... He lowered his eyes, staring intently as Maha's seemingly ordinary punch was about to land on his chest. In that instant, the Sun-Earring Boy felt like a small boat recklessly adrift in the ocean, about to be swallowed by a single wave. For the first time in his life... he tasted the fear of death!

"My great-grandfather's punch could have killed me!"

Even though he possessed [Rebirth from a Drop of Blood], Roy's intuition told him that Maha's punch could really kill him!

"Whoosh~" The fist arrived, but stopped abruptly just before it touched his chest.

The force of the punch whistled, causing the Sun-Earring Boy's silver hair to flutter backward amidst a shimmering golden light... The Sun-Earring Boy glanced back, and Maha, smiling, withdrew his right hand, instead patting him on the shoulder and saying, "Let's go eat."

Roy took a deep breath, his body covered in sweat as if he had just been pulled from the water, and silently said, "Okay."

Then, I stood watching as Maha turned and went back to his bedroom... I looked up at the sky; it was a clear blue, all the dark clouds and Thunder had vanished, and light returned.

The entire Kukuroo Mountain seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Roy glanced at the room again, bowed deeply, and walked heavily toward his bedroom.

"Tap... tap..." Footsteps echoed softly on the stone corridor.

At the Butler Villa, Kurajing, regaining his senses, helped Kurapika up. Tsubone comforted the child, then went around to the kitchen and pushed the food cart out. In the Ancient Castle garden, Silva embraced Kikyo as they returned to their bedroom. Netero Zeno exchanged a glance, remaining silent. All beings returned to normal, as if nothing had ever happened, each busy with their own lives... But once memories are etched, forgetting them is never easy...

"You don't have to answer," Illumi said, looking up at Roy as they strolled into the bedroom. His long, flowing black hair cascaded down to his waist. Illumi stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe.

The foolish younger brother clearly understood what had just happened.

"Tap... tap..." Roy walked straight past Illumi's shoulder without uttering a word. Then, he stopped, his gaze passing over Illumi and looking around the corner. He called softly, "Milluki, come here!"

A shadowy figure darted around the corner. Just as he was about to run, Roy flicked a finger, sending a Nen Thread binding his hands and feet, dragging him towards him...

"Big brother, I just came to check!" Milluki in alarm. As he flew through the air, a bag of potato chips in his arms fell to the ground, but Roy caught it with one hand and held it steady.

"Cucumber flavored? You sure know how to eat..."

"If you want it, I have some more."

"That won't be necessary..."

Potato chips are good, but they're only good for the taste... Roy let go of Milluki, allowing the chubby kid to slip away in a flash.

He tore open the packaging, popped a piece into his mouth, and chewed it with a "crunch~ crunch~" sound. He then glanced at Illumi unhurriedly and asked, "Why didn't you accept it?"

"To knowingly try to catch something you can't handle is something only a fool would do..."

"You insulted me?"

I'm just stating the facts.

"Crunch... crunch..." Roy noncommittally handed the potato chips to Illumi: "Want some?"

Illumi reached into the bag and grabbed a handful of chips, but before he could even touch them, he felt a sharp pain in his butt and was instantly kicked away by Roy...

"You know perfectly well I won't give it to you, yet you still want to eat it. Aren't you an idiot too?"

Illumi:

With a twitch at the corner of his mouth, he smashed straight through the window, turning into a black dot on the horizon and disappearing from sight.

Roy withdrew his foot at the opportune moment and said Youyou, "Idiot, people only think about improving when they see the gap."

Then, she turned and went back to her bedroom.

"Ding..." At noon, the wooden grandfather clock in the corner struck its reed, chiming the hour.

Roy tilted his head back and gulped down a mouthful of potato chips, quickly filling his stomach. Then... he pushed back his chair and sat down at his desk. Before Tsubone brought his lunch, he opened a drawer, pulled out paper and pen, and began to review the situation. First, he was certain that his great-grandfather's punch far exceeded his comprehension. How it compared to the punch Adult Gon used to brutally kill Neferpitou in the original story, Roy didn't know, but... he was certain that it wasn't a punch a B-level creature could throw. If he really had to compare, perhaps only the towering Sandworm that blocked Netero, Linne, and his grandfather Jager's landing, its tail whipping across a piece of land, could be considered comparable...

However, it should be noted that the Sandworm is of rank A, which is a whole rank higher than the Chimera Ant!

In other words... if I want to withstand this punch, or even... penetrate my great-grandfather's Blood Qi, I need to reach at least Rank A.

As for Rank A, perhaps only those at the level of Super Kage-level, such as Asura, Indra, and their reincarnations, Senju Hashirama and Uchiha, can achieve this level!

In other words... Roy slowly wrote a sentence on the white paper.

To become an A-rank, one must possess combat power at the local [Starburst] level.

This necessitates a greater Life Energy and Power of Faith, and consequently, a large amount of sustenance and Believer.

While Roy pondered for a moment, he briefly glanced at Gotoh's [Believer Panel].

[Hint: The evolutionary process of the Believer Gotoh continues...]

[Current progress: 6/7 (days)]

[One day left until the evolution is complete...]

(Note: Overflowing with loyalty)

Current status: Evolving...

..]

[Constitution +1 +1 +1 +1...]

2

[Current: 1594... an increase of 1200 points compared to before evolution (Note: still increasing)]

[Manifested Aura: C+(15784/100,000) → C+(38741/100,000) (Note: Still increasing)]

[Potential Aura: B-(200,000/million)→B-(470,000/million) (Note: Still increasing)]

[Department: Release]

[Initial Nen Ability: Coin Conjecture]

[Embrace Nen Ability: Currently awakening...]

[Awakening Progress: 88%]

[Evaluation: C++]

[Note: Referring to Chimera Ant, your Believer "Gotoh" has reached the level of a top-tier Chimera Ant Squadron Leader, currently at the peak level of Kite, and is moving towards B- level.]

[Under Absolute Domination]

Roy slowly withdrew his gaze, noticing that he had one more [Embrace] opportunity remaining in his inventory. Lost in thought, he turned his gaze towards the NGL Autonomous Republic to the south.

"Chimera Ant... would they make a good match?"

As the Sun-Earring Boy murmured to himself, his thoughts drifted away on the wind.

On the southwestern corner of the Yorbian, on a cliff overlooking the sea, hidden among overgrown weeds, lies a damp cave.

The cave was dark, but a faint rustling sound of someone eating could be heard from within.

Sometimes a few fish would go in alive, then die and be eaten, leaving only their bones to be spat out.

Further in, you can vaguely see a huge Chimera Ant, its large abdomen protruding, constantly eating and complaining.

"Hungry... so hungry... I need more and better food... for the King..."

With a "crunch," another fresh sea fish had its head bitten off, struggling and dying, accompanied by a flash of eerie light deep within the cave.

Above the cave, on a cliff overlooking the sea, a group of handsome Blonde Boy in suits smiled wickedly, watching the surveillance footage with satisfaction. They turned to the assistants beside them and said, "Go down and send her some more food."

"Too slow... too slow... I want to watch her go crazy, go insane, and shake up the world! And of course, if it attracts my most, most, most beloved baby..."

Roy Zoldyck!

That's really... won't be too good...

But... Lord Pariston, our fishing boats won't be back for another two hours...

"A staff member spoke cautiously," he said. Suddenly Blonde Boy tilted his head, looked at him, and smiled with narrowed eyes...

"I said, get off!"

"If there's not enough fish, can't you just be more flexible and deliver it to her?"