The Guard Dogs

At the Forest Sea training ground within the Zoldyck Family estate, Wutong placed three sets of weighted rings on the ground—four pieces per set, one for each wrist and ankle, fifty kilograms apiece.

"This is the basic trial. Wear the weighted rings and run ten laps through the Forest Sea. If you can't finish, forget about seeing Young Master Killua."

Leorio could barely lift a single weighted ring with both hands, his face flushed bright red. Kurapika had already silently fastened his rings around his wrists and lowered his head to adjust the clasps. Gon was the third to put them on. He did not hesitate, but when he bent down to fasten the ankle clasps, his fingertips still trembled slightly. Both his arms were wrapped in bandages. The blood on his right arm had already dried, while fresh blood seeped through the bandages on his left. The three stood at the entrance to the Forest Sea as Wutong pressed the stopwatch.

Saitama leaned against the trunk of an ancient towering tree nearby, peeling the wrapper off his second grilled corn cob. It was the last one he had bought from the convenience store at the station. He had meant to save it for the afternoon, but the sounds of training from the Forest Sea were far too loud—Leorio's panting could be heard from hundreds of meters away. He got bored waiting, so he peeled it open and ate it.

A low canine growl suddenly came from the side gate. Saitama paused mid-chew and glanced in that direction.

A squad of armed mercenaries was climbing over the iron fence at the side gate. Their leader was a bald, muscular man holding an assault rifle. He landed with practiced precision and muttered to his men, "This damn mountain looks creepy. Find the target fast. Don't waste time." But he did not notice the three pairs of blood-red eyes in the shadows. Mike lunged from three directions at once. The big man heard one of his companions shout, "Watch out, there's a monster—" but before he could turn around, Mike's huge jaws had already closed down. Only one shot rang out before falling silent. Then came the sound of bones breaking, flesh tearing, several people screaming almost simultaneously, and then becoming quiet almost simultaneously. Blood splashed across the fence beside the side gate and trickled down the iron bars. A broken tactical flashlight rolled onto the gravel path, still emitting a faint glow. Seconds later, nothing remained outside the side gate but scattered weapons and several pools of steaming blood.

Gotoh poked his head out from the guardhouse, took one look, sighed, and adjusted his hat. He took out a mop and bucket and began cleaning the blood by the side gate with practiced ease. Before he had even finished the first pool, Mike had already licked the blood from his mouth and turned his crimson eyes toward the Forest Sea.

The three giant dogs lowered their bodies at the same time and silently closed in on the bald man leaning against the ancient tree. Their shoulders stood higher than a human's, and the blood of the previous intruders still hung from their fangs. Every step made the gravel tremble faintly. The one in the middle let out a deep rumble from its throat, exactly like the sound it had made while slaughtering the intruders. The other two silently circled in from the sides, steadily tightening the encirclement.

Leorio was the first to react. He had just completed one lap and was bracing himself against a tree, gasping for air, when he caught sight of the three giant dogs silently approaching Saitama—they had pounced on those mercenaries exactly like this moments ago. His pupils suddenly contracted. Fear broke the rhythm of his breathing as he used every ounce of strength to scream toward the Forest Sea, "Saitama, run—!!"

Kurapika came to an abrupt stop. The fifty-kilogram rings on his wrists and ankles collided with a dull metallic clang. He did not shout, but his body had instinctively turned toward Saitama—he was too far away. Even at full speed, he would never make it in time. His wrists tightened beneath the weighted rings, his knuckles turning white.

Gon did not shout. His feet dragged two grooves through the gravel. Before he had fully stopped, he tore the weighted rings from his wrists and charged toward the ancient tree. His arms trembled with tearing pain beneath the bandages, but he did not slow down. His eyes stayed fixed on the three giant dogs. He knew he could not possibly outrun Mike, but he had to run.

Wutong's stopwatch froze in midair.

What happened next was not what Gotoh had expected. The mop even slipped from his hand. The two of them saw it at the same time—the three giant dogs had surrounded the ancient tree in a triangular formation, exactly the same formation they had used to slaughter the mercenaries. Having served as the Zoldyck Family's chief butler for years, he had never seen Mike wag its tail at an intruder, never seen Mike lie at an intruder's feet, never seen Mike roll over and expose its belly. Now, Mike was closing in on this bald man in the same killing stance, while the bald man remained leaning against the tree trunk, holding a thoroughly gnawed corn cob in his hand.

Saitama took the corn cob out of his mouth and looked at it. "This is my only one. You can share it." He gently set the cob on the ground.

Mike's growls suddenly stopped. The rumbling in its throat slowly changed tone—from a dangerous growl into a different kind of sound. A huge nose cautiously stretched forward, its breath swirling over Saitama's fingertips, while its tail swept the first arc across the gravel. The other two simultaneously rested their chins on Saitama's feet, their tails beginning to wag as well. Three tails swept the ground rapidly at once, sending fallen leaves around the edge of the Forest Sea flying. The one on the far left snorted, blowing the corn cob two turns across the ground. The one on the far right immediately pinned it down with a paw. Then all three giant dogs rolled over to reveal their pale bellies, whimpering almost like puppies begging for food.

Leorio's mouth was still open, but no sound came from his throat. His finger remained pointed at Saitama, frozen in midair like a statue with its pause button pressed. Kurapika slowly relaxed his tense wrist, and the white marks his nails had dug into his palm gradually faded. Gon had made it halfway there when his sprint became a jog, then his jog became a walk. Finally, he stopped on the gravel not far in front of the ancient tree, panting heavily. Looking at the three giant dogs showing their bellies, his expression changed from terror to confusion, then from confusion to an understanding grin. "Brother Saitama, they really seem to like you," he said.

Saitama patted the middle head of Mike. "Good dogs."

Gotoh still held the mop, his entire body frozen in place. The handle slipped from his hand, bounced twice across the gravel, and splashed water everywhere. Mike had bitten armed mercenaries to death. It had bitten Nen users to death. It had never wagged its tail. Yet now, all three tails swept the ground at once, so fast he could feel the vibrations through the soles of his feet.

Wutong lowered the stopwatch and turned toward the main house.

Deep within the main house, in Silva's study, Wutong knocked and entered. In the briefest possible terms, he reported what had happened at the Forest Sea: Mike wagged its tail, Mike rolled over, Mike lay at a bald man's feet and whimpered for food.

Silva set down the document in his hand. "Mm."

Wutong remained standing for a moment longer. Once he confirmed that the family head had no further instructions, he gave a slight bow and left the study. In his private room, Milluki stared wide-eyed at the screen, a potato chip suspended in midair. He replayed the scene of Mike rolling over several times, typed out a line on the keyboard, then deleted it all. After that, he dug another bag of chips out of the snack cabinet and muttered to himself, "Tch. Fine. Looks like my family's dog likes him."

Saitama patted Mike's head and got up to walk toward the main house. Mike reluctantly followed behind him, its tail still wagging. Only after Saitama pointed back toward the Forest Sea without turning around did it whine and return to lie down. When he passed Leorio, Leorio was still holding his finger rigidly in the air. His lips moved for a long time before he finally squeezed out four words. "You... weren't scared?" Saitama thought about it and said, "Dogs are pretty nice. They make more sense than people lining up at the supermarket." Then he passed Kurapika. Kurapika said nothing, merely watched his retreating back, fastened his weighted rings again, and told Gon, "Continue training." Gon bent down, picked up the weighted ring he had just torn off, and fastened it back around his wrist.

When he passed Wutong, Wutong's mouth twitched, but he said nothing. When he passed Gotoh, Gotoh had just picked up the mop from the ground. At the sight of him, he instinctively gripped the handle tightly with both hands, only relaxing after Saitama had walked past. When Saitama entered the corridor of the main house, a young butler carrying a tea tray came around the corner. He politely nodded at Saitama, then continued toward the study.

Deep within the main house was a solitary confinement room. A heavy iron door was embedded in soundproof walls, with no windows. Killua's hands were locked in thick iron chains and suspended high from a ceiling beam, his feet hanging off the floor. In the darkness, his head hung low, silver hair covering most of his face. Illumi's Nen Needles continued to work deep within his mind. He had returned home willingly. He had walked into the confinement room willingly. He had offered his wrists for Wutong to lock in chains willingly. The needles no longer needed to force him, because he had already chosen to obey.