Jed 2

Three days later, "Four-Dimensional Mansion" GET!

As they say, good things come in pairs. On the very day he fully digested this spatial Nen ability, news of Jed came from Anbu Captain Ace.

"My King, the person you were looking for has been found by us of the Anbu Twelve Stars—white hair, golden eyes, and a Nen even more ominous than us Chimera Ants. However." Reporting to Ant King Meruem was Chou Niu, one of the Anbu Twelve Stars and among the strongest of the twelve.

"The ability he uses isn't Nen. It's called Grudge—a very powerful ability with significant side effects. What's wrong? Did you run into a problem?" Meruem first explained Jed's ability, then asked. Grudge ability, from the Movie Version. But in the original setting, this ability doesn't exist. Meruem only learned by chance that this Hunter World actually had a Movie Version character—the leader of the shadows, Jed. Unlike the original, where the movie takes place after the GI game and before the Chimera Ant arc, this world has Jed but no movie events. So Meruem suspected Jed hadn't yet started his revenge plan.

In the Movie Version's setting, Grudge is a special ability opposed to Nen—Nen represents light, Grudge represents darkness. Netero is the representative of light Nen, and Jed is the representative of dark Grudge. But in truth, this is a pretty far-fetched setting in the original Hunter x Hunter. The original does mention that sometimes, after death, a person's Nen can grow stronger. But that stronger Nen is still Nen at its core. Though Nen in the original also represents life energy, it has nothing to do with so-called light. Nen is Nen—a powerful life ability that can burst out with greater strength through vows and limitations. But this Grudge is worth digging into. In the Movie Version, Jed, who possesses Grudge, represents misfortune and darkness. Grudge abilities are the kind you know at a glance only villains would have. And from the battles between Grudge users and Nen users in the movie, it's basically the same as Nen application.

In other words, the Hunter World really does have Grudge, but it's also a type of Nen ability. The original explains that Chairman Netero is a master of Heart Source Style, so Jed's opposition isn't really to Nen. It's to Heart Source Style, or rather a conflict between two schools—this is very clear from their abilities. Netero's Nen ability is 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, while Jed's Grudge ability is Hundred Demons Curses! Rakshasa. It's just that Netero's Heart Source Style is more balanced and orthodox, while Jed's Grudge Style is more extreme, like a cult. Plus, Jed's abilities include granting and taking away life. The most important point is that this school now only has Jed left. His three subordinates only received power bestowed by him.

Another thing worth mentioning is that in the original, the very powerful floor masters of Heaven's Arena were reduced to background-level strength in the Movie Version, getting trounced by Gon and Killua before they'd even experienced the Chimera Ant arc. In the original, even Hisoka wouldn't dare claim he could definitely beat certain floor masters. If floor masters were only that strong, then Kastro, whom Hisoka killed in the original, could rank in the top three among them.

"My King, the man named Jed you're looking for possesses immense power. I'm afraid... I'm afraid this subordinate is incompetent and cannot bring him back." For a Chimera Ant Anbu Twelve Star like Chou Niu to say this, Jed's strength is beyond doubt. In the Movie Version, he could temporarily seal Netero's Nen ability, and even after the seal was broken, he fought Netero for a long time. Though in pure strength he was indeed inferior to Netero, he was still an extremely formidable opponent. And he had three capable subordinates. If the other side wasn't willing, relying solely on the Anbu Twelve Stars would indeed be impossible to bring him back. But now, Meruem had acquired a new ability—perfect for a test.

"Report your location now. Wait a moment, don't clash with him. Keep a close watch on them; I'll be there shortly." He'd bring those three along too, let them cause a big ruckus there. Two more months—just give me two more months, and I can leave this world. Just wait. Next time I return, I'll make the whole world know the name of the Chimera Ants and tremble.

"Jed-sama, it looks like a few little bugs are following us. Should we...?" To be honest, the Chimera Ants had been in this world too short a time. Even if they were gifted and had received Meruem's special training, that training was only for combat ability and Nen application, not other skills. But when it came to certain tasks, they still lacked experience. For example, right now—though the ants with special abilities had unique methods for finding people, when it came to tailing... sigh. Not to mention Jed, even the big man with the Mohawk haircut among Jed's three followers had noticed. As he spoke, he made a cutting motion by his neck.

"Don't rush. After we pass this town and reach the wilderness, you can test their strength. But those guys don't seem human. Be careful—our plan hasn't started yet, so don't draw too much attention. Find out their purpose. If they have good potential, consider granting them Grudge. If not, kill them." Jed said casually, as if discussing what to have for dinner. The four of them were wearing the villain-essential cloaks, so the other three couldn't see Jed's expression. But in truth, Jed's face was very serious. He had noticed the six people following them, but he hadn't expected to be noticed so soon after appearing. And their strength wasn't weak—at least not weaker than his three companions. That alone wasn't enough to worry him, but their identity was unclear. He hoped they weren't from the Hunter Association. His plan hadn't started yet, and he didn't want to clash with Netero just now, though he wasn't afraid.

"Yes, sir." It was hard to imagine a huge man bowing and scraping to a slender youth, but in the Hunter World, this was perfectly normal.

"It's time." When they reached the outskirts, the big man suddenly attacked the hiding spot of the six. Pale blue, massive flame-like Ki Blasts were fired off like they cost nothing. This showed the Chimera Ants' inexperience—who bunches up together when tailing someone? Only a few Chimera Ants with exceptional perception could hide well, or maybe only Squad Leader level?

"Damn, we've been spotted!" The six were all quite skilled. Though they were ambushed, the attack was too simple and didn't hit anyone.

"What do we do, Captain? The King's order was to wait for him and not act rashly. But it seems they don't want us following." The speaker was a handsome youth with a somewhat melancholic look. If you removed the tail and the ears on his head, his looks were decent. His tone was anxious. As the one with the strongest perception among the six, he clearly sensed that the person at the back of the four was terrifyingly powerful and ominous. He felt even a Squad Leader might not be a match—and that was a Squad Leader serving the Ant King.

"Greetings, sir. We mean no harm. We only ask that you wait here a moment. A most esteemed person wishes to meet you." Unlike Xu Gou's panic, Chou Niu, the leader of the six, remained very calm. Though he knew the other side was terrifyingly strong, as long as they stalled until Meruem arrived, everything would be simple.

"Hmph, interesting. It seems you're not from the Hunter Association." Instead of answering directly, Jed looked at the Anbu Twelve Stars with interest. Of course, there was something Jed didn't say: though the Hunter Association might recruit non-humans on the periphery, official Hunters were never non-human. It seemed a new organization had been born in this world during his absence. Were they a beast clan? Jed had only recently been revived, so he didn't know about the Chimera Ants.

"Hunters? Sorry, esteemed sir, we know nothing of Hunters. We are of the Chimera Ant clan, following the King's orders to tail you. If we've offended you, our deepest apologies. Please wait a moment—our King will arrive shortly." Chou Niu reiterated their mission, making it clear they wanted Jed to wait. A wise man knows when to yield. The other side was stronger than them, so there was no need to fight. Their task was only to stall Jed, not attack. So Chou Niu's tone was still polite. The Chimera Ants respected the strong, and Jed's strength had clearly earned the Squad Captains' recognition.

"Oh? A King? I can wait here a while, but only if you're worthy. Purgatory, Evil Spirit, Asura—you three, test the strength of these self-proclaimed Chimera." Since a so-called King hadn't arrived yet, Jed, maintaining his dignity, didn't plan to step in. Though the other side wasn't weak, his three subordinates were experts he had carefully trained. It was a good chance for them to practice before the plan.

"Yes, Jed-sama." The three replied respectfully.

"Just what I wanted. You self-proclaimed ants, let Evil Spirit crush you. Hope you're not too weak—let me have some fun." The Mohawk big man pointed arrogantly at the ants.

"Captain!" The Twelve Stars' faces twisted in anger. They called themselves Chimera Ants, but that didn't mean they'd accept being called ants. That wasn't pleasant. They acknowledged Jed's strength, but not necessarily these three. If not for Meruem's order not to act rashly, they'd have already torn these three apart.

"Wei Yang, Shen Hou, Xu Gou—you three go. Remember, don't kill!" Chou Niu's face was also dark. They had to show some strength. Being looked down on wasn't good, and more importantly, when had the Chimera Ants ever been afraid?