Chimera Ants

"What terrifying Nen—and it's still growing stronger! Even in my prime, I might not have been able to beat this." Netero casually suppressed Youpi, but his gaze drifted toward the Queen's location. Though Youpi's body was monstrous and his strength immense, if they had fought under equal conditions, the outcome would've been a 4-to-6 split at best. Netero wouldn't have found it easy to defeat Youpi, let alone pin him down so thoroughly. But Youpi had nothing but brute force and terrifying Nen, with no idea how to use it—he fought purely on instinct.

In other words, Netero was practically toying with him.

"Alright, I suppose I need to get serious." Netero's eyes sharpened. Gone was the usual smiling face, replaced by a grim, ferocious expression.

His muscles swelled again, and a surge of Nen erupted from his body, easily overwhelming Youpi's. The entire Chimera Ant Nest trembled under the weight of that fearsome aura. Even Morel and Knuckle, far away, felt their Chairman's terrifying power. Knuckle actually began to shake slightly—knowing Netero wasn't his enemy did nothing to dull the deep dread the Nen inspired. Earlier, Netero had held back to conserve strength for the soon-to-be-born Ant King, but he hadn't expected a single ant to block his path. These ants were nothing like the ones he'd killed before. If there were more like this, even if he fought his way to the Queen, he'd have little stamina left. So Netero decided to end it quickly.

"Hm? What's this feeling? So powerful... but I'm stronger!" Ripples pulsed from within the massive egg, but it remained unbroken.

"Hm? What's this? Another life? Sharing my power? I am the King! No race needs two kings. So I won't allow it. For the race, for myself—I'll make you vanish!" Under the shock of Netero's immense Nen, another life stirred inside the great egg. This was the other Chimera Ant discovered in the Queen's womb after the Ant King's birth—Kite. Kite, kept alive by Crazy Slots' absolute death-resistance.

But so-called absolute death-resistance was only resistance to death, not immortality. Nothing in this world is absolute. Just as a Conjurer can't conjure a perfectly indestructible, razor-sharp sword, any "absolute" is merely relative—it hasn't reached that threshold.

"Give my power back." A terrifying suction pulled the life force flowing to the other side, along with the smaller life's strength, all into itself.

"This world needs only one king." Once no trace of the other life remained, the massive being in the womb grew stronger, its Nen becoming even more fearsome. The Nen leaking from the egg already surpassed that of most strong beings in the nest.

But no one noticed a tiny wound beneath the great egg above the Queen's belly—so small even the Queen couldn't feel it. A creature the size of a mosquito leaped out and fled into the distance. This was the life the Ant King had sensed in the egg. It all happened in the instant Netero's Nen fully erupted.

"Not good! Youpi can't beat that guy, meow!" The first to recover from Netero's overwhelming Nen were the other two Royal Guards: the cat-girl Pitou and Pouf.

"100-Type Guanyin, First Form!" The golden Bodhisattva behind Netero slammed a massive hand-chop into Youpi, driving him deep into the ground before he could react.

"Pfft!" A gush of purple blood, unique to Chimera Ants, seeped from Youpi's mouth and all over his body. In truth, the Royal Guards' logic wasn't wrong—at less than 50% of his prime, Netero couldn't have slaughtered or even decisively beaten any one of them. But their arrogance was their flaw. Of the three, only Neferpitou had any systematic Nen training, and that was only because of Pokkle. Her ability wasn't combat-oriented either. Once Netero got serious and used 100-Type Guanyin—a technique he'd honed his entire life to devastating effect—the Royal Guards, lacking systematic training and their own unique "Hatsu," were in deep trouble. They might not die, but they couldn't stop Netero's advance.

"100-Type Guanyin, Second Form!" He swept the charging Pitou and Pouf aside with a single palm strike. But since they hadn't taken it head-on like Youpi, they suffered no real damage.

That was enough, though. Netero's goal wasn't to kill the guards—it was the Queen.

"Damn it, meow! His target is the King!" "Stop him! Don't let him reach the King!" Pitou and Pouf realized Netero's intent the moment he moved.

"100-Type Guanyin, Third Form!" Just as the three Royal Guards regrouped, Netero spun and unleashed the third form. Two enormous palms clapped together with lightning speed, like swatting a mosquito, aiming to crush them flat.

Every strike of 100-Type Guanyin used Netero's full strength. After that, he immediately turned toward the Queen. Taking the full force of Netero's 100-Type Guanyin head-on, Youpi was wounded twice but, with the strongest body among the three, showed no loss of combat ability—just minor injuries and a battered look. Pitou, the most well-rounded, also avoided any crippling damage, though she wasn't unscathed. Pouf fared worst. In both Nen destruction and physical resilience, he was the weakest—better suited for mental and surveillance warfare, a support type. His injuries were severe; while they didn't hinder movement, his combat power plummeted. Luckily, Netero's attack hit all three at once, or Pouf would've been gravely wounded.

"Enemy attack! Protect the King!" Pouf abandoned all pretense, issuing a direct mental command to every Chimera Ant. At this moment, he only hoped the Squad Leaders and Squad Captains he'd once scorned could buy them time.

But the Squad Leaders' reactions varied wildly. Unlike common Soldier Ants, they didn't just obey orders. Many harbored their own ambitions. Some were still loyal to the Queen, but even they recalled her earlier commands—ignored by many Squad Leaders and Captains. Now, in this crisis, some even hoped Netero would kill the Ant King and Queen, letting them break free.

"Are you kidding me? Send us against that monster?" Wolf-type Squad Leader Welfin thought to himself. Clearly, he wouldn't sacrifice his life for the Ant King.

Welfin wasn't alone. Many Squad Leaders and Captains, like Lion Haja, the crocodile-type, lobster-type Bloster, and that drinking koala, shared his disregard for the Royal Guards' orders.

Still, plenty rushed toward Netero.

For example—

"I won't let you pass so easily." A massive bull-type Squad Leader blocked Netero's path—Bihorn, said to be the strongest in raw strength. A mantis-type Squad Leader stood beside him.

"100-Type Guanyin." Netero, focused solely on his goal, didn't even let them speak before sweeping them aside with a palm. The two poor Squad Leaders were slammed into the nearby wall. But Netero's only aim was to kill the Ant King in the Queen's womb, so faint signs of life still flickered beneath the rubble.

"Haha, you look pretty tough! Let's see who's faster!" A cheetah-type Squad Leader zipped toward Netero with a playful grin.

"100-Type Guanyin." Another Squad Leader embedded in the wall.

"100-Type Guanyin." "100-Type Guanyin." "100-Type Guanyin." "100-Type Guanyin." "100-Type Guanyin." With a series of smacks, every Squad Leader and Captain who tried to stop Netero was driven into the ground or walls. Even those who survived had lost all combat ability.

"Damn it, I won't let you take another step." The last to stand before Netero was Kolt, who looked like Lei Zhenzi. Beside him were an octopus, a panda, a turtle, and a penguin. But aside from Kolt, the others didn't seem very strong. Their trembling bodies betrayed their terror in facing Netero. Yet they couldn't leave—the room behind them held the Queen.

"Well done, Squad Leaders." Just as Netero prepared to strike them down, the Royal Guards finally caught up.

"Tch." Netero glanced at the three guards. "This is bad for me. That thing inside is getting stronger. It won't be long before it's born. I can't let something that dangerous out. I'd love to fight such a strong opponent, but I can't take that risk."

"Then—" Netero turned to face the three guards, taking a deep breath. Time to go all out. How many years had it been since he felt this way?

"100-Type Guanyin, Ninety-Ninth Form." The golden Bodhisattva behind Netero launched an assault on the Royal Guards at a speed too fast for the eye to follow.

"This... this is terrifying!" Faced with the golden flashes and overwhelming Nen, Kolt's mind was filled with pure dread. The gap in power was too vast. If he faced this alone, he'd be dead in three seconds.

"Aaaaaah! For the King!!!" Youpi's Nen exploded again, his body undergoing a massive transformation. But it was suppressed once more by Netero's Ninety-Ninth Form.

"Pfft." Compared to Youpi, Pouf was in a pitiful state. He had no chance to use his scale powder, and his other ability, Beelzebub, was shattered by the endless giant palms the moment he tried. He feared wide-area destruction abilities like this, and with his physical defenses far below Pitou's or Youpi's, he was now severely wounded.

Pitou fared better than the other two, but even she couldn't break through Netero's storm of attacks.

"Aaaaah!" Netero's onslaught shook the entire nest, causing the Queen inside the room to cry out in pain.

"Queen!" Hearing the Queen's pained scream, the turtle, penguin, and octopus instinctively moved to check on her, but Netero kicked them away with a spare foot.

"Disappear." Netero flexed every muscle one last time, gathering his Nen.

"100-Type Guanyin, Ninety-Ninth Form!" His entire body blazed with golden light. The devastating power manifested again, and with a thunderous roar, the entire nest collapsed.

"No!" "King!!" Amid the cries of Pitou and the others, a massive crater appeared where the nest had been.

Then, everything fell silent. Pitou, Pouf, and Youpi struggled to their feet, clutching their wounds, glaring at Netero with murderous intent. The other Squad Leaders had been blown away or buried in the explosion.

"Whew, finally dealt with." Ignoring the injured guards, Netero felt an unusual lightness. The tension in his nerves eased. He could no longer feel that oppressive, ominous Nen. The remaining guards would be troublesome, but not impossible.

"Dealt with what?" A soft voice whispered in Netero's ear.

"Snap." Netero felt a breeze brush past his right side.

"Were you talking about me? Good morning, Chairman." A young man appeared less than five meters in front of Netero, smiling at him. He looked exactly like a human youth, except for his dark green skin. He radiated no Nen at all—completely ordinary. Except for what he held in his hand.

Netero stared in shock at his own right arm. It was gone.

The Ant King had been born in his most perfect form—the strongest Chimera Ant. Unlike the incomplete, premature version in the original, this King was the pinnacle of the Chimera Ant race. Even the reborn Ant King from the original story might not match him.