Plans in Preparation

PS: I might have to work overtime tomorrow, so I'm posting this early!

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"Hundred Ghosts Curse - Rakshasa!" This was Jed, leader of the Shadow Clan within the Hunter Association, strongest move. It was said to rival Chairman Netero's "100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva - Ninety-Ninth Hand." It was also the move Jed took the most pride in. Back then, he had relied on this technique to stand alongside Netero, earning them the title of the Hunter Association's strongest twin stars.

Sure enough, after Jed unleashed his strongest attack, the appearance of the double-chinned, pale-faced Evil Spirit manifested behind him changed as well. It was no longer like some mascot. It truly began to mutate into the appearance of an Evil Spirit. Its face turned blue, fangs protruded from its mouth, and its previously squinting eyes widened as if they were about to bulge from their sockets. From up close, countless blood vessels could be seen covering its eyeballs.

"This is getting more interesting. This move looks like it might actually let me feel pain. This man named Jed has some skill. No wonder he was worthy of getting his own Movie Version." Unlike Jed, whose face was red and whose neck was thick with exertion, Meruem's expression remained unchanged. He looked as though he were calmly watching a show, even throwing out an occasional jab. Even though Jed's aura had multiplied after using his ultimate move, Meruem still did not care.

It had been said long ago that Meruem was invincible against this kind of straightforward, purely enhanced attack. At present, no one could injure Meruem head-on. Perhaps someone on the Dark Continent could, but no one here could. Not even Jed. In the original story, even the prematurely born Ant King had emerged unscathed when facing Netero, despite Netero using Whole Body Release. Even the life-sacrificing 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva Zero had only scraped a tiny bit of skin off him, not even enough to count as a light injury. Much less the Meruem before them, who was in perfect condition, and Jed was inferior to Netero to begin with. In the current human world, the only things capable of harming Meruem were bizarre, special abilities or weapons, such as the Zoldyck Family's unknown entity and the Rose Bomb.

"Die, monster! Hundred Ghosts Curse - Rakshasa!" A massive mass of Resentment Aura energy contained Jed's entire life of martial arts and his resentment toward this world. Before such overwhelming energy, Meruem's body was like a small boat struggling amid towering waves, rising and falling without ever being drowned.

"What enormous negative energy. So this is your ultimate move? You resent the unfairness of heaven and earth? You resent Netero's ruthlessness? You resent the world's cold indifference? You use the injustices of the world as a foundation to draw out others' resentment, invade and control them, and if their bodies cannot endure the resentment, they explode and die. Since injustice exists in this world for as long as humanity exists, you think yourself invincible unless someone's heart is pure to the extreme? This is your secret—a technique that borrows humanity's negative emotions." The only person who could remain completely at ease while surrounded by Resentment Aura so dense it seemed tangible was Meruem. Those resentments and negative emotions seemed utterly unable to affect him. So here came the question: was someone immune to negative influence a saint? Or was Meruem a saint? What a joke. Calling him an evil man would be closer to the truth. Besides, Meruem had never considered himself a good person. He was merely an ordinary person who wanted to survive and live better. Then why was Meruem unaffected by these resentments? Because he was strong enough!

"Is that all the resentment you have? So that is the extent of your capacity. The strong devour the weak; that is the jungle law of this world. Humans are the same. Even though they consider themselves superior beings with so-called moral principles, a small minority still rules the vast majority. A world of absolute fairness and justice, where everyone is happy, can never exist. If you want to resent someone, resent yourself for being weaker than Netero back then. The winner becomes King, and the loser becomes a bandit. If you had won, you would have taken Netero's place. What a pity. Weakness is the original sin." The Nen radiating from Meruem was even more ominous and aggressive than Jed's Resentment Aura. Jed's strongest killing move, Hundred Ghosts Curse - Rakshasa, was completely ineffective against Meruem.

"Now it's my turn. First, I'm going to hit your chest!" Meruem said, holding out one finger toward Jed. Before Jed could process his words, a tearing pain erupted in his chest, followed by a mouthful of purple blood spraying from his lips.

"When?" When Jed looked toward Meruem again, he found that Meruem was no longer where he had been, but on the other side. His own body and vision had completely failed to keep up with Meruem's speed. Just how fast was he?

"Next is your right leg!" Meruem extended a second finger before Jed. This time, Jed focused all his attention on Meruem, while all the resentment in his body gathered in his right leg. An advanced application of Nen: "Hard."

But—

"How is that possible?" He had clearly kept his eyes fixed on Meruem. He had clearly used Hard with all his strength to protect his right leg. Yet somehow, Jed's right leg had been broken. It had happened so fast that even his pain receptors had not had time to react. Or was this the other man's ability? That thought arose in Jed's mind.

Jed could not help thinking that way. Once upon a time, he too had been a man standing at the peak of this world. Even if he lost, he should not have lost so completely. He was as helpless as a child before a world boxing champion. Besides, Meruem had yet to use his Nen ability in front of Jed. Or perhaps this was his Nen ability—the ability of an Emitter! Anyone who had failed before could always find an excuse to comfort themselves when they failed again, especially when facing such utter despair without even a sliver of hope. Even if it was merely self-deception, as time passed, the human mind selectively forgot the things it most did not want to remember. That self-deceiving excuse would become the "reality" they believed in.

"I surrender." Though unwilling, Jed knew he had no way to defeat the monster before him. His strongest move was nothing but a joke in Meruem's eyes. The martial arts he took such pride in had been ruthlessly shattered, and most importantly, Meruem's ability was simply too bizarre. His defeat was not undeserved. But next time, as long as he could find the weakness in Meruem's technique, he would definitely win. Jed comforted himself with that thought.

"Tell me. What do you want me to do? What will it take for you to let me go?" Jed was not someone who could not accept defeat, and he did not want to die. He still had unfinished business. What was wrong with bowing his head for now? To become the leader of the Hunter Association's shadow, the Shadow Clan, Jed naturally had to be someone who could bend and stretch.

"How about helping me kill Netero? As for letting you go? As long as you agree, you can leave whenever you want."

"W-what?" Jed's mind suddenly froze. What was going on?

"What do you think? You have a grudge against that old man too, don't you? Because of certain ties, it isn't convenient for me to act against him directly."

"So you want to kill with a borrowed knife?" Jed's face darkened, his expression unreadable. Though he did not understand what grudge this monster-like man had against Netero or why he wanted him dead, if Meruem acted, then even if Netero were stronger than he had been in the past, he would likely face a grim fate. Besides, taking revenge on Netero had been one of Jed's purposes in returning to life.

"That's right." Meruem did not hide it at all. Or rather, there was no need to hide it. That was exactly what he meant.

"Fine. I agree." By then, Jed's body had mostly recovered. Though he had not fully healed, he could move normally. After all, Jed was no longer truly human, and while his recovery ability was not as strong as that of certain Chimera Ants, it far surpassed that of ordinary humans. Besides, Meruem had never intended to kill him in the first place and had not struck to kill. Otherwise, Jed would not merely have been injured.

"Then how do you plan to do it?" Upon hearing Jed's affirmative answer, Meruem grinned with satisfaction. If he had been the Ant King from the original story, one might never have seen him smile even once in his life except around Komugi. Unfortunately, this guy had never been a serious person.

"That's my business. Just wait for news of Netero's death. And your smile is ugly." Even though Jed had surrendered, that did not mean he would submit to Meruem. A man like Jed, ambitious and ruthless like a warlord, would never casually submit to another, even if that person was stronger than him. If he had lacked ambition, he would not have turned the Hunter Association upside down back then, forcing even Netero to purge the entire Shadow Clan.

"Heh." Meruem did not care about Jed's attitude. His goal for this trip had been achieved, and Jed was merely venting a little.

"Purgatory, Evil Spirit, Asura. Let's go." The Dark Shadow Three Giants had also come to Jed's side. Purgatory, who was completely uninjured, took on the task of supporting Jed.

"Wait." Just as the group was about to leave, Meruem suddenly spoke.

"What? Are you going back on your word?" Jed's expression turned ugly. The feeling of having his life and death controlled by someone else was so irritating it drove him mad.

"Calm down. Of course I'm not going back on my word. I have three subordinates here. They are not very strong, but they are not weak either. They should be able to help you. If you want revenge on Netero, relying solely on your three subordinates is probably unrealistic. Netero has many Star Hunters under him, and even an organization called the Zodiac Twelve. You must have heard the name Botobai Gigante. He is now one of the Zodiac Twelve." The Botobai Gigante Meruem mentioned was the Zodiac Twelve's Dragon, praised as the person closest to Netero in both strength and reputation. It was just that the Hunter Association's Zodiac Twelve and the Chimera Ants' Anbu Twelve Stars both used the twelve zodiac animals as code names. Perhaps a battle between the two was inevitable.

Jed listened to Meruem's explanation expressionlessly. When he heard the name Botobai Gigante, a flicker of something strange appeared in his eyes. He then looked at his three subordinates before looking at the three Squad Leaders Meruem had indicated.

"Fine."