Election

"Ha ha ha, you Chimera Ants did an excellent job this time. Not only did you eliminate the ringleader Jed, but you also wiped out all those evil remnants of the Shadow Clan."

"You Chimera Ants are really efficient and clean—saved us a lot of trouble."

"Well done. Keep it up." "Chief Meruem, would your Chimera Ant clan be interested in working within my territory?"

"Oh, it's nothing, nothing at all. These are all things I should do. Solving your troubles is my duty."

"The young man is quite modest." "Not arrogant or impatient—a good prospect."

The above was the conversation when Meruem reported back to those leaders. After witnessing Meruem's strength, some of the big shots extended olive branches to him. However, Meruem politely declined. His occupation of the East Gorteau Republic hadn't been exposed yet. After all, aside from the royal palace, the entire country was still functioning normally. And that Digo was just a body double for the real Digo. Simply put, no matter what the fake Digo did, the country operated as usual. No matter what happened to the palace, the outside world wouldn't know. How could ordinary citizens go to the palace? Besides, the country had the church Meruem had developed. It had to be said that the East Gorteau Republic and NGL were both pretty bizarre countries—one could function normally without a leader, and the other had no electronic products at all. Thinking about that Nasubi Hui Guo Rou from the Dark Continent arc, it was clear that the leaders of various countries in the Hunter World were all quite unique individuals.

Aside from that, the unexplained nuclear attack on the Hunter Association headquarters became the second major event after Chairman Netero's death. The Hunter Association had suffered multiple terrorist attacks before, but this was the most severe loss. Fortunately, most Hunters were usually out on missions and not at headquarters. Only some administrative staff, data, and a few Association members died. Otherwise, data and facilities aside, the loss of personnel was something the Association couldn't afford. After all, there were only about 600 to 700 active Hunters still alive.

"The only regret is that old man Netero left that recording so early. I thought the devastating blow to headquarters and the Chairman's death would cause considerable damage to the Hunter Association. It seems I'm still too young. The Hunter Association really is a centuries-old organization. They publicly claimed Netero resigned out of guilt due to his negligence causing the destruction of Heaven's Arena and the attack on the Association, pinning both incidents on him. But without Netero, I'd like to see who dares to lead a team into my territory to cause trouble." Listening to his subordinates' reports, Meruem sat sideways on the throne, one hand pinching a chess piece.

"Now that they're electing a new Chairman, the Hunter Association should be too busy to bother with me. Gon, Killua, plus Knuckle, Shoot, and Palm alone pose no threat to me. Even counting Botobai Gigante and the other Zodiac Twelve, it's still not enough."

Hunter Association Temporary Conference Hall

"I disagree! What time is this, and you're still in the mood to elect a new Chairman? The headquarters was attacked! The headquarters! This is an open provocation against the Hunter Association!" Bucida Dots, dressed like a Japanese high school delinquent with a JoJo-style appearance, slammed the table heavily.

"Oh my, oh my, even if we want revenge, we need to at least investigate who did it first, right? And without a Chairman, there's no one to lead the charge, is there?" Pariston maintained his usual smile. Bucida Dots was only a one-star Hunter but had considerable prestige in the Association, often acting as a disciplinary officer and speaking out against things he disliked. He was a Hunter with a strong presence, and since his strength wasn't too bad, he could attend high-level meetings. However, his strength was far inferior to Morel, also a one-star Hunter.

"Do we even need to investigate? Anyone with eyes knows that the one who killed Chairman Netero was that monster calling himself the King of the Chimera Ants, right? And why are you sitting in the main seat?" Bucida Dots pointed at Pariston, who sat in the center, spittle flying toward Pariston's perpetually smirking face. But Pariston wasn't overwhelmed by the spit. Imagine everyone sitting on both sides of the table, with only Pariston in the center—usually only the leader sat there.

"But the high-ranking officials of various countries have forbidden us from acting against those ants. And we have no evidence linking the Chairman's death to them." At least not openly, Pariston added in his mind. As for the comment about sitting in the main seat, he naturally sidestepped it.

"Calm down, Bucida Dots. Vice-Chairman Pariston is right. Electing a leader now is indeed crucial." Traisein, a two-star Brain Hunter skilled in nurturing talent, looked like a middle-aged politician. Though not strong in combat, he had high prestige in the Association, having trained many junior Hunters—even if most were mediocre.

"I also think the Vice-Chairman's proposal is good," said a thick-lipped black Hunter. Lube, a Lost Hunter, was one of the trio in the original election arc who wanted to amend the Hunter Ten Rules and stop Illumi.

Because of the major incident at the Hunter Association, they didn't follow the original story where only the Zodiac Twelve decided the Chairman election. Instead, they gathered high-prestige Hunters with many supporters to decide together. Besides the three mentioned, there were also the Association's oldest Hunter, two-star Gourmet Hunter Linnet Ordevre; the Association's "mom" (cough, sister), two-star Jewel Hunter Biscuit; the Association's "flower," one-star Virus Hunter Sampika; the Association's mascot, a one-star Cute Hunter resembling a Jynx, Cute*Beauty; and the eternal shut-in known as the "resident of the computer world," one-star Hacker Hunter Ickshonpe.

Bucida Dots, Lube, and Traisein belonged to the anti-Chairman faction. Biscuit and Linnet Ordevre were pro-Chairman. Biscuit was a master of the Heart Source Style, which Netero founded, and Linnet Ordevre had an unusual relationship with the Chairman. Sampika, Ickshonpe, and Cute*Beauty represented the ordinary Hunters. Even among the Zodiac Twelve loyal to Netero, there were many factions: the reformist hawks (Monkey, Rabbit, Rooster), the liberals (Horse, Tiger, Snake), the conservative moderates (Dragon, Ox, Dog, Sheep), and two independents—one goofball (Ging) and one idiot (Pariston). So the relationships among these "high-level" Hunters were very... complicated.

Of course, these weren't the Association's strongest fighters. They were just the "high-level" members handling daily operations and commissions, usually convening or announcing things. The strongest Hunters weren't in the Association, and sometimes even Netero couldn't contact them. Strong people had eccentric personalities, and not everyone craved power. Those at their level generally didn't cling to authority; they acted on impulse. Still, the Association had many strong Hunters, like Morel, who kept a low profile. Their actual abilities and overall strength were formidable. Incidentally, because of the lack of achievements in the Chimera Ant arc, Morel wasn't widely known and remained a low-key one-star Hunter.

"Speaking of which, everyone, I have a proposal!" Pariston flashed a set of white teeth and raised his right index finger.

"I don't want to hear it."

"Seconded!"

"Seconded! +1"

"Seconded! +10086"

"Ahaha, seconding is invalid. You know, as Vice-Chairman, I'm slightly higher in rank than you all. I think everyone wants this over quickly, right? So, I'll take the loss and nominate myself as a candidate for Chairman. How about you all skip the election?" Pariston started rambling as if he hadn't heard the complaints.

Then he felt everyone's "kind" stares.

"I'll kill you, you reckless brat!" Wei Yang, who had been crying like a sissy over the Chairman's death, instantly darkened into an angry demon.

"You want to die?" Kanzai, though injured and not intending to act, revealed sharp claws, likely planning to take a shot at Pariston in the chaos.

"You damn bastard! I've been pissed at you from the start!" Bucida Dots slammed the innocent table again and yelled at Pariston's face. This time, even Traisein and Lube didn't stop him. Of course, some didn't care, like Ging with his Avanti-style turban, Ickshonpe typing on his computer, Linnet Ordevre sipping tea, and the soft-spoken Sampika. These few were indifferent to who became Chairman.

"Oh dear, don't get so worked up. So scary. Aren't you all wasting time? The voting result is already obvious." Pariston continued as if courting death.

This sparked another round of outrage.

"No one here will vote for you!"

"Sixteen people. Everyone here totals sixteen. Do you know how many Hunters are in the Association?"

"..."

Just as everyone was arguing endlessly over the Chairman issue, Ging suddenly spoke.

But truly, when he spoke, it was a bombshell.

"I'll nominate myself. I want to carry on that old man's will."

"...I don't want to vote for either of these two."

Now everyone was in agreement.