Netero left. Meruem watched him go until he could no longer sense his Nen.
"Knuckle's spatial ability? How convenient. If only one of the ants had an ability like that. It'd be perfect for escapes and assassinations." Meruem clicked his tongue enviously. "Now that the people in our way are gone, it's time to deal with what's left. Squad Leaders and Squad Captains... what a headache."
He glanced at the Ant King's Royal Guards, still kneeling with guilty expressions, and his headache returned. The three of them were loyal, but each had a stronger personality than the last.
"I do not blame you. That was merely for the outsiders' benefit. Now, all three of you, rise. I have something to announce," Meruem said in a low voice. He had only meant to show his displeasure at Pouf for interrupting him. "I know who you are. You are my most loyal subordinates, my three Royal Guards: Neferpitou, Shaiapouf, and Menthuthuyoupi."
"Oh, King, you remember my name! I deserve death for offending you, though I never meant to. I knew it, my King. You are too kind!" The moment Pouf realized Meruem did not blame him, the butterfly man sprang back to full strength and launched into a torrent of words. Shaiapouf was one of the Ant King's three Royal Guards, and unquestionably among the strongest Chimera Ants, though he lacked a powerful offensive technique. His Nen abilities, Beelzebub and Spiritual Message, both leaned toward support. He seemed somewhat weaker than the agile catwoman Pitou and the mighty Menthuthuyoupi, but that did not mean he was weaker than either of them overall. He was also a little neurotic, and anything involving the King brought out his unstoppable chatter. Then there were the longstanding rumors about his possible attraction to men.
"Meow!" the catwoman chirped to make her presence known.
"Uh... Rabbit." The red-skinned muscleman remained hopelessly conflicted.
"Ahem. Hello, hello." Ignoring Pouf, who had disappeared into his own world, Meruem turned toward the ruined Ant Nest. His voice was not loud, yet every surviving ant could hear him. "Squad Leaders, Squad Captains, and warriors of the Chimera Ants, I am your King. Come to me within thirty minutes of hearing this. I have an announcement to make. I repeat..."
"King, are you gathering the other ants, meow?" Pitou sat cross-legged on a clean rock and gazed at him with wide, curious eyes. Her tail swayed with her voice, like a cat fascinated by something new.
"Yes. I want to gather the subordinates we have left. I have something to announce." Meruem was happy enough to answer the adorable catwoman's question.
"Forgive me for speaking plainly, but the three of us are all the subordinates you need. Those weaklings aren't worthy, meow." The catwoman spoke with absolute confidence and made no effort to hide her contempt for the other ants. To the Royal Guards, even the Squad Leaders were hardly worth mentioning, let alone the Squad Captains.
"How dare you question the King's judgment, Pitou!" Once again, anything involving the King sent the butterfly man into a frenzy. He became an idiot whenever the King was concerned. "Though Pitou does have a point." The Royal Guards had their pride. As haughty as they were, they would not acknowledge the other ants.
Meruem sighed inwardly. This world was dangerous. Chimera Ants might be strong by nature, but they were still far too weak compared with its greatest fighters. Worse, they were divided among themselves. Meruem had no intention of following the original story's path. He had only just been reborn; he was nowhere near ready to die. His first task was to unite the surviving ants. In the original story, they had scattered: some surrendered, others went off on their own, and humanity picked them off one by one. Chimera Ants were ants, after all. What were an ant colony's greatest strengths? Unity and numbers. However strong an individual ant became, it was still an ant, but enough ants could bring down an elephant. Meruem understood that. He was not the philosophy-obsessed fellow from the original story, and he had no need to act profound. He had formed his own values long before his rebirth, and becoming a Chimera Ant would not change them much. He wanted to live, and he wanted to live well.
"I will decide that for myself," Meruem said, answering the catwoman's question. The Royal Guards' attitude was inborn, and he had no time to argue over it. He needed to bring his existing forces together as quickly as possible before making his next move. He was not asking for much; at the very least, he needed enough strength to protect himself in the world of Hunter x Hunter. Time. If the Chimera Ants had just a little more time to grow to their full potential, they could claim a place in this world.
The surviving ants began gathering around Meruem. Leaving aside the unremarkable Soldier Ants, there were only a few dozen Squad Leaders and Squad Captains left. So long as they did not make an enemy of all humanity, they were still one of the strongest forces in Hunter x Hunter. Unfortunately, in the original story they had faced the entire human world, and against humanity as a whole, the Chimera Ants were weak. They lacked numbers, even though ants should have relied on overwhelming swarms. Later, they had planned to make up the shortfall by transforming humans, but they had already drawn far too much attention. They had openly seized a country—two, counting NGL—alarming humanity's leaders and prompting the Chairman's suicide attack. Nor had the ants been united. They had largely acted on their own, and ants once loyal to the Ant Queen surrendered to humans after seeing Meruem brutally kill their companions. Some even recovered memories of their human lives and rebelled outright, following a leader from their past lives—like Welfin, who went looking for Gyro at the end of the Chimera Ant arc. The original Meruem's actions after birth had torn the colony apart. Even united, the ants could not have defeated humanity, but they might at least have had a chance to survive.
When the last ant arrived, Meruem stood and looked over them. He recognized many faces from the Hunter x Hunter manga of his previous life. Nearly every surviving Squad Leader and Squad Captain had appeared in it. According to the manga, the Chimera Ants had thirty Squad Leaders, but Netero had killed sixteen squads before the Ant King was born. All sixteen leaders had died. The remaining fourteen included Hagga, the lion who suffocated; Kolt, who resembled Lei Zhenzi; Cheetu, the ridiculous leopard Killua's father killed with a single blow; Zazan, the scorpion Feitan killed; Welfin, the wolf who later recovered his human memories, openly rebelled against the Ant King, and was scared witless by Rabbit; Meleoron, the chameleon who rebelled after the King killed his adoptive father, with a godlike ability and a frail body; Peggy, the chameleon's knowledgeable adoptive father, whom the Ant King killed in an instant; Bloster, the lobster with little presence who was later ambushed by an octopus Squad Captain; an old octopus who sided with humanity and seemed to be a doctor; and an old turtle who played the peacemaker, only for the King to kill him for talking too much. The others were a mantis, Panda, Crocodile, and Bihorn, the bull said to be the strongest, each of whom had appeared in only a few panels. All fourteen seemed to be alive; Meruem could see them, at least. There were plenty of Squad Captains too, but they were generally weaker, so he only paid attention to a few with notable Nen abilities.
As Meruem studied the Squad Leaders and Squad Captains, every ant present watched him nervously. Some were nervous because he was their King. They could be called loyalists, though in the original story, the Ant King's brutal entrance—killing two Squad Leaders at the slightest disagreement—had driven most of them to humanity. Others feared him or had their own agendas. Netero's display of strength had terrified them, so what could they do against the Ant King, who was plainly stronger? Even running away took courage. They could be called opportunists, while some who recovered their human memories would become rebels. Whatever their loyalties, they all watched Meruem with the same tension.
"The Queen is dead." Those were Meruem's first words to the assembled ants. He studied every face. Some showed no emotion, and some even looked quietly pleased, but most were grieving. Meruem took note of them all. In the original story, a few ants had already harbored disloyal thoughts, but many more Squad Leaders had sided with humanity because of the Queen's death and the Ant King's brutality.
"The human who was here bears responsibility for her death. In three months, I will avenge her." Those were Meruem's second words. His feelings toward the Queen were complicated. As someone reborn in another world, he had little attachment to her. Yet he remembered the gentle voice he had heard before his birth. He also remembered how, when Netero tried to destroy the Ant Nest, the Queen had spent the last of her strength protecting him, still unborn, at the most critical point of his evolution. That was a mother's love for her child. She was not human, but a mother's love crossed species. She had given him this body, and he owed her his life. One way or another, he would make Netero answer for her death.
"Those willing to be loyal to me may stay. Those who are not may leave freely; I will not stop you. You have one hour to decide." Those were Meruem's third words. Having said them, he ignored the commotion erupting among the Squad Leaders and Squad Captains and closed his eyes to rest. He wanted to unite the Chimera Ants, but forcing them to remain together would do them no good. It would be better to let those with other plans venture into the human world and draw some attention away. All he needed were loyal subordinates whose strength he could build.
P.S. One update is guaranteed. If I get more recommendation votes, I'll post extra chapters!
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