As the little door on the lantern slowly opened,
a tiny figure with stiff limbs slowly emerged, staggering awkwardly with each step.
Seeing this, Shoot warned them anxiously, "Once he leaves the lantern, he'll slowly return to his original size. He can't use his Nen Ability anymore, but he's still very difficult to deal with."
As soon as he said that, the tiny figure began growing rapidly. His once beautiful, silky white hair was now a tangled mess, and his eyes glimmered faintly in the dim room.
Beastlike growls kept spilling from his mouth.
The stitches covering his body bore witness to what had been done to him. His teeth were clenched, his face long since stripped of expression. Those eyes that had once held so much emotion
now held nothing but boundless, deathly stillness.
The instant Gon saw who it was, he couldn't help taking two steps back. Fear spread through his heart. He had never imagined that the person he thought about day and night would look like this when they met again.
"K-Kite?"
Gon stared at Kite and murmured in disbelief.
Knuckle spoke from beside him. "My guess is that Kite was used as a training tool for the Soldier Ants. He'll attack any living thing that tries to approach him, without distinction."
Gon gave no response. Though Killua had never been particularly close to Kite, they had still been companions who had faced hardships together.
Seeing his former companion reduced to this monstrous state, even Killua, who rarely felt much attachment to anyone, couldn't help frowning.
Gon hesitated for a long time, perhaps struggling to accept Kite's ghastly condition. In the end, he ignored Knuckle's warning and slowly walked toward Kite.
As Gon approached Kite, he kept murmuring words of reassurance.
Cordis pressed his still-aching brow.