Although Illumi was a licensed Hunter in name, he never truly followed the orders of the Hunter Association.
Back when he stood at the entrance of the coastal fortress to help out, it was only because Germain had personally asked him.
After Germain left, no one else could command him.
And no one dared to get close to him either.
But soon, Chairman Netero found a way to make Illumi move—by paying him.
For the sake of money, and because the Zoldyck family and Netero had long-standing ties, Illumi finally started taking on tasks.
Today, he came with Kurapika and Melody to wipe out a bandit group.
It was just another bounty job he had accepted.
After watching Kurapika interrogate the Mafia members, Illumi began clapping.
Then he noticed Kurapika staring at him with a strange expression.
He turned to look at Melody—she too looked confused.
Illumi stopped clapping.
Wasn't this the kind of moment people were supposed to applaud?
Illumi didn't really understand how normal people thought.
"Hmm. How should I put this?" Illumi said blankly.
"I was going to say something encouraging. Like, 'As expected of Germain's student,' or something like that."
"Am I supposed to say 'thank you' now?" Kurapika asked, unsure how to respond to Illumi's odd behavior.
"No need to thank me," Illumi replied as if it were a genuine compliment. "Germain chose you for a reason... Though, your talent is just a tiny bit below my younger brother's."
Illumi held up his hand and made a gesture with his thumb and forefinger—showing just a tiny gap between them.
Kurapika glanced at Melody, hoping to get a clue from her expression.
But even Melody, who could hear the subtle rhythm of a person's heartbeat, failed to read Illumi's thoughts clearly.
She could only shake her head helplessly.
Kurapika couldn't help but recall what Chairman Netero had said to him when he was assigned to team up with Illumi.
"Listen. Illumi is an odd one. He usually acts with the cold logic of a professional assassin. Only occasionally does he show a hint of humanity."
"He tends to behave differently when dealing with members of the Zoldyck family... and with Gelman."
"And you, Kurapika, are not only a close friend of the brother he cares most about—Killua—but also a disciple of Gelman himself. There's no one more suitable to be his teammate than you."
"Of course, since both of you aren't exactly talkative types, I'll assign someone who can act as the lubricant in your group dynamics…"
"Ah, Melody should do just fine. You two make a good team, don't you?"
And so, this strange little squad had come together.
To everyone's surprise, they carried out every mission the Hunter Association assigned them without a hitch.
They had taken down bandit gangs, eliminated smaller squads of Chimera Ants, and regularly escorted supply transports between two major bases.
They had become incredibly skilled at these tasks.
Kurapika didn't want to stand around awkwardly talking to Illumi any longer.
He looked up at the sky, estimating it was nearly noon, then spoke to push things along.
"Let's head back quickly and get these people delivered to the Coastal Fortress."
Illumi and Melody had no reason to object.
And so, they herded the group of captured bandits and began marching northwest.
By the time the sun blazed directly overhead, they had reached the coastline—also the second largest base outside of the Coastal Fortress.
After months of repairs and patchwork, the wreckage of BW1, stranded on the shore, had become another shelter for the survivors of the New Continent.
Kurapika and his group would be resting here for a while before setting off toward the coastal fortress.
Armed soldiers questioned them thoroughly, performed body searches, and carried out necessary checks before allowing them to enter the perimeter of the BW1 wreckage base.
Currently, the confirmed number of survivors from the New Continent stood at over ninety thousand.
The rest had either died, gone missing, or refused to join any base and were scattered outside.
Even so, the coastal fortress was clearly incapable of supporting the food, water, and sanitation needs of over ninety thousand people.
Stuffing that many people into a single "can" was dangerous.
Because of this, the BW1 wreckage was developed as the second-largest base.
The Hunter Association also set up a branch to be stationed here.
The key members of this branch included Botobai, Saccho, Ginta, Gel, Buhara, Knov, Palm, Knuckle, and Shoot.
Among them, "Dragon" Botobai held the most authority within the BW1 base's Hunter Association branch.
In emergencies, he had the right to make independent decisions.
Aside from managing the survivors living here, the Hunter Association branch also had to constantly monitor the situation at sea.
Back in October, Kite and Izunavi boarded a ship created by the combined conjuration of more than a dozen Nen users and set out for Oil Refill Island to deliver a message back to the Six Continents.
Palm's ability, Merman Clairvoyance, was updated to track Kite and Izunavi, so their progress could be monitored at all times.
According to known information, Kite and Izunavi returned to the Six Continents this January and quickly contacted the V6 nations, reporting the events that took place in the New Continent.
The V6 were shocked by everything that had happened—especially the Kakin Empire.
If the royal family of the Kakin Empire was truly wiped out, just as Kite and Izunabi claimed, then what future awaited the empire?
No one knew the exact answer.
Although the representatives of Kakin pushed hard to classify the royal massacre as top secret—arguing everything should wait until the commissioner confirmed the situation on the Dark Continent—the rest of the V6 nations had other plans.
Suspicious and opportunistic, the other members of the V6 quietly leaked the news.
True or not, they intended to take advantage of the chaos to seize Kakin's interests.
The rumor that the Kakin King and all his princes had died spread rapidly across the six continents, stirring up massive shock.
Naturally, the most affected was the Kakin Empire itself.
With covert support from the other V6 nations, all sorts of sinister forces began to emerge.
Nasubi's illegitimate children, long hidden in the shadows, began to surface one after another—like bamboo shoots after a spring rain—each vying for power, plunging the empire into further turmoil.
The Kakin Parliament, overwhelmed and in disarray, publicly denied the extinction of the royal bloodline.
At the same time, they moved to seize full control of the empire's military and political systems, doing their best to suppress rebellion and separatist movements.
Meanwhile, reports that all thirteen major Mafia bosses—including the "Ten Dons" and the "Three Kakin Mafia Heads"—had perished on the Dark Continent caused an even greater ripple effect in the criminal world.
The underworld began a brutal reshuffling, as power vacuums opened across all territories.
Still, no matter how unstable international affairs became, the V6 finally came to a unified decision after over a dozen meetings in February.
They would send a reinforcement fleet to take over and stabilize the situation in the Dark Continent.
The fleet was scheduled to arrive in April.
Its designated landing point?
The ruins of the BW1 vessel base.
Botobai and his team had already made thorough preparations for receiving guests.
They indeed needed more members and supplies from the Six Continents to support their efforts.
After Kurapika's squad entered the base, they first handed over the prisoners to the soldiers stationed there.
The captives were temporarily locked in the base's prison cells before Kurapika went to meet Botobai to explain the situation.
Botobai was a tall and sturdy man, with two strange hair buns on his head and a pair of curled mustaches under his nose.
He listened carefully to Kurapika's report.
Kurapika took the opportunity to observe this key member of the Hunter Association branch.
It was said that aside from Germain and Ging, Botobai's strength was the closest to Chairman Netero himself among the Twelve Zodiacs.
Although Botobai was not appointed as the Vice Chairman by Netero, his steady and reliable nature earned him great respect within the Hunter Association.
That was why Netero entrusted Botobai with the important responsibility of managing the second largest base.
*******
Support me on my patreon and read upto 20 early chapters.
https://www.patreon.com/c/Unique_Writer