That battle against the Ant King showed him what it truly meant to fight a monster.
He felt no regrets left in his career as a fighter.
A man who should've died, yet somehow survived—what more could he ask for?
"I'm old. The world's spotlight belongs to the younger generation now."
That's what Ronnel took away from his phone call with Netero.
It was also a window into Netero's true state of mind.
While Netero himself had reached a strange peace, the mood among the Zodiacs was far from calm.
They all knew—once Netero made up his mind, no one could change it.
So, after a few half-hearted attempts to dissuade him, they had no choice but to accept his decision.
Now, unrest stirred within the Hunter Association regarding the future of its presidency.
Especially Pariston. Just thinking about that ever-present grin of his made Cheadle's temple pulse with irritation.
She was frustrated, but the Association had to go on.
To maintain operations and answer to the V5, a new chairman had to be chosen.
All the duties Netero once handled alone would gradually have to be redistributed.
And administrative work… was always the slowest and most complicated process.
This situation wasn't like in the original timeline—where, after Netero's death, the Zodiacs swiftly implemented his video instructions and moved to stabilize the Association by electing a new chairman.
This time, Netero was still alive, which meant a slow, complicated dance over transferring authority.
The faction led by Pariston and the one led by Cheadle and others were inevitably headed for a direct confrontation during the transition.
Whoever emerged victorious would claim the Hunter Association's highest seat.
But when Ronnel heard about all of this from Ging, he already knew—regardless of how the power struggle played out, it was Cheadle who would eventually take the presidency.
Even if Pariston had the upper hand now, Ronnel knew his ambition didn't lie there.
He'd already made a deal with Beyond.
...
Time moved on. As Cheadle and the others began setting things in motion, a call from Beyond pulled Ronnel back from his brief period of rest near the end of July.
"August 1st. Five p.m. That's when it begins."
With just that one sentence, Beyond hung up.
Honestly, for something capable of shaking the world order, Beyond was surprisingly direct with Ronnel.
It was part of his charm—his sense of scale, his aura—something most others couldn't match.
And so, on August 1st, Ronnel entered Ickshonpe's virtual network with Ging and started monitoring the operation's progress. The hours passed quietly until the clock struck 4:30 p.m.
"Some skilled hackers just launched Trojan attacks across the Net."
Ickshonpe held up a card with his message printed on it, calm as ever.
"There's also a wave of word-mapping bots deploying. Everything's moving at once. Kakin is finally kicking off their Dark Continent operation."
Fifteen minutes passed in a flash.
In that short span, Kakin's Nen specialists had already extended their reach across all six continents, scattering their abilities like seeds into every corner.
Ronnel and Ickshonpe had no intention of interfering—this was unfolding exactly as they expected. Quietly, they watched the stage take form online.
By 4:50 p.m., things were heating up.
All information channels—TV, smartphones, computers—were suddenly hijacked by a single broadcast: an announcement from Nasubi Hui Guo Rou of the Kakin Empire.
It hit without warning. Newsrooms were thrown into chaos.
TV stations were especially vulnerable. With zero preparation, their internal systems fell apart before their staff could even respond.
They scrambled to reinforce their firewalls—but no matter how desperately they fought, they couldn't reclaim control.
If TV stations were helpless, the internet—already a fragile and breach-prone virtual world—stood no chance.
With Ickshonpe allowing it to happen, the message spread globally, unimpeded.
It was a bold declaration, distributed at scale under the silent push of unseen forces. Even without any military moves, Kakin's digital offensive made waves across the globe.
Mainstream media had lost control, but veteran reporters sensed something seismic was coming. They scrambled to respond—setting up coverage teams with only ten minutes to spare.
...
As the world reeled in shock and confusion, the time struck 5:00 p.m.
And at that exact moment, every major communication channel switched to a synchronized live broadcast.
Even middle-aged and elderly viewers—people normally oblivious to world events—noticed something strange.
No matter what channel they flipped to, the screen showed the same thing.
...
"Well, this is interesting. Not quite as fun as cartoons, but still worth watching~"
In the heart of the Zoldyck estate atop Kukuroo Mountain, Maha squinted contentedly from his rocking chair, a rare expression of enjoyment on his face.
He didn't even glance at Illumi and Kikyo, who were locked in a heated argument with Zeno about Aluka.
For nearly a month, Killua and Gon had done everything they could. In the end, they'd succeeded in bringing Aluka out.
But that victory sparked a firestorm within the Zoldyck family.
The adults were fuming—but even Kalluto, upon hearing that Killua had risked the family's name to rescue that "monster" of a sibling, couldn't hide the rising hatred in his heart.
"My brother belongs to me. No one else gets to take him."
The only members of the family who remained indifferent were Maha and Milluki.
Maha had seen too much in his lifetime to be surprised by anything.
As for Milluki… well, he was too busy with his "work"...
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (799 chapters in total)