A crystal sphere, visible only to Ron, floated before him.
The moment he stepped into the borders of NGL, tiny points of light appeared around him, drawn toward the sphere and absorbed into it. The flow was faint and slow, which was expected. Ron had only just entered NGL, and the Chimera Ants sphere of activity had not yet spread here.
For this observation, Ron had decided to act alone. Part of it was because, after the events in Begrossé, Machi and the others had all gained something from the ordeal and needed time to reflect, to digest their experiences and turn them into growth. The other part was that the strength of the Chimera Ant Royal Guards was far too great. Facing them, Ron could not guarantee the safety of his companions. To bring them along would be a liability. Acting alone was more convenient.
"But it seems the events with Jed never happened," Ron thought.
In Hunter × Hunter, aside from the main story, there were two movie storylines. One revolved around Omokage, the Phantom Troupe's former Number Four. His death at Hisoka's hands was only an illusion. In truth, Omokage had used the chance to escape the Troupe and carry out his own schemes in the shadows. In this world, his luck had been poor. After stealing the corpses of Uvogin, Shalnark, and Kortopi, he had gone so far as to target Ron's group, only to be utterly crushed. His puppets were destroyed, and Omokage himself became a prisoner. In the hands of the Phantom Troupe, there could be no good end for him.
Jed appeared in the other movie storyline. An old acquaintance of Netero, he had shown up at the Heaven's Arena martial arts tournament, defeated every Floor Master, and seized control of the entire tower. His purpose was revenge against Netero. He even restricted Netero's abilities. Jed's Nen drew its strength from resentment, but in the end he was defeated by Gon's Jajanken.
"By the timeline, it doesn't fit," Ron thought. "Right after clearing Greed Island, Gon and Killua used Accompany and met Kite—that was the beginning of the Chimera Ant arc. And Netero would have had no interest in some martial arts tournament at Heaven's Arena. I don't know if Jed will even appear here."
Without realizing it, Ron had drawn close to a village.
Whoosh!
An arrow hissed through the air and struck the ground before him.
"Stop right there! Outsider, you're not welcome here!" a young man shouted coldly.
More villagers emerged at his side, their eyes filled with hostility and disgust, glaring at Ron as though they were looking at a mortal enemy.
Ron shook his head and turned away, heading into the forest.
He glanced up at the sky, then entered Sumas's space. Resting inside was far more comfortable—and, more importantly, safer—than outside.
"Elina," Ron called.
At his thought, Elina appeared. The ingredients were ready. All she needed to do was prepare the meal, a simple task for her. Soon, the food was finished.
Ron ate as he focused on his power of Observation.
"If nothing unexpected happens, during the Chimera Ant arc my Observation ability should reach its limit. But I can't calculate it precisely. I don't know if it will happen after the arc ends, or during it. If my Observation breaks through the bottleneck mid-arc and I reach S-rank, I really would like to fight the Ant King. Among all creatures on the human continent, the Ant King should be the strongest."
He used Netero as a comparison. Netero was an S-rank Nen user. Even though his strength had declined greatly from his prime, he remained in the S-class.
Ability, experience, and skill did not diminish with age. He was still overwhelmingly strong. There were very few alive whose strength could surpass his. Even those with more aura or stronger bodies than Netero could not necessarily defeat him. For lower-level Nen users, rank wasn't everything; for higher-level ones, it was even more true. With the right counter, the weaker could overcome the stronger.
Even so, Netero's 100-Type Guanyin had barely harmed the Ant King.
Meanwhile, the Ant King's blows had severed Netero's arm and leg with ease. That alone proved the King already existed on another level. Netero could not break through his defenses, but the King's attacks easily broke through Netero's. Even newly born, without any true understanding of Nen or a developed Hatsu, fighting with nothing more than Ten, the King was already that overwhelming.
In terms of talent, there was no creature on the human continent who surpassed him. In terms of skill, however, the King's Nen techniques were inferior even to rookie killers at Heaven's Arena. That contrast alone was proof of how monstrous his innate attributes were.
Given enough time, who knew what heights he could reach?
The next morning, Ron woke, washed up, and ate the breakfast Elina had prepared before leaving Sumas's space.
A faint smell of blood drifted on the wind.
Ron frowned and turned toward its source.
"That village from yesterday?"
He hesitated, then walked in that direction. Before long, he reached the village gates.
It was in ruins. Silence hung over everything. Bloodstains covered the ground, but no bodies remained.
Clearly, this had been a Chimera Ant attack. Only Chimera Ants would carry away entire corpses, feeding them to the Queen. Any other beast, no matter how savage, would have left remains.
Faces flickered through Ron's mind—the villagers who had driven him off the day before.
"If they had let me stay last night, things wouldn't have turned out this badly," he thought.
"Regrettable."
Shaking his head, Ron stepped into the village. He had not witnessed the slaughter firsthand, but he could feel its savage cruelty lingering in the air.
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