"I want revenge."
"Revenge? That takes great strength. It will be hard."
"I'm not afraid."
"Not being afraid isn't enough. You also need talent and ability. Do you think you have that?"
"I…"
For a moment, hesitation flickered in Benas's eyes, but it quickly gave way to determination.
"I can give it everything I've got. I want to kill them—even if I can only kill one of them. I want to avenge everyone. I want to avenge my brother."
Ron knew, however, that Benas would never have the chance for revenge. To humanity, Chimera Ants were a calamity, and calamities were erased. Once the Ant King died, the remaining Ants—except those who surrendered to humans—would be wiped out.
Unless they hid away in the shadows and lived like rats in the gutter, they would inevitably be hunted down. The human continent belonged to humans. Even if Benas had talent, even if she grew stronger, by the time she was ready, the Chimera Ants she wanted to kill would already be gone.
"I'll make you a training plan," Ron said. "From today onward, follow it exactly. If you can stick with it for one full month, I'll teach you how to get stronger."
Benas's eyes lit up.
"Thank you, Uncle."
"You're welcome."
Rammot stepped forward to face Ron.
"I've already learned Ren, Zetsu, and Ten. Compared to before, I've mastered them much better now."
"Not bad," Ron said.
"How do I compare with your humans?"
"Average."
That was the truth. Among human Nen users, Rammot's speed in grasping these basic techniques was decent, but not outstanding. He was only middle of the pack. This proved that Chimera Ants relied on their physical durability for a strong baseline, but their ceiling was not necessarily higher than a human's.
In terms of talent, Rammot was far inferior to Killua and Gon. If described with numbers, Rammot had been born with a strength of thirty. Killua and Gon, by comparison, had started at one. But after learning Nen, Rammot's growth was slow—thirty to forty, forty-five, fifty. Killua and Gon, however, advanced from one to thirty, then sixty, then ninety. Rammot's ceiling wasn't high in the first place as well.
By Ron's estimation, his limit was somewhere between B-rank and A-rank. At the moment, he wasn't even at B.
Ron remembered well: in the original timeline, after Killua pulled out Illumi's needle from his forehead, he faced Rammot again. With just a single strike, he took Rammot's head.
"Average?" Rammot muttered. "There are that many humans who learn faster than me?"
His expression twisted in disbelief. Having learned the basic techniques of Nen, he had already felt their power. Ambition burst forth uncontrollably. He imagined himself becoming overwhelmingly strong—effortlessly defeating Ron, returning to the nest, and using Nen to become king of the Chimera Ants. Squad leaders, Royal Guards, even the Queen herself would have to bow before him.
In his fantasy, he was the strongest being in the world, a Chimera Ant with the body of a beast and mastery of human Nen. He smiled at the vision. But hearing Ron say that his talent was only average among humans—that he was nothing special—he could not accept it.
"Hmph! Human, you're lying to me. You expect me to believe food like you could have more talent than me? Impossible. You're only stronger because you've trained longer than I have."
The pride Rammot had felt from learning Ren, Zetsu, and improving his Ten instantly turned to agitation. He was desperate to develop a Hatsu of his own.
Benas watched him go.
"Uncle, why don't you kill that monster?"
"I will. But not yet."
"Not yet?" Benas's eyes were full of confusion.
"Benas, have you ever raised anything at home?"
"Chickens."
"Then it's the same reason you don't kill chickens right away. Right now, he's only a chick. Kill him now, and there's no meat to eat. It would be a waste. Better to raise him until he grows—then he's worth killing."
Benas nodded, half-understanding.
"But my brother said chickens are for laying eggs. If you kill them, there won't be any eggs."
"This monster won't lay eggs," Ron said evenly. "The only use he has is meat."
Realization dawned in Benas's expression.
"So he's a useless rooster?"
"Something like that."
That night, Rammot did not rest. He sat cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed, breathing steady as he entered a calm meditative state.
Suddenly, a surge of aura erupted from his body. His eyes snapped open, glowing with intensity.
"My Hatsu is complete!"
He turned his gaze toward Ron.
"If I keep attacking, each successive strike grows stronger until my body can no longer endure it. After more than ten rounds, just how strong will my attacks become?"
Anticipation gleamed in his eyes.
"Now, this human isn't my match anymore!"
With a flicker, he lunged at Ron.
"Human, die!"
Ron remained motionless, his eyes closed, as though he hadn't noticed. Even as Rammot bore down on him, his expression did not change.
"So this is it?" Rammot sneered. "Looks like after learning these three techniques, my strength really has improved. Human, regret your mistake. You had the chance to kill me before, but you didn't. Now it's my turn to kill you!"
His face twisted with ferocity as his fist shot forward toward Ron's head.
But in the instant before impact, Ron's body vanished.
"What?"
Rammot's punch struck nothing but air. He spun, eyes wide, to find Ron standing calmly behind him, one hand slowly chopping down in his direction.
Rammot wanted to move. He believed he could easily dodge such a slow strike. But to his shock, he found that he couldn't avoid it at all.