"Maybe hold off on the gratitude for now. Let me show you a recording first and then we'll talk."
In the end, Akira decided to let Kite see it—to clarify what had really happened.
Who knew what kind of reaction it would provoke?
'What recording?'
Everyone present felt puzzled, unsure how the recording Akira mentioned was connected to Kite thanking Ging.
"We can play it on this TV."
Coincidentally, the playroom specially arranged for Kite happened to have a large television.
With the TV ready, all that was needed to display the earlier scenes was the ability of Porygon-Z.
Simply put, Porygon-Z could use Akira's memories as data to recreate certain segments.
So the footage would be from Akira's perspective.
Before anyone could react, the previously dark TV screen suddenly became enveloped in a layer of pure aura.
In an instant, images appeared, emitting faint, bright rays of light.
Scenes and sounds began playing, drawing everyone's attention.
The footage seemed to be from Akira's point of view.
The setting appeared to be a cave-like area.
Beside him were Ging, the Chimera Ants and the motionless Ant Queen lying nearby.
For some reason, Kite suddenly felt a pang in his heart, an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
In the footage, Ging scrutinized each Chimera Ant one by one before finally stopping and slowly declaring.
"Kite, I'm your master—how could I not recognize you?"
"That's right, you're Kite!"
Ging suddenly pointed at Hina, who looked utterly bewildered and shouted with full confidence.
Hina in the footage was visibly startled by Ging's actions—but she wasn't the only one.
Those watching the recording were equally shocked.
How in the world did she resemble Kite in any way?
"Ahahahaha…!"
Dwun was the first to react—first with shock, then by slapping his thigh and bursting into laughter, even dropping the cigarette from his mouth.
This was exactly the kind of thing Ging would do.
Aside from Dwun's loud laughter, even Killua and Gon couldn't help but chuckle.
Everyone found Ging's absurd declaration hilarious.
Sure, they both looked like girls, but how could anyone possibly mistake her for Kite?
For a moment, smiles spread across everyone's faces—even Gon's earlier gloom vanished.
Only Kite didn't laugh.
Kite, why aren't you laughing?
Is it not funny enough?
Akira glanced at Kite, whose lips were twitching and whose face looked as if he was constipated, before allowing himself a small smirk.
Kite's chubby, round cheeks paired with his conflicted, speechless expression were actually quite adorable.
The silent Kite stood in stark contrast to the laughing crowd around him.
However, the scene didn't end there—it continued playing.
This piqued Dwun and the others' curiosity.
Could there be more interesting footage coming up?
"Hahaha, just kidding."
In the footage, Ging scratched his head and laughed it off, trying to move past the matter.
"You really thought it was Kite just now, didn't you?"
"Alright, stop guessing. Kite's really unlucky to have a teacher like you."
...
"Ging, aren't you going to hold your disciple?"
"Ahem!"
In the footage, Ging "unintentionally" took half a step back, cleared his throat twice and put on an extremely "serious" face as he said.
"I'm actually allergic to Chimera Ants."
The scene abruptly ended there, the image disappearing completely.
With that, Akira had finished playing all the footage he intended to show.
At this moment, Dwun and the others shared the same thought that Morel and his group had that day.
Who would believe you're allergic to Chimera Ants?!
"Ahahahaha..."
Two consecutive scenes that perfectly captured Ging's personality had Dwun clutching his stomach with laughter, tears even forming at the corners of his eyes.
Beside him, Killua laughed while gaining deeper insight into Gon's unreliable father.
He wasn't just unreliable—he was spectacularly unreliable.
"So, Kite, anything you'd like to say now?"
Akira asked Kite with amusement.
Dwun and the others stopped laughing and turned their attention to Kite as well, curious about what he might say.
Facing their expectant gazes and recalling the footage, Kite's eyelids twitched and his mouth twisted slightly.
Finally, he sighed lightly, spread his hands and said helplessly.
"What else is there to say?"
"I can only say that's my master for you!."
"Having known him for so long, I'm quite familiar with his personality."
"Hearing him say something like this doesn't surprise me at all—I'm practically used to it by now."
Kite's assessment was fair.
His master Ging was indeed that kind of person and as his disciple, he could only try his best to adapt.
"Kite, I understand. That Ging really is hopeless" Dwun said, crossing his arms as if deeply sympathetic.
"Though my master is usually unreliable, the advice he gives me isn't bad."
"Like this time—relying on 'Absolute Death Resistance' to survive. Even though I became a Chimera Ant, it might not be a bad thing."
"I can clearly feel that this new body's potential far exceeds my old one."
"Chimera Ants truly have remarkable talent. Even though I'm still in a child's form and haven't fully matured yet,"
"I can already sense the immense potential within this body!"
"With this, I can go much further down the path of 'strength' and see sights I never had the chance to before!"
"And the speed of my growth is astonishingly fast now, unlike the slow progress like before."
As he spoke, a faint gleam flashed in Kite's lively eyes, his tone growing even more eager.
The others nodded repeatedly in agreement with Kite's words.
Having survived this ordeal, Kite had indeed found fortune in misfortune.
As long as he could accept his new body, his ceiling would be much higher.
Before, Kite had been within the range of first-class Nen Users.
Now, with the talent of a Chimera Ant and his accumulated experience, Kite's strength would only advance by leaps and bounds.
Who knows? He might even have a chance to break into S-class rank in the future.
"Becoming a Chimera Ant is an advantage in every way for me, except..."
"The fact that my biological sex changed to female is something I'm still struggling to adjust to."
"If possible, I'd much rather have remained a boy."
Little Kite spoke in a childish voice, but his face bore a resignation that didn't match his youthful appearance.
This was the only aspect he found regrettable.
If he'd stayed male, it would have been absolutely perfect.
"That's easy to solve. Do you know where we are now?"
Akira raised an eyebrow, countering Kite's slightly dejected expression.
"Huh? We should be on Greed Island, right?"
Kite paused briefly, scratching his head as he responded somewhat confused.
Wait... Greed Island?
"Could it be..."
Suddenly realizing something, a look of surprise flashed across Kite's face.
"Seems you've figured it out."
"Greed Island is a game developed by your master Ging and his friends."
At this point, Akira patted Dwun's shoulder and continued.
"There are numerous items here with various effects, all without exception products of Aura."
"I remember there happens to be an item that can change one's gender."
"Indeed, we do have an item suitable for your situation called 'Hormone Cookies.' "
Dwun nodded, summoning his book and flipping through it before pulling out a card.
"Gain"
After chanting two consecutive spells, a box of cookies suddenly appeared in Dwun's hands.
At first glance, they looked like ordinary butter cookies, except with a slightly eerie pink hue.
'Hormone Cookies', S-class card
Eating one cookie will change the consumer's gender in 24 hours.
[The effect changes in this fic : in original it can only change gender only for 24 hours not permanent]
Each box contains 20 cookies, with 10 boxes per set.
Meaning there are 200 cookies total, allowing for 200 gender transformations.
Kite naturally didn't need that many—just one would suffice to change him from female back to his male form.
Taking a cookie without hesitation, Kite swallowed it whole.
"How does it taste?"
Killua, ever curious about sweets, was the first to ask.
As everyone knew, Killua adored sweets and could devour massive amounts of desserts at once.
He'd once spent all 200 million Jenny he won at Heavens Arena on chocolate balls from the counter.
Truly earning and spending in the same place, not taking a single coin home.
"Mmm... the taste is quite good, with a rich butter flavor, but not overly sweet."
Kite smacked his lips, describing his experience.
Since 'Hormone Cookies' take a full day to change gender, no immediate transformation was visible.
"The sweetness of Hormone Cookies varies."
"If changing from female to male, the sweetness is lower since men generally prefer less sweet things."
"Conversely, when changing from male to female, the sweetness is higher."
List raised a finger as he explained to the group.
Having been Greed Island administrators for many years, he and Dwun knew the island's items like the back of their hands.
"I see..."
Killua placed his hands behind his head, his interest in tasting 'Hormone Cookies' waning somewhat.
Mainly because of their gender-changing effect—otherwise he might have tried one.
While the group on Greed Island conversed, the aftermath of the Ant King's death and Netero's survival continued to ripple outward.
****
In the capital of the Kakin Empire
Within this palace resided the current ruler of the Kakin Empire—Nasubi Hui Guo Rou.
"Truly unexpected, even this wasn't enough to kill Chairman Netero, huh~"
"Was it because that 'World's Strongest' was present..."
Hui Guo Rou sat swaying a gorgeous wine glass in his hand, perched upon a throne crafted entirely from gold and gemstones.
His beady eyes intently followed the swirling liquid in the glass, revealing clear dissatisfaction.
His grip unconsciously tightened on the glass, producing faint cracking sounds.
The towering Beyond standing nearby stroked his beard, pretending not to hear Hui Guo Rou's words.
As the ruler of Kakin, Hui Guo Rou found the Chimera Ant incident he'd painstakingly arranged concluded so anticlimactically.
Yet the primary target remained completely unharmed.
Frustrated beyond measure, he could only drown his irritation in wine.
But his ally 'Beyond' felt differently.
Upon hearing that his father—Chairman Netero—hadn't died and was still full of vigor, Beyond actually felt a surge of joy in his heart.
Along with gratitude towards Akira.
This moment made him truly recognize his own feelings.
After all, he still couldn't bear to see his old man die~
Beyond sighed deeply internally while maintaining a facade of "what a pity" externally.
Truthfully, Beyond's decades-long reluctance to take direct action spoke volumes.
Deep down, he wanted Netero to survive—no matter what, he was still his father.
Unfortunately, with such a dominant ally, his personal wishes rarely determined the outcomes.
"Beyond, didn't you mention wanting to recruit that 'World Strongest' into our team~?"
Hui Guo Rou suddenly recalled Beyond's earlier suggestion, temporarily setting aside Netero matter to focus on this.
Currently, matters concerning Akira clearly took precedence.
As the king of Kakin, he naturally knew about the East Gorteau experimental site.
When the intelligence first arrived, he'd hardly dared believe it.
Only after dispatching personnel for live footage did he realize—this was reality!
He'd never witnessed such a spectacle!
Just the remaining colossal crater and affected radius made Hui Guo Rou shudder to imagine the actual event.
More shocking still, intelligence indicated this devastation resulted from a single shot by Akira's Nen beast!
Akira had far exceeded the estimations of him and other V5 leaders!
All of them feared his power!
But if such an existence joined their side? It was a different story entirely—he'd become any nation's honored guest!
Thus Hui Guo Rou took special interest in recruiting Akira.
"Yes, I considered that. I plan to arrange a meeting with him soon."
"Though I can't make any guarantees. He seems to lack nothing—hard to offer meaningful incentives."
Beyond nodded, then offered a wry smile.
Akira had strength, ability, wealth... everything.
Frankly speaking, how could they possibly afford such a guy?
Likely, he wouldn't even glance their way.
After all, judging by the abilities displayed by him, he had absolutely no need to join any team.
He alone was a team that no other could rival!
He could very well explore the Dark Continent on his own.
"Is that so, Hui~"
"Do your best, but if it doesn't work out, just forget it, Hui~"
Upon hearing this, Hui Guo Rou found it reasonable and immediately grew enthusiastic, shifting the topic back to Netero.
"Beyond, give me an idea, Hui~"
"Now that our plan has been ruined, Netero hasn't suffered a single scratch and we've wasted so much effort, Hui~"
"How should we deal with Netero next? I'd like to hear your thoughts!"
Hui Guo Rou stopped swirling his wine glass, though the liquid inside continued to sway from inertia.
The motion gradually lessened until it finally disappeared.
This also reflected Hui Guo Rou patience.
Again and again.
His patience was nearly exhausted!
"Hmm..."
"Alright then, I'll go talk to the old man myself."
"After the Chimera Ant incident, the old man's attitude might have shifted. Perhaps the agreement can be dissolved."
"If that doesn't work, I'll propose a new plan—one that will definitely satisfy you."
Beyond pondered for a moment before slowly voicing his thoughts.
If the matter could be resolved through discussion, that would be best.
He truly didn't want to resort to harming the old man.
In other words, no matter what, he had to persuade the old man this time!
Otherwise, who knew what his ally might do next?
"Fine, go ahead and try that first, Hui~"
Hui Guo Rou yawned and waved his hand.
Seeing this, Beyond tactfully took his leave—he still had plenty of things to attend to.
First, he needed to visit the old man he hadn't seen in a long time and have a proper talk, doing everything possible to annul the agreement.
Second, he wanted to meet the "legend" in person!
Putting aside recruitment, this person had saved his father's life.
As a son, he ought to express his gratitude.
It seemed Akira had a fondness for fine food?
Looks like he'd have to find some top-tier delicacies as a gift.
As Beyond mulled over his next steps, he gradually distanced himself from Hui Guo Rou room.
------------------------------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator