After walking a bit further, Akira spotted another familiar face.
"Hey, future Chairman, I'm voting for you too!"
Biscuit Krueger, still clad in her red princess dress, stood with her hands on her hips, radiating confidence in Akira.
Though at this point, it wasn't even about confidence anymore.
Despite the long line, conversations carried easily.
The fact that countless people had declared their votes for Akira was common knowledge now.
There was no need to tally—if they kept their word, Akira becoming the next Chairman was a foregone conclusion.
So Biscuit's words weren't just empty talk.
Like the others, she stepped aside to let the two humans and one cat pass.
This wasn't just a few individuals yielding—it had become an unspoken consensus.
Everyone intended to let the incoming Chairman take the very front of the line.
Let the new Chairman cast the first vote.
Ahead of Biscuit were more of Akira's old acquaintances—members of the Extermination Team he had met not long ago: Morel, Knuckle and Shoot.
"Hahahaha! Mr. Akira, under your leadership, the Hunter Association is sure to thrive!"
"We're voting for you too!"
Morel, puffing on his large pipe, gave Akira a thumbs-up before stepping aside with the other three.
Akira, accompanied by a beaming Menchi and a curious Meowth, continued forward.
"They all respect you so much, Master!"
Meowth watched as the crowd regarded his master with respect, his feline eyes crinkling with joy.
He loved seeing his master welcomed by everyone—because his master was the greatest person in the world. (using he pronouns now cause this cat can talk like human)
Gon and Killua stood further ahead, eyeing Meowth with curiosity.
Akira didn't even need to ask—he already knew who they'd vote for.
After passing countless familiar and unfamiliar faces, Akira finally reached someone unexpected yet inevitable.
"Hohohoho, future Chairman, the Hunter Association will soon be in your hands."
Chairman Netero stood at the very front of the line, smiling knowingly, as if he had foreseen this moment.
And indeed, he had.
The reason he had meticulously demonstrated how to open the secret chamber to Akira earlier was because he already knew Akira would be the new chairman.
Akira himself might not have realized it, but as the current chairman, he was well aware of Akira's current prestige.
His appointment as chairman was a foregone conclusion.
Scouring the entire Hunter Association, there wasn't a second person as perfect as him.
Akira was a monstrous all-rounder—not just in combat, but also in reputation and achievements.
Heavens Arena played a part in this as well.
The title of "Strongest Floor Master" promoted by Heavens Arena and the "Martial Arts Tournament" it hosted were both excellent opportunities for Akira to expand his fame.
With all these factors combined, even Pariston, the vice-chairman, couldn't match Akira's soaring reputation.
"Old man? Why are you here?"
Akira hadn't expected Netero to be at the front of the line—or even in the voting procession at all.
Generally, the higher-ups of the Association didn't join the voting queue, opting to cast their votes privately instead.
For example, The Twelve Zodiac.
In the original timeline, Netero should have already been dead by now.
During the election for the new chairman, his portrait and flowers had even been placed on the memorial stand.
"This is the election for the new chairman. Having the old chairman here serves as a symbol, don't you think?"
"But I shouldn't be the first. That position rightfully belongs to you."
Netero looked at the young man before him, a trace of nostalgia flashing in his eyes.
Back in the day, he had been just as young.
It was a pity that time waited for no one.
With that, Netero stepped aside, just like those before him, voluntarily yielding his spot.
"Go ahead. Let our future chairman cast the first vote."
"Ding-ding-ding…"
As a series of crisp chimes rang out, everyone in the procession straightened up.
Midnight had arrived!
Akira stared at the imposing doors ahead, his resolve growing firmer by the second.
Then, with a gentle push—
The doors swung open, revealing the grand hall in its entirety.
The hall was enormous, filled with countless seats that could accommodate a massive crowd.
At the very front stood a stage, were Pyon, Kanzai, and Ginta.
Before them sat an iron box—the ballot box.
Akira walked steadily toward it, his steps measured and calm.
Behind him were Netero, Menchi, Meowth…
Everyone followed in an orderly line, forming a straight, unbroken procession.
Akira was like a leader, guiding the entire group forward.
In the blink of an eye, he reached the ballot box.
The other two were fine, but Pyon kept staring intently at him.
"Me, Gel, Ging and Cheadle—we all voted for you."
As Akira cast his ballot, Pyon leaned in close, whispering into his ear.
Akira nodded.
By now, he had learned to remain unfazed.
If someone had told him they didn't vote for him, that might have gotten a reaction out of him.
Thinking about it, it was almost terrifying—hunters everywhere were voting for him.
Ironically, he hadn't even voted for himself.
He'd never imagined he would become chairman.
He'd assumed things would roughly follow the original timeline, with Pariston and Cheadle being the top contenders.
But not only did he have overwhelming support, it seemed like far more people had come to vote this time.
In other words, there was a high probability that the 95% voter turnout requirement would be met, making this vote valid and binding.
So he didn't pay much attention to this election.
He was just here to meet with Beyond and casually cast his vote along the way.
He even voted for Ging.
Voting for Ging was practically no different from casting a blank ballot.
As for why he voted for Ging?
You could liken it to voting for that cheeky friend of yours during class elections—pretty much the same idea.
After Akira cast his vote, Chairman Netero followed closely behind…
The massive line of voters moved one after another, and the voting concluded quickly.
****
Although most people had arrived right at midnight to cast their votes, rules were rules.
The Twelve Zodiac waited until the deadline before starting the tally.
Yet the final results left them utterly stunned.
"Beans, are you sure there's no mistake here?"
"Isn't this data a bit too exaggerated?"
Kanzai swallowed hard, staring blankly at the final tally, voicing what most were thinking.
"This… was counted one ballot at a time. It's surprising, yes, but it's definitely accurate."
Beans wiped his sweat with a small handkerchief, equally shocked by the outcome.
Each of them held a sheet of paper with the compiled results.
It listed every candidate who had received votes, along with voter turnout, absentees and other data.
The most eye-catching detail was the top line:
First place: Akira, 489 votes (73.9%)
The entire Hunter Association had only 661 members, and a staggering 489 of them had voted for Akira!
The percentage in parentheses next to the vote count showed that 73.9% of the hunters had chosen Akira.
Compared to second-place Pariston, it was an overwhelming landslide victory!
"Ho ho ho, this is the first time voter turnout has been this high. If I recall, back in my day, I only got around 60% or so."
Netero stroked his beard, looking even happier about Akira's results than he had been about his own.
"Excluding invalid and absent votes, this election achieved a 96% turnout, meeting the requirements."
"In other words, the new Chairman is Mr. Akira."
As Beans spoke, he inexplicably recalled his first meeting with Akira.
Even though it was their first encounter, Akira had addressed him the same way Chairman Netero did—calling him "Beans."
'The new Chairman, huh…'
Pariston stared at the voting results in his hands, his trademark fake smile still plastered on his face.
He had somewhat anticipated this outcome, but he hadn't expected such a crushing margin.
'What a shame. I didn't get to have my fun before leaving.'
'Oh well. Time to focus on the Dark Continent.'
"Then, if there are no objections, I hereby officially declare Akira as the 13th Chairman of the Hunter Association!"
Netero subtly glanced at Pariston before raising his voice to seal the decision.
Once the meeting concluded, Netero tasked Beans with handling the publicity.
Over the next two days, the news of the new Chairman's election would be announced across all six continents.
****
"So, you're the Chairman now~"
Pyon said in a sweet, lilting voice, her pink eyes fixed entirely on Akira.
"We already knew about this before the voting took place, didn't we?"
Akira shrugged, speaking with some resignation.
After the results came out, Pyon had immediately called him.
Akira simply brought her over to discuss things face-to-face.
After a moment of contemplation, Akira continued, "We might need to elect a new vice president soon."
"Eh? Why?"
Seeing Pyon's puzzled expression, Akira decided to keep it simple:
"Because Pariston is going to the Dark Continent, so he'll be resigning as vice president."
"And from how things look now, the team he joined has become my team."
???
"Pariston is going to the Dark Continent? And it's your team? Are you going to the Dark Continent too?"
Pyon lightly covered her mouth with her hand, her voice filled with disbelief.
For Pyon, who wasn't aware of the later Kakin Empire plans, suddenly learning this information was indeed shocking.
So Akira briefly explained the whole situation to her.
...
"I see..."
"But you just became chairman. Wouldn't going to the Dark Continent mean resigning from this position too?"
Though Pyon mostly understood now, she still didn't know how Akira would handle this.
"Well, actually becoming chairman wasn't part of my original plans at all. Somehow I just ended up becoming chairman."
Akira sighed at this point - truly, plans couldn't keep up with changes.
"My plan is to stay in the position for now. After Pariston leaves, the vice president will likely be Cheadle Yorkshire of the Twelve Zodiacs."
"With the help of Beans, handling association affairs should be manageable."
"Plus with my abilities, if anything urgent comes up, I can return from the Dark Continent in very short time."
After some consideration, Akira ultimately decided to remain as chairman for now.
If it didn't work out later, he could always find an excuse to resign.
"I see, that does seem like a reasonable approach."
"Without you, we might not have been able to elect the next chairman at all, so it's better not to resign."
Pyon said this with a serious expression, though her adorable face made the solemn look even more endearing.
Akira knew Pyon was right.
In the original timeline, meeting these voting requirements had been extremely difficult - needing 95% participation rate and the top candidate requiring over half the votes.
After multiple rounds of voting, no candidate had fully met the requirements.
If not for this fortunate coincidence, they truly might not have been able to elect a new chairman.
****
With the Hunter Association operating at full capacity, news of the 13th Hunter Association Chairman election results quickly spread across the six continents.
Akira's reputation received yet another boost.
Though there had been many previous promotions, this latest news would shock countless people.
Because Akira had become the 13th Hunter Association Chairman!
Previously, the general public's strongest impressions of Akira were as 'Heavens Arena's Strongest Floor Master', 'The World's Strongest' ...
But now there was a new title to add!
That of Hunter Association Chairman!
People had mixed reactions to this news.
Some were confused - these were mostly Pariston's loyal fans or supporters of other hunters.
Some felt fear—these were mostly notorious criminals from the Six Continents.
But far more people felt joy and reverence—those who had eagerly awaited this moment.
Since Akira first made his mark at Heavens Arena, he had amassed an enormous following.
Every single one of them cheered ecstatically at his ascension to Chairman.
Almost instantly, Akira's merchandise at Heavens Arena saw another surge in popularity, with fans rushing to buy them.
After the last Martial Arts Tournament, the Heavens Arena management had learned their "lesson."
Instead of selling merchandise only during tournaments, they now maintained dedicated merchandise counters year-round.
Without exception, all the merchandise featured Akira.
As it turned out, the management had made the right call, successfully capitalizing on the Hunter Association's current hype.
Some were even planning to compile Akira's notable achievements and most outstanding exploits into a book.
This would allow others to read about them and better understand just how formidable Akira was.
This momentum far surpassed even when Netero was elected Chairman!
****
Zoldyck Family
In a dimly lit room, Only the faint glow of a television illuminated Maha's face, making him look like a ghost formed from old age.
"Heh, the new Chairman, huh~"
"So that old man finally retired? I thought he'd keep the position for another hundred years."
Maha chuckled softly, his voice raspy, as if he had drunk extremely strong liquor.
He had originally thought Netero might still be Chairman by the time he died.
At least he lived long enough to see the next Chairman take office.
"Akira as Chairman... truly the most fitting candidate."
Maha stared at Akira's image on the screen, his cloudy eyes flashing with nostalgia.
He had never forgotten that battle with Akira.
From that day onward, he knew this young man was anything but ordinary.
Though, it was a bit sad—he couldn't defeat either of the last two Hunter Association Chairmen.
Netero was one thing, but Akira was simply impossible to fight.
****
Meteor City
At its very center—the most bustling area—stood a few eccentrically dressed figures outside a shop.
The shop had glass walls, and inside, a television played.
"Boss, isn't that the guy who..."
Kortopi lightly brushed aside his bangs, looking at the screen before turning to Chrollo beside him.
Though Kortopi didn't finish his sentence, both Chrollo and Pakunoda understood.
"The new Hunter Association Chairman... No wonder, given his overwhelming strength."
Chrollo's deep-set eyes fixed intently on Akira's image on the screen, but a sense of powerlessness welled up within him.
The gap between them and Akira was far too vast...
After the Phantom Troupe lost more than half its members, he had returned to Meteor City to recruit new ones.
But even after all this time, he had barely found one passable candidate.
Filling the remaining vacancies seemed like an impossible dream.
As for revenge... Chrollo had buried that thought deep within his heart.
In fact, ever since then, they had been constantly hiding, not daring to make a single move—terrified of attracting Akira's attention.
With a light sigh, Chrollo turned and walked away, with Kortopi and Pakunoda quickly following behind.
------------------------------
Read 50 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator