Ging's explanation was hard to believe.
Yet, after some deliberation, everyone increasingly found his theory plausible.
Perhaps...
This unidentified skeleton truly was a human from the Dark Continent.
Or rather, it suggested that humans might still be alive on the Dark Continent.
This was the revelation that shocked them the most.
Even so, they were well aware that these so-called humans were quite different from themselves.
In other words, as Akira put it, they were "Other Humans"—distinct from their kind.
Akira combined information about the Bone Tribe with details from the original work and arrived at the following deduction.
In ancient times, before humans migrated to the Six Continents, that group of humans was no different from those who remained on the Dark Continent.
They were all creatures of the Dark Continent.
But after arriving on the Six Continents, the two groups began to diverge in their development.
These were two entirely distinct paths of evolution.
The humans who stayed on the Dark Continent followed its rules, coexisting with various calamities and hopes.
While evading disasters, they harnessed these hopes to develop unique power systems.
For example, the Bone Tribe learned to use their own skeletons as weapons and even mastered forging techniques to utilize ores.
The humans who migrated to the Six Continents took a different path.
Due to the Six Continents' unique geographical position, disasters were rare.
Even when disasters did occur, the environment was infinitely more stable than their original homeland.
At the same time, they lost the opportunity to obtain "hopes," which was the trade-off they made.
Throughout "Hunter x Hunter," the themes of "gaining" and "losing" are ever-present.
"Gaining" often comes at the cost of "losing."
A safe environment, but no chance to obtain hopes...
Under these circumstances, they began to thrive and multiply steadily, and through successive dynasties, the current national structures emerged.
They also embarked on a different path of power development.
That is, the power of technology!
Nen abilities is strong.
In the original work, neither sniper rifles nor rocket launchers could do much damage to Uvogin of the Phantom Troupe.
But this doesn't mean technological power is weak.
The Poor man rose is the best example.
Even Netero, one of humanity's strongest fighters, whose power reached S-class levels still used the Poor man rose as his final trump card.
It didn't disappoint as it was successfully killed the evolved Ant King.
This proves that technological power should never be underestimated; it is the crystallization of humanity's wisdom over countless ages.
This does not necessarily mean it is inferior to the power systems of the "non-human races" still living on the Dark Continent.
At the same time, humans of the Six Continents possess the Nen ability system, which continues to be passed down to this day.
Although the original work does not specify when humans of the Six Continents discovered the Nen system, Akira speculates that Nen might have been the power system possessed by the humans who migrated to the Six Continents back then.
Just like the Bone Clan's skeletal abilities, Nen was likely the power of those people.
After all, to have established a significant presence in the Dark Continent and then moved to live on the island at the center of Mobius Lake, they must have possessed considerable strength.
As for what kind of power it was... it was most likely Nen, given its long history of development.
Akira even suspects that the people who originally came to the Six Continents were not from the same tribe.
After all, a relatively much safer place would have had some appeal, and many would have been willing to migrate there.
At this moment, Akira recalls several rare races he encountered on the Six Continents.
For example, the Kurta Clan represented by Kurapika, the Plant Nation represented by the Plant Queen Rina...
Without exception, all of them possessed special abilities or talents beyond ordinary humans.
Similar to this Bone Clan, the Kurta Clan had talents related to their eyes, while Rina's Plant Nation had an affinity for plants...
No matter how you look at it, it fits his hypothesis.
Perhaps the humans who migrated to the Six Continents back then could be divided into two groups.
The first and largest group consisted of those who primarily mastered the Nen system.
Most—if not all—people on the Six Continents today are their descendants.
The second group was made up of small tribes, each representing a minority with unique abilities or even different beliefs.
After arriving on the Six Continents, interbreeding between these groups likely occurred.
As a result, later generations of these rare clans could also use Nen.
This is supported by the Chimera Ant incident.
Those Chimera Ants with human genes also gained the ability to use Nen.
Over time, it's probable that descendants were born from unions between those who mastered Nen and those with unique abilities.
Thus, even the rare clans today have the opportunity to master Nen.
This is entirely plausible.
Akira remembers that the Kurta Clan's reproduction worked this way.
Because their clan was small, they often allowed outsiders to marry into their bloodline.
After the clan's extermination, it was discovered that only the eyeballs of those without Kurta blood remained.
If this hypothesis holds, many things could be explained.
Even judging from the performances of Don, Ging, Gon, and others, it's possible that the Freecss family was among the most skilled Nen users of that era.
Thinking this, Akira glances at Ging beside him, growing more convinced of his theory.
"If that's the case, it's highly likely that humans still live on the Dark Continent, but..."
Pariston lowers his voice as he speaks.
At some point, that faintly sinister fake smile has returned to his face.
To the uninformed, it might even be mistaken for a warm, sunny smile.But those who truly knew Pariston's nature understood that this was a completely fake smile.
He often wore this fake smile, especially when Pariston found something amusing—then his smile would become even more "radiant."
Things are getting interesting! Pariston thought to himself.
The group exchanged glances but said nothing, only showing hesitant expressions.
They all knew what Pariston had left unsaid, even if he hadn't stated it outright.
Those humans… could no longer be considered their own kind!
They had different cultural systems, spoke different languages, and held different beliefs.
Even their abilities varied, and there could be significant differences in appearance and other aspects.
To put it a bit more dramatically, those "other humans" could almost be seen as slightly more peculiar magical beasts!
After walking different paths and undergoing long years of development,
They and the humans of the Dark Continent could almost be considered two different species.
If encountered during their exploration, they still couldn't let their guard down—they might even treat them as magical beasts!
Even among humans living on the six continents, complete trust was impossible, let alone with those "other humans."
It was entirely possible for life-and-death battles to break out between them.
Beyond frowned and said calmly, "Pariston is right. Even if we encounter other humans, we can't afford to be careless."
"Strictly speaking, they aren't what we commonly refer to as humans, so the term 'other humans' is quite fitting."
Hearing this, the group's expressions shifted, taking on a solemn air as they absorbed Beyond's words.
They couldn't treat those people as their own kind.
At the very least, they had to maintain absolute vigilance upon first meeting them.
"There's no need to be overly tense, though. The Dark Continent is vast—we might not even have the chance to encounter other humans."
"The Dark Continent is so dangerous that survival isn't easy for other humans either. Like this person here, who died for unknown reasons."
Ging chuckled dryly and waved his hand, thinking that the distance they had traveled was negligible compared to the entire Dark Continent.
Thus, the likelihood of encountering other humans was extremely low.
Usamen seemed moved by a sudden thought and blurted out.
"Since we've found the remains of these other humans, could there still be living ones nearby?"
His words sent a ripple through the group, their faces reflecting a mix of emotions.
It wasn't that they thought Usaman's words were fanciful or baseless.
On the contrary, they found the speculation quite reasonable.
If there were still living "other humans" here...
Ging's expression stiffened, but before he could speak, Akira, who had been silent until now, suddenly interjected.
"Just stay alert at all times, no matter what happens. That's all we need to do."
Though he knew the Bone Clan had already perished, he couldn't explain it to the others.
It was enough to simply keep them on their toes.
With Akira's final reminder, the discussion about "other humans" came to an end.
Little did they know that what would surprise them upon entering this massive cavern wouldn't be enemies.
Instead, it would be the "other humans" they had never anticipated.
*****
After collecting the remains, the group boarded the Steelix-branded aircraft once more and continued deeper into the cavern.Though it was a corpse, it was not merely a corpse.
In any case, it wouldn't hurt to collect it.
As they ventured deeper, they realized the underground passage was far from simple.
It wasn't a straight path.
There were many branches.
It seemed like a main thoroughfare with numerous offshoots spreading out.
Like the veins of a leaf.
Without much hesitation, they continued along the largest main path—the bigger the road, the higher the chance of encountering something.
However, before finding what they hoped for, disaster struck.
"Thud! Thud!"
Two heavy footsteps echoed, signaling the considerable weight of their owner.
Even the ground, primarily composed of Black Tremor Rock, trembled under the force.
A peculiarly shaped giant stood directly in Steelix's flight path, staring straight at them.
"Is that another stone giant?!"
"I think it should be called a silver giant!"
"Look at that shimmering silver—it's like it's coated in silver."
Usamen was the first to voice the question on everyone's mind.
This stone giant was indeed different from the ones they had encountered before—not only was it smaller, but its color was also completely different.
The giants above ground were a glossy black, matching the Black Tremor Rock, while the one before them now gleamed a bright, silvery white.
It stood out starkly in the darkness of the underground. Usaman strongly suspected they could see it clearly even without their daylight glasses.
All because this silver giant was radiating light.
"Never mind that—focus on its strength! Stay alert!" Beyond kept his eyes locked on the silver giant, his brow furrowed with unease.
This silver giant was likely even more formidable than the previous ones!
The next moment, an oppressive aura spread from the silver giant, bearing down on them all.
Just as he thought!
Stronger indeed!
Almost instantly, Beyond and the others could sense that this silver giant was far more terrifying.
What they didn't know was that the black rock giants were S- rank in strength, while the silver giant was a solid S rank!
Though it was just a small step up, the gap in power was immense.
The silver giant, though smaller in stature, still stood six to seven meters tall, its body covered in a silvery sheen.
Its features were far more lifelike than those of the black rock giants—at a glance, it could almost pass for real.
Moreover, its intelligence was significantly higher, roughly on par with that of a human child.
Clearly, the silver giant had already recognized them as intruders and immediately launched its attack!
In the next instant, the silver giant raised its thick arms—but unlike the black rock giants, it didn't swing them wildly.
Instead, it pressed its arms together in front of its chest, palms joined, as if preparing to unleash a wave of energy.
Then, to the group's disbelief, vast surges of energy began converging toward its palms.
Streaks of pure white light gathered, rapidly intensifying in its hands.
In the blink of an eye, a tiny white dot expanded into a basketball-sized sphere…
Until finally, it transformed into a massive, blinding silver-white beam!
"BOOM!!"
The beam shot forth like a silver dragon, charging straight at them and illuminating the dark underground in an instant.
Unlike the black rock giants, which relied solely on physical attacks—
This silver giant could unleash energy beams!