Meruem had completely absorbed Shaiapouf and Menthuthuyoupi through Tyrant's Overrun: What is Yours is Mine. Although he had ascended to a new stage of existence, his physical stats had not grown significantly. This was because Meruem was already born with the ultimate Chimera Ant body; having experienced the technical mastery of Netero, he chose to focus his evolution on his Nen abilities instead.
In truth, the way Gon's physical body ballooned after a single bite was the real anomaly. Meruem's current path—prioritizing the acquisition of Hatsu and experience—was a much more standard application of his power.
Still, absorbing the vast aura reserves of two Royal Guards was a transformative event. Meruem was now wreathed in an aura that radiated with the intensity of a literal sun.
"Chairman of the Hunters, do not call me a coward," Meruem said. "I have my own thoughts on this outcome, but they are trifles compared to the subjects who offered their lives to me."
"I understand perfectly," Netero replied. "Besides, our side was the first to interfere. I'm not so shameless as to complain about that now."
Netero and Meruem recalibrated their auras and lunged. At first glance, the exchange seemed as frantic as their previous clash, but the scale had shifted. Sparks flew as fist met fist at speeds impossible for even the most elite observer to track. Rejuvenated Netero and a perfected Meruem fought for dominance, each trying to carve a path through the other's defense.
(This is getting tedious!)
Netero was struggling against Meruem's new armor—the high-density gauntlets and chest plate he had manifested. He was forced into a reckless, all-out offensive just to maintain the stalemate.
(Pliant yet ironclad, and he can shift its shape at will. He is truly a living shield and spear. Honestly, I'm just glad he hasn't absorbed a master of bladed weapons yet,) Netero thought.
The ability Meruem gained from Youpi, The King's Armament, functioned much like a sentient liquid metal. While it was biological in origin, its hardness and malleability moved far beyond the framework of any known organism. Because Meruem lacked the experience of a blade master, turning his armor into a sharp edge would actually weaken his output, but as a blunt defensive and offensive tool, it was simple and terrifyingly effective.
"Mate!!" Meruem declared.
"Mmuh?!"
Netero was at a disadvantage. He was already carrying damage from the previous round, while Meruem was fresh and bolstered. The reckless pace Netero had set to keep up was beginning to take its toll. Meruem, learning and evolving at a geometric rate, had finally read the path to the end.
In twenty-two moves, the battle should have reached its conclusion. But Netero's veteran cunning was not so easily discarded.
Hundred-Type Guanyin: Light Form — 2nd Palm.
For an individual duel, the True Statue was normally the strongest option. However, Netero now unleashed a combined strike—something he hadn't even shown Gon. Since he was in a state of constant prayer, there was no reason he couldn't manifest the traditional Guanyin palms alongside his prime-self construct.
"...Your ability to consistently transcend my expectations is magnificent. But now that you have shown that hand, I shall factor it into the next sequence. It is over."
Netero had avoided the immediate trap, but he had only done so by using a trick Meruem would now anticipate. The gap in their raw power was becoming an unbridgeable chasm. Recognizing that the "Old Netero" could no longer win, he looked toward the meditating Gon for a brief second and then relaxed his stance completely.
"I'm truly beaten. It seems 'I' cannot defeat you no matter what I do."
"...You say that, yet you don't look like a man who has given up," Meruem noted. Having absorbed Pouf, he could now perceive the "color" of his opponent's emotions. Netero's heart was anything but defeated. "What are you planning?"
"What are you talking about? 'I' have given up," Netero smiled, but it was a cold, sharp expression. "Honestly, I expected this, though it's a bit frustrating to have to use this on you instead of Gon."
"What are you—?"
Suddenly, a piercing hand thrust from behind Netero, impaling him through the chest. The "True Statue"—the rejuvenated Nen construct—was laughing as blood sprayed from its lips.
"From here on," the construct spoke, its voice shifting from Netero's polite tone to a brash, youthful snarl, "you aren't fighting that old man. You're fighting me."
Netero—the real Netero—stepped out of the "True Statue," tearing it apart from the inside. He didn't even look back at the vanishing Guanyin behind him.
"My gratitude toward the martial arts remains. But the Bodhisattva was born from the prayers of others. It was a palm meant to be extended to the weak."
The Guanyin, weeping tears of blood, offered a final prayer and vanished. All the aura Netero had previously diverted into the manifestation was pulled back into his own body.
"I won't lose. Not to you, and not to Gon. I don't care how old I am—I'm not letting a bunch of kids show me up!"
He reached into a pouch and pulled out the Witch's Rejuvenation Potion. He swallowed all fifty tablets in a single gulp. Netero's body began to creak and groan as it shifted. His skin tightened, his muscles surged, and he took on a form of youth and power that matched the "True Statue" exactly—but this time, it was his own flesh.
Hundred-Type Guanyin: Final Form — Excision Guanyin.
It was his final break from the Dark Continent. He discarded his decades of lingering resentment over the defeat he had suffered there. By entering into a Binding Vow that forbade him from ever using the 100-Type Guanyin again, he took a step into the absolute zenith of martial power.
"The Asura is here!!"
A warrior who surpassed even the Netero who was the world's strongest half a century ago had arrived—a man who had returned to his origin: the simple, burning desire to be stronger than anyone else.
"Vermillion Bird Palm!"
"Nguh?!"
Netero had discarded the "vessel" that was large enough to hold the hands of others. He had discarded the Guanyin. What remained was—
"White Tiger Pierce!"
This wasn't the Shingen-ryu—a school he had created and adjusted so that anyone could learn it. This was a style by Netero, for Netero, and only for Netero.
"Azure Dragon Extreme!"
The "Dark History" of his youth—fantasies of techniques he could never pull off—had bloomed in the winter of his life, fueled by the talent and technical mastery he had refined over a century.
"Black Tortoise Blast!"
The past and the present, the entirety of Isaac Netero's life, finally converged at the absolute peak of martial arts.
"MIND-ANNIHILATING YELLOW DRAGON FIST!!"
To any observer, the attack would have looked riddled with openings. But for Netero, it was the perfect, optimal self-taught onslaught. He hammered, pummeled, locked, and crushed Meruem. A straight punch—one that made the God-speed strikes of the Guanyin look slow—slammed into the King.
"Truly... what a beautiful, brilliant crystallization of time," Meruem gasped. "I admit... no matter how I struggle, I could never replicate that."
And yet, even after all of that, the Asura's fist failed to end the King.
Meruem had utilized the power he gained from Pouf to create a new Hatsu: Ruler of the Sun Shaiapouf. He emitted his aura as microscopic "photon-suns." These photons attached to everything in the vicinity, acting as sensory organs that allowed him to perceive the area with a clarity far beyond sight.
His peerless mind processed this data instantly. His Absolute Mastery had evolved into All-Encompassing Mastery: The King Who Shines Over All. He now controlled not just himself, but the very environment around him.
"I offer you my deepest respect. That is why I shall crush you with everything I have. Activate—Solar Furnace: Meruem!!"
At the center of Meruem's chest—where a human heart would be—a gargantuan energy source was born. A pseudo-sun, manifested through his total ability, began to burn with Meruem's aura as its fuel. It catapulted his already untouchable physical stats into a higher dimension.
"Take pride in this. You are the only human to have ever witnessed this form."
"Don't look down on me, you damn bug! I'm not done yet!!"
There was no longer room for sparks to fly. A clash between two monsters began, moving so fast that even the atmosphere couldn't keep up. The sound in the area shifted to a high-pitched ringing as they traded blows continuously.
The Observer, Saiyu, watching from the shadows, couldn't understand a single second of the exchange. Ten thousand strikes were traded, a conversation of fists more eloquent than any words could ever be.
But every beginning has an end. Meruem's moment of bliss—a match that rivaled his games with Komugi—finally reached its conclusion.
"Dammit...!"
Meruem's fist delivered a lethal blow. Netero was sent flying, crashing into the earth. The strength drained from his limbs as he lay still.
"Thank you," Meruem said, standing tall. "With this, I am complete. I am the True King!!"
In that instant, every high-level Nen user in the "garden" of the world felt the birth of something that transcended them. Even the great, sapient powers of the planet felt a threat to their own existence. It was the worst day in history—a day where the hierarchy of strength was forcibly rewritten, and the majority of the world was relegated to the status of "the weak."
Netero, seeing this from the closest possible distance, grimaced in frustration and humiliation.
"Muscle Savings Withdrawal: Muscle is Power..."
Meruem, currently at the peak of his ecstasy, looked over in stunned silence.
"Muscle Dialogue: Muscle Control..."
The fan who had aimed for the Strongest Gon had finally reached the summit by sheer force of will.
"GLORY TO MUSCLE: MIGHT IS RIGHT!"
The final evolution was complete.
"Ability Synthesis: Union Activate—'The Strongest Gon I Aimed For'!!"
For some reason, at that exact moment, Meruem felt an overwhelming, inexplicable urge to see Komugi.
And far away, the clown—sensing the arrival of the ultimate muscle wave—lost his balance mid-sprint, tumbling across the forest floor in a frantic, spinning roll.
***
If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m /Well_being