A genius?
Aoki smiled and waved it off. "I wouldn't say that."
"No, no, Aoki, you're absolutely a genius among geniuses!" Gon insisted, grinning as he extended his hand. "If you get the chance, would you spar with me?"
"Of course!" Aoki laughed, bumping fists with Gon.
At the same time, he felt his fortune increase by another sliver.
This made his smile even brighter.
"Sorry to interrupt," Kite cut in with a wry expression. "But this isn't the best place for a chat. We should get moving."
Aoki had no objections.
He followed Kite to retrieve Neferpitou's corpse.
Under the force of his [Ko] attack, the cat girl's chest had been completely obliterated, leaving a gaping hole that exposed shattered ribs and bone.
The internal organs—lungs, heart, stomach—had all turned into pulped flesh, their original forms unrecognizable.
Neferpitou's face still bore an expression of deep terror.
But none of the three present cared.
Those who kill must be prepared to be killed.
No one pitied the catgirl.
...
...
NGL Autonomous Region.
In a hidden underground cave.
The Chimera Ant Queen lay exhausted on a makeshift bed, her swollen belly twitching with movement from within.
Suddenly.
A hand pressed outward against the queen's abdomen.
"No!"
The queen's face twisted in panic as she screamed, "My child, it's not yet your time to be born!"
Riiip!
But the hand had already torn through her belly, bursting forth in a spray of viscera.
"Ahhh—!!"
Amid the queen's agonized shrieks, a figure rose—a king with crimson eyes, a bluish-green complexion, and a crown-like crest.
His expression was icy, his tail thick and needle-like.
The amniotic fluid and mucus covering his body dried and flaked away rapidly as he emerged.
"My King..."
The two Royal Guards, Menthuthuyoupi and Shaiapouf, knelt in shock.
They hadn't expected the King to be born prematurely.
"Neferpitou is dead," the King said coldly, gazing in a certain direction.
What?!
Menthuthuyoupi and Shaiapouf exchanged stunned glances.
Neferpitou had been the first of the three Royal Guards to be born—and the strongest!
How could they have died so easily?
"Humans shouldn't have anyone capable of threatening Neferpitou... right?" Shaiapouf hesitated.
"Indeed, my King," Menthuthuyoupi added. "Neferpitou had only just left. No human could have killed them in such a short time."
The King remained silent, merely narrowing his eyes.
A hidden, unique bond connected him to his Royal Guards.
And so, he was certain.
Neferpitou had been slain.
"It seems the human race isn't entirely worthless," the King mused, showing no grief for his fallen guard—only an eager grin.
He raised a hand, pointing.
"Go there. About seven kilometers away."
"Neferpitou was killed on a mountain."
"Bring me the one who did it. I want to study them closely."
His smile carried murderous intent as he issued the command.
The two guards hesitated briefly.
They glanced at the queen—her abdomen torn open, her organs ruined, her life fading.
But in the end, they chose to obey.
From the moment the King was born, their loyalty belonged solely to him. The queen was now a relic of the past.
"As you command!" they answered in unison.
...
A little over half an hour later.
They arrived at the location the King had indicated.
"I smell Neferpitou!" Menthuthuyoupi sniffed, his expression darkening. "They bled heavily!"
Shaiapouf's face also hardened.
The two searched carefully.
Finally, they stopped in a patch of forest.
Several trees had been shattered, the earth churned up and stained with dark blood.
"The King was right," Menthuthuyoupi muttered in disbelief. "Neferpitou really was killed!"
"Impossible..."
Shaiapouf's face twisted with denial. "Humans are weak. We could slaughter them by the dozens without effort."
"How could they have killed Neferpitou?"
"Even the so-called Nen, Neferpitou has mastered it!"
Both of them felt a sense of dread.
If the opponent could kill Neferpitou, they could kill both of them as well.
Looking at the scene.
There was only Neferpitou's blood, with no trace of the opponent's.
Clearly, the opponent had defeated Neferpitou without sustaining any injuries—an indication of terrifying strength!
"Even if he could kill Neferpitou, he's definitely no match for the King!" Menthuthuyoupi suddenly declared.
"Exactly!"
Shaiapouf shuddered as if waking from a dream and exclaimed, "The King is the strongest!"
"The King possesses the finest genes, with the most powerful body and mind!"
"As long as the King matures, mere humans are nothing to worry about!"
The existence of the Chimera Ant King was like a pillar of strength.
The two royal guards quickly steadied their emotions.
...
...
V5 Joint Conference.
This was an alliance of the five most powerful continents in the human world.
Similar to the United Nations on Earth.
But the V5 held more actual authority and real power.
"The Hunter Association has received the corpse of a Chimera Ant Royal Guard," one leader spoke up first.
The moment these words were uttered.
All the national leaders present were struck with astonishment.
"So soon?"
"Is the information confirmed?"
"Was it Netero? Or one of the Five Great Nen Users?"
They all turned their gazes toward the leader who had delivered the news.
The man nodded lightly and said, "It's confirmed. The body was received by the Hunter Association branch in the NGL Autonomous State fifteen minutes ago."
The room fell silent.
Hearing this, the expressions of all the leaders darkened.
The Chimera Ants were a species from the Dark Continent.
Their appearance in the human world was entirely due to covert manipulations behind the scenes.
Many wished for Netero's death.
The world's strongest Nen user had loomed over them for far too long!
The Chimera Ants were their weapon against Netero.
"Moreover, the one who acted was neither Netero, nor one of the Five Great Nen Users, nor any renowned expert," the first speaker continued.
The expressions of those present turned to surprise.
Not Netero?
Not one of the Five Great Nen Users?
Nor any established powerhouse?
"It was a newly awakened Nen user named Aoki Hiroshi," the man revealed.
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