Boom!
The conference room erupted like a stone tossed into still waters.
"Impossible!"
"A newly awakened Nen user couldn't even defeat an ordinary Chimera Ant!"
"According to our estimates, the three Royal Guards, once they mastered Nen, would rival the Five Great Nen Users!"
"Exactly, the three guards are absolutely not opponents a rookie could handle!"
"Who is this Aoki Hiroshi?"
The leaders stared in disbelief at the speaker.
Located across different continents, their intelligence was not always up-to-date.
Only those near the NGL Autonomous State could obtain information in real time.
"A person with a completely unknown background!"
The speaker frowned slightly and said, "He seemed to appear out of thin air, suddenly showing up in the NGL Autonomous State."
"Hunter Kite's report states that this person was stimulated by Neferpitou's malicious intent."
"He awakened on the spot!"
Hearing this.
The other leaders found it even more unbelievable.
"Are you serious?"
"A freshly awakened rookie killed a Chimera Ant Royal Guard?"
"Did he team up with Kite?"
"How severely was he injured?"
Hearing these questions, the speaking leader revealed a subtle expression and replied, "He accomplished the kill alone—completely unharmed, not even a scratch!"
"My contacts at the NGL Association branch confirmed they sustained no injuries."
"Moreover, according to Kite, Aoki Hiroshi hadn't even awakened his personal Nen ability when he killed Neferpitou."
Hiss—
The conference room filled with sharp intakes of breath.
Every leader sat stunned into silence.
This intelligence was simply too unbelievable!
"Another Netero?"
"No, he's more terrifying than Netero!"
"Exactly. Even Netero couldn't kill a Royal Guard without using Nen abilities or taking damage."
"We must maintain extreme vigilance against this Aoki Hiroshi!"
The leaders exchanged glances and nodded unanimously.
After the meeting concluded, they immediately classified Aoki Hiroshi as a high-priority surveillance target.
One Netero was already more than they could handle.
Another individual stronger than Netero?
They couldn't accept this.
...
Hunter Association Headquarters.
"The Three Royal Guards?"
A white-haired, bald old man with a single ponytail stood solemnly in his office.
"Absorbing the strengths and abilities of other species through consumption..."
"What a troublesome breed."
"With so many deaths in NGL, the Chimera Ants must have spawned Royal Guards by now?"
The old man was Isaac Netero—Chairman of the Hunter Association and currently the world's strongest Nen user.
"The investigation team is in grave danger," Netero murmured with a sigh. "If they encounter active Royal Guards, it'll likely be a total wipeout."
"After all, none of those hunters specialize in combat."
"V5... you'll stop at nothing to force my hand, won't you..."
Netero exhaled deeply.
The Hunter Association bore responsibility for monitoring the Dark Continent.
Yet as Chairman, he'd only just received complete intelligence about the Chimera Ants—something clearly abnormal upon reflection.
Evidently, certain factions had grown impatient.
They were testing him.
Testing whether Netero's power had declined enough to dethrone him as the strongest Nen user.
Knock knock!
Sudden rapping interrupted Netero's thoughts.
"Chairman!"
His secretary, Beans, burst through the door urgently. "We've received Hunter Kite's report from the NGL branch!"
"Let me see it." Netero's eyes flickered with concealed sorrow.
As a biological researcher rather than combat specialist, Kite's investigation had seemed doomed from the start.
"Here, sir!" Beans handed over the documents.
Netero steeled himself internally, prepared to read confirmation of Kite's demise.
"Hmm?"
But scanning the report left him stunned.
No death notice—instead:
"Killed a Royal Guard-level Chimera Ant named Neferpitou?"
"The corpse delivered to the branch?"
"Encountered an exceptionally talented rookie Nen user?"
Netero rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
He wondered if age had impaired his vision enough to hallucinate such outrageous claims.
Yet repeated blinking confirmed the impossible contents.
"Can this be real?"
Netero flipped through the pages of the report in astonishment, his mouth gaping wider with each passing moment.
By the end, his jaw had dropped so low it could have fit an entire egg!
"Aoki Hiroshi?"
"Awakened Nen abilities despite the hostile presence of the Chimera Ant guards?"
"Mastered the Four Major Principles and advanced application techniques without any formal training?"
Netero's expression turned blank.
If this hadn't been Kite's report, he would have doubted its authenticity outright.
No—
Even if it was Kite's report, he couldn't help but wonder whether Kite was dreaming or if he was the one dreaming.
"This is simply unbelievable!" Beans, standing nearby, also wore a look of shock.
Netero took a deep breath and glanced down at the report in his hands again.
With a sigh of admiration, he murmured, "Who would have thought... there'd be a genius even more exceptional than that brat Ging!"
"This boy, Aoki Hiroshi, will undoubtedly surpass me one day."
"No—perhaps it won't even take him a few years to do so!"
These words left Beans utterly dumbfounded.
The Chairman was the world's strongest Nen user, after all!
That title had never been held by anyone before.
Because no one else had ever defeated every formidable opponent of their era and remained unshaken.
Only Netero had achieved that!
"Approve Kite's request," Netero said, turning to Beans. "A child like this must be recruited into the Association!"
"Understood!" Beans nodded before swiftly exiting the office.
Alone in the room, Netero walked over to the wall, gazing at the world map displayed there.
A mischievous, childlike grin spread across his face.
"Those V5 bastards are going to have a hell of a headache, hahaha..."
"After me, there's now an even more monstrous Nen user!"
"I'll make sure to nurture him properly—turn him into a new Damocles' Sword, forcing you all to tread carefully when exploring the Dark Continent!"
Netero burst into laughter, the sound echoing through his office.
In his view, the Dark Continent was far too dangerous for humanity as it stood.
But the V5 didn't see it that way.
The miracles of the Dark Continent were far too alluring to them.
They were willing to sacrifice countless lives to obtain its wonders and satisfy their own greed.
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