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Chapter 463: Instant Kill
As her voice faded into the distance, Dragon made no move to pursue. Their target was the Ant King; now was not the time for a death match with the Royal Guards.
Kuma deactivated Soten Kisshun.
Ivankov sidled up to Kuma, lowering his voice. "Kuma-boy, you hid that trick quite well. Even I was given a fright."
Kuma adjusted his sunglasses, his tone even. "In Store Manager Blake's tavern, this is merely a basic means of self-preservation. Our understanding of true power is still far too shallow."
Dragon halted, looking up toward the dense canopy ahead. Deeper in the darkness, a horrifyingly massive life force was incubating. The Ant King was nearing birth.
"Pick up the pace." The purple Rinnegan glinted coldly in the dim forest. "Let's eliminate the trouble before that thing comes out."
The group of six resumed their march, heading straight for the deepest part of the ant nest. This time, however, the three boys walked in the center of the formation, entirely stripped of their previous arrogance and bravado.
The wind deep in the forest grew perceptibly colder.
Deep underground in the NGL Autonomous Region, within the massive ant nest, the air was foul enough to induce vomiting. A massive, pulsating lump of flesh rested upon the throne. It was the Chimera Ant Queen.
Her massive body was currently convulsing violently. Agonized shrieks echoed through the cavernous underground chamber.
"It hurts so much… King, please... wait just a little longer! Your body hasn't fully matured yet!" The Queen scratched desperately at the stone slabs beneath her in her agony, snapping her nails and leaking green fluid.
The surrounding Squadron Leaders and Peon Ants knelt on the ground, trembling uncontrollably. No one dared to take a single step forward. They suppressed their breathing to the absolute minimum.
The successive bursts of high-intensity energy from the surface had completely disrupted the nest's incubation cycle. Dragon's Advanced Armament Haki fused with Six Paths power. Kuma's conceptual manipulation via Soten Kisshun. These forces, which far exceeded the common sense of the Hunter world, had penetrated through the thick layers of bedrock.
The incubating consciousness felt the threat. Or rather, it felt provoked.
Within the dark amniotic sac, a pair of purple eyes snapped open. There was no infantile innocence within them. There was only the absolute arrogance of a being looking down upon all creation.
Too noisy. The scents of the inferior creatures outside filled him with extreme irritation. He didn't want to wait anymore. This cramped, dark space could no longer contain his rapidly expanding power.
The Queen's abdomen suddenly bulged outwards, as if something incredibly sharp was trying to pierce through her flesh from the inside.
"Ahhh—!"
Accompanied by the Queen's heart-rending wail, dark red blood sprayed in a geyser. A green, clawed hand forcefully tore open her tough belly. The flesh was violently ripped apart. Fragments of internal organs and amniotic fluid spilled across the floor.
A creature with a perfectly proportioned physique and a helmet-like carapace stood up from the pool of blood. He had deep green skin and a long tail ending in a vicious stinger.
The King of the Chimera Ants: Meruem.
He didn't spare a single glance for his dying mother bleeding out on the floor. He merely shook the slime off his arms in disgust.
"Such a filthy birthplace." Meruem's voice was calm, but it carried an oppressive weight that made the soul shudder.
A Squadron Leader with a penguin's head scrambled frantically toward the Queen. "Your Majesty! Someone stop the bleeding!" The Penguin Ant's voice choked with sobs.
Meruem tilted his head slightly, a flash of impatience in his eyes. The venomous stinger on his tail blurred through the air. There wasn't even a sound of the air breaking.
The Penguin Ant's head exploded like an overripe watermelon. The headless corpse swayed twice before crashing heavily to the ground. Red and white brain matter splattered across the face of a nearby Turtle Ant.
The entire subterranean cavern descended into deathly silence. Every Chimera Ant pressed their heads firmly against the floor. They were stripped of even the right to tremble.
Meruem dabbed a bit of blood from his tail with his finger and tasted it. "Disgusting." He spat out the bloody saliva. "Trash like this deserves to breathe the same air as me?"
He looked at the Turtle Ant, who had wet itself in sheer terror. "Bring me a cloth. Wipe the filth off my body."
The Turtle Ant scrambled to tear off a relatively clean piece of fabric, shivering uncontrollably as it approached Meruem. It raised its hand but paused for half a second out of sheer terror.
That half-second of hesitation sealed its death warrant.
The tail swiped again. The Turtle Ant's upper torso simply vanished. A rain of blood showered down around Meruem's feet.
"Too slow." Meruem stepped over the minced meat, walking straight toward the nest's exit. "Since you gave birth to me, your task is over. From this moment on, I will take control of this world."
Two powerful presences rushed out from deep within the tunnels. Shaiapouf, sporting butterfly wings, and the massive Menthuthuyoupi knelt before Meruem.
Tears streamed down Pouf's face. "My King! You are finally born! You are truly the Creator's most perfect masterpiece!"
Youpi buried his head between his arms. "This subordinate failed to greet the King upon his birth. I deserve ten thousand deaths."
Meruem ignored them. His gaze pierced through the thick layers of soil, locking onto a specific direction in the forest. "What is Pitou playing with? That disgusting smell... it displeases me."
Pouf hurriedly wiped his tears. "Reporting to the King! Several foolish humans have trespassed into our territory. Pitou is currently disposing of them."
Meruem sneered coldly. "Humans? Bring me their brains. I am hungry."
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At that exact moment, as Dragon and his group traversed the forest, a shrill, synthesized electronic voice suddenly echoed in their minds. It wasn't Blake's usual lazy, casual drawl, but the system's most primal warning alert.
[Warning: Abnormal high-dimensional energy stimulation detected.]
[Final Target 'Ant King Meruem' has been born prematurely.]
[Target's vital signs have undergone an unknown mutation. Total Nen volume exceeds the original plot's upper limit.]
[Mission Objective Updated: Survive, or kill the mutated Ant King.]
Dragon halted. His dark green cloak snapped sharply in the windless forest. He looked up, his purple Rinnegan staring toward the ant nest. The sky in that direction had already been pierced by a visible pillar of purplish-black aura. The clouds were violently torn apart; even the sunlight couldn't penetrate that absolute domain of death.
"Hell-Tier, huh." A remarkably rare smirk touched the corner of Dragon's mouth. It wasn't fear. It was the primal thrill of a top-tier powerhouse from the One Piece world encountering a life-threatening enemy.
Kuma stopped as well. He tucked the Bible back inside his coat and removed both gloves, revealing the paw pads on both palms. "It seems we can no longer hold anything back."
Ivankov gulped, cold sweat pouring down his massive face. "Dragon-boy, do you feel that aura? That isn't an energy density any living creature should possess! My hormones are screaming at me to run away!"
The three boys walking in the middle felt the oppressive weight as well. Luffy's newly healed right arm began to throb with a dull ache. But he didn't retreat. Instead, a sphere of crimson flame ignited in his palm.
"Who cares if it's Hell-Tier or whatever tier? We just have to send this Ant King flying, right?!"
Ace tightened his grip on his iron pipe. Teyvat's Pyro element formed a visible ring of heat waves around him. "Don't drag us down, Luffy."
Sabo took a deep breath, cyan Anemo energy swirling around his feet. "Our lives are on the line this time."
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