The abandoned warehouse stood on the outskirts of the city. Ivan had already deduced that much while being transported here in a vehicle.
Before his first transmigration, Ivan had been a prosecutor.
After arriving in Naples, he became a royal guard who had undergone formal training.
Now that he had reached the world of Hunter × Hunter, he possessed yet another identity.
A Kakin investigator.
A legitimate one.
Not someone who obtained the position through family connections, but someone who had passed the exams step by step after graduating from the Kakin Military Academy.
Because of his training there, once his physical condition reached a certain level, his father had introduced him to Nen ahead of time.
In practice, this had forced him into a state similar to Zetsu.
Under normal circumstances, Zetsu is a Nen technique where a user closes their aura nodes, completely sealing their aura inside their body.
Ivan's situation, however, was different.
His aura nodes were fully open, yet his aura could not flow outward.
In other words, he had been passively forced into a Zetsu-like state.
He could benefit from Zetsu's effect of reducing fatigue and accelerating recovery, but he couldn't enjoy its ability to erase his presence and hide his aura.
After all, while he himself was in forced Zetsu…
The death-Nen surrounding him was anything but subtle.
However, after repeated attempts, Ivan discovered something interesting.
Whenever he tried to use Ten, the technique for maintaining aura around the body, the death-Nen enveloping him would loosen slightly.
It seemed that with enough willpower and skill, he might eventually be able to control that death-Nen.
When he reached the first floor and was about to head outside, Ivan suddenly stopped.
He heard voices approaching.
Someone was coming.
"Are you sure it's around here?" one voice asked seriously.
"Probably," another replied casually.
From the voices and footsteps, Ivan could determine there were two people.
He could also roughly estimate their distance — more than fifty meters away.
Being able to hear their conversation so clearly surprised him.
In the past, his hearing had never been this sharp.
But considering the circumstances, it made sense.
From the moment he awakened, Ivan had already realized something.
The Saint's Left Eye he had been clutching before his transmigration had not come with him.
However…
The Stand ability that belonged to Dr. Ferdinand — [Scary Monsters] — had followed him into this new body.
Perhaps it was because Stands were manifestations of spiritual energy, he guessed.
The warehouse offered very few hiding spots.
From the entrance area, Ivan could already see that the outside was an open clearing.
If he rushed out recklessly, he would only make himself easier to spot.
But staying inside and hiding from their search wasn't a good option either.
The reason was simple.
The dusty floor of the warehouse was covered with chaotic footprints — more than enough to reveal that something had happened here.
Once the intruders noticed that, they would almost certainly call for reinforcements, seal off the area, and conduct a full investigation.
Ivan knew very well how powerful the mafia forces in the outskirts could be.
After all, many members of the three great mafia families came from the slums scattered across these districts.
The footsteps were getting closer.
Yet Ivan showed no signs of panic.
His breathing remained steady as he slipped behind a thick load-bearing pillar.
Across the two lives he had lived, Ivan had experienced countless tense situations.
Compared to those…
This wasn't the worst.
At least he still had cards in his hand.
As time passed, the influx of memories finally stopped.
The pain was fading.
His mind, now calmer and clearer, filled him with a bit more confidence.
"Be careful."
Before even entering the warehouse, the serious one had already noticed something suspicious. He lowered his voice as he warned his partner.
"Quite a crowd. No attempt to hide it either… that really fits their style."
The carefree voice carried a hint of excitement.
But Ivan could hear something beneath that tone.
The man's nonchalance might simply be a façade.
In reality, he was probably someone far more calculating than he appeared.
Hidden in the shadows, Ivan's ear twitched slightly.
He heard another sound.
Something softer.
Rustling.
It appeared the moment the man finished speaking.
What was that?
Ivan's pupils shrank, rapidly transforming from black into emerald slit pupils.
At the same time, his mouth elongated slightly.
The skin around his cheeks cracked open as sharp teeth emerged from the sides of his widening grin.
His raised hands began to change as well.
The skin dried and hardened. Scale-like textures surfaced, while his fingertips sharpened into claws capable of slicing through leather.
He even felt warmth spreading through his tailbone.
If he wished, he could grow a tail at any moment — one that would greatly improve his balance.
Ivan knew exactly what was happening.
In fact, the gradual transformation toward a dinosaur-like form was intentional.
He was doing it to sharpen his senses.
This was the ability he had painstakingly calculated and ultimately seized in Steel Ball Run.
[Scary Monsters].
Even though this was his first time using the power in reality, Ivan had imagined how he would use it countless times.
So turning his body partially into a dinosaur now was simply the act of turning those fantasies into reality.
In his half-dinosaur form, Ivan found that his dynamic vision, sense of smell, hearing, reflexes, and mobility had all improved dramatically.
Of course, there was a trade-off.
His static vision became worse in this form.
But that hardly mattered.
What mattered was that, with his enhanced hearing, he could now clearly identify the source of the rustling.
It was moving closer.
Closer.
And now—
It had reached the pillar he was hiding behind.
He had been discovered.
Ivan reached that conclusion instantly.
Since that was the case, there was no reason to continue hiding.
He leaned out slightly, looking toward the source of the sound.
And there—
He saw them.
Tiny dinosaurs, sprinting rapidly toward his position.
While walking down the warehouse stairs earlier, Ivan had been carefully listening to the surrounding sounds.
At the same time, he had been trying to control his own Nen.
The original owner of this body had only begun learning Nen recently.
He had merely mastered the basic techniques: Ten, Zetsu, and Ren.
Following his father's advice, he had been focusing entirely on strengthening his foundation.
According to Lyman, attempting to train Hatsu without a solid base would only lead to regret in the future.
But there was a problem.
When Ivan tried to control his aura according to the memories he had inherited…
He discovered that he couldn't form Ten at all.
Normally, Ten was simple.
It was the technique of preventing aura from dispersing after leaving the aura nodes, instead maintaining a steady flow around the body so the aura remained contained.
But right now—
Ivan's aura could not leave his open aura nodes at all.
Every bit of it was blocked inside his body…
By the pitch-black death-Nen surrounding him.