Chapter 132: Does Sensui Count as a Kind of "Demon-Enduring" Type?
On the surface, Chairman Netero of the Hunter Association was still the world's strongest. But because nobody knew exactly when he had last genuinely fought anyone, for most young people, the gap in age between him and Younger Toguro alone, Toguro in his seventies and Netero past one hundred and twenty, meant they had heard he was strong without ever understanding why.
And his role as the Hunter Association's highest authority had suppressed his warlike nature, to the point that whenever a sparring partner extended both hands and respectfully conceded, Netero would also instinctively offer a handshake and end the fight, even though it went entirely against his nature.
This meant the chairman's true strength remained essentially unconfirmed. There was almost no one who could push him to show his actual limits.
Back to Younger Toguro: as a human-turned-demon with a battle-obsessed disposition, he was actually more inclined to want to become the strongest entity in the demon world. It was his way of cutting ties with his former human identity.
Unlike Hisoka's pure and unconstrained battle fixation, Younger Toguro's carried a strong element of self-destruction within it.
His plan to use Genkai's life as leverage, forcing Ross and Yusuke to grow stronger until they could kill him, didn't conflict with his desire to visit the place where demons mixed into the human world actually came from: the Dark Continent. Makai.
But when Ross brought it up himself, the nature of the situation changed entirely.
To be clear: the five continents humans inhabited were actually just a tiny corner of the real world's landmass. Human exploration of the actual world was probably under one percent. The territory encompassed in that other ninety-nine percent was what humans called the Dark Continent, though demons had another name for it: Makai.
For certain specific reasons, beings living in the human world couldn't reach the Dark Continent through ordinary means.
Did Younger Toguro want to go? Of course. He had simply never had the opportunity or the method.
Over ninety-nine percent of humans had never even heard the name "Dark Continent." That kind of uniformity wasn't accidental. It was organized, systematic information suppression.
So when that particular phrase came out of Ross's mouth, Younger Toguro's composure underwent a subtle but unmistakable shift. He began reassessing the person in front of him.
"Beyond... Netero."
After more than ten seconds of silence, Younger Toguro spoke a name that genuinely surprised Ross.
"About three years ago, this man who claimed to be Isaac Netero's only descendant came to me. He asked whether I wanted to join him as a partner on an exploratory venture to the Dark Continent. At the time I had reservations and didn't answer on the spot. He simply said that if I ever had a change of heart, I was welcome to find him."
"Then there's the V5. Years of investigation told me that the five most powerful nations in the world had jointly suppressed all information relating to the Dark Continent. Officially it's framed as preventing individuals from exploring privately and bringing disasters back to the human world. My read is that they're protecting their monopoly on the Dark Continent's enormous resources and blocking everyone else's access. A straightforward stranglehold."
The chopsticks in Younger Toguro's hand had been ground to powder.
"And you. A young Nen beginner with no background whatsoever. How do you know any of this?"
"Huh? Is this actually considered classified?"
Ross's surprise was genuine. A lifetime of the omniscient perspective had left him genuinely forgetting that this was information most people had never encountered.
Not that the surprise slowed him down. He dumped his rice directly into the miso soup and started slurping it down while it was hot.
Then, having apparently held it in long enough, Ross launched into what could only be described as an intelligence dump of historic proportions.
"All right, here's something interesting. I can't vouch for the source, you can judge the credibility yourself. This one's on the house."
"Right now, there are roughly four factions in the human world actively planning to reach the Dark Continent. In theory, the most capable of pulling it off after V5."
"Two are still in the planning stage, and you should know both of them."
"The first is the one who came looking for you: Beyond Netero. He visited the Dark Continent in his youth. He has actual firsthand experience. But his father used some kind of vow and restriction to force him back to the human world and keep him there. He has never given up his plan. He's been accumulating strength and waiting for the right moment ever since."
"The other one is the gambling-obsessed boss behind your operation."
Ross paused, then said the name that made Younger Toguro's eyebrow move.
"Sakyo. This man is far more insane than you imagine. He doesn't just want to reach the Dark Continent. He wants to spend every last piece of his fortune and exhaust every capability he has to try to open a stable, permanent passage that would allow demons to travel reliably to the human world."
Ross left a brief gap.
"Whether or not it's actually achievable, as far as I understand it, he's completely serious."
"If those two are in the planning stage, the next two are already moving toward execution."
"The Kakin Empire. If you have any channels to investigate, check whether they're building some kind of enormous vessel, large enough to transport hundreds of thousands of people. A ship that size can't be a standard cargo freighter. They've had some contact with Beyond Netero, and once the old man constraining Beyond Netero has some kind of accident, they'll probably formally begin."
"As for the last one..."
"His name is Sensui. Shinobu Sensui. Human. If Sakyo is still making plans, then Sensui is already actually doing it. He's working to excavate a special two-way subspace tunnel, one that would genuinely expose the human world directly to the Dark Continent. An absolute madman. The first three put together aren't as dangerous as this one."
Ross's intelligence dump left Younger Toguro in a long silence.
What Ross hadn't anticipated was the question Younger Toguro chose to ask when he finally broke it.
"This person called Sensui. Is he strong?"
"Quite strong." Ross nodded without hesitation.
"I can't say with certainty whether he or Chairman Netero is the real peak of humanity. But he's absolutely in the first tier of human fighters."
Getting that confirmation from Ross, the corner of Younger Toguro's mouth curled upward, beyond his control.
Like someone who had been actively seeking death, and had just discovered one more thing they had to accomplish before it happened.
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