Netero had already arrived in the territory of East Gorteau and had located a volcanic zone. He was currently recharging his energy and adjusting his state.
...
After recovering, Gon and Killua, along with Morel and the others, boarded the train to East Gorteau.
However, the country had already plunged into chaos and bloodshed.
Since the capital, Peijin, could not accommodate five million people, the first round of screening took place across various villages and towns.
The selection process prioritized those who were physically strong and could endure injuries. As a result, many people were brutally slaughtered in this initial round.
When soldiers carried out the massacre, resistance inevitably arose, but Neferpitou had stationed controlled human troops in every village and town using [Puppeteering].
The soldiers manipulated by Puppeteering would forcibly focus their energy into their hands, striking residents as a method of forcibly opening their Aura Nodes.
This country did not permit civilians to own mobile phones, and during the National Assembly, even if an entire village was wiped out, news would not spread to neighboring towns. If people lost contact with their relatives, they would assume their loved ones had already departed for the assembly rather than suspecting a massacre.
Thus, the first round of the Chimera Ants' selection process proceeded smoothly, without widespread panic or riots.
With absolute power and an intelligence network suppressing any signs of resistance, all those who dared to fight back were swiftly eradicated.
The "Finger Group," a notorious and powerful informant organization in East Gorteau, controlled the nation's intelligence. Reporting enemy spies, revolutionaries, or fugitives all came with generous rewards—not just money, but promotions within the organization. Conversely, false reports or criminal actions within the group led to collective punishment.
Families were divided into different groups, ensuring that if even one group attempted to escape, their remaining relatives would be executed or sentenced to life imprisonment. If an entire family was caught fleeing, they would be executed without mercy.
To sustain a small privileged class, the rest of the population lived in starvation, yet the government-controlled media broadcasted false news, claiming that in other nations, more than half the children would die of hunger before reaching ten years old.
Foreign aid intended to help the weak was instead funneled into luxury cars, jewels, and military weaponry.
The stark contrast between the wealth of the elites and the suffering of the masses was evident in the towering metropolis overshadowing the slums below.
Seeking even more international aid, the East Gorteau government had reportedly offered nuclear energy in exchange. However, their nuclear technology itself was dependent on foreign funding.
A system of strict rewards and punishments, an oppressive surveillance organization, an immense wealth gap, relief funds misappropriated to sustain the elite, and the brainwashing of the lower class to accept their suffering—
Even though they were impoverished, they had access to nuclear energy. Even though they relied on bailout funds for nuclear technology, they still used nuclear power as a bargaining chip for further aid...
Does this system seem eerily familiar?
It's almost identical to a certain country on a northeastern peninsula.
And when you consider how a useless figure like Ming Jol-ik inherited power purely through bloodline, his appearance closely resembling a certain round-faced dictator who took over a neighboring land of fish and sheep at the age of twenty-eight...
It's clear who Togashi was mocking.
However, while the satire seemed directed at that individual, it wasn't actually aimed at the third ruler of the dynasty.
After all, when the Chimera Ant arc was released, the third successor had yet to take power.
To be precise, Togashi was ridiculing the father and brother of the third ruler.
If you compare photographs, you'll notice that the father of the current leader, like Ming Jol-ik and his brother, wore glasses and bore a stronger resemblance to Ming Jol-ik than the current leader himself.
If the arc had been written later, when the third ruler officially took power at twenty-eight, Togashi might have been even more scathing...
...
Ahem, back to the story.
Before retreating, Netero had devised a plan to lure the three Royal Guards away so he could face the Ant King directly. As a result, Morel and the others split into three groups, each with their own target and objective.
Gon and Killua's mission was to confront Neferpitou, so they took the road to Peijin, systematically eliminating Pitou's controlled soldiers along the way.
Meanwhile, Knuckle and Shoot were assigned to face Menthuthuyoupi. However, they lacked information on their opponent and weren't sure how to proceed. With caution, they advanced slowly, eliminating stray Chimera Ants and rescuing villagers from the controlled soldiers.
As for Morel and Knov, their target was Shaiapouf. They traveled to an equally opulent city near Peijin, made contact with East Gorteau's high-ranking military officers, and took the diplomatic route.
Realizing something was wrong with Ming Jol-ik and uncovering that Chimera Ants controlled the country, the military leader agreed to expose Ming Jol-ik's atrocities. In exchange for allowing his family to flee the country and maintain their luxurious lifestyle, he promised to mobilize the national army and provide intelligence.
Each group continued their mission in different ways, steadily advancing toward Peijin, the capital in the southeast.
...
Two days had already passed.
That left only eight days to stop the Chimera Ant King.
As the three groups pressed forward—
Doli City, in a hotel.
Bisky sat on a bench outside a certain room, flipping through a beauty magazine she had once found interesting but now barely cared about. She let out a bored yawn.
A whole month had passed, and with the turmoil brewing in East Gorteau, why hadn't he recovered yet?
Resting her chin in her hand, Bisky pondered the situation.
Then she sighed.
"What a headache..."
Suddenly—
"?!"
Bisky's body stiffened.
A terrifying aura, powerful enough to send shivers down her spine, had erupted from inside the room!
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (799 chapters in total)