"Should I try joining Beyond Netero's team?"
While chatting on the phone with Ronnel, the thought crossed Ging's mind.
Truth be told, Ging—who despised dealing with official organizations—had no desire to get involved with the Kakin Empire.
From that perspective, Beyond's team wasn't a bad choice.
But…
"I heard from Ronnel that the second-in-command spot belongs to Pariston, and Ronnel has the privilege of reporting directly to Beyond. If I join… what position would that leave me in?"
"Pariston and Ronnel's subordinate?" Ging pondered the possibility before casually hanging up the phone.
"I'll think about it later~"
...
On Greed Island, Ronnel put his phone away, clapped his hands, and stood up.
His stockpile of puppets was finally back to a satisfying level.
With his meeting point with Ging already set, it was time to leave the island.
Meanwhile, Gon and Killua—unaware of Netero's condition—had already departed after a brief farewell with Kite. They were heading to Kukuroo Mountain, apparently to save Killua's younger sister.
Even without Gon's near-death experience, Killua had already made up his mind to rescue Alluka.
"Hope they can get past Silva in one piece~" Ronnel thought, mentally wishing them luck.
With a wave of his hand, the fourteen spirit beasts behind him vanished into thin air.
That's right—it was Razor's ability, the 14 Devils.
Razor could create fourteen humanoid beasts.
But now, it wasn't Razor wielding them. It was Ronnel.
After acquiring Meruem's ability, Aura Synthesis, Ronnel had sought out Razor to test a theory. He managed to obtain a single drop of his blood.
And with just that—he successfully acquired Razor's Nen.
This confirmed something fascinating: even a single drop of blood was enough to obtain another person's Nen ability.
It sounded absurd—like something out of a cheap fantasy story. But then again, this was Meruem's ability. Wasn't everything about him beyond the norm?
In the original story, Meruem had consumed parts of Youpi and Shaiapouf to gain their abilities.
Clearly, the amount of flesh consumed wasn't what determined the success of ability transfer—only the strength gained.
A single drop of blood was still enough.
With this discovery, Ronnel systematically sought out every Nen user on the island and collected a drop of blood from each.
In the end, he acquired every ability… but the only one truly compatible with him—one that met the necessary conditions—was Razor's.
Dwun and List's Nen were too specialized, too personal. They didn't suit Ronnel at all.
But he had no regrets.
After all, Nen abilities were deeply tied to the personalities and mindsets of their users. The strongest abilities weren't necessarily the most useful; the most compatible ones were.
Over his journey, Ronnel had encountered countless ability users, rifled through more corpses than he cared to count, yet still found only a handful of Nen that genuinely suited him.
...
He also took the opportunity to check on his own ability, Upgrade Game.
Defeating the Royal Guards and ultimately killing Meruem had granted him an astronomical amount of experience points.
As a result, Upgrade Game had reached its highest possible level.
And then, something unexpected happened.
Upon maxing out, Upgrade Game vanished.
In its place, Ronnel received a final game-clear reward:
The ability to cultivate a new Nen ability from scratch—one that would allow him to remove two to three of its usual limitations.
Removing restrictions from a Nen ability…
Everyone knew that the strongest Nen abilities came with the steepest limitations.
Now, Ronnel could train a new ability and strip away two or three of its constraints.
A Nen ability without restrictions…
The sheer potential of that was terrifying.
Naturally, Ronnel was thrilled.
But that excitement quickly faded.
Because he knew—he had earned this.
The effort it took to rack up that kind of experience in Upgrade Game—facing off against Meruem, the strongest Chimera Ant—was something even the ability's original creator could never have achieved.
Reaching this point was the result of years of struggle.
...
After wrapping up his affairs and saying his goodbyes to Dwun and List—who he had built a decent rapport with on the island—Ronnel packed his things and headed to the hospital where Netero was being treated.
...
The Hunter Association's top medical facility.
Inside the intensive care unit…
Netero lay motionless on the hospital bed, his frail body resembling a withered tree. A respirator covered his face, his eyes shut tightly.
This was how he had been ever since emerging from Peijin Palace.
Even with immediate medical attention, the machines had only managed to keep him alive.
The extensive damage to his body had left him comatose.
His bedside was surrounded by advanced medical equipment, and a doctor in a white coat stood by, monitoring his condition.
Due to the severity of Netero's case, a doctor had to be on standby at all times for continuous observation.
The medical staff assigned to him were some of the most renowned doctors in the world. Even the V5 had sent their best specialists—not out of goodwill, but as a political move to curry favor.
Among them were scholars from Medical University, where Leorio studied, and Dr. Lee from Fanlin Medical University, who had ties to Cheadle Yorkshire.
Netero's ward was off-limits to unauthorized personnel. Only a select few were permitted to visit him.
A glass wall separated the corridor from the room itself, and most visitors could only stand outside, gazing at him through the transparent barrier.
At this moment, a small group of people was gathered in the corridor.
The atmosphere was heavy, the air thick with tension.
No one spoke.
Partly out of respect for Netero.
And partly because the situation itself was… unsettling.
Those standing there weren't just any visitors.
They were all members of the Hunter Association's Twelve Zodiacs.
The meeting had just ended.
And now, they were here—standing in silence.
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (799 chapters in total)