The first voice was Ginta's, full of hope and surprise. The second was Kanzai's, a violent curse.
Ginta was a rare innocent among the Zodiacs. His nature made him quick to trust others, though not without reason—naïve, perhaps, but far from stupid.
Even Hisoka had judged his overall strength to be superior to Kanzai's, placing him among the stronger members of the Zodiacs. However, he was still far behind Ging Freecss.
Now, Ging—stronger than him in every way—claimed he had a way to cure Netero. And just like that, Ginta completely forgot all the absurd things Ging had done before.
But Kanzai? He didn't buy it for a second. That unreliable bastard had caused him enough trouble.
As for the others, even Saccho remained skeptical of Ging's claim that there was a cure for Netero.
Ging had left a terrible impression on them all. He knew it, too, scratching his head as he tried to sound as sincere as possible:
"I really do have a way to save the Chairman."
"Yeah? And what if your 'cure' makes things worse?" Saccho leaned back on the bench, hands behind his head, his tone mocking but casual.
His words fit his usual personality. More importantly, they hinted at the truth—on the surface, he didn't believe Ging, but deep down, he wasn't exactly hoping for Netero's recovery either.
The other Zodiacs didn't overthink Saccho's words. Instead, they nodded in agreement.
"If you don't believe me, that's fine," Ging said, spreading his hands in mock helplessness. "But since you guys don't have any better solutions, why not let me try~?"
He sounded exasperated, but that ever-present, careless smirk never left his face. To top it off, he casually picked his nose with his pinky.
"This guy…"
The other Zodiac members twitched. A few of the more hot-tempered ones had to resist the urge to punch him.
"I've already contacted some healing Nen users. They'll be here soon." Cheadle pushed her glasses up, speaking calmly.
"Right, so in the meantime, the old man just has to suffer? By the time your healers arrive, he might as well be pushing up daisies."
"The Chairman is NOT a daisy!!" Kanzai shouted immediately.
"I know, I know, it's just an analogy… Besides, even if they do show up, who's to say they'll be able to cure him?"
Is there really anyone less reliable than you?
Everyone thought the same thing as they looked at Ging, their foreheads darkening.
"So, let me give it a try first~"
With that, Ging stopped bothering to argue and made his way straight to Netero's hospital room.
"What do you think you're doing?! The Chairman can't be disturbed right now!"
Kanzai, ever the hothead, jumped in front of Ging to block him.
But—
A firm hand landed on Kanzai's shoulder, freezing him in place. At the same time, a calm voice came from the side:
"The old man really can't be disturbed. He needs rest."
Kanzai turned sharply, only to find that Ronnel had appeared beside him, gripping his shoulder firmly.
The others stiffened.
What speed!
Everyone mentally measured Ronnel's movement against their own abilities.
"Let go…" Kanzai started, his anger rising again.
But before he could finish, a sharp pain struck his head. His vision blurred as the world spun around him.
Then, under everyone's stunned gazes, Kanzai's body slumped to the ground.
"I already said the old man needs rest. You're making too much noise."
Ronnel dusted off his hands, his expression indifferent.
"Getting too worked up isn't good for you. Try to calm down~"
...
Silence.
Once again, just like when Ronnel had moved before, no one had seen how he did it.
He really was the man who had defeated Jed and wiped out the Chimera Ants.
Everyone had the same thought.
Pyon, and the others watched Ronnel warily, while Saccho, despite his relaxed demeanor, had a glint of caution in his eyes. Whatever interest he'd had in testing Ronnel's strength disappeared immediately.
Better to leave this mess to Pariston.
Having made up his mind, Saccho leaned back, feigning disinterest. With one arm in his pocket, he discreetly sent a message on his phone.
Ging, unfazed by the commotion behind him, walked straight to the ward's door. He paused, glanced at Ronnel, nodded, and stepped inside.
This time, Emuksu wasn't with him. It seemed that after the incident at the Pavilion—and with so many Kakin spies keeping tabs on Netero—it wasn't the right moment for Emuksu to appear.
Instead, he had simply given Ging the necessary healing items and left the treatment in his hands.
Ronnel said nothing, simply leaning against the doorframe. His message was clear.
The other Zodiacs glanced at Kanzai's unconscious form, then at Ronnel, and wisely chose to keep their mouths shut.
Pyon opened her mouth to say something, but Cheadle tugged her sleeve. She sighed and let it go.
Ginta, oblivious to the tension in the room, blinked and then ran over to the window, peeking inside.
Ronnel didn't stop him. If he was just looking, it was fine.
And so, the atmosphere became strangely quiet.
Morel and Knov, watching from the sidelines, let out small sighs of relief.
If the Zodiacs had broken into internal strife, the Hunter Association—finally on the mend—would have plunged into chaos once again...
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (799 chapters in total)