"Zotan must've known."
"But he didn't care."
"So what if I'm treated like a toy?"
"At least I got the power I longed for."
"Some people wish they were toys, but never get the chance."
Kaizen felt a twinge of pity for Tucker.
He couldn't understand most of those involved in the Dark Night. But with Tucker's talent and potential, if he hadn't been stuck in the United States of Saherta, he could've easily become an A-Rank Nen user.
He could've lived a life that countless others could only dream of.
But Tucker chose to join the Dark Night for the sake of the United States of Saherta. He threw himself into the cause, sacrificed everything...
And it was all for nothing. A lie.
"Patriotism's admirable, sure," Kaizen muttered, "but only if your country's worth the price."
He hung up the call.
"Thanks for the heads-up, Nessley."
...
Ponzu stirred, blinking herself awake.
"Captain, what's going on?"
"Do you remember Nessley?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "I remember."
She had been there when Kaizen accepted Tucker's request to restrain Nessley.
"She was part of a squad called Dark Night. Tucker joined them too," Kaizen explained. "They operated directly under the Revolutionary Army."
"Their goal was to reform the corrupt system in Saherta."
"When I was being hunted down, the Revolutionary Army saw an opportunity. They decided to assassinate Oster."
"They failed."
"Nearly the whole squad was wiped out. Only Nessley survived."
Kaizen looked down at his hand.
"Just now, Nessley told me... the Revolutionary Army's leader, Zotan, has surrendered. The entire army gave themselves up to the royal family of Saherta."
Ponzu's eyes widened.
"So Tucker and the others... died for nothing?"
"Yeah," Kaizen said quietly. "That's why Nessley's so furious."
She hesitated. "Wait... did Nessley mention Oster just now?"
Kaizen was silent for a beat.
"After breakfast, meet me at the training ground. I'll explain there."
"Understood."
...
They cleaned up quickly. By the time they reached the dining hall, the maid had already prepared breakfast.
Shinji and the maid looked mildly surprised by Ponzu's sudden appearance, but said nothing. Kaizen didn't offer an explanation, and in the Zoldyck household, no one asked questions unless given permission.
It was an unspoken rule.
To them, Ponzu's presence was accepted without comment.
Only Ponzu felt out of place—but returning to the Sumas space frightened her more.
After breakfast, they headed to the training ground.
"Let's see how far you've come with the basics of Nen."
"Yes, Captain."
Ponzu took a deep breath, then closed her eyes, centering herself.
When she opened them again, she began to cycle through the four major principles.
"Ten."
"Zetsu."
"Ren."
"Hatsu."
She demonstrated each with steady precision.
"How was that, Captain?"
"Good enough," Kaizen replied.
Compared to his own standards, her progress was still lacking. But he knew better than to expect others to match him.
Ponzu didn't have overwhelming talent or potential—but she worked hard. That alone brought her this far.
According to Altan's classification model, her current ability topped out at a C-Rank Nen user.
But with the queen bee's support, she could break past her limit.
And if they could get their hands on Oster's experimental data...
She might even reach S-Rank.
Kaizen wasn't underestimating her.
"Keep training your basics. I'll be nearby."
"Yes, Captain."
...
Kaizen took a seat by the edge of the training ground. Ahead of him stretched a long corridor, with several fixed targets standing at the far end—tens of meters away.
A bullet of aura formed in his palm.
He raised his hand, took aim, and fired.
Boom!
The aura shot blasted the target dead center.
Then Kaizen retrieved the Hexflare Bomb.
He poured in a massive surge of aura.
Flames sparked into life in his palm.
He transferred the six-ball to his other hand. But the flame bomb remained in the original hand, blazing fiercely.
"This is different from normal Nen bullets…"
"It doesn't fire on its own."
"It's... more like a real object."
"I have to throw it manually."
"Like a basketball."
Kaizen furrowed his brow.
Gripping the flame bomb tightly, he wound up and hurled it.
Boom!
It struck the target.
The moment it made contact, a burst of flames exploded outward. The shockwave spread across the area, engulfing the target in searing fire.
"Nice."
"But I have to aim and throw myself. That means the precision depends on my physical strength."
"No more straight-line precision like regular bullets."
"But the tradeoff in power... is absolutely worth it."
"And I get a lot more control this way."
He paused, thinking through the mechanics.
With a standard bullet, he could only control two things: aim and trigger.
Everything else—rate of fire, trajectory—was fixed. Aura consumption varied slightly, but not significantly.
But this new type?
This was different.
This was like a basketball.
He had control over the throw's timing, speed, angle, arc... even spin.
The number of ways he could manipulate it exploded.
And on top of all that, this new bomb carried elemental properties.
Making it far more difficult for enemies to anticipate or block.
In just a short test, Kaizen had already imagined a dozen combat applications.
"These days at Zoldyck Manor, I can train with targets."
"Stationary... moving... it doesn't matter."
"But once I get to Heavens Arena…"
A smirk curled across his lips.
"I'll use Hisoka as a real-life combat target."
Kaizen had immense respect for Hisoka's strength.
It wasn't just his raw power. It was his instincts. His creativity. His bloodthirsty love of battle.
The way he danced with death like it was a partner in a twisted waltz.
In this world, there were few opponents more dangerous—or more enlightening—than Hisoka.
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (1047 chapters in total)