"Of course, there is a more straightforward approach."
Chairman Netero said as he watched Luke's retreating figure.
"If you can defeat me, then forget about vice chairman, even the position of chairman of the entire Hunter Association, I wouldn't mind handing it over to you."
To Luke, that sounded no different from pure nonsense.
"Alternatively, if you can fight me to a draw, that would also prove your capability."
"Or, if you can endure a hundred of my strikes, that would count too..."
Seeing that Luke seemed determined to ignore him and actually planned to leave, Chairman Netero sighed softly.
"Well then, if you can at least force me to use my true strength, to unleash my ultimate ability… then the previous conditions still stand."
"You should've said that from the start!"
Whoosh!
In an instant, Luke's figure flashed back before Chairman Netero.
He sat down again with a bright grin. "I knew you were a fair and objective man, chairman."
Chairman Netero: "..."
This brat, is he a dog or something?!
For a fleeting moment, Chairman Netero thought that in his planned twelve-member council, based on the Twelve Zodiac signs, the position of dog would suit Luke perfectly.
"So then, how are we doing this? Do we fight here, or should we move somewhere else?"
"Oh?"
Chairman Netero raised an eyebrow, eyeing the eager spark in Luke's expression.
"You seem pretty confident."
"I wouldn't call it confidence, exactly. After all, your strength is known across the entire world."
Luke said modestly at first, but then added: "However..."
"If the goal is only to make you, Chairman Netero, use your ultimate technique..."
A gleam flashed in Luke's eyes.
"That's not exactly difficult. Or rather..."
"It's not a challenge at all."
"I even get the feeling..."
He looked at Chairman Netero with a calm smile.
"That you might be planning to hold back against me on purpose."
I'm holding back…?
Chairman Netero's hand froze halfway through stroking his beard.
"Hohoho..."
After a brief pause, Chairman Netero let out a deep, meaningful laugh.
"Not difficult, you say? Not a challenge?"
"So the younger generation these days has grown this formidable, huh?"
"In this new era, have talents become so abundant that they can speak to me like this?"
"To think someone would say such things right to my face..."
"Your tone is certainly not small."
"Back in my day, I never had such confidence."
"So it's true then… That I have really gotten old, to be thought of as not a challenge anymore."
Chairman Netero muttered quietly to himself.
Hearing his murmurs, Luke kindly reminded him: "You might indeed be getting on in years, but your body's still strong and full of life."
"In terms of strength, you remain the undisputed number one in the world."
"So I'm not underestimating you in the slightest."
"It's just that..."
He smiled again. "I happen to have more confidence in myself."
"Hohoho… Confidence in yourself, is it?"
Chairman Netero nodded slightly.
"I do like young people who have that kind of confidence."
"That radiance, the conviction that the era belongs to them, the ability to turn talent into real power, I can understand that very well."
"And it just so happens."
Chairman Netero added with a faint grin, "I enjoy exchanging experiences with confident young folks like you."
He tilted his neck side to side, loosening up his joints as if warming up.
"So then, shall we start right away, chairman?"
Luke's eyes lit up as he asked eagerly.
After all, the sooner he met the condition, the sooner he could secure the vice chairman position and have more time to take control of the Hunter Association.
"No need to rush into fighting."
Chairman Netero waved his hand, now looking far less impatient.
"You said you're confident that you can force me to show my true power and ultimate technique, yes?"
"Well then, based on that, I'm willing to believe you. Which means..."
"We definitely can't have a fight here on this airship."
Indeed, considering Chairman Netero's Nen ability and the limited space available here, this was certainly not a suitable battlefield.
"Still."
Chairman Netero said as he slowly stood up, "While a full battle is out of the question, there are other small games we can play."
"Just as a little warm-up before our real fight."
A rare, subtle smile appeared on Chairman Netero's face.
"Don't worry, it's just a little activity game."
"Hohoho…!"
Luke: "..."
Judging by Chairman Netero's expression and the gradually rising pressure emanating from him, it was hard not to suspect that this so-called little game might be anything but simple.
Was this little activity game even okay?!
"Oh? So it's just some warm-up kind of activity game?"
Luke could feel the aura rising from Chairman Netero's body; it was even more terrifying and oppressive than before.
Yet his expression remained calm, and the faint smile at the corner of his lips stayed perfectly composed.
"Of course, I don't mind playing a bit."
He said.
"But..."
Luke raised his head, meeting Chairman Netero's sharp gaze without fear.
"If it's just a pure game, wouldn't that be a little too boring?"
"Oh? And what do you mean by that?"
"How about we add a little wager to make things interesting?"
In Chairman Netero's eyes, Luke's dog-like face now bore a sly, fox-like grin.
"If I lose, I won't mention the vice-chairman position again."
"Whether it's joining that twelve-member group or sparring with you anytime, anywhere, I'll have no objections."
Luke generously put his own wager on the table first.
"Oh? That big, huh?!"
Chairman Netero's expression grew a little more serious, and then…
"Hohoho, to see a young man so bold and daring, with such courage and confidence..."
The corners of Chairman Netero's mouth curved into a smile that Luke recognized all too well.
"In that case, even though I'm old, I can't just shrink away, can I?"
"I'll take that wager!"
That smile in Chairman Netero's eyes was the same kind of smile he would one day show before his final battle with Meruem, the Chimera Ant king.
After using the final move of the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, already spent and at the end of his life, he had pierced his own heart with his finger and smiled with an inhuman malice.