Wendy pondered for a moment, recalling Kaizen's previous battles.
So far, he had revealed several nen beasts—Raiken, Akutagawa Ryunosuke, and Killer Queen.
As for Altan, the lamp ghost, Wendy wasn't familiar with it.
"Based on what Kaizen has shown so far, I'd say it would take at least three of me to match him. But if he has other tricks up his sleeve, I can't say for sure."
The middle-aged woman's pupils contracted sharply.
"Three?"
"Are you saying that you, the Son of the Dragon, the Son of the Stars, and the Son of the Head together would barely be enough to fight Kaizen?"
(T/N: In the Fiora royal family, three titles were granted to individuals of extraordinary talent: the Son of the Dragon, the Son of the Star, and the Son of the Head.)
"That's absurd."
"Wendy, aren't you overestimating him a little too much?"
A one-on-one fight was one thing. The elite of the Fiora royal family might not be a match for a member of the Zoldyck family, and the middle-aged woman could accept that. The Zoldycks were the world's top assassins for a reason.
But the overall strength of the Fiora royal family was supposedly above that of the Zoldycks. Yet here was Wendy, claiming that it would take three of her to compete against Kaizen? That was hard to swallow.
As the woman had just pointed out, it was simply too much.
Wendy wasn't just anyone in the Kingdom of Fiora—she was the chosen Son of the Dragon, one of the three most talented fighters of her generation.
If every Zoldyck could fight three of the Fiora royal family's top elites, then wouldn't that make the royal family seem utterly pathetic?
And, as far as the middle-aged woman knew, Kaizen wasn't even the heir of the Zoldyck family.
He was just a regular member.
If someone like Kaizen was already this strong, then what kind of monster would the actual successor of the Zoldyck family be?
What the woman didn't know was that Kaizen had been personally trained by Maha Zoldyck.
Compared to Killua's future growth, Kaizen had no guarantees.
But at this age, Kaizen was undoubtedly stronger than Killua.
If things played out the same way, and if Zeno and Silva's thinking didn't change, then Killua wouldn't even learn Nen until he took the Hunter Exam.
By then, Killua would be twelve.
Kaizen was only eleven now.
If the middle-aged woman knew this, she might be even more unsettled.
"That's just my personal assessment."
Wendy said, stretching. "I could be wrong. Anyway, Auntie, I'm getting sleepy."
With that, she closed her eyes slightly.
The middle-aged woman didn't believe her but chose not to argue. Their relationship wasn't particularly close—certainly not as close as Wendy's bond with Dominica.
She merely nodded but remained skeptical.
'Wendy's judgment is off.'
'If we compare the Sons of the Stars and the Sons of the Head to the current Son of the Dragon... perhaps this generation's Son of the Dragon is lacking.'
...
Kaizen stepped off the airship and headed straight for Heavens Arena.
On the way, he deliberately detoured through a town he had previously visited.
It had been completely reduced to ruins.
Not a single person remained.
Weeds had begun to take over the streets, creeping into the wreckage of homes and buildings.
Before long, if left undisturbed, nature would reclaim the town entirely.
And the people who had once lived there would remain buried in silence forever.
Kaizen exhaled softly.
"Life is so fragile."
So many people, gone in an instant.
All because of Ito Xius's whim.
These were just the horrors Kaizen had witnessed firsthand.
The ones he hadn't seen? There were even more.
Millions. Tens of millions. Cold statistics meant nothing until you stopped and really thought about them—until you understood they represented real, living people.
Knock, knock, knock!
Kaizen knocked on the door.
"I'm back."
Sally opened it, and when she saw him, her face lit up with joy.
"Captain!"
"Sally, long time no see."
The white bear beside her rubbed against Kaizen eagerly.
Kaizen reached out and patted Polar Bear's head.
"Come in, Captain!"
Kaizen placed the bags he was carrying beside the sofa.
"I brought you something."
Inside were special snacks from different cities. They weren't worth much, but Kaizen had a habit—whenever he returned, he always brought small gifts.
It made it feel more like home.
To him, Heavens Arena had become a second home.
The Zoldyck estate was his first.
Kaizen calculated that it had been nearly two years since he first came to Heavens Arena. He had spent most of his time elsewhere, but he always came back.
Because Nina was here.
Because Shizuku was here.
Because Sally was here.
They were his team.
There was a saying he liked: Where there is family, there is home.
"Captain, why didn't you tell me in advance?" Sally asked, pouring him a cup of hot tea. "You came back so suddenly—we didn't even have time to clean up!"
She sat across from him, eyes shining with expectation.
"Captain, when will you take us with you on a mission?"
Shizuku and Nina were busy competing in Heavens Arena, but Sally had no need to participate.
Unlike them, she had already received training from a professional Nen user, making the tournaments unnecessary for her.
Instead, she focused on mastering the high-level Nen techniques Kaizen had taught her.
But simply training all the time was dull.
She wanted to take action.
"Actually, there is something I need you to do."
Sally's eyes lit up.
"What is it, Captain?"
"Sally, I want you to take the Hunter Exam."
Kaizen took a sip of tea and continued. "Get your Hunter License. Once you have it, I'll have something important for you to do."
What he had in mind was simple.
He needed someone to gather information from restricted and special areas—places only Hunters had access to.
Most of the intelligence that Altan could gather was digital, from networks and software. Even its connections had limitations.
But information from the Hunter Association? That was invaluable.
Kaizen himself didn't have time to deal with it.
So Sally would do it instead.
With access to those places, Kaizen could evaluate them personally and pick the best ones to explore further.
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