In the Hunter Association Cheadle received a call from the president, informing her that the matter concerning Shadow was over.
This news shocked Cheadle greatly. From what she knew, it had only been a little over an hour since Oboro arrived at the prison. Such efficiency was astonishing!
The Association had already prepared a backup plan in case Oboro couldn't handle Jed, but it hadn't been necessary.
"Understood, President," Cheadle said, setting down her phone. She couldn't calm her emotions for quite some time.
This was Oboro's ability something that didn't rely on the Association's collective strength.
Though Jed and his subordinates had been eliminated, the impact on the Association continued to spread. They had detected someone broadcasting footage online, publicly executing Association members and announcing the imprisoned Netero's identity, threatening to kill him before the whole world.
Fortunately, the network signal had been blocked, limiting how many people witnessed it. The Association had the capability to suppress these fluctuations.
The most urgent task now was to notify V5.
Soon after, V5's senior management understood the situation and realized Oboro had taken action. They weren't surprised the matter had been handled properly after all, it was that man.
In V5's assessment, the danger Oboro posed was hundreds, even thousands of times greater than Jed's resurrection. The two weren't even on the same level.
And Oboro's intervention had been within V5's expectations.
The Aftermath
Meanwhile, Netero finished his call.
He stretched his muscles and slowly stood up, glancing at Oboro. "Jed is he dead?"
"No," Oboro replied with a slight smile.
As expected of the old man so perceptive. He must have noticed that the curse's aura hadn't immediately dissipated after Rakshasa was destroyed. Instead, it had been locked in the Rig's Lamp for transformation.
"What are you going to do?" Netero asked directly. "Compared to Nen, the energy of Grudge offers no advantages. Although it can quickly gain power, it has too many weaknesses. Once you go too deep, it's easy to be dominated by negative emotions and become inhuman."
His words were unmistakably a warning to Oboro.
"Yeah I know," Oboro nodded, then waved his hand. "Since everything's fine, I'll leave now. The Association should be sending a spaceship to pick you up soon."
"Goodbye."
He hadn't come here to reminisce with Netero. Having achieved his goal, there was no reason to linger. Menchi and the others were still waiting for him to return and continue their training.
"You met him How was it? I want to hear your evaluation," Netero said with a smile, watching Oboro's retreating back.
"Worthy of your blood," came a vague response.
The two were referring to Beyond.
Oboro wasn't surprised. He had an agreement with the old man. Even if Netero promised not to venture to the Dark Continent temporarily, he would definitely monitor Oboro's every move secretly. The old man had certain character flaws, at least in Oboro's opinion, such as being excessively kind and shouldering burdens that weren't his to bear. Apart from that, he was absolutely wise, equally foolish in mind, and scheming. If he, Pariston, and Ging were truly enemies, they definitely couldn't outmaneuver this old man.
Therefore, Netero must know about the Kakin affairs.
As for the Chimera Ants, Oboro believed Netero had noticed them as well. But considering the old man's life never having been defeated and having ventured to the Dark Continent twice he was overly confident! He believed he could handle any threat Additionally, Netero subconsciously craved challenges.
This led him to underestimate the Chimera Ants' danger.
After all, the outside world had yet to receive any information about the Chimera Ants.
Oboro remembered clearly that during Netero's battle with the Ant King Meruem, a revolving lantern of images appeared in his mind recollections of his youth challenging various martial arts schools, and again after becoming a Nen user. Eventually, all his opponents would bend to him and surrender. He never even had the opportunity to use his full strength. Over time, Netero learned to stop at the right moment, losing the pleasure and passion of pursuing martial arts' ultimate form.
This exemplified what Oboro meant by "it's lonely at the top."
If a person becomes too powerful, they experience loneliness and inner numbness
Killua, standing nearby, watched Oboro vanish, then glanced at the president. The young assassin obviously didn't understand what the two had been discussing, but he knew they seemed to be referring to someone.
"Oh no This is way past the time Gon and I agreed on. He must be worried sick by now And that old woman" Killua muttered, putting aside all distracting thoughts.
"I'm leaving first," he waved to Netero and hurriedly followed after Oboro.
Netero smiled and nodded.
Killua planned to board the Fells family's spaceship, unsure when the Association's vessel would arrive.
After both had departed, Netero walked out of the ruins to the place where Jed had died, sighing softly with complicated eyes.
A Small Episode
To Oboro, Jed's incident was merely a small episode.
The spaceship carried Killua to a city near Gerushia with an airport terminal offering direct flights to the Kakin Empire. Killua needed to return to the game through Greed Island's equipment, located where the tycoon Batla lived.
Given the current strained relationship between the Fells family and Kakin, they couldn't deliver him directly, so he had to travel on his own.
A few days later, Oboro returned to his teammates' outdoor training ground.
Menchi and the others seemed unsurprised by his quick return.
"News has spread throughout the Association saying you caused this incident," Menchi told Oboro during a training break as she wiped sweat from her face. "The interesting part is that neither the president nor the Twelve Zodiacs seem willing to reveal the truth. Pariston was the one who spread the news! He appears to be helping you increasing your chances of becoming president in the future."
"Is he trying to show goodwill toward you?"
"Show goodwill?" Oboro was leaning against a tree, basking in sunlight, looking lazy.
A faint mist floated around him as he held the Rig's Lamp, swinging it back and forth.
"He's just accelerating the process, hastening that day's arrival. He can't wait to see what I'll do what changes I'll bring to the Association after becoming president. Most importantly, how I'll kill him."
Oboro smiled. "Because if I can't kill him it's as if he's broken my strategies and can wreak havoc unrestrained, which is disgusting."
Menchi frowned. "You mean he already has a plan to deal with you?"
"Who? Beyond?" Fant joined the conversation.
As teammates, they now understood the conflict between Oboro, Pariston, and Beyond.
Judging by Pariston's support network, Beyond was the only one capable of stopping Oboro. But even then, his safety couldn't be 100% guaranteed.
"Could it be Ging Freecss? Didn't the captain say he and Ging have conflicts because of different philosophies?" Anthony suggested.
"No From what I understand, Pariston and Ging don't get along, and Ging wouldn't oppose the captain for Pariston's sake," Menchi shook her head.
Rita and Gabwich remained silent; they knew nothing about the complex factions and power dynamics within the Association.
"If the president really dies considering Pariston's current resources, his effective counterattack options would be minimal," Fant said gravely. "He should understand the captain's level."
"A person's power manifests on many levels. Killing or eliminating someone isn't as difficult as you think," Oboro responded. "Even Netero, standing at humanity's peak, was outmaneuvered. The key lies in the mind knowing how to exploit situations and strategize. Most importantly, seeing through your target, clearly judging their personality and predicting their actions."
"After the Ant King's birth, if Netero hadn't intervened and left the mess to V5, he wouldn't have died. Pariston and Beyond were certain the old man would take responsibility himself, and he did."
"Whatever Pariston plans, the premise is he believes he's figured me out."
"And exploiting situations involves more than finding allies or a country"
"What else?" Menchi pressed.
"What can you think of that might threaten me?" Oboro continued. "Just like with Netero with no human factor capable of threatening him, why not create one? With their resources, Pariston and Beyond can't manipulate V5 or Kakin. Kakin and Beyond merely cooperate in pursuing the Dark Continent; they won't care about extraneous matters."
"But I differ from Netero"
"You mean Kakin and V5 allied?" Menchi was shocked.
"They lack such power. Even if they had it, planning and deployment would take considerable time," Oboro replied. "Besides, if you can conceive it, how could I not? Pariston knows such superficial plans won't work against me. Real threats often lurk in darkness."
"What else could it be? Captain, stop being cryptic," Anthony urged, growing anxious.
They were now in the same boat as Oboro.
"It's dark under the lamp right under your noses," Oboro smiled.
"You mean Chimera Ants?" Menchi suddenly realized. "Is he planning to use them against you?"
"He knows I'll definitely intervene with the Chimera Ants. It's his only advantage," Oboro said calmly. "Pariston is provoking me, testing whether I can kill him. But that must wait until after the presidential election, and the Chimera Ant chaos must end before then. The timing is staggered."
"If I kill him before the election, I'd violate my death ultimatum to him essentially breaking my promise. I'd lose Even if I killed him, this matter would forever disgust me. He'd pay with his life but still win, leaving me with regret. That's why he's so difficult to handle."
"My involvement with the Chimera Ants was as inevitable as Netero's confrontation with the Ant King. Pariston noticed my interest in the Chimera Ants went beyond seeking the Guild Master position. His insight is terrifyingly sharp."
"So he wants to ensure I can't kill him after the Chimera Ant situation concludes. He doesn't intend to use the ants to kill me more likely to weaken me so I can't move against him afterward."
"This way I'd be contradicting myself."
"I'm curious to see what he'll do."
By the end of their conversation, Oboro was smiling with anticipation.