As Kite ventured deeper into the Chimera Ants' territory, he made a startling discovery.
The ants' territory was extremely vast, yet there was surprisingly little sign of ant activity in the outermost areas. This meant that any hunting teams investigating would unknowingly enter the core of the ant colony, mistakenly believing that they were only at the edge of the ants' hunting grounds. In reality, it was Oboro and his team who had forced the ants to reduce their activity area and adopt a defensive posture after causing certain problems.
This is beyond shocking.
He had terrified an entire ant colony with his power alone.
"Soul-related Nen abilities," Kite thought about the information Gingfulis had shared.
Such abilities would be difficult to defend against, not only for the Ants, but even for the other Nen.
The soul system had its own natural uniqueness, which directly corresponded to the difficulty of developing such abilities.
However, hard work paid off. Kite began following the clues and found a team of ants that had gone hunting.
He reasoned that even if the Chimera ants were being careful, they couldn't completely eliminate their need for food.
"There are twenty in all, I'll take care of the ones in the middle, and you two take care of the ones on the left and right. Be quick, the Chimera ants send signals to each other that we can't detect." The three of them used 'Zetsu' to hide their presence in the shade of a tree. At Kite's warning, they suddenly sprang into action.
Killua and Gon followed suit, sprinting toward the ants from different directions.
The twenty or so Chimera ants posed no real threat to the trio.
Unlike the two younger hunters, Kite didn't rely on any special Nen abilities, but simply attacked with precise physical blows. his movements were incredibly sharp and graceful - punches, spins, bending knees, sweeping legs. Nearly every blow to a Chimera Ant was fatal, dropping them to the ground instantly.
Meanwhile, Killua and Gon each unleashed their Nen abilities. Lightning crackled from Killua's hands, fast as thunder itself.
Gon's fists were filled with concentrated aura.
The two youngsters displayed impressive power, but they were much slower than Kite in dispatching their enemies.
Gon almost let one ant escape. If Kite hadn't intervened in time, more ants might have been lured from nearby.
After a few minutes, the battle was over.
Kite looked at Gon, who smiled awkwardly. Instead of criticizing him, he offered guidance like a mentor: "These humanoid chimera ants have extraordinary physical strength. If you want to kill them quickly, you must use your aura to target their vulnerable areas. Although their body structures are different from humans, they still have weaknesses. The best target is the head. Don't give them a chance to breathe or defend themselves".
"Yes," Gon replied seriously.
"Something seems strange," Kite reached out and adjusted the brim of his hat.
"What is it?" Killua asked.
"It is certain that he has never been in this area before. He probably lured the ants out to hunt on purpose."
That person.
Without an explicit explanation, Killua knew that he meant Oboro.
"I submitted the report to the Association some time ago. If they left from headquarters, they should be faster than us, which suggests that some of our fellow hunters arrived here before us." Dragon stared ahead. "Since the ants have reduced their area of activity, outsiders could easily mistake this place for the edge of the colony's territory. The actual danger exceeds our expectations, and most importantly, there are no markings!"
An experienced hunter considers everything when carrying out a mission.
Given the Association's assessment of the danger level of this investigation, all participants understood that other companions would follow.
The hunters who arrived first to carry out the mission would surely leave markers during their exploration to provide information for those who followed.
"They might not have taken the same route as us, right?" Gon asked doubtfully.
The area was so vast that it seemed unlikely that everyone would choose the same direction to explore.
"No, Gon."
Killua touched his chin thoughtfully before speaking.
"On the contrary, even without the markings, everyone would choose this route without prior consultation because there are no signs of ant activity in other areas. Our mission is just to investigate, so everyone's primary goal is to find where the ants are concentrated. Other directions are full of dead ants killed by Oboro, no live specimens to observe, although those areas seem safer, this situation is more worrying. Others would think like us and move in gradually from the edge instead of rushing directly into the nest, which would be suicide No one is prioritizing speed, they're collecting data."
Killua was truly a genius, raised by the Zoldyck family. In this matter, he showed qualities far beyond Gon's understanding.
"But no matter how many people came before us, the most important thing is that there are no markings."
Having said that, Killua looked at Kite.
"Continue," Kite encouraged, looking at Killua with admiration, like a teacher asking a question.
"There are two possibilities. First, the ants sensed our intentions and erased the markings to prevent us from approaching their nest. Second, those who came before us were killed - they died before they could familiarize themselves with the area, establish a 'safe house', or leave any markings. This means that there must be some extremely dangerous force nearby.
"Either way," Killua took a deep breath, his expression horrified. "It means the people sent by the Association have been sacrificed."
Dragon nodded. "That's a solid analysis. Chimera ants have hierarchical structures far more complex than ordinary ants. What we've killed so far are just ordinary soldier ants. There are certainly more powerful threats than those soldiers."
"So you two must remain extremely vigilant. If you run into real danger and become a burden, I may not choose to save you."
Dragon spoke seriously: "Let me ask you again, are you sure you want to go on? It's not too late to turn back."
Killua and Gon exchanged glances without speaking.
But their determined expressions said it all.
Dragon smiled with relief.
They moved on.
"Ms. Dragon," Gon spoke as they traveled.
"Hmm?"
"Did Oboro and his companions find the ant nest?"
"As far as I know, they weren't sent by the Association," Kite replied calmly.
"" Gon fell silent.
Time passed slowly.
After most of the day, the three encountered several more teams of Chimera ants and witnessed the horrifying sight of ants piling up human corpses.
The national situation of NGL was rather unusual. It wasn't a formal country, which made governance extremely lax and lawless; it was more like Zailo had recruited a group of private armed forces. The lack of modern facilities and primitive communication systems meant that the people of the country were unaware of the ants hunting and killing humans.
It was clear that the Chimera ants traveled long distances to hunt, venturing into faraway places. The pile of corpses they discovered was merely a food transfer point.
Gon was furious.
He could not accept the behavior of the Chimera Ants.
Dragon noticed Gon's expression, but offered no comfort or comment.
These experiences are necessary to become an excellent hunter. You will face more difficult challenges in the future.
As night fell, Kite led the two to a hilltop.
The three of them stood at the foot of a steep cliff.
Beyond this mountain, they would leave the forest and enter different terrain.
Judging by how often they'd encountered ants lately, they were probably approaching the border of the ant colony's base.
Normally, they wouldn't have reached this point so quickly, but the ants themselves had narrowed their territory, and Kite's experience and skills proved invaluable.
Swish!
Just as Gon and Killua were about to climb up, Kite suddenly raised his hand to stop them, his expression grim.
He took a few steps forward alone, bent down and picked up a bloody shoe from the ground.
A victim of the Association
But it wasn't this relic that concerned Kite.
It was a word written on the ground with someone's finger: Death!
This was undoubtedly a warning from the fallen hunter to any companions who followed.
Warn the people of the Association not to advance!
Without hesitation, Kite activated his Nen ability, Crazy Slots.
The clown opened his mouth and laughed at Kite, then the roulette wheel inside began to spin.
At the same moment, Gon and Killua suddenly felt a menacing aura. They looked up to see a long line of densely packed dark figures appearing on the cliff above them.
Chimera ants!
But these ants looked completely different from the soldier ants they'd encountered before. Not only did they appear more humanoid, but their limbs had more pronounced animal characteristics.
Most importantly, these ants could speak.
The group was led by a toad with glasses and a figure with an octopus head.
Gon and Killua realized that they were facing a formidable enemy!
The higher order ants Kite had mentioned had appeared!
"Hmm, three special specimens, no, in human terms, they should be called Nen Users," the Toad Squadron Leader looked down at Kite and the others and spoke calmly. "Judging by the aura I sense, the most dangerous one would be you."
As he spoke, Toad stared directly at Kite.
"Oh?" Kite looked up at the ants standing above him and smiled slightly. "It's incredible that you even know about Nen.
This is terrible, their learning ability is frightening.
Kite noticed that most of these ants had learned human language.
He appeared relaxed on the surface, but his heart grew heavy with concern.
The Association's risk assessment of the ants had been completely wrong.
The situation had become much worse than expected.
"I would like to thank you humans who possess Nen abilities No, I should thank that person. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't know about Nen. Though you humans are a lower species, you still amaze me in some ways." Toad pushed up his glasses and spoke quietly.
Standing beside him, another squadron leader added, "It's unfortunate that you humans are limited by your bodies and have natural disadvantages compared to us, which means you're destined to remain at the bottom of the food chain."
"Hmm hmm hmm," Kite replied dismissively.
Meanwhile, Crazy Slots had rolled to number 2. As smoke swirled around them, a huge sickle-shaped weapon materialized in Dragon's hand.
Suddenly, the ants' vision blurred.
Then they saw the white-haired hunter, who had just stood at the foot of the cliff, leap several times and fly over their heads like a bolt of black lightning. His speed was so incredible that he had climbed dozens of meters in the blink of an eye to land right in front of them.
Kite lifted the brim of his hat slightly, revealing a pair of cold, piercing eyes.
He glared at the two squadron leaders, who couldn't help but retreat.
"If I'm guessing correctly, the person you mentioned hasn't appeared for some time, right? Is that why you dared to show yourself?"
"You thought he was gone."
"Didn't his appearance make you realize something important?"
"That there are people who have the ability to read minds, and that there may be more than one such special person."
Oh no!
We are doomed!
Having said this, Kite suddenly raised his sickle.
The two squadron leaders snapped back to reality.
During this time, the Chimera Ants had hunted many Nen users, but none had frightened them like this man. This had gradually made some of their squadron leaders complacent, as they discovered that even without fully mastering Nen, they could kill some human Nen users with mere physical strength, especially after awakening their own Nen abilities.
The man disappeared without a trace.
As they gained new powers, the ferocity in their hearts was unleashed.
Neither the toad nor the octopus had ever met the man Kurapika described; they only knew of him through terrifying secondhand accounts.
But those were just stories; they hadn't experienced his power firsthand.
But now, the white-haired hunter wielding a sickle in front of them suddenly made them understand what Kurapika had meant.
This was judgment!
It was a will they could not possibly resist.