"We have all grown a lot"
Oboro continued to follow Kite and her group of three, watching Gon and Killua's performance from a distance.
In the original timeline, Kite had received Pence's distress signal from a bee on the day she led them into the ant territory. They discovered a drug factory and battled the Chimera ants. That night, Kite used her Nen ability, Waltz of Death, to kill a group of ants, including the frog type.
Now, due to Oboro's intervention, events had taken a different course. Currently, Gon and Killua hadn't escaped from the NGL. After a month of systematic training, they had managed to kill two Captain-level Chimera Ants in a row when they first entered the ant territory, which was quite an impressive feat. Their strength had improved slightly from the original timeline.
And these were no ordinary soldiers of the Chimera Ants.
"But the real question," Oboro walked at a relaxed pace, contemplating the situation.
The timeline had been delayed, causing the three hunters to arrive later, but the ants hadn't been affected by this butterfly effect. In other words, the cat-girl Neferpitou had been born long ago and had already learned Nen. Oboro had approached the ant nest before, but he didn't dare get too close.
He kept a considerable distance to avoid being noticed by the cat. Before the Ant King was born, Neferpitou often sat high outside the nest to get some fresh air.
From this distance, the ant nest appeared to Oboro as nothing more than a black dot, but even from here, he could feel a long-forgotten emotion stirring in his heart. The feeling was even more pronounced than when he had faced the Beyond.
There was tension, excitement, and an eagerness to test himself along with that crystal clear warning, a premonition of death that came from pure instinct.
Now Kite and the other two were very close to the base camp of the ant nest. It was a barren land with no vegetation, and the ant nest's towering buildings were extremely conspicuous.
The most dangerous factor was Neferpitou's range of perception, which extended further than anyone could imagine, and even with Dragon's skills, it would be difficult to detect when she entered the cat's "domain". Because it was a kind of power beyond human comprehension.
It was unknowable!
The ants continued their hunting expeditions to gather food for their queen. But the fact that the division commanders dared to appear showed that they were, in a way, no longer worried about Oboro's existence.
For they now had a powerful backer.
Oboro had asked Anthony and Fant to leave while he hid alone. After Neferpitou learned Nen, she had heard about this interesting human Oboro from other division commanders and had wandered the area looking for him, but Oboro had consistently avoided her.
A man and an ant were playing an elaborate game of hide-and-seek.
Only recently, Neferpitou had lost interest and returned to the ant nest.
Oboro really wanted to fight the cat, but the risks were considerable. According to the plan, it would be safer for Gon to kill her, even though it would waste valuable time.
"Almost" After walking for a while, Oboro stopped.
This distance was enough for Neferpitou to detect them. The ants' body structure was very different from that of humans, causing their five senses to evolve to an extraordinary level.
Oboro stopped, waiting for Kite to die so he could collect her soul or the black mist that would emerge.
Ahead, Kite began to feel vaguely uneasy for no apparent reason.
As an excellent hunter, I must take this omen seriously, he thought.
His body was sending him a warning that he had ignored or overlooked some important information.
"What's wrong?" he muttered to himself.
Dragon took a deep breath. Observing the changes in the nearby terrain, he realized that they were approaching the ant nest. There were few plants in the areas where Chimera Ants lived. These creatures were extremely ferocious, and it was rare to see other living things near their nests. The soil used to build ant nests also had to meet certain requirements.
"Since this is the core area, why are there no signs of ant activity except for the previous batch?"
Suddenly, Kite froze, his pupils constricting.
"Mr. Kite?"
Gon and Killua stood stunned, not understanding what had happened to their mentor.
Normally, there would be a cordon near an ant nest to prevent foreign invasion. But there wasn't one here.
Or rather, it wasn't that there wasn't one.
There were warnings, but they hadn't been aware of them.
Kite suddenly raised his head and said in a grave voice, "Let's go first."
But before he could finish, all three of them experienced the same physiological reaction at the same time.
The hairs on their bodies stood on end as if they had been plunged into an ice cellar. An indescribable aura that they could sense drifted over from a certain direction.
What kind of monster is that?
The three hunters froze.
That faint, diffuse aura alone caused hallucinations to form in their minds. They felt like three helpless newborns suddenly thrown into a tiger's den.
From a distance, a vague gaze seemed to penetrate space itself, falling on the three frightened figures.
"It's terrifying, isn't it?" muttered Oboro.
He unconsciously took his hands out of his pockets and began to flex his fingers in a stress reaction.
His eyes flashed coldly in the darkness. Even though he had felt Neferpitou's presence many times before, Oboro still couldn't suppress his desire to fight her. A truly strong person is never afraid of a challenge!
Moreover, Oboro enjoyed the appearance of powerful enemies; they stimulated his nature and pushed him to greater heights. Motivation comes only with pressure! Competition between the strong is inevitable!
Survival of the fittest: whoever proves stronger earns the right to live, while the loser perishes. Using stronger prey to prove one's dominance was inherently exhilarating!
This was the fundamental law of nature's food chain, and humans could not escape it. Oboro respected this principle deeply.
He didn't deny that he was a fighting maniac, but the fights he craved only served to make him stronger.
He suppressed his desire.
If he followed the plan, Neferpitou would definitely die, so there was no need for unnecessary action.
"You're not sure if you can defeat her right now. Not to mention that even if Netero himself came, he might not be able to win!"
"To be strong, you must first believe in yourself. Have you forgotten this? Will your personal will succumb to the fear of death? If so, you're already a loser. You'll never equal Netero, let alone surpass him! Even with the blessing of Netero's abilities, you'll only ever be equal to Beyond for the rest of your life. With this attitude, you'll never be able to reach the Dark Continent!"
"Don't listen to that voice, it's urging you towards death. You're a time traveler with the advantage of foreknowledge. There's no need to sacrifice your life for such an obvious crisis! Stay calm. If you die here, everything ends!"
"Follow the plan step by step, and you'll soon gain unimaginable power, rivaling even the Ant King Meruem, and then you can do whatever you want! Don't destroy everything because of a momentary impulse! You've avoided confrontation before; this is no different"
"Are you really satisfied with that? You don't even have the courage to face Neferpitou, let alone the Ant King. You must believe in your own strength, as you always have. Just because Netero can't defeat them doesn't mean you can't! You are Oboro, not Netero. Didn't you have ambitions to break the established order and rules when you came to this world? What is the purpose of your presence here? Is mere survival really so important to you?"
"Don't listen! You'll die!"
"Oboro, face yourself!"
Oboro's heart wavered as two conflicting thoughts battled in his mind. The conflict made him feel irritated, this was the first time he'd experienced such internal discord since arriving in this world.
"Well" After a moment, Oboro calmed down and put his exposed hands back into his pockets.
Everything was going according to plan.
But an unexpected variable had appeared.
It wasn't an external factor, but himself.
This was something he hadn't anticipated.
He hadn't considered his own desires.
Did he want to do it?