There's no nest like your own, whether it's lined with gold or silver. And no godfather or stepfather compares to your real father.
People need a sense of belonging. This human continent surrounded by the Lake Mobius was never Vivian's home—her home was the unknown land at the far end of the sea, guarded by the Gatekeepers…
Ging knew. He'd always known.
But when the day finally came, the pain of parting still twisted inside him like a knife, making it impossible to let go.
"Waaah—" Gon was wailing in his arms. Maybe he sensed it. His little hands flailed, his legs kicked, grabbing at the air in panic—yet his mother had already become a reef of stone, facing the deep ocean, frozen in the posture of someone longing for home… no breath left to lose.
…
Hunter Association.
At the very top of headquarters—inside the office with the plaque that read "A Martial Artist."
An old man who reminded himself every moment to "never forget his original intent," who for nearly ninety years had never dared to forget that he was first and foremost a martial artist, stood in a training tank top, feet planted in a horse stance, eyes forward.
At one moment, his gaze sharpened, his right fist snapped out—
snap.
A single straight punch cracked the air like a whip, blasting it open. It looked like he was repeating his daily routine… or trying to chase the heat of his youth. Either way, Netero had been feeling it more and more lately—his energy just wasn't what it used to be.
Age was part of it. The other part was the "Truth Church"—their so-called "truth" had indirectly "truthed" him so hard that V5 brass kept coming to bother him.
"'Believe in Truth and gain eternal life'… honestly, they're making even me a little tempted," Netero muttered, drawing back his fist.
He glanced at Mamen Beans. "Beans… if only the people from that continent were all as well-behaved as you."
Mamen Beans was hunched over the desk, organizing intelligence from everywhere. He'd just read a report about the Zoldycks—someone had hired Zeno Zoldyck to assassinate Guzmán, one of the Truth Archbishops—and wisely chose not to comment.
What the Dark Continent was like… ever since he started following Netero, Mamen Beans rarely talked about it. As a "magical beast" race, they were neither truly human nor truly beast—rejected by both sides. Their "well-behaved" life now was really just the old habit of surviving carefully in cracks.
He set the report down, tiny eyes shifting to Netero. "Chairman, the Zoldycks made their move."
"I know." Netero drew back his fist and fired another—
Snap.
He didn't even turn around. "Zeno said the result… wasn't the real one."
His movements were unhurried—slow in appearance, yet somehow impossible to dodge, impossible to avoid.
"They're all hard to deal with, people from your old home…" Netero murmured. "This Truth Church—whose godservant is it this time?"
Beasts could be "magical," "phantasmal," or "rare." Humans were split into tiers too—by job, gender, faith, upbringing.
The moment Netero got his hands on the Truth Church's first real dossier, he concluded immediately: this wasn't "their own" from the same continent. And since Zeno had truly taken the job…
Netero's mind drifted back to a sunny morning long ago, when he'd raced along a riverbank with a certain boy—so satisfying it felt like youth again. His old eyes narrowed. A guess formed:
They were coming for Zigg… and for that kid Roy.
All this "preaching" was probably just a cover to accumulate power in secret—or to break through some kind of limitation.
His thoughts were cut off by a ringtone coming from Mamen Beans's pocket.
Mamen Beans answered, froze for a second, then hugged the phone and looked up. "Chairman… the Zoldycks had a baby. A boy. And apparently… silver hair."
Silver hair?
Netero's eyes flashed. He stopped, then laughed. "Good. Very good. When I go this time, I'll call it a congratulatory visit—no way that stubborn old fossil can kick me out in public again."
There weren't many people Netero would call an "old fossil." Mamen Beans quickly ruled out himself… then Linne… leaving only one answer:
The Zoldyck family's legendary "Ultimate Killer"—Maha Zoldyck.
Mamen Beans's mind conjured that dry, skeletal figure, and he shivered. Last time he'd visited the Zoldycks with Netero… it wasn't exactly pleasant. Worse—he always felt like he'd seen Maha somewhere before, but no matter how he dug through his memory, he couldn't place it.
Mamen Beans changed the subject quickly. "Chairman, the list you asked me to organize has taken shape."
"Besides Gingante being locked in as the 'Dragon'… I've got candidates for 'Snake' and 'Horse.' Also 'Boar'…"
"And the one you told me to contact—Ging—I reached him too. He said—"
"What did he say?" Netero noticed Mamen Beans was hesitating and looked over.
Mamen Beans's expression was… complicated. He said carefully, "He said he's busy with the baby. Unless… Roy goes, he won't go."
Netero blinked. When did that brat even meet Roy? His long brows lifted, and he stroked his beard with a grin. "Fine. Then I'll ask Roy myself."
I wonder how far that kid's grown.
I wonder if he can take even one punch from me…
His hands started itching again.
Netero suddenly threw another punch—this one detonated the air into a terrifying vacuum cavity.
…
Kakin Empire.
Capital: Spanto.
At the southern end of Tulip Street—right beside the royal palace power center controlled by the Hui Guo Rou family—stood a luxurious estate under Beyond's name.
Beyond had just returned from the palace after two days of "private meetings" with the queen. The moment he stepped into his study, he exhaled hard. His massive body—bigger even than Netero's—looked slightly… drained, like he'd been sucked dry or simply overworked.
He stood at the floor-to-ceiling window, staring at the shipyards and the construction progress of the Black Whale. For a while, he didn't even notice Pariston greeting him.
When he finally snapped back—
"You're leaving already?"
"You know I can't hold it in anymore…" The blond young man wore a tailored suit and sharp-toed dress shoes, taller than he'd been two years ago. In his hand was a pocket watch. When it opened, a photo was set into the face—worn yellow from being rubbed so often, but still clearly showing Roy's hard, handsome features.
Beyond's mouth twitched. "Go if you want. Convenient, actually—I've got a task for you."
"What?"
"Join the Zodiacs." Beyond turned and flashed a broad, toothy grin. "You're retaking the Hunter license exam anyway, right? Join the Zodiacs while you're at it. I need someone near that old man to keep an eye on him."
The way he needed people near Hui Guo Rou… whether queens, princes, or the princes' guards—his "seed," his "pieces," all the same.
Beyond thought of the Truth Church spreading like madness in the capital lately. His urge to reach the Dark Continent was burning hotter by the day.
Pariston didn't respond. He snapped the pocket watch shut. He looked up. "You're on drugs?"
Rumor said the Truth Church had a "medicine" that could drastically boost physical ability, slow aging, increase aura—under pressure, even spike libido and fertility.
Beyond laughed, low and coarse. "I'll only tell you this: don't touch women. Especially drugged women."
Pariston's handsome face twisted into instant disgust. He turned and left without a second's pause.
The door slammed.
Beyond called after him, "Don't forget the task."
Pariston didn't look back. "You'd better hope I don't die."
He gripped the pocket watch and vanished into the crowded avenue.
"Dear Roy Zoldyck… your most loving Pariston Hill… is coming!"
…
"Achoo!"
Republic of Padokea, Kukuroo Mountain—Zoldyck estate.
Milluki felt a draft on the back of his neck and sneezed. He edged forward, trying to tiptoe into Maha and Zeno's little "circle" to catch a look at Killua's face.
Silver hair meant something in the Zoldyck household. Even though Milluki wasn't five yet, he could already feel it. You didn't even need to look at Maha and Zeno—just the expressions on the servants' faces told you how special this newborn was.
"You're not going to look?" Illumi leaned against the wall, pulling out a cloth to carefully wipe the Divine Nail. Roy wasn't moving, so he wasn't moving. Roy didn't go, so he didn't go—like some childish "red light, green light" game. His attention wasn't on the baby at all. It was on Roy.
Was it respect? Was it pride? Was it obsession?
Roy looked at the bundle of people around the baby. Through the gaps he could barely see a corner of the swaddle—still not the face.
He said softly, "Whether I look or not, he's there. What's the difference?"
Illumi's hand paused mid-wipe. He stared with those empty eyes. "That sounded like you meant something else."
"I don't." Roy glanced aside. "Just remembered a poem I read once."
"A poem?" Illumi looked genuinely shocked, like the words you read? were stamped across his forehead. He earned an eye-flick from Roy for it.
"Killing without thinking makes you a killer forever."
I already am, Illumi almost snapped back—but he swallowed it, then asked, "What poem? Read it."
"And read it for the old man, too…" Maha walked over with Killua in his arms, eyes bright, staring at Roy as if he'd seen a ghost.
Maha, Zeno, Illumi, Tsubone—even half-asleep Milluki—watched Roy.
Roy lifted both hands. "I don't remember who wrote it."
He looked around the circle of curious faces and recited:
"Whether you see me or not,
I am there—no sorrow, no joy.
Whether you miss me or not,
The feeling is there—neither coming nor going.
Whether you love me or not,
Love is there—neither more nor less.
Whether you follow me or not,
My hand is in yours—never abandoning, never forsaking.
Come into my arms, or
Let me live in your heart—
Loving in silence, rejoicing in stillness."
Roy continued, calmly:
"Illumi asked why I'm not looking at Killua. I think whether I look or not, he's there. He's my brother. Someone I love. It doesn't have to be this exact second…"
Maha, Zeno, Illumi, Tsubone—Milluki too—stared at Roy, stunned into eerie silence.
…Wait. You actually can do that?
Then—inside Maha's mind—an all-too-familiar sleepy murmur surfaced. Betty.
"Maha… that poem… it's beautiful…"
Maha didn't respond out loud, but in the stunned silence, a new, foreign voice slid in—low and ancient.
"Yes… beautiful. And also… sad."
And at that exact moment—
On the corridor outside the Zoldyck family's second-floor bedroom, a slit opened in the air itself.
A vast, primordial elephant's trumpet sounded from within.
In an instant, Roy was yanked back to that afternoon beneath the sea—back to the cathedral, back to the dead "elephant" and the living "skeleton," back to the bones that had called him by name.
"Who?!" Zeno barked.
He flashed forward toward the opening—
Silva followed like a battering ram—
Illumi raised the Divine Spear Nail—
And Maha, eyes sharpening, straightened his spine in one breath, thrusting Killua back into Tsubone's arms.
"Space authority," Maha said, voice hard. He stopped the others with one raised hand. "Friend—since you're here, why not show yourself?"
"I mean no harm." The reply came from the slit, heavy with centuries.
Roy's body jolted. That voice—he knew it.
He swallowed, stepped forward, and said, "Great-Grandfather. Grandpa. Father… I think he's here… for me."
Maha, Zeno, Silva all looked to him.
The slit widened slightly. An elephant's trunk emerged, holding a wooden box.
It reached out and pressed the box into Roy's hands.
"Boy. Congratulations."
Then the trunk withdrew. The slit snapped shut.
The air returned to normal.
Only Roy remained, holding the box—surrounded by the Zoldycks, all of them frozen, staring at each other in shock.
Maha's eyes narrowed.
"You all stay here. Don't move."
He lifted his chin.
"This old man's going to meet him."
~~~
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