"Then go ahead and arrest her."
Sean said indifferently.
'Sentencing has to take age into account, you know.'
"Hey! You really are a big bad guy!" Sarasa's cheeks puffed up like a bun, furious.
"Am I?" Sean glanced at Tsubone and said flatly, "Why don't we just dump her here? We can still catch those traffickers without her. It will just... be a little more troublesome, that's all."
"Don't!" Sarasa was clearly scared, grabbing Tsubone tightly and hiding behind her.
"Hmph." 'Scared now?' Sean shot her a look, his gaze turning back to Netero. "Chairman, whatever you want, just lay it on the table."
'Serious crime... assistant... this old man is definitely up to no good.'
"Hohoho... ever played the ball-snatching game?" Netero had produced a ball from somewhere. He bounced it, looking at Sean with a grin. "This old man heard you snatched the bells from Silva."
"How about this? I won't make it difficult for you. As long as you can snatch this ball from my hands, this old man will let you go."
The volleyball spun, rolling down Netero's neck and back. Finally, he hooked it with his heel, tossing it up to his fingertip, where it stopped, perfectly stable.
"Nice!" Sean clapped, then shot Tsubone a look. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned to leave.
'Ptooey. Just a childish ghost. Silva was like this, and Netero is like this. He, Sean, was not that brat Killua or that simple-minded Gon. He wouldn't waste his life on such a moronic game!'
"Tsubone, let's go."
"If the Chairman wants to sue, please, be my guest."
"This kid won't be playing along."
*Tap, tap* The group of three passed security and, in a flash, disappeared at the gate.
Beans had finally recovered by this time. He scuttled up to Netero and asked, "Chairman, what do we do now?"
"Mmm..." Netero rubbed his chin, glanced at Beans, and gave an unrelated answer. "Beans... didn't you want to get Ben An's autograph?"
"That's right! Why... didn't you remind me sooner? My Teacher Ben An..." Once reminded, Beans remembered the matter, letting out a wail, his heart aching so much he couldn't breathe.
Unfortunately, they were already gone. Even if he screamed his lungs out, they wouldn't come back. He could only watch helplessly as "Teacher Ben An" disappeared down the corridor.
"Alright, Beans, stop wailing." Netero shook his head, amused, and tossed the ball to Beans. "Let's go. Time to eat."
"Where are we eating?" 'I must turn my grief into appetite!' Beans pouted.
"Of course we're going to Kukuroo Mountain. The kid is rude, so naturally, I have to tattle to his parents. Hohoho..."
Netero flicked his wide sleeves and walked out of the hall, laughing.
Beans: "..."
He shot Netero a resentful look. "Wait for me, Chairman."
He followed quickly, his short legs pumping.
*Voom* On the road of life, if some go left, others go right.
In the opposite direction of Netero and Beans, an airship bound for Meteor City slowly ascended.
Sean, Tsubone, and Sarasa were led by a flight attendant to a luxurious private cabin.
The moment the door opened, a wave of luxury hit them in the face, nearly blinding Sarasa.
"Oooh yeah!" The little girl seemed to have forgotten the earlier unpleasantness. She threw up her arms and dived onto the soft sofa, rolling around excitedly.
Tsubone put down the luggage, watching her with a smile. She was caught off guard when Sean asked, "This room wasn't cheap, was it?"
Tsubone nodded. "I figured Gotoh wouldn't want the Young Master to feel wronged on his rare trip out, so I booked this first-class cabin."
'Generous with other people's money, huh.' Sean laughed. "Tsubone, if Gotoh finds out what you've done, I'm afraid he'll cry in the bathroom."
"He won't." Tsubone adjusted the glasses on her nose. "If he dares to object, I'll beat him until he can't cry."
'Badass.' Sean gave Tsubone a thumbs-up. His smile vanished as he suddenly said, "Nice glasses."
Tsubone's expression changed. She opened her mouth, wanting to explain, but Sean cut her off. "Old bastard, if you want to watch, just watch."
"As long as he's not trying to tell me what to do, let him be."
"Zigg, look at this! Is that what a human being would say?" On Kukuroo Mountain, in the small cabin in the back hills.
Maha ripped the "monitoring glasses" off his face and cursed, "Does he think this old man *wants* to watch? That damn dog forced them on me!"
'But you were the one who ordered me to bring them, Grandfather...' With his white hair fanning out, Zeno pouted, serving at the table. Where was the super-assassin whose name alone could scare people to death? He was clearly just a lowly servant.
"That's enough, Father. Stop scolding Zeno. The kid is already foolish. If you keep scolding him, won't he just get more foolish?" Zigg tapped the table. "Son... pour the tea."
Zeno: "..."
He poured the tea, looking around aimlessly. 'Why isn't Silva here?' he wondered.
'If he were here, would this dog's work have fallen to me?'
"Young Master, drink your tea."
In the luxurious cabin on the airship.
Tsubone steeped two cups of fine black tea, pushing one to Sean and one to Sarasa.
The little girl's excitement had passed. She sipped her tea, nibbled a cookie, and only then remembered: "That smelly old man's body is so hard."
"I used my Gentle Fist Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, and I still couldn't hurt him. Is his body made of iron?"
'Was that what you call Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms? More like Turtle Fist.'
Sean leaned against the window, took a sip of tea, and mentally asked the "Sage" if it had "Appraised" Netero's attributes.
As Sean expected, just like Maha, Netero's three main stats—"Strength," "Aura," and "Speed"—were all far beyond his own, not to mention his age.
'So... he's the strongest human. The only man who ever fought that old bastard and walked away in one piece.'
Sean couldn't help but sigh. His words reached Sarasa's ears, and the little girl was confused.
"Was that smelly old man really strong?" Sarasa looked at Sean, her large, innocent eyes full of curiosity.
Sean laughed coldly, mocking, "He's not strong."
"He's only... number one in all of humanity, that's all."
"And you, Sarasa, you beat the number one in all of humanity until he didn't dare fight back."
"So, that makes *you* the amazing one."
Sarasa: "..."
Her little brain *whirred* and short-circuited.
Tsubone looked at her, amused, and cut a slice of watermelon for Sean.
Sean crunched it all, then casually tossed the rind into the trash.
He then spread his hands and glanced out the window.
After flying for nearly a night, the outline of Meteor City was already visible in the distance.
'I wonder if the young Spiders are asleep right now.'
'I, Teacher Ben An... really want to see your "Pot Shadow Ninja" song and dance rehearsal.'