Chapter 75 – The Dead Mentors of the Botswana Tribe
Two days later, Haze's team was finally complete.
In the plaza in front of the Fields family palace, Haze and the other five were already prepared. Even their private spaceship was parked nearby, ready for departure.
Now… only one person was missing: Hisoka.
"Too slow…"
Haze frowned as he stared at his phone.
His subordinates were helping to inventory tools and supplies. Haze also needed the clan's resources to build a small base near the East Gotho border crossing to communicate with the outside world, since they couldn't bring any technological items into the country—
including cell phones.
Of the six team members, two were Nen users hired by the syndicate. Haze chose them for their practical skills—
the best among a bad pool.
In terms of strength alone, they were far inferior to Mundell, the current captain of the Fields family security team.
The next member was a hacker named Dama, a girl with glasses who looked like a model student—only seventeen that year.
Introverted and timid, she was in charge of gathering and transmitting information, mainly contacting the Association and tracking down intel about the Botswana tribe before they entered the country.
She joined for money, even if it was difficult for her…
Another member handled logistics: Pingsen, a doctor with extensive experience in wilderness exploration. He looked like a mercenary, but he was highly capable.
The last one, Dangri, played a crucial role. He had previously traveled through the Republic of East Gotho and knew the situation of that small country well. He was a professional in environmental and climate research, had worked as a tour guide, and was familiar with tribal cultures and languages—a well-rounded scholar.
A fully equipped team still needed many more people…
For long-term missions, the most crucial positions were always gourmet hunters—people needed to eat.
But due to time constraints, Haze couldn't ask for more.
At that moment, a black sedan finally arrived late and stopped in front of them.
The door opened, and Hisoka stepped out slowly.
His gaze naturally landed on Haze, dressed in an elegant suit. Their eyes met.
"Haze time no see," Hisoka smiled.
Even though several years had passed, there was no sense of distance between them.
In fact, for Haze it didn't feel like they had been apart for long—time had flown by.
However, the aura and emotion Hisoka gave off… especially in his eyes…
Haze felt certain: aside from aging, this guy… had become even more insane.
Even knowing him inside and out, he still couldn't empathize with him.
He didn't know what Hisoka had experienced during these years, nor was he interested.
"Let's go."
Haze pointed expressionlessly at the spaceship nearby, turned around, and climbed the long staircase first.
"Looks like… he hasn't changed much… except… the smell…"
Hisoka narrowed his eyes, hiding an emotion deep within them, and whispered to himself.
The seven boarded one by one, and the spaceship slowly took off toward their destination:
the Republic of Eastern Godot.
Leaving the Republic of Padokia behind.
The private spaceship was small, with limited interior room, yet luxuriously decorated.
Dama and the others immediately got to work in a separate lounge, discussing mission planning without letting their guard down.
Their client this time was a yakuza boss… the pay was substantial, and if they messed up, the consequences could be dire.
Haze and Hisoka entered the dining area.
They found a table and sat.
A maid served them juice.
"You became a Hunter of the Association?" Hisoka laughed.
"Yes," Haze nodded.
"Is that… interesting?" Hisoka asked sarcastically.
"It's fine. There are many strong individuals. If you're interested, you can join," Haze said indifferently.
"With your personality, you wouldn't ask me unless… even you might die on this mission. Mobilizing so many people and facing so much danger means… the reward must be remarkable. So—what's the reward?"
"Even I don't know…"
Haze met his gaze directly, expression unshaken.
"You can't fool me… In this world, the only thing that motivates you is power. Blindness, madness… just like back in Graham Park, training day and night," Hisoka said slowly.
"Knowing that, you still dared to come?" Haze's expression was cold.
"I… feared you might die. After all, you can only die by my hand…"
"Don't be naïve. Right now, you have no chance of winning."
Haze's stare was cold and desolate.
"Heh…"
Too familiar.
Hisoka's playful expression returned—this was the Haze he knew.
He had stayed in the Fields residence for a few days, learning about Haze's exploits over the years, especially in Heavens Arena.
From Fields Lily's descriptions, Haze seemed like a warm person.
But in Graham, in the Moritonio Circus… Haze had always been distant, tense, extremely cold. Why? Because he felt an oppressive pressure, something hanging over him that could attack at any moment.
That pressure was palpable even to Hisoka, an outsider—
just like Haze's predecessor.
Cold and ruthless—
that was his true nature.
No matter how much he concealed it, he couldn't change it.
And that revealed how dangerous this mission must be.
While they talked, Dama entered with her laptop, looking nervous.
"Captain… all the Association paperwork is complete. We can enter the country immediately upon landing. Also, I found something… footage deleted by a news network in East Gothic Republic. Only one clip; it wasn't backed up properly."
Haze had instructed them to call him "Captain," not "Boss."
The other four team members entered the dining room.
The video began to play.
It showed a group of Eastern Gothic soldiers in a forest, massacring a large number of bozwa tribespeople… the scene was horrifying.
The cameraman seemed to be a war correspondent; the video was short, barely a dozen seconds.
Before they could study it closely, it ended abruptly and the screen went black.
"What is that?" Kagi, the Nen user beside them, exclaimed in shock.
Haze rewound the video to the last frame and paused it.
On the screen, a blurred figure was leaping forward, frozen in midair.
Judging by the clothing, it was likely a member of the bozwa tribe.
The problem was… the blurred figure was clearly dead.
The head was missing—
some internal organs were blown out from the abdomen.
How could a dead person possess such speed and power?
Haze looked at Dangri.
Dangri immediately replied:
"Eastern Godor is a dictatorship. The system exists only to fulfill the monarch's selfish desires, leaving the common people oppressed and exploited. When I visited years ago, I heard the monarch forced many citizens to work unpaid to repair the capital. Those who disobeyed were executed on the spot."
"The king rules hereditarily… The newly appointed monarch seems even more brutal. But tribes like the Botswana people are small and live in remote regions, making them difficult to notice. A massacre on this scale likely involved an irreconcilable conflict with the army."
"East Godor has abundant mineral resources… maybe—"
"You're saying the Botswana stronghold might be located on a resource point the kingdom wants to exploit?" Haze asked.
"Yes," Dangri nodded.
Of course, this inferred information wasn't the core of the mission.
The key was uncovering the hidden threat that Botswana represented.
As for the conflict between the kingdom and the tribes—that was outside the mission's scope.
"Under what circumstances can a dead person keep fighting?"
Haze looked at Hisoka.
"I'm thinking the same as you," Hisoka answered with a slight smile, as if reading his mind.
Such illogical phenomena… could only be explained by Nen.
(End of chapter)
SORRY PONYSHA