[CONDITION: THE HOST MUST COMPLETELY ANALYZE THE PRINCIPLES OF A 'PHYSICAL OBJECT' TO DE-MATERIALIZE IT, BRIEFLY CONVERTING IT INTO NEN TO BRING IT INTO THE COGNITIVE WORLD...]
[REMARK: DE-MATERIALIZATION MUST FOLLOW THE 'PRINCIPLE OF EQUIVALENT EXCHANGE'... THE NEN CONSUMED FOR CONVERSION VARIES ACCORDING TO THE 'MASS,' 'STRUCTURE,' 'PROPERTIES,' AND 'COMPLEXITY' OF THE PHYSICAL OBJECT...]
The seawater rushed down as Roy and the others departed, filling the deep trenches of the seabed.
The ruins of the church vanished. In the underground laboratory of the Departure Bureau, the eye on the forehead of the victim labeled [54-714-01]—whose body was twisted like a pretzel—closed, and the projected image flickered out.
Simultaneously, the television hanging on the south wall of the volleyball room at the Hunter Association crackled, lost its signal, and dissolved into static.
Wing pushed up his glasses and let out a soft sigh of relief, feeling an inexplicable sense of peace. It seemed that once those blood-red eyes with the three rotating tomoe were no longer before him, the sense of danger vanished, replaced by ease.
Previously, he had trained with his master only to find Roy and fight him again. Looking at it now... there was no need.
'No one knows a son better than his father, and no one knows a student better than his teacher.' Biscuit rubbed Wing's head, and though she didn't expose his thoughts, she turned her head to discuss Roy's Sharingan with Netero. They researched ways to counter it, but their final conclusion was unanimous: one had to face Roy directly and experience the 'Illusion' personally to find a concrete answer.
"Ho ho ho..."
'The waves of the Yangtze River behind push those in front.' The boy's growth was so rapid that he could already trade blows with Ging. Even if the Fake Ging wasn't as strong as the real one, Roy had been able to exchange moves comfortably—even using swordsmanship and those mysterious eyes to suppress and pressure him. Netero stood up, his hands itching for action. With a wave, a giant golden palm manifested and snatched a volleyball from the basket.
Thud—thud—thud... He began to dribble it like a basketball.
The old man turned to Biscuit with a smiling squint. "A quick game?"
The old woman rolled her eyes. "No time!"
Her golden twin-tails swayed. In the next instant, she grabbed Wing and dragged him toward the door. She had just discovered intelligence regarding a rare gemstone; she didn't have time for the old man's childish 'ball-stealing' games.
The door to the volleyball room slammed shut.
In an instant, only Beanman and Netero were left staring at each other.
Ring... ring... ring...
Just then, a phone rang. Beanman reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "It's a call from the Departure Bureau."
Netero's expression darkened as he took the call. "Hello?"
"Heh heh heh... Old man, I heard that the victim who accompanied you to the Dark Continent back then has woken up?"
The voice on the other end wasn't from the Departure Bureau. It was a voice both familiar and strange, one that Netero would never forget for the rest of his life.
The old man narrowed his eyes. "Beyond..."
In Spanto, the capital of the Kakin Empire.
Adjacent to the center of power controlled by the Hui Guo Rou family—the Royal Palace—at the southern end of Tulip Street, stood Beyond's private luxury estate.
With its high pointed roofs, vintage window frames, and exquisite gardens meticulously tended by dozens of gardeners, every carved detail exuded aristocratic elegance and luxury.
In front of a massive floor-to-ceiling window on the second floor, an 'old' man and a young man stood. One held a phone, while the other held a square handkerchief. On the eastern wall, a giant television screen was frozen on an image of Roy, Ging, and Razor.
Pariston Hill, dressed in a sharp suit with yellow and white striped patterns on his jacket and trousers, was obsessively wiping the screen over Roy's handsome face as the boy's Sharingan was active.
"Roy Zoldyck, you truly never disappoint... wonderful... I love this cold expression of yours..."
"Ah... wait for me... soon... I'll be meeting you very soon... heh heh heh heh..."
A suppressed low laugh echoed through the room. The young man tucked away his handkerchief and pressed his face against the screen, right against Roy's face.
By the window, the black-and-white chessboard that Beyond had previously played on had been completed. Compared to before, several pieces had been added, including the most important ones: the King and the Queen.
Beyond hung up the phone and looked back at him. His face, which bore a striking resemblance to Netero's but was significantly more rugged, twitched as his beard bristled. He laughed gruffly. "You saw it too. You aren't the only one making progress."
"I know... I've always known... that's why I have to break him, why I have to... kill him!" The blonde youth pressed his knees together, unable to stop himself from sticking out his tongue and licking the screen along Roy's jawline, all the way up to his forehead.
Beyond gave a noncommittal grunt. "Fine, stop acting like a lunatic. Now that your pieces are replenished and you've learned the applications of these techniques... if you can't handle those eyes of his..."
"I'll just be killed again, right?" Pariston finished the sentence for Beyond. He finished licking the screen and cast a sideways glance, his mouth curling into a wicked smile. "It doesn't matter. I have plenty of lives, plenty of time. I... can afford to play!"
"Is that so? Then look at this first..." Beyond tossed a stack of documents. The youth reached out and caught them. Pariston looked down: 'Baldwin Hui Guo Rou's Theology of Faith.'
He frowned. "This is?"
"Can't you read? Faith..." Beyond looked at the youth with a deep, piercing gaze and said word for word, "It is also the secret behind the rise of the Hui Guo Rou family!"
Pariston's eyes flashed as he gripped the documents tightly.
In the seaside town of Willbes on the Yorubian Continent.
Splash—! Several figures burst from the ocean and jumped onto the deck.
The support ship rumbled as its engine roared to life, carrying them swiftly toward the shore.
Roy and Gotoh were slightly behind Razor, Ging, and Elena, but with the aid of Water Breathing, they caught up. Breaking through the surface, they were the first to board the ship.
The boy immediately channeled a sliver of Nen, converting it into Heat to dry his clothes. His dark hair fluttered back in the sea breeze as he leaned against the railing, staring out at the ocean.
Step... step...
A series of footsteps approached. Ging walked over and rested his elbows on the railing, watching the tide rise and fall alongside him. "What are you thinking about?"
"The future... my brother..."
The skeleton's sigh still echoed in his ears. Not only had it recognized him at a glance, but it had also looked through the future and called out the name 'Ai'—the entity known as Nanika currently residing within the yet-to-be-born Alluka.
The entity had predicted the future and turned reality into void. Despite being a decaying corpse, it retained a shred of consciousness and displayed power far exceeding Roy's Heart Insect, dragging the entire church ruins into the void.
This was proof of how powerful the being had been in life. How did it compare to those so-called 'Gods'?
"My son is about to be born too." Ging pressed down his hat and smiled. "Maybe he and your brother will become great friends."
"And then what?" Roy glanced at the man. "Are you going to have my brother play the 'tadpole looking for his father' game with your son?"
"Don't put it so crudely. I'm just helping him find the meaning of his own life while he's on the journey to find me."
Ging's messy hair was blown against his temples by the wind. He gripped the railing and said softly, "He's my son; he's destined to be anything but ordinary. Of course, I hope he isn't. I want him to find something he loves and someone he loves within his limited lifespan."
"Is that what you hope, or what Vivian hopes?" Roy thought of the cold-faced woman he had seen in Ging's past. Her empty, dismissive gaze had left a deep impression on him.
Before entering Ging's mind with the Heart Insect, he had suspected that Gon might be a child Ging had birthed himself using a Pregnancy Stone. However... Vivian's appearance made it clear that it wasn't that simple.
Ging went silent.
After a moment, he said, "This is why I hate you mind-reading types the most."
He ran a hand through his hair and glanced at Roy. "I don't hope for it, and neither does Vivian. Still... it's a pity we didn't get our hands on that De-materialization technique..."
That skeleton... and the corpse of the Elephant Baku... they had been right there, yet they had slipped through his fingers. Ging felt a measure of regret. He didn't know if he would ever have another chance to encounter such a magical method, or such a miraculous beast, or such a mysterious person.
Roy remained silent.
He patted his waist, and with a sharp ring of steel, Yukibashiri was drawn and gripped in his hand. A bright flash of light reflected off the sharp blade, catching the sunlight and shining into Ging's eyes.
Hearing the commotion, Gotoh, Razor, and Elena—who had been recording something on a small blue light screen—all looked over.
The boy ran his fingers from the hilt of the sword, over the guard and the blade, all the way to the tip. With a flick of his hand, Yukibashiri began to decompose. Right before the eyes of Ging, Razor, Gotoh, and Elena, Roy injected a sliver of Nen into it.
Like snow, it quietly melted, instantly resolving into spheres of 'Nen Light.' With a thought from Roy, they vanished into his palm. When they reappeared, they were inside his Cognitive World. Just like that, it vanished from their sight.
"De-materialization?" Elena's eyebrows knitted as the words escaped her.
The boy gave Ging a faint, cool glance. "Right back at you. I hate you self-righteous types just as much."
"Just because you can't do it doesn't mean others can't."
Yukibashiri was gone, leaving only an empty scabbard hanging at Roy's waist.
"Heh~" A sneer escaped without concealment as Razor squinted at Ging mockingly.
The man was stunned for a moment. Coming back to himself, he shook his head and laughed. "You're right. It looks like this trip wasn't a waste after all."
He reached into his chest pocket, fumbled around for a bit, and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, handing it to Roy. "So, tell me... young master of the Zoldycks, would you be interested in making a deal with me?"
Roy took it and smoothed it out.
'Methodology of God Script Deconstruction.'
His eyes shifted. He looked up to see Ging smiling at him. "You're a Zoldyck; I assume you've heard of 'God Scripts.'"
Ging cast a pointed glance at the Infinite God-Gun tucked in Gotoh's coat. "It can make a paralyzed person walk... it can make the blind see light... it can make a dog speak like a human... it can make thunder strike a clear field or snow fall in the middle of summer... and even more..."
"It can act as a tool to carry 'Nen'!"
What was a 'tool'? Anything that a human could not accomplish on their own but required an 'intermediary' to help them achieve.
With God Scripts, a child could use a 'Nen Tool' infused with God Scripts to fight adults, resist the elements, or overcome disease, performing all sorts of incredible feats.
Roy's thoughts raced. He knew clearly that Ging was actually 'under-selling' it.
In the original story, Ging used the 'Card' templates constructed with God Scripts to inject all sorts of incredible Nen abilities. Famous examples included A Patch of Shore, Great Archangel's Breath, Ruler's Blessing, Accompany, Pregnancy Stone, and Witch's Rejuvenation Potion...
The value was immense!
"Deal!" Without any hesitation, Roy pulled up his panel and extracted the 'De-materialization' information. Wrapping the stream of information in Nen, he extended a finger and tapped Ging lightly on the forehead.
Detailed information regarding De-materialization flooded Ging's mind.
Ging extended his right hand. "Pleasure doing business with you."
The two shook hands. Just then, a sailor poked his head out of the cabin and shouted to everyone, "Dinner's ready!"
Roy and Ging shared a smile and enjoyed a lavish seafood feast on the ship. When they returned to the hotel, they each went to their respective rooms.
"Call me if you need anything, Young Master." It was evening, and the sun was setting.
Roy dismissed Gotoh to rest. With a thought, he summoned Xiao Jin, letting the Golden Crow roll around on the soft bed.
He took a shower and changed into a loose bathrobe. He lit a lamp and, under the soft glow, studied the God Script Deconstruction. He deepened his understanding of 'God Scripts,' realizing very clearly that with them, he could turn his own 'Nen abilities' into 'enchantments' to create a piece—or even a batch—of 'Nen Tools'!
These Nen Tools wouldn't be like standard Ninja Tools. With his Nen abilities as a foundation, they would be even more powerful! They would also be simpler to use; one would only need to inject Nen or Chakra into them to unleash incredible power.
The boy became absorbed in his studies until late into the night. When the night dew grew heavy outside, he finally felt a trace of fatigue. Rubbing his brow, he lay on the bed with his clothes on. He ordered Xiao Jin to keep watch, closed his eyes, and drifted into sleep.
Creak—!
The familiar Dream Path appeared beneath his feet. Crossing it led to the azure Sea of Cognition. On the shore, Yukibashiri stood upright in the sand.
Roy rolled up his pant legs, letting the waves wash over his feet. He walked over, pulled out Yukibashiri, and sheathed it. Then, he moved past the Demon Slayer Gate and arrived before the Naruto Gate, which was etched with a single eye.
The boy stood before the gate for a moment before pushing it open and stepping inside.
When he opened his eyes again, he was back in Konoha. As usual, he sent a clone to school. However...
At the Ninja Academy today, an 'uninvited guest' had appeared. Wearing the Hokage's hat and the ceremonial robe over his red mesh undergarment, the man appeared with his hands behind his back. The moment he appeared, he fixed his gaze directly on Roy!