A week later, in the royal palace of Lulusia.
Ronan was sitting in a side hall, his consciousness completely immersed deep within his mind, gazing at that familiar panel.
Holder: Ronan
Quest Points: 1050
Abilities: Armament Haki (Proficient, 1200 points to upgrade to Perfect), Physical Arts (Skilled, 700 points to upgrade to Proficient), Observation Haki (Skilled, 700 points to upgrade to Proficient)
Special Skill: Lucky Roulette (1000 points per spin), remaining spins: 1
With the Heavenly Tribute quest completed, his Quest Points had risen to 1050. Ronan did not hesitate and immediately spent the points on Physical Arts.
As 700 Quest Points were consumed, a powerful heat surged through his entire body in an instant!
Even with Ronan's tenacious will, he could not suppress a muffled groan. In his mind, his comprehension of various combat techniques grew deeper and clearer, as if they were branded into his muscle memory as pure instinct.
He lightly threw a punch forward to test it.
"Wmm—!"
Without using any Haki, just his physical strength alone stirred up a gust of wind. This was pure bodily power, and it was several times stronger than before!
"Proficient-level Physical Arts…"
Ronan felt the surging strength within him and the far more acute awareness of his body. Both his speed and power had stepped up onto a completely new level. He believed that the next time he crossed blows with Enel, he should be able to cause him a lot more trouble—though Ronan never thought that simply improving Physical Arts would be enough to defeat him. That would be far too unrealistic.
Of course, what drew his attention the most was the Lucky Roulette's remaining spin count, which had once again become "1".
The last time he spun this roulette, he had summoned the "Smiling Teresa". So this time… what would it be? It couldn't possibly land on nothing, right?
Anticipation inevitably rose in his heart. This roulette was unreliable most of the time, but whenever it did produce something, it was genuinely something that could help him.
Without any further hesitation, Ronan focused his consciousness on the Lucky Roulette.
"Spin."
Ronan held his breath, waiting patiently with the experience from last time in mind.
The roulette gradually slowed. One icon after another, some familiar and some unfamiliar, slid past the pointer.
Then, a burst of light flared. In front of Ronan, a human silhouette began to condense into a solid figure.
Lucky Roulette spin successful.
Reward obtained: Neferpitou.
[Note]: A Chimera Ant from the Dark Continent, a Royal Guard directly serving the King. Possesses unparalleled talent and loyalty; her potential is unfathomable.
Neferpitou?!
Seeing this name, a wave of intense delight surged up in Ronan's chest!
One of the absolute core antagonists of the Chimera Ant arc in the Hunter x Hunter world, a member of the three Royal Guards under the Ant King Meruem! Her strength was terrifying, her methods bizarre, and above all, that monstrous, almost outrageous learning and evolution speed—she was practically a bug-tier existence! In the original story, she could even directly confront the Hunter Association Chairman Isaac Netero. Her combat power stood firmly at the top tier of the Hunter world! Of course, the Dark Continent was excluded—that was humanity's forbidden domain.
And he actually… summoned her?!
Ronan had thought this spin would once again produce a warrior from the Claymore world.
Before long, a small, slender figure that looked like a young girl was standing in front of him.
She had short dark-blue hair, black cat ears atop her head, and a long, slender tail swaying lightly behind her. Her red eyes were filled with the dazed confusion of someone just awakened and a deep curiosity toward everything around her.
Neferpitou lowered her head and glanced at her pale hands. She remembered that in order to protect her King, she had fought until the very last moment; her body had been destroyed by Gon, and her consciousness had sunk into endless darkness.
Yet now, she was not only "alive" again, but her body was in a state more perfect than ever before, and she could even feel… that she was brimming with more power than in life!
At that moment, her gaze landed on Ronan standing in the room.
The instant their eyes met—
A fundamental, soul-deep sense of connection told her that this boy in front of her… was her King!
This realization was branded in the depths of her soul, a supreme command granted by the rules of the summoning system itself!
Neferpitou's red eyes shone with fervent light as she stared fixedly at Ronan. She dropped to one knee before him.
"King! Thank you for calling Pitou back from the darkness. From this moment on, Pitou will fight for the King!"
Looking at the cat girl in front of him, Ronan felt even more confident about his upcoming plans.
"Stand up, Neferpitou. This is no longer your original world."
Then, just as he had done when Teresa first arrived, Ronan patiently told her everything about this world.
"Devil Fruits." "Armament Haki." "Observation Haki." "Conqueror's Haki."
The more Neferpitou listened, the more excited she became. Everything about this world felt wonderfully intriguing to her.
"King, can I learn this Haki?" Pitou asked cautiously.
"Of course you can. Beth and Teresa are already very skilled in using Haki, and they've even awakened Conqueror's Haki."
At this, Ronan couldn't help feeling immensely envious. After all, with some effort and a bit of talent, Armament and Observation Haki were still within reach. But Conqueror's Haki was something you were simply born with.
Teresa and the others truly lived up to their status as the strongest NO.1s. Over these past two years, they had all awakened Conqueror's Haki. Ronan suspected that characters summoned by the panel generally had the potential to awaken Conqueror's Haki.
So when he looked at Neferpitou standing before him, he had no doubt about her potential.
Her astonishing learning ability and sharp instinct for power had already been fully displayed back in the Hunter world.
Soon after, Ronan brought Neferpitou to meet Teresa and the others, and had them help her quickly get familiar with using Haki. Ronan himself, meanwhile, quietly took Enel and boarded Enel's ark, heading toward Tesoro's Golden City.
Ronan did not bring Beth and the others along. This time, he wanted his movements to attract as little attention as possible—especially from the World Government, which had been watching him closely. They all knew that Beth and Alicia were always at Ronan's side. Leaving them in the royal palace this time was precisely to mislead the World Government.
On the Grand Line, in a certain stretch of sea—
A massive structure, still only in its early stages, floated quietly on the blue surface. It was a ship—one so gigantic it defied imagination! Its hull was built from sturdy timber and gleaming metal, but the most eye-catching features were the solid-gold sculptures and even domes entirely covered in gold. Colorful flags fluttered in the wind, and faintly, one could already hear the noisy bustle from the areas that were open.
This was the future Golden City, still under construction!
A strangely shaped ark descended silently and landed in a secluded open space at the core of the Golden City. The hatch opened, and Ronan stepped out first, with Enel following behind him.
Tesoro, who had been waiting here for some time, immediately came forward to greet them. Dressed in his gaudy pink suit, he wore an expression of undisguised respect on his golden face.
"Your Highness, you've arrived!" Tesoro bowed deeply, then gave Enel a slight nod of acknowledgment as his gaze passed over him.
Ronan nodded, sweeping his gaze over the ongoing construction around them before looking toward the distant casino district, already ablaze with lights.
"Good progress."
Ronan hadn't expected Tesoro to work this fast; the entire Golden City already had its rough shape.
"Everything is proceeding according to plan, Your Highness," Tesoro replied, unable to suppress a proud smile. "Even though less than one-third of the entertainment facilities are open, the daily turnover is already quite considerable. I believe it won't be long before this place draws in even more tycoons and nobles."
Hearing this, Ronan nodded. He had great confidence in Tesoro's capabilities. The only pity was that this time he was in a hurry and didn't have much time to tour the place.
Tesoro didn't waste words. He stepped aside and gestured forward. "Your Highness, this way, please. That guest is already in the reception room."
"Alright."
Ronan followed Tesoro through a long corridor of gold, eventually arriving at a private reception room with excellent soundproofing.
Inside, a lone figure stood with his back to the door, in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing out at the Golden City slowly taking shape outside.
He was tall and burly, dressed in a black combat suit emblazoned with the Germa 66 crest, with a cloak draped over his shoulders and long blond hair cascading down his back.
He was the King of the Germa Kingdom—Judge.
Hearing the sounds behind him, Judge slowly turned around. When his gaze passed Tesoro and fell upon Ronan walking in behind him, his pupils shrank, and his entire body froze in place!
"You… you're… Ronan?! The King of Lulusia?!"
Judge's voice trembled, and he even subconsciously took half a step back.
In recent times, the front page of the World Economy News Paper had been almost monopolized by this boy king!
How could Judge possibly not recognize him?!
But he had never imagined that the "real boss" behind the Golden City, whom Tesoro had mentioned, would actually be this eleven-year-old boy standing before him.
This… this was too absurd! And far too frightening!
Tesoro, the rising underground magnate who had shot to prominence thanks to the power of the Gold-Gold Fruit… was actually working under Ronan?
Judge's mind whirred frantically as he rapidly strung together every detail of his cooperation with Tesoro over the past year. He had long suspected that Tesoro's meteoric rise must have relied on some hidden force, but he had never once considered that the one standing behind him would be this child king.
"So that's how it is… so that's how it is!"
The shock on Judge's face gradually turned into a deep, wary respect. He looked at Ronan and sighed.
"Ronan-dono—no, Your Majesty Ronan—you hide yourself truly well."
Only now did he genuinely realize that this seemingly young boy possessed a depth of scheming and subtle means far more terrifying than anything the papers described. Silently, in the shadows, he had been propping up this future empire of gold.
This kind of long-term planning… was enough to make anyone's blood run cold.
(End of Chapter)
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