Chairman Netero led Ronin and the others into a room aboard the airship where tea cups had been set out.
The two sides sat facing each other. Netero poured himself a cup of tea, then leisurely spoke.
"So, has he already prepared himself to kill this old man?"
His very first sentence left Ronin slightly stunned.
"You know?"
"Of course." Chairman Netero shrugged. "Ever since I refused to let him go to that place, he's been sulking at me. Wanting to kill me is perfectly normal, isn't it? In fact, I'm rather looking forward to seeing what method he chooses this time. Hoho."
"What if he plans to kill you in a way that ignores all consequences—even if it might get hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of people killed?" Ronin asked.
Chairman Netero frowned slightly.
"That really does sound like something he would do. But there's nothing I can do about it. All I can do is wait passively."
Extreme.
That was the only word Ronin could think of to describe Beyond. And from the looks of it, Chairman Netero's evaluation of his son was probably the same.
Extreme.
"Why?" Ronin didn't quite understand.
If possible, Ronin didn't want too many innocent people dying because of this incident.
Although the Chimera Ant incident would expose the darkness inside NGL, the ordinary people living there shouldn't have to pay the price for this conflict.
"I can't find him," Chairman Netero gave an answer Ronin hadn't expected.
"Because of an ability?" Ronin asked.
"Yes."
After getting that answer, Ronin couldn't help frowning. If that was the case, then there really wasn't much that could be done.
"Let's set Beyond's matter aside for now. I imagine you have something else you want to ask me," Chairman Netero said, his sharp eyes turning toward Ronin. His gaze looked almost as if it could see straight through Ronin's heart.
Ronin nodded.
"That's right. Aside from Beyond's matter, I also want to know how you managed to go to the Dark Continent back then with only your friends."
"You want to sneak in too?" Chairman Netero didn't seem surprised.
"Yes," Ronin admitted.
Back then, Netero had gone to the Dark Continent together with Zigg and Linne, and that trip had not been officially recorded.
So that journey of his could also be considered a smuggling trip.
"I refuse," Chairman Netero said without hesitation.
Ronin wasn't particularly surprised. If Netero could stop his own son from going to the Dark Continent, then there was no way he would easily let someone else obtain a chance to go beyond the known world.
"I'll use force," Ronin said, pouring himself a cup of tea as well.
Aside from wanting to obtain information from Chairman Netero on how to reach the Dark Continent, Ronin was also very curious about exactly how large the gap between his current self and Netero was.
So he stated his intention without restraint.
When Chairman Netero heard him, he froze for a moment.
Then a smile spread across his face, which didn't look all that old.
"You really are a newborn calf unafraid of tigers."
In that instant, an overwhelming presence erupted from the old man before him.
And the aura around Ronin seemed to be drawn out in response, exploding outward as well.
The collision of powerful Nen instantly shattered the tea table between them into pieces.
The three people seated behind Ronin were forced to spring backward the moment that aura clash erupted, expressions of shock appearing on their faces.
A sharp gleam flashed repeatedly in Chairman Netero's eyes, and the smile at the corners of his mouth was impossible to suppress.
"Let's change locations. I don't want to sink the airship."
As he spoke, Chairman Netero rose from his seat and strode outside.
By this time, the candidates on top of Trick Tower had already disappeared. Only Beans was hurrying toward them.
When he saw Chairman Netero actually leading Ronin and the others down from the airship, Beans's face filled with confusion.
But neither side had any intention of speaking to him. They went straight to the platform at the top of Trick Tower.
It was an excellent arena.
"Let me see your strength," Netero said, loosening up his body. There was no battle intent in his eyes.
From the look of it, Ronin clearly hadn't drawn his serious attention yet.
Ronin wasn't surprised by that. After all, this man was the strongest Nen user of the modern era. So with a solemn expression, he took his stance.
He had no intention of using ninjutsu.
It was simply the opening stance for taijutsu.
The instant Netero finished positioning himself and crooked a finger at him, Ronin vanished from where he stood.
Beans, who was watching from the side, still hadn't fully understood what was going on. But seeing Ronin actually dare to attack the chairman, he couldn't help admiring Ronin's courage.
It had been a very long time since he'd seen the chairman make a move.
Neon, meanwhile, was watching the situation on the field with considerable nervousness. When Chairman Netero had warmed up his body, she had observed the terrifying amount of aura around him.
Ronin's aura capacity was already shocking enough.
But now, even though Chairman Netero had not yet entered a serious state, the aura he released already felt as if it surpassed Ronin's.
And when she considered the accumulation Netero had built up over more than a hundred years, the sheer horror of how much active aura he could manifest was almost impossible to imagine.
Could Ronin really win?
That thought filled Neon's mind.
And at the same time, it appeared in Shizuku's and Abaki's minds as well.
But Shizuku and the others weren't the only ones observing what was happening on the rooftop of Trick Tower. Lippo, seated in the monitoring room, was watching too.
He had accepted money to let Ronin meet Chairman Netero here, but no matter what, he hadn't expected that brat to actually try to attack the chairman.
Lippo's eyes curved into inverted crescents.
"What an overconfident fool."
He had absolute confidence in Chairman Netero.
The only troublesome part was that after this incident, he would definitely be investigated.
The Hunter Exam didn't just have examiners like them. There were also proctors watching over the process.
They were all fairly capable members of the Association. Though they hadn't awakened Nen yet, they were already very close to doing so.
Their job was not only to monitor the candidates, but also the examiners. If anything unexpected happened, they would report it without hesitation, and they would record everything impartially.
If the airship had simply left after he sent Ronin to meet Chairman Netero, then at most, Lippo would have been fined and publicly reprimanded by the Association.
That wouldn't have mattered much to him.
But now, he felt there was a very good chance he could say goodbye to his position as examiner.
And if that happened, no one would come for free to test the new traps he had invented inside Trick Tower.
High-quality test subjects like examinees were truly hard to find in the outside world.
"What a loss."
The moment Lippo said that, his eyes suddenly widened.
Because on the platform, Ronin and Netero had already begun fighting.
Thoughts of gain or loss vanished from Lippo's mind in that instant.
Only one thought remained.
Monsters.
~~~
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