Ron gave a faint smile. "Even setting aside that you haven't yet awakened the mories of when you were human, even if you had, your understanding of this world would still be far from enough. This world is far larger than you imagine. Enough of that—tell , in this village, is there anything that feels familiar to you?"
The raccoon Chira Ant looked around. "Humans."
"Only humans?"
"Fallen humans. If anything, corpses," the raccoon Ant said.
Ron's brow moved slightly. "That proves corpses left a deep impression on you when you were human. Perhaps when you were human you had frequent contact with them. In NGL, the professions that deal often with corpses are either assassins or handlers of the dead."
At Ron's words, the raccoon Ant's face changed, as though fragnts of mory were stirring. Images surfaced in its mind.
"An assassin…"
Not long after, the raccoon Ant regained clarity. "I rember so things. I should have been an assassin. I can see scenes of myself holding a firearm, killing my targets. I rember now."
Ron nodded. Judging by its expression, he confird that when one ntioned things familiar to a Chira Ant's human life, it could trigger their mories. This should apply to others as well.
"Anything else?"
"For now, nothing." The raccoon Ant shook its head. "These are all I can recall."
Ron willed a handgun into his hand and handed it over. "Since you were an assassin who used firearms, take this. It may help you recover more mories."
"Thank you."
The raccoon Ant accepted it, and though its hand now had only three fingers, it gripped the gun with practiced familiarity. More fragnts stirred within it.
Ron asked again. "Now that you've recalled these mories, does the Queen's hold over you lessen?"
Within the Ant hierarchy, there was a powerful binding force. Aside from exceptions like the Royal Guards and the King, all Chira Ants were compelled to obey the Queen, even to the point of sacrificing their lives.
asured purely in strength, the Queen was weak—any soldier outmatched her, let alone a division leader. But because she implanted that loyalty in their very genes as they were born, they remained obedient as long as she lived. Gyro had completely awakened his human mories and broken free from this bond. What about this raccoon Ant? With partial mory awakened, how far could it go?
"I don't know."
Ron glanced at the crystal ball. The progress had finally reached ten percent. By now he was drawing close to the Ant Nest itself. He could already see the white smoke rising ahead. It was not natural smoke—it had been produced by Morel.
..........
.....
.
Outside NGL, a ringtone chid.
Ring ring ring!
Killua picked up instantly. "Biscuit?"
"I'm coming over. Give your exact location," she said.
Killua froze. "What?"
"Chairman Netero has agreed to let you participate in this operation, but only on one condition. You will compete against others, and only if you win will you gain the qualification."
She continued, "But as you are now, you're not ready. That's why I'm coming to give you further training."
"Alright. Understood."
Killua gave her the address and hung up. Gon imdiately looked over. "Killua, what did she say?"
"We've got a chance to join the operation, but only if we win against others."
"Others? Who are they?"
"I don't know. But from what Biscuit said, they should be stronger than us, otherwise she wouldn't bother coming to train us."
Gon clenched his fists. "No matter who they are, I'll win."
Killua nodded. "Of course."
Soon after, Biscuit arrived. Compared to when they were in Greed Island, she had changed into another outfit—still the sa Gothic doll style. Nearly sixty years old, yet fond of that look. But it also served as deception. Since her transformation into that form was real, and with her skill at concealing her aura, most people could never see through her.
Even A-rank Nen users couldn't discern her true strength. Even soone like Hisoka could only sense she wasn't ordinary, but could not perceive her actual capabilities.
"Killua, Gon, long ti no see."
"Biscuit, long ti no see," they replied—though in truth, not much ti had passed.
She looked them over. "You've both changed quite a bit since Greed Island. Stronger, good, very good. But this ti, your opponents are indeed formidable. The two you will compete against are Knuckle and Shoot. Both are disciples of Morel. Both are already mature Nen users."
She paused. "These two are much stronger than the Bombers. I rember you crossed paths with the Phantom Troupe back in Yorknew, didn't you?"
Killua and Gon exchanged a glance, then nodded.
"The strength of Knuckle and Shoot is at the level where they could enter the Troupe," Biscuit said. "And not as the weakest mbers, either."
At that, both Killua and Gon's faces turned serious. Against the Troupe, they had never gained the upper hand. Killua could not evade all of Franklin's Nen bullets, and Gon's fists had been utterly outclassed by Phinks.
"You four—only two will gain the qualification to join the operation. But rember this." Biscuit's tone turned stern. "Defeating them is not your goal. Defeating them openly, fairly, and with full acknowledgnt is your goal. Otherwise, forcing your way into the operation will be nothing but suicide. If you're ready, then I will begin your training now."
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