The three — Hanzo, Siper, and Ponzu — were all stunned when they saw the scene unfold.
None of them saw where Kaizen had gotten the laptop from.
It was as if it had just appeared out of thin air.
Kaizen didn't explain.
After they developed their abilities, they would naturally understand.
He opened his email.
"A killer organization called Dark Night is preparing to assassinate a nobleman named Karoo," the message read.
"Tucker's mission is to protect Karoo."
"But according to intelligence, there will be at least three assassins involved."
"With Tucker's strength alone, it's going to be tough."
"That's why he plans to entrust me with killing one of them."
Kaizen clicked on the attached file, revealing a photo — a woman with short blond hair and a bright, sunny look. But appearances were deceiving; she was one of Dark Night's assassins.
"Timeline: Ten days from now."
Kaizen thought for a moment, then replied to Tucker.
"If I finish my work within these ten days, I can accept the commission. But I can't guarantee I'll be done in time."
After all, he still didn't know what the situation was like in Ponzu' village.
Tucker responded quickly.
"No problem."
Kaizen closed the laptop. With a thought, it disappeared — stored into the space of Sumas.
...
Tucker was someone Kaizen had met during the Red Trang investigation with Mizaistom. A member of the official investigation team from the United States of Saherta, Tucker had originally been a frontier agent, but his talent and hard work earned him recognition.
When Kaizen first arrived in Saherta, Tucker was only a low-level C-rank Nen user.
Now, he had advanced to B-rank — a senior cadre capable of leading his own missions.
He had a clear understanding of the country's situation, but never lost hope. He believed that with enough effort, even deep-seated problems could be fixed.
Tucker handled every task his superiors gave him with full commitment.
...
The airship landed again, this time close to Ponzu' village.
Kaizen turned a corner — and the next moment, a door appeared out of nowhere.
A car drove out of it.
Kaizen casually slid into the driver's seat.
Hanzo, Siper, and Ponzu stared wide-eyed.
"What the hell is going on?" Hanzo blurted.
A car — that big — just appeared out of nowhere?
"Get in," Kaizen said, leaning out the window to call them.
They hurried into the car, Hanzo and Siper in the backseat, Ponzu up front.
"Captain, is this your Nen ability?" Ponzu asked, curious.
Kaizen shook his head. "No. It's just an ordinary car. As for how I pulled it out... that's one of my Nen abilities."
"When you develop your own Nen, you'll understand."
He didn't explain in detail — deliberately letting them think it was just a personal ability. After all, Sumas touched on too many hidden aspects.
It was tied to the Kurta Clan's secrets. The Kurta's aura space was the real reason Kakin, Mimbo, and Meteor City forces destroyed them — the scarlet eyes were just a small part of it.
"Ponzu, show me the way," Kaizen said.
"Yes, Captain."
Driving steadily, Kaizen checked on Hanzo and the others in the rearview mirror.
When it came to the basics of Nen, they were learning fast. They had already grasped Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu — and their mastery of In was nearly complete. Only Gyo remained — and they needed a deeper understanding of the basics before moving to advanced techniques like group Nen.
Proper foundation made for stronger personal abilities.
Originally, Kaizen thought Nen users were strictly tied to one category out of the six: Enhancement, Emission, Manipulation, Transmutation, Conjuration, and Specialization.
But after meeting more Nen users, he realized that wasn't quite true.
A person had a main category, but often showed bias toward another.
For example: two Enhancers might both have Enhancement as their main type, but one could lean towards Transmutation, the other toward Conjuration.
And the strength in those biases varied.
Kaizen himself was like that — not a Specialist as his main type.His affinity leaned toward Transmutation.
...
A mountain loomed into view.
Ponzu pointed ahead.
"Captain, my village is up that mountain. Follow the road until you reach a huge valley halfway up — that's where it is."
But the "road" Ponzu mentioned wasn't suitable for cars.
Kaizen stopped.
"Everyone out. Looks like we're walking from here."
After they got out, Kaizen sent the car back into Sumas.
Then, with a simple thought, he summoned a figure beside him.
Sasuke Uchiha.
Currently, Kaizen's two strongest Nen beasts were Natsu and Sasuke Uchiha. Their natures were different — Natsu's presence was fiery and oppressive, while Sasuke's presence was cold, almost invisible.
Against ordinary Nen users, Sasuke's aura wouldn't induce fear — but his strength was unquestionable.
...
Ponzu continued explaining as they hiked.
"Our village's main income comes from beekeeping. The mountains around us are covered with flowering plants, so the nectar is rich — and the honey we make is extremely sweet."
"In fact, our village has two queen bees. The one I'm responsible for is still young — she was born not long ago."
"There's also an older queen bee, who leads the village's bee colonies."
"But lately... strange things have been happening in the village."
"Not just among the people — even the bees are affected."
Kaizen narrowed his eyes.
"What kind of strange things?"
Ponzu thought for a moment before replying.
"There's a little girl in our village. When she was born, one of her legs was completely black. It doesn't affect her walking or anything, but people who spend too much time with her... they seem to 'catch' something from her."
"And those who get infected...They fall ill — fast."
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