Ponzu's voice came through the phone.
But in front of them, the old woman lying there was clearly dead.
Kaizen quickly gave Sasuke Uchiha a command.
"Check if she's still alive."
Uchiha Sasuke stepped forward. A faint flow of aura extended from his hand and swept over the old woman.
The next moment, Sasuke turned to the wireless camera and shook his head.
She was dead.
In other words, Ponzu's grandmother was already gone.
So who—or what—was speaking to Ponzu through the phone?
Siper and Hanzo exchanged glances, both feeling a chill run down their spines.
"...What's going on?"
"Is this... something from the world of nen?" Hanzo muttered uneasily.
Kaizen frowned, equally unsure.
Ponzu stared blankly at the laptop screen. Her eyes reddened, tears sliding silently down her cheeks.
"Grandma..."
The voice on the phone remained clear and warm.
"Little Ponzu, what's wrong?"
But on the computer screen, the old woman's mouth didn't even move.
Kaizen took a deep breath.
"This is complicated," he said. "I've never seen anything like this before. I'm going to consult someone."
Even though Kaizen's overall strength had reached A-rank, his age—and limited experience—meant there were still plenty of things he hadn't encountered.
Especially things that had never appeared in the original Hunter Exam materials or later battles.
He pulled out his phone and made a call.
After a few rings, the line connected.
"Grandpa Zeno, I need your advice."
"What's going on?" came Zeno's calm voice.
Kaizen quickly explained the situation at the village, describing everything in detail.
Zeno went silent for a long moment.
"Sounds like... death nen."
"No," Kaizen said firmly. "I've seen death nen before. It's not like this. If it were, I could just smash through with my sword and absorb the aura directly. This... this is different."
"When you look at the aura there, what do you feel?"
"...Calm. Still. But weirdly uncomfortable."
"I can record a video and send it to you," Kaizen offered.
"Do it."
...
Altan recorded the scene carefully and sent it to Zeno's private network.
Minutes later, Kaizen's phone buzzed.
He picked up immediately. "Grandpa Zeno?"
"I've never seen anything like this," Zeno said. "I can't give you a definitive answer. My only advice: leave immediately. Don't get involved. It's dangerous."
"No solution at all?"
"Is this place that important to you?"
"A teammate of mine... this was her village. The old woman was her grandmother."
Zeno paused. Then said,
"I know someone who might have seen something similar. But he's eccentric, not easy to deal with. I'll give you his contact info, but be careful—it could backfire."
"His name's Gogus."
Zeno rattled off a number.
"Thank you, Grandpa Zeno."
"And remember," Zeno added, voice serious, "stay away from it until you figure it out."
"Got it."
...
Kaizen immediately called the number Zeno gave him.
First call: no answer.
Second call: still no answer.
Third call: picked up—and immediately hung up.
Fourth call: blocked.
"Tch."
Kaizen frowned, then turned to Altan. "Your turn."
Using Altan's tech skills, it was easy to bypass the block.
It wasn't exactly polite, but when the other party refused to pick up, Kaizen wasn't about to play nice.
The phone rang a long time before someone finally answered.
A hoarse voice barked, "Who?"
From the tone alone, it was clear the man was in a terrible mood.
"Gogus-san, I have a commission for you," Kaizen said calmly. "I've sent you a picture. If you can solve the problem, you can name your price."
Gogus listened in silence—and hung up without a word.
Kaizen waited.
Ponzu had calmed down a little and made no move to rush back to the village.
"Captain... Thank you. I'm sorry. I lost my head earlier."
"No need to apologize," Kaizen said, waving it off. "It's understandable."
...
Two hours later, Kaizen's phone rang.
"Where is this place?" rasped Gogus's voice.
"Gogus-san?"
"I'm coming right now. Send me the exact location."
Kaizen gave it without hesitation.
Through the receiver, he heard Gogus muttering curses under his breath.
"Buy me an airship ticket."
"Immediately!"
"If there's no airship, find another way!"
The line went dead with a harsh beep.
Kaizen's brow furrowed slightly.
"...Judging by that reaction, Gogus is either very interested or very familiar with this phenomenon. Which means... there's a good chance we can actually solve this."
A thought flickered through Kaizen's mind.
Could this be connected to the Dark Continent?
In the hidden settlement of the Kurta Clan, Kaizen had once seen the half-covered eye of an old man—a sight more terrifying and alien than anything he could explain.
The old man had said that Scarlet Eyes were born because of contamination from the Dark Continent.
If that was true, this strange aura could very well be related.
Normal Nen was just the accumulation of human willpower—positive, negative, spiritual, and physical energy.
But this... whatever haunted this village didn't fit into any of those categories.
...
Two days later.
In the sky, a black dot grew larger and larger—an airship tearing through the clouds.
Kaizen and the others watched as it approached at high speed.
Someone inside must have spotted them.
A figure appeared at the edge of the airship.
The next instant, the figure jumped.
BOOM!
The ground trembled violently from the impact.
An old man stood up from the crater, brushing dust off his baggy, rumpled clothes—clearly thrown on without a second thought.
His sharp eyes scanned the group and locked onto Kaizen immediately.
"You're the one who called me?"
"Gogus-san?" Kaizen confirmed.
"Yeah. It's me," Gogus said gruffly. "Where are the bugs? Take me there. Now."
Impatience was clear in every line of his body.
Not just his words—his outfit said it all.
He hadn't even changed out of his pajamas.
But for a seasoned Nen user, clothing didn't matter.
Only results did.
...
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