Upon returning to Elba, ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
After Salin came back from the Forbidden Zone, Sabro was overjoyed every day, grinning like a blooming flower. As for the wedding plans, they were still put on hold.
Law spent his days training under Linne, occasionally dealing with the persistent Gel.
The highly contagious mixed poison was the reason Gel shamelessly clung to him. However, the mixed toxins were fused by the Surprise Box, and Law had no intention of revealing this to Gel.
To put it bluntly, Surprise Box was a Nen Artifact… something akin to a trump card. How could he casually disclose its secrets to outsiders? Even if it were Netero, Law wouldn't reveal the true nature of Surprise Box.
To fend off Gel, Law gave her vague answers every time, but the result was predictable… Gel refused to let go. Clearly, the information about the mixed poison held an irresistible allure for her.
On this day, Law was preparing supplies for another trip to the Forbidden Zone, intending to bring out valuable items from within.
Ten days was more than enough for the people who had returned from the Forbidden Zone to spread the information. It wouldn't be long before the three oasis nations sent large numbers of people flooding into the Forbidden Zone.
The Armored Bulls and supplies were ready, but there was still one problem to solve: how to transport everything out.
For this matter, he had been negotiating with Kuro for the past few days.
Law wondered if there were any other Nen Users in the Hunter x Hunter World who had to bargain with their own Nen Beasts.
'Ordinary Nen Beasts probably couldn't even hold a conversation, right?'
As far as he knew, Kuro's spatial ability had two forms. The first was a space where anything swallowed would be 'digested' and erased. The second was a freely accessible storage space, where Law kept his precious items like Shin and Surprise Box.
Regardless of the differences between the two spaces, neither could store living beings.
If Law wanted to bring out the valuable items from the Forbidden Zone, he would have to rely on Kuro's second space. However, according to Kuro, the capacity of his second space wasn't large enough to hold so many antiques. To expand the space, Kuro needed to grow stronger.
The so-called growing stronger meant increasing the number of black pages so that Law could convert his Aura for Kuro's use.
Law knew Kuro wasn't lying. He had been considering this matter for a while but still hadn't made a decision.
Kuro demanded 1,200 black pages… 1,000 to meet the basic requirement for expanding his storage space, and an additional 200 as his own 'reward'.
The reason Law hesitated and kept negotiating was precisely because of those extra 200 pages Kuro insisted on as payment.
Since his Nen Skills had advanced, Law rarely relied on God Hand to kill enemies. Moreover, with over 2,000 blank pages in reserve, he didn't have to worry about running out.
Thus, to retrieve the artifacts from the Forbidden Zone, Law could accept the cost of blackening 1,000 pages. If necessary, he could always return to Red Rock Canyon to farm more pages.
The real issue was that he didn't want to give Kuro an extra 200 pages for free.
'This guy never misses a chance to increase the black pages.'
Seeing Law's determination, Kuro acted with complete confidence, not worrying at all that the thousand pages he was about to receive might slip away.
After packing the supplies and loading them onto the armored cattle, Law headed straight for the city gates.
Aside from Gel, he had already informed Linne and the others about his departure. He didn't bring Buhara along because Salin was busy dragging Sabro around to arrange blind dates, looking for candidates to continue the family line.
As a result, Buhara had to mind the shop.
Passing through the streets and exiting the city gates, Law left Alba under the curious gazes of the surrounding crowd.
In the Kandhia Desert, solo travelers were rare… they were usually synonymous with suicide.
Law's figure soon vanished into the scorching, shimmering desert air.
After walking about seven or eight kilometers, Law summoned Kuro.
"Have you made up your mind?" Kuro crouched on the Armored Bull's head, grinning slyly.
"A hundred pages. No negotiation," Law replied.
Kuro's silver eyes gleamed as he sneered, "Look at you, being so stingy. Fine, I won't argue with you. A hundred pages it is. So, are we heading straight to Red Rock Canyon now?"
"Right."
Law responded, then pointed behind him and said, "Get to the back. You're blocking my view."
"Tch."
Kuro obediently crawled to the rear and casually remarked, "A single trip to Red Rock Canyon could easily net you a thousand pages. What's there to hesitate over? Besides, given your personality, you wouldn't have any moral qualms about slaughtering those sand bandits, would you?"
"You get to massacre them with a justifiable reason and earn a ton of pages… such a profitable deal. Yet you're still reluctant to spare even a hundred pages for me."
Kuro shrugged, criticizing Law for his stinginess. Even when presented with a chance to kill two, or even three birds with one stone, Law still haggled over a mere hundred pages.
Law shot him a glance and raised his hand, his tone flat, "Get back inside. Come out when we arrive."
Seeing Law's expressionless face, Kuro remained unfazed, tossing him a playful wink before dissolving back into Law's right palm.
Eleven hundred pages… it was practically a gift handed to him on a silver platter. Kuro was inwardly overjoyed.
The sun rose and set, the scorching days and freezing nights alternating endlessly. After trekking for over ten days, Law finally caught sight of Red Rock Canyon.
To expand Kuro's storage space, Law needed to blacken pages, and only by using human lives to do so could the effect be maximized.
Eleven hundred lives were no small number, so Law had come to deal with the sand bandits. On top of that, he could rescue the prisoners held captive by the sand bandits, which would also increase his blank pages. All in all, Red Rock Canyon was the perfect location.
Originally, if the sand bandits hadn't provoked Law, he wouldn't have actively sought them out.
But now, this outcome could only be blamed on the sand bandits' bad luck, as they had unwittingly walked into the line of fire.
"You've got two hours. Scout the place thoroughly." Law said as he summoned Kuro and ordered him to reconnoiter.
"Piece of cake!"
Kuro transformed into a wisp of black smoke and darted toward Red Rock Canyon.
This mission benefited him immensely, so he was unusually enthusiastic.
Law had given Kuro two hours, but the Nen Beast returned in just one, and with startlingly detailed intelligence at that. It almost made Law suspect that Kuro had been slacking off during previous reconnaissance missions.
Kuro reported back with exact numbers: 2,321 sand bandits, 1,090 women, and 338 prisoners.
Law and Kuro slipped past the sand bandits' sentries and infiltrated Red Rock Canyon.
"Eleven hundred. Not a single one over. Now, move." Law issued a warning before giving the order.
Kuro trembled with excitement, his silver eyes gleaming sharply as he replied, "Then… I won't hold back!"
By dusk, Red Rock Canyon was dyed in blood.
All 2,321 bandits had been slaughtered by the duo.
When the last sand bandit let out a dying scream and collapsed, the women who had initially hidden in fear inside the caves finally mustered the courage to step out.
What they saw would be seared into their memories forever.
A young man, not a single drop of blood on him, with an ominous black cat perched on his shoulder… and behind them, a mountain of bandit corpses.
The very sand bandits they had wished to tear apart with their teeth were all dead.
The eyes of the over a thousand captive women, which were once dull with despair, now flickered with light. Many couldn't contain their long-suppressed fury and relief, breaking down in cathartic sobs.
To them, Law was like the Grim Reaper from myth… a divine executioner who had delivered judgment upon the brutal bandits.
Eradicating a sand bandit stronghold, especially one in the Kandhia Desert, was a monumental feat.
Unfortunately, Law wasn't a licensed Hunter, so he couldn't log this achievement into the Hunter Association's records. But his reputation being spread was unavoidable.
With the Black Pages increased, Law had to allocate his Potential Aura to Kuro, which meant he needed to rest in Red Rock Canyon for a few days to recover before leaving.