Kalluto had originally planned to stay at home for two days.
After all, having been away from home without permission for so long, he ought to give his parents an explanation.
However, Illumi's outrageous actions, coupled with his parents' tacit approval, left Kalluto utterly disappointed.
After casually tossing the things he had brought back from the Dark Continent to his family, Kalluto turned and left without a backward glance. He passed through the sea of trees, pushed open the Testing Gate, and departed from his family's territory.
Outside the gate, the group of tourists was still there.
From the time Kalluto entered to the time he left, only about half an hour had passed.
When they saw the boy, who was no more than eleven or twelve, once again easily push open the magnificent, colossal gate, the tourists' barely settled shock surged up once more.
They stared blankly at the scene, unable to utter a single word.
Kalluto, as before, ignored their gazes. In his foul mood, he didn't even greet the gatekeeper, Zebro, this time.
Zebro, reading the situation, knew that Kalluto must have had an unpleasant falling-out with his family and promptly swallowed the greeting that was on the tip of his tongue.
Sigh...
Watching Kalluto's rapidly retreating back, Zebro sighed softly in his heart.
He had actually witnessed Kalluto's changes over the past few years.
He was smiling more and more like a normal child, hesitating, and even occasionally showing an approachable side.
He was very gratified to see such a change in Kalluto.
But in the end, this was still at odds with the Zoldyck family's consistently cold style.
Zebro held his teacup, his gaze gradually disappearing into the wisps of steam rising from it.
He was just a minor gatekeeper.
Although he felt concern in his heart, he could not show it on the surface, much less interfere.
He couldn't even discuss it, not even when muttering to himself.
Zebro watched Kalluto's figure disappear at the end of the mountain path, then slowly poked his head out the window and looked at the dark clouds gathering in the sky.
"It's going to rain," he murmured in a low voice.
—--
Zoldyck Estate.
Inside the monitoring room.
Tsubone brought over the backpack Kalluto had thrown in the corridor and, under the watchful eyes of Silva and the others, took out the most important items inside.
They were the six stalks of Nitro Rice, tightly wrapped in withered leaves.
"Young Master Kalluto specifically instructed that this layer of withered leaves is very dangerous. It must not get wet, and it's best to destroy it directly."
As she explained, she carefully peeled away the withered leaves wrapped around the Nitro Rice.
Like husking an ear of corn, as the layers of leaves were stripped away, a vast and pure life force instantly filled the entire room.
Kikyo and Milluki both felt a jolt in their hearts.
Even Silva, who rarely showed his emotions, had a trace of unconcealable surprise flash in his eyes when he felt that aura.
"This is the longevity food from the Dark Continent, Nitro Rice," Tsubone explained. "According to Young Master Kalluto, consuming one stalk can extend one's life by a hundred years and significantly increase the total amount of one's aura. Furthermore..."
She paused for a moment.
Originally, the explanation of the origin and effects of these gifts should have been done by Kalluto himself.
But who would have thought that the head of the family and Young Master Illumi would directly drive away the just-returned Young Master Kalluto.
It reached the point where the child was unwilling to inform Silva or Kikyo directly via message or call, instead entrusting her to handle everything.
"Young Master Kalluto specifically emphasized that Young Master Illumi gets no share of these six stalks of Nitro Rice," Tsubone said with a calm expression.
The monitoring room fell silent for a moment.
Milluki was shocked by the effects and value of the Nitro Rice, but he couldn't help but mourn for his eldest brother.
"If Big Bro doesn't get any, did he say what to do with the extra stalk?" Milluki asked curiously.
Tsubone glanced at him and said, "There is no extra."
"Huh?"
Milluki was taken aback.
Tsubone said calmly, "From the very beginning, the Nitro Rice that Young Master Kalluto brought back did not include Young Master Illumi in the count. One of the stalks was specifically reserved for Alluka."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Silva, Kikyo, and Milluki all had different expressions.
To give such a precious longevity food to Alluka...
From the looks of it, Kalluto, just like Killua, still considered Alluka a member of the family.
—--
On the other side.
After being rebuffed by his great-great-grandfather Maha, Illumi decided to first investigate Morrow's recent movements.
He had originally wanted Kalluto to directly provide Morrow's living paper doll for contingencies.
But since that plan had fallen through, he had no choice but to use conventional intelligence channels to first ascertain Morrow's whereabouts.
However, before he could even begin to act, he received a piece of good news.
Alluka, who had been asleep for several months, had finally woken up.
"Waking up... at just the right time."
The corners of Illumi's mouth curled up, forming a slightly twisted arc.
He had only just realized that his own power was far from sufficient, which sparked the idea of using Nanika's wish-granting ability to further enhance his strength.
As it turned out, Nanika, who had been dormant for so long, seemed to sense his intense desire and woke up at the very moment he needed her most.
This must be the guidance of fate.
Illumi's smile faded. Without any intention of consulting Silva or Kikyo, he walked straight towards the room where Alluka was.
He was going to directly use that power from the depths of darkness to satisfy his most urgent desire.
I will break all restrictions and obtain the power to easily kill Morrow and control everything!
Illumi's expression, and even the movements of his body as he walked, all betrayed a sense of urgency.
He believed that Nanika waking up at this moment meant that fate had abandoned Morrow.
Little did he know...
There was no guidance of fate.
It was simply that Morrow no longer had the blessing of the Entropy Bird's Luck.
However, under the influence of Maha and Kalluto, Illumi had also given up the idea of directly wishing for Morrow's annihilation, instead raising the priority of 'acquiring power' to the highest level.
—--
Dentora Region.
The only town at the foot of Kukuroo Mountain was Chiselwood Town.
—--
Several dozen kilometers away, there was another small town called Flowing Wood Town.
Morrow and Kurapika had sent a message to Kalluto from Flowing Wood Town.
The original plan was for the two of them to go to Chiselwood Town to meet up with Kalluto, and then, just like in the past, they would stroll around the streets together and taste the nostalgic local specialty snacks.
However, after leaving home, Kalluto directly rejected Morrow's proposal and decisively set the meeting place in Flowing Wood Town instead.
In Morrow's view, Kalluto's arrangement was equivalent to voluntarily giving up the sugar pancakes of Chiselwood Town.
This made him even more certain that Kalluto was truly furious this time and just wanted to get away from that terrible family as soon as possible.
To see Morrow and Kurapika as quickly as possible, Kalluto didn't take any form of transportation. Instead, he relied on bursts of Nen to accelerate, sprinting all the way towards Flowing Wood Town.
In less than half an hour, Kalluto arrived at Flowing Wood Town and met up with Morrow and Kurapika.
But as soon as they met, Morrow sensed a clear dejection from Kalluto and offered comfort, "Don't be upset. Later, let's see if this town has the sugar pancakes you like."
"Flowing Wood Town doesn't have sugar pancakes, and even if it did... I'm not in the mood to eat right now," Kalluto replied sullenly.
Morrow and Kurapika exchanged a look. Kalluto's mood was even worse than they had expected.
"Let's find a quiet place first," Morrow suggested.
A short while later, the three of them sat down in a private room at a restaurant.
On the table, two paper figures with pitted surfaces were particularly conspicuous.
Kalluto infused his aura into the paper figures and flicked his finger lightly.
The paper figures floated to the edge of the table, transforming into the King and Youpi in mid-air.
At this moment, their bodies were covered in pits of varying depths, looking quite battered.
Especially the King.
Not long ago on the Dark Continent, he had been severely injured by a casual blow from Morrow, who was infected with the Zobae Disease. He had only managed to regain his form thanks to Sanbica's subsequent stitching.
But the wound from that time was too severe, leaving behind clear and messy suture marks.
Now, having encountered Illumi's self-destructing puppet tactic, he was riddled with craters...
Kalluto only had to glance at them for a couple of seconds before he started to get angry again.
Morrow looked at the condition of Youpi and the King and asked, "Kalluto, based on what you just said, the current Illumi can freely wield the power of Post-Mortem Nen?"
"Yes."
"Is there not a single trace of life Nen on him?"
Kalluto thought back carefully, then nodded with certainty. "None. And his Nen... it's as if it grew stronger through death. Not only is his aura more intense than before, but even the strength of his Needle People has become abnormally exaggerated."
Hearing this, Morrow fell silent for a moment, thinking to himself that it wasn't as if Illumi had died; he really had died once to obtain such an enhancement. The only thing he couldn't confirm was how the other party had been resurrected.
The only possibility he could think of was the wishing machine imprisoned in the dark depths of the Zoldyck home.
If it was that wish power, which theoretically had no upper limit...
Before heading to the Dark Continent, Morrow might have thought that something like resurrecting the dead was something even the wishing machine might not be able to achieve.
But after returning from the Dark Continent, he felt that such a thing no longer seemed like much of a miracle.
If Illumi was truly resurrected through the power of the wishing machine, then...
The Post-Mortem Will that Illumi was currently using might very well originate from the power of 'Ai,' one of the Five Threats.
And as for the strength of that power, one only needed to recall the immense, pitch-black aura that erupted when healing Gon in the original story to understand how powerful it was.
However, as long as its essence was still a form of Post-Mortem Nen energy, it couldn't make much of a splash in the face of Tree Rings.
The real worry was that Illumi might directly use the wishing machine against him.
For example, making a wish like 'Kill Morrow.'
Thinking of this, Morrow didn't panic.
After all, he still had one chance at a rewind upon death.
If Illumi really used wish power to kill him, then after the rewind, he might even be able to record this ability.
But no matter what, he had to deal with the unstable factor that was Illumi.
And it just so happened that he was in dire need of Tree Rings energy right now...
So theoretically, the stronger Illumi's Post-Mortem Nen, the more Tree Rings energy it could be converted into.
As Morrow pondered, he thought about how to naturally steer the conversation toward the wishing machine.
At the same time, Kalluto was also hesitating whether to tell Morrow about Nanika's existence.
He didn't hesitate for long. Kalluto made up his mind to explain the complex situation at home more clearly to Morrow.
After all, this matter could concern Morrow's safety.
Although Kalluto had seen Illumi still being respectful to their great-great-grandfather in the corridor, as a fellow Manipulator, he knew in his heart that with Illumi's personality and desire for control, he would sooner or later act on his own.
When that time came, the most likely thing Illumi would do was use Nanika's power against Morrow.
The last time, Morrow had been gravely injured by Beyond and was on the verge of death. If it weren't for Kurapika's timely treatment...
Back then, Kalluto had thought about using the wishing machine's power privately, even if it meant breaking family rules, to restore Morrow to his original state.
Now, just the thought that this power could threaten Morrow at any moment made it difficult to suppress the tension in his heart.
He also thought of the predicament Killua was currently facing.
"Morrow."
Kalluto suddenly raised his head solemnly, his tone serious. "There is a matter concerning my family's secrets, but I believe I must tell you now."
"Hm?"
Morrow's gaze shifted slightly. Seeing the solemn expression on Kalluto's still somewhat childish face, a trace of warmth rose in his heart.
He knew that Kalluto was about to voluntarily reveal the existence of the wishing machine.
Such a secret should never have been revealed to an outsider.
But Kalluto chose to say it at this time, purely out of his cherish and concern for him.
Morrow felt this clearly.
"Kalluto, let me confirm with you one more time."
Before Kalluto could mention the wishing machine, Morrow asked first, "Under the condition of legitimate self-defense, can I really kill Illumi?"
Kalluto was startled, not understanding why Morrow would bring this question up again at this moment.
But under Morrow's exceptionally serious gaze, Kalluto re-examined his own true feelings.
"Morrow, if Illumi really tries to kill you..."
Kalluto's voice was soft, yet exceptionally firm. "Then you don't need to worry about my feelings."
The warning he had given Illumi in the corridor was uttered without a hint of hesitation or childishness.
And Illumi, as well as his parents, should have understood his stance.
But Kalluto also had a faint feeling...
That 'intensely self-centered' big brother of his probably wouldn't care about his feelings or stance at all.
Morrow gazed into Kalluto's eyes and slowly nodded.
Just based on Kalluto's attitude...
Morrow was willing to abide by the 'legitimate self-defense' condition and only kill Illumi under those circumstances.
But in the end, this confidence was also granted to him by Tree Rings.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, as if sensing something, Morrow looked towards the private room's window.
It was in the direction of Kukuroo Mountain.
He had suddenly felt a fluctuation of Post‑Mortem Nen, but it also gave him a strong sense of distance.
"What's wrong?"
Kalluto was just about to start explaining his family's situation. Seeing Morrow's strange action, he couldn't help but look puzzled.
Kurapika, beside him, also cast an inquisitive glance.
"You two didn't feel it?" Morrow asked, still staring at the window. "The aura of Post-Mortem Nen."
"No."
Kalluto and Kurapika looked at each other and both shook their heads.
—--
At the same time.
Kukuroo Mountain, deep within the Zoldyck estate.
A vast, pitch-black aura shot up into the sky, piercing straight into the churning rain clouds above.
Illumi was bathed in the center of this pitch-black aura, his long hair dancing wildly upwards in the surging energy.
Just a moment ago...
He had controlled Killua to make a demand of Nanika.
Yet at this moment, his face showed not much excitement or agitation.
The reason was simple.
"To kill Morrow... it actually requires this much power?"
Illumi's face was filled with shock and doubt.