Specks of light materialized, coalescing into the form of the Short-hilt, which re-hung itself on the south wall.
Giyu Tomioka and Urokodaki Sakonji, who hadn't yet fallen asleep, got up, lit an oil lamp, and examined it closely... The latter rubbed the Short-hilt and said, "It's Eiichiro's Short-hilt, alright."
Everyone looked at each other, exchanging glances, all speechless... A sword that could "travel" on its own was just like Eiichiro, absurd through and through!
After a moment, Sabito said, "Let's just ask Eiichiro tomorrow morning."
He was firm in his belief; this matter was definitely related to the boy.
But the boy himself was fast asleep, leaving the room full of adults, who were worried sick about his sword, at a loss for words.
"Everyone, go to sleep." It was only a few hours, the old man could wait.
Giyu Tomioka nodded and proactively blew out the oil lamp.
After another round of rustling and shuffling, the wooden hut finally fell silent.
Hunter World.
Inside the Quiz Town.
Roy put away his Asauchi and gripped the cane-sword that was stuck in the ground again.
He smiled at Nakajima Sachiko and said, "I won't disturb your proctoring any longer, ma'am."
His ears twitched as he faintly heard footsteps coming from the alley entrance. It seemed to be the group of candidates who had arrived right after him.
Nakajima Sachiko smiled and nodded. Through the shared vision of the "children," she saw two youths, one on the left and one on the right, emerge from the woods and stop at the town entrance.
The one on the left had a face full of pins and a dazed expression. The one on the right wore a samurai sword at his waist, a blue baseball cap, and had sharp eyes... he didn't look like an easy one to deal with either.
Nakajima Sachiko sighed silently in her heart, thinking this year's candidates were really difficult. She turned and instructed the "children" to pull open the gate to the next exam phase, forcing a smile as she said to Roy, "There's a cedar tree on the mountain. The guide lives there."
As for... whether the "guide" would 'fly' these kids... Nakajima Sachiko couldn't guarantee it. After all... the other party's identity was special, and she didn't have their phone number.
Rumble. A heavy stone gate opened, revealing a deep, dark passage.
Roy gave Nakajima Sachiko a slight nod and, under the watchful eyes of Illumi and Kite who had just arrived, he was the first to step inside. Gotoh and Kurajing flanked him, following closely behind.
The stone gate closed.
Only Illumi and Kite were left facing Nakajima Sachiko, lost in thought.
"Young Master... we are constantly being monitored." While running through the dark passage, Gotoh faintly heard subtle "whirring" sounds. Always sensitive to cameras, he sharply detected several camera angles.
"That's normal." Kurajing followed his gaze to see a few red lights flash and disappear. Struggling to keep up with Roy's pace, she panted, "The exam started the moment we boarded the ship."
"Official or not, that's just terminology the Hunter Association can change whenever they want."
Kurajing quietly edged closer to Roy. Her woman's intuition told her those cameras seemed to be filming her. She glanced up suspiciously...
On the airship.
Netero noticed the girl's gaze and chuckled, "The little lady is quite sharp. That outfit doesn't look ordinary."
"She's from the Kurta Clan." Beanman was knowledgeable and recognized Kurajing's identity at a glance. He carefully glanced at Zeno, choosing his words, "The survival of these ancient people is precarious. That girl is likely taking the exam with the intention of becoming a Hunter to support her clan."
Beanman's words were tactful, but they subtly implied to Zeno that the girl's motives weren't pure.
Zeno stood with his hands behind his back, his expression impassive, completely unconcerned.
'Who cares what clan she's from... As long as she has wide hips, can bear children, and if there's trouble... the Zoldycks will handle it for her.'
On the contrary, what made him, the grandfather, more concerned was... Roy!
Netero was right about one thing earlier: the boy used the "sun" as his object of visualization. His ambition was certainly not small... Wanting to easily materialize a "Nen beast" wouldn't be so simple.
Just like the "Nen Dragon" for Zeno, or the "100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva" for Netero... the stronger the object visualized from the "Heart's Questioning," the greater the difficulty in materializing a "Nen beast" or developing a "Nen ability."
He frowned and said nothing.
At a certain moment, his ears twitched. He heard Netero, as if reading his mind, say faintly, "The 'sun' combined with 'beast'... This old man can't imagine what that corresponds to."
"Whether it's a 'dragon' or 'Guanyin,' both can be traced to tangible points in real life. For example, the former truly exists; the Zoldyck family even keeps one. The latter is an adaptation of a Buddhist saint, and clay statues can be found in the homes of believers."
"But 'sun' and 'beast'... they are easy to find separately. One rises every day, and the other is everywhere. But together, it's hard to find a single 'symbolic' point..."
"When people get old, it's understandable for their imagination to become barren." Zeno, unclear if he was mocking Netero, himself, or both, kept his gaze locked on Roy in the monitor. The boy was walking while lost in thought, clearly pondering this very problem.
Kurajing and Gotoh both noticed his unusual state and tactfully remained silent.
About an hour later, they saw a sliver of light ahead in the passage. They quickened their pace, exited the tunnel, and were greeted by the sight of a small, shimmering lake.
A small boat was docked by the lake. Gotoh and Kurajing tacitly took on the task of rowing and picked up the oars.
They looked back at Roy. The boy, still in thought, leaped and landed on the bow. The boat bobbed with the waves and headed for the opposite shore.
He kept pondering Nakajima Sachiko's words. 'It was because of the most earnest desire in her heart that she unconsciously materialized the doll.'
He gradually anchored his line of thinking on his own visualization object: the sun.
'Just like how Biscuit, yearning for youth, materialized the humanoid Nen beast "Miss Licky," and Razor, loving "volleyball," materialized the "14 Devils" team of players...'
'Nen beasts aren't without a trace; everything is driven by the "heart"...' 'So, I must ultimately return to the "sun," using it as the blueprint to materialize my own unique Nen beast.'
Roy faintly grasped something. His thoughts became clearer, and his gaze sharpened. He scanned his surroundings, noticing stone tablets lining both banks of the lake and even floating in the water, inscribed with some unknown characters.
"These are characters left behind by the ancient Mo Clan. It's said they also had a glorious civilization." Kurajing held her oar still and began to "slack off."
Gotoh glared at her, realizing he was rather helpless against her.
The girl noticed Roy's gaze and further explained, "I don't know the specifics either. If Young Master wants to know, I'll look it up in a history book when I get back and give you an answer then."
"No need,"
"We have a professional right here."
Roy suddenly turned his head toward the forest on the bank. In perfect sync, Gotoh shot a coin wrapped in Ten, grazing past his ear and striking the exact spot he was looking at!
"Young Master, it looks like a fox!"
Clang! The coin was flicked back by an extended claw, spinning until Gotoh caught it in his hand.
The young butler shot to his feet, but just as he was about to act, a milky-white Nen thread pierced the air. Faster than the "coin," it whizzed out and wrapped around one of the target's feet.
Amidst its terrified shrieks, it was yanked over, landing with a splat at Roy's feet.
"It really is a fox!" Kurajing's eyes went wide.
This fox was huge, almost as tall as two adult men. It seemed to have a pair of fleshy wings under its ribs... could it... fly?
"Owow! That hurts! Is this how you treat your guide?"
"Guide?" Gotoh frowned.
Kurajing: "..."
The fox, having crashed onto the boat, immediately scrambled up, transformed into a woman, and glared "viciously" at them. "Yes, that's me!"
As she spoke, she bared her teeth at Roy, who had "arrested" her. The "Nen thread" tied to her foot was still held in the boy's hand.
'Damn kid. He's not old, but his "Nen" is remarkably refined... He subdued me in the blink of an eye. Not to be underestimated...'
"How dare you bare your teeth at the Young Master." Gotoh's eyes widened. He turned to Roy for instructions, "Young Master, should we just kill her after all?"
'A mere magical beast thinks it can impersonate a guide just by turning human? Ridiculous!'
Kurajing frowned but said nothing. She actually felt this "fox girl" wasn't lying.
Roy retracted the "Nen thread," looking calmly at the woman. He gave the mark on her wrist a deep look, unconcerned she would run, and asked directly, "Are you Kiriko's mother, or Kiriko's daughter?"
'In the original story, the Kiriko family lived in the small wooden house under the cedar tree on the mountain, with parents and children. Since this one transformed into a woman, she is obviously female.'
The fox girl was visibly startled. Her gaze toward Roy turned wary.
Roy smiled. "I mean no harm. I'd just like to ask, what is the relationship between the mark on your body and these Mo Clan characters?"
'A lost civilization and a magical beast that seems to be a "guardian" of the ruins... Roy felt he had grasped a thread of inspiration, but it wasn't clear enough.'
The fox girl quietly retreated a step. She hadn't expected this boy to not only see through her identity at a glance but also seem to know a lot about her clan. She swallowed and said, "It's a sacrificial text for 'God.' Like the mark on my body, it's something I was born with. My father said..."
"It relates to ancestor worship of 'God'... As long as you believe in 'God' and make offerings to 'God,' 'God' will descend with oracles and bestow 'blessings'... This mark is proof of that 'blessing'..."
"'God'... 'Worship'." Roy frowned, mulling over these two words. 'In the original story... it was this very woman who told Kurapika about the marks on his body. What she said now was almost identical to what she would say in the future.'
Splash! "Young Master, she dived into the water!"
Seizing the opportunity while Roy was in thought, the woman plunged into the lake and swam quickly toward the shore...
'A cunning fox, indeed.' Gotoh moved to pursue, but Roy stopped him.
"Let her go. We'll be seeing her again soon."
'The woman was right about one thing: she is indeed a guide. Not just her, but her brother and parents too.'
"It seems she really is the guide." Kurajing caught the underlying meaning in Roy's words. When she looked up at the boy again, she was slightly stunned.
She saw that Roy was completely unbothered by the fox girl's escape. He was still chewing on the words "God" and "worship," staring blankly at the shimmering surface of the lake ahead.
'That's it. "God," "worship"... These ancient magical beasts and lost peoples all have ancestor worship, totem worship...'
'As a transmigrator + reincarnator, Roy seemed to have forgotten his "past life" in the process of gradually integrating into the Hunter x Hunter world.'
'How could he forget the "past life" that enabled him to open the "Cognitive Door" in the first place?'
'One walks in the present and looks to the future, but one cannot forget the "past."'
'In the "past life" timeline, myths and legends about the "sun" were not uncommon...'
'For example, "Kuafu Chasing the Sun"... or "The Golden Crow Pulling the Chariot"...'
'Golden Crow... Golden Crow...' Two suns ignited with a whoosh in Roy's dark pupils. The corners of his mouth lifted into a smile, his gaze hotter and brighter than ever before.
'In the sun, there is a Three-Legged Crow; in the moon, a Jade Toad... The Golden Crow drives the sun chariot. "Sun" and "divine beast"...'
"My 'Nen beast' shall be the Three-Legged Golden Crow!"
His heart was enlightened! His thoughts were clear!
BOOM! His Aura Nodes burst open all at once!
The boy, as if enlightened, unleashed his Ren, which erupted violently, forming a crimson storm with him at its center!
Before Kurajing could even understand what was happening, two giant, fiery-red hands extended, sending her and Gotoh to the opposite shore. Dazed, the two looked back... At the center of the lake...
Roy's hands were spread open, the [Scorching True Intent] flowing in his palms. He closed his eyes and began to construct the image of the "Three-Legged Golden Crow" in his mind.
Hssss...
The lake water heated up, boiled, bubbled, and evaporated...
The fiery-red Nen rampaged, and everything it touched began to smoke, ignite, burn, and melt...
The Kiriko daughter, who had just climbed out of the water and dashed into the forest, suddenly felt an intense heat on her back. She looked back, her slender fox eyes instantly widening in shock. She was so stunned she missed a step, shrieked, and tumbled down.
"It's... it's on fire?"
"What in the world is that red 'Nen'?"
Fear of the unknown assaulted her heart. The forest behind her was ignited, and the hidden cameras within, "unable to withstand the heat," let out "cries of anguish," a series of "beep-beep-beep" warning alarms!
Even through the monitor feed, one could tell... they were about to be destroyed at any second!
On the airship emblazoned with the giant "Hunter Association" logo,
one old man shot up, and the other's pupils contracted... Both stared, dumbfounded, at the boy on the screen.
They vaguely saw a pair of huge wings, overflowing with golden light and scorching heat, unfurl from the boy's back with a SWOOSH!
Immediately after, they heard a heart-shaking, resonant caw...
Like a grand bell, the sound swept in all directions... as if someone had taken a sledgehammer and struck a massive bell right next to them... DONNNNG—
Ringing ears, pounding heart, temporary deafness.
"Are you stupid? Cover your ears!"
"Are you blind? Didn't you see I already covered them?"
At Gotoh's reminder, Kurajing had already acted faster than him, covering her ears at the first instant!
At this moment, standing in a sea of fire, with the evaporating lake before them and the burning forest behind them, the two could no longer find words to describe their feelings. They just stared blankly at the center of the lake...
From the boy's back, wings of light spread, and a massive, gilded bird slowly emerged!