Gon blinked, realizing what Killua meant. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, then focused his aura into his hands.
Shhh-wiiiing.
The moment his Nen touched the metal, the box glowed. The rusted strips binding it peeled away like dead skin, clattering onto the floor.
Killua picked up one of the strips, examining the strange glyphs etched into the metal. "This Nen... it's still active? How can aura last this long without dissipating?"
"Nen is profound," Kyle explained, watching the glow fade. "It doesn't always vanish. Sometimes, strong emotions or specific covenants can make Nen persist even after the user dies. In some cases, death makes the Nen even stronger."
"Post-mortem Nen..." Killua muttered, looking at his own hands with renewed fascination. The depth of this power system was endless.
"Gon, look inside," Kyle urged.
Gon opened the box. Inside lay three items: a ring with a strange gemstone, a memory card, and a cassette tape.
"What are these?" Gon picked them up, confused. He recognized the tape, at least. He grabbed a radio player from his shelf and slotted it in.
Click.
A voice crackled through the speakers—rough, casual, and impossibly familiar.
"Yo. Gon. So you became a Hunter, huh?"
Gon stiffened.
That voice. That's him.
"I have a question for you. Do you want to see me?"
"If you do, keep listening. If you don't, press stop now."
"But ask yourself: do you have the resolve? Hunters are selfish creatures. We sacrifice everything for our desires. If you just 'kind of' want to see me, don't bother."
"I'll give you a minute."
Silence stretched in the room. Gon didn't move. He stared at the radio with unblinking intensity, his answer already written in his soul.
Kyle leaned back, shaking his head. Ging Freecss. The man who abandoned his son to chase ruins. A pure Hunter, through and through.
The voice returned.
"Ah, so you really want to see me?"
"Well, too bad. I don't want to see you. Honestly, I wouldn't know what face to make. I'm a lousy father who prioritized his own fun over raising you."
"It's shameful, really."
"By the time you hear this, ten years will have passed. But one thing hasn't changed: I'm still out there, doing whatever I want."
"I'm probably doing something stupid right now. If you still want to see me, come find me."
"But be warned: if I hear you coming, I'll run. Catch me if you can. You're a Hunter, aren't you?"
Gon's fists clenched, his eyes shining. Killua grinned, feeling the excitement radiate off his friend. "He sounds like a real piece of work. Not exactly someone you can catch with normal methods."
"The harder the hunt, the greater the reward," Kyle noted.
"Yeah," Gon nodded firmly.
Killua reached for the player. "Looks like it's over."
"Wait," Gon stopped him. "He's not done."
As if on cue, Ging's voice cut back in.
"Oh, right. Forgot one thing. About your mother. If you want to know, keep listening..."
Kyle watched Gon closely. This was one of the series' biggest mysteries. Who was she?
Gon's hand hovered over the button.
Click.
He pressed stop.
"Is that okay?" Killua asked, surprised.
"Yeah," Gon said, his voice steady. "My mother is Aunt Mito."
"What if there was a clue in there?"
"It doesn't matter," Gon smiled. "I don't need to know."
Killua shrugged. "If you say so." He reached to eject the tape.
Suddenly, the radio began to hum. A violent surge of aura erupted from the cassette deck. The tape started spinning on its own, faster and faster.
"What the—?!" Killua tried to smash the player to stop it, but his fist bounced off an invisible barrier of aura.
"It's useless," Kyle warned. "That's a programmed Nen instruction. It's set to self-destruct if stopped. It won't stop until the evidence is erased."
"He really doesn't leave any tracks," Killua muttered, watching as the tape unspooled and snapped, erasing the recording forever.
Kyle turned his attention to the other items. "Do you know what these are?"
Gon shook his head.
"This is a memory card for a console called the Joystation. And specifically, for a game called Greed Island."
"Greed Island? A game?" Gon and Killua echoed.
"It's a legendary game for Hunters," Kyle explained. "It requires Nen to play. You enter the game with your physical body. And if you clear it, you can bring three items back to the real world."
"If I had to guess... Ging made this game. And he made it for you to train in."
"For me?" Gon looked at the ring in shock.
"It fits his style," Kyle mused. "He foresaw your growth, your path, everything. Sometimes I wonder if his ability is related to manipulating fate."
Kyle stood up, walking to the window. He looked at the moon hanging over Whale Island.
"Gon, Killua. Listen."
"We have roughly 45 days until September 1st. The auction in Yorknew City."
"It takes a day to get there. That leaves us about 44 days."
Kyle turned back, his expression deadly serious.
"Kurapika is going there to hunt the Phantom Troupe. The Spiders."
"They are monsters. A group of A-Class bounties who kill without blinking. If my prediction is right, Kurapika is going to clash with them."
"If we want to help him—if we want to survive standing next to him—we need to be stronger. Much stronger."
"We need to go back to the One Piece world. We have 44 days to turn ourselves into weapons."