Splish-splash.
The rain was heavy, pounding against the windows frequently.
The young female nurse finished tidying the utensils and headed towards the kitchen.
In the living room, Beans was buried in organizing recent work documents.
Recalling Morel's ferocious expression not long ago, Beans couldn't help but sigh softly.
Sometimes being too upright isn't good.
He had really wanted to tell Morel: Law and Ging aren't even worried themselves, so why are you so concerned?
Thinking this, he glanced at Netero sitting on the bed. This matter wasn't settled yet, also related to Netero's ambiguous attitude.
He could somewhat guess Netero's intention… like before, always wanting to create some obstacles for certain matters.
'I really hope the Chairman recovers quickly.'
Beans muttered to himself inwardly, then continued organizing documents.
His years in the Association weren't for nothing. Recently, the Association's main focus was mostly on evaluating merits for the Chimera Ant incident, but Pariston's shadow was everywhere.
He worried Pariston might start causing trouble after the rewards, forcing Netero to step down.
After a while, Beans finished organizing the documents, put them into his briefcase, then stood up.
"Chairman, I'm heading back to the Association for a bit."
Beans tucked the briefcase under his arm and came to the bedside.
Netero nodded.
After bidding farewell to Netero, Beans left the ward.
Before leaving, he habitually instructed the four Association's members responsible for security.
Time passed, and the rain also began to weaken.
By evening, fewer people were in the hospital, but some still entered intermittently.
Looking down from above the main entrance, one could see over ten different-colored umbrellas moving in the open area, then entering the hospital one after another.
A simply dressed middle-aged woman holding a black umbrella passed through the hospital gate, heading straight towards the inpatient building.
In the main hospital lobby, dozens of people sat scattered on chairs in the waiting area.
Among them, a yellow-haired youth read a book, a black snake tattoo adorned his neck.
Suddenly, he looked up towards the main entrance, his gaze passing two security guards, landing on an old man who had just entered from outside.
The old man noticed, looking towards the yellow-haired youth's location.
Their eyes met for less than a second before each looked away.
The old man headed towards the elevator. Seeing this, the yellow-haired youth stood up and walked towards the main lobby entrance.
Thus, one entered while the other exited.
Botda Hospital covered a large area with many buildings.
On the rooftop of one main building, Tonpa held an umbrella, standing at the edge, a piece of bread in his mouth.
From his position, he could see the window of Netero's ward at one o'clock direction.
"Annoying heavy rain."
Tonpa looked up at the dense rain curtain.
Using the nature of his Nen type's ability as a foundation, the effect of [Foresee the Future] could overcome the inherent difficulty of [En], extending its range very far.
However, once the ability's sustained range was covered by constantly moving objects, the ability's effectiveness would drop to its lowest.
Like this heavy rain. The dense rain curtain was like a thin blindfold over Tonpa's eyes, preventing him from using his ability freely.
This was the drawback of [Foreseeing the Future].
Though limited by the rain, Tonpa still held his post.
After all, Law had left him in charge of vigilance.
Tonpa swallowed the remaining bread in a few bites, then reached out, caught some rainwater, and put it in his mouth.
"Maybe it's time to find a wife."
Tonpa looked at the rain curtain. For some reason, a faint sense of melancholy lingered, hard to shake.
'Ah, heavy rain, how depressing you are.'
Only Tonpa was on the large rooftop, with only the sound of wind and rain in his ears.
For the next several days, until Law returned, Tonpa would stand here without sleep or rest.
For him now, this wasn't much.
"Huh?"
Tonpa suddenly frowned, an odd, neither painful nor itchy feeling arising.
Before he could think more, that odd feeling transformed into a sense of crisis.
'There's an enemy!'
Tonpa reacted extremely fast, yanking his arm, pulling the umbrella behind him.
Rip!
A white blade pierced through the umbrella, its strong force tearing it in two. Tonpa vanished from the spot.
The one who struck was an old man with a lady's cigarette in his mouth.
It was currently heavy rain, and lighting a cigarette was impossible. The old man holding it in his mouth probably used it like a toothpick.
"Tch, a tough one."
Looking at the empty rooftop edge, the old man retracted the short blade into his sleeve. Instead of stepping forward to check below, he retreated and released an En with a twenty-meter radius.
The old man was a senior assassin from the Blackstone Family with seventy years of service, named Mongma Blackstone.
He chose a different assassination path than his two companions. When he came to the rooftop, he didn't specifically use Gyo to observe Tonpa standing at the edge.
To facilitate the mission, Mongma naturally wanted to eliminate Tonpa.
Due to professional habit, even if the target was an idle, ordinary outsider, Mongma still used the technique of a lion going all out against a rabbit.
Eliminate presence, then strike from behind for a fatal blow… a textbook classic assassination!
However, the assassination he thought would 100% succeed failed.
In that instant, Mongma realized the ordinary person he intended to casually eliminate wasn't ordinary at all… even one of the few tough opponents in his assassination career worthy of the name.
The reason for such high evaluation was simple.
Tonpa dodged that strike.
Well, he's quite narcissistic.
Mongma squinted, took three more steps back, guessing Tonpa's identity.
'Though he didn't look like the target's bodyguard, if he was, then it was troublesome.'
It's equivalent to his moment of impulsiveness exposing his side's presence.
Suddenly, Tonpa jumped back onto the rooftop, staring at the plain-looking old man who had inexplicably attacked him.
He had jumped down earlier, then used structures like window ledges to shift position and come back up.
'This old guy isn't simple. I almost didn't react in time.'
Tonpa released Nen, covering his body.
After learning Nen and training in the Dark Continent for years, he developed a sharp sense for danger.
Normally, he should have noticed before the old man got close. But in fact, he only noticed the moment the old man attacked.
This indicated the other's assassination and sneak attack skills were terrifyingly strong.
The two stood in the rain, staring at each other, motionless, both guessing the other's identity.
The old man guessed if Tonpa was Netero's bodyguard.
Tonpa guessed if this old man was an assassin.
…
Ward area, men's restroom.
A tall man in a black suit entered the restroom. He was one of the four responsible for Netero's security, named Sarman.
Among the many Pro Hunters, some specialized in security and bodyguard work… their abilities tended towards protection.
Sarman was a Bodyguard Hunter, having successfully escorted clients to and from various dangerous areas multiple times, earning considerable reputation in the industry.
When nature calls. Sarman entered the restroom. Before relieving himself, he habitually checked the restroom's condition.
Confirming it was safe, he pushed open a stall, entered, lowered his pants, and began releasing intestinal pressure.
Splatter-splatter!
Pressure released, Sarman grunted lightly.
Suddenly, Sarman felt a chill on his spine and between his buttocks.
Due to the sharpness nurtured from his profession, Sarman immediately released Nen, destroying the pants lowered to his calves… to restore normal mobility.
Then, he turned sharply, looking towards the toilet while intending to crash his back against the stall door.
In his line of sight, the deodorizing pellet beside the toilet cracked, seeping pale green mist.
'Poison gas?'
Sarman judged the mist was the source of the crisis.
Simultaneously, Sarman's expression changed.
His back didn't hit the stall door because the door was suddenly pulled open.
Then, his back felt a soft touch.
'A woman's... breasts!'
Before he could think further, his body became immobile, as if drained of strength all at once.
The middle-aged woman was there, completely indifferent to the mess below Sarman's waist, pressing against his back, her face leaning forward.
Her pale, almost invisible lips pressed against the back of Sarman's neck.
Sarman seemed to have his essence sucked out by a female ghost, soon becoming an unqualified mummy.
Casually discarding the corpse, the woman muttered, "Congratulations on choosing heaven."
The green mist in the restroom, if inhaled, would cause agonizing expulsion of large amounts of blood before death.
But being kissed into a mummy by the woman meant dying without pain.
Hence the woman's 'heaven' remark.
...
Inside the ward.
Linne sat by the bedside, while Shachmono stood beside her.
Netero looked at the medicinal meal on the tray, a helpless expression on his face.
He had just eaten. Who knew Linne would visit at this time.