According to Netero, creatures from the Dark Continent did have a chance of appearing within Lake Mobius.
That made some of the ideas that had just surfaced in Ronin's mind vanish again.
What he had been thinking was this: if creatures from the Dark Continent had a hard time appearing within Lake Mobius, then could the Chimera Ants' appearance have been caused by someone deliberately bringing them into the lake's region?
If so, had the Ancestors brought them in on purpose, or had the Gatekeepers deliberately allowed them through?
And if the Dark Gate really was something like a one-way passage, then as long as the Gatekeepers didn't do anything stupid, wouldn't humanity be best off simply hiding inside Lake Mobius?
If they wanted to understand the outside world, they could send a group of people to the Dark Continent, confirm whether it was safe, and then bring the adventurers back.
That might not be perfectly foolproof, but it would definitely be better than acting according to the Gatekeepers' whims.
But Ronin also knew he was being fanciful.
If V5 really could shake off the Gatekeepers and act on their own, then the Gatekeepers would have ceased to exist long ago. After all, even the discoveries humanity had made on the very edge of the Dark Continent were enough to make V5 take reckless risks.
Thinking about it that way, Ronin could somewhat understand the Gatekeepers' approach.
Exploration was allowed.
But if you couldn't achieve anything from it, then you had to pay the price.
There was no such thing as exploration driven purely by greed without consequences.
Netero told Ronin quite a lot about the Dark Continent, and Ronin listened seriously.
Judging by the way things were going, that earlier battle really had satisfied Netero. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have revealed this much to him.
But Netero's description of the Dark Continent could mostly be summed up in a single word:
"Big."
"Enormous. No matter what it is, everything there is enormous. Humans are far too small in that place. That isn't what I seek." Netero brought the conversation back to Ronin. "What I pursue is the pinnacle of martial arts. So, will you challenge me again?"
"I will," Ronin said firmly.
What he pursued might not be some so-called pinnacle, but he enjoyed the process of battle. Even more than that, he loved the feeling of dancing on the edge of a blade.
So yes, he would challenge Netero again.
Just not in the short term.
He needed to improve himself. Whether in terms of Nen or ninjutsu, he needed to become stronger.
Only by tempering himself further would he have a chance of catching up to Netero.
And when that time came, he hoped the one getting slapped away would no longer be him—
but Netero.
When Netero heard that answer, the most sincere smile bloomed across his face.
"Do you know how Beyond plans to deal with you?" Before leaving, Ronin still couldn't help asking.
"I don't want to know," Netero answered very simply.
In his eyes, however, Ronin saw anticipation.
Ronin opened his mouth, but in the end, he still didn't take it upon himself to say his own guess.
But in his heart, he had already made up his mind.
If the Chimera Ants really did appear in NGL, then he would be the first to discover them—and he would respond with violence.
He was curious about just how strong the Ant King would be. He was curious whether, without an explosion like Gon's, Pitou really couldn't be defeated. He was curious how absurdly powerful the reborn Meruem would become after absorbing Youpi and Shaiapouf.
But compared to the hundreds of thousands of people who would be violently slaughtered because of the Chimera Ants, all of that was far too light.
So if he had the chance, Ronin would absolutely strangle the Chimera Ants in the cradle.
After leaving Netero's room, Ronin returned to the suite Beans had arranged for him.
This airship, which belonged to the Association, was extremely luxurious and spacious.
While Ronin and Netero had been discussing the Dark Continent, it had already left Trick Tower and was flying toward another nearby rest stop.
Trick Tower was not the final destination of this Hunter Exam. There were still other tests to follow, and the airship served as transportation for the examinees.
Ronin contacted Kurapika and began explaining the details of the Dark Continent to him. Whether they needed to recruit people or go with only their current group, this was something that had to be discussed.
"The ship is going to be a problem," Kurapika said after evaluating the overall information.
"I haven't gotten the map yet. Chairman Netero said he'll organize it within the next two days and have Beans hand it over to me," Ronin said.
Without a nautical chart, reaching the New Continent across the vast sea would already be a problem, let alone reaching the Dark Gate where the Gatekeepers were located.
"All right. Things on my side are almost wrapped up too. Later, I'll come find you together with Pairo," Kurapika said.
Ronin thought for a moment, then carefully chose his words before asking, "How is it?"
"It's fine. Chrollo didn't do much damage to the clan grounds. He only left behind some arrangements, but I've already dealt with them," Kurapika said, his tone a little low.
"All right." Ronin didn't know what else he could say.
"Ronin-nii," Kurapika called out just as Ronin was about to hang up. "Pairo is ready."
"What?" For a moment, Ronin didn't understand what Kurapika meant.
Kurapika took a deep breath. "Pairo has accepted death. He believes he shouldn't remain in the real world for too long. So the next time we meet, he will leave. And when that time comes, his eyes will be yours."
"Okay," Ronin answered.
Pairo's thinking wasn't wrong.
The dead were the dead.
Even if he had appeared in the world of the living through some cheating method, it still wasn't true resurrection.
So it was time for dust to return to dust, and earth to return to earth.
"I'll see the road ahead clearly for him," Ronin promised.
No matter what, the Kurta Clan was a clan that had shown him kindness. So he didn't mind making a promise within the limits of what he could do.
"Thank you."
This time, it was not Kurapika repeating the words.
The voice that came through the receiver belonged to Pairo, gentle and soft.
The call ended, and Ronin sat there for a long while.
Netero worked quite efficiently. The next morning, Beans brought Ronin a map.
The map was simple. It only marked out a single route.
And that route led straight to where the Gatekeepers were.
Now that he had gotten what he wanted, Ronin had no intention of lingering any longer. He directly took his people and left the Association's airship.
But Ronin knew very well that news of his presence here would definitely reach Pariston's ears.
And if Pariston knew, that meant Beyond would know too.
He just didn't know what form the information would take by the time it reached them.
As for the ship issue Kurapika had mentioned, Ronin had also thought of a solution:
prepare multiple ships.
After all, there were two people in his team who possessed spatial-type abilities.
Whether it was Owl's Fun Fun Cloth or Shizuku's Blinky, both could prove extremely useful in the operation ahead.
And with Neon's fortune-telling in advance, Ronin could also choose a safer time to set out.
~~~
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