"Gah—"
Ging's laugh stopped abruptly. He looked at Roy with a very surprised expression, mixed with a trace of discomfort he was trying to hide.
"How do you even know that too?!"
"Is it because you're shy around strangers? Or because of some unspeakable little fetish?"
Ging: "..."
The corner of his mouth twitched. It felt like he had just taken an arrow to the forehead.
He raked a hand through his hair and said evasively, "It's not that. You know, it's just..."
"All right, let's not talk about that anymore." Roy waved a hand and cut him off.
You're obviously just shy around strangers, so why are you pretending?
Roy could very clearly see Ging let out a sigh of relief before he continued:
"So tell me, what do you think would happen if I told Gon about this directly?"
Ging nearly choked on the spot.
"And I forgot to mention this earlier, but I can use Instant Transmission. So what do you think? Should I bring Gon straight to you right now?"
Ging: "...Just say it. What exactly are you trying to do?"
"So you do understand." Roy smiled faintly. "There's just one thing I want to clear up. But the next question might be a little hurtful. Can I ask it?"
"What question? Go ahead. I'm very broad-minded," Ging replied resentfully.
"Then excuse me. I want to ask about Gon's background. Gon's mother."
"Gon's mother..."
As expected, Ging fell silent.
He struggled for a while and had just been about to refuse to answer when he saw Roy continue in a perfectly serious tone:
"When I was playing Greed Island, I found a very interesting item. Designated Slot Card No. 007: Pregnancy Stones. If you carry one of those three-kilogram stones on your person for a month, then one week later, you'll definitely become pregnant, whether you're male or female. There are male stones and female stones too. You just carry the one for the sex of the child you want to have, and then—"
As Ging listened, his lips and the corners of his eyes twitched violently. Black lines spread across his face, and his fingers trembled nonstop.
His mood had originally still been a little melancholy, but now every other feeling had been blasted clean away.
"Hey, wait a second!" Ging cut Roy off directly, his face darkening. "Don't tell me you think Gon was born by using the Pregnancy Stones..."
He simply couldn't bring himself to finish the rest.
"No, I'm just making a guess. Though that guess might be very close to the truth..."
"Close to the truth my ass!" Ging finally couldn't hold it in anymore and shouted the curse out loud. "I have never used any Greed Island item. Never!"
"Okay, got it. Don't get so worked up." Roy waved a hand, looking perfectly calm.
Ging felt suffocated, but he managed to compose himself again in an instant.
"You said you can use Instant Transmission, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then how far can your ability take you? Can you bring other people along? What kind of restrictions does it have?"
His eyes lit up immediately.
Roy glanced at him.
"I know what you really want to ask. My Instant Transmission can take as many people as I want, and it can go anywhere in this world, including the Dark Continent."
Roy's words made Ging clench his fists. In that instant, countless plans flashed through his mind.
"But even if you can go to the Dark Continent, can you?" Roy looked at him.
Ging fell silent.
He and Netero had signed an agreement: he had to obtain official authorization to go to the Dark Continent through proper channels, not by sneaking in illegally.
And to get that official authorization, he needed permission, the means, qualifications, and a contract.
Only after meeting those four conditions could Ging truly head to the Dark Continent.
But with the V5 acting the way it did, there was no way they would ever grant civilians the qualifications for the voyage. So at the moment, Ging hadn't secured a single one of them.
"Hey, Ging."
Ging withdrew his thoughts and looked at Roy, only to find Roy smiling at him.
"What is it?"
"Do you want to see something from the Dark Continent?"
Roy smiled.
A white aura like a barrier suddenly appeared around his body.
Vegito's Defensive Barrier!
This was another skill Roy had obtained recently, alongside the advanced version of Instant Transmission.
This was the super defensive barrier created by the mightiest warrior born from the Potara fusion of Son Goku and Vegito.
This defensive barrier could withstand Buu's absorption ability. Even Ultimate Gohan, whose latent power had been unlocked by Elder Kai, couldn't resist Buu's absorption.
When Piccolo-type Buu absorbed Ultimate Gohan, his power was still much lower than Gohan's, yet the absorption succeeded. But when Gohan-type Buu tried to absorb Vegito, even though he was still weaker, that absorption failed.
That alone was enough to show how powerful this barrier was. In the Hunter world, it could absolutely be called an absolute defense.
With that absolute defense, plus Instant Transmission, Roy felt that making a round trip through the Dark Continent wouldn't be a problem at all.
"I'll go to the Dark Continent and bring something back for you to see."
As he spoke, the barrier rose around him, and Roy vanished with a single Instant Transmission.
"..."
Watching Roy disappear instantly, a bead of sweat slid down the side of Ging's face, while the curve of his mouth slowly lifted upward.
"Something from the Dark Continent... What kind of thing will it be, I wonder?"
Ging murmured to himself in a low voice. Beneath his outwardly calm eyes, a deep and immense anticipation was hidden.
...
Somewhere in the remote depths far beyond the Six Continents, in one region of the Dark Continent—
The roars of beasts echoed one after another through the forest sea.
The sky here was blanketed year-round by thick layers of cloud. Even in broad daylight, it was hardly any different from night.
At a glance, nothing in this environment resembled the Six Continents in the slightest. Whether it was the soil or the plants, everything belonged to species never seen on the Six Continents.
And beneath this gloomy sky, within this eerie landscape, an uninvited guest was arriving today.
(End of Chapter)
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