"Hey, hey, did any of you see anyone leave from around here?" Under the great tree, Ginta was still asking around everywhere.
This was the top floor of the Hunter Association. If someone wanted to get down from here, there were only two ways out. As long as he asked around, he would know who had walked out from where.
However, after asking all over the place, he found that there was not a single person whose movements seemed even slightly suspicious. This left Ginta extremely depressed.
In the end, only those hunters who were still unwilling to give up remained under the tree, searching carefully for quite a while before finally leaving with great reluctance.
While the outside was still noisy and chaotic, Pariston had already finished his call with Beyond.
After Pariston finished telling him everything that had happened during the committee meeting, including the replacement among the Zodiacs, Beyond also explained the plan to Pariston. Then he hung up.
Expressionless, Pariston flipped through the Dragon Ball manga on his desk. Beside it were Fist of the North Star, Gundam, and Sailor Moon.
"Judging from the commotion during this year's Hunter Exam, along with the information gathered from his usual behavior, his ability must be inseparably linked to the manga he draws."
Pariston's gaze deepened.
"If I want to target him, it looks like I'll have to start with manga. Unfortunately, it is already too late. Dragon Ball has already become too established. Sailor Moon has attracted another wave of die-hard female fans too. And even if something really happens, those people in the manga industry will definitely spare no effort to protect him, won't they? How troublesome."
Pariston looked at Roy's photo lying off to one side on the desk, a photo that was selling for more than one hundred million Jenny outside, and could not help sighing faintly.
...
On Greed Island, Ging looked at Dwun and List beside him, whose smiles did not reach their eyes, and furrowed his brows tightly.
"Hey, I'm asking you. Why did your Instant Transmission bring me to this place?!"
"What's wrong with it? This is Greed Island, the game you personally created. You should be very familiar with this place." Roy casually found somewhere to sit down and looked at Ging, clearly ready to enjoy the show.
Earlier, after Roy had opened the lid and the smell had spread out, he knew it would most likely cause a disturbance. So he directly took Ging and left that place with Instant Transmission.
However, the destination after Instant Transmission was Limeiro Castle on Greed Island.
At the time, Dwun had been playing a game, while List had been reading through some documents. Then, with a whoosh, Ging and Roy had appeared right in front of them.
The two of them froze at first.
"Roy-san? Why would you suddenly appear in..."
They had only gotten halfway through their question before they saw Ging.
The two of them immediately threw the matter of "why they had suddenly appeared here" to the back of their minds. Both of them stared straight at Ging with strange looks.
And so, the current scene came to be.
"You should still be thanking me. I didn't directly move you to Gon's side."
Like hell I should thank you! Ging frantically retorted in his heart.
Then, as he looked at Dwun and List's gazes, Ging felt his scalp go numb. After all, he had run off and left everything behind for more than ten years, and he had not contacted them at all during that time.
To be honest, if he were meeting Razor, Ging would not feel this awkward.
"Yo! Dwun, List, long time no see." Ging lightly coughed, then pretended as if he did not care about anything and greeted the two of them.
"It really has been a long time. More than ten years." Dwun's face was gloomy, and he spoke through gritted teeth.
List, meanwhile, did not say a word. His face was expressionless, but his eyes remained fixed firmly on Ging's.
...
Although the two of them had wasted more than ten years here because of Ging, the initial reason also had something to do with their own pride. On top of that, they were indeed Ging's old friends and old partners through and through.
Therefore, after a long-awaited reunion, they only complained a little, then excitedly exchanged a couple of blows, and that was the end of it.
"So, why did you specially bring me to Greed Island?"
"There was nothing special about it. I just remembered the tea Dwun warmly served me last time. Last time, they treated me. This time, it is my turn to treat all of you."
"What are you saying, Roy-sama? As your fan, it was only natural that I should host you!" Dwun waved his hands repeatedly, looking rather overwhelmed by the favor.
At this moment, Roy had already taken out his gourd.
"Dwun, bring out the cups. This is a rare treasure you would never be able to drink no matter how much you usually tried." Ging settled the matter at once. At the same time, both of his eyes stared straight at the gourd in Roy's hand, and the meaning in his gaze went without saying.
Roy glanced sideways at Ging. The latter simply stared at the gourd naturally, his face calm and casual.
This level of shamelessness was about equal to Netero's.
Dwun looked at List, then looked at Roy. Seeing the former nod slightly at him while the latter showed no reaction at all, he shrugged and got up to fetch three cups.
List, meanwhile, followed Ging's gaze and also looked toward the gourd in Roy's hand.
Ging had been wandering outside for several decades. It was no exaggeration to say that he had already tasted almost all the fine food and wine that should be enjoyed, and the treasures he had seen were countless.
Yet even so, Ging was still staring fixedly at the gourd. He had even said that this was a rare treasure one could not drink no matter how hard one tried, as if what was inside were divine nectar.
This made List extremely curious.
After Dwun returned with three small tea cups and had just set them down, Roy opened the lid once again.
This was Greed Island, so Roy did not care in the slightest what kind of impact the fragrance would cause if it spread out.
It was still that same rich wine aroma. Although Ging was smelling it for the second time, he still faintly revealed an intoxicated expression.
As for Dwun and List, this was their first time smelling such a fragrance.
"This smell... It's so fragrant!"
Just like Ging before them, both of them widened their eyes and blurted out those words. Their faces were full of surprise as they looked at the gourd in Roy's hand.
At the same time, both of their throats rolled fiercely as they swallowed a large mouthful of saliva.
"This really is the first time in my life I've ever smelled wine like this. It's wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"
(End of Chapter)
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