Only after hearing Killua’s words did Gon realize what he had overlooked.
He smiled awkwardly, scratched his head, and took the metal box from Killua before channeling Nen into it.
The instant the box came into contact with his aura, it emitted a dazzling light.
The metal strips wrapped around it began detaching on their own and fell to the floor.
Killua picked up one of the strips and examined the incomprehensible patterns carved across its surface.
“Nen can remain active for this long without dissipating?”
Kael smiled and explained, “Nen doesn’t always disappear when its user dies.”
“Sometimes, death can make it even stronger.”
“Powerful Nen can remain forever if it isn’t exorcised.
It may even grow stronger with the passage of time.”
After hearing Kael’s explanation, Killua examined his own aura.
His desire to explore the possibilities of Nen became even stronger.
“Gon, hurry up and see what Ging left you.”
Gon was still processing what Kael had said.
Only after Kael reminded him did he look down at the box in his hands and open it.
The contents were simple.
There was a ring, a cassette tape, and a game memory card for Greed Island.
Gon examined the three objects.
He had no idea what two of them were, but he recognized the cassette tape.
He immediately found a cassette player and inserted it.
Before long, the voice of Gon’s father emerged from the speakers.
“Yo, Gon.
So you really became a Hunter.”
The moment Gon heard Ging’s deep, magnetic voice, his expression became solemn.
So this is my father’s voice.
“Let me ask you something.”
“Do you want to meet me?”
“If you do, keep listening.
If you don’t, press the stop button.”
.
.
.
“So you want to meet me?”
“Then let me ask you another question.
Are you truly prepared for that?”
“Hunters are selfish people.
They can abandon everything in pursuit of their own desires.”
“If all you want is to meet me once, then you should stop listening now.”
“I’ll give you one minute to think about it.”
Gon did not waver in the slightest.
He stared fixedly at the cassette player, wanting only to hear what came next.
Listening to Ging’s words, Kael could only conclude that Ging was a Hunter in the purest sense.
He had done what countless people wished they could do but never dared to attempt.
“So you really want to meet me that badly?”
“But I don’t particularly want to meet you.”
“I wouldn’t know what expression to wear if I stood before you.” This story is hosted at g.com.
“No matter how I try to justify it, I abandoned my responsibility as a father for my own sake.”
“That really is pathetic.”
“At least ten years must have passed between the time I recorded this tape and the moment you’re listening to it.”
“But some things never change.”
“I’m still out there doing what I believe I should be doing.”
“By the time you hear this, I’m probably somewhere doing something ridiculous.”
“If you still want to meet me after hearing all this, then come and find me.”
“But like I said, I don’t want to meet you.”
“If I learn that you’re getting close, I’ll run away.”
“Come chase me.”
“You’re a Hunter, aren’t you?”
After hearing the recording, Gon became visibly excited.
Even Killua felt his blood beginning to race.
He smiled at Gon.
“It looks like ordinary methods won’t work on your father.”
Kael rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“The more difficult a Hunter’s prey is to capture, the greater the accomplishment.”
“Yeah.”
Gon nodded firmly in agreement.
Killua assumed the recording had ended and reached for the stop button.
However, Gon instinctively sensed something and immediately stopped him.
“Ging hasn’t finished speaking yet.”
The moment he said that, Ging’s voice emerged from the cassette player once more.
“Ah, there’s one more thing I forgot.”
“It concerns your mother.”
“If you want to hear about her, keep listening…”
Kael turned toward Gon.
He genuinely wanted to know who Gon’s mother was.
After all, even in his previous life, her identity had never been revealed.
However, when he saw Gon’s hand moving toward the stop button, he did not interfere.
Gon pressed it.
Killua was not surprised.
Gon had already explained his feelings earlier.
Even so, Killua looked at him and asked, “Are you sure about this?”
Gon nodded seriously.
“Yeah.”
“What if he was about to give you an important clue?”
“I don’t think there was one.”
“And even if there was, it doesn’t matter.”
“I already told you.
Aunt Mito is my mother.”
Hearing that, Killua could only nod.
He reached for the cassette to remove it.
The instant his hand touched the player, however, a powerful current of aura surged through the device.
The cassette began spinning by itself. This chapter was copied from novelping.com without permission.
Realizing something was wrong, Killua immediately tried to smash the player with his fist.
To his surprise, his punch had no effect whatsoever.
Kael smiled when he saw this.
“It’s useless.”
“This is probably a condition-based Nen ability.
Once the conditions for activation and destruction are fulfilled, the cassette will erase itself.”
“Until the process is complete, you won’t be able to stop it.”
“It’s an effective method of ensuring that no evidence is left behind.”
After hearing Kael’s explanation, Killua abandoned his plan to strike it a few more times.
The three of them could only watch as the cassette erased its own contents.
Kael stopped paying attention to the tape and turned toward Gon.
“Do you know what these other two objects are?”
Gon shook his head.
“No.”
“One is a game memory card for a game called Greed Island.”
“The ring is an item used inside the game.”
“Greed Island?
A game?”
Gon and Killua both sounded surprised.
“That’s right.
It’s a game that appeared many years ago.”
“From what I know, only Nen users can enter it.”
“Anyone who clears the game is allowed to bring three items from inside back into the real world.”
“If I’m not mistaken, Ging was one of the game’s creators.”
“There’s also a strong possibility that the game was created specifically for you.”
“It was created for me?”
Gon stared at him in shock.
“Yeah.
From what we’ve seen, it almost seems as though Ging planned every stage of your journey in advance.”
Kael did not know what Ging’s Nen ability was.
However, judging from certain details, it was possible that his ability had some connection to fate.
Otherwise, why had Ging been so certain that Gon would recover when he stood at death’s door?
How had he arranged Gon’s path so perfectly?
Only an ability capable of perceiving or manipulating fate seemed able to accomplish something like that.
“Gon, there are still one month and fifteen days before our appointment with Kurapika and Leorio.”
“Traveling from here to Yorknew City will take approximately one day.”
“That means we can remain in the world of One Piece for roughly one month and fourteen days.”
“Kurapika’s enemies are a group of merciless killers known as the Phantom Troupe.”
“Every member of the group is a powerful monster.”
“If my prediction is correct, Kurapika is certain to encounter them when he travels to Yorknew City.”
“If we want to help him, we need to use this time to greatly increase our strength.”
“At the very least, we must become strong enough to fight them.”
(End of Chapter)