Compared with the Berries remaining in Kael’s backpack, the amount Gon had taken with him was insignificant.
Kael and Killua continued along the road to the right.
Not long after they left the town, the dozen or so pirates who had been lying in ambush decided that the time was right.
Their leader, a man with a scar across his face, signaled to three of his subordinates with his eyes.
The three immediately understood.
They quickly circled around, intending to block the path ahead of Kael and Killua.
It was a method they frequently used.
The best way to capture someone was to cut off their escape route first.
Once the scar-faced man saw that his three subordinates had reached the road ahead of the two boys, he stopped hiding and openly led the others out.
“Hey, brats!
Where do you think you’re going?”
Kael and Killua turned around at the sound.
Seven or eight pirates carrying swords and wearing malicious grins were closing in on them.
The scar-faced man had expected the two boys to flee the moment they saw the pirates.
To his surprise, not only did they refuse to run, but they calmly remained where they were.
Kael scratched his head and deliberately asked in confusion, “Mister, are you trying to rob us?”
The scar-faced man was slightly surprised by Kael’s complete lack of fear, but he did not think much of it.
How could two twelve- or thirteen-year-old children possibly stand against battle-hardened pirates like them?
More importantly, he was a “great pirate” with a bounty of five hundred thousand Berries.
“No, no, no.
Don’t make it sound so unpleasant.”
A sadistic amusement rose within the scar-faced man as he joked, “We only want to borrow some money from you.”
The pirates behind him cooperatively burst into laughter.
“Kael, should I kill all of them?”
Killua looked at the pirates, cold killing intent shining in his eyes.
The killing intent stabbed toward the scar-faced man like something tangible.
The mocking words that had already reached his lips instantly froze in his throat.
A chill shot from the base of his spine to the top of his head.
The surrounding air seemed to solidify.
His body began trembling uncontrollably.
A bottomless terror born from pure instinct swallowed him whole.
How can a brat be this terrifying?!
“D-Does anyone else suddenly feel cold?”
One of the pirates rubbed the goose bumps covering his arms, his voice trembling.
“C-Captain… why are you shaking?”
Another pirate felt the oppressive atmosphere but could not understand what was happening to their leader.
The scar-faced man now fully understood the enormous difference in their strength.
His voice shook so violently that his words barely came out properly.
“P-Please don’t kill us!
This was our first time!
We’ll never do it again!”
Kael smiled as he stopped him.
Hearing that, Killua casually withdrew his killing intent and looked thoroughly bored.
“Tch.
How disappointing.
I got excited for nothing.”
Kael smiled helplessly.
In the East Blue, the weakest of the seas, this was perfectly normal.
When the scar-faced man felt the bone-chilling presence disappear, he hurriedly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
His eyes remained filled with terror.
“W-We’ll turn ourselves in right now!”
With that, he turned around and attempted to leave with his subordinates.
“You think you can just walk away?”
Kael’s voice rang out behind him.
The scar-faced man stiffened.
He turned back toward Kael, his face filled with pleading.
As far as he could tell, Kael was the one who had been willing to spare them.
“Relax.
We won’t kill you,” Kael said seriously.
“But we need your help with a small task.”
“Of course!
We’ll do anything!
Absolutely anything!”
The scar-faced man did not dare refuse.
“Kael, including the three who circled around behind us, there are eleven of them.”
Killua looked puzzled.
“Do we really need to keep this many?”
“Of course we do.”
A confident light flashed through Kael’s eyes.
“We’re going to train intensively for ten days.
The more assistants we have, the more effective the training will be.”
Killua stared at the gleam in Kael’s eyes.
An ominous feeling suddenly rose within him.
When he remembered all the lumps on Gon’s head after their previous training session, that feeling became even stronger.
At that moment, the three pirates who had circled around saw their captain and companions meekly following behind two children like frightened quails.
Believing that something had gone wrong, they exchanged glances, raised their swords, and charged toward Killua.
However, the instant they drew near, Killua’s figure flickered like a ghost and vanished from sight.
A moment later, he appeared behind them.
Two of the pirates collapsed limply to the ground without even managing to groan, instantly losing consciousness.
The sight left the scar-faced man completely dumbfounded.
Only then did he finally understand why he had trembled in terror earlier.
His body had been giving him the strongest possible warning.
He immediately abandoned every thought of escaping.
“Bring them with us,” Kael instructed the scar-faced man.
Right away!”
The scar-faced man swallowed hard and hurriedly ordered his subordinates to carry the unconscious men.
The group eventually arrived at Akimine Mountain.
Kael pointed toward a section of forest and ordered the pirates, “Cut down those dozens of trees and carry them to the clearing over there.”
“Yes!
We’ll get started immediately!”
The scar-faced man was about to lead his men away when Kael’s icy voice sounded again, pouring over them like freezing water.
“Remember—do not attempt to escape.”
“If even one person disappears, everyone left behind… dies.”
The pirates stared at one another in terror.
They instantly understood what this meant.
They had become one another’s strictest guards.
“But don’t worry,” Kael continued, his tone softening.
“We won’t keep you here for long.
Just ten days.”
“After ten days, you’ll be free.”
The scar-faced man and his subordinates, whose faces had previously been filled with despair, immediately saw a glimmer of hope.
Now that they had something to look forward to, their motivation increased considerably.
They threw themselves into the work with renewed energy.
Kael watched them with a satisfied smile.
He understood perfectly well that offering a clear hope was far more effective than simple threats when it came to squeezing every last bit of potential from these human tools.
Just then, a figure appeared at the far end of the mountain path.
It was Gon.
He carried an enormous bundle several times taller than himself on his back.
Every step left a deep footprint in the ground, yet he continued steadily up the mountain.
One of the working pirates caught sight of him and stared with his mouth wide open.
That bundle must weigh at least five hundred pounds!
When Killua saw him, the corner of his mouth rose into a mischievous grin.
He moved into Gon’s blind spot, lightly jumped into the air, and landed on top of the bundle.
At first, Gon did not notice the additional weight at all.
However, as Killua’s smile widened, the weight pressing down on the bundle quietly began to increase.
The moment Gon felt the growing pressure, how could he not understand what was happening?
This had to be Killua’s doing.
Gon was not the type to admit defeat.
Without putting the bundle down, he continued walking toward their destination while carrying Killua as well.
With every step, his footprints sank deeper into the ground.
Killua himself was not particularly heavy, but whenever he pushed down with his strength, the force pressing on Gon increased continuously.
By the time Gon finally reached Kael, his face was covered in sweat and he was panting heavily.
Kael noticed that Gon had carried Killua all the way without even using Nen.
He smiled and asked:
“Gon, are you tired…?”
(End of Chapter)