As night fell.
The evening in Antokiba was quiet, which also ant there wasn't much excitent.
The main feature of this place was prize and many people in need of money would co here to take on these prize. The tasks here were varied, covering all sorts of things.
Akira even spotted a poster of the infamous Togashi, likely placed as an Easter egg.
Since their encounter with Bisky during the day, the three of them had been exploring Antokiba together. Bisky had arrived a day earlier, so she was a bit more familiar with the place.
Compared to other cities, Antokiba was smaller and aside from its focus on prize, it didn't have many other distinguishing features.
So Akira and nchi planned to head to the next city tomorrow.
As for Bisky, she still needed to search for the whereabouts of the [Blue Planet], so she didn't plan to travel with the two.
She also didn't want to be a third wheel!
Seeing this as a rare opportunity, nchi brought up a long-standing wish of hers—to experience Bisky Nen.
"Are you ready?"
Looking at nchi lying flat on the bed, Bisky asked again.
nchi nodded slightly, signaling that she was ready to begin.
Seeing this, Bisky activated her Nen—Miss Cookie.
As pure pink Aura erged from Bisky body, it gradually coalesced into a humanoid form.
Akira also stayed by nchi side, ready to once again experience the refreshing sensation from his mories. This was also Bisky suggestion—since she was going to use her Nen anyway, there wasn't much difference between one or two people.
So they decided to do it together.
Miss Cookie stood by the bed, and waves of peach-scented breath began to emanate from her pale hands. Gradually, it enveloped Akira and nchi, as if they were imrsed in a top-tier hot spring.
It could wash away fatigue in an instant. One of Miss Cookie abilities—Pink Breath.
At the sa ti, Bisky also had Miss Cookie apply an additional effect on nchi. It was a lotion that could whiten the skin.
The lotion gently covered nchi face and in an instant, a cool sensation spread from her face to her brain. nchi already fair and delicate complexion beca even more radiant.
*****
The next morning, Akira and nchi bid farewell to Bisky.
"We'll be off now. If anything cos up, you can contact us through [Contact]."
With that, a majestic Arcanine appeared in front of Akira and the two of them effortlessly climbed onto its back.
"Have a great trip."
Bisky waved goodbye to the two, feeling no sense of loss.
Although Akira was the only person she knew here, eting in the ga was too easy.
All it took was a [Magnetic force] to fly to a player she had t in the ga.
Whenever she wanted to see him, it was just a matter of using a [Magnetic force].
Quietly watching the figures of the two and the dog disappear into the distance, Bisky sighed softly.
'I'm already several steps behind them'
'Forget it, I won't dwell on this'
'I need to focus on finding the gem'
What Bisky didn't know was that her good friend Pyon was currently involved in matters related to Akira.
*****
In a conference room sowhere within the Hunter Association, a significant eting was about to take place, the largest in recent tis. The agenda of this eting was to discuss whether to promote a hunter to the three-star level.
There were only a handful of three-star hunters across the entire six continents, making this a major event.
Naturally, it required the presence of the Hunter Association Chairman—Netero—along with the Twelve Zodiacs, who were already high-ranking officials within the Hunter Association, to deliberate.
Chairs were arranged around a rectangular conference table, most of which were already occupied.
"Seriously! Did that guy Ging not show up again?!"
Kanzai, dressed like a tiger with yellow and black striped hair angrily exclaid.
Kanzai had a fiery temper and would often erupt in anger at the slightest provocation.
He particularly despised people like Ging, who were free-spirited and disregarded rules.
On the other side, an empty seat was conspicuously occupied by a panda plushie, with a note stuck on its head that read "Ging."
In the high-level etings of the Hunter Association, Ging was absent nine out of ten tis and always replaced by a small panda plushie.
It wasn't just the Hunter Association etings, Ging was generally averse to trouble and preferred to stay out of most matters. Especially for etings, which he found to be overly formalistic and utterly boring, he had the least interest.
In the original story, it was only out of respect for Chairman Netero that Ging attended the eting to discuss the election of a new chairman.
"Co on, Kanzai, you know how Ging is" Ginta, the Sheep of the Zodiac, who always looked like a good-natured person, spoke softly.
His tone was completely at odds with his robust physique. Ginta was not only the largest among the Twelve Zodiacs but also the most emotional.
He was so sad by Chairman Netero passing during the election eting that he even cried in public.
"By the way, why is this eting so sudden? It feels like we were called together out of nowhere" Cluck, the Chicken of the Zodiac, dressed like a birdman with feathers all over, expressed slight dissatisfaction.
Cluck was a dancer and musician and her outfit, resembling a swimsuit with an Indian headdress, was her signature style.
Among the Twelve Zodiacs, Cluck is quite similar in temperant with kanzai—both are rather hot-headed.
"It seems to be related to that Akira who has recently gained a lot of fa" said Botobai Gigante, his face painted with thick makeup and his hair styled in a peculiar manner, speaking in a deep voice.
As one of the strongest mbers of the Twelve Zodiacs, every move Botobai made exuded a sense of pressure. Especially his stern, rigid expression—anyone facing him felt like a criminal on trial.
Botobai, a Three-Star Terrorist Hunter, is one of the rare Three-Star Hunters across the six continents. He is also known as the man closest to Chairman Netero in both reputation and strength.
When Akira na was ntioned, Botobai glanced at Pyon, the Rabbit, who was playing with her phone nearby.
Ever since the incident at the Moros ruins, he had been keeping an eye on Akira.
Therefore, compared to Kanzai, Cluck and others, Botobai had a deeper understanding of Akira.
He was well aware of Akira every move and precisely because of this, Botobai curiosity about Akira grew stronger.
Akira, just like his title in the Heaven's Arena, is a "Legend." The abilities he possesses and the things he has done—any one of them would be enough to drive others wild with excitent.
Yet, all of these were concentrated in Akira alone.
Unaware that Botobai was deep in thought beside her, Pyon idly played with her phone, her mind also wandering to Akira.
Naturally, she supported Akira, but her support alone wasn't enough. She needed to think of a way to persuade the others.
"Creak~"
As a slightly sharp sound of the door opening echoed, a person many mbers didn't want to see appeared.
"Good morning, everyone. I'm truly sorry, it seems I'm a bit late" Pariston, with a sunny smile pushed the door open and walked in slowly.
With his golden hair and handso face, Pariston sunny deanor had earned him quite a few fans.
As the Vice-Chairman of the Hunter Association, Pariston even had his own personal guard. His words reflected his politeness, always apologizing sincerely for things like being late.
However, this very person was despised by the other mbers of the Twelve Zodiacs.
This was mainly due to his true nature, which was quite different from his outwardly sunny and cheerful persona.
In reality, he was a "pervert" who enjoyed manipulating others.
He possessed exceptional negotiation skills and strategies to toy with people at will. He had once openly stated "I only feel happy when I'm hated by others."
In a way, Chairman Netero had placed him in this position to add so amusent to his own life.
This was sothing Pariston also enjoyed.
The two shared this common interest.
After Chairman Netero death, Pariston completely lost interest in the Hunter Association.
It's worth noting that, like Botobai, Pariston is also one of the rare Three-Star Hunters.
"You! What's the point of apologizing? It'd be best if you didn't co at all!" The hot-tempered Kanzai imdiately lashed out at Pariston.
Among the Twelve Zodiacs, the only two people he couldn't stand were Ging and Pariston.
Since Ging wasn't present, scolding him was pointless. So, he vented his anger on Pariston instead.
Surprisingly, Ginta, who would usually speak up for Ging and tell Kanzai to stop, remained silent this ti.
As for the others, they certainly wouldn't speak up for Pariston either. From this, it's clear just how much Pariston is disliked among the Twelve Zodiacs.
The Twelve Zodiacs were all drawn together by the charisma of Chairman Netero.
These individuals, who are utterly devoted to Chairman Netero, went so far as to change their nas and even their appearances to match their code nas.
They hold Chairman Netero in the highest regard. Therefore, they naturally dislike Pariston, who often opposes Chairman Netero.
Pariston expression remained unchanged, still wearing a sunny smile, though to others, it seed insincere.
A glint of amusent flashed in his deep eyes, as if he was already thinking about how to better entertain himself later.
"Has the Chairman not arrived yet?" Glancing past Pariston, who seed lost in thought, Mizaistom turned to ask the bean-faced man beside him.
"The Chairman should be arriving soon."
The cute-looking bean-faced man, serving as the secretary, usually takes on the role of a listener during etings, responsible for recording the proceedings.
"Hohohoho, sorry to keep you all waiting. Let's begin the eting now."
With a burst of laughter, the long-awaited Chairman Netero finally entered the eting room. Netero took a seat next to Pariston and had the beans introduce the main subject of the eting—Akira.
"The main agenda of this eting is to evaluate whether Akira should be appointed as a Three-Star Hunter."
"Here are the achievents and contributions Akira has made so far..."
As the beans recounted each point, the expressions of the Twelve Zodiacs shifted from surprise to disbelief.
"That's roughly the gist of it."
When the beans finished speaking, the room fell into a silence so profound you could hear a pin drop.
"Is this for real? How could one person accomplish so much?!"
The proud Cluck couldn't believe it and imdiately voiced her skepticism.
"It's true. I was even involved in a few of those events myself."
Pyon furrowed her brows slightly, her cherry lips parting as she spoke up in Akira defense.
Cluck pursed her lips and said nothing more, though it was clear she still had her doubts.
"Since the information was gathered by the Association, its accuracy should be reliable."
The upright Mizaistom spoke in a deep voice.
Though he too was shocked by these achievents, he reminded himself that the Association information was rarely wrong.
It seed these things were indeed true.
'Akira, huh...'
Pariston smile grew even brighter, as if he had thought of sothing amusing.
Such a formidable existence—perhaps he should tread carefully, or else he might end up dead if he went too far?
As the Vice-Chairman, Pariston knew more than the other Twelve Zodiacs and had also been keeping an eye on Akira. He was even aware of more secretive matters, such as Akira defeating Chairman Netero.
After a while, once everyone had fully grasped the extent of Akira accomplishnts, Netero stroked his beard and formally announced.
"Then let's begin the vote. Those who do not support Akira promotion to Three-Star Hunter, please raise your hands."
The Twelve Zodiacs exchanged glances and in the end, only Pariston raised his hand.
"Would you care to explain your reasoning?"
Netero glanced at Pariston, his tone unchanged as he asked.
"Mr. Akira achievents are undoubtedly sufficient—even I feel inferior in comparison."
"But... Mr. Akira hasn't even been with the Hunter Association for a full year since he joined, right?"
"Promoting soone to a Three-Star Hunter so quickly, isn't that a bit biased?"
Pariston spoke with logical precision and it must be said that his statents always left the other Zodiacs struggling to refute him.
Usually, the one who could stand up to Pariston was Cheadle, the Dog of the Zodiac, who was known for her wisdom.
But before Cheadle could speak, Gel the Snake of the Zodiac, who was sitting beside her, spoke up first.
Her snake-like eyes were fixed on Pariston, filled with dissatisfaction towards him.
"The achievents Akira has made not only et the requirents for a Three-Star Hunter, they far exceed them!"
"Under these circumstances, how can you still talk about not having been with the Association long enough?"
"I think you're just looking for trouble!"
Gel tone was icy and paired with her snake-like eyes, it sent chills down one spine.
In the original story, she had always looked down on Pariston and had even used her Nen to try and take him down.
As Gel cold voice echoed, dark Aura surged from her body, transforming into snakes that writhed and bared their fangs beside her.
It seed as if she would command the snakes to attack at any mont!
Pariston breath hitched and then the corners of his mouth curled into an even more unsettling smile.
It was as if he was provoking Gel.
Seeing the tension in the room escalate, everyone attention was focused on the two of them.
Cheadle, the Dog Zodiac, furrowed her brows, pushed her round glasses up and her mind raced.
She was analyzing Pariston deeper motives. The direction of the eting was gradually being controlled by Pariston.
"Ahem!"
Netero voice acted like a pause button and as his cough, which carried a hint of a warning sounded, Gel also retracted the Aura she had released.
The eting room returned to its previous calm, as if the tense atmosphere had never existed.
Pyon, dressed in a rabbit outfit, looked thoughtfully at Gel a hint of suspicion flashing in her eyes.
In the eyes of the other Zodiacs, Gel had beco angry because Pariston was obstructing Chairman Netero intentions. But in Pyon view, Gel actions were likely related to the subject of this eting—Akira.
Did she like Akira?
Pyon couldn't quite explain why she felt this way, perhaps it was a woman intuition?
Or maybe she was just overthinking it.
But she truly felt that Gel reaction wasn't solely out of respect for Chairman Netero. It was most likely related to Akira.
Had the two of them known each other before?
Pyon inexplicably felt a sense of tension.
Pyon thoughts were half correct, Gel reaction was indeed related to Akira. But it wasn't to the point of liking him, as the two were just friends who had t at the Gourt Hunter Paradise.
It was more about standing up for a comrade and being unable to tolerate Pariston disgusting behavior.
That's why she couldn't hold back her temper.
------------------------------
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