Of course, Law remembered that unlucky crow from the dense fog forest.
At that time, Tonpa not only nearly doubted his life from diarrhea but also got smeared all over with feces… probably a psychological shadow that would never leave him for the rest of his life.
Law turned around to look at Kuro. He could pretty much guess the motive behind Kuro suddenly bringing up the unlucky crow and couldn't help but sink into thought.
Compared to most of the strange existences in the Dark Continent, the peculiarity of the unlucky crow lay in its method of formation.
Nen that grows stronger through death, thus remaining in the world as a Nen Beast after the Nen User's death. Like the Surprise Box, it gradually transforms into 'something that actually exists'.
If the unlucky crow hadn't provoked them back then, he wouldn't have used the White Smoke Font to absorb it.
If the unlucky crow had been a bit luckier, it would have transformed from [Post-Mortem Nen Beast] into a true living creature.
Law had once used this as a starting point to ponder the origins of the Dark Continent's ecosystem.
There might be a possibility: those strange existences with unique abilities, those enormous creatures... might all have transformed from Nen Beasts.
In other words, the strange existences might originate from humans' imaginative and boundless ideas.
However, this speculation lacked concrete evidence, and Law just thought about it.
But, deep down, he was quite confident in his speculation.
Especially after pondering the issue of grudges, obsessions, and souls yesterday. If the upper limit of Nen Abilities was so high, what wasn't possible?
There were also quite a few Nen Beasts carrying special abilities. If they remained due to chance encounters, it wouldn't be strange for them to be regarded as disasters.
Meruem's obsession was so profound. If the influence was too deep, with Law's capabilities, it wouldn't be impossible to conjure it in the form of a Nen Beast.
That would be an alternative method of revival. Moreover, since the obsession itself already existed, the difficulty of conjuration wouldn't be high.
However, if factors like 'combat strength' were injected into it, the difficulty of conjuration would rise exponentially, accompanied by corresponding conditions.
The reason Kuro brought up that unlucky crow was to get Law to approach it from this angle.
Materialize Meruem, fulfill the obsession, then say goodbye… as simple as could be.
It's just that this method was a bit cruel to Meruem and Komugi.
"If you thought of it, just give it a try."
Kuro tossed out a sentence before leaving the place.
Law calmly watched it leave, never responding.
After a Nen User dies, there's a chance for the Nen Beast to remain.
Kuro had always wanted independence, but even knowing this, it never thought of crossing that line.
Because of probability.
Gambling with its life was something Kuro would never do.
Moreover, when on the Dark Continent, Law and Kuro had made a pact.
As long as Law prevented the other Nen Beast currently gestating within the book from being born, Kuro would obediently and honestly cooperate with anything.
Considering Kuro's practicality at the time, Law agreed to this pact.
Watching Kuro leave, Law headed towards the Gungi room.
Entering the room, he saw Komugi sitting quietly before the board, waiting.
"Supreme Commander, you've come."
Sensing the sound very keenly, Komugi, with a bit less restraint, proactively greeted Law.
Law said nothing, coming to sit before the board.
Regarding Kuro's suggestion, Law didn't want to do that.
With the aid of obsession, materializing Meruem wouldn't be difficult, but it would also be the act of someone with too much free time on their hands.
To obtain an unknown amount of numerical value, there was no need to go that far.
"Let's play," Law said.
Ultimately, after a hundred games, regardless of the outcome, Law would leave.
"Yes!"
Komugi responded loudly.
As for the matter of eating, she didn't mention a word.
The two soon began the game.
One game after another, almost without pause.
Without a doubt, Law lost every game, though his Gungi skills improved as a result.
"Enjoying yourself?"
Law glanced sideways at Meruem standing beside him… an existence only he could see.
Of course, the Meruem Komugi saw was a projection overlaid based on Law.
"It seems, with just a hundred games, you won't be satisfied."
Law silently thought, then placed a piece.
"Anyway... I've already given you fair warning. You don't have the right to choose."
After a while, the game ended, still a victory for Komugi.
No matter how much his Gungi skills improved, compared to Komugi, there was always a gap.
Before Kuro returned, they quickly finished five games.
Law, the one playing, couldn't help but think about a question.
How could he defeat Komugi, even if just for one game?
This line of thought ended quickly.
Can't win.
If there was a god of Gungi, it would be Komugi.
Thinking this, Law felt somewhat resigned, but he wouldn't take back his words. There were still about seventy games left.
An hour passed, and Kuro returned with some food.
It had scavenged it from Peijing City.
"There's another human in the palace," Kuro said.
"Oh?" Law was somewhat surprised.
"How to handle it?" Kuro asked.
Law thought for a moment, then said, "I leave it entirely to you."
This dialogue wasn't hidden from Komugi, and she didn't pay attention to these matters.
What she cared about was only the ongoing Gungi game.
Receiving Law's order, Kuro immediately left the Gungi room, heading towards the location of that human.
After several rounds of interrogation, it turned out this human was the person in charge of an intelligence organization.
Deeming its usefulness zero, Kuro decisively eliminated it, then found quite a bit of food from the intelligence coordination base.
It had an internal struggle for a while before the food, but to avoid going out to find food again, it made a difficult decision.
It ate most of the food, leaving a portion for Law and Komugi.
Time passed bit by bit, the heavy rain gradually subsiding.
Machi and the others had already left the Mitene Union, heading towards the Yorbian Continent to hunt down the Chimera Ants that had escaped the encirclement.
This action was essentially cleaning up after the Hunter Association contractors who came to execute the mission.
But discussing this point was meaningless now, because the encirclement being breached meant the contractors responsible for the defense lines were already dead.
Currently, a small number of Chimera Ants remained within the Mitene Union.
Among them was the horned man, Harrison.
And there were also a few Hunters who hadn't left the Mito Federation.
Gon, Killua, and Illumi, who wanted to get his heart back from Law.
Of course, Illumi was still very diligent in carrying out his mission.
During the time the Chimera Ant Extermination Team dealt with the Royal Guards and the Ant King, he also took down about fifty Chimera Ants, including one Squadron Leader.
Yesterday, he received a reply from Law, so he continued loitering in the Mitene Union, waiting for Law's arrival.
Although no specific time was given, at least a vague timeframe of a few days was provided.
Meanwhile, Gon and Killua had gotten into trouble.