Gon and Killua didn't go to East Gorteau because of their promise, but to wait for Ging, they chose to stay in the Mitene Union.
However, Ging was clearly an unreliable person.
Maybe something more important came up, maybe he forgot on purpose, or maybe he genuinely forgot.
In any case, after the Ant King was dealt with by Law, Ging went to find his friend first.
Gon and Killua didn't know about this, and they weren't part of the cleanup team, so they could only receive news through the media.
The team lineup they saw that day… Netero, Zeno, Ging, Law... even a fool could tell the seriousness of the situation.
Although they abided by the promise not to go to East Gorteau, Killua still very much wanted to obtain information about the situation inside East Gorteau through other channels.
Yet, even using his Hunter License, he still couldn't get any information about East Gorteau. In the end, he could only stay in the neighboring country and obediently watch the news.
Two days ago.
"Law hasn't replied to me," Gon said, flipping through his phone.
"Still can't get through?" Killua asked.
"Nope, can't get through."
Killua couldn't help but pout. "Law is definitely doing it on purpose. In his eyes, we're probably just two annoying brats."
"Uh..."
Gon scratched his head, not knowing how to respond to Killua.
"What about Kite?" Killua asked, as if remembering something.
"He replied, but..."
Gon opened his phone screen, showing the message content to Killua.
The content was terrifyingly brief… just one 'X' symbol.
Killua blinked, then looked up at Gon, confused.
After a moment, Killua asked, "Do you know what this means?"
"No."
Gon replied honestly.
Killua muttered, "Does it mean 'no entry'? Or 'no comment'?"
"Should we keep waiting here?" Gon asked.
"No!"
Killua replied without hesitation.
So, the two kids left the city and encountered two Officer-level Chimera Ants in a forest.
The enemies knew basic Aura Control. The initial head-on fight resulted in a minor setback.
Realizing the enemies weren't pushovers, the two fought steadily and ultimately succeeded in defeating the two Officer-level Chimera Ants.
The distinct features of those two Chimera Ants were mantis and tiger.
Killua dealt with the mantis, Gon dealt with the tiger.
The two gathered around the Chimera Ant corpses to observe.
"If enemies of this level were involved, it wouldn't necessitate deploying so many experts. Not to mention Chairman Netero, even Law and your dad came."
Killua extended a finger, lightly brushing the back of the mantis's blade-like arm.
"Is Ging very strong?" Gon stared at the tiger Chimera Ant's corpse. Possibly due to his identity, when he first saw Ging, he didn't have any special feeling.
To be honest, compared to Law, Ging gave him the impression of an ordinary uncle. To be more precise, even Kite made a stronger first impression on him than Ging did.
"Huh?"
Killua's eyes showed surprise, and he said helplessly, "Of course he's strong."
"Oh." Gon's reaction was very plain.
Killua looked utterly defeated by his response. Then, he kicked the corpse and said, "Let's get out of here. If we encounter these monsters again, we can consider capturing them alive."
Gon looked at the corpse and was about to say something when his previously level shoulders suddenly raised by a centimeter. Like a chain reaction, his eyelids, which were at their normal level, also lifted immediately.
Almost simultaneously, a chill assaulted his body.
Not just Gon, Killua had the same reaction.
'Enemy!'
'It's behind us!'
'It's going to attack!'
In an extremely brief moment, Gon and Killua made the same judgment.
A burst of Aura erupted from both of them. They turned around lightning-fast, looking at a lush shrub about thirty meters away.
However, the vicious hostility roared over like noise with no intention of concealment, yet the shrub remained still and calm without the slightest ripple. The expected attack didn't happen.
'Not attacking...?'
The two were stunned but quickly adjusted their mindset, staring very warily at the shrub.
"Little bunny, be good, open the door~"
"Hurry up and open it, I want to... hehehe."
An off-key singing voice, like claws scratching on steel plates, suddenly came from the shrub.
Hearing this discordant sound, the chill previously planted in Gon and Killua suddenly grew into a towering tree.
"Hehehe..."
Sharp, eerie laughter continuously issued from the shrub. Looking over, it seemed to carry a vortex-shaped, evil aura.
Gon and Killua couldn't help but shiver.
'Enemies of this level?'
The judgment they'd formed based on the two Chimera Ants just now was mercilessly overturned at this moment.
The unknown enemy in the shrub possessed far greater strength than the two corpses on the ground.
Killua struggled to suppress the urge to convert his Aura into electricity.
That was a trump card that could be suddenly revealed during battle. If he used it beforehand due to pre-battle pressure, he'd lose some advantage.
Although unsure if the other party saw the scene of him killing the Chimera Ant earlier, it was still necessary to conceal one's abilities when appropriate.
"Hehehe..."
For some reason, the guy in the shrub just kept letting out shrill laughter without taking any action.
Gon and Killua, as long as the other party didn't make any unusual moves, naturally wouldn't act rashly either.
After a while, the laughter stopped.
A gloomy voice asked, "Why aren't you two running away?"
Hearing this, Gon and Killua were speechless for a moment, then quite tacitly exchanged a glance.
'Right, this guy is just laughing creepily. Why are we staying with him?'
As soon as the thought arose, without even communicating, the two burst out with their strongest Aura output, turned, and ran without hesitation, quickly putting a good distance between them.
In the shrub, deep astonishment appeared in a pair of yellow beast-like eyes, then turned cold.
"Hehehe, that's more like it. The hunt begins."
Swish!
A figure shot out from the shrub. It was a Chimera Ant with characteristics blending wolf and human, even having a gray wolf tail growing from its behind.
This gray wolf Chimera Ant's mouth protruded, covering almost half its face, swaying in the wind, dripping a string of saliva.
He only let his tail out when excited.
"Two little bunnies, hehehe..."
An Aura carrying evil intent continuously bombarded Gon and Killua like haunting spirits as they fled.
"..."
Gon and Killua just felt chills all over. They glanced back at the gray wolf Chimera Ant, then looked at each other.
'Sudden stop and counterattack?'
'Okay!'
After a brief eye exchange, they suddenly stopped, quickly turned around, and charged towards the gray wolf Chimera Ant from left and right.
"Oh? Oh?"
The gray wolf Chimera Ant suddenly opened its large mouth full of sharp teeth, its robust body swelling with a large amount of Nen.
As they were about to clash, it made no defensive moves, just said eerily, "No rush, there's plenty of time."
Gon and Killua didn't care about that, attacking the completely unguarded gray wolf Chimera Ant.
[Scissors!]
[Lightning Bolt!]
Gon pointed his index and middle fingers together, pulling out an Aura Blade, slicing across the left side of the gray wolf Chimera Ant's body.
Killua's hands were covered in electric currents, knuckles protruding, forcefully clawing across the right side of the gray wolf Chimera Ant.
After passing each other, they quickly turned around.
However, they saw the gray wolf Chimera Ant hadn't lost a single hair. Their expressions changed.
Then, the gray wolf Chimera Ant let out an inexplicable groan.
"..."
Gon and Killua couldn't help but shiver again, turned, and ran.
Just like that, the two of them were chased by the gray wolf Chimera Ant for a full two days and two nights.