Dwun and the others stopped laughing and turned their attention to Kite, curious about what she might say.
Kite, recalling the scene, lifted her eyelids slightly and twitched the corner of her mouth before sighing softly and spreading her hands.
"What else can I say? He really is worthy of being my master. I've known him for a long time, so I know his personality pretty well. Honestly, I'm not surprised he'd say something like that. I'm used to it."
Kite's words hit the mark.
Ging's character was exactly like that, and as his disciple, Kite had learned to adjust as best she could.
"I get it, Kite. That guy Ging really is something else," Dwun said, crossing his arms as if he felt the same way.
"Even though Master isn't the most attentive, his advice is still solid. Take this time, for example, I survived because of [Absolute Death Resistance].
Sure, I turned into a chimera ant, but it's not all bad. I can actually feel that this new body has greater potential than my old one. Chimera ants really are powerful.
Even though I still look like a kid and haven't fully grown, I can sense a huge potential inside me! With this new power, I can finally push further down the path of strength and witness things I never had the chance to see before! Plus, my strength is growing faster than ever, definitely not as slow as it used to be."
As Kite spoke, her sharp eyes sparkled with a faint light, and the excitement in her voice grew stronger.
The people around her nodded along, clearly agreeing with her.
Despite the recent disaster, Kite's transformation turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Once she fully accepts her new body, her potential will be much higher than before.
She used to be a first-class Nen user, but now, with the talent of a Chimera Ant combined with her memories and experience, her strength is set to skyrocket.
Maybe she could even reach the S-level someday.
"Honestly, becoming a Chimera Ant has been a big advantage for me in almost every way, except..." Kite's voice softened into a childish tone, and she looked a bit helpless despite her mature appearance.
"I just can't get used to the fact that my biological gender is now female. If I had to choose, I'd rather be a boy."
This was the only thing she regretted.
If she were still male, everything would feel perfect.
"That's easy to fix," Larry said, raising his eyebrows at Kite's frustration. "Do you know where we are right now?"
"Hm? We're on Greed Island, right?" Kite replied, pausing for a moment and scratching her head in confusion.
'Wait... Greed Island?'
"Could it be..."
Larry smiled as he nodded.
"Looks like you're catching on. Greed Island is a game created by your master, Ging, and some of his friends. It's full of all kinds of items with unique effects, and they're all products of Nen."
He then patted Dwun on the shoulder, who chimed in, "I remember there are items that can change your gender."
"Exactly," Dwun continued, pulling out a book and flipping through it until he found what he was looking for. "We actually have something here that fits your situation perfectly, it's called 'Hormone Cookies.'"
As two spells were called out one after the other, a box of cookies suddenly appeared in Dwun's hand.
At first glance, they looked like ordinary butter cookies, but there was something unusual, a faint pink tint.
These were [Hormone Cookies], an S-level item.
Eating one would change the eater's gender within 24 hours.
Each box contained 20 cookies, and there were 10 boxes in a set, meaning a total of 200 cookies capable of changing gender 200 times.
Of course, Kite didn't need that many; just one cookie was enough to transform herself from female to the male identity she was accustomed to.
Without hesitation, she grabbed a cookie and swallowed it in a single bite.
"How does it taste?" Killua, the silver-haired boy with catlike agility, asked curiously.
Known for his love of sweets and ability to eat large amounts of dessert, Killua once spent all 200 million ringgits he won in the Sky Arena on chocolate balls at the counter, spending the money right where he earned it, without saving a penny.
Kite smacked her lips and said, "It's pretty good, rich with a buttery flavor but not too sweet."
Because the [Hormone Cookies] take up to a day to fully work, the change wasn't visible immediately.
List, who along with Dwun served as administrators of Greed Island and had been there for years, explained, "The sweetness level of hormone cookies depends on the gender change. If a woman turns into a man, the cookie tastes less sweet, because men usually don't like overly sweet food.
Conversely, if a man changes into a woman, the cookie tastes sweeter."
"Is that so..." Killua leaned back with his hands behind his head, feeling a bit disappointed after tasting the [Hormone Cookies].
The main reason was the cookie's gender-changing effect; otherwise, he might have considered trying one.
While the group on Greed Island chatted, the news about the Ant King's death and Netero's survival continued to spread.
Meanwhile, in the capital of the Kakin Empire, within a splendid palace, sat the current ruler, Nasbi Nasubi.
"I never thought even that could kill Netero," he muttered, disbelief in his voice.
The King of Nasubi sat on a throne adorned with gold and jewels, gently swirling the exquisite red wine in his glass.
His small eyes fixed on the wine with a clear look of dissatisfaction.
Without realizing it, he gripped the glass a bit tighter, causing faint cracking sounds to echo softly.
Beside him stood the tall and imposing Beyond, stroking his beard thoughtfully, pretending not to hear the king's muttered complaints.
As the ruler of Kakin, Nasubi had dealt with the Chimera Ant incident rather hastily.
Yet, the main target hadn't made a move, which frustrated him deeply.
All he could do was drown his anger in drink.
But Beyond, his ally, felt differently.
When he heard that his father, President Netero, was not only alive but well, joy swelled in his chest, along with a deep gratitude toward Larry.
This revelation made Beyond confront his true feelings.
He just couldn't bear the thought of his father's death.
Though Beyond sighed inwardly, he masked his emotions with a feigned sense of regret.
His reluctance to take matters into his own hands over the years revealed his hope that Netero would survive.
After all, he was his father.
It was unfortunate that, despite having such a powerful ally, Beyond often found himself unable to get what he truly wanted.
"Beyond, didn't you say before that you wanted to recruit the [World's Strongest] into your team?" Nasubi suddenly recalled Beyond's earlier words.