As expected, the mood shifted instantly.
The Zodiacs all turned their eyes on Pariston, their gazes dark and fierce, like hungry jackals ready to tear him apart.
Everyone except Ging was visibly boiling with hostility.
Gel tensed up, focusing her aura into her hands until her arm transformed into a massive python, radiating an ominous aura.
The giant serpent stretched out like a spring-loaded glove, extending until its head hovered right in front of Pariston, tongue flicking menacingly.
Pariston's smile faltered for a moment but quickly returned to its usual mischievous grin.
"Don't joke around! No one wants you as president, not without an election, anyway!" Gel snapped coldly, her snake-like pupils glowing with icy menace.
If Pariston pushed his luck any further, she was more than ready to let that snake bite.
Ginta and the others smiled in agreement, glad that Gel was speaking the thoughts they all shared.
They would never let Pariston become president!
"Ahem, Gel, put it away," Netero said, coughing twice to warn Gel not to go too far.
"Yes," Gel replied, glancing at Pariston, who was still wearing a fake smile, and retracting her snake-like hand.
Pariston, however, pretended to clutch his chest dramatically and said, "Oh, am I really that scary?"
"I called everyone together for three reasons," Netero said, walking past Pariston and ignoring his act. "First, to announce my resignation as president. Second, to talk about the rewards for the Chimera Ant incident. And finally, to go over the election rules."
"When it comes to the Chimera Ant incident, there's no doubt that Larry made the biggest contribution. Without him, I wouldn't be standing here today," Netero said firmly.
"Since Larry already holds the highest rank of a three-star Hunter, it's hard to raise his title any further. So, I've decided to reward him with any three items from the Hunter Association's collection."
Netero's voice grew serious as he explained his choice.
The Hunter Association had many treasures, often called "Nen tools."
The Association organizes numerous missions, and other groups can too.
Usually, the reward is money.
But for top-level Nen users like Larry, money isn't the main attraction.
They take on missions not just to climb ranks but to collect rare Nen tools.
Over time, the Association has gathered many valuable items that strong Hunters desire.
Most can be given out freely, but a few are banned because they're too dangerous.
Considering Larry's reputation and wealth, Netero thought this was the best way to reward him.
Intelligence from Root indicated that Larry is especially interested in unique and novel items, particularly those with special effects.
Naturally, the other Branches had no objections to Netero's decision.
Pyon, in particular, only complained that the reward wasn't generous enough for her man, never thinking Netero was giving too much.
She was proud too, knowing that with Larry's help, their beloved president had been saved.
'It looks like I'll have to thank Larry properly when I get back.'
Pyon rested her chin on her hand, her gaze drifting as thoughts of Larry filled her mind.
Her pink eyes shone with anticipation.
Surprisingly, Pariston remained silent, tacitly agreeing to the reward President Netero had announced for Larry.
This caught Kanzai and the others off guard; after all, during the last meeting of the New Five, Pariston had been quick to find faults.
Only the sharper minds like Ging and Cheadle seemed to understand: Pariston was afraid of Larry and didn't dare provoke him again.
Ging glanced at the unusually well-behaved Pariston and smirked, feeling a twinge of pity.
If Pariston ever spoke against Larry now, Larry wouldn't let him off easily.
Ging understood why Pariston chose to back down; Larry's strength was just too intimidating.
Anyone with common sense who wanted to stay alive wouldn't mess with him.
"Then there's Morel, Knov, and the others," Netero continued. "Although their contributions don't compare to Larry's, there's no denying they've played a part."
The rewards for these hunters remained mostly the same, except for Morel.
Instead of being promoted from a one-star to a three-star Ocean Hunter like before, he was only bumped up to two stars.
In the original timeline, Morel had killed several Chimera Ant squad leaders and even faced Owl Yapf alone.
But now, since Larry had handled nearly all those battles, Morel's credit was naturally diminished.
"Next, let's talk about the election rules for the new president," Netero said. "I have only one request: all hunters must vote, and the turnout rate should be above 95%."
The rest of the rules would be fleshed out by everyone present.
While Netero and the others debated passionately, Larry was busy with his own matters on Greed Island.
He stayed in a private room, quietly watching the meeting unfold on the screen before him.
'Though some things have changed, it looks like the overall direction remains close to the original, and the rules are about to be finalized.'
The TV showed the twelve Zodiacs of the Hunter Association discussing the election procedures.
Of course, being able to do this was thanks to Porygon Z.
Larry realized they were discussing the election rules because Pyon, feeling bored, had been chatting with him on the phone.
During their conversation, Pyon mentioned she was in a meeting with others, going over the rules for choosing a new president.
After talking with Kite and the others, Gon and Killua stayed behind with Kite, wanting to share everything that had happened recently.
Meanwhile, Dwun and List headed off to work.
Since Larry had some free time, he asked Porygon Z to switch the screen over to the meeting to see what they were talking about.
The discussion was much like what he had expected, but what caught his attention were the three items Netero had mentioned.
"What could those be?" Larry muttered, rubbing his fingers absentmindedly.
The things the Hunter Association collected had to be valuable, right?
Maybe they were similar to the props used on Greed Island.
He wondered if they could help Pokemon or be used as tools somehow.
Suddenly, his phone beeped with an incoming call.
Larry glanced at it, raised an eyebrow, and hesitated before answering.
The caller was someone he didn't recognize, meaning it probably wasn't a friend.
So why was this stranger calling?
Without Porygon Z, normal people couldn't use mobile phones on Greed Island since there was no signal.
The situation gave Larry a strange feeling of deja vu.
He remembered a similar unknown call he received with Kurapika after they left the Kuruta ruins; turns out it was Ging on the other end.
'So who could this be now?'
Though many people knew him, only a few knew his number, and those were usually people of high status.
Maybe the Chimera Ant incident had brought him more attention.
Quickly, Larry's mind raced through possibilities and made a simple decision: have Porygon Z transmit the caller's image to the TV so he could see who it was.