113.
"Welcome home. Did you have fun?" Lilia asked Aisha. She had become much kinder as a mother than in the original timeline, due to someone's influence.
"Yes!"
"Where is Shun?" Lilia asked, since she thought Aisha was with them until now, but she returned alone.
"Kyah-!" Lilia covered her mouth as soon as she made a noise, making Aisha look at her weirdly.
'Lilia didn't notice me when I walked in with Aisha, then got behind her and hugged her. I guess it could be said that I've mastered Zetsu,' Shun thought as he released both Lilia and Zetsu.
'Though it sounds a bit ridiculous, I've been sneaking around a lot during nights my whole life, visiting different rooms without notifying others. So… it was relatively easy to master Zetsu.'
'Also, I've been mistaken about Gyo. I assumed it was the ability to use nen on the eye, but… concentrating nen on any part of the body is called Gyo.' Shun had been practicing nen a lot and was getting the hang of it.
"Stop messing around and get ready. We have to leave soon, or we'll be late for Eris' wedding."
"Okay." Shun nodded as Lilia was a bit angry at him for doing it in front of her daughter.
——
Rudeus' wedding was at his own home, which he bought for a cheap price and renovated. It was quite a big house.
"Thanks for coming, Shun-san." Rudeus greeted Shun's group at the door. Shun had lately stopped wearing suits, as he mostly wore just t-shirts and shorts. But today he made an exception and wore a black suit.
'Apparently I can't wear my usual white suit, because only the husband can wear white suit today. According to Lilia's knowledge.'
'But… isn't he wearing a black suit?' Shun thought as he looked at Rudeus' clothes then looked at Lilia. But she turned her head away without a word.
"…"
"Congratulations on your marriage." Shun said and entered with his family, which were the entirety of people that lived in the floating house of the Mushoku world. For reasons unknown, Orsted had been living with them too. But he wasn't disliked anymore, as his curse was lifted.
Shun and his group got seated around a table.
"They're quite well prepared, huh?" It was at his own home, but it resembled a professional wedding hall.
Zenith, who had moved out after she recovered, lived with Norn and Rudeus at Rudeus' house. Though they lived in different houses, since it wasn't far, Zenith and Lilia hung out often.
Soon enough, one by one, the guests arrived. Rudeus only invited his classmates, Eris invited Shun and his family, Sylphie invited Ariel, and as for Roxy, she didn't have anyone to invite.
Ariel came and sat next to Shun as if it was a natural thing, but she didn't say any word, as if to remind him that she was angry about something.
The wedding wasn't too grand, as the guests numbered around twenty close friends.
Though angry with the whole thing, Zenith acted as the priestess, blessing the marriage.
Zenith blessed them with Milis religion style prayers, though polygamy was the furthest thing from Milis.
While everyone clapped and cheered for them…
Ariel noticed Shun's eyes were fixated on… Sylphie.
Bonk-!
"…I just noticed it now, but she is very charming." Shun whispered to Ariel.
"…"
It was a very scummy thing to say at someone's marriage.
Soon the official procedures were done, and now the guests came one by one to congratulate them.
Shun too stood up and approached them, as he had surprisingly prepared gifts for them.
"Congrats." Shun patted Eris' head as he gave her a gift.
Their relationship was no longer awkward, as Eris began to appreciate Shun's existence for her mother.
"This is?!" Eris, Rudeus, and even Orsted were shocked by Shun's gift.
"It's that guy's sword. I went back and recreated it from the broken blade that was left in the labyrinth."
"It's the North God's sword?" Eris asked, with excitement clear in her voice.
"Yes. It can control gravity, if I remember correctly."
"Thank you!!" Eris hugged Shun. At first, Eris hated Shun for his arrogance and relationship with her mother, but… as ridiculous as it sounds, she began to accept him ever since she saw… his paws.
After separating from Eris, Shun faced Rudeus.
"Congrats." Shun handed him a small bottle that resembled a small perfume.
"It's the fairy princess' tears. One drop can heal a dying person to full health." Shun was giving him the gift he got on his own wedding, but they wouldn't know.
"!"
'I never expected gifts from him, but… as expected of a guy of his status! His gifts are national treasures!!'
"T-Thank you very much!" Rudeus wanted to hug Shun emotionally but settled on just shaking hands.
Next, Shun turned to Roxy and… gave her two boxes.
"T-Thank you very much." Roxy thanked awkwardly before even seeing the gift. She had only met Shun recently, so their relationship was rather awkward.
"It's a magic book on lost magic called Great Tree Arc."
"!"
"The glasses help with reading and understanding foreign language."
Finally, it was Sylphie's turn.
Shun gave her two boxes too.
"The glasses are the same one I explained earlier. The book is also a lost magic called Maguilty Sense."
"!"
"T-Thank you very much!"
"You guys can share those books among each other. If you learn them, your strength will increase dramatically." Shun said and finally left, leaving the other guests insecure about their gifts.
Usually in an event like this, just congratulating was enough. Some people just gifted money, but… Shun was overdoing it.
After Shun, it was Nina's turn, she handed them gold coins in a pouch awkwardly.
Rudeus and his new family thanked her, but…
"Pfft-!" Shun laughed, making Nina's face flush uncontrollably.
After half an hour…
Finally, it was Orsted's turn. To their shock, Orsted also gifted money, magic crystals, and gold coins in a chest.
The party continued until two in the morning, before guests finally started leaving one by one. Though they left, everyone was just going to Shun's house, about ten minutes of walk away. Because he wasn't at home lately, Shun had floated down the house.
'I don't want to sound like a scum, but… Sylphie was beautiful.' Shun sighed as he decided to seal away his thoughts about Sylphie.
As they spent a lot of time with Shun, the women could tell what Shun was thinking, as his gaze toward Sylphie today was the same one he used to send them.
"I have something to do today." Orsted said and left alone, as he could feel the intense emotions in the air.
——
After a night of intense emotions, Shun's group was having breakfast.
"But marrying before us, huh? How arrogant of them." Shun commented, despite congratulating them yesterday.
"…"
Shun's comment made the women blush as they imagined their marriage, but there was an imposter among them.
'…Why are you blushing?' Shun looked at Aisha speechlessly.
"I have prepared the plans already. When can we leave?" Ariel suddenly changed the topic. She had become quite bold. At first, she rarely ever asked for anything, but now she was demanding Shun go get her the throne.
"…Should we leave today?" Shun replied, as he wanted to go back to learning nen as soon as possible.
'This power is on par with haki. I want to master it. More importantly… I want to enter the Dark Continent. With my pathetic mastery of nen, it'd be impossible, but… that's if I had only nen.'
"Cliff's wedding is tomorrow." Lilia reminded from the side.
"I'll give them their gifts today, then let's leave."
"Yes." Since Shun seemed to have already come to a decision, Lilia just nodded.
——
After breakfast, Ariel went to inform her friend Sylphie, while Shun and Nina went to meet Cliff and Elinalise in their class.
Shun went inside the class, as it was a special class that rarely ever had a teacher. Today there wasn't one, so Shun just got to the point.
"Sorry, but we can't attend the wedding, so we came to give your gifts early."
"Eh?" Cliff and Elinalise didn't expect gifts from Shun at all. They saw him giving a gift to Eris, but that's because she was his daughter.
"For the gift… I'll give you a choice: either get that curse lifted or a magic book."
"!"
Cliff had been working on suppressing Elinalise's curse, so Elinalise couldn't go and ask for Shun's help even after hearing him lifting Zenith's curse.
However Cliff… had no hesitation at all. He bowed his head.
"Please lift her curse."
"Okay." Shun nodded and did the usual POP and burst.
After Shun, Nina went and… handed them a pouch full of gold coins.
'Why me…' Nina lamented but knew the answer already.
——
"Are you sure you want to come? Didn't you guys marry just yesterday?" Shun was surprised, as they were already on their way to the Asura Kingdom.
"Yes. Ariel is my friend, after all." Sylphie smiled. Her impression of Shun was getting better each day.
The Rudeus family and Shun's family were flying in Shun's house.
'Why is this guy even living in my house?' Shun was still surprised by Orsted staying in the guest room of his house. Perhaps everyone just assumed Shun accepted him, so no one was asking, but even Shun was finding it awkward to bring it up, so… he was here today as well.
'Even Rudeus' family alone can deal with the Asura Kingdom, but Orsted and I have to come along too, huh?'
Once their journey was already set in motion, the group went to do their things. While Orsted, Rudeus, and Shun gathered in one room.
"By the way, I heard that the world gets destroyed if Hitogami dies. Is that true?" Shun asked Orsted, who should know the answer.
To Shun's sudden serious talk, Rudeus paid close attention, but to their frustration, Orsted's answer was…
"…I'm not sure. I was never able to kill him."
"…"
"It could be a lie, or he's telling the truth. Most likely, his plan is to make us hesitate."
Hitogami was a headache as always, despite never meeting Shun.
"…If the world gets destroyed, I'll take you guys to my world. Don't worry." Shun said. He had finally found a sure method to find him, but he couldn't help but feel frustrated.
"Tsk. Talking about that guy is such a waste of time. Stop bringing him up." Shun said and left the room in a bad mood, leaving both Orsted and Rudeus in awkward silence.
"…"
——
Once outside, Shun focused on practicing his nen.
'Now that I remember, weren't the royal guards born with nen abilities? So I have less potential than those royal guards?' Shun sighed.
'Do I have to steal again? I wanted to try practicing on my own once in a while. After all, once I absorb others' abilities, my pure nen will be tainted, much like my haki and magic power. Though I don't care about those colors, Mavis was making a drama about the color of my magic power a few years ago.'
——
Ranoa and Asura kingdoms were neighboring countries, so with Shun's floating house, which was faster than modern planes due to Shiki's devil fruit that somehow nullified air resistance, they only needed five hours to reach the Asura Kingdom.
The Asura Kingdom was the root of everything. Almost everyone here had a bad history with them. Even Lilia was once Ariel's bodyguard, until she got poisoned, which destroyed her future as a knight.
Once they arrived in the sky above the royal palace…
"Rudeus."
"Yes?"
"I won't interfere today. You deal with the small fries with your family."
"…" Rudeus couldn't answer instantly, as the small fry for Shun could be a Sword God.
But…
"Leave it to us!" Eris spoke on their behalf.
"No need to worry. There's just someone around Perugius' level, then others around Ghislaine's level."
"!"
Shun said and followed Ariel with Rudeus' family. For reasons unknown, Orsted was following them.
Shun summoned Flamingo, Crocodile, and Bat.
"!"
Orsted, who was witnessing it for the first time, was surprised, but Shun ignored him and gave the commands.
"Flamingo, listen to Ariel's commands for today. Crocodile and Bat, go and take the conflict zone under control. Don't hold back."
"Yes!" X3. Bat and Flamingo smiled wildly, while Crocodile just had a smirk.
Shun summoned the three kids with the bad personalities. The reason was…
'…I still don't like the people of this world. Also, I feel like I let them go too easily after they tried to capture Hilda last time.'
"Ariel."
"…Yes?" Ariel asked obediently this time, as she noticed Shun's mood was a bit tense today.
"This country has too many conflicts with the people close to me. The Asura Kingdom needs a reset…
Kill everyone that doesn't accept you as the queen."
"!"
"That's my plan from the start!" Ariel nodded as she led the way to the throne room, where only nobles had gathered to discuss the sudden appearance of the floating house and Princess Ariel.
The king was absent, as he was bedridden and sick. Most likely the job of Darius' spies poisoning him.
"Ariel! You dare attempt a coup d'état?!!" Darius the fat noble shouted, with his saliva flying everywhere.
"¥££**^€£"
"…"
Darius kept shouting inaudible words, but some people arrived after his hysteric scream.
Shun could no longer understand his words, as it sounded like a dog's barking.
Ariel commanded Flamingo, while Rudeus' family fought against the Water God Reida.
"Yawn-!"
While Orsted watched curiously at Flamingo's ability, Shun decided to practice nen after yawning.
Swoosh-!
"!"
To Orsted's surprise, Shun's presence completely disappeared. Shun was now a master of Zetsu. He was there, but at the same time, it felt like he wasn't there.
Meanwhile, Flamingo was controlling other nobles with threads and making them fist fight Darius.
Rudeus was fighting a guy named Auber, who was a North Emperor. Rudeus was just a King-level mage, but he was holding his own.
Eris, Roxy, and Sylphie fought the Water God Reida.
'This Water God almost ended Perugius' life in the original timeline.' Shun remembered something funny. Perugius claimed that he was going to make Ariel the queen, but he and his familiar Almanfi got their lives threatened by Reida. Almanfi even pulled out his signature move of getting one-punched and disappearing into magic particles.
Eris was having a few clashes with Reida with the help of two strong mages, but… suddenly the room froze.
"…Deprivation Field." An eerie grandma voice came, then everything in the room froze.
'Old women moving fast always unsettles me…'
'It's basically a counter ability that cuts down anything that moves in its field. In this case, the field was the whole room.' Shun was planning to let Rudeus' family handle it, but… his stepdaughter was foolishly about to be the first one to move…
"Clang-!" As soon as Shun made the first move, his leg got attacked, but…
'Gyo!' Shun defended it with Nen, not Haki. Using Observation Haki and defending the specific area with Gyo was his future plan to be the invincible man that doesn't need to block any attack. If he added Armament Haki, Big Mom's physique, plus Nen defense, he'd be unbreakable.
"You're very strong. Much better than Gal Farion." Shun praised Reida, despite her losing to Gal Farion in the past.
"!"
Next moment, Shun pulled out his second favorite part of his body. The tail.
"…You've nearly lived a hundred years, right? Go rest now."
RIP-!
Shun's tail pierced through Reida's heart.
"Kah-!" Reida coughed up blood.
"…Brat, I'm only in my sixties."
Thud-!
"…"
Reida fell lifelessly after her last word.
Even in her death, she was staring at the fat noble Darius.
——
May of the year K425.
Ariel Anemoi Asura ascended to the throne of the Asura Kingdom.
On the day of becoming queen, Ariel executed the entire first prince's faction, which were her rivals in the war of succession. Including Darius, everyone got publicly executed.
Her ruthless action earned her the nickname that would be noted in the country's history: Bloody Ariel.
In the conflict zone, Bat's zombie army and Crocodile's sandstorms wreaked havoc.
Directly and indirectly, Shun resulted in the death of 11,876 people.
——
"You won't meet your sons?" Shun asked.
"No… it wouldn't do them any good." Hilda replied, as she suspected there might be people seeking revenge from them if they realized Hilda was alive and was siding with Shun.
'Also… there is a risk that Shun wouldn't get along with them and might make their lives miserable.' Hilda just decided to be satisfied with the fact that her sons were alive.
'Everything is under control.' Bat and Crocodile informed through the summoning key. The conflict zone was rather close to the Asura Kingdom, but Shun had sent them with teleportation, as the conflict zone was the first place he ever visited in this world.
"…We will stay in this country for a while." Shun informed his family. If Rudeus' family wanted to return, he would send them back.
"Okay!" Aisha nodded. She had been feeling over the moon lately because… Nanahoshi had asked to follow Shun, but Shun refused her and took Aisha instead.
'It's no different than Master expressing his love!'
Shun would be stunned if he knew Aisha's wild thoughts.
——
"…How are you feeling?" Shun, who had just caused the death of thousands, asked the woman who had invited him in the first place.
"Hmm? Good." Ariel said with a smile, but her hands were shaking as she sat on the throne alone.
"…Recruit reliable people to your side. We'll stay in the kingdom for the time being." Shun said and stood next to her, holding her hand.
'I came to scold her if she acted shaken by the incident, but… at least she is trying to act strong.' Ariel passed Shun's little test.
——
A day later, the group gathered around the royal palace dining table. Shun sat at the head seat with Ariel by his side. Though they did know something was happening in the conflict zone due to Shun sending his children in front of them, they didn't know the exact scale of the disaster Shun had caused.
The conflict zone was a place where various kingdoms had small wars daily for political reasons. Hilda and her husband were previously sent there after the teleportation disaster broke out.
Eris' father ended up dying due to Shun's bad mood at that time, but Hilda was close to getting caught, which made Shun kill the perpetrators, but he still didn't forget. Thus began Shun's petty revenge after nearly a decade.
Before they started their dinner, Shun suddenly started a speech.
"…I wanted to be an adult that would say to youngsters that revenge is a pointless thing. It will only end up making you feel empty, or… if you hurt them for hurting you, you will be the same trash as them."
"…"
Everyone listened silently as Shun had a rare serious expression.
"But… I don't feel any regret in my actions. Rather than feeling empty, I'm feeling refreshed."
Shun had a small smile as he spoke.
"No. Those guys got exactly what they deserved." Suddenly Rudeus backed Shun's actions. He had become quite a biased man over the years he spent with Shun.
"I agree! If I had your power, I would've killed way more." Eris spoke strongly without any hesitation.
'For obvious reasons, I don't doubt your words.' Shun thought.
"You don't have to worry about anything." Ariel held Shun's hands, then continued, "We are gathered at this table today because we share the same burden!" Ariel spoke dramatically.
'Is this girl already speaking with hidden intentions behind her talk? She is learning the politics quickly.' Shun thought, as he guessed Ariel was trying to include Orsted, who was sitting next to Norn.
'…But this perverted sister of Rudeus, she is always with Orsted. No way something will happen in the future, right?'
While Shun suspected Orsted and stared at him… Orsted was staring back at him with the same suspicion, because Shun had recently disappeared with Aisha…
Shun didn't know but… The reason Orsted was staying with him was because… He ended up changing the future quite a lot by killing few strong individuals that were the key to finding Hitogami in the future.
——
"Then we'll go out to play for a few days." Shun told Lilia and left to the Nen world with a big smile, as if he was a child about to play with his favorite toy.
Shun and Aisha arrived at Whale Island.
"Tonight we'll go to Heavens Arena. Before that, I will ask: do you want to fight, or just go with me and train Nen without fighting?" Shun asked, but he was just directing her to choose what he wanted her to choose, and the result was as expected.
"I'll be your manager!" Aisha gave him a thumbs up.
"…"
'Well, that's better than her fighting. If she were to fight the highest floor fighters without magic, I'd be worried.'
Shun thought a bit overprotectively, forgetting the fact that she was a prodigy that was about to learn Nen.
'…But those bastards will send us a teacher, right?' Shun thought before deciding to buy a PC and make his destination known to the Hunter Association by searching Heavens Arena on the internet, perhaps.
Since they were here anyway, they met Mito to inform her of the good news.
Creak-!
"Welcome." The grandma said as their tavern's door was opened. But when they saw the faces of the guests…
"!"
Mito and her mother dropped their cup and mop respectively, in shock.
——
"So you three are all pro hunters now?" Mito asked with surprise.
When Aisha nodded with a smile…
"I thought the Hunter Exam was supposed to be very difficult…" Mito muttered before speaking boldly, "If it's that easy, then should I take the exam as well?" Mito smiled.
'Despite looking like a gentle milf, surprisingly she likes teasing people.'
"Well, for that you must focus on your stamina first." Shun only spoke one sentence for Mito to be instantly defeated in the game she started herself.
Shun and Aisha spoke about their Hunter Exam adventures.
"If I wasn't there, I'm not sure if Gon would even be alive, let alone passing the exam."
When Shun bragged about his actions…
"…Well, thank you about that, I guess."
Mito just thanked him with no sincerity.
'Isn't that obviously your role now?' Mito was having daring thoughts.
Ding-!
After chatting for nearly an hour, they had a guest.
"Mito-chan, give me the usual." The customer shouted and took a seat, giving off the vibe of a regular customer.
Since it was time for work, Shun gave instructions as if he owned the place.
"Aisha, help grandma as a server for today. I'll help Mito in the kitchen."
"…"
As soon as the poor Mito awkwardly entered the kitchen, she experienced all kinds of harassment behind the counter.
——
Next morning.
"All right, we'll be off." Shun had explained to Mito that the Hunter Exam wasn't fully done, and Gon and him would return in a month or two.
"…Yes." Mito muttered in a quiet voice, not because she was sad about Shun being gone, but… because she was exhausted from all the intense games she was forced to play.
After getting out of sight, Shun and Aisha floated with the paw bubble.
'Our plan was to leave at night yesterday, but… I had to remind Mito of her place.'
While thinking about useless stuff and training his Zetsu, Shun and Aisha arrived at Heavens Arena in only about twelve hours.
——
In simple words… Heavens Arena is a massive 991-meter-tall combat skyscraper, featuring 251 floors where thousands of martial artists battle daily for cash, rank, and glory.
"We're obviously not here for those."
"Yes!" Aisha nodded and registered Shun as a fighter. She was taking her job as a manager seriously.
'I forgot this world had phones. I didn't exchange contacts with any of the guys. Well, they probably didn't have phones either. At least with Gon and Killua, after I win a few more and gain fame, we'll inevitably meet.'
The first floor matches are just three minutes long. And there was no point system, the referee would simply observe the potentials and send the fighters to upper floors that fit their power level.
Soon an announcer called Shun's badge number, as lower-ranked fighters didn't even get to be called by their names.
Before going, Shun reminded Aisha of their little plan. Aisha nodded and gave him a thumbs up as she went to the spectators' seat.
When Shun entered his designated fighting arena… there were more than ten fights happening at the same time in one huge hall.
'I guess I'll go with Aisha's plan, since she is the manager here.' Shun sighed and the fight started. His opponent was a big fat guy resembling a sumo.
The sumo guy usually mocked his opponent to make them nervous and increase his chances even a bit. But… today he couldn't bring himself to say anything.
"Gulp-!" The sumo guy gulped nervously as Shun's white pupils resembled a void that drew him in.
After shaking his head strongly, the sumo dashed forward and… slapped Shun's cheek. At least he tried to, but his opponent got scared of his attack and… fell, dropping on his butt on the floor.
As soon as Shun fell… the odds for betting on him increased to 10x. Since the first floor matches were full of rookies, the odds wouldn't go too high, as anything could happen between weaklings.
"All in!" Aisha immediately went all in on Shun, betting their life savings. Which was just an allowance from Mito and grandma. While Shun got one from Mito, Aisha got one from grandma. Now they were here gambling it.
"Ah, I slipped." Shun said to the referee, who just nodded carelessly, as he thought it was just another excuse from those trashes from the first floor, but…
"Smack-!" Next second, Shun swatted the sumo out of the ring.
"!"
"Y-You are allowed to go to the 50th floor!" The referee announced and gave Shun a ticket.
'To rig the odds, I was planning to allow one punch to land… but this bastard tried to slap me. A punch is fine, but a slap is going too far.' Shun thought as he met up with Aisha and collected their money, now 10x.
"We have 65,000 Jenny now!" The two said, but…
"Is that even a lot?"
The two shrugged and just went to the 50th floor. Shun was planning to fight Nen users on the 200th floor as soon as possible.
——
Shun and his manager Aisha no longer rigged the odds, but Aisha kept taking Shun's prize money and betting all in on Shun.
'I don't want her to get addicted, but… then again, it's a guaranteed winning gamble.'
Just in a single day, after six hours of fighting six opponents, Shun was now at floor 150. The prize money was getting serious, as they were getting paid tens of millions. And Aisha was gambling them all on Shun.
"We have almost half a billion?!" Shun asked in shock.
"Yes. Sadly, they had limitations on how much I can gamble on a single match. Also, with your rising fame, the odds are getting lower and lower." Aisha expressed her frustration, but…
Bonk-!
Shun chopped her on the head lightly.
"Don't forget what we came for."
"Yes…"
"Well, that's enough for today. Let's go out and eat somewhere expensive." Shun said, as they had already secured their room in Heavens Arena.
"Yes!"
Seeing the two's behavior, the little spy that had been spying on them was speechless.
"But… I can see why that nasty old man called me. That girl alone is a diamond, but… that guy is in a league of his own."
——
Despite having bottomless wealth in the Fairy Tail world due to creating SHFC, Shun and Aisha went wild last night with their money.
They dined at the finest restaurant and went karaoke after. With the mood going well, Aisha got bold and asked to drink alcohol, but received a bonk on the head instead. Thus their games ended, and they went to a nearby hotel for a rest.
Next day.
At morning, they arrived at the entrance of Heavens Arena, only to get ambushed by two kids.
"Shun!"
"!"
Suddenly, Shun was tackled by a kid in green clothes, while the kid with white hair stood still with his hands in his pockets.
'Were we that close?' Shun wondered, but soon he admitted that they were indeed that close. Much closer than the friendship with Luffy and Natsu.
"You guys got stronger, huh?" Shun said as a greeting, as he noticed they were now able to use Nen.
"Yeah! What about you?" Gon asked, expecting Shun to brag, but…
"Ah, I messed up my Nen."
"!"
"I guess one shouldn't mess around with a power as complicated as Nen without a teacher." Shun said with a bit of frustration clear on his face.
Shun said and entered the building, followed by three kids.
"Aisha, go register me for a fight. Today I'll get to floor 200 and fight some strong people with Nen."
"Yes!" While Aisha trotted away to the receptionist, Killua asked what everyone was curious about.
"…What do you mean by you messed up your Nen?"
"…"
Gon also calmed down from his excitement and listened quietly.
Shun scratched the back of his head as he sighed.
"…It's faster to show you than explaining with words."
"!"
Next second, Shun used his Nen in front of them.
"H-He disappeared?!" Gon shouted in shock, but what shocked him even more was…
"What are you talking about? Who disappeared?" Killua and Aisha looked at Gon as if he was being a weirdo.
"W-What are you two talking about? I'm obviously talking about…" Gon's voice lowered mid-sentence as he realized…
'….Who was I talking to just now? Just now I was talking to someone, I feel like I'm forgetting something important.' Gon turned silent as Killua and Aisha also felt like they were forgetting someone.
"Eh? Who is this Shun guy that I just registered for a fight at the 150th floor?" The receptionist muttered in confusion.
Seeing them, Shun sighed and cancelled his Zetsu.
"Woah!" X3. The three kids let out a shocked noise, then… slowly remembered it was Shun who they were forgetting.
"Y-You just now, what did you do?!" Killua asked, as he felt like their memories were messed around.
"Did you already create your own Nen ability?" Gon asked this time. Even Aisha was new to this peculiar situation.
"That's what I meant by I messed up."
"…"
"In the past ten days I was away, I kept practicing Zetsu and Gyo the whole time. Before I realized it… my Zetsu started messing with people's memories, or perhaps reality itself."
"!"
Gon and Killua couldn't find a word to say to his ridiculous story. Only now they were starting to feel the craziness of Shun's existence.
'Tsk, why was I ignoring his claim when he said he was physically strongest?!' Killua was facepalming at himself for ignoring Shun's strength and potential just because of their talk about breasts.
"By the way, I also can defend my body with Gyo at any part with 100% speed and precision."
"…"
Due to his Zetsu ability, the Gyo didn't sound that impressive, but it was practically Armament Haki.
"I noticed that only those who were around me when activating Zetsu start to forget who I even was." Shun noticed this because the people from other worlds didn't notice his Zetsu usage before.
Soon Shun's name was called and he went to fight. Only above floor 200 do the fighters get special attention, like star singers. They even start selling tickets to their fights, earning some commission from it.
The three kids didn't bother going to the spectator seats, as they just watched from the main hall on a big screen. And as they had expected, Shun gave one slap and the opponent passed out.
'…What kind of monster will he become once he starts learning from a Nen teacher?' Killua had goosebumps just imagining.
Despite their shock, the three brats gambled their life savings on Shun. Though the odds were only 1.1x, meaning they would only get one tenth of their deposited money. But…
'It's guaranteed money.' They thought.
——
With one fight, Shun unexpectedly jumped to floor 200.
"Huh? I heard that fighters jump stages once they reach above the 100th floor?" Shun asked the referee.
"…There is always an exception for exceptional fighters." The referee explained as he walked away nervously.
'We can't risk you fighting weak fighters anymore.' The referee sighed. It was their job to ensure fair fights, but at the same time, they had to make sure fighters didn't suffer long-term injuries or even death… at least below the 200th floor, the referees tried to do so. Above the 200th floor, it was out of their hands.
Shun didn't bother arguing, not like he wanted to stay in lower floors. Instead, he reunited with the three kids.
Shun waved the ticket that gave him permission to go above floor 200 to the kids and asked.
"When will you guys come up?"
"…We're already there, learning Nen!" Killua refuted, a bit frustrated, as he determined himself to get stronger.
"Oh? You guys got a teacher already?"
"Yeah, it's a teacher from the Shingen-ryu school called Wing." Gon informed, while Killua added, "He looks like a wimp, but he's a decent teacher."
"!"
As soon as Killua said that, the temperature dropped.
"Well, sorry for looking like a wimp." A thin and weak-looking guy with glasses arrived suddenly with two kids.
"…" Gon turned silent as he stepped away, leaving Killua alone by Wing's side.
"You guys are?" Shun asked, already showing the dignity of a fighter with the strength of the 200th floor.
"Ah, sorry for intruding. I'm the teacher of those kids, Wing." Wing introduced himself politely and shook hands with Shun.
"I'm Shun. Just a humble 200th floor fighter."
"…"
Wing turned silent as he didn't know whether it was a joke or not.
After Wing, the two kids following him introduced themselves.
"I'm Zushi. I saw your fights and got motivated to become even stronger!" Zushi started blabbering a bit, but the other kid shoo'd him away.
"I'm Biscuit Krueger. Teacher of Wing. I was told by the nasty old man to help you train." Bisca, aka the stalker from yesterday that spied on Shun and Aisha, spoke.
"W-What? You're Wing's teacher?" Killua asked, then stood next to Bisca as if comparing their heights.
"I look like this, but I'm more than four times your age." Bisca said with veins popping on her forehead.
"So you're an old fart—"
Crash-!
Before even finishing his sentence, Killua met the wall face to face.
"…"
"The chairman Netero sent you?" Shun asked, as if the earlier events didn't happen.
"Yes." Bisca nodded, as she remembered the talk she had with Netero on the phone.
——
"You want me to teach some new hunter?" Bisca asked in surprise.
"Umu." Netero nodded behind the phone.
"Why would I? Isn't the Nen teachers just veteran hunters that were closer to the location of the newly passed hunters? And from your talk, he isn't close to me at all. I have to travel for a full day on a plane." Bisca complained in a long talk, not giving a chance for Netero to speak.
"…Hmm, there are several reasons. First is he is worth the effort. If you form a friendship with him, he will become a valuable help if there is a danger in the future."
"…" Bisca listened silently.
"Second, we noticed from the exam that… he seemed to be a petty man that holds grudges."
"Ha?" Bisca couldn't believe her ears.
"In fact, there are already five hunters that could teach him Nen, but… they aren't competent enough. If we send him a teacher that is incompetent, he might not become our enemy, but he will not be our friend either."
"…"
Bisca didn't know what to say. But Netero wasn't done.
"For the last reason… it's the aptitude of his aura."
"…He is that bad?" Bisca asked. Now she was finally starting to understand why Netero asked her.
"No, quite the opposite. His aura is pure white."
"…"
"It's like he is a newborn child that doesn't know what a sin is."
"Isn't that a good thing then?"
"His aura is pure, but… the guy already killed a few people brutally in the Hunter Exam."
"!"
"What I'm trying to say is, he doesn't consider his own actions to be wrong. Not even a tiny bit. He cares for his allies, but is ruthless to his foes."
"…"
A deep silence settled between the two on the phone.
"Well, don't be difficult. You have nothing else to do, right? If you go to Heavens Arena now, you'll see something interesting." Netero giggled, as the incompetent teacher he was calling was Bisca's student.
"…Something interesting?" Bisca muttered as the call ended.
——
Back to the group on the 200th floor, heading towards the receptionist.
Suddenly, Wing broke the silence.
"Gon and Killua. I came here to tell you guys to use this chance to learn from her."
"!"
"Teacher…"
The three were having an emotional moment, but Shun ignored them and faced Bisca.
"Did you get affected by the Zetsu?" Shun asked, as there was no way he wouldn't notice a strong individual following him for two days in a row.
"I did lose sight of you, but didn't forget."
"Oh?" Shun learned something interesting.
"But the memory was starting to get hazy."
"I see. So can we start the practice tonight?"
"Sure. No problem."
Bisca and Shun were quick with their agreements, while Killua and Gon parted ways with Zushi and Wing.
"Wait, I'll register for a fight." Shun said and went to the receptionist. Now that he was at the 200th floor, he couldn't fight as often as he did before.
Shun got a form from the receptionist asking for when he wanted to fight, so they could schedule him with a guy that would fight on the same day or a closer date.
"Hey, when will you guys fight?" Suddenly Shun asked.
"Huh? Us?" Gon pointed to himself and Killua, but Shun passed by them and caught three people that each had a crippled condition. They were familiar to Gon and Killua.
"Those guys… they're still looking for newbies to fight?" Killua muttered in disgust.
"N-No, we were here on a coincidence." The three rookie hunters weren't crazy. They gave up the moment they saw Shun.
Suddenly Shun spoke.
"Choose a date. All of you will fight within three days."
"…"
'Is this guy seriously threatening them?' Killua found the situation ridiculous.
'I guess there is always a bigger fish. The guys that blackmail and threaten newbies are getting threatened this time.' Killua thought with smirk
"W-We are not fighting this month." Gido mustered up his courage and declared, but… Shun released his Ren, at least what he believes to be the Ren.
"…"
A minute later…
"So Gido is tomorrow, after that Sadaso, then Riehlvelt." Shun said, earning nods from the three crippled individuals.
"Just so you know, I'll find you guys if you disappear before the fight is finalized." Shun said, as he would accept a default win.
After all he was planning to become the champion of Heavens Arena. To do so, first he needed ten wins on 200th floor to become floor master.
'…I'll get two wins from you guys too.' Shun was having a devious plan as he stared at his two friends, Gon and Killua.