Menchi and Satotz, meanwhile, keenly noticed that half of Chairman Netero's beard had been blown off, and a large patch of his hair was gone as well, while Roy, standing beside him, looked completely unharmed.
"Did the Chairman... lose?"
Shock filled Menchi and Satotz's eyes, but then they immediately shook their heads inwardly.
How could the Chairman possibly lose?!
When they looked at Netero again, though, they found him grinning from ear to ear, as if he had just gone through something that made him incredibly happy.
"Did he win?"
Netero looked refreshed and full of energy. Even the examinees could feel the vigorous vitality radiating from him, so they could not help but guess as much.
The true outcome of a battle was not determined by appearances, but by the methods both sides used, and...
"I lost," Netero admitted openly with a cheerful smile.
Exactly, that was the point. Victory and defeat could not be judged by appearances, but by—
Wait?!
What did he just say???
"Chairman!!!"
Beans and the others cried out.
"That's right, I lost. A loss is a loss. There's nothing wrong with admitting it."
As an outstanding martial artist, Netero had always followed his heart in all things and carried himself with complete frankness.
Yes, including how he had stared unblinkingly at Menchi's chest earlier.
"If this had been a battle to the death, I might already be dead~"
That single sentence from Netero completely smothered the question Menchi had wanted to ask: Did you use your full strength?
"Well, people do get old, hoh~ hoh~ hoh!"
For someone who could make even the Chairman feel the threat of death, this guy...
Satotz, Menchi, and Beans all cast subtle glances at Roy, who was walking back toward Gon and the others.
Where in the world did this monster come from?!
Beans thought even further ahead. If Hunter Association Vice Chairman Pariston Hill, or the Chairman's son, Beyond Netero, learned of this, who knew what sort of actions they might take?
What a headache!
Beans's little green head was aching badly.
Illumi, walking behind them, took another look at Roy and made sure to memorize his appearance completely before sending a message back to the Zoldyck family.
"Hm... someone with the power to kill Chairman Netero. Even my great-great-grandfather probably wouldn't get any advantage against him, right? Far too unprofitable. Forget it, I'll just add him to the do-not-accept list along with all those political leaders from various countries."
For the Zoldyck family to survive and endure to this day, they naturally could not be fools.
They had a difficulty list. Anyone whose name was on it was usually the president of a country, a major political figure, or someone of similar standing.
Assassinating people like that would provoke overwhelming retaliation from entire nations.
At that point, even a force as powerful as the Zoldyck family would not be able to withstand it.
A single tiny Poor Man's Rose could flatten their family estate.
So unless someone was willing to pay an unimaginable price, the Zoldyck family generally would not take action against anyone on that difficulty list.
And because the cost was far too great, no one ever placed such orders, so over time, that list gradually turned into a do-not-kill list instead.
Anyone who made it onto that list, aside from major political figures, represented a person whose strength had earned the Zoldyck family's acknowledgment.
Hisoka had already completely calmed down. After witnessing Roy's true strength, there was no way he would foolishly try to pluck that apple anymore.
As someone born in Meteor City who had made it this far, what he relied on was not merely his perverse desires.
Roy walked toward Gon's group, and Gon was the first to rush up to him, stars sparkling in his eyes.
"Wow, Roy, I never imagined you were this strong!" Gon said happily.
He was genuinely happy for his companion.
Kurapika and Leorio also nodded.
At that moment, Killua came over too.
"Hey, hey, Roy aniki, how exactly did you learn that? Just tell me already~~~"
Killua's eyes were full of longing.
Roy glanced at him. "You know that I'm capable of learning a lot of information and background details, right?"
"...Yeah." Killua did not understand what Roy was getting at.
"Then naturally, I also know that your name is Killua, but your family name is Zoldyck. Your full name is Killua Zoldyck."
"Zoldyck?" Gon looked puzzled.
Back when they had first met, Roy had already mentioned that name. At the time, Gon had assumed it was just an ordinary surname, as ordinary as his own, Freecss...
Was it really ordinary?!
Kurapika and Leorio promptly cleared things up for him.
"The Zoldyck family is a very famous assassin organization..."
"I see." Gon tapped his palm, then continued listening to the conversation between Roy and Killua.
Killua, who had been paying close attention to Gon, saw that Gon showed no concern at all even after learning about his family, and could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"So what if I'm from the Zoldyck family? Do you look down on assassins?"
"No. Anyone who reaches the very top of their field deserves respect, no matter what profession they're in."
(End of Chapter)
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