Hunter x Hunter : Germain Joins The Hunt

The old car roared along the desert road, the sound system blasting energetic rock music, with the lead singer shouting at the top of his lungs.

"We will, we will, rock you!"

"We will, we will, rock you!"

If it weren't for the cramped conditions inside the car, this journey might be seen as a pleasant family trip, especially with this timeless song playing.

The driver was Kite, who had silver hair and a serious demeanor. He barely spoke.

On the passenger side, Ging was carefree and cheerful.

As for the other five, they had to squeeze into the back seat. 

From left to right in the back, there were Shizuku, Germain, Sheila, and Kurapika by the window.

Kurapika had been pushed to the window seat, while Shizuku had claimed the window spot for herself, wanting to see the scenery outside. Only she seemed to be treating the "Kakin Empire Tour" as a real trip.

The four of them were squished together, their shoulders and thighs pressed against each other, with hardly any space in between.

They were definitely overloaded, but there was nothing they could do. After all, Ging and Kite had only brought this old car, while their Jeep had been chopped in half by Beyond. They accepted the situation and squeezed together.

So where was the last member of their group, Bisky? 

Her normally strong physique wouldn't even fit in the car, so she had transformed into her petite form.

Once on board, she had to sit on someone's lap to save space.

It wasn't the most elegant arrangement, but it was better than having all five squeezed into the back seat.

Bisky glanced around and decided to sit in Germain's lap, ready to enjoy the princess treatment.

She was in her fifties and just wanted to indulge a little, so what was wrong with that?

However, Shizuku suddenly interrupted, reaching out and lifting Bisky onto her lap like a doll.

"Hey—"

Bisky struggled a bit but found Shizuku's soft frame comfortable. She relaxed and lay down, no longer moving.

About half an hour had passed since they left the battlefield, and the group began to chat, feeling a bit more relaxed.

Bisky leaned against the warm "cushion" and looked like she was about to fall asleep.

"Ging, you should say something too. How did you and Kite end up here? Don't say it was just a 'coincidence' or something like that."

At that moment, Ging reached over and turned down the volume, making the car quieter while still keeping a sense of the journey.

He loved this atmosphere. Hearing Bisky's question, he just smiled casually.

"No way, Biscuit, you're the expert when it comes to 'tricking' people. I wouldn't dare show off… My and Kite's presence here is definitely not a coincidence."

"Coincidence is unintentional, but we are intentionally looking for you; we just happened to run into you here."

Bisky leaned forward, curious, like a snail peeking out of its shell, but she was quickly pulled back by Shizuku's embrace around her waist.

"Come on, tell us quickly. Don't keep us in suspense."

Ging relaxed, clasping his hands behind his head, making eye contact with the people in the back seat through the rearview mirror.

"The story starts in early August."

"At that time, I was on a deserted island, researching an ancient ruin with my team. That night, when I returned to the camp, I found an extra notebook among the materials I had been going through every day."

"The notebook contained information about 'Germain' and his companions, providing considerable indirect evidence to prove that Germain and his companions had the means to travel to the Dark Continent."

"The indirect evidence is the magical beast corpses that you secretly cleared from the black market. Many of them closely resemble the magical beasts recorded in *Journey to the New World: Eastern Volume*."

"You should know about *Journey to the New World: Eastern Volume*, right? Well… as long as you know, there's no need for me to explain further."

"In the end, the last part of the notebook mentioned Germain's whereabouts, pointing to the Kakin Empire, and predicted that Germain was preparing to meet someone named 'Beyond' and that the negotiations would end in failure."

Hearing this, Bisky couldn't help but sit up straight, only to be pulled back into Shizuku's arms again.

"Who gave you this notebook? How did they know that the negotiations between Germain and Beyond would definitely fail? What was their purpose?"

Ging maintained his relaxed position with his hands behind his head but curled his legs onto the chair, sitting cross-legged.

"The notebook didn't leave any other information, and I couldn't find out who had entered my tent before."

"As for the 'prediction of the future,' if it isn't due to 'Nen ability,' it must be someone who understands the nature of Germain and Beyond very well."

"This person must have directly or indirectly interacted with Germain, Beyond, and me for a period of time and possesses enough experience to judge that Germain and Beyond wouldn't be able to cooperate due to their different styles of action, and that I would definitely be interested in this matter."

"Furthermore, this person has a considerable intelligence network and many capable individuals willing to work for them, which allows them to gather information on me, Germain, and Beyond at the same time."

"However, despite having such power, this person didn't specifically 'command' me on what to do; it seems they only kindly left the 'Dark Continent information' that I care about here."

"Biscuit, I believe you've figured out who I'm talking about, right? His intentions seem pretty clear to me," Ging said.

He rubbed his nose and pouted, looking quite helpless.

Bisky, who was already warm in Shizuku's embrace, felt even hotter after hearing this. She began to sweat on her forehead and neck.

This familiar embarrassment reminded her of that feeling during training when you were slacking off and got caught...

Bisky couldn't help but cover her face, her ears burning red.

Shizuku noticed that the "doll" in her arms was getting warmer and had fallen into an unusual silence.

She rested her chin on top of Bisky's head, growing curious.

"Bisky, who is that you and big uncle are talking about? Are you familiar with him?"

Even Ging, usually unflappable, paused for a moment.

"'Uncle'… ah, well, I'm over thirty now; I guess I'm at that age…" He crossed his arms defiantly and pouted again.

Bisky covered her face for a while, then rubbed her cheeks vigorously until they turned red, finally peeking out of her "snail shell."

"The only person capable of doing something like this, with a style that looks like it gives you a choice but is actually coercive, can only be Chairman Netero."

Hearing the name of the Hunter Association chairman startled Sheila, who was listening in confusion.

She was so surprised that she tried to stand up, forgetting they were in a car.

With a thud, Sheila's head, adorned with what looked like Mickey Mouse ears, hit the car roof, causing her to clutch her head in pain and bend down.

Kurapika had heard legendary tales about Chairman Netero from Germin, Bisky, and others.

Hearing his name now surprised him too, but he was distracted by Sheila's series of actions.

"Hey, Sheila, is your head okay? Do you need me to use the 'Healing Thumb Chain' on you?"

Sheila shook her head, rubbing her head as she sat up, looking quite wronged.

For some reason, Kurapika's genuinely concerned words sounded to her like he was scolding her for not being smart.

She repeated to herself in her mind: I chose this, I chose this. This path is my choice… No regrets, no regrets. I absolutely won't regret it...

After confirming Sheila was okay, Bisky glanced over at her and then carefully chose her words, pointing to her own ears.

"Do you know that Chairman Netero has a nickname called 'Ears of the Wind'? It's because he always seems to know other people's whereabouts and can guess their next moves."

Bisky let out a long sigh.

"I actually thought that our situation would eventually be discovered by Chairman Netero. However, I hoped it would happen only after we had obtained one of the 'Hopes.' That way, we could take the initiative."

"Unfortunately, we were discovered anyway."

"However, after grasping the basic situation, Chairman Netero didn't immediately stop the negotiations between Germain and Beyond. Instead, he sent a message to Ging, which means he might be weighing his options and planning to give us a chance."

"To put it simply, from what I know of Chairman Netero, he's the kind of person who, if we can achieve results and safely bring back 'Hope' instead of 'Disaster,' will acknowledge our unauthorized actions."

"If we fail, he'll take action to resolve the matter. He will punish and disband us, while doing to Germain what he did to Beyond—putting him under 'Chains.'"

"If I'm not mistaken, Chairman Netero has definitely set a deadline, like completing this A-level difficulty task before January 1999 arrives."

"He's like that; he often assigns tasks to me or my subordinates that should take a year or so to complete, but he insists they must be done within one or two months."

"Chairman Netero's intentions are quite clear."

"'I can pretend not to see, and I can secure all the 'permissions,' 'qualifications,' and 'contracts' for you afterward, but only on the condition that you must retrieve 'Hope' and not 'Disaster.'"

Netero has never blindly rejected the members of the Hunter Association exploring the Dark Continent because he knows that the desire to explore the Dark Continent is in a hunter's nature and cannot be stopped.

What he rejects is Beyond's approach of "clearing mines with human lives."

Otherwise, it's possible that by the time 'Hope' brings change to human society, 'Disaster' will have already completely destroyed the order of human society.

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