Hunter X Hunter: Tombbound Power

Although the streets of Meteor City advocate the law of the jungle, many powerful individuals still live there. However, the stronger a person is, the more adaptable and cunning they tend to be, knowing how to navigate survival and prolong their lives.

While Ronnel could increase his strength by working with corpses, the enhancement was reaching its limit. The corpses of truly strong people were rare. Like the two bodies Ronnel examined last night, from which he extracted the basic palm skill book—such valuable finds had been scarce in the months he'd been doing this work.

The bodies Ronnel usually handled belonged to weaker people, so the chances of acquiring something extraordinary were slim. Most of what he found were third-rate items. Even the martial arts skill book he found, bound in blue leather, was considered a treasure in this context.

(T/N: blue leather - intermediate level. Skill books came in varying levels: basic, intermediate, advanced, and perfect, with white, blue, red, and purple leather covers respectively.)

The scarcity of valuable finds stemmed from the fact that the truly strong either knew how to survive and avoid danger or had found other ways out. Those with real power and ambition didn't remain confined to the streets of Meteor City. They sought bigger challenges beyond the city's limits.

Take, for example, the members of the Phantom Troupe—Chrollo, Uvogin, and others—who quietly left Meteor City to pursue their ambitions. Despite Meteor City being a wasteland, it wasn't difficult to leave.

Ten years before the Hunter x Hunter story unfolded, a certain country arrested a homeless man without an ID for suspected murder. Upon investigation, it was revealed he had no nationality or social identity. The man claimed to be from Meteor City, and although he was an ordinary person, he had walked out of Meteor City into the wider world. This demonstrated how easy it was to leave the city.

Of course, those who left quietly, without documentation, often became fugitives or vagrants. But the strong who sought legitimate ways out did so through the Meteor City Elders, often finding work with underworld families. The Mafia provided them with new identities, and in return, these individuals offered their strength as enforcers, a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Even the Zoldyck family, infamous as elite assassins, had ties to Meteor City. Killua's mother, Kikyo, the family's head housekeeper, and even their trainee servant, Canary, all hailed from Meteor City.

Thus, most of the truly powerful had left Meteor City by various means. Aside from the trusted confidants of the Elders, the city's ruling power, the most formidable forces remaining were people like Luca, who had only recently opened their Aura Nodes.

Of the 172 corpses Ronnel processed last night, only one belonged to a Nen user. A Nen practitioner like Shizuku was a rare gem in Meteor City—one of a kind, even.

Nen, with its idealistic principles, often aligned with Shizuku's indifferent attitude toward the world. Some might call her innocent and adorable, others might see her as cold and detached. Her lack of desire for worldly things resonated with the philosophies Ronnel had studied in the past, possibly explaining why she was so strong at such a young age.

Because she had so few desires, Shizuku hadn't felt the need to leave Meteor City, unlike other strong individuals. She was content to remain, detached and quiet.

If Chrollo and Franklin hadn't come to Meteor City to recruit her as Phantom Troupe's No. 8 Spider, she might have spent the rest of her life there, an unknown girl in the shadows.

"So, I want to leave," Ronnel said, eyes gleaming with a sense of purpose.

"Find a place where I can grow stronger and experience the beauty of the world."

"Is that so~?" Shizuku blinked at him with her wide, curious eyes.

"Then let's go."

Though her manner was sweet and innocent, Shizuku wasn't mindless. Seeing Ronnel's longing for the world beyond Meteor City, she thought for a moment before agreeing.

"Why not leave? Whether I stay here or go out there, it makes no real difference~"

Her thoughts were as simple as that. With her weak memory and lack of complex emotions, "fierce yet brainless" might be the best way to describe her.

"When should we leave?"

"No time like the present. Let's go today~"

"Today? Alright, let's go now."

…

Their home was sparse, with nothing of value to bring. Ronnel was a man of action, so after quickly packing, he led Shizuku toward the edge of Meteor City.

Meteor City's layout formed a cross, with four wide, straight streets dividing the city into four quadrants. Each quadrant had several smaller districts. Ronnel and Shizuku's home was in the northern part of the eastern district, near the city's edge.

After less than half an hour of walking, crossing a massive garbage landfill, they found themselves standing before the endless desert stretching beyond the city's borders.

They had reached the outside world. Finally.

The moment felt surreal. As long as they crossed this desert, a brand-new world awaited them.