HxH: I Will Be Supreme

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In the end, Oboro calmed the veteran hunter's anger at the cost of a diamond.

The other two newcomers returned to the room and listened to Biscuit's lecture with polite smiles. Oboro just ignored Pariston's wave.

The man wasn't the vice-president of the association yet, there were still several years until the main action would begin. Even without his intuition warning him, Oboro knew that Pariston meant trouble.

The Association had its share of good and bad people, and Pariston was undoubtedly one of the most difficult to deal with.

His personality was very twisted.

After a while, Biscuit finished speaking and Oboro stopped thinking.

"So, Oboro, what kind of career do you want to pursue?" Biscuit called sweetly from the stage. She knew that Oboro was now one of the Ten Dons of the Underworld. The gems such a powerful figure could collect must be incredibly rare and valuable, enough to buy her a "Friendship Card" for the day.

"I haven't decided yet," Oboro hummed, running his fingers through his hair with practiced laziness. "Pick whatever seems interesting. Don't really care."

"Alright then."

Biscuit didn't get angry. She thought Oboro understood the situation well enough after all this time.

The result was so casual.

Oboro had a clear plan in mind, but he didn't want to say it in front of Pariston.

After a few more instructions, everyone dispersed. During this time, Biscuit grabbed Oboro's sleeve, clearly wanting to lead him away, obviously trying to prevent any contact with Pariston. She was obviously suspicious of him as well.

"My popularity is really terrible," Oboro thought as he walked through the door.

Pariston's smile never wavered from beginning to end.

"He came here just for you. During the Hunter Exam, the Chairman visited Yorknew City just for you. That's a privilege few get. It's hard to escape his attention. He may have even investigated your background during that time," Biscuit said seriously in the corridor: "Stay away from him."

"Is he dangerous?"

Oboro asked with a smile.

"I wouldn't say dangerous, but definitely not safe. Don't be fooled by his friendly demeanor, he's always scheming behind the scenes. No one can guess what he's really thinking," Biscuit warned.

"It's all right, I can handle him. His name is Pariston, right? Recently chosen by the Chairman to be one of the Zodiac Twelve. He's a year younger than me and already a two-star hunter. Pretty impressive," Oboro remarked.

At his words, Biscuit, who was walking ahead of him, suddenly turned and stopped. She stared directly at him, her voice lowering: "Oboro, I know that your mind is far beyond that of ordinary people, but I'm serious! His way of thinking, his tactics, you can't handle them. Stay away from him!"

"Afraid I'll be led astray?"

Oboro smiled faintly.

"..."

Seeing Biscuit still staring at him, he sighed and nodded: "All right, I understand."

They took the elevator to the chairman's office on the top floor. The interior layout and structure of the Association seemed quite normal, like any large company, with many non-hunters working in various departments, making Oboro feel like a new employee.

Soon they reached the door of Netero's office and Biscuit knocked.

"Come in!"

A clear voice called from inside.

Pushing open the door, Oboro immediately saw Netero and Bean sitting on a cushion, playing shogi.

Seeing him, the old man laughed. "Come, sit down."

Oboro had come to ask the chairman to fulfill his earlier promise to help with Aldama's condition.

But his eyes kept drifting to Bean, the secretary definitely didn't look human.

"Hello, Oboro. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm the Chairman's secretary, Bean."

"Hello."

Oboro nodded.

The two continued their game while Oboro and Biscuit waited quietly.

He walked around the Chairman's office and noticed nothing special. The furniture was rather simple, only a painting on the wall attracted attention.

"Have you decided what to do?" Netero's question came from behind.

Oboro turned to see that the game was over. As expected, the old man had won.

"You have already aligned your main direction with your interests. You've made your decision internally," the old man accepted a teacup from Bean, took a sip and looked completely relaxed.

"Ancient scripts, I want to become an Ancient Text Hunter."

Oboro said quietly.

"Oh, not ruins, but texts."

Netero showed no surprise and stroked his beard. "Before you came here, with your personality, you had already researched most of the Association, hadn't you?"

"I can't hide anything from you."

Oboro raised his eyebrows.

Biscuit tweaked her chin and complained: "Ancient texts, I had no idea you were interested in that. You almost had me fooled. I thought you'd choose crime, bounty hunting, counter-terrorism, something like that."

Earlier, Oboro had called out Pariston's name directly, as if he already knew it. Biscuit realized that Oboro had done his homework. She wasn't surprised. Even during his early days in the Heaven's Arena, while Oboro had fought fierce battles in the ring, he'd always maintained careful calculations and preparations beneath the surface, his personality more cautious and stable than it appeared. However, most of the information Oboro could gather would be superficial. He couldn't have a deep understanding of certain people.

That was what worried her and why she wanted to keep Oboro and Pariston apart.

"Not just the profession, you've already thought about your ultimate goal, haven't you?"

Netero sighed. "The information value of the position of the Ten Dons can't be underestimated."

The old man knew people like Oboro all too well.

Ten Dons?

When Bean heard these words, he stared at Oboro in surprise, completely unable to connect this young man with an underworld boss.

"Well, I know you have sharp eyes. Nothing escapes you."

Oboro's lips curled as he came to the point: "You said before that there was a way to make me stronger. Tell me."

"Young man, patience."

"Don't you want to talk to this old man?"

"..."

"How do you like the Association so far?"

Netero took another sip of his tea.

Biscuit, who was standing nearby, noticed this and smiled knowingly. Yes, that feeling, she'd often been 'played' by the chairman himself.

"It's okay."

Oboro sat down and replied.

"Did it not meet your expectations?" Netero asked with a smile.

"No, it's exactly as I imagined, so no surprises," Oboro said calmly.

"Oh?"

His words took the old man by surprise. "Is there anyone you are interested in?"

"A few, but not many."

"Then I guess you are most interested in Linne Horsdoeuvre and myself. After all, we're the only two who've been to this place," the old man's next words instantly changed both his and Biscuit's expressions.

Gourmet Hunter Linne Horsdoeuvre, the Association's oldest hunter.

"Indeed."

Seeing Oboro's reaction, Netero sighed and put down his teacup. "As I thought, you know about her."

Since Biscuit's special call, in which Oboro had been mentioned, the old man had been quietly watching him. He wasn't nearly as indifferent as he seemed.

It was natural for Oboro to use the association and himself as its chairman as a stepping stone to his goal of becoming stronger.

The thing was, becoming stronger was such a common goal that everyone walked that path.

But such a goal required motivation to push it forward.

Why become stronger? What would you do with that strength?

Power?

Judging by the way Oboro handled the Fells family, he clearly had no interest in power. In his eyes, even the position of Ten Don seemed expendable.

Earlier, at the City Amusement Park, a conversation had convinced the chairman: Oboro wanted to be on top of the mountain!

And that peak meant not just becoming the most powerful Nen user, but surpassing all of them, including their achievements.

An unprecedented achievement.

Only this would prove Oboro's true worth. The "view" he sought from the top of the mountain belonged to his will alone!

So, looking at the entire human world, if he wanted to accomplish this, there was only one place he could escape to: The Dark Continent.

The Association might have accelerated Oboro's growth, but these were only superficial reasons.

The most likely reason for this young man to join the Association was Netero himself.

The chairman understood this perfectly.

He could even deduce that Oboro's main reason for becoming one of the Ten Dons was to make contact with V5.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain why this person spared no effort in planning.

Everything Oboro did had a purpose!

On the one hand, he joined the association for his own sake. On the other hand, he was approaching through official channels, his direction obvious.

It was frightening!

The young man in front of him, only twenty years old and already planning his path forward, doing it all alone! Such an ability wasn't common. Most importantly, Oboro's strength and talent were equally outstanding.

An extremely ambitious goal, each step carefully planned. Even Biscuit hadn't realized this level of foresight.

Even if the underworld had gathered information beforehand, they might not know about Linne Horsdoeuvre.

Oboro's reaction now made Netero suspect that he'd learned something from V5, which meant that the Fells Family had already infiltrated certain organizations. This was beyond his expectations. The speed and efficiency of the Fells Family was remarkable, Oboro and his family were quite capable.

Of course, Netero didn't know that the Fells Family hadn't infiltrated V5 at all. At least, it would be almost impossible to do so in such a short time.

Everything came from the "memory bank" of the young man in front of him.

"You can't leave!"

Crack.

The teacup in Netero's hand developed hairline cracks.

The old man, who always had a friendly expression on his face, suddenly turned serious, even cold, and stared directly at Oboro.

This look, this invisible pressure.

At that moment, Oboro stopped breathing.

His hair stood on end.

Instinctively, he wanted to fight back, but even moving a finger proved to be almost impossible.

Bean and Biscuit stood frozen as well, also unable to speak or move.

The old man, it was extremely rare to see him this serious!