Hunter x Hunter : Germain Joins The Hunt

November 5th.

Germain was summoned to Granny Linne's room, and soon after, the maid left the living room.

Granny Linne sat in her wheelchair on the balcony, basking in the sun. When she heard the sound of footsteps, she slowly turned her head, squinting her eyes and giving him a kind smile.

"Take a seat," she said, her thin fingers pointing to a chair opposite the tea table.

Germain sat down and looked at Granny Linne. "What can I do for you?"

In truth, he already had a guess.

In the entire Limeiro Castle, only two people had never directly asked or hinted at his thoughts on the Chimera Ant extermination operation: one was Shizuku, and the other was Granny Linne.

Shizuku was one thing, but Germain had always wondered why Granny Linne hadn't asked a single question. Now, it seemed he was about to find out.

"The Ant Queen is dead," Granny Linne said calmly, without beating around the bush. "The Ant King has been born. This happened much earlier than expected—something is very off."

She opened her eyes fully, still smiling as she looked at Germain.

"This is classified information for now, but with the Queen dead, the Chimera Ants have lost their restraint. It's only a matter of time before they invade the neighboring countries and regions around the NGL Autonomous Region."

"In other words, in about two or three days, the world will know that the Chimera Ants are out of control and spreading. Within months, it's estimated that millions will die because of this."

"Not to mention the King and his Royal Guards, who are currently unaccounted for. They're the most terrifying of all the Chimera Ants. According to Isaac, the King's strength might even surpass his own."

As Granny Linne spoke, she observed Germain's expression. In her heart, she silently confirmed, Just as I thought.

"You've avoided talking much about the Chimera Ant extermination recently because you saw this coming, didn't you?"

"Germain, you're one of the few humans who has fought monsters from the Dark Continent and survived. You know very well that Chimera Ants are no simple enemy."

"Let alone the fact that there might be forces behind this far greater than Beyond's influence."

Germain listened quietly, his expression unreadable.

So, things had already deteriorated this far?

The Ant Queen was dead, likely killed when the Ant King, Meruem, tore his way out of her body. With that, the original Chimera Ant hierarchy, with the Queen at its peak, had completely collapsed.

The Ant King, Meruem, and his Royal Guards would now act on their own, targeting the Republic of East Gorteau to the east of the NGL Autonomous Region.

Within the Chimera Ants, two major factions began to emerge.

One faction sought independence, aiming to establish their own Chimera Ant kingdom.

The other faction chose to collaborate with humans, supporting the Chimera Ant Extermination Squad in their mission to assassinate King Meruem.

This striking resemblance to human societal traits was due to their queen consuming and mating with humans before giving birth to them.

As a result, these Chimera Ants retained fragments of memories from their past lives as humans.

Their thoughts and behavior were close to those of humans—in fact, apart from their appearance, they could almost be described as naive "humans."

These Chimera Ants, created by blending human and other species' genes through the queen's feeding and mating, would soon bring disaster to nations and regions near the NGL Autonomous Zone.

The silence of Germain already spoke volumes.

Granny Linne didn't press further. Instead, she let out a soft sigh and said, "Isaac is such a stubborn man. He's always been like that, and now that he's older, he's even more so."

"The more people forbid him from doing something, or the more they think something is irrational, the more determined he is to do it. That's why he sought out me and Zigg to go to that hellish place—the Dark Continent."

Her tone was a mix of nostalgia and complaint.

"Even after becoming the strongest person in the Six Continents, he never gave up on pursuing the ultimate peak of martial arts. It's just that he couldn't find anyone here worthy of his full effort."

"It was as if his journey in martial arts had reached its end... until now. Especially after the birth of the Ant King. When I spoke to him, I could clearly sense the return of his younger self."

"The Ant King... he's an opponent worthy of Isaac going all out."

"To be honest, many people have noticed something unusual about this Chimera Ant extermination mission. Even if they're following an elite decapitation strategy, the Extermination Team shouldn't have been formed with just this lineup."

"Many people say that Pariston, the Review Department, the Specialist Hunters, and even the higher-ups of the V5 are intentionally sabotaging Isaac, preventing him from getting the support he needs."

"That's true, but also not quite."

"In reality, if Isaac were to call out, more than half of the 'Zodiac' members on missions would immediately rush to his side. He holds that level of influence now."

"The Review Department, the Specialist Division, the V5 higher-ups—disobeying their orders doesn't mean instant death, does it? It's not like that at all."

"The real obstacle is Isaac himself. He's the one stopping these people. He's his own biggest roadblock. As long as he doesn't give the go-ahead, no one can go against his will."

"If Isaac doesn't want it, then anyone who wishes to help him will have no reason to step in. That's why I say, he's an incredibly stubborn man."

"As someone who pursues the ultimate path of martial arts, he'll throw everything aside to challenge the Ant King alone. And as the Chairman of the Hunter Association, he'll sacrifice everything to ensure victory."

"If it truly comes to that, he'll undoubtedly die. And that's not good for either of us."

"I'll lose a dear friend of decades."

"You'll lose your strongest supporter. Beyond might take advantage of the chaos, V5 will seize control, and that would be the worst possible outcome."

"So, we need to prevent that."

"Germain, I need to know: if we ask you to join the Chimera Ant Extermination Team, take on some of the responsibility—are you willing?"

This time, Germain didn't hesitate for long.

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