Sennin Hunter

by sinisteruto

Eight months after the chimera ant saga, Gon has not only purged his nen restriction, but has become a key member of the criminal syndicate known as Akatsuki. How will Gon and his comrades fare with the V6 and the Hunter Assossiation gunning for him and his syndicate brothers and sisters? And what role will the troupe and chimera ants play in this unfolding episode?

1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter x Hunter or any other anime or series I might use for inspiration.

Sennin Hunter

My name is Gon Freecs. I am a resident of Whale Island, the head and founder of the Freecs family of Bounty Hunters, and a member of the infamous mercenary organisation, the Akatsuki. Eight months ago, the world was in a crisis and humans were in danger of being replaced as the dominant species in the world. This incident was labelled as the chimera ant saga. The chimera ant king, Meruem took over East Gourteu as his headquarters and planned to spread his influence and control all over the world, killing all normal humans and converting all of those with special aura into chimera ant/human hybrids.

A punitive force was sent into East Gourteu to defeat the king and his royal guard, thereby ending the chimera ant saga. I was one of the members of that squad and I ended up having a revenge one on one battle with one of the King's royal guard, a woman by the name Neferpitou. She'd killed a dear friend of mine, someone whom I even considered as family, or at least, I thought he was dead at the time, how was I supposed to know he'd be reincarnated as a chimera ant female?

In any case, to defeat Neferpitou and exact my revenge, I was willing to sacrifice everything, even my life, and as it turns out, my life was the sacrifice required in order to evolve my body and gain the power needed to kill her. If it wasn't for Killua and his little brother, Alluka, I wouldn't be alive right now. The chairman, Netero-san, also risked and lost his life in order to complete the mission, and his actions were the direct cause of King Meruem, Menthuthuyoupi, and Shaiapouf's deaths.

I was surprised and quite frankly, disapointed to find out that I had lost my ability to use nen after Alluka healed me. But right now, I'm very greatful for that, because I believe that I would never have discovered my ultimate ability if I never had to learn to use nen the traditional way, traditional way as in to spend hours and hours a day meditating in order to open each of my aura nodes.

Naturally, this training was done in the jungle surrounding my home, specifically near ponds and water falls. That's where I feel most at ease and comfortable after all. And I realised the reason for this a month into my training. I have a special ability, the ability to collect aura from my surroundings, in other words, from nature itself. My body undergoes a few transformations when I enter what I now refer to as sage mode. Three thick whisker-like linings appear on each of my cheeks, my eyes take on a gold hue with a black cross in the middle and gold highlights appear on my hair. Not only that, but my canine teeth become elongated too and hands resemble claws with the way my nails get elongated.

These physical changes are not that important though, what is important is the power I gain when I enter sage mode. Kurapica once told me that he was a conjurer, but became a specialist who has a one hundred percent affinity for all nen categories when his eyes turn red. I remember thinking to myself how amazing such a thing was, and all of the things I would do if I had that kind of power. I never once imagined I would find myself in the same boat, that I too would be able to enter a state where I could use all nen categories with one hundred percent efficiency for as long as I could maintain that state.

Using all nen categories is not the only thing I gain from sennin mode though, my recovery and healing rate are enhanced, my physical strength and speed are also enhanced when I enter this mode. Furthermore, the strength and capacity of my aura is also greatly enhanced, after all, I have access to external aura that I can add to my own when I'm in this mode.

There are withdrawals though, for one, I can only maintain this mode for only five minutes in battle, and it takes a whole two minutes of medidating and standing still for me to enter this mode. In other words, this is not an ability I can use in a spur of the moment fight, but it should still be useful for missions, as I can enter the mode before I reveal myself to the enemy. Also, it might take a while, but I believe I can one day get to a point where I can enter the mode instantly and fight for maybe twenty minutes in it, that might take a long time, though, and it would have been impossible had I not developed the shadow clone technique.

This is a really amazing technique, it is a conjurer type technique where I create real doppelgangers of myself, So far I can create thirty of them when I am in sennin mode, but only two when I'm normal because I only have 60 percent compatibility with conjurer type techniques in that state. This technique is a blessing from the heavens, because my clones have accesss to all the skills, memories, and other abilities that I have, and every experience and memory they gain is transfered back to me when I cancel the technique. With this technique, I was able to rapidly become powerful, in fact, it took only two months for me to triple my strength from when I faced Pitou, that is, to triple my base strength without entering sage mode. Ofcourse, I'm not taking my adult form into account here, I was only in that form for a few minutes, I never got to test and learn it's limits.

In any case, the reason for my rapid improvemens is because I assigned troups of shadow clones to develop my nen and mental abilities for me while I, the original, focused solely on my physical training and development. In other words, for the last seven months, I've been training only my body. For someone who is naturally an enhancer, to be able to train only your body for that long without neglecting your nen training is food from the heavens, because my nen skills have grown side by side with my body as shadow clones have been assigned to develop my ten, ko, ren, gyo, ken, ryu, rock-paper-scissors, and other affiliated nen abilities. Other clones have been assigned to expand on my base abilities too, paper is an emitter ability and scissors is a transmuter ability. I felt that I needed to expand on these categories as well rather than to rely soley on my rock - paper- scissors techniques, so that my fighting style can have a little diversity even if I can't find the time required to enter sennin mode. Ofcourse, it goes without saying that I've worked on all the nen categories so that I can properly utilise the benefits when I get the chance to enter sennin mode.

Nevertheless, aside from training, I've used my riches as a hunter to pay for my grandmother's funerlal, she died of old age six months ago. I also started training with Mito-san after grandma's death, this is because I have turned us into a bounty hunting family, therefore, every member of this family has to have the ability to fight, much like the Zoldyck family, but far less cruel or harsh. Also, I've realised that leaving any family member defenseless is not ideal, especially since I turned us into a family of bounty hunters. In any case, Mito-san is a specialist with the ability she refers to as the particle release. It's quite a useful ability, but as a result, she is far more scary than she used to be. I do my best not to mess with her nowadays, and I am forced to obey her every demand. Can you believe this! Damn, it's still better than leaving her defenseless though.

Anyway, because of my work as I bounty hunter, Akatsuki quickly took notice of me and they tracked me down very quickly. That is because, unlike the Zoldyck family, I don't kill indescriminately just for the sake of money, I do my background research before I capture or kill a bounty. After concluding my research, I must be able to classify the person as either evil, or at least, their actions, whether because of an inherent evil or ignorance, must fall under the category of inhumane. In other words, murderers, rapists, extortioners, oppressors, corrupt government officials, chaos instigators, etc etc. If I judge both the act and the motive/reason as constituting evil, then I accept the mission and hunt down the bounty. I don't want to turn a blind eye to all of this evil in the world, that is because, what if I turn a blind eye and Mito-san becomes a victim of one of these people when I could have actually prevented it?

Anyway, it turns out that the Akatsuki have the same idea. Pein, our leader, considers himself to be the God Of Peace, and he wants to create a world of peace and posperity, free of chaos, oppression, femine, and war. Honestly, I'm surprised that someone who has never met me was able to deduce my personality simply by looking at my bounty list. I didn't think my selective bounty hunting would be that obvious. Nevetheless, once I heard the finer details of his plan, I was more than happy to join the organisation.

I've also used mine and some of Akatsuki's money to buy most of the businesses in Whale Island, and Akatsuki helped me to buy a large piece of land, practically the whole jungle and forests of Wave Island. In other words, I practically own the whole island right now, and since then, because of my influence, Wave Island's economy has sky rocketed and the people love me for it, although, I was popular in the island even before this ordeal.

This is Akatsuki's way of doing business, as a mercenary organisation, we have taken to eliminating all evil in the world while making money at the same time. Ofcourse, we only label ourselves as a mercenary organisation, because it isn't really about the money, at least not as much as it was when the organisation was founded. Initially, the organisation really needed the money, but since then, the organisation has used the money to establish and buy numerous lucrative business and different countries, in other words, the organisation makes billions of money even without our mercenary activities. Nowadays we do both mercenary jobs and pro-bono jobs, and we justify the pro-bono as giving back to the community, after all, some of those pro-bono missions have directly and indirectly advanced Akatsuki's social standing and interests.

Anyway, the bottom line is, we, Akatsuki, in the same manner that I took over Wave Island, now control a lot of small islands and those small islands, if we were to put their resources together, constitute an empire like alliance. This is the initial phase of our world take-over plan, which will in turn lead to world peace under our guidance

In any case, to bring things closer to home, I now have my own palace in the forest, it's about as big as the Supreme Leader of East Gourtea, and I have only five security guards, and those are my foxbear Kon, his cubs Ron, Son, and Don, and the mother of his cubs, Fiona. In other words, he has dedicated himself, his family, and his descendants as a family of bodyguards that will serve the Freecs family of Bounty Hunters for the rest of time.

I was able to open Kon and his wife's aura nodes with my sage nen, and as a result, his cubs were born with the ability to use nen. It is difficult to teach an animal how to use advanced nen abilities, the only way is to spar with them and let their instincts and experience do the rest. Anyway, if there is one common trait between them, it is that they, much like I can in sage mode, have the ability to sense negative emotions. This makes them the ideal security guards, as they can easily distinguish between a person who enters the residence with good or neutral intentions, or one with hostile intentions.

Anyway, that's enough of the past for now, you won't believe what just happened though. The phantom troupe just entered my residence, and the fact that they entered without causing a ruckus leads me to believe that they are actually here with good intentions, or at least, they don't have any hostile intent, otherwise they would have never made it this far. Well, at least not without sustaining any injuries, Kon and his family are powerful nen users after all.

"It's been quite a while since we met face to face, Gon." Chrollo, the leader of the phantom troupe, greeted casually.

"Oh! Hehehehehe! What a surprise, you guys are not going to try and use me to lure out Kurapica again are you?" Gon asked, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

'Kuso, at least Kon could have warned me somehow that some powerful people were coming even if they have no hostility in them, I could have at least changed my outfit.' Gon thought wearily.

Some might think that his outfit should have been the least of his concerns in light of his circumstances, however, that would be far from correct. Anyone who was someone in the underwold knew about Akatsuki, and they knew that Akatsuki always wear a black suit with a red tie and a black glove with red clouds on it. Ofcourse, not many knew that the glove was actually a conjured nen glove. It was a technique that automatically reacted to a person's nen, in other words, it only activated when the person was using aura. If Gon were to force himself into a state of zetsu, as he was right now, the glove would disappear altogether, also, a bearer of the glove could hide it even when they were using their nen by simply applying In to it. This was Pein's technique, a technique that he used to keep track of their movements and location in case one of them was captured, which was ofcourse unlikely given how strong each member was, but not impossible. The technique was however used primarily for communication, as Pein could use it to open a mental communication link with a member from anywhere in the world. Anyway, regardless of the fact that the glove disappeared or not in a state of Zetsu, Gon was still weary of the phantom troupe finding out about his affiliation as he didn't know how the phantom troupe would react, and whether they would keep the information to themselves or not.

"Don't worry, we have no intention to hurt you, Gon Freecs. At least not today." Chrollo replied.

"You know, for some strange reason, that doesn't make me feel any less uneasy, in fact, that actually makes me feel even more uneasy than I was before." Gon replied with a wide smile.

"Bastard! You sure know how to spoil a surprise with your casual attitude, I expected a far more comical reaction from you." Phinks said, not knowing whether to be pissed off, amused, or impressed right now, he and the rest of his comrades making themselves comfortable as they sat themselves in Gon's dining table, with Chrollo sitting at the far end opposite Gon, who was sitting at the head of the table, Shalnak and Feitan sitting on each side closest to Gon.

"Hmmm...you know, I'm not sure I like you two sitting so close to me. I think I'd be more comfortable with Machi-chan and Shizuku-chan."

"Sexist bastard! You think you have a better chance against us because we're girls?" Shizuku asked irritably.

"Huh? Oh no it's nothing like that! It's just that, well, Feitan-san is a torture expert who likes cutting people up, and Shalnark is a mind raper who likes sticking needles into people. I don't think anyone would be comfortable sitting so close to them."

"He does have a point." Feitan replied casually.

"You think so? Hahaha! Well, now that I think about it from a neutral perspective, he does kinda have point, although I never would have expected him to be so blunt about it." Shalnark replied.

"What the hell are you talking about, Shalnark! He's an enhancer, no one is more likely to be so blunt about it than him." Nobunaga said with a cocky smirk.

"Yeah whatever! Just let the boss speak already, this is not an entirely social gathering you know." Pakunoda cut in swiftly, causing Gon to stare at her with intense concentration.

"What?" Pakunoda asked irritably.

"Are you Pakunoda's twin sister?" Gon asked curiously.

"No." Pakunoda replied simply.

"Then, how is it that you're alive? I was told that you had died because you tried to defy Kurapica's nen restriction that was placed on you." Gon asked curiously.

"I was revived thanks to the boss's efforts. The boss found a nen user who had an unrivaled healing nen. The boss wanted to steal his abilities, so he had Shalnark control him with his manipulator abilities so that the boss can learn all about his abilities. That's when we found out that he had a special technique to revive a dead person, but at the expense of his own life. The boss ordered Shalnark to have him use the technique to ressurrect me." Pakunoda explained.

"Wow that's so amazing! Although I do feel sorry for the guy, he was probably saving that technique for a loved one. Well, in any case, I'm happy for you, welcome back, Pakunoda!" Gon replied with a genuine smile.

"Thanks." Pakunoda replied simply.

'Tche, what's he so happy about?' Pakunoda thought to herself.

"Ahem, anyway, Gon, it's like Pakunoda said, this is not an entirely social gathering. We have some business to discuss with you." Chrollo said.

"Okay, you have my attention." Gon said with a serious expression.

"We want you to join the spider." Chrollo said, not beating about the bush at all and going straight to the point, causing Gon's eyes to widen slightly in surprise, but only slightly, because he'd already noted this as an outside possible reason for the spider's presence in his house, what with them not triggering his security's negative sensing and also with Nobunaga trying to recruit him in the past.

"Joining the spider would be a direct betrayal to Kurapica, also, I'm incapable of killing innocent bystanders like you guys do to complete your missions. Furthermore, I don't know how much you guys know, but I had to sacrifice my ability to use nen in order to defeat one of the members of the royal guard during the chimera ant saga, so I'd be of no use to you guys even if I could or wanted to join." Gon replied smoothly.

'Also, with the way you guys conduct yourselves to complete missions, I won't be surprised if we clash in a battle, or even battles to death in the future, your ways directly contradict the way Akatsuki wants the world to run.' Gon thought to himself.

"These royal guards, and the king too, just how strong were they?" Chrollo asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"Let me put it like this, I was part of a punitive force that was sent to East Goureau to defeat the king and his royal guard. The plan was for four distinct battles to take place. The chaiman of the Hunter Association, Isaac Netero was to take on the King, I and Killua were to take on one of the royal guard, her name was Neferpitou, Morel-san and Knov-san were meant to take on Shaipouf, and Knuckle, Melereon, and Shoot were meant to take on Menthuthuyoupi. Out of all those four battles, we were working on the premise of getting a 3-1 scoreline against us, in other words, our job was simply to seperate the royal guard from the King long enough for Netero-san to defeat him, only Netero-san was actually expected to win." Gon explained much to the shock and interest of the members of the phantom troupe.

"So in other words, the main goal of the mission was to take out the King, and without the King the royal guard would lose their sense of purpose, maybe even their unity. And after the fact of the King's death, Netero-san could pick them off one by one at any time. But even Netero-san lost his life against the king, he had to use a suicide bombing tactic just to win. So in the end, no one was expected to win in a straight out battle, and if the royal guard was as attached as you seem to imply they were to the king, they would also get poisoned by the bomb that killed the king, because, they would rush recklessly to his side as soon as they realised something was wrong." Chrollo replied.

"Exactly." Gon confirmed simply.

"I see." Chrollo trailed of thoughtfully.

'I wonder how well I would have faired against the royal guard and the king? It's not something that can easily be judged without actual experience though, I'd have to fight against them to know for sure. In any case, it seems like the royal guard function much in the same way as my comrades and I do. When I was captured by that Kurapica, they became very vulnerable and lost. This is precisely what I had wanted to avoid when I set the rules, but it seems like something that is inevitable. Which means, the burden on the leader is to become so strong that it is impossible to be defeated or captured, otherwise his subordinates will perish.' Chrollo thought to himself, only to be interupted from his thoughts by Gon's voice.

"The true purpose of your visit was not to recruit me into your organisation was it? You should already know how I feel about that from our last encounter. You heard that I was considered a hero of the chimera ant saga and that I had singularily defeated a member of the royal guard. In other words, the true purpose of your visit was to determine my current state of power and how much of a threat I might pose to your organisation in the future. Am I right?" Gon asked retorically.

"Yes and no. No, we did actually come to recruit you, and yes, we did want to determine those things about you as well..."

"Well, nevetherless, my answer is no. I will not join your organisation." Gon cut in.

"Okay, fair enough. Then why don't you explain to us how exactly your family of bounty hunters works? You see I've had Shalnark look into you, and we know that you killed some pretty big hitters in your bounty hunting exploits, people that are literally impossible for a normal human to take out, and even for most nen users. How could you have killed these people without the ability to use nen? Was your nen really sealed away by a restriction you placed on yourself to take out a royal guard and if it was, is it really still sealed away or are you just using zetsu right now to deceive us?" Chrollo asked with an intense expression.

"Just because I can't use nen doesn't mean that I can't teach others to use it in my steed. And just so you know, the security around the house is not as lex as you might seem to believe. My security guards have the ability to sense negative emotions, and unlike nen, that is not something that you can hide with zetsu or In. If you guys had any hostile intentions towards me or any member of the Freecs family, you would have never made it inside so easily. Also, these security guards serve as my arms and legs, in other words, I can order them to eliminate targets. They serve as both my body guards and as my assasins." Gon explained.

'I didn't want to have to give away that secret, but I had to sacrifice that one in order to protect an even bigger secret. If they think that I rely soley on Kon and his family, then my stance that I still can't use nen becomes a whole lot more believable.'

"I see. Well, what do you think, Machi?" Chrollo asked.

"He's told the truth this whole time, but he's hiding something, something very important." Machi replied.

'Kuso! She and her insane instincts! No! Actually, she's the least of my worries, I should be more concerned about Pakunoda. I'll be in really big trouble if Chrollo decides to use her ability.' Gon thought wearily.

"I see, well, this is quite a problem. I believe it will qualify as a hostile intention if I try to use Pakunoda to get secrets out of you, and even if it didn't, your body guards can turn into assassins under your orders in the blink of an eye given what you've told me about them. The fact that we don't have any further information on their abilities and numbers means it's quite risky to just go ahead do it anyway. Hmmm...well, what about this proposal then. You see, Gon, we happen to know a magnificent nen purgeror, a man that I can personally vouch for. What if I offered his services to you?" Chrollo offered.

"In other words, you think that this guy can free my nen again, and if he does, you want me to join the spider in return?" Gon verified.

"I think it's a fair deal, don't you?" Chrollo asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"The answer remains the same, the answer is no. I'm not selling my soul to you Chrollo." Gon replied simply.

"I know enhancers are meant to stubborn, but you're really taking it too far kid." Machi said irritably.

"..."

'Tche! So you're just going to ignore me huh?' Machi thought irritably.

"Okay, how about I just help you anyway, with no strings attached. Our contact unseals your nen and we go our seperate ways." Chrollo offered alternatively.

"I would never accept such an offer simply for the fact that it makes absolutely no sense."

'As if I'd let myself be indebted to you. I know what you're up to you, Chrollo. You're concerned that I've made myself some powerful and important allies because of my exploits, and, should the phantom troupe find themselves in some kind of bind, I'll be obliged to pull in a favor in return for what you did for me. Yeah right, I'm not going to be your pawn!' Gon thought with resolve and determination.

"It makes no sense to help others in need?" Chrollo asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"It makes no sense for a criminal syndicate that places no value on the lives of innocent bystanders to go out of their way to help a potential enemy with no strings attached. You're up to something and I don't want to be a part of it." Gon replied.

'A man who is loyal to his beliefs and convictions no matter what. I can see the appeal, and I understand why the organisation would want someone like that on our side, especially given the raw talent that he has. But still, aren't we going just a tad bit too far for this guy?' Kalluto thought with a confused frown.

"I see..."

"Might I make a suggestion, boss?" Kalluto asked.

"Be my guest." Chrollo replied.

"Why not just go ahead and capture him. We can force him to go through the nen purging procedure and then force him to train with us. He might be angry and resentful at first, but once he starts using nen again and realises how strong he can become with our help, he'll be greatful we did what we did in the end." Kalluto suggested casually, as if Gon wasn't even present in the room to begin with.

"That's not quite a bad idea, and if he's still stubborn about it, we can take even more drastic measures. Like for instance, we can have Kalluto and Feitan use their specialty to break him down." Phinks added with conviction.

"You mean use torture and interogation techniques to crush his will? Isn't that a bit extreme?" Machi asked skeptically.

"Frankly, I don't even see why we have to go so far for him, but since you guys seem so determined, this seems to be the only way that you can get your wish." Kalluto said.

"What do you mean? I thought for sure that you more than anyone would be willing to go so far." Machi retorted.

"Me?" Kalluto asked in surprise.

"Ofcourse. This boy has a big influence on your brother. If he joined the organisation, he might be able to convince your brother to join too. Wouldn't that be better for you?" Machi asked retorically, causing Kalluto's eyes to widen suddenly in realisation.

"You guys can do your worst. Let me warn you though, my will won't be that easy to break. Be prepared to spend at least a thousand years trying to do that, that is, assuming you can successfully capture me." Gon replied with a confident smirk.

'I thought there was something terribly familiar about him, now I finally remember. I only saw him once before, but he's definitely one of Killua's brothers. But why join the phantom troupe, is it an infiltration or what?' Gon pondered.

"I'm afraid that's true boss. There's a reason I recommended him to you. He's just like Uvo, he won't give in to us even if it kills him." Nobunaga said in exasperation.

'But that's exactly why the boss wants him to join the organisation, the same reason you wanted him to join. Uvo may have been a stubborn fool, but someone like him was extremely useful when we found ourselves in a pinch, and he became much stronger when his comrades' lives were at stake.' Franklin thought in realisation.

"Well, I guess we'll be leaving now. I'm glad we could have a civil conversation together like this, and I appreciate you welcoming us into your home. I'm a bit chuffed you didn't offer us any beverages, but I guess that's acceptable since it was more of a business meeting rather than a social visit. Anyway, I'm looking forward to many more of these gatherings, Gon-kun." Chrollo said as he and his comrades stood up from their seats in preparation for departure, and that was the moment that they also felt it, an incredible aura, no, not just one, but five incredible auras from the direction of the front gate.

"What's that incredible aura?" Phinks spoke out loud.

"K-Kon!" Gon shouted in realisation, the young Freecs running straight out of the dining room without any further words, going straight for the front door with the phantom troupe following right behind him.

What they saw outside was a site none of them were actually expecting, well, Gon expected half of it, he after all was the one that opened the aura nodes of the family of Fox bears, but the phantom troupe didn't expect none of it. They didn't expect to see nen using foxbears in a battle formation and they certainly did not expect to see the group that seemed to be on the receiving end of their ire, a group consisting of the twelve zodiacs, Ging, Pariston, Morel, Knuckle, Shoot, Knov, Killua, and three chimera ants, those being Ikalgo, Palm Siberia, and Kite.

"What's going on, Gon!" Nobunaga shouted, adopting a battle stance with his sword ready to be drawn at any moment.

'What an incredible aura. It's not as refined as one would expect from a master nen user, but the sheer magnitude and intensity of it more than makes up for that. These...things would be troublesome to deal with.' Machi thought wearily.

"Kon, Ron, Son, Don, Piona! What are you doing, those are my...!" Gon trailed off, his eyes widening suddenly in surprise and realisation.

'The defense squad wouldn't attack like this unless at least one of them carried hostile feelings towards me. But who could it be? Pariston? Yes, it has to be him, since he's the only one there that I don't know on a personal level and the things that I know about him aren't pleasant either. But just to be sure...'

"Kon! Out of all of those guys, which was it?" Gon shouted across.

"Grrrrrrr...rrrrrrrrrr!" Kon replied in a language that only Gon could understand, causing Gon's eyes to widen in sudden realisation.

"You can understand that thing? What did it say?" Phinks asked impatiently.

"It said that all of them are exhibiting negative intent towards me." Gon said, now adopting a serious expression.

'I'm asking the wrong question. I just walked out of my house with the phantom troupe accompanying me, ofcourse they'd all be feeling aggrieved right now.' Gon realised.

"Kon! Who were the culprits before I walked out of the door?" Gon asked again.

"Grrrrr...rrrrrr...grrrrrrr!" Kon growled out, causing Gon's eyes to widen even further.

"What did he say this time?" Phinks asked curiously.

"H-he said it was all of them." Gon replied with a slight stutter, doing everything in his power to silence his emotions.

'I need to calm down. Those are all extremely powerful nen users, and there must be some sort of explanation for this.' Gon thought.

"Kon I have two requests for you. One, could you use gyo to determine whether these are imposters or not. And two, whether they are imposters or not, I want you and your family to kill anyone who tries to take even one step towards me." Gon said with a deathly tone, causing not only the intruders to bulk in surprise, but even the phantom troupe standing around him.

"There's no need to risk the lives of your family, Gon. As strong as they are, they are clearly outnumbered. Allow us to help, after all, what are friends for." Phinks said with a devious smirk.

'That bonehead. I never imagined someone like him would come up with such an ingenius plan. Ofcourse, Gon will have to accept our help if he cares about the animals half as much I think he does, and if he does, he'll be indebted to us.' Machi thought.

'Even if those animals killed every single enemy, the cost would be too much. Now, what will you do, Gon?' Nobunaga pondered in anticipation.

"Grrrr...rrrr...rr...rrrrrr!" Kon growled out.

"I see..." Gon trailed off.

"What did he say this time?" Phinks persisted.

"They are not imposters and they all failed the test." Gon replied.

"Gon! What the hell are you doing with those guys? Have you discarded your friendship with Kurapica!" Leorio asked furiously.

"You better have a good explanation for this, Gon, because if you don't..." Kurapica trailed off darkly, his eyes turning red as he entered his emperor time state.

"Whether I answer you or not depends on your explaination for coming here." Gon replied coldly.

"That right there is your head on the porch..."

"Wait Kurapica! There has to be a logical explanation for this. It's possible that Gon is being held hostage in his own residence, it's also possible that he is being controlled with nen. Also, if this is the case, this might be the answer to the reason we're here. It's possible that the troupe is in league with the Akatsuki and they are using Gon as a smokescreen for their alliance, maybe to make us fight against each other." Killua tried to reason out.

'Akatsuki? So that's why they're here? Because I'm a suspect? Is that why they have come here with the twelve zodiacs, Ging, Pariston, and my comrades from the chimera ant saga?' Gon thought.

'Still, I could use Killua's hostage theory for my own gain, but knowing him, he could have said that just to trap me. It's too much of a convenient excuse, he'd probably punch a thousand holes in my story. There's also the fact that I'm standing right next to the ryodan, they could kill me at any moment if I try to set them up, the only way to survive would be to use nen, but revealing that I have purged my restriction would open another can of worms. Killua probably has been trained to detect lies from the day he started talking, the best way to win is to use the truth.' Gon thought strategically.

"I'll make things easy for you. I'm not being controlled and I'm not a hostage. The phantom troupe came to my house to have a friendly business meeting, but I rejected their offer. They were about to leave when you guys arrived, that's all there is to it." Gon replied emotionlessly.

"It doesn't seem like a battle took place here, also, when your foxbears arrived, their aura was so strong that it indended the earth that they are standing on. However, everything was plain and squiky when we arrived. Which means, the phantom troupe were exempted from the treatment that we're receiving right now." Cheadle countered.

"In other words, the phantom troupe must have been on friendly terms with you and your family, hence why they were not attacked, is that not right, Gon...?" Kurapica asked with a deadly tone.

"It's total garbage, completely wrong." Gon replied dismissively.

"What did you say...?" Kurapica asked, now really starting to lose his cool.

"My defense squad has the ability to sense negative emotions. Negative emotions are something you cannot hide with zetsu or In, you can't hide them at all from their senses. The reason the ryodan entered freely is, like I said, that they only came here to make a friendly business offer, an offer that I rejected. That's all there is to it." Gon replied casually.

"What kind of business proposition was this if I may ask, Gon-kun?" Pariston asked curiously.

"That has nothing to do with you, Pariston-san." Gon retorted.

"Hmmm...so defensive, could there be more to you and the phantom troupe than you're letting on?" Pariston hummed thoughtfully.

"I've answered all your questions, now, it's your turn to answer, what is your purpose for coming here?" Gon asked with a deadly tone of his own, causing Pariston to fume inside, not being used to having his taunts brushed aside so easily.

"You're acting like it's abnormal for us to visit our friend, Gon." Shoot replied with an insulted expression.

"It's definitely abnormal for my friends to bring my father, the chairman of the hunter assossiation, the twelve zodiacs, and Pariston with them on a supposedly friendly visit. What's even more abnormal is for my so called friends to fail the negative emotion security system on their so called friendly visit." Gon retorted, causing Shoot to forcefully resume his state of silence.

"Have you ever thought that maybe your security system might not be so perfect?" Kanzai, codenamed Tiger, asked irritably.

"Yes I have considered that possibility ofcourse. And I have gone to great lengths to verify whether it is so or not. The tests and experiments revealed that it is in fact a perfect system in that respect." Gon replied simply, causing Tiger to scratch his head in embarrassment.

"Ging, you've been awfully quiet so far. Aren't you going to say anything? He's your son after all." Pariston taunted.

"What are you talking about, I just came here to see how my son is doing, it's been a while since last I saw him you know." Ging replied.

"That's a lie. Because, if that were the case, then you wouldn't have failed the negative emotions test like the rest of us. In other words, deep down in your heart, you carry some sort of resentment for Gon, whether in respect of our business here or some other business." Mizaistom said swiftly.

"..."

"I'm going to ask you one more time. If I do not get a satisfactory explanation, then consider yourselves from that moment on as my sworn enemies. Remember, you can't lie to me without me finding out as long as I have my defense squad here." Gon replied.

'He's totally different from what I expected, has he changed or was he just that good at hiding this side of himself back then?" Pariston thought wearily.

"I guess we don't have much of choice then. Okay, Gon-kun, I will tell you truth. We believe that you are working for the Akatsuki organisation, and we've come to investigate whether that is true or not. That's all there is to it." Cheadle summarised briefly.

"If that is the case, then why bring my friends and comrades into this?" Gon asked curiously.

"Killua's brother, Illumi, and Hisoka were attacked by the leader of the Akatsuki and his partner, presumably his wife or girlfriend, who is also an Akatsuki member. Both Hisoka and Illumi had been hospitalised and they were in critical condition, Killua's father, Silva Zoldyck, and his grandfather, Zeno, were also caught in the cross fire in an attempt to save their son and grandson. Zeno was injured as well, but it was not a fatal injury, the same could not be said for Silva tho, and he, like his son and Hisoka would have died had it not been for Killua's aid. He healed them using the same secret technique that was used on you I believe." Cheadle explained.

"I see. Well, that certainly explains his presence here, as it does his sinister intent. I understand that Leorio and Kurapica are here in their capacity as members of the zodiacs, but how would you explain Morel-san, Knov-san, Shoot, Knuckle, Palm, Ikalgo, and Kite?" Gon asked retorically.

'I already know about Killua's brother and his father. But does she think that I'm brain dead or something? Killua's is a family of assassins, am I supposed to believe that they were the ones attacked and not the other ways around? That's putting aside the fact that Leader already gave us a briefing on that issue two days ago.' Gon thought to himself.

"Would it be a surprise to know that they just wanted to tag along? Personally, I suspect that they wanted to be here in order to protect you from us." Pariston replied.

"So they failed the negative emotion test despite their oh so wonderful intent to protect me?" Gon asked in a condescending manner.

'It seems we can't even pass off the smallest of lies because of that one fact. This is certainly a difficult position we've found ourselves in." Pariston thought.

"This is a waste of time. Gon, it's plain and simple, the answer to your question is that we were brought here in order to put you at an emotional disadvantage. No one wants their dirty laundy exposed to their family and friends, that emotional pressure can be overwhelming, and you being overwhelmed would have made it easy for the ones interogating you. That's the reason we were approached and brought here. Ging-san was brought here for the same reason. There you have it." Palm explained clearly and concisely.

"I see. And I suppose it goes without saying that your ability is meant to be used to monitor my movements if...no, rather, when it becomes clear that I'm not an Akatsuki member?" Gon asked retorically.

"Yes, it goes without saying." Palm admitted with a bowed head.

'It's fine if Palm admits to that fact. Gon most likely remembers that Palm's ability can last only for three days maximum if the conditions are not broken. However, it has been eight months since then, and Palm has done alot of training since. She has doubled the number of days over that period through her training. Gon will most likely not do anything suspicious for the next three days, but after that, if he really is involved with the Akatsuki, we'll definitely find out for sure. In effect, our mission here is really over. It's clear that Gon has not re-awakened his nen abilities, I can't sense any aura from him. And, while he is dressed suspiciously just like how an Akatsuki does, the absence of the black glove with red clouds is something that would definitely be there at all times if he really was a member. Its absence means that we can't prove anything right now, and I don't believe a cross examination would work either given how the conversation has gone so far.' Knov thought analytically, everyone else with a reasonable IQ thinking along the same lines.

"Anyway Gon, putting all that aside, can I ask you a simple question?" Pariston asked.

"No, you may in fact not. The only thing you may do is to vacate my property. I'd have no qualms with that." Gon said as he pulled out his cellphone from his pocket.

'Stop! Do not move, not even an inch!" Mizaistom shouted, holding out a conjured card with an exclamation mark disaplayed on it.

"What's that? Some kind of nen ability? What will happen if I move?" Gon asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Just don't move and you won't have to find out." Mizaistom replied tensely.

"Okay, answer this then, why won't you allow me to use my cellphone?" Gon queried.

"What do you take me for, a fool? You think I'd just allow you to send a message to your Akatsuki friends?" Mizaistom asked retorically.

"No, I wouldn't expect you to, but what makes you think that I'm calling Akatsuts...Mito-san!" Gon exclaimed in alarm, completely shocked, along with everyone else at Mito's sudden appearance and assault on Mizaistom's person, Mizaistom doubling over in agony as Mito's punch to the gut proved incredibly powerful for such a delicate looking woman.

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow you guys to continue to treat my Gon-kun like a criminal any longer, and more importantly, I can't allow you to use a nen ability on him while he's so vulnerable." Mito said with a sinister undertone.

"Y-you...you bitch!" Kanzai exclaimed, leaping at Mito with incredible force and speed, his hands turning into claws as he prepared himself to decapitate Mito. However, fast as he is to the regular nen user, it was like he was moving in slow motion for Mito, the usually kind and passive woman dodging his attack with ease, and similarly punching the tiger in the gut, except using much more power this time, sending Kanzai crashing through the fencing wall, through six trees, and crashing into the earth three hundred metres away, everyone completely surprised by such a profound display of speed and strength, more so Mizaistom, who just now realised how lenient she had been on him.

'That's Mito-san's particle release. Her aura is quite strong, but I'm sure many of the zodiacs have more aura than her. She's probably on par with Morel-san though in terms of aura. However, her specialist ability, the particle release enables her to manipulate matter at a molecular level. Using the weighted boulder technique, she can make herself lighter in order to increase her speed, and then she can suddenly increase the weight of her arm at the point of impact. The combination of speed and weight crashing against an another object creates that sort of devastating impact. In other words, she can exhibit a strength feat on par with a monstrous enhancer like the late Uvo and Menthuthuyoupi.' Gon thought proudly.

'Anyway, I was hoping she'd remain asleep throughout the whole ordeal, but with her coming here now, she simply won't let things go that easily.' Gon thought wearily.

"Mito...when did you learn to use nen?" Ging asked in surprise.

"Since you were in your mother's belly." Mito replied.

"Ummm...Mito, I'm older than you." Ging deadpanned.

"Baka! It was just an expression!" Mito exclaimed with a pointed finger.

"Oh...so anyway, when did you learn how to use nen?" Ging asked curiously.

"Gon taught me everything when he returned. In any case, all of you, with the exception of Ging, leave the premises now. And I'd prefer that you never come back!" Mito warned with a deadly tone.

"We will do that shortly, but can I please ask just a few more questions, Mito-san?" Cheadle asked diplomatically.

"What? Are you just going to let her get away with attacking two of our members like that?" Geru, codenamed 'snake' asked furiously.

"We're tresspassing on their territory and we've all been proven to be exhibiting hostile intentions towards them. Furthermore, we're accusing her surrogate son of being in league with a criminal syndicate. If we now take it even further and attack them, wouldn't that be an abuse of our power and authority? Especially since we only have circumstantial evidence on Gon. Also, one of the key tell-tail signs of an Akatsuki is the black glove with red clouds. I don't see that on Gon right now, and even with Gyo, there was no glove in site. Also, the fact that his nen is sealed away makes it even furthermore unlikely that he is a mainstream member of the Akatsuki, as they are all extremely powerful nen users. With what we have discovered so far, the best we could accuse him of is of being an Akatsuki sympathiser. Last but not least, even if we were to retaliate right now, we'd not only have to deal with her, but with those animals and the ryodan themselves, both sides would lose alot of lives. That's not ideal for either party." Cheadle explained calmly.

"I see. Forgive me, Cheadle, I was acting irrational." Geru apologised.

"It's quite alright. Anyway, Leorio..." Cheadle called out.

"What?" Leorio asked irritably.

"Kanzai is seriously hurt right now. Could you please deliver first aid to him. Better yet, help him make a full recovery, I'm entrusting his life to you." Cheadle said meaningfully.

"Okay! You can count on me, Cheadle-san." Leorio said as he turned around and started walking towards the exit before stopping ubruptly.

"This isn't over, Gon...!" Leorio warned before running off in the direction of the injured Kanzai.

"So Mito-san, will you allow me at least a few questions?" Cheadle asked politely.

"Hn, since you're being so nice about it, go on ahead. But I want you gone as soon as possible." Mito replied with her arms crossed around her chest.

"Thank you very much, Mito-san. Let me direct my first question to you then, if you only started learning about nen from the time that Gon returned home, then how is it that you have gained enough power to take out two of the zodiacs so easily in such a short time? I mean, sure, they were caught off guard and it was a surprise attack initially, but those are still very powerful and experienced nen users." Cheadle asked curiously.

"Well that's simple. It's because my..."

"Mito-san!" Gon exclaimed furiously.

"What's wrong, Gon?" Mito asked with concern.

"Don't explain your powers to the enemy. Even if you think that it has no weakness, just promise me that you will never explain your powers to an enemy!" Gon said tensely.

"Oh...okay! I promise!" Mito shouted back.

"Enemy! Are we your enemies now Gon? After everything, you're going to look at us and nonchalantly call us your enemies?" Killua shouted angrily, feelings of pain, dispair, and rage dancing in his heart in that moment.

"For now, yes." Gon said, leaving Killua completely speechless, a gaping mouth and a shattered look visible all of his facial features.

'What the hell is up with Killua, he clearly failed the negative emotion test, what does he expect from me in this situation? Isn't he the one that was always lecturing me about excercising caution and following logic?' Gon thought with a small frown.

"Okay, I guess that's as far as we can take this. Next question, Gon-kun, how is it that your foxbears have the ability to use nen? Are you aware that since the beginning of time, only magical beast classified animals have shown the ability to use nen. And are you aware that, in over a millenia of nen and micro biological research, experimentation, and nen mastery, no one has ever been able to open the aura nodes of an animal not classified as a magical beast? And ofcourse, no one has been able to teach them to open them on their own, animals are just incapable of that kind of mental aptitude." Cheadle asked curiously.

"Those are family secrets that will not be shared with anyone outside the family." Gon replied.

"I understand. But think about the importance of your discovery, this could be one of the greatest contributions to mankind, you could very well become a three star hunter with that achievement alone." Cheadle continued.

"I don't care about any of that. This is a family secret and it will remain that way. And don't think I'm not aware of the potential consequences of my refusal. I originally expected everyone who found out about my foxbears would not live to tell about it, but I made provision for the possibility of the information leaking out. I'll probably have many more intruders from here on out, hunters and government agencies seeking to capture one of the mystical foxbears. That's not a problem though, we already have a plan to deal with that." Gon replied casually.

"That's a pity...then I have only one more question, what were you going to do with your cellphone when Mizaistom stopped you?" Cheadle asked.

"I was going to look up the Akatsuki on the internet. I was hoping to find something I can use to clear my name." Gon replied ernestly.

'Wow! What a smart move, Gon! Taking the initiative of doing research on the Akatsuki eliminates the direct question of whether you are an Akatsuki member or not. If they had a way to weed out lies similar to how we do with the defense squad, it would be impossible for you to lie about being an Akatsuki member. But if you go and do research about it, it poses the question of why an Akatsuki member would need to do research about Akatsuki when he already should know everything about them, it also manipulates them into discarding the direct question since they have already concluded in their minds that you wouldn't feel the need to do research if you really were an Akatsuki member.' A more than impressed Mito thought.

"I see. Well, I guess there's nothing left to do but to leave then. I wish I could say this is the last time you hear from us, but as things stand, I very much doubt that." Cheadle said as she turned and walked away from the Freecs premises.

"Come everyone, it's time to go." Cheadle ordered.

"Before we go, I just want to say something to Gon...!" Kite spoke out for the first time since she arrived.

"What is it, Kite?" Gon asked.

"There's no denying it now that everyone came here with negative emotions in their heart. But I believe you might have the wrong interpretation about those emotions. In other words, just because all your friends came here with negative emotions does not mean that they didn't intend to help. For instance, I came here with the intention to punch you in the face for doing something as stupid as joining a criminal syndicate. That was in order to both alleviate my anger towards you and to knock some sense into you. I suspect Ging-san might have come here to do the same, and maybe he needed an excuse to see you. The others might have similar reasons for harboring hostile intent towards you. I hope you get what I'm trying to say to you." Kite explained.

"I understand what you're saying." Gon replied simply.

"Do you really..?" Kite asked with narrowed eyes.

"Yes, you explained it quite well. However, that doesn't make me any less pissed off than I was feeling before, I'm still not letting you guys into my house." Gon replied.

"You won't let your friends in, but you're willing to allow those scum into your home? What kind of nonsense is that, Gon?" Kurapica exclaimed furiously.

"Oh them? I thought I already explained that. I didn't let these guys into my house, they let themselves in. I was just as shocked when they showed up in my dining hall, I never imagined they would pass the negative emotion test." Gon explained casually.

"Krrr!" Kurapica gritted his teeth in frustration, not really knowing how to react at the moment.

"Chrollo!" Kurapica exclaimed.

"Hmmm...what is it?" Chrollo asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"How is it that you're alive and using nen? My judgement chain should have killed you! And how is Pakunoda still alive? She was supposed to be dead!" Kurapica asked furiously.

"What makes you think that I owe you any explanations?" Chrollo asked dismissively, causing Kurapica to almost lose his mind, almost, were it not for Killua giving him a chop to the back of the head.

'Idiot, this is not the time to attack them. Everyone will be forced to get involved if you do that, and it will turn into a bloodbath. Besides, my brother seems to have become one of them right now, I can't turn a blind eye to you potentially killing him.' Killua thought, picking Kurapica up and carrying him on his back piggy back style

"Gon, Kalluto! We'll be seeing each other soon. Count on it. And prepare yourselves for a hiding!" Killua threatened.

'Hn! We'll see about that, onii-san.' Kalluto thought with a mental smirk.

'These guys are not going to let any of this go are they. Well, I suppose I'll have to come out of the closet about my nen and my Akatsuki membership eventually. But this was just too all of sudden, I was caught completely off guard. I must evaluate the situation and prepare for every possible scenario before I come out. At least I've bought myself a little time.' Gon thought.

"Umm...Gon!" Knuckle shouted across.

"Yes, Knuckle?" Gon asked patiently.

"I'm sorry." was all Knuckle said as he turned and walked away with his hands tucked in his pockets, Shoot following behind him, the thug looking knuckle feeling quite a tad bit ashemed of himself right now, not having the stomach to face Gon after failing the so called negative emotion test, in fact, right now hating himself for even agreeing to come and meet Gon under these conditions after not even bothering with him for eight months now.

"Gon. I don't know what's really going on with you, but there's a few things I want to say to you. I'm sure you're aware of this, but I want to extend a friendly warning to you, those guys are not going to let this go so easily. You may have proved your innocence in many aspects, but there's still the fact that eighty percent of your bounties have aided or advanced Akatsuki's social status in one way or another, and there's also the fact that your outfit, even with the absence of the important glove, resembles that of the Akatsuki. Add on top of that your nen using Foxbears and I'd say you're in for the long hall here buddy. You seem to have a good grasp of the importance of a good family structure, but don't neglect your friends Gon, they can be just as important at times like these. If you had opened up to us a long time ago, today may have not happened, or, it could have happened under entirely different circumstances. Don't alienate yourself." Morel said his piece.

"Thanks for the advise, Morel-san. I will be sure to meditate on it." Gon replied.

'I have many friends, the whole Akatsuki are my friends. I have no intention of alienating myself, Morel-san.' Gon thought to himself.

"Okay, I'm on my way then." Morel said as he took his own leave.

"Gon..." Knov trailed off.

"Knov-san...?"

"It's good to see you again. It's sad to see you being put under such a great amount of stress and pressure. But I knew from the first day I met you that you were destined for greatness, and this pressure and tribulation is the mark of any great man. That fact that you have become so powerful and influential even without your nen is a testament to your unlimited potential, and I believe this whole ordeal will be just a stepping stone for you. Right now you're like a cheating husband being caught in the act though, what with you cosing up to the ryodan at your house and all." Knov said with mischievious smirk, causing Gon to crack up a a chuckle of his own.

"Thanks, Knov-san. Those words mean alot to me." Gon said ernestly.

"Hn, I'll take my leave as well then." Knov said as he too turn around, Palm following behind him.

"Wait, Palm, could you remain behind. I have something I want to talk to you about." Gon said hastily.

"O-okay." Palm replied nervously, not knowing what to think of that.

'I suppose it was too much not to expect him to see through our back-up plan.' Palm thought wearily.

"Ging, where are you going? Are you going to run away again! Huh?" Mito shouted furiously, Ging however not saying anything and simply walking away from the premises.

"Bastard! Low life good for nothing bastard! Don't come back here ever again! You piece of trash!" Mito shouted in an unlady like manner.

"Wow she sounds really pissed." Shalnark said jovially.

"She's had to raise his child all alone, and he never even visited them once or sent any money back to support them. She has every right to be pissed." Feitan said casually.

"Mito-san, could you go inside the house for a moment, you guys too. I'd like to have a private word with Palm." Gon requested.

"O-okay. But if she tries to do anything to you...!"

"Don't worry, Mito-san, she won't try anything." Gon said with assurance.

"Okay. Anyway, did you give your friends anything to eat?" Mito asked as she walked back towards the house.

"They're not my friends. Anyway, was I supposed to?" Gon asked with a confused frown.

"You're supposed to...! You know what, nevermind, we'll talk about that later. Come on guys, I'll whip something up for you real quick." Mito said, swiftly walking into the house with the troupe in tow.

"So, what did you want to talk about, Gon?" Palm asked emotionlessly.

"I've been meaning to speak to you about this for a long time, but it's not something I wanted to do over the phone. I was planning to take a trip and go to your place when I get a chance, but since you're here, I'll have to take this opportunity." Gon said as he walked closer to the human/chimera ant hybrid until he was standing right in front of her.

"What is it?" Palm asked with a combination of tepidition and anticipation.

'I need to get Palm on my side. Her powers could be crucial if I could use them for myself, or even better, for the Akatsuki and our plans. More importantly, I don't have to lie to manipulate her, I wouldn't even call it manipulation since I wouldn't be lying to her.' Gon thought analytically.

"I've been meaning to ask, have you confessed your feelings to Knov-san yet?" Gon asked curiously, only to receive a smack to the face from Palm.

"Don't meddle in matters that don't concern you, brat!" Palm said angrily, her actions infuriating Gon's defense squad.

"It's okay guys, don't hurt her." Gon ordered, causing the defense squad to cease their planned assault, albeit reluctantly.

"I'm sorry, Palm. It's not that I wanted to meddle in your business. However, in order for me to confess my feelings for you, I need to know that you've tried to make things work with Knov-san, as he is presumably your first choice. I couldn't be in a relationship with you knowing that there was this dark cloud hanging over you. If Knov-san accepts your feelings and you guys get into a relationship, then I will swallow my pride and try to move on. However, if he were to reject them. I would give you the space and time to heal, and then I would try my luck. In other words, Palm, what I mean to say is that, I have fallen inlove with you and I was hoping we could pick up from where we left off that time before we went into East Gourteu, that is, provided you've sorted out your business with Knov-san." Gon explained himself, causing Palm's eyes to widen in surprise.

"Gon, are you aware that I'm a chimera ant now? I'm not even human."

"So? You're still the Palm I know aren't you? Does being a chimera ant make you not Palm anymore?" Gon asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

'Ofcourse I know you're a chimera ant, one with an incredible potential. If you can train with us, the Akatsuki, or just me, you'll become strong enough to become a queen. Through you, we can gather up the remaining scattered Chimera Ants and form an army, maybe even a nation with you as queen. And if you marry me, I can become King of that nation, a nation that will be part of the Akatsuki Empire. Also, I'm probably the only one in the world that can look beyond your chimera ant appearance and love you for who you are." Gon thought with a weird combination of pure love, deception, and manipulation.

"G-Gon, you're serious?" Palm asked in joy and disbelief at the same time.

"Ofcourse. I'd never lie about something so serious, especially to you." Gon replied.

"G-Gon! Thank you, thank you so much! B-but...I'm sorry, you and I, it just isn't going to happen." Palm said with a pained expression, tears rapidly falling down her cheeks.

"Oh I see, so you and Knov-san...?" Gon trailed off with his head bowed in disappointment.

"N-no, that's not it, Gon. Me and Knov-sama aren't together." Palm corrected.

"Then is there someone else?" Gon asked with a confused and innocent expression.

"No...Gon, back then, when we were together, those were probably the happiest moments of my life. But I'm sure you must have noticed just how mentally unstable I was when I was human, it was pretty pretty obvious wasn't it?" Palm asked retorically.

"..."

"The thing is, becoming a chimera ant was a blessing in disguise. I've been far more lucid since then. And now that I am, I can finally think clearly. What I did with you Gon was not right, you're almost half my age and you've barely entered your teen years or are just about too. It doesn't matter how you and I feel, I'm old enough and lucid enough now to know that it's just plain wrong for us to be together. I'm sorry Gon, but I can't be with you." Palm said firmly.

"But Palm..."

"No Gon, please respect my wishes. If you truly love and value me as you say, then please, let me go." Palm emphasized.

"..."

"Goodbye, Gon." Palm said before swiftly turning around and leaving without so much as a hug or a kiss.

'I'm sorry Gon, but I won't take your youth away from you and burden you with my problems and issues, not to mention the persucution and disaproval you'd have to deal with because of me. It's just too unfair.' Palm thought with tears in her eyes.

'Kuso! Why do I feel so distraught? Is it because my plan to control the remaining chimera ants has failed? Or is it because I really am heart broken? No, it's neither individually, it's a combination of both. Kuso! Palm!' Gon thought, standing still on that one point with his head bowed in contemplation for the next fourty five minutes, only broken from his trance-like state by the emergence of the ryodan from his house.

"Oooi! Gon, what are you doing just standing there? Have you finally lost your mind?" Phinks shouted.

"He's reflecting on his life and the direction it has taken. He is also contemplating and deliberating on his next move and possible options." Bonolenov explained.

"How do you know that? Since when can you read minds?" Phinks asked skeptically.

"It's what anyone would be doing after everything that just happened." Feitan replied.

"You have a good point there." Kortopi agreed.

"Hn." Phinks snorted arrogantly, almost as if dismissing everything that was just said as garbage.

"We'll be taking our leave now, Gon. But ofcourse I couldn't help but overhear your dispute with the zodiacs and your friends. Is it true? Are you an Akatsuki member?" Chrollo asked the question that was nagging at everyone from the moment they had heard about it.

"Hn! Don't be ridiculous, I wouldn't tell you even if I were." Gon replied with a a cocky smirk.

"Oooh? I suppose I should have expected that kind of response. Nevertheless, I'll be looking into Akatsuki and what kind of people they are. If they have valuable treasure that is worth stealing, then we might be coming into contact with each other sooner than you think. And if I find that they can be useful to us, then I might contact you about a temporary, maybe even permanent alliance."

"You mean like a merger?" Gon asked curiously.

"Not neccessarily, it could be just a give and take relationship. But if it were to become a merger, the Akatsuki leader would have to step down from his position." Chrollo said confidently.

'Hn, like that will ever happen.' Gon thought with a mental roll of the eyes.

"Why not just fight it out with the leader in a one on one battle?" Gon asked.

"That's pointless, we'd already know the result. The boss would never lose and hand us over to some Akatsuki punk." Phinks said confidently.

"That goes without saying." Machi said in agreement.

"Well whatever. You're talking to wrong person anyway. You guys be careful on your way now, I hope we don't meet ever meet each other again." Gon said.

"Don't count on it." Chrollo said with a small smile.

"Lets go!" Chrollo ordered as he and his comrades disappeared from site, using their nen enhanced speed to cover ground as fast as possible.

"It seems like everyone is now suspicious of you, Gon-kun. What are you going to do?" Mito said, walking out onto the porch and wrapping her arms around Gon from behind.

"I don't want to talk about that right now okay, I'm still pissed off." Gon replied.

'Actually, the reason I don't want to talk about it is because Palm probably has already started watching us with her wink blue technique. The last time we were together she could use the technique for three full days at a time, but it could have improved over the last eight months. My prediction is that she can use it for five days, but I'll wait for eight days just in case,' Gon thought to himself, and it was a smart decision too, because his prediction was a whole day off, Palm had actually doubled the number of days since last they met. In other words, she could now use wink blue for six days.

"Okay, but what about Killua? Apparently the leader of Akatsuki defeated three of the strongest members of his family and that Hisoka guy you told me about too. He must really be strong. I wish I could have seen how it went down." Mito said excitedly.

"Yeah. I guess he's incredibly strong." Gon trailed off, his mind drifting back through memory lane as he recalled the events of Pein's briefing in his mind.

FLASHBACK

"You seem tense today, Pein. What do you say we go back home, you know, so I can relieve you of all that tension in your body." Konan said suggestively, holding onto her man and partner's arm as the duo left the palace of West Gourtea's Supreme Leader, having come out of a very frustrating meeting with the, in Pein's own words, fat blob of a man.

Konan is a young woman of angelic beauty, only 22 years in age, with a labret piercing, blue hair reaching just below her neck, and orange eyes - wearing a beautiful, black, provacative yet classy dress that leaves her whole back unclothed, only covering the front of her body up to her breasts, all the more eccentuating her sizeable cleavage. The dress has a cut line on her left side, revealing her long curvaceous legs just enough for any straight man to feel a twinge between his legs at a mere glance, and she has on a pair of high heels.

On her left hand is a black fingerless glove with red clouds on it, although it can be hidden from them with In if she so desired as it was a glove conjured by Pein for all Akatsuki members. Pein on the other hand is a man of decent height and build with spiky orange hair and an unusal number of piecings on his face and ears, wearing the standard male version of the Akatsuki uniform, a black suit, a white shirt, black shoes, and a black fingerless glove with red cloud designs on his left hand.

"We need to find an undeveloped land and make it our own. We've won over alot of people through our charity work and the number of criminals we have eliminated. Also, news have started to leak out that one of our own is a hero of the chimera ant saga. With the money we have, and the amount of goodwill that we have earned, despite the hunter association and v5's attempts to brand us as a criminal organisation, we could easily build our own empire. This is the direction that I have decided to take. Anyway, we can talk about it later, right now, I'm more interested in your offer to relieve the tension in my bo...brace yourself, we've got company." Pein warned.

"Impressive, I was trying my best to conceal my presence with zetsu and stealth movements and all. To think that you would sniff me out so quickly, you really are worthy of your rank as the leader of the Akatsuki."

"If you're looking for the circus, you should head back to the city, you won't find it on this path." Konan retorted, her guard up now that the enemy was standing in front of her.

"My name is Hisoka, and unfortunately, I am not a clown, but a magician, and I came here to perform my greatest disappearing act yet, to make the leader of Akatsuki and his assistant disappear from the face of the earth." The man now identified as Hisoka replied with a pointed finger, the finger pointing at Konan.

'This guy has some scary eyes, I've never seen eyes of that colour before, and what's with the rings around his pupils? Anyway, I should get rid of the girl first, if Kurapica is anything to go by, then strange eyes translate to great power. Oh...! I'm getting myself all excited now!' Hisoka thought to himself.

'He's using In to hide that rubber-like nen that he just attached to Konan's face, but nothing can be hidden from my eyesite even with the use of In.' Pein thought to himself. And he was right too, his eyes were special in that they had the effect of a person who was always applying Gyo to their eyes, in other words, his eyes were the equivalent to Gyo enhanced eyes in terms of visual prowess, that was just one of the special abilities that came with his eyes.

'Hn, so this guy is probably a transmuter huh? Should I let Konan know all of this or should I let her handle it on her own? Hmmm, no, I'll have to trust her to handle this on her own, she is an Akatsuki member after all.' Pein thought.

"I'm a little disappointed, this fight is over already." Hisoka said with mock sadness.

"Bastard! What are you..." Konan trailed off in shock as she was pulled towards Hisoka by an invisible force in an instant, Hisoka acting swiftly to stab his hand right through her chest.

He was about to celebrate his easy victory, but he realised in the instant that his hand connected with her that something was wrong. However, it was already too little too late, Konan's body turning into paper sheets that rapidly wrapped themselves around Hisoka's whole body, leaving only his face visible to the naked eye. What followed next was half of Konan's body materialising from Hiskoka's belly, Konan carrying a paper made spear and preparing herself to ram it right through Hisoka's eye socket.

'I can't feel or use my nen, and my bungee gum has disappeared. I see, these aren't just ordinary papers, they place an opponent into a forced state of zetsu when they wrap around his body.' Hisoka though, also realising now that, as a result, the bungee gum he had attached to her face had disappeared.

"Die, low life scum!" Konan said harshly as she prepared to thrust the spear through Hisoka's head, but only to find herself forced to de-materialise again as a rain of needles came flying at her.

However, Konan did not de-materialise the paper that was restraining Hisoka, as that would be a waste of her efforts to defeat him, instead she materialized in the air with half of her body and formed the rest of it by conjuring more paper.

"What incredible reflexes, I was sure I had concealed myself completely before I launched that attack. And I was using In to hide my needles. You must have had an en field around yourself just in case, because I also made sure to attack from your blind spot." Illumi drawled out in his weird speach pattern, only to get absolutely no reply from Konan.

"Heh, you don't talk very much do you? Anyway, it seems like you're either a conjurer or a specialist, more likely a specialist given your ability to morph your body like that. What's with those wings anyway, are you supposed to be an angel or something?" Illumi taunted.

"..."

"Could you stop talking for a moment and get me out of this paper, Illumi." Hisoka said irritably.

"Ora ora, don't get mad at me, you're the one that got yourself defeated by her, Hisoka." Illumi countered as he walked slowly towards Hisoka.

"I'll have you know, those aren't only zetsu enforcing paper sheets that Hisoka is covered with. I mixed in some explosive tags as well. If you move any closer to him, I'll blow both of you into the afterlife." Konan warned.

"Oh she finally talks. But that is such a blatant lie." Illumi retorted.

"What did you say...?" Konan asked with narrowed eyes.

"If that were true, why would you tell me? Would it not have been easier to allow me to get close and then blow us both into the afterlife?" Illumi asked retorically.

"If she did that, we would still not know the reason for this assassination attempt. In other words, the only reason the two of you are still alive is because we need information from you before we kill you. Ofcourse, if it becomes too troublesome to get that information, or rather, if we become bored and decide we don't care anymore, we'll simply eliminate the two of you." Pein said matter of factly.

"I see. Then, the only way to get out of this situation is to capture you and use you as a hostage to get her to release Hisoka." Illumi said as he turned around to face the leader of Akatsuki.

'There's also the fact that your partner is currently flying out of my attack range, so I'm left with you.' Illumi reflected.

"A hostage exchange huh? That's an interesting plot this is turning out to be." Pein said casually, still standing in the exact same spot with his hands in his pockets.

'He's not even adopting a battle stance. He's underestimating me!" Illumi thought irritably.

"You won't be so cocky once you become my zombie!" Illumi said as he threw a barrage of needles at the God Of Peace, only, much to both his and Hisoka's surprise, for his needles to stop completely in mid air right in front of the Akatsuki leader, who's hands were still inside his pockets, the needles floating in the air right in front of him.

"Nen made needles huh? I doubt you expected to kill me with these, which means, you must be a manipulator. And the condition to control someone is probably that you stick one of these into any part of said person's body." Pein thought out loud as he examined one of the needles, spinning it around his eyes so that he could evaluate it from all angles, being careful not to physically touch it ofcourse, in case there was a catch to it that he wasn't aware of.

"Hmmm...I wonder what would happen if you got pierced by your own needles." Pein replied, removing his right hand from his pocket and swinging it in a reverse arc in the air, causing the needles to fly back towards Illumi at twice the speed as before, forcing Illumi into the defensive as he was forced to duck, dodge and block the needles that were flying his way, a few needles scratching him hear and there but luckily none of them able to land a clean hit.

"I see now. You must have a specific command set in each needle, a command or effect that you can't change after it has been made, because otherwise you wouldn't have been so afraid of getting pierced by your own needles. Am I right?" Pein asked tauntingly, causing Illumi to grit his teeth in anger, offering no response to Peins question.

"No answer? Well, it doesn't matter. You can't defeat me with the level of attack though. Why don't we make a deal. If you tell us who sent you and why they sent you here, we'll let both you and your friend go. How's that?" Pein asked curiously.

'I was wrong. He's not just underestimating me. He genuinely believes that I don't pose a threat to him at all. He...he's really pissing me off!' Illumi thought in frustration, taking out a needle and pointing it towards the side of his own neck.

'Another needle? Just one this time? What's he doing? Is he actually going to stick it into himself?' Pein wondered with a curious expression.

"I'm going to shove those conceited words right back down your throat. You just wait there casually as you are and see." Illumi said as he stuck stabbed himself in the neck with his needle.

The effect was immediate, Illumi's aura seemed to sky rocket and his body underwent a transfromation, his muscles rapidly growing and morphing into a specifment of a man, not so different from his own father, except maybe a little more lean and flexible, his aura's potency and capacity increasing rapidly as well.

'His aura and body just went through a rapid transformation. Amazing, he did all this just by sticking a needle into himself?' Pein thought, quite impressed by his adversary's display of power and skill.

"I'm sorry, Hisoka, but I might accidently kill him when I'm like this. There might not be a hostage change after all." Illumi apologised.

"It's quite okay, at least now I know that I'd have lost to a strong opponent, also, I'll be satisfied if I can watch you kill that cocky one over there in my last moments." Hisoka said with an eye smile.

'Kuso! I won't be happy at all if I die like this. Was Illumi hiding a power like this all this time? ' Hisoka thought with more than a little jealousy.

"Very well." Illumi replied as he disappeared from the spot he was standing on, appearing right in front of Pein in the blink of an eye and launching a devastating punch at Pein, only, much to his and Hisoka's surprise, for Pein to catch his attack in the palm of his left hand, the impact causing a crater to form beneath the two combatants, a large one at that, some on the trees on both sides of the pathway falling as a result of the impact on the earth.

"That's quite an impressive power display there. Out of respect, I'll return it tenfold."Pein replied as he too, in the blink of an eye, launched his counter attack, pulling Illumi into his right fist and punching him so hard in the torso that globs of blood immediately starting flying out of Illumi's mouth, Illumi heaving and doubling over in pain, feeling like he was about to puke his whole digestive system out.

'Hmmmm...that was indeed an impressive display of strength. However, that is nothing compared to Pein, a specialist who has the ability to manipulate gravity and spent five years of his life training and in fact livng in a self imposed gravity field, a gravity field that was equivalent to many times the gravity of earth. As a result, Pein has the power equal and even superior to that of an enhancer despite enhancement being the furthest category for a specialist. It goes without saying that his speed is also superior, after all, the earth's gravity is a joke compared to the gravity which is body is accustomed to.' Konan thought with a confident and proud smirk.

"I-Impossible! Aren't you a specialist? How c-can you b-be so...strong?" Illumi asked in coughing fit, unable to stop himself from falling onto his knees in front of Pein.

"I could ask you same thing. Are you not a manipulator? Yet you just now exhibited a power and speed worthy of one of the most skilled enhancers. In any case, I'm not surprised that you are unable to comprehend my power. You are a mere human after all, you cannot possibly understand the dimensions of a God's power. But maybe one day you will gain a glimpse of understanding, when the whole world has submitted and bowed down to their knees in the presence of the God of Peace, much in the same manner as you have now." Pein said, causing Illumi's eyes to widen in realisation and anger, causing him to sound a war cry as he flexed his muscles to get back on his feet and attack again, only to be stopped by a pain through his back and into his chest, Pein materialising a metal rod and sticking it through his chest, causing Illumi to lose all controls of his body, unable to move even an inch of his body, the ringed pattern of Pein's eyes flooding his eyesite.

"Don't worry, I made sure to miss all of your vital spots. As a specialist, I only have eighty percent compatibility with manipulation, so my conditions for controlling others are a little bit more harsh then yours." Pein explained with mock sympathy.

"Konan!" Pein shouted as he conjured another another metal rod and launched it towards Hisoka's chest, Konan, immediately having caught on the his intention, removing the sheets of paper that were covering Hisoka's chest first, and then the rest when she was sure that he was under Pein's control.

"That was an unpleasant disturbance." Konan said as she flew down to Pein's side before de-materialising her wings.

"Indeed." Pein replied simply.

"So what are you going to do with your new puppets?" Konan asked curiously.

"Well, I've already read their minds. Apparently, they were hired by the Hunter Association. But that's not all there is to it. It seems like the V5, now turned V6 has also hired their own assassins, Illumi's father and grandfather." Pein explained.

"So you're also able to read a persons mind in an instant after taking control of them. But the condition is to stick a metal rod into a person's chest without taking out their vital organs, in other words, you can't control anyone you haven't fully subdued and defeated yet." Zeno said as he walked out from his hiding spot with Silva in tow, Zeno's hands as usual crossed behind his back.

"Heh? You guys aren't very good assasins are you? What happened to the element of surprise and attacking from the shadows?" Pein asked retorically.

"You detected us from the moment we started following you, and you just read Illumi's and Hisoka's mind. What element of surprise are you talking about?" Silva asked retorically.

"Well, I guess you have point. Unfortunately, I see no point of fighting you now that I know exactly what's happening. You guys are not root of the problem, your benefactors are." Pein replied, a large demon looking figure, or rather, the face of a large demond figure appearing behind both Konan and Pein, the figure oppening it's mouth wide as it's toungue wrapped around both Pein and Konan, pulling them in slowly towards it's mouth.

"You're not getting away that easily! Dragon Head!" Zeno exclaimed as a huge dragon made entirely of nen manifested around him and flew at the Akatsuki pair at blinding speeds.

However, much to both Zeno and Silva's surprise, it was their one and only son Illumi who stopped their attack, Illumi using his incredible speed and strength to catch up to and punch the dragon away, changing it's trajectory significantly and causing it to miss it's target entirely.

"Your grandson and his friend are my puppets now, and they have neen ordered to kill the two of you, the rest of the Zoldyck family, and the people that sent you lot. Also, one other thing, while it may be true that my manipulation condition is extremely difficult to achieve because I have to completely defeat my nemesis before I can control him, isn't it ironic that that is also the technique's greatest strength? Don't you now have to completely defeat my puppets before you can remove those rods?" Pein asked from inside the demon's mouth, the mouth closing immediatly before the demon disappeared.

'A conjurer type technique? Ofcourse, not only is he proficient in manipulation but he's also proficient in conjuring. I suppose it makes sense given that he is a specialist. He has an eighty percent compatibility with conjerer and manipulation skills. Even so, his mastery of the adjacent nen categories is out of this world, he's definitely one of the very top nen users in the history of nen mastery.' Zeno thought with trepidition, and maybe a little relief now that the Akatsuki leader and his partner were gone, otherwise defeat for them would have been assured.

"Don't forget to use Gyo at all times, Hisoka's ability can be troublesome if you don't make that provision." Silva warned.

"I know that." Zeno replied as he and his son prepared themselves for a tough battle.

END OF FLASHBACK