Chapter 8

A few days after Pitou promoted Inuka, Jagren and Hippotsu to Royal Guard. They started going through some intense training that they'd never imagined would be possible. Each of them went through rough physical exercises which ranged from endurance tests, to strength analysis. Neferpitou than gave them quizzes based on their memory and general knowledge. The results varied among all of them.

Neferpitou recorded the results of their tests. She started with Inuka's stats.

Inuka's stats

Strength 12

Endurance 23

Dexterity 9

Intelligence 68

Nen: Unknown

Neferpitou looks over her records of Inuka and notices she lacks in several areas "Hmmmm, she's awfully weak when it comes to physical activities. However she's surprisingly knowledgeable about human behavior. She may act quirky but she can be a valuable asset when the time is right. She didn't use nen at all during her training at all. Maybe she needs to awaken it. Hmmm." Pitou looks up at the ceiling and says "I guess I should help her with that!" Neferpitou made arrangements to talk to Inuka. She was more concerned with the order of how she was going to run her Kingdom, she wanted nothing more than to make sure everyone was at their best. Inuka arrived in the massive storage room that was used by former secretary Bizeff. Pitou was using this area for private meetings since it seemed to be the quietest place in the palace.

"You wanted to see me, Pitou-chaan?" Said Inuka in a cute voice.

"Yes, thank you for coming Inuka". Said Neferpitou who was used to Inuka's less than formal approach. "I'll get straight to the point...you're very weak." She said bluntly.

Inuka gasped and started to shiver when she noticed Pitou wasn't going to hold back. "P-Pitou sama...I told you that I..."

Pitou interrupted the poor dog girl and said "Inuka you have to stop being so timid! I haven't known you for that long but already I can see what's making you fall behind. Look, I know I'm putting a lot of pressure on you but I feel like you can become a great member of the royal guard if you just pushed yourself a little further."

Inuka looked down and kept silent. Neferpitou approached her and grabbed her hands trying to reassure her, and than she said "First, let's awaken your Nen!".

Inuka looked at Pitou with a shocked expression on her face. "I'm sorry did you say n-nen?"

Pitou looked at her with a smirk on her face and said "Yep!"

After some time had passed Neferpitou mentioned "A while back...I used my nen ability to train the ant soldiers and allow them to awaken nen for themselves. However, meow that I look back to that time..." Neferpitou held her arm and looked to the ground in disgust "my methods were too cruel."

"What do you mean Pitou-sama?" Inuka questioned nervously

Pitou looked at Inuka and regained her composure "Actually, never mind. The past is in the past right? Come on Inuka, I'll teach you how to awaken your nen. Even if I can no longer use it, I can still show you, right?"

Inuka responded with glee "Y-yes! Pitou-sama! Th-thank you very much! I want to be praised even more...I...need to make Pitou-sama proud. Even if i'm not qualified, she thinks I am. Thank you so much Pitou-sama, I won't let you down." Her thoughts echoed in her mind as she prepared to awaken her nen.

Meanwhile in Swardani City, the Hunter Associations top members; the Zodiacs were having a meeting; discussing the past threat that befell the NGL and The Republic of East Gorteau. Cheadle Yorkshire the dog the current chairman of the Hunter Association is only now having time to consider how to maintain the nature reserves of the NGL and what action to take on The East Gorteau palace.

Cheadle mentions that their should be an emphasis on the safety of Chimera ants and humans that dwell within the isolated region. "It's imperative that we don't undermine the value of sentient life of any kind. The chimera ants may have a social system that differs greatly from human beings, but that doesn't mean they aren't intelligent beings with sound reasoning and able to act on their emotions."

Maizastom the cow follows up with "Though it may be important to provide them regulations on how to coexist with humankind, we mustn't forget the risk that is involved. As you mentioned, the Chimera Ants formulate a their government similar to that of a militaristic hierarchy as well as a monarchy. Thanks to the reports by the Chimera ant known as Colt, it's much simpler to break down." He picks up a graph explaining the the chimera ant social system and shows the potential danger of a new queen that could potentially give birth to a powerful nen user.

Cheadle looks at the chart carefully and then closes her eyes to think of a response "It may be a risk, but this is the road we have to take. This is what Chairman Netero would have want. I understand your concern Mizaistom, however there is living proof that some Chimera ants have broken away from that system. Based on our research, it seems that some ants that have that possess human genes are able to break away from said social structure and become independent. In the end free will is what's key here. We have human who think freely as well as chimera ants that do the same. I propose we up our activity in the NGL nature reserve to help the humans and chimera ants find a neutral ground."

Mizaistom nods and silently accepts Cheadle's proposal. However Cluck the chicken doesn't seem to agree with her proposition "HEH?! You want to what now? You do realize how dangerous those things are right? They killed the chairman!"

Than out of nowhere Ginta the sheep started crying showcasing how he hadn't yet accepted Netero'd death. Pyon the rabbit looks at Ginta for a second and says "way to go, now you've got him started again" before looking back at her phone.

"If we can get back on topic, that would be much appreciated" Cheadle says while scolding the more immature members of the Zodiacs.

Pyon responds to her with a bored and condescending remark while looking at her phone "Jeez, what does any of this matter anyway? I mean this seems to be out of our league, so why not let the government handle this?"

Cheadle clarifies with a stern voice "It 'matters' to us because V6 is refusing to get involved with this issue in the first place, we have to discuss this and come up with a solution as quickly as possible."

Kanzai then looks up at the ceiling while frowning and follows up with "Heh, so those bastards are too lazy to deal with it themselves huh? Leaving us in the dust like that, who do those punks think they are?"

Before anyone can say anything further, Beans charges through the door of the meeting room shouting about an emergency. Cheadle signals Mizaistom to put this issue in the back of their minds for now. It was clear to the both of them that something beyond the boarders of the Yorbian continent is now more of a concern than anything else.