Chapter 26: Planning

"In this world, he who holds the biggest fist holds the truth."

Heather scratched the white cat’s chin, his tone relaxed. "I wiped out the Giant Hyena Syndicate single-handedly; those high-level folks must be wondering if their necks are strong enough to withstand me. Relax, I’ve guaranteed your safety for five years. At the very least, the Saherta United Republic won't be giving you any trouble for a while."

"…Thank you, Heather."

Only then did Rodadom understand why the Saherta United Republic, which had been breathing down his neck, had suddenly backed off. At this very moment, he felt incredibly fortunate to have made that most critical decision. What he needed to do next was to solidify the friendship between himself and Heather until it was unbreakable.

The old man took a bottle of his finest, long-cellared vintage from the liquor cabinet and personally poured half a glass for Heather. "You saved my life and protected both this estate and the lives of over a hundred people. I won't use words like 'repay,' as that would only dilute the bond between us. I have a proposal—would you like to hear it?"

"What proposal?" Heather picked up the glass and took a sip, frowning slightly; he felt it didn't taste as good as orange juice.

"I will use every connection and asset at my disposal to track down as many Mythical Weapons as possible for you. I suspect you will have a need for them."

The old man’s eyes were sharp. Having personally observed the construction of Heather's Nen ability from start to finish, he had formed some theories about its nature, and now he spoke quite candidly:

"You’ve seen some of the related materials. Aside from 'Absolute Sovereignty,' there are currently three other recorded, unearthed Mythical Weapons: the 'Tidal Mermaid Halberd,' 'Navira’s Scepter,' and the 'Light Egg.' The first two are held by the Kukanju Kingdom and the Begerosse United Nations of the V5, respectively. The 'Light Egg' fell into the hands of the super-billionaire Battera."

"Battera..."

Heather remembered the name. In the manga, this man was one of the world's top billionaires who spent hundreds of billions of Jenny to purchase a large number of "Greed Island" consoles and offered a 50 billion bounty to recruit Nen users to clear the game, hoping to obtain the game-clearing reward, "Breath of the Archangel," to cure his lover, who had become a vegetable after a car accident.

"Since 1988, Battera has been aggressively purchasing all kinds of healing-type Nen artifacts. As the 'Light Egg' belongs to the highest tier of weaponry, even among ancient myths, it naturally caught his eye. Six years ago, at the Yorknew City auction, he bought this unearthed legendary weapon for 14.2 billion. Unfortunately, according to the most professional experts, this weapon possesses no extraordinary abilities whatsoever; it is merely an ordinary unearthed artifact."

Rodadom poured himself a drink, took a sip, and continued: "If you could truly get your hands on the 'Light Egg,' you could materialize it, couldn't you?"

"I could, but not right now." Heather made a quick calculation. "Considering the limitations of my ability and the recovery time, it will be three months before I can materialize a new one."

He wasn't leaking his secrets to others without reason; he and Rodadom were already tied together. If Heather were to die, Rodadom would be swallowed whole by the Saherta United Republic the very next day. Only if Heather continued to grow stronger would Rodadom have any chance of continued development.

Rodadom nodded. "In that case, there is a lot of room for maneuver. Let me ask one more thing: if we were to disclose a limited amount of information about your ability—telling Battera that you can 're-activate the extraordinary power of the Light Egg'—would that be acceptable?"

"You mean to use that to hook Battera?"

"Exactly. Over the years, he has endlessly hired famous doctors, used death-row inmates to test various unauthorized drugs, and collected healing-type Nen artifacts. I suspect he has even used his connections to plead with healing-type Nen users, but it seems every attempt has failed."

Rodadom’s tone was certain. "This patient shares an extremely close relationship with him. Considering he has never married and his parents passed away twenty years ago, it’s either an illegitimate child or a lover—the latter is more likely. Love makes a man’s mind extreme; otherwise, a man as cold as Battera wouldn't hesitate to spend hundreds of billions of Jenny for one or two illegitimate children."

This old man had a very thorough analysis of Battera.

"That old fellow is now grasping at straws. It is said that for the past eleven years, he has been frantically collecting a game called 'Greed Island.' One can guess that there is likely a rumor among the game-clearing rewards of a Nen artifact capable of 'curing all diseases and injuries.' He has even hired a large number of Nen users to clear the game for him. It's truly..."

Rodadom swirled his glass. "If he knew you could activate the extraordinary power of the 'Light Egg,' he would certainly start with a skeptical attitude, then tentatively contact us to exchange information. Once he is convinced it is real, he will inevitably offer the 'Light Egg' on a silver platter. That would save us a lot of trouble and time. However, disclosing part of your Nen ability still requires your consent. Of course, Battera is known in the industry for being tight-lipped and stubborn. If it’s him, I trust he can keep his mouth shut."

"That’s fine. If the opportunity arises, disclose some information to him selectively—maybe a seventy-thirty mix of truth and lies. In any case, those escaped members of the Hyena Syndicate will surely spread the word about 'Absolute Sovereignty' regardless."

Heather stroked the soft, long fur on the white cat's neck, not caring in the least.

"Besides, I don't intend to hide for long. It won't be long now; when the time is ripe, I will let the whole world know of my existence! Before next year’s Hunter Exam, I will bring my strength to the level of the 'World’s Top Five Nen Users.' So, go ahead and do it with confidence."

"Understood." Rodadom drained his glass and stood up to leave. Before walking away, he stopped and asked, "By the way, since you have three months of free time, would you like to systematically study the training methods of various weapons and combat styles? I can find all sorts of masters to guide you."

"That’s a good idea." Heather’s eyes brightened. "Let’s start with the sword."

Rodadom smiled and nodded, pushing open the door to leave. He still had many loose ends to tie up; time was of the essence.

As Heather stroked the cat in his lap, he fell into deep thought.

Heather’s ambition was completely unmasked. His goal from the start was to crush all beings with overwhelming, peerless power and ascend to the throne of the world’s strongest Nen user.

Once he achieved that, he could openly replace the Chairman of the Hunter Association or strike out on his own. Once he controlled the information on all the world's Nen users, if he searched carefully, he might just find a Nen ability that could send him back to Earth.

If that failed, there was always the "Unknown Thing" belonging to the Zoldyck family. If he made a wish to it, perhaps it could send him home, too.

And if that didn't work, he would form an expeditionary force to invade the Dark Continent; all sorts of strange and miraculous things existed there.

From beginning to end, Heather had only one goal: to go home.

Even if he flourished in the Hunter world, what Heather longed for most was his hometown on Earth and the parents he loved so dearly.

What he needed to do now was collect as many Mythical Weapons as possible to constantly increase his strength, then charge toward the position of the strongest Nen user.

As for curing Battera’s lover, thereby ending the bounty for clearing Greed Island and causing Gon and Killua to lose their best training opportunity... what did that have to do with him? He didn't care about so-called plot development. If events veered off track and exceeded expectations? Then he would simply slaughter his way through with his own formidable strength!

Whoever stood in the way of his road home, he would kill them!