Beyond stood in the doorway, his tall frame almost blocking the entire door.
The first thing he did upon entering the meditation room was to greet Netero, a greeting long overdue.
Even though it sounded quite disrespectful.
In fact, both Beyond and Netero were fully aware of the situation surrounding this meeting.
Originally, as father and son, they both clearly understood one thing: they would likely never meet again in their lifetimes.
Unless a butterfly flapped its wings. And that butterfly was Law, sitting beside Netero.
"So, aren't you going to invite me to sit?"
Beyond stood at the doorway, picking his ear with his pinky finger, looking arrogantly punchable.
"Sit wherever you like."
Netero looked calmly at Beyond.
Beyond grinned, took a step forward, about to walk over to the tatami, when he immediately heard Netero's next words: "But not on the tatami."
"Haha."
Beyond stopped in his tracks. Hearing Netero's words, he wasn't annoyed… instead, he laughed heartily.
Law glanced at the two. Only by comparing them side by side could one see how strikingly similar they looked, the type that clearly screams biological father and son.
However, he had a feeling this place was about to turn into a domestic violence scene, of father beating son. Of course, it was still unclear who would end up beating whom.
After laughing for a few moments, Beyond sat cross-legged on the floor.
Even so, with his height advantage, his gaze was level with Netero's.
"No need for small talk. Let's get straight to business," Beyond said, a hint of anticipation in his tone.
He had never been the most impatient one.
He was very patient, very good at waiting. To go to the Dark Continent, he was willing to wait until the seas dried up and the rocks crumbled.
Even so, before the constraint was about to be lifted, he couldn't help but feel excited.
After all, who knew how much longer this old geezer Netero could live.
"Your excitement might not be a good thing."
Netero picked up a cup of hot tea and flung it towards Beyond.
Beyond suddenly raised a hand, catching the teacup steadily without spilling a single drop.
He looked down at the tea, which was just the right temperature, and said, "Your blood has run cold, so naturally, you can no longer feel what it means to have one's blood boiling."
With that, he downed the tea in one gulp, then unceremoniously flung the cup back.
Netero raised a hand, deflecting the cup and placing it gently on the table without making a sound.
Beyond looked at Netero and said coldly, "I'm not here today to reminisce. Let's get the business done sooner so we can all go home. Convenient for you, convenient for me."
Neterro slowly closed his eyes, then opened them moments later, a sharp glint in his gaze.
He said no more. Under the watchful eyes of Beyond and Law, he rose from the tatami and walked towards Beyond.
Netero stopped before Beyond.
Between father and son, one stood, one sat.
Naturally, one looked up, one looked down.
One a father, one a son.
One aged, one in his prime.
They represented two different eras.
Looking up at Netero, who was so close, Beyond simply extended his right hand. On his palm was a black character.
"Taking it out might not be a good thing either."
Netero looked at the black character and said something very similar to his earlier words.
"How would you know without trying?" Beyond said coldly.
Both were well aware that once that black character was removed, the tacit understanding between them would be broken, ushering in a new situation of mutual antagonism.
Netero remained silent for a while, then raised his hand and swiped it over the black character on Beyond's right hand. In the blink of an eye, he extracted a token, which more closely resembled a chess piece.
Crack.
Without giving Law any chance to see what it was clearly, Netero crushed it into powder right then and there, then opened his hand, letting the powder fall to the ground.
Beyond watched the powder quietly, then suddenly stood up, spreading his arms as if embracing the air.
As he stood, their positions instantly reversed.
Before, he was looking up at Netero… now, Netero was looking up at him.
"Much lighter."
Beyond clenched his outstretched hands into fists. Then, he withdrew his hands, staring closely into Netero's eyes. He said coldly, "This way, the game board is reset."
Having said that, he turned without hesitation. Since he was close to the door, he reached out and pulled it open.
Before stepping out of the room, his back to Netero and Law, he said, "Let's wait and see, old man. No matter the process, regardless of whether the outcome is good or bad, we'll see who is the hunter and who is the prey."
Snap.
The door closed.
Netero looked calmly at the door, listening to the fading footsteps.
From the moment Beyond entered the room to the moment he left, Law didn't say a single word, because this was a matter solely between Beyond and Netero.
After Beyond left, Law also rose from the tatami and walked towards Netero.
Just as he was about to say something, he saw Netero take out two DVD discs from inside his clothes.
Law looked at the DVDs. If he remembered correctly, they were the last will Netero had mentioned earlier.
Then, Law watched as Netero crushed the DVDs right in front of him, just like he had crushed the token earlier. Both DVDs, including their cases, turned to powder.
This way, even if Ickshonpe showed up, there would be no possibility of repair.
"I was actually quite curious to know," Law said, looking at the powdered discs.
People are just that perverse. Before, he had no interest in knowing, but now that Netero crushed them in front of him, he felt a bit curious.
"There's no need to know anymore," Netero said flatly.
Those two last will DVDs: one detailed the method for electing a new Chairman after his death, the other was aimed at Beyond. Its main content was to have the Zodiac members go to the Dark Continent before Beyond, resolve a certain Calamity, and bring back a certain Hope.
But he hadn't died, and Beyond's constraint had been lifted.
Just as Beyond had said, the game board was reset.
So, from now on, a game called [The Hunt] would commence. The battlefield might be during the journey to the Dark Continent, or it might be the Dark Continent itself, the final destination.
On that continent, where it was unknown what might come, who would become the hunter, and who would become the prey.
The one who becomes the hunter will be the victor.
The one who becomes the prey will be the defeated.
"Law, from now on, I need to focus all my thoughts on how to retain my position as Chairman," Netero said, implying something.
"And what else?" Law thought, speechless, wondering if this wasn't something he should have been doing all along.
"So, assist me in resolving that matter," Netero said, looking at the closed door, his gaze becoming aggressive.
That matter, of course, was the 2,500 Chimera Ant eggs, which might have already hatched by now.
He had to resolve it properly because retaining the Chairman's position was a prerequisite for competing with Beyond.
"Alright, but I don't work for free," Law said.
…
Beyond left the Hunter Association's Headquarters and headed straight for the airport.
Pariston stood by his office window, as if he could see Beyond's departing figure.
The battle had begun at this very moment.
First, what he needed to do was kick the Chairman out and take the position himself.
When the grand event commenced about a month later, the V5 would undoubtedly issue a [Hunt Beyond] commission.
By then, as Chairman, he would have the means to suppress it.
That was merely one step among countless steps.