People remember where they've been, but relying solely on memory, details might not be immediately clear at times.
Vague, or dimly recalled.
Then upon reaching a place that holds memories, fragments gradually converge.
As if suddenly remembering something, the skeleton's memories of this place grew clearer.
He was certain which direction Don had gone and remembered what lay in that direction.
As now, he mentioned: on the way in that direction, there was a large-scale ruin.
"Which ruin?" Law asked.
From the intelligence provided by the skeleton, there were eight ruins in total.
Among them, only three were relatively complete and large in scale.
The other five ruins, aside from archaeological value, were merely piles of scattered broken walls.
"Copper Age ruins." The skeleton replied succinctly.
Large-scale and linked to the Copper Age.
Everyone, familiar with the intelligence, understood immediately.
"Isn't that the ruin with the highest danger level?" Tonpa hesitated.
The skeleton harbored ill feelings toward Tonpa and had no intention of engaging.
Law answered for him, saying, "Yes, provided the skeleton's information is accurate."
"Of course it's accurate! I wouldn't joke with my own life!" The skeleton said seriously.
"Hah."
Tonpa sneered, then looked at Law and asked, "Are we going there?"
"What do you all think?" Law didn't answer but looked at his teammates, countering with a question.
"Go!!!" Salin excitedly cast the first vote.
"Law, you haven't been there yet, right? So I'd like to see it," Sheila said.
"Honestly, I'm not very interested in ruins. But ruins usually have some plants growing. We might find some tobacco materials." Shiro said.
"Uh... isn't that the ruin with the highest danger level? Can I not go?" Nique timidly raised his hand.
"You can stay in the apartment." Knov glanced at him.
"Hey, copper monsters? Wonder if they're hard enough." Nobunaga's thumb lightly pressed against his sword hilt. Since switching to the sharp Vein Stone sword, he'd been acting crazy, wanting to find more opponents to test his blade.
He seemed even crazier than the battle maniac Uvogin.
Ging calmly gazed northeast and said seriously, "That's the necessary path. I believe Don must have stopped at the ruin. Even if he's no longer there now, there might be traces or clues left behind."
"Ging, isn't Don Freecss your ancestor? Isn't it inappropriate to call him by name so directly?" Buhara said bluntly.
"Hahaha!"
Shiro immediately laughed unkindly.
In contrast, others, even Law, couldn't help but smile.
Seeing his teammates' amusement, several black lines appeared on Ging's forehead. Ever since finding Don became one of the team's goals, this sore point might accompany him until the journey's end.
"Please be serious." Ging rarely sounded so helpless.
"Alright, let's mention such sensitive topics less in the future." Law said seriously.
'Sensitive my foot...'
Ging rubbed his temples.
"Understood."
Buhara obediently nodded.
The floating votes from Biscuit, Machi, Bruna, and the others were considered invalid.
Even so, over half the team members voted to visit the ruin along the way.
Seeing Law's group make a decision, the skeleton seized the moment to say weakly, "Um, can I go now?"
His words drew everyone's attention.
"I'm afraid not." Law said.
"You want to break your word?!" The skeleton immediately became agitated.
"No, no, because my questions aren't finished yet."
"Then ask quickly!"
"I'll ask when I think of them."
"Shameless!"
The skeleton finally understood: this human never intended to let him leave from the start.
Just...!
As the thought formed, the red orb behind his ribcage reacted instantly.
But quickly, he recalled facing Law alone in the room that day, feeling despair.
The red orb that had just sparked went out promptly.
"Do you want... to become human again?" Law smiled, staring at the skeleton who could hardly swallow his anger.
"No."
The skeleton replied coldly.
Deep down, he still considered himself human. However, he never thought of returning to a human form.
Because this current body was his means of surviving on the Dark Continent. Only a fool would want to change back to a human body.
Thus, he could somewhat understand those humanoid groups that changed for survival.
As long as they could survive, as long as they could ensure their tribe's continuation.
Then what did it matter to abandon some things?
Law could tell the skeleton was serious and felt somewhat disappointed.
He wanted to recruit the skeleton, but taking his vital point didn't work… he could only cater to his preferences.
During this time, he had been thinking: what reason could make the skeleton become a teammate?
After much thought, it was to make the skeleton human again.
Unexpectedly, the skeleton refused so decisively.
Law didn't ask for reasons but propped his chin, deep in thought.
'What other reasons were there?'
'Rebuilding a homeland?'
'Or revenge?'
Forget it, take one step at a time.
Law stopped dwelling on it, looked northeast, and said calmly, "Prepare to depart."
The skeleton was filled with resentment but powerless, so he also adopted the same mindset as Law: take one step at a time.
Kuro emerged from the back of Law's hand, transforming into a huge black panther form.
Everyone skillfully leaped onto Kuro's broad back.
Once everyone was on, Kuro stepped into the air, heading northeast.
Taking the air route could avoid many dangers on the ground.
Of course, there was a chance of encountering troublesome flying creatures.
Law had Kuro slow down; there was no need to rush, but they needed to see the situation below clearly.
...
Underground ruins. Light footsteps echoed in a long brick passageway.
The passage was pitch dark… looking far ahead, tiny, starlike light sources could be seen.
A figure emerged from the darkness, walking toward the light ahead.
That figure was none other than the Chairman of the Hunter Association… Netero.
At this moment, his left hand hung naturally at his side, while his right hand's fingers were pressed together in a prayer gesture across his chest.
In the center of the passage, sloping downward to who-knows-where, floated various bizarrely shaped bronze mechanical lifeforms emitting dangerous auras.
In the darkness, nothing was visible, but by concentrating Nen in the eyes, the light from the energy crystals of the bronze mechanical lifeforms became extremely bright.
The bronze mechanical lifeforms detected Netero's presence. As if suddenly stimulated, they charged toward him.
"Can't waste too much Nen on you."
Watching the charging bronze mechanical lifeforms, Netero murmured to himself.
Swoosh!
A golden arm appeared out of nowhere, swatting down the incoming bronze mechanical lifeforms like flies.
Within moments, the ground was littered with wreckage, only the energy crystals remained intact.
Netero's gaze didn't linger in the slightest… he proceeded straight ahead.
One kilometer? Or two?
Netero didn't count but focused on recovering the Nen consumed along the way.
A few minutes later, the tiny, starlike light points finally burst into bright illumination before him.
Without hesitation, he stepped into the light… a vast space resembling an ant nest where branching passages converged.
Where the light shone, a familiar voice came.
"My beloved father, sometimes being too confident isn't a good thing."