"So it really is Saiyu? It was exposed after all. Looks like Chairman Netero really did gather quite a bit of information."
The smile on Pariston's face did not change, but inwardly, he still let out a faint sigh.
"No choice. I can only sacrifice him."
Saiyu himself had not expected Netero to truly point the blade at him, much less to truly possess information about his crimes.
He had clearly hidden everything so carefully, yet it had still been dug up. What was he supposed to do now?!
Saiyu's mind spun at high speed. Then, almost subconsciously, he glanced at Pariston before quickly looking away.
But Cheadle, sharp as ever, still noticed it.
"Is this connected to Pariston? That does make sense. Those murdered and missing Hunters were basically all Pariston's opponents."
At that moment, Botobai, who had not spoken or expressed an opinion until now, stood up.
As the most blunt and straightforward member of the Zodiacs, as well as a Triple-Star Terrorist Hunter, a prosecutor, and the man whose reputation and strength within the Association were closest to Chairman Netero's, Botobai was overflowing with a sense of justice. He was also deeply supported by the members of the Hunter Association.
Had Pariston not existed, perhaps the seat of Vice Chairman would have belonged to Botobai.
Now, Botobai finally stepped forward. As someone who hated evil like a personal enemy, he could not tolerate a fellow Zodiac murdering Hunters from within the Association itself.
Among the Zodiacs, Botobai held a core position as the Dragon. Though his face was covered in bright theatrical face paint, his towering, sturdy build and bulging muscles showed that his strength was absolutely not weak. Just by standing there, he gave off a powerful sense of pressure.
Saiyu naturally felt that pressure too, especially with Botobai staring straight at him.
The moment Botobai stood up, everyone else stepped back, leaving enough space for the two of them.
"I need an explanation, Saiyu," Botobai said in a deep, powerful voice. "Why did you kill Hunters from the Association?"
Saiyu drew out his Power Pole. His gaze had already begun to sharpen.
"I have no obligation to explain myself to you!"
Although Saiyu was tall and thin, forming a stark contrast with Botobai, his strength was genuinely considerable. Otherwise, Netero would never have acknowledged his ability and allowed him to join the Zodiacs.
Saiyu was a martial artist, the only Bounty Hunter among the Zodiacs. On top of that, his Nen ability, "Three Monkeys: See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil," which could deprive people of their senses, was extremely powerful.
"Is that so?" Botobai said heavily.
Seeing Saiyu take a fighting stance, he also raised his right hand. Thick aura covered it.
The atmosphere instantly became taut.
Just as Botobai and Saiyu were about to clash, Netero's calm voice rang out.
"You may leave, Saiyu."
"Chairman?!"
Under everyone's puzzled gazes, especially Botobai's, Netero said, "You have indeed made many contributions to the Hunter Association. And I also know where you came from. Go find him. Tell him there's no need to keep playing these petty tricks. I look forward to him taking that step."
The "him" Netero was referring to was Beyond, his son.
Saiyu was a spy Beyond had planted among the Zodiacs, and Netero already knew.
Back then, Netero and Beyond had established Restrictions and Vows between them. Only after Netero died would Beyond be able to go to the Dark Continent.
But Beyond could not bring himself to personally kill his own father.
Netero himself was the strongest man in the world. No one could kill him at all, and his body was still very healthy. If Beyond wanted to wait for him to die naturally, who knew how long that would take?
And so, Beyond began planting moles around Netero. Of course, that was far from the only thing he had done.
After hearing that V5 was also interested in testing whether the current Six Continents had the strength to advance into the Dark Continent, Beyond no longer had any spare attention for other matters and began planning around that.
Pariston had also vaguely heard words like "Ants" and "Chimera," but he had been busy tying up loose ends these past few days and had not yet had time to question Beyond in detail.
In the meeting room, Saiyu fell silent after listening to Netero.
Then, he bowed deeply to Netero, put away his Power Pole, and with several leaps, vanished from the meeting room in the blink of an eye.
The aura around Botobai's arm dispersed, and he sat back down. The other Zodiacs also returned to their seats.
"I really didn't expect it. Saiyu was actually that kind of person." Cluck was the first to speak, being the most impatient one there.
"He always seemed pretty arrogant, and the way he talked was so unrestrained too, but I never thought he'd act like this as well. Murdering his own colleagues…"
When the others heard this, they could not help but exchange glances.
Then Botobai spoke again.
Botobai looked straight into Pariston's eyes. His intuition told him that Pariston absolutely could not be unrelated to Saiyu's matter.
"I second it."
"No objection."
"Works for me."
After thinking it over, the others also gave their opinions one after another. Of course, after speaking, they all turned their gazes toward Netero.
The matter of filling the vacancy among the Zodiacs still required the Chairman's approval.
"Since no one has any objections, I also agree that we should search for a suitable candidate to fill Saiyu's vacancy," Netero said slowly.
"As for the selection method…"
Everyone looked toward Netero, but he deliberately dragged out his tone, clearly keeping them in suspense.
"Just what kind of selection method is it, Chairman?!" Kanzai could not hold back and asked directly.
"Hmm. Actually, I already have a pretty good candidate here."
"A pretty good candidate? Who?" Everyone froze. Netero's news had come far too suddenly.
The seat had only just opened up, and he already had a suitable candidate?
"It seems Chairman Netero prepared this in advance! In that case, could you introduce this pretty good candidate to us?" Pariston asked with a smile.
"The pretty good candidate Chairman Netero mentioned is none other than me."
(End of Chapter)
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