Hunter X Hunter: Grounded

Chapter 71



Title: Sloth...



….
Though they weren't able to land a clean hit on Karla even when she wasn't giving it 10%, I still let Gon and Killua go fight. Well, it wasn't even a fight as Gon has already started showing signs of developing his JaJanken, already having Rock in place so he can now throw an essentially super-strong punch. While Killua is monstrous in his way, and while he hasn't figured out his Hatsu, he is no weaker than Gon.



I have seen the Talent that everyone gushes about in the series and I have to say… it's kinda underwhelming. Weaker than expected, they learn things about as fast as Karla does, which is good, amazing actually, but once they enter the Dark Continent… they will be nothing.


Even Killua's speed won't be anything special in that place. You can't just dodge an attack the size of a mountain. Plus he needs a foothold to move so fast, so that is another weakness.


They are good, but not THAT good. Gon was able to reach that height when he gave up everything, he was able to reach an unimaginable power. But can he do it in reality? Does he have the drive to train for a whole decade without rest, to train so hard that his body will become tempered and his aura so enormous? 


The answer is simple… no, he doesn't have that will. Gon by adult age wouldn't have that raw power, though he would still be better with Nen usage.


Netero is a madman for training for just four years without rest. He experienced a metamorphosis, but he isn't normal, at that point the strength wasn't gained from talent or potential… the strength that Netero gained was from his mindset.



Gkn likes adventure, just like his father Ging, he is talented. But he isn't at the level of Meruem, kind of strong. He can't move at his speed, can't make crazy calculations and such.


Of course, that is only about natural potential. Because I have a way lower potential than Gon, but I would bet anything that I will surpass him. Talent and Potential aren't limiters, they are only so to people who accept them. I won't, I am in love with power, and being second best doesn't quite suit me.


As long as I can go to the Dark Continent once more, then I will have the options to evolve once more, make my power take another step forward.


But… I am not ready yet, the survival of the first expedition was costly. It cost me around seventy good Nen users with exceptionally good abilities. Those guys aren't easy to find, and even though I have started gathering once again, I will need another year or two before everything is prepared.



Hmmm… by that time it will be the gathering of the Kakin Empire and the Royal Battle will happen. Sloth will also be there, so he can help us get inside the ships and with all the strong Hunters in there, I will have quite a lot of meat shields. 


But… where do they plan to land? I need to be on the north side of Moebius Lake, and the expedition should make us land East. Hmmm… but I can still go North, it doesn't matter, as long as I land in that place, I can survive it. But if the ship is destroyed in the middle of the sea, then we are all dead, I can't fight sea creatures, their fangs will easily rip through my flesh.


I will be chewed into mush before I even know it. Though I can breathe and swim underwater better than most fish, for strong giant creatures who have grown in there, I am nothing special. 


Honestly, every human in this place is weak as hell. Even people like Ging… only the Dark Continent has the true monsters.



Hmmm… Karla must also grow stronger, and I know just the way to do it. Yearning Heartbroken Red, a treasure like Nitro Rice, is a flower, or more correctly, a seed that blooms once someone who knows heartbreak touches it. The flower would be useless to me since people like myself will never experience heartbreak. But Karla should be very familiar with that feeling. It is said that once the person who the flower bloomed from eats it, then their power will experience a terrifying rise in power.  Karla needs that desperately.




Her smiling face looks at me as she throws some small pebbles trying to get my attention. But she can't as my rocky aura is all around me. You would need rockets to the like of fighter jets to even form a crack in my Nen anymore.



*sigh* I better go and meet up with Sloth. That way I can get some more details in this future Kakin Empire exploration.


Hmmm… Chimera Ants… having their body would be so good. Even trash like Rammot (the rabbit/bird guy) was able to learn Nen very quickly. That is when someone has Talent, meaning that they can learn fast, but not the Potential to go with it. 



My Talent would gain an upgrade. I would be able to learn things faster, my Potential doesn't matter since I have absorbed a creature from the Dark Continent, and my growth is guaranteed.



I can sense Karla trying to come and pinch my cheek, but I just create a golem hand slapping her away. I am thinking about the future, but she is trying to get my attention for something… probably something that I don't care about.



…
-General POV-



Sub is casually glancing around while Karla tries to get his attention.

"Hey~ Sub~ I wanna see you naked!!" Like always, she expresses her desires openly and doesn't keep her feelings wrapped up.



A waitress at this time comes to her room, but once she hears the commotion, she too goes away.


"C'mon Sub~" complains Karla. "Let's get out of here, let's go and see Killua and Gon fighting~"



She tries to use her bandages to maneuver herself closer… but she fails miserably as Sub's body instinctively grabs them and slams her on the ground. She isn't hurt… physically.


"Agh!! Damn it!! At least act like you are putting effort in manhandling me!!" Karla complains again, but as her mind goes to Sub manhandling her, a blush appears on her face and she starts breathing heavily. "Hehehehe… actually I would like it if he did that to me. Just imagining his hard rock hands choking me while he… hehehehehe…"



That is when Sub comes out of his thoughts and looks at Karla. She stops and looks back at him… a little embarrassed by what she said out loud. "You didn't hear that right?"



"No… I did…" He says, looking at Karla weirdly. "Are you a masochist?"


"Of course no!!" She yells out her denial.





…
…
A week later and they are in an airship together. Going towards the Kakin Empire. 


"Huhhh~ why are we going to meet that fat bastard again?" Asks Karla, annoyed at this, she would rather be staying in the luxurious Heaven's Arena.


"You could have stayed back if you wanted to." 


"No!!" She rejects the idea resolutely. "I must go wherever you go!!"


"Hmmm… okay." Sub is unbothered by this.


But Karla has other thoughts in her mind. 'If I leave him alone for even a second, then he will definitely be entangled with another woman. If only I could have been with him earlier in his life, then there would have been no Machi in our relationship. Just me and him!'


….
Later on, after they reach the empire, both Sub and Karla are treated very well. Immediately they are brought into the throne room where a man with an obese figure, narrow eyes, and a top knot is there. He has long, curvy eyebrows, eyelashes, and a mustache. 

He is Nasubi Hui Guo Rou, the Emperor of the Kakin Empire.


Sub is extremely casual in the room and just walks forward with his hands in his pockets.


"You should bow before the king!!" Yells one of the advisors.



But Nasubi just waves him off. "Everyone, go away. This is an order."


"Long time no see Sub." Greets Nasubi with a smile on his face.


"Yo, how have you been… Sloth…"


The king smiles once he hears that name. "Hehehehe… I have been quite good… Boss…"



….