The V5 council quickly reached a consensus.
Their original plan to suppress, restrict, and assassinate Aoki Hiroshi was now scrapped.Their new plan? Win him over and earn his favor.
Everyone involved in the assassination attempt was to be investigated and punished.
Even those who merely supported it with words—dismissed from their positions.
This was V5's show of sincerity to Hiroshi.
Hunter Association – High Council Meeting
"Where's Pariston?"
Netero looked around the room, frowning at the absence of his vice-chairman.
He turned to Beans, the secretary.
"Any idea where he went?"
Even the Zodiac Twelve seemed surprised.
Pariston was always present—unlike Ging, who was known to vanish. This was out of character.
"Couldn't reach him. His phone's off," Beans replied, shaking his head.
Netero furrowed his brow.
After a few seconds of silence, he said sharply:
"Beans, contact V5 right now. I want to know exactly where Pariston is."
The Zodiacs exchanged glances.
Each member, code-named after the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, was in charge of different sectors.But they all shared one thing: a mutual distrust toward V5.
"Chairman, do you suspect Pariston is working with V5?" one asked.
"Not suspect—I'm sure of it," Netero replied calmly."What worries me now is that he might have acted with V5 against Aoki Hiroshi."
A silence swept the room.
"He attacked a rookie?"
"Is he insane?"
"Breaking such a fundamental rule… does he want us to retaliate?"
The Zodiac Twelve were clearly shaken.
Especially Monkey, whose heart sank in cold dread.
He was Pariston's inside man—a spy.
And yet, he hadn't been informed of the assassination operation.
Was I... abandoned?
His heart sank like a stone.
—
Moments later, Beans returned, breathless.
"Bad news, Chairman!"
"V5 just confirmed: Pariston colluded with some of their officials.He illegally mobilized a 30-man elite squad to attack Aoki Hiroshi."
"They've already issued a warrant for his arrest."
The Zodiacs frowned deeply.
"A clear scapegoat maneuver," someone muttered.
"The rookie's in danger…"
"A 30-man elite ambush squad could kill any one of us."
"Yeah, Aoki Hiroshi is probably already dead."
They lacked full intel on Hiroshi.All they knew was that Kite discovered him and labeled him a Nen genius.
But the details had been sealed away by Netero.
"Just thirty men and Pariston?" Netero asked, surprisingly relieved.
The Zodiacs were stunned.
"Chairman?"
"This sounds like a disaster waiting to happen…"
"Unless… you already planned for this?"
Netero smiled but shook his head.
None of those guesses were right.
He looked back at Beans.
"Did V5 tell you what happened with the assault?"
"Yes, sir!" Beans quickly answered."The 30-man squad was annihilated. Pariston was gravely injured and fled."
Gasp—!
The Zodiacs collectively inhaled in shock.
"All killed?"
"And Pariston escaped?"
"Was this done by the rookie!?"
"V5 reports it was only Aoki Hiroshi who engaged them."
Disbelief filled the room.
"He's still a beginner… how could he have such power?"
Pariston was nearly at the level of the Five Grand Nen Masters.No mere rookie should be able to force him into retreat.
"Coincidentally," Netero said, smiling and raising his vibrating phone,"Biscuit's calling right now."
Biscuit Krueger?
Hearing the name, the room fell silent with anticipation.
"Hello, Chairman!"
Biscuit's annoyed voice came through the speaker.
"You must've figured it out by now—Pariston came to attack Hiroshi."
"But you also know… Hiroshi mastered Renshan just yesterday."
"Today, he went a step further. He merged in Enhancement too.He's now just one step away from you."
"He defeated Pariston in one strike."
"Didn't kill him though—made him vow to fulfill three conditions under a Nen restriction."
"I'll explain more when I'm back—V5's pestering us again. Gotta go!"
Click.
The Zodiacs were speechless.
Renshan? Mastered?
One step away from Chairman Netero?
One strike took down Pariston?
No one could believe their ears.
"This has to be a dream, right?"
"Kite said he awakened six days ago!"
"Less than a week… and he's already mastered Renshan?"
"Am I reading a bad webnovel!?"
"No—what's even more insane is… he's just one step from Netero!"
All eyes turned to the Chairman.
One thought filled their gazes:
Where did Kite find this monster?!
Netero laughed heartily, stroking his beard.
"Looks like it's time I paid a visit to the NGL Autonomous Region."
"One step away from me?"
"That's thrilling. I can't wait to spar with him."
The Zodiac Twelve had varied reactions.
To be one of the Five Grand Nen Masters, one had to fully master Renshan—the five-type fusion.
Among the Zodiacs, only Ging Freecss had achieved this.
But beyond Renshan, beyond the Grand Masters—there was Netero.
He alone had touched the realm above: The Complete State (完全境界).
According to Netero, there were two possible paths to reach this realm:
Start as a user of one of the five main Nen categories,then gradually develop all five until they merge into a unique Specialization-based ability.
Start as a Specialist, and grow branches of all five categories from that core.
Netero had taken the first route.
After integrating all five systems, his ability evolved into a perfect Specialist ability—combining the strengths and traits of all five categories.
That's why...
When he first heard the name of Aoki Hiroshi's Nen ability—he was briefly dazed.
Note:The "Complete State" is a concept created by the author, not from the canon HxH universe.