Just as Pouf had suggested, with Youpi about to awaken, even without considering the thirty-plus Squadron Leaders' teams, the level of defense was more than sufficient.
In addition, considering the nutritional and intelligence value of those three special humans, it was indeed worth considering taking action.
Pitou was somewhat tempted.
'As long as the action remains within controllable limits, there's room to handle any 'unexpected situations'...'
As she pondered the feasibility of the action, Pitou's gaze slowly swept over Kite, frozen in the ice, thinking: 'If it goes beyond controllable limits, I can just abandon the mission.'
In the end, Pitou decided to follow Pouf's suggestion and take action to search for the three missing special humans.
What prompted her to make the final decision was the decision-making power granted by the Queen.
"With the ability I just learned, if those three special humans haven't gone too far..."
Pitou stretched lazily, a slight smile curling her lips as she said with interest: "I should be able to find them quickly."
"Ability?"
There was a hint of inquiry in Pouf's eyes as he looked towards Pitou.
Pitou raised her right hand and explained, "You don't know this yet, do you? This energy can not only be turned into abilities but can also be used in a variety of ways through different manipulation methods in the state of pure energy."
"Show it to me."
Pouf was intrigued by Pitou's explanation and made an invitation gesture in a gentlemanly manner.
Neferpido smiled and said, "For example, this."
As she spoke, she transferred the life force in her body to her right hand.
In an instant, her right hand was enveloped in a dense, intense Aura, releasing an extremely dangerous presence.
"Hmm?"
Pouf stared at the concentrated life energy, and a look of surprise slowly emerged on his composed and handsome face.
Without waiting for him to ask further, Pitou continued, "Or like this."
Without waiting, she conjured the concentrated life force into a bulky doll with a large female face.
[Doctor Blythe]
This was the Nen Ability Pitou had developed.
However, her thirst for abilities didn't stop there.
The ability to repair corpses wasn't enough. To continue playing, she needed an ability to control corpses as well.
If Pouf hadn't suddenly appeared, Pitou might have continued refining her newly developed Nen Ability in a quiet environment.
"…"
Seeing the giant doll Pitou had conjured, the astonishment in Pouf's eyes deepened.
However, he didn't feel the urge to quickly learn this ability just because Pitou had demonstrated it.
On the contrary-
He was patient and able to suppress his impulses.
Rather than hastily learning this ability, he wanted to gather all the information about this ability system.
"Is there more?"
Pouf suppressed the turmoil in his heart and asked calmly.
Pitou glanced at Pouf's expression, then pouted and dismissed the recently conjured Doctor Blythe.
As Doctor Blythe disappeared, the released Aura reattached itself to Pitou's body.
"Since the life force can be concentrated in one place, of course it can also be expanded."
After a brief explanation, Pitou controlled her life force to spread outward.
The red life force around her body rapidly expanded like a mist, quickly passing through Pouf and Rammot, who stood in the corner too afraid to speak, then swiftly penetrating the mud walls of the nest and continuing to expand outward.
This ability technique was none other than the highly talent-dependent En.
But Pitou had a natural talent for this, making it as simple and ordinary as eating or drinking.
Soon-
The irregular mist-like Aura that expanded outwards enveloped the entire huge ant nest, but the expansion continued...
"That's enough."
Pouf spoke up, stopping Pitou's demonstration.
Upon hearing this, Pitou simply willed the released Aura to dissipate.
"Then I'll go out for a while, meow."
After retracting her life force, Pitou looked toward the exit.
Pouf remained silent, his thoughts immersed in the ability that Pitou had just demonstrated.
Pitou glanced at the silent Pouf, but she said nothing and walked straight toward the exit.
Rammot, who had been a silent observer in the corner, finally mustered the courage to ask as Pitou walked toward the exit: "Neferpitou-sama, may I accompany you?"
"No, you can't."
Pitou stopped and turned back to look at Rammot behind her, then smiled: "You still have an important task to complete."
"O-Of course, I understand."
Rammot was stunned at first, then remembered the task Pitou had assigned him.
He was to replicate his experience of awakening his ability in other Squadron Leaders and Officers, helping them master the life force...
Pitou withdrew her gaze, walked out of the ant nest alone, and came to the edge of a suspended platform.
"Which direction should I start searching from?"
Pitou raised a hand to shield her eyes as she surveyed the four directions from her high vantage point.
If she expanded her life force in one direction, the coverage distance would be about two kilometers.
In this way, she could maximize the search range and efficiency within controllable limits.
But before choosing a direction, the only certainty was that it would take several times longer to conduct a thorough search.
However-
If she got lucky.
She might just pick the right direction immediately.
Thinking of this, Pitou suddenly recalled the direction from which Kite, Gon, and Killua had approached the nest.
"Meow, let's start from 'that side' first."
Pitou looked toward the area where she had previously fought Kite and immediately decided on the first search direction.
A surge of intense, malevolent life force erupted from her body, forming an irregularly shaped red Aura.
From a distance, the red Aura resembled a twisted giant hand, rapidly spreading over the forest ahead.
At this moment.
Pokkle, Ponzu, and Urtaido were still hiding in a mud pit covered with leaves and branches.
Although they had managed to escape earlier, they couldn't break through the Chimera Ants' activity range and were forced to hide in this mud pit, using Zetsu to completely conceal their presence.
Since the Chimera Ants hadn't awakened Nen, they naturally had no way to detect Zetsu.
Thanks to this, Pokkle and the others didn't have to worry about being found by the Chimera Ants… for now.
The only problem they needed to consider was food and water...
In order to ensure that their hiding place would not be discovered, they couldn't leave the mud pit at will, and they also did not dare to take the risk of sending Ponzu's to find food and water and bring them over.
After all, doing so would increase the risk of exposure.
For now, all they could do was maintain their current situation and endure...
If nothing unexpected happened, they could rely on Zetsu to hold out for a while.
But-
The unexpected came rushing toward them.