Chapter 868
Nasubi released his aura.
After a short while, he located Ron's position.
At the top of the Black Whale, a door opened.
Nasubi stepped through and exited onto the exterior of the vessel.
Ron noticed and turned his head. "Senior Nasubi."
"Ron, are you fishing?"
Nasubi glanced him over.
"That's right," Ron replied with a nod. "It'll still be quite a while before we reach the Gatekeeper Continent. The things going on inside the Black Whale don't concern me much, and I'm not particularly interested. Compared to that, I find this sea more intriguing. I've never been here before, after all. The creatures living beneath the surface seem quite strong."
Just as he finished speaking, the fishing rod gave another pull.
Fwoosh!
Ron tugged sharply on the rod.
At the same time, Cell slipped beneath the waves.
Not long after, the creature below stopped struggling.
With a sharp lift, Ron hauled up a massive fish—although calling it a fish might not be entirely accurate. The front half resembled a tuna, but the rear half was made up of octopus tentacles instead of a regular tail.
"This thing's aura is intense…"
The thought surfaced in Ron's mind instinctively. But he quickly remembered something else.
In the world of Gourmet Paradise, there was a type of fish called the Tuna Octopus. This one looked identical—delicious and rich in texture. One ingredient, multiple flavors.
Ron broke the fish down and stored it in Sumas's space.
Nasubi turned his gaze toward Cell.
From Cell's body, he could sense a dangerous presence.
It wasn't simply the aura of an S-rank Nen user—it was something else.
It felt like the presence of a wild beast.
"So this is your Nen beast?"
"Yes."
"I didn't expect you to be following a Nen beast path, and to already reach S-rank at your age… That's truly impressive. I was nowhere near your level back then."
Ron smiled. "You flatter me, Senior Nasubi. Whether one reaches S-rank sooner or later doesn't matter much. The real journey begins only after one becomes a Sequencer. I may need your guidance in the future."
As they spoke, Erina finished cooking.
With a thought, Ron opened the door to Sumas's space.
"Senior Nasubi, would you like to have a taste?"
"Sure, I won't hold back then."
"No need to be polite."
The two sat directly on the deck.
The tuna portion had been prepared as sashimi. The squid-like portion was grilled on a hotplate.
Ron picked up a piece of sashimi and placed it in his mouth. The distinct aura of this sea region—the kind unique to the Flying Human Territory—entered his body along with the fish, but was quickly neutralized by his own aura.
"Not bad."
Nasubi picked up a piece and examined it carefully. "Just the right thickness. Ron, I didn't expect you to have such a talented chef with you."
He placed the fish in his mouth and began to chew.
A burst of flavor exploded in his mouth, and his eyes lit up.
As the King of Kakin and a top-tier S-rank Nen user, Nasubi was used to eating the finest food available in the Human World.
He had even visited Gourmet Paradise.
Just from the look of the sashimi, he could already tell it had been sliced to perfection.
But once he tasted it, he realized it was more than perfect—the sauce paired with it was also exquisite. The combination was flawless.
"How is it, Senior Nasubi?"
"It's delicious."
Nasubi looked at Ron. "Ron, did you bring a chef from Gourmet Paradise?"
Ron only smiled and didn't answer.
Nasubi didn't press further.
Before long, the meal was finished.
Ron gave the remaining portions to Cell, who devoured them like a bottomless machine—like a trash bin that could never be filled.
"Ron, are you planning to just keep fishing here?"
"Fishing is pretty fun."
"Well, that's not bad. But do be a little careful. Your strength is impressive, but the storms here are nothing like those in the Human World's seas."
"Thank you for the reminder."
Nasubi waved his hand and returned to the first level of the Black Whale.
Nasubi didn't possess Gourmet Cells like Ron, nor did he have Cell's digestive ability, so Erina's cooking, to him, was simply delicious—but nothing more.
He wasn't obsessed with flavor.
To him, the Succession War was far more important.
The death of three princes marked the true beginning of the war.
On the surface, only two had died.
Very few knew that the Tenth Prince was already dead.
The lower decks were also caught up in conflict.
The Cha‑R Family.
The Heil-Ly Family.
The Xi‑Yu Family.
These families were all allied with specific princes.
At the moment, they couldn't directly attack those princes, but they could chip away at each other's forces to reduce overall strength for future action.
However, even the three major mafia families didn't start off with direct family members taking action.
They were recruiting.
On the third, fourth, and fifth levels, they began gathering underlings—or forming alliances.
Using various means, they sought to expand their power and diminish the influence of rivals.
From that standpoint, the Third Prince, Fourth Prince, and Seventh Prince held considerable advantages.
Yet in terms of sheer influence, the First Prince was no weaker—in fact, possibly stronger.
The First Prince commanded the largest number of private soldiers.
And during his time in Kakin, he had served as an advisor at the military academy.
Many graduates of the Kakin Military Academy were loyal to him.
Ron thought of the Fourteenth Prince.
In the original story, Kurapika had been assigned as the Fourteenth Prince's bodyguard, which made many people see potential in that prince.
But in this world, with Ron's presence altering the timeline, Kurapika had gone down a different path. The Fourteenth Prince no longer had Kurapika's protection.
How far that prince could go now was completely unknown.
One notable point—because of the Phantom Troupe's reputation, and due to someone secretly witnessing Machi's group clashing with members of the Troupe—there was interest from all three mafia families.
They intended to recruit them.
This made Kurapika somewhat tempted.
He still wanted to uncover who in Kakin was connected to the massacre of the Kurta Clan.