After arranging the planting matters, Akira headed to a slightly secluded corner.
With a flicker of his figure, he entered the Digital World.
"Bang! Bang!"
The moment he stepped into the Digital World, Akira heard several loud knocking sounds, like the clashing of metal.
The space was filled with all sorts of peculiar tools—some already completed, others still in progress.
Here, one could see objects as ancient as those from primitive tribes alongside inventions that surpassed modern novelty.
This was the laboratory Akira had prepared for Meowth, designed to meet its research and invention needs as much as possible.
Originally, Akira had intended to build a laboratory on the Pokémon Island for Meowth.
However, considering that Meowth's research often involved weapons of mass destruction—and even more terrifyingly powerful items—it was unsuitable for such experiments to be conducted on the island, as they could easily cause widespread damage.
For safety reasons, Akira ultimately decided to set up the experimental site within the Digital World.
Here, Meowth could freely test weapons without worrying about causing any catastrophic destruction.
Stepping over piles of data-formed books, Akira spotted Meowth on the other side, clad in protective gear and wielding a large hammer to strike something.
"Meow?"
Noticing Akira's arrival, Meowth quickly stopped its work, removed the protective gear, and ran over to Akira.
Pointing at the "mysterious object" Meowth had been hammering, Akira asked curiously, "What's this?"
Meowth puffed out its chest proudly. "This is a knife I'm trying to forge myself using the Bone Clan's forging techniques, meow."
"You can already forge on your own?" Akira was somewhat surprised. It hadn't been long since they obtained the Bone Clan's forging methods, yet Meowth was already capable of forging independently.
Recalling the extraordinary knives crafted by the Bone Clan, Akira began to look forward to what kind of blade Meowth would create.
Meowth nodded, its cat ears twitching happily. "Yes, meow. Meowth believes that although this is the first knife I've forged, its effects won't lose to those left behind by the Bone Clan, meow."
As a master inventor, Meowth had great confidence in its talents.
Then, Meowth spoke again: "The [replication] tool we talked about earlier is already finished, meow. Do you want to try it now?"
Akira had no objections and was eager to see Meowth's new invention.
Meowth grinned warmly and turned to rummage through a pile of inventions before pulling out a round mirror.
This mirror was quite peculiar—though Meowth was holding it, there was no reflection of Meowth inside. It was completely empty.
At the same time, faint traces of Aura circled the mirror's surface, indicating it was an Aura tool.
The predecessor of this tool was the [Copy Mirror] he had taken from the Hunter Association.
By placing an object in front of the Copy Mirror, a reversed copy would appear in the mirror.
However, the replicated items mostly retained only their form, with effects far weaker than the original, and required a significant amount of Aura to produce.
Though this [Copy Mirror] might seem underwhelming—with its copies possessing only a fraction of the original's effects—it was still quite useful.Even if it was just an "empty shell," there were still many situations where it could be useful.
Not to mention that the replica still retained a small portion of its original effects.
This was precisely why Akira had chosen it in the first place.
And now, after Meowth's meticulous research and modifications, this [Mirror of Replication] has undergone significant changes.
Its appearance hasn't changed much, but its effects have seen terrifying improvements.
First, the advantages: The replicas created by the [Mirror of Replication] no longer possess only a portion of the original's effects but all of them.
At the same time, replication no longer requires a large amount of Aura—just input some Aura and point the mirror at the target object.
The downside is that after each use, there's a cooldown period before it can be used again.
The length of the cooldown depends on the object being replicated, though it can be partially shortened by inputting Aura.
"Simply put, that's how it works, meow."
Meowth held the [Mirror of Replication] in its hands while explaining it to Akira, clearly proud of its creation.
Taking the [Mirror of Replication], Akira gazed at the empty mirror surface and couldn't help but sigh slightly.
Meowth truly lived up to its reputation as a great inventor—to think it could create something like this.
If Meowth's claims were true, then he could use this mirror to replicate other items.
Naturally, [Hope] from the Dark Continent would also be possible.
In a way, this meant he practically had an endless supply of [Hope].
This [Hope] wasn't limited to just plant types—it included all varieties.
With a thought, a piece of ore appeared in Akira's hand, glowing fiery red and radiating intense heat in his palm.
This was the first type of ore he had discovered in the rocky terrain—Flameglow Stone.
Without hesitation, Akira placed the Flameglow Stone in front of the mirror, gave it a couple of shakes, and channeled a stream of Aura into it.
Instantly, a blinding white light erupted from the mirror, almost as if it were about to fire a beam attack.
The light shone onto the Flameglow Stone, and at the same time, an image of the stone appeared in the mirror.
As the image gradually sharpened, the mirror's white light dimmed until it vanished completely.
Seeing that the process was nearly done, Akira flipped the mirror upside down, pointing its surface toward the ground, and shook it twice.
Thud!
A Flameglow Stone dropped out of the mirror, landing with a solid sound.
[It really works?]
Akira's eyes widened slightly as he set the mirror aside and picked up both Flameglow Stones to examine them.
Yet no matter how closely he compared them, the two stones were identical.
Their shape, the heat they emitted, even their weight in his hands—there was no difference at all.
It was a perfect one-to-one replication.
A faint smile crossed Akira's face as he realized the [Mirror of Replication] truly lived up to its claims without exaggeration.
"Not bad, not bad."
Akira nodded, then handed the [Mirror of Replication] back to Meowth—this tool could also be useful for Meowth's experiments.
At the same time, he estimated that after replicating the Flameglow Stone, the mirror would need about a minute to cool down.
That wasn't much time at all, especially since it could be further shortened with Aura.
Seeing that Meowth was about to dive back into research, Akira patted its head and said with concern:
"Meowth, research and invention are good, but don't forget to rest too."
Under Akira's head pats, Meowth's eyes instinctively narrowed, its tail curling up and swaying happily.
"Got it, meow! Meowth will definitely do that!"
It even thumped its chest in a resolute gesture, looking so earnest it was hard not to chuckle.
After all, research and invention were its hobbies, so spending extra time on them didn't feel tiring.
Akira continued, "Alright then, I'll take my leave first."
"Remember to arrange the security for the cultivation base later. Now's your time to shine."
Akira hadn't forgotten his other purpose for coming here.
"Roger that, meow~"
...
A few days later,
At the top floor of the Hunter Association,
This was the office exclusively for the Association Chairman. Previously, it was Netero who occupied it, but now it was Akira.
Akira held some reports in his hands, having skimmed through them a few times to get a general understanding of the Association's current development.
He then turned to Beans, who was standing by, and smiled:
"Beans, you've worked hard these past few days. The Association would struggle to function without you."
His words weren't an exaggeration—they were basically the truth.
It could be said that the two most important "people" in the entire Association were himself and Beans, the secretary.
He served more as a belief, or rather, a banner—the spiritual leader of the Association's members.
His role was to lead by example and guide everyone's development.
Beans' importance, on the other hand, was more reflected in his work.
The Hunter Association, as the largest organization outside of national governments across the six continents, had branches all over the world.
It was an enormous organization.
Naturally, there were big and small matters to handle every day.
Smaller matters were dealt with by the staff below, such as Nobunaga, who had previously been part of the Chimera Ant unit.
He usually worked in one of the Hunter Association's departments and wasn't an ordinary, free-roaming hunter.
Even so, Beans still had a lot to do daily.
This was also because the Chairman hardly did any work—whether it was the former Netero or the current Akira, it was the same.
Normally, the Vice Chairman assisted Beans with office duties.
Overall, Beans' workload had lightened somewhat after Akira took office because the Vice Chairman position had been filled by Cheadle.
The previous Vice Chairman, Pariston, liked to put on a show—on the surface, he was always working, but in reality, he didn't do much.
Cheadle was different.
She genuinely helped Beans with his duties, hoping the Association could grow better and better.
Hmm...
However, Pariston had returned with him smoothly, and it was unclear whether he had any intention of becoming Vice Chairman again.
Akira doubted it was likely.
Back then, Pariston had taken the position just to have fun with Netero.
Now that Netero was gone, there was no reason for him to stay.
Even if Pariston wanted to return, Akira wouldn't give him the chance.
Akira handed the reports to Beans, who then left.
Akira sat down on the sofa, with Kurapika seated across from him.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Akira said, taking a sip of tea.
The rich aroma was refreshing.
Kurapika quickly waved his hands. "No, no, I haven't been waiting long."
"Naturally, work is more important."
Akira set down his teacup and smiled. "How have you been lately? Is the position of [Rat] treating you well?"
Perhaps due to some tempering, Akira could sense that Kurapika's demeanor was different from two months ago.
He wasn't suited for places like the mafia—he was much better off as a hunter who punished evil and upheld justice.
Kurapika sighed with emotion, "Yes, thank you very much for your recommendation, Akira. It has made things much more convenient for me."
"Over these two months, I've also managed to collect several more pairs of my clansmen's eyes. I'm one step closer to completing the collection."
"Is that so?"
Akira wasn't surprised by this development.
When he had arranged for Kurapika to take the position of "Rat," he had considered the mutual convenience it would bring.
Of course, Kurapika had benefited more from the arrangement.
"So, how have Gon and the others been these past two months?"
He wondered how the two kids were doing now that the plot had been altered by his involvement.
Akira had every reason to suspect that the first person Ging would visit upon his return would be Gon.
Though "visit" might not be the right word—Akira could easily imagine Ging just watching Gon from the shadows for a while.
As long as he confirmed Gon was still alive and kicking, that would be enough.
Kurapika thought for a moment before replying hesitantly:
"I haven't seen much of them these past two months, but it seems they're currently traveling across the Six Continents."
After a brief pause, he added, "Besides the two of them, it appears Killua has also brought along his younger brother."
Younger brother...
A sharp glint flashed in Akira's eyes at the mention.
If he wasn't mistaken, the "younger brother" Kurapika referred to was Alluka.
It seemed that after the nen needle in Killua's head was removed and his sealed memories resurfaced, he had remembered this poor sibling.
Then he must have returned to the Zoldyck family to bring Alluka out—the process probably didn't differ much from the original storyline.
Not that he could blame the Zoldycks.
After all, Alluka's body housed Nanika, a being from the Dark Continent.
Its rule-based abilities, comparable to a "wish-granting machine," were utterly absurd.
But speaking of which...
Would being near Nanika give rise to a Pokémon?
Akira frowned slightly, considering the feasibility of this idea.
Nanika was a creature from the Dark Continent, suspected to be one of the Five Great Calamities—the "Pap."
From this perspective, there was indeed a possibility of Pokémon manifestation.
If it were truly possible, what kind of Pokémon would emerge...?
An image of a certain Pokémon, highly compatible with Nanika's abilities, surfaced in Akira's mind.
Noticing Akira's prolonged silence, Kurapika took the initiative to ask:
"So... is there something you need me to do this time?"
His tone was puzzled.
He didn't know why Akira had summoned him without prior explanation.
Was it just to catch up on recent events?
Snapping out of his thoughts, Akira looked at Kurapika and said in a low voice:
"If—and I mean if—"
"there were still members of your clan alive in this world..."
"would you want to meet them?"
Kurapika's breath hitched, and a faint crimson hue flickered in his lively eyes.
There were... still survivors of his clan in this world?
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