Tree Rings was very strong.
So strong that it could even absorb Kakin's regalia, the Sword of Good Omens, without any hindrance.
But behind this power, a turbulent undercurrent always lurked.
All the Post-Mortem Nen information and memory fragments left behind after being absorbed by Morrow would plant hidden dangers within his mindscape.
In comparison, the pain endured when receiving the torrent of information was nothing.
The initial hidden dangers left by the Post-Mortem Nen of Chrollo, Orion, and others were, by a strange twist of fate, completely cleared out during Beyond's attack and Kurapika's subsequent treatment.
Later, the hidden dangers absorbed from even more powerful Post-Mortem Nen, like Shaiapouf's, were also completely pacified by the King's hand.
But the hidden dangers left by other Post-Mortem Nen could only be suppressed by pure mental strength.
Fortunately, Morrow had taken the initiative to use the Death Mark, tempering himself time and again in the throes of real fear and pain of death, thereby forging an exceptionally resilient mind.
Later, under the influence of his Starlight Convergence ability, his state of mind had stabilized even further.
It was precisely these efforts and this growth that gave him the mental fortitude to suppress the negative effects that came with Tree Rings absorbing Post-Mortem Nen.
In a sense, while the Tree Rings ability was certainly powerful, Morrow's will to actively seek transformation was also crucial.
However, even with such mental strength, Morrow still had to face the reality of his mindscape being constantly tainted and eroded by a large number of hidden dangers from Post-Mortem Nen.
For instance, right now, the countless lives of the sacrifices embodied by the Sword of Good Omens had finally arrived in Morrow's mindscape along with their Post-Mortem Nen.
Adding to that the Post-Mortem Nen absorbed and converted on the Dark Continent, and Illumi who had returned directly as Post-Mortem Nen...
This caused the surface of the water in Morrow's mindscape to turn pitch-black as he absorbed and converted the massive amount of Post-Mortem Nen.
At this very moment.
A completely black, silhouetted Netero stood before Morrow in the form of a hidden danger.
Behind him were countless twisted, overlapping humanoid shadows.
Morrow hadn't expected to reunite with Netero in this way, but he had a rough idea of the man's intentions.
The thought of a farewell was probably there.
But not a simple "goodbye."
Rather, he wanted to have one last battle with him in this mindscape.
This could be considered a fulfillment, of a sort, of the promise they made back then.
Morrow looked at Netero and asked, "You want to fight me here?"
"Heh heh, isn't this also a way of saying goodbye?"
Netero gave a slight nod.
Morrow sighed softly.
"Unfortunately, this is my mindscape. Even if I wanted to have a fair fight with you, my subconscious wouldn't allow it. It would just suppress you into the deepest depths."
"Is that important?"
Netero suddenly retorted.
Morrow couldn't help but be taken aback.
He could almost see Netero's expression through that dark silhouette.
It was a gaze focused solely on the present.
It sought no process, nor did it ask for a result.
It only hoped for a beginning.
Because only with a beginning could a true end follow.
So, did winning or losing still matter?
At least for the Netero of this moment, it did not.
Morrow nodded.
"I understand."
Nothing more needed to be said.
"Heh heh."
Netero chuckled.
He actually had many things he wanted to ask Morrow.
About the Dark Continent, about the future, about the current Hunter Association.
But as one of the dead, he ultimately asked nothing.
To have the chance to throw a punch at someone stronger in the end was enough.
Netero slowly widened his stance, his movements steady and powerful.
All his skills and intent began with those ten thousand Punches of Gratitude.
At this moment, Netero's gratitude was directed at Morrow.
There was no surging aura, no imposing presence.
He simply threw a straight punch at Morrow before him.
In an instant, golden cracks of light bloomed across Netero's dark, silhouetted body, like countless fissures appearing on the surface of a statue.
As the punch was thrown, the golden light exploded outward, shattering the black shell that clung to his body.
What was revealed from within was Netero, his entire body surging with a blazing golden light.
The light was dazzling and sharp, just like the punch he was throwing now.
Yet Morrow simply raised his right hand calmly and steadily caught Netero's standard, pure straight punch.
The originally surging force of the punch and the aura instantly subsided the moment they touched his palm, returning to complete silence.
"Not using the 100-Type?"
Morrow asked, holding back Netero's right straight punch.
Netero revealed a faint smile amidst the golden light.
"I already have."
Morrow's gaze shifted slightly, suddenly looking at the countless twisted, overlapping humanoid silhouettes behind Netero.
The 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, bathed in golden light, materialized out of thin air.
Its unstoppable palm strikes, seemingly with the greatest power of its entire existence, descended upon the countless dark humanoid silhouettes.
Thump, thump, thump...
The impossibly fast palm strikes tore gaps in the twisted, piled-up mass of figures.
And these countless vengeful spirits, under attack, all revealed silent, screaming, struggling forms.
Morrow watched this scene with some surprise.
It was obvious that Netero was helping him resolve the hidden dangers.
But for a hidden danger to resolve other hidden dangers...
This was an outcome Morrow had never expected.
Netero slowly retracted his Punch of Gratitude, then turned sideways to look at the twisted crowd being attacked by the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva.
"Morrow, how was that punch just now?"
"Very strong."
Morrow also looked at the unstoppable form of the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva and said sincerely, "The strongest in the world."
"Heh..."
Netero's soft chuckle was heard.
Morrow looked toward him.
But Netero's figure was already gone.
The 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, however, was still continuously striking the countless vengeful spirits that had been dwelling within the Sword of Good Omens.
The Ninety-Ninth Hand, as if it would never tire.
Every palm strike was delivered with full force.
Under such a terrifying assault, the vengeful spirits were powerless to resist, rapidly disintegrating and being annihilated.
Morrow silently looked at the spot where Netero had disappeared, then turned his gaze back to the brilliantly shining 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva.
His answer just now hadn't been a mere pleasantry.
In his view, the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva was, in terms of skill, the strongest in the world...
There was no room for debate.
Under Morrow's watch, the massive number of vengeful spirits were finally annihilated in the golden light.
The biggest trouble was resolved just like that.
The pitch-black surface of the water of consciousness beneath Morrow's feet also seemed to have faded a few shades.
As the figure of the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva completely dissipated, a new sense of the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva's intent suddenly appeared in Morrow's consciousness.
Perhaps this was Netero's final gift to him, or perhaps it was just ability material extracted after the purification and dissipation.
Either way was fine.
"Attain enlightenment, Chairman."
Morrow murmured to himself.
When Morrow's consciousness returned to reality, the first thing he saw was Gel's serpentine Nen beast.
It was guarding him tightly in the center, like the most loyal of sentinels.
Seeing Morrow open his eyes, Gel immediately asked, "Are you okay? Was it difficult to deal with such a massive amount of Post-Mortem Nen?"
"It was a bit troublesome, yes."
Morrow explained with a smile, "That sword is a sacrificial regalia of Kakin, using living people as offerings. The number of vengeful spirits attached to it was countless. If I hadn't been able to suppress them, I'm afraid I would have been influenced by them to seek revenge on Kakin directly."
He could, of course, have suppressed those countless vengeful spirits under the black water of his consciousness.
But doing so would only treat the symptom, not the root cause.
As he absorbed more and more Post-Mortem Nen, this would inevitably become a latent danger.
If that danger were to erupt one day, he might really be swept up by that will, forced to seek revenge on Kakin.
Morrow did not want to be driven like that.
Even though he had indeed set his sights on Kakin's other two regalia and would very likely come into direct conflict with them.
But acting on his own will and being forced to act by the will of others were, in the end, two different things.
"That does sound troublesome."
Gel glanced at the smile on Morrow's face, her tone as indifferent as ever.
"But seeing as you can still smile, it must not be a big problem anymore."
After speaking, without waiting for Morrow's response, she abruptly withdrew her Nen beast and turned to walk toward Cheadle.
Morrow had wanted to say something more, but all he saw was the back of Gel's head. He couldn't help but chuckle, and didn't follow her.
Just then, Ging, who had been keeping a low profile, suddenly sidled up to Morrow.
"When you were dealing with the Post-Mortem Nen just now, Gel protected you immediately. Even I couldn't get close."
Ging shook his head and sighed with emotion.
"Is there any trust left between people?"
Morrow knew Ging was joking and didn't bother to take the bait, instead looking at Gel's departing back with a smile.
"Ging."
"Hm?"
"I saw Chairman Netero just now."
"Is that so."
Ging raised an eyebrow, instantly understanding that Morrow must have seen Netero while dealing with the Post-Mortem Nen. He immediately asked seriously, "Did he happily give you a punch?"
"He did, but he gave me more than just a punch."
Morrow's gaze shifted slightly, sweeping over the Zodiac Twelve members present.
Ging's interest was piqued.
"What else did he give you?"
"The intent of the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva."
Morrow slowly raised his right hand and said, "So if I told you that after I calm down and consolidate it, I'll be able to casually use the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, would you believe me?"
"Tch, if I said I didn't believe you, you'd use the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva to beat me up, wouldn't you?"
Ging narrowed his eyes.
Morrow smiled.
"Not necessarily. At most... I'd just give you a good demonstration."
"Then I'd better believe you."
Ging appeared calm on the surface, but his heart was in turmoil.
He could tell Morrow wasn't joking.
But his words were, to some extent, still hard to believe.
—--
A place of gray, chaotic haze where nothing could be seen clearly.
This seemed to be the crevice between life and death, or perhaps the underworld itself.
"Zigg, someone has already walked to the place we failed to reach. Someone has seen the scenery we failed to see for us," Netero's voice came from within the gray haze.
A place with no form, not even a silhouette.
Zigg stared silently in the direction Netero's voice came from.
After a long while, he finally spoke faintly, "It's time for you to go, Netero."
"What?"
What answered Netero was a dead silence.
Those who cannot let go can never leave this place.
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(Translated by yourtl.app)