Hunter x Hunter 288

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Hunter x Hunter
#288: Admiration
[insert text: The ants' expectations... and Gon caught in the middle!!]
[Text: As requested, Pitou began to relate to Pufu everything that had happened since the attack began - in other words, since the two last saw one another. // He explained everything for Gon's benefit as well, in an attempt to direct Gon's attention to listening to what he had to say. // The only reason he neglected to mention the King embracing Komugi in his arms... // ...was because he doubted his own ability to faithfully convey that scenario with words alone. // Gon made no conspicuous movements whatsoever... // ...and yet... // ...from the tiny fluctuations in Gon's eyes, Pitou was able to discern that his plan was working.]
Pitou: The King...

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Pitou: ...left that place with the enemy of his own accord. // There is no need for us to join him.
Pufu: ...I see. // (To the south... // Nicely played...) // Fair enough. // (Pitou.)

3
Pitou: In that case, let us stay here for the moment... // ...and await the King's return. // (One-seventh of my "selves" is more than enough to maintain a "shell" of my body here!! // And the other six-sevenths...)

4-5
Pitou: (...can go to the King!!!)
King: A battle in which... / ...you are prepared to lose...

6
King: I cannot understand it... Do you do this for the sake of the human species? // If so, then I would like to inform you that my actions work in your favour. / In your society, you have a system, a form of demarcation, known as "national borders", yes? // On one side of the border, children starve to death. On the other, indolent dreck hold the world in their hands. // It is insanity.
Netero: ......
King: I shall destroy that for you. // And show you, in its place... // ...a world that, whilst it cannot be called "equal"... // ...is at least free of such irrational demarcation!!

7
Netero: Hmmmmmmmmm.........
King: To begin with, certainly, I will make use of force and of terror. // However... / Eventually, I mean to use such methods only for the preservation of order. // I have studied... // ...what exactly power should be used to accomplish. // It should be used to protect those who are weak, and yet deserve to live. // Using it to oppress the defeated would be a gross misapplication.
Netero: (.........He certainly is... // ...a troublesome one. // Right now...)
King: I refuse... // ...to fight you.
Netero: (He is fluctuating.)

8
Netero: (Caught between the identities of "ant" and "human"!!!)
King: The only reason I did not object to our change of location... // ...was so that we could debate this matter without reservation.
Netero: (And he has yet to realise the fact...)
King: Come.
Netero: (...that the two are utterly incompatible!!)

9
Netero: (He could lean... // ...towards either of the two. // ...However... // No matter which side he ultimately comes down upon...)
Flashback!BigShot: It's up to you. // But let me make this clear - all that we want... // ...is a swift extermination of these dangerous beings. // There have already been too many casualties. // Use whatever means necessary... is that perfectly clear...?
Flashback!Different?BigShot: So here's the deal - we're not going to tell you how to do your job. // Just as long as you make sure... / ...that these dangerous creatures are wiped out as soon as possible, we'll be happy.

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Flashback!Netero: (So essentially, you want us to exterminate the ants...) // ............Understood. // (...and you're telling the Hunters Association to bear all the criticism regarding the methods.)
Netero: (Nothing has truly changed.) // Your Majesty... // (Right now... // ...I should take him out as soon as possible. // Before...) // It looks like we're both in a rather sticky situation.
King: ?
Netero: (...my heart begins to waver.)

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[no text just no! bad Netero! don't attack the poor confused ant!]

12-13
Netero: Hyakushiki Kannon... // Ichi-no-Te.

14
Yupi: Ahahahah!
Morau: (............Only ten clones left...!!)

15
Morau: (It's really sink-or-swim time now......... // And from the looks of it, he means to save me for last... // In which case... // All I can do... / ...is buy every last second I can...!!)
[Text: Part of the reason why all the clones were placed within Yupi's visual range was so that Morau could observe Yupi's actions... // ...but it was also because Morau had reached such an extreme level of exhaustion that even scattering them over a wide area was essentially impossible.]

16
[Text: Any loss of focus would cause the soldiers to turn back to smoke and disperse into nothing.]
Morau: (It can't be long now......!! // Even this guy's power can't be infinite...!!! // ......And yet... // And yet... ugh...!!)
[Text: Even mustering every last shred of his almost entirely depleted willpower, he was unable to even stand unaided... his absolute limit...]
Morau: (My body... my mind... // They won't move...)
[Text: ...arrived even sooner than Yupi's bankruptcy.]

17
Morau: (...... // None... left...)
Yupi: There's one thing... I'd like to say. // I actually noticed you partway through that melee... / ...I just felt like finishing it up first. // ......
[Text: Yupi had learned to channel his wrath-borne energy into an isolated part of his body; his head was clear.]
Yupi: ...Huh. // You really are just a half-dead little fly.
[Text: In the heat of battle, Yupi had been continuously evolving at a tremendous rate; his clear superiority in power had only become more prominent...]

18
Yupi: But still... / ...you guys... // You're really somethin'.
[Text: And yet all he felt right now... // ...was admiration towards the defeated. // And simply from the fact that, considering his impression of Yupi, these were the last words he expected to hear...]
Yupi: ...... / I'm not really sure how to say this...
[Text: ...Morau somehow felt that they were in fact Yupi's true feelings, and was able to take them completely at face value.]

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Yupi: ...but I think it's because I'm so damn impressed with you...... // ...that I want to finish this properly......... / "Settle" it, you know...?
Morau: (This is "Game Over"...)
Yupi: Well...... It'll all be over in one quick strike. // So hold still, yeah......?
[Text: He even found himself thinking...]
Yupi: See ya.
[Text: ..."Right now, I don't actually mind being taken out by this guy."]
[side text: Is it all over for Morau?!]
[TN: Or is Yupi going to go bankrupt at the most convenient possible moment? =p I mean, it seems almost too obvious, but...]
[bottom text: How will the battle play out between Netero and the King?! Don't miss next issue!!]