Lead all the soldiers here on a mission
to capture my food...
Capture more of those highly
nutritious organisms for me.
At once!
Very x Rapid x Reproduction
Class-1 quarantined insects
and insatiable carnivores: Chimera Ants.
Once they've evolved beyond
two meters in length,
humans no longer stand a chance.
Hey, what's that?
M-M-Monsters!
Listen carefully!
Target the fully grown ones.
They will provide the most nutrition.
Now go!
A Chimera Ant queen
moves repeatedly until she
finds a place she likes.
As she does, she births more and more
soldier ants to build her own army.
Once she's chosen a location,
she births a large number of carpenter ants,
which construct her castle with incredible speed.
From then on, the queen remains
within the castle until death.
So if a Queen grew to two meters tall
and were to set her sights on humans,
there should be entire villages
or towns of missing people.
I don't see anything...
I just checked the past six months,
and the largest group only numbered ten.
Say, can we look up missing people individually?
Don't be ridiculous.
You know how many hundreds of thousands
of people go missing worldwide?
We should be able to see which areas
have the highest concentrations.
No good... The data's two years old.
Perhaps we should start by checking for sightings.
If someone saw a two-meter insect,
they'd make a big fuss.
We tried that, of course.
But we couldn't find anything.
Maybe we're getting worked up over nothing...
Yeah.
Bring up the tidal data from
the day the arm was found.
The arm was discovered here...
Now go back ten days.
Locate any currents that may have carried
the arm to that location in that time.
What do you mean?
It's possible that the arm
was severed after the Chimera Ant made landfall.
That makes sense.
It could have come from any of the Balsa Islands...
Including the Mitene Union.
The Mitene Union...
Oh, where the NGL Autonomous Region is.
Yes, as well as East Gorteau.
There's no getting information
out of those two countries.
What's this NGL?
An acronym, standing for Neo-Green Life.
It's a country founded by people who wanted to
live in nature, away from machine civilization.
Here.
Mitene Union:
NGL Autonomous Region
Republic of Rokario
Hass Republic
Republic of West Gorteau
Republic of East Gorteau
They primarily communicate by letter.
Primary means of transportation is by horse.
Anyone knowingly bringing technology into
the country is subject to execution.
In '87,
a three-man TV crew was caught trying
to enter the country to get a story.
One was ex*cuted, and the
other two remain in prison.
Of its 2.17 million population,
99% belong to the Neo-Green Life Party,
with the rest being support volunteers.
If the Chimera Ant washed ashore there,
how would the NGL citizenry react?
They probably wouldn't do anything.
When a deadly epidemic spread throughout
the area, they let nature run its course,
refusing to admit international doctors.
And even if they tried to contact the outside,
it would be too late by the time word arrived.
If that arm belonged to the Chimera Ant queen,
she may have already begun to build her nest.
A contest?
Yeah...
Between you and me.
Let's see who can bring the Queen more humans.
I challenge you!
Hmph.
What?
You're running away?
Hey, accept my challenge!
Accept?
Are you issuing an order?
Why should I follow an order from you?
I can only follow the Queen's orders.
You're just scared of losing.
My squadron is comprised of elite soldiers.
I can b*at any squadron in this castle!
Oh, I know...
I should get the other squadron leaders in on this.
If we all compete, we'll capture more prey.
More prey?
I see...
I agree with that idea.
If we gather more prey, the Queen will be pleased.
Okay, that settles it.
However, I believe that the
prey's quality also matters.
We must ensure that the Queen
eats highly nutritious humans.
That guy's such a stiff...
That's what makes him endearing.
He is dedicated and loyal.
I presume the human he was created
from was also quite earnest.
Hey, wait!
Weren't you supposed to get some rest?
I'll bring her back.
Don't bother, it won't help.
But she goes to the forest every morning,
and she spends the whole day searching.
Right, she'll probably collapse soon...
But she can't stop looking.
That's what it means to be a parent.
How many days has it been since
Kurt-kun and Reina-chan vanished?
It's like spirits whisked them away.
Big bugs...
Huh?
We haven't raided this area yet.
Mom!
It must be them...
Those monsters must have stolen your children!
Excellent.
This should suffice to please the Queen.
Wh-What's happening?
Exterminate the insects quickly.
That's Gyro's order.
Gyro? What's that?
Our king's name!
Damn!
I bought tickets to the Mitene Union.
But to reach NGL, we have to
take an airship to the neighboring
Republic of Rokario,
and travel by land from there.
It "ant" gonna be easy to get into
a country of such nasty rumors.
Just kidding.
Nasty rumors?
What do you mean?
Have you heard of D²?
D²?
It's an ingestible drug that's propagating rapidly
throughout urban areas worldwide.
It's derived from the bila tree,
native to the Mitene Union.
And they claim
that over 80% of the world's
bila trees are located in NGL.
So the nasty rumors are saying that the
drug is being manufactured in NGL?
They're only rumors.
No one has been able to publicly prove it.
After all, the country's locked down tight.
When people try to get in to
investigate, they're ex*cuted.
ex*cuted...
He wasn't ex*cuted?
No, if he'd been captured trying
to uncover NGL's secrets,
he'd have probably been ex*cuted
like that TV crewman.
But this reporter was wearing a wire,
from which we intercepted the final message.
When the message was played...
M-Monsters...
Giant bugs!
Giant bugs?
What do you think?
That isn't enough information to be sure...
As a Magical Beast Hunter,
I'll have to see for myself.
Then that settles it.
I'll get three tickets.
Make it four.
Ponzu...
I'm coming with you.
You can't.
This is too dangerous,
and you don't have a professional license yet.
And we're talking about NGL...
That's why I should come.
You aren't allowed to bring technology into NGL.
If they discover you with cell phones
or wireless communicators,
you'll be arrested right away.
So if there's any trouble, you'll need me...
Or rather, you'll need them.
They can carry a letter anywhere.
I get it.
They'll certainly come in handy.
It may be a bit late to ask,
but are you sure you want to come?
Of course!
You weren't kidding about the "late" part.
We have no idea what the situation is inside NGL.
There may very well be a swarm
of giant Chimera Ants already,
hunting humans down.
If that turns out to be the case,
my priority will be saving them.
So I may not be able to help you.
You must be able to protect yourselves.
If you want to come, that's the requirement.
Okay, got it.
We'll be fine.
And if I'm the one who's in danger,
you should escape without me.
Got it?
A pretty good haul.
But it's not even half the size of
what my squadron delivered...
My focus was quality.
And I wasn't competing against you.
Whatever.
Anyway, did you hear?
That turtle guy ran into human resistance.
Resistance?
Hmm,
those were probably g*ns.
g*ns?
Put simply, it's a barrel that launches
metal projectiles called b*ll*ts
using the expl*sive force of gunpowder.
It's one of the most commonly
used human weapons.
No idea what you're talking about...
If you want the details, read books.
Books are wonderful.
You can learn about how these
human creatures think,
behave, and function as a society.
Can you answer my question, then?
Do humans have armies too?
Armies?
Yes, that was an army.
They belong to a m*llitary body
led by an authoritative figure,
much like ourselves!
Ah, I have another question.
They mentioned something about a name.
A name?
I can't blame you for not understanding.
Because it's a human idea
we do not make use of.
Put simply...
So it seems there are humans
capable of more than running and crying.
I don't know why that should surprise you.
Given how different you and I are,
it's only natural that individual humans
would have unique traits as well.
After all, their blood flows through us.
Assemble, squadron leaders!
Assemble, squadron leaders!
The Queen summons us.
Assemble, squadron leaders!
Do you get a headache when
the Queen calls to us?
Yeah, my ears start ringing.
It's too bad the Queen can't talk like we do.
I shall now begin preparations
for the King's birth.
Every day, provide me with fifty humans.
Yes, Majesty!
Your Majesty, may I ask a question?
Permitted. Speak.
Among the humans are soldiers like ourselves,
with weapons to use against us.
We must fortify our defenses,
in preparation for any potential att*ck.
I have a few ideas...
Would you care to hear them?
I shall let you decide your course.
I must focus entirely on my son.
Yes, and one more thing...
Would you allow us to have names?
What is a name?
It's like a code that can be
used to identify each of us.
Very well, do as you like.
I am truly grateful!
How peculiar.
They speak their minds and
request to use these names.
While bettering the race, they compete for glory,
leading to a stronger sense of individuality.
I suppose I am also peculiar to
find this change fascinating.
Perhaps I, too, have traces
of human blood within me.
Regardless, I feel quite confident now.
I can see you already, as though
recalling a memory from my past.
My King...
You shall stand atop this world!
Names... Quite amusing.
The King's three Royal Guards.
I shall name you myself.
What did you just decide?
Remember what Kite said before we left?
That we should escape without
him if he's in danger.
Yeah, I don't think it was a choice...
Yeah.
That's why neither of us said anything,
but I've been thinking.
Is it possible for Kite, who earned Ging's respect,
to be in that much danger?
You said that Ging had a reason for
bringing Kite and me together...
Yeah.
You're probably right.
I don't know the reason,
but I can't give up halfway,
no matter what's going on.
Otherwise, I'll disappoint Ging.
Of course, I could never forgive myself, either.
So I won't run away.
That's what I've decided.
Man,
you had this totally serious expression,
so I was expecting something big.
But it's just business as usual.
Huh? I thought about this a lot.
I even ran a bunch of mental simulations...
Think all you want, but you'll still be Gon.
If someone said you should abandon them,
you'd never do it.
You make it sound like I wasted
my time considering it.
Then what about you?
I'm a spontaneous guy, so I'd think
about it when the time comes.
You mean you might run away?
Depends.
I can't say until it actually happens.
Say for instance...
I can't tell you what I'd do in
a hypothetical situation.
I don't decide until it's time.
The airship carrying the group
heads for the Mitene Union,
still unaware of the cruel fate
that lies in wait for them...
Next time: No x Good x NGL.
Ready, start!
Does that mean the queen isn't her— hur hur...
And there's your outtake!