Interest Lost

__________ POV Ashton__________

Well, at least Netero's operation went well. One might think that I would be sad about his impending demise.

But it's not like he had much time left anyway, he had always been a strange person. But he would have lived for a few more years at most.

Only that by the end of his life he would have been pitifully weak and a disgrace to his previous great self.

Even now, he is very far from his peak. But at least he doesn't want to wait and grow even weaker.

I wonder how he will fare against the King. I really want to see their fight, but I also want to discipline the Royal Guards...

They did leave me behind, which is understandable. They deemed me a threat since day one, I got sidetracked for one second and Pitou must've taken that chance to leave with her brothers and her new leader.

It was either her idea or little Pouf's idea. I don't care, but it sure wasn't Youpi's, that guy wouldn't be able to think his way out of a wet cardboard box. I think all of his intelligence was sapped by little Pouf honestly.

Right now, I'm headed to see Smokey test Gon. I really want to see how he will fare, I haven't seen him fight someone truly strong yet. The ants he encountered in the forest were mostly lacklustre.

When I arrived everybody was already there. They didn't pay me any mind, I guess they still didn't get over their first impression of me. Not that I mind, saves me the words I'd use in a casual greeting.

Only Killua even glanced at me. He didn't greet me or anything. His eyes just met mine and quickly darted somewhere else.

Was this guy scared of me or something? Sure I scared him a bit in the forest, but that wasn't anything a trained assassin should be bothered by.

Oh well, I don't care much about him.

I can just ignore the fact that they exist and watch the show. Smokey seems to be taking his shirt off, a bit barbaric. I wonder if they are going to spar or something.

"Should I hit you with all of my strength?" Asked Gon. So it's that type of test, fitting I guess.

Smokey isn't even an enhancer, but his body should still be tough enough to take the punch of a 12-year-old. At least in theory.

"Give it all you've got! This test determines your participation in the mission. Imagine the one that did that to Kite in front of you!" Said Smokey, as he flexed his abdomen and prepared for the hit.

Gon got this really serious look on his face. Somewhat dark even, I guess he takes his participation seriously.

Gon put his right fist in his left palm. And started winding up his move. I don't know if it has a name. I guess he technically plays rock paper scissors until he wins?

"First comes ROCK!" He started, as his aura started gathering in his hand violently.

Well, he is a lot stronger than I gave him credit for. But this seems like a bit much for a small test. Even if Smokey said to go all out.

The trees started fluttering in the current created by the vacuum of energy he was building in his punch. Is he trying to kill Smokey? I mean, good on him, but why? Why would he even think to do that?

Even the big shirtless monkey was startled by this. I guess he wasn't expecting such a serious response either. He isn't even the type to take on powerful attacks like that...

Gon continued winding up his punch further. Until Killua appeared behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"That's enough Gon... You've proved yourself." He said, with a bit of a forced tone might I add.

Gon looked like he had just woken up or something. He bowed his head to Smokey for a bit.

"Sorry, I was really about to kill you..." Saying something like that with an innocent smile while rubbing your head...

What? Was he always a maniac? Did something huge happen in the two weeks I hadn't seen him? His friend or whatever died, sure. But that shouldn't have impacted him to this point.

Was he always like this? Maybe I didn't have the opportunity to see it before. Our encounters have been somewhat few.

I guess I shouldn't judge a book by its cover huh? A really stupid saying that somewhat applies to this case. But I didn't really judge him at face value, you could say that I read a few pages...

It all seemed alright... Even that innocent smile from earlier wasn't even faked or anything. He isn't a good enough actor to fool me to this extent. He's far too young for that.

So he has always been this way... Well, duly noted. I've now lost my desire to see how he will fare in the attack... Even fewer reasons to actually follow this shitty plan.

The only part I'll follow will be the one where Netero faces the king. I think he said he'd hire a friend to carry him into the fight and help him separate the king from his guards.

I'm obviously joining them now, especially since there isn't anything interesting to see in this group anymore.

Whilst walking away, I took out my research notebook and ripped the few pages I had written on Gon. No reason to taint the pages of my favourite notebook with something so normal.

Maybe his morals might be his own, but they don't interest me in the slightest. I only wanted to see if he was one of the few pure people left in this world.

I usually don't count children in that category, but since he's a hunter I made an exception. It was the first one I ever made, and it only lead me to disappointment in the end...

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Oy there mate! Hope you liked Mc's reaction to Gon's character!

I decided to start a discord server! Here's the link to join it:

We can play some games together or something.

Here's the link to the Patr.on too, just cuz I'm feeling generous today: