A small country on the continent called Georgia. (T/N: There is no such nation I could find on the HxH map, and I haven't watched the HxH movie, to be fair, at the time when I first saw it, it had no English sub, just Hindi)
In a prison within this nation, Netero sat cross-legged on the cold floor, his limbs still bound by the curse that held him captive. Behind him lay the fresh corpse of a Shadow descendant, their life force still dissipating into the stale prison air.
Just like the girl who had cast constraints and oaths before, this person had been specifically trained with abilities targeting Netero, making it nearly impossible for the old man to resist their power.
Netero closed his eyes and remained still, conserving his strength. There was no point in struggling not yet.
Throughout the prison, the air was filled with the haunting symphony of screams and cries as prisoners were beaten and executed. The sounds echoed off the stone walls, creating a macabre chorus of suffering.
All those imprisoned here were members of the Hunter Association.
In the corridor outside Netero's cell, the resurrected Jed sat casually on a chair, his attention fixed on a screen displaying a live broadcast. The images showed prisoners being executed professional Hunters dying like animals, all in the twisted name of "justice."
Jed's appearance was striking white hair framing a face that looked unnaturally young. His eyes were the most unsettling feature, with pupils and irises colored differently than those of normal humans, marking him as something not quite natural.
As Netero listened, another scream abruptly cut short in the distance. Another life snuffed out.
"Jed this is between you and me, and has nothing to do with these juniors," Netero said, finally opening his eyes to fix his gaze on the familiar face beyond the bars.
Jed completely ignored Netero's words. He simply snapped his fingers, and immediately his men seized another imprisoned Hunter and slaughtered them before Netero's eyes.
Netero's brow furrowed deeply.
The power of resentment is fundamentally different from that of Nen, Netero realized. This energy pollutes the mind in ways that even the most powerful Nen cannot. It transmits negative clarity and corrupted willpower, making it nearly impossible for ordinary people to resist.
Once invaded by this resentment, the mind begins to change, showing signs of assimilation. Most people's minds aren't tempered to an extremely stable level the resentment easily magnifies the darkness within their hearts, turning them into puppets of another's will.
Now Netero understood why Jed had been resurrected.
Jed had awakened to the energy of Grudge in his early years all Shadow descendants possessed the talent to harness this power. It must have been some surviving descendants who used this energy to revive him. The old friend sitting before Netero wasn't truly alive but rather a collection of concentrated energy.
Like a humanoid entity generated by Nen, yet fundamentally different.
He carried everyone's dark, cursed will and emotions. Like thought itself, resentment amplifies a person's inner darkness toward a specific purpose. Jed's "resurrection" was the manifestation of a resentful ability. After returning, he had been absorbing the energy from everyone in his growing faction, becoming stronger with each new convert.
This was the true nature of his ability.
And it differed critically from ordinary Nen.
If more people became contaminated by these "grudges," then Jed would become increasingly powerful
As for Georgia this was once the homeland where the 'Shadow' tribe and their descendants lived. To maintain control over the Shadow group and prevent any rebellion, V5 had confined all their relatives in a remote forest within Georgian borders.
Taking these descendants as hostages, V5 had judged early on that Jed, as the leader, might prove difficult to control.
Though imprisoned, the Shadow families had lived relatively well until V5 decided it was time to eliminate Shadow entirely.
Netero had been left with no choice but to kill Jed.
It wasn't simply that V5 had pressured him. During the execution of subsequent Shadow missions, Jed had spent years immersed in killing, and his mind had twisted beyond recognition. He began involving innocent civilians in his operations, solely to satisfy his growing bloodlust.
The curse had influenced him too, pushing him further into darkness.
In the end, Netero had no alternative but to end him.
Notably, when V5 wanted to destroy Shadow and erase their existence, Netero hadn't been forced to do it himself. A simple order from the top leaders of Georgia had been enough to dispatch troops for the extermination.
"Don't worry, it will be your turn soon" Jed's cold voice echoed through the prison.
"It seems neither V5 nor the Association want to save you, Mr. President." Jed continued, eyes gleaming with anticipation. "I will upload the entire scene of your death to the internet for the world to witness. Since the Association refuses to acknowledge what happened back then I will uncover the truth of the past myself."
Jed's resurrection had a purpose beyond simple revenge to clear the name of the 'Shadows' and force the world to acknowledge their contributions and existence.
This was the true intention behind his return.
Jed knew perfectly well that many within the Association were aware of Shadow's history.
Yet despite repeated threats, no one from the Hunter Association had stepped forward to speak out a reaction quite different from what he had expected.
During this period, the faction controlled by the curse had grown steadily, beginning to move throughout the region to capture anyone connected to the Hunter Association. Jed couldn't believe that the Association remained indifferent. If they maintained their silence even after Netero's death, it could only mean one thing: that Netero had accomplished nothing as president in the years since Jed's death. He had failed in his role.
"It's been a long time Jed. The Hunter Association today is no longer the same as it was when you and I were part of it," Netero said, his words carrying deeper meaning than their surface implied.
"Don't you feel miserable? Don't you feel regret?" Hearing this, Jed slowly turned his head to look at the old man sitting in the darkness of his cell. "You've devoted your entire life to them, but in the end, what has it gotten you? They don't take you seriously at all. Even if you died it wouldn't matter. They would simply find someone else to replace you."
Jed's words referred to V5.
In his view, the Association remained silent because V5 had ordered them to ignore Shadow's threats. As for Netero himself well, if he died, he died. He was expendable.
"Hey there!"
A voice suddenly called out from a cell across from Netero's.
Someone was addressing Jed directly.
It was Killua.
He too had been captured and imprisoned here.
There had been no avoiding it. After obtaining his Hunter license, Killua had originally planned to leave but circumstances changed, and finding himself outmatched by Jed's power, he had been forced to surrender.
Despite being a prisoner, Killua appeared remarkably unconcerned. A smile played across his face as he approached the bars of his cell, hands casually clasped behind his head. "Did you hear what the old man was trying to tell you? You're not listening, are you?"
Jed cast a cold glance toward Killua.
Killua lowered his hands and rubbed his nose, laughing with apparent nonchalance. "There are some truly terrifying people in the Association More than one monster, actually. You're making such a spectacle right now, but I doubt you'll live long. The monster is probably already on the way"
"Monster?" Jed sneered dismissively.
"Yeah, a truly frightening monster" Killua nodded with a mysterious smile.
"You don't believe me?"
"If you don't believe it, that's your problem," Killua continued. "You'd better pray it's not that monster who comes, but someone else instead. With someone else, your fate might be a little better. But if it's him" Killua clicked his tongue dramatically. "That would be truly terrible for you."
Netero naturally knew exactly who Killua was referring to.
As Killua spoke, he covered his mouth to hide his growing smile, unable to conceal his anticipation of what was to come.
He might as well have been on vacation rather than under arrest.
Despite enduring significant beatings over the past few days, Killua remained unfazed. No torture or torment could truly hurt him he had been conditioned to withstand far worse since childhood.
The group regularly sent videos of torture and executions to the Association's headquarters, but they hadn't yet gotten around to featuring Killua.
Initially, Killua had been genuinely nervous, even looking for opportunities to escape, but all his attempts had failed.
The energy of the curse operated differently from Nen, falling outside his understanding.
He discovered that if 'Zetsu' was cast using the Curse, even 'En' would fail to detect its presence. This meant the Curse possessed special properties, including its ability to pollute the mind, allowing even experienced Nen users to fall under its influence.
But gradually, Killua's brilliant mind had pieced things together. The Association's apparent indifference suggested they were planning something significant.
A normal rescue operation would have shown some signs by now.
After all, with the Association's president imprisoned, they couldn't remain inactive forever.
So someone important must already be taking action.
And the reason for Killua's barely concealed glee? He genuinely wanted to see what would happen if the person coming was indeed Oboro. Could this resurrected Jed possibly withstand that encounter?
"I have killed all kinds of monsters," Jed replied calmly. "Which one are you referring to?"
"The kind you've never seen before," Killua replied lightly, before walking back to lie down comfortably in the shadowed corner of his cell, a knowing smile still playing on his lips.