Chapter 57: Unprecedented

Witnessing Ava happily clinging to Raymond, a surge of anger and frustration overcame Luke, and he began to curse, "Raymond, you bas—"

BAM!

Before Luke could finish his expletive, a powerful punch slammed him to the floor, breaking it open and creating a small crater with Luke at its center.

"...Watch your language around our little one," Tatiana remarked calmly, her eyes carrying a hint of sternness that made Luke shiver.

He slowly rose to his feet, letting out a sigh.

"I appreciate you holding back, but you have to be mindful of your strength now. Look at what you did to the floor," Luke said, gesturing toward the damage caused by Tatiana's punch.

"Oh dear, I'm terribly sorry! My maternal instincts just took over..."

Tatiana exclaimed in surprise, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she surveyed the crater she had inadvertently created.

Raymond chuckled at the scene, finding the situation rather amusing. 

Ava glanced at the crater, then back at her father, before turning her attention to Raymond.

"Ray Ray! Baba?"

Raymond grinned, "You bet I could do the same, sweetheart!"

"Baba?"

"Absolutely! Your old man may not be as weak, but I have muscles to spare!"

Raymond flexed his arm playfully, and Ava mimicked him with a giggle, "Baba!"

"Heh, looks like you're on my side, huh?"

"Baba!"

Ava pumped her little fist in agreement, bringing a hearty laugh from Raymond.

Even Sakujiro, usually reserved, couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

"..."

However, Luke's expression grew darker by the moment.

"Alright, brat. Let's get down to business," Luke rubbed his temples, motioning for Tatiana to take Ava from Raymond's arms since it was her bedtime.

"Bedtime, darling! Mommy will tuck you in," Tatiana chimed with a bright smile, gently lifting Ava, who seemed hesitant.

With a pout, Ava glanced back at Raymond, uttering her soft plea, "Baba..."

"Don't worry, little one. I'll be right here tomorrow, too."

"Baba?"

Ava blinked innocently, her eyes shimmering with the threat of tears.

"I promise!"

Raymond beamed reassuringly and nodded. Stepping closer, he extended his pinky to Ava, who eagerly grasped it, exclaiming, "Baba!"

"You've got it, Ava. A pinky promise is unbreakable," Raymond declared with a grin as Ava giggled with delight.

Tatiana then brought her out of the room.

With his daughter out of the room, Luke turned to Raymond as he raised his eyebrows, "Say, what's up now?"

"..."

Raymond gestured calmly for Sakujiro to fill Luke in.

Sakujiro explained how Raymond had unveiled his identity to the public and detailed their successful eradication of spies from the Ten Dons within the country.

"So, you're saying we should lay low again?"

Luke rubbed his temples wearily, turning to Raymond.

"That's right..."

Raymond nodded in confirmation, and Luke let out a resigned sigh.

He wasn't thrilled about the increased security measures and the limitations on their freedom to travel as they pleased.

Still, he understood the necessity of such precautions given the potential consequences of being too visible.

With Raymond intentionally making his face known...

...it was basically a declaration of war against the Ten Dons.

"How long are we going to have to lay low?"

Luke inquired with a serious expression.

Raymond shrugged, "Not quite sure..."

"Just give me your estimate. You're usually spot-on with these things," Luke said casually, but there was weight behind his words.

Luke was now numbed by how Raymond controlled their flow of actions with his calculation to get the outcomes he wanted with eerie precision, as if he had a crystal ball revealing the future.

"...About six months," Raymond replied, causing Luke to feel a bit shaken.

"For those thugs?"

Luke was surprised by the extended timeline.

He figured dealing with them would be a quick job.

Raymond shook his head, "It's a bit tricky, but once all the pieces are in place... We'll handle it swiftly with the Hunter Association not being able to find any fault in any of our actions."

"...Alright, I'll trust your judgment," Luke shook his head with a smile before bidding his farewell and leaving the room.

With Luke gone, Raymond turned to Sakujiro. "How's our prep for the Heaven's Arena coming along?"

"We're nearly there. Just a few more weeks and we'll be set," Sakujiro replied, giving a brief overview of their progress.

Raymond frowned slightly, shaking his head. "Weeks? Get it done in one week."

"But won't that raise suspicion?" Sakujiro looked surprised.

Raymond chuckled, looking at Sakujiro as if he'd overlooked something obvious.

"Who cares? This country belongs to us now."

Sakujiro nodded in understanding, "I see, my apologies. I'll make it happen tomorrow."

"That's alright, besides..."

Raymond looked out the window toward the city with a smirk playing on his lips, "My date is about to arrive soon..."

"Oh?"

Sakujiro's eyes twinkled with thoughtfulness, a smile forming on his face.

Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted, and their expressions turned chilly, causing birds in the vicinity to scatter in fright.

The following day, Heaven's Arena experienced an unusual surge in activity, catching everyone off guard.

To the surprise of many, there was a sudden influx of fighters making their way up to the 200th floor, a sight not seen in quite some time.

What made this even more peculiar was that these newcomers seemed to stick to battling each other exclusively.

In just a few days, among the newbies, there were 21 fighters who were able to accumulate enough wins collectively to challenge the floor master, causing unease among the other fighters on the 200th floor.

They wanted to complain, yet when they witnessed their fight, they immediately backed down as they realized those fighters were far above their league.

"Gon, hey Gon! Did you hear? There are like 21 new fighters that are able to challenge the floor master!"

Killua's voice echoed with excitement, catching Gon off guard.

"Twenty-one? Where did they all come from?"

"Just showed up out of nowhere! In just a week, they've all qualified to take on the big boss!"

"Hey, Wing-sensei! Do you know what's going on? Are they really strong?"

Gon called out to Wing, who was casually observing the Nen training session nearby.

Wing scratched his head, pondering the recent surge of fighters. "Well, I'm not entirely sure. But those guys are tough, especially that fighter named Sin..."

"...He's probably the strongest among them."

He went on, recalling how Sin managed to defeat opponents without making any sounds which made the crowd to be confused.

It was as if he had some sort of invisible shield.

What made it even scarier was that he defeated them all using just martial arts and Nen.

"...So, that means his Hatsu must be what's blocking any sound," Wing mused, his expression thoughtful as he weighed whether to report this to the higher-ups in the Hunter Association right away.

Meanwhile, the kids chattered away among themselves, oblivious to the weight of the situation.

Wing watched them with a smile, thinking, "Let's wait and see for now..."

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