Hunter x Hunter: From Obtaining the World to Beyond Heaven

Dia tried to make the [world] move closer to him, and eventually it turned into a phantom that overlapped with his body and disappeared. The water cup returned to Dia's hand as a result.

So this is my Stand? Could it be from Dio's head?

The thought popped into Dia's mind, and at the same time, a mental connection confirmed this fact for him.

Countless questions lingered in his mind, but Dia knew that his current mental and physical condition was definitely insufficient to support him in continuing his research on this powerful Stand.

So Dia could only suppress her doubts, put down the cup, and continue practicing Ripple Breathing.

-----------------

Ian walked home with a heavy heart, while Charlotte walked ahead of him happily after confirming that the temporary power had been restored.

In the past four hours, Ian's old comrade-in-arms, Sheriff James, told him two pieces of news—

First, the hospital in Linhai was hit by a tsunami triggered by the torrential rain last night, and now even the morgue is out of beds for that mysterious person from his family whose identity is unknown.

However, someone found a suitcase nearby, which contained a large number of medical books and clothes, as well as some identification documents.

After confirming, Ian was basically certain that it was the man's box.

The sheriff also contacted the captain of the ship corresponding to the ticket in the suitcase and confirmed that a passenger named Diego had fallen into the water last night, and the captain was about to call the police.

After learning that there was no problem with Dia's identity, Ian breathed a sigh of relief. Since there were no beds available at the hospital, he could simply let Dia stay at his home for the time being.

Although Raya Town is small, the people are simple and honest, and those in this close-knit community are often generous in helping others.

The second piece of news, however, plunged Ian into worry; he recalled his conversation with James—

"Around 7 a.m. this morning, the Tongnan City Police Department issued an alert that a Class D murderer broke through containment during an arrest last night, killing three armed police officers and an expert from the Hunter Association."

James lit a cigarette and continued:

"The people over there think that they might be heading this way, and that we should be on our own."

"Hmm? They're not planning to send anyone to search?"

Ian frowned and said, "A criminal who killed three armed police officers during detention, and the city police department isn't planning to take action?"

"Yes, because he wasn't 100% sure he came here. The rain washed away all traces, and..."

James took a deep drag on his cigarette, leaning forward, clearly annoyed by what he was about to say:

"Last night, someone in Tongnan City reported seeing traces of members of the Class A criminal organization, the Phantom Troupe. Almost all the city's police force has been deployed to search for them. Don't spread this around, it could cause panic."

Ian fell silent. As a former field medic who had served in the military, he certainly knew the infamous Phantom Brigade.

To the south of Laya Town lies the boundless sea, and 40 kilometers north along the highway is Tongnan City.

It's safe to say that if the Phantom Troupe were to wander around for even a moment, they could reach Laya Town, and at that point, no one would be able to stop these murderers.

Of course, this may be an unfounded worry, but when it comes to one's life and fortune, who would dare to gamble?

Upon returning home, Ian went straight to his room.

Upon hearing the sound, Dia stopped her Ripple Qi Gong and saw Ian push open the door and enter, taking out a briefcase and saying:

"Someone found a suitcase with your ID, some clothes, and money inside. It must be yours, right?"

Dia knew from her memory that she did indeed have a suitcase, which she thought she had lost after falling into the water, but she never expected to be able to find it again.

He thanked her repeatedly and took the suitcase.

Dia checked it over and casually took out some Hunter's World currency—Jenny—and said:

"I have no way to repay your life-saving grace, please accept this money."

Dia was always grateful for kindness, especially for someone who saved his life, so he was willing to help Jonathan defeat Dio even though he knew it was dangerous.

Dia wouldn't hesitate to reward Ian, who had also saved his life; this amount of money was nothing to him.

Ian didn't refuse, but hesitated for a moment before taking it and saying:

“It was just a small favor, but there was an accident at the town hospital, so you might have to stay at my house to recover. Consider this money as rent and food. You can call me Uncle Ian or just Ian.”

Diya naturally had no objections. The hospital was under surveillance everywhere, and the light and electricity emitted when the Ripple Qi Gong was activated could not be hidden. Staying at Ian's house would save a lot of trouble.

Suddenly, the two heard a creak, and the room door was pushed open again.

A cute-looking girl peeked out with her round head, secretly observing Dia out of the corner of her eye, while shouting loudly:

"Dad! The ingredients are ready. It's your turn to cook today. Hurry up and go!"

Hearing this, Ian felt a bit of a headache facing his disrespectful daughter.

Although he raised his daughter alone, he never neglected her education. He didn't know how the girl had turned into such a whiny girl, completely unlike her mother.

Ian turned to Dia with a sigh and introduced her:

“This is my daughter Charlotte. Her mother passed away from illness a long time ago. Although she seems disrespectful, she is actually very well-behaved.”

Then he turned to Charlotte and said:

"Then you can stay here and take care of this guest for a while. I'll call you when I'm done cooking. Remember to be polite!"

Dia wanted to say that if you hadn't taken care of him, he might have recovered faster, but of course, that's not how you should put it.

After readily agreeing and pushing Ian away, Charlotte immediately closed the door and turned to Ian on the bed, excitedly asking him all sorts of questions:

"Can I call you Brother Dia? Are you really that student at the national medical university that you're supposed to be super smart or super rich to get into? Dad said you fell off a ship, so how did you end up in our house? And also..."

Faced with a barrage of questions, Dia finally understood why Ian had specifically told the girl to be polite before leaving.

Although there were many questions, Diya patiently answered them one by one, and also asked about the situation in Raya Town.

Diya, including the memories of the original owner of this body, has lived three lives. She was quite adept at communicating with a young girl who hadn't seen much of the world. Although it was their first time talking, they had a very pleasant conversation.

From the conversation, Dia learned some important information. First, although Laya Town is by the sea, it has no port, so it is a relatively remote place. Although the people in the town are not rich, they are content with their simple life.

Charlotte didn't do well in high school and didn't get into college, so she ran the restaurant with her father. There were almost no people her age in the small town.

Meanwhile, Dia frowned slightly at the news Charlotte had mentioned about the wanted criminal.

'An expert capable of killing armed police officers and the Hunter Association within containment facilities is likely a Nen user.'

Although he might not necessarily escape to Laya Town, Dia felt a little uneasy when she heard the news, and her body even rippled slightly.

Compared to the Roman school's wave-like qigong, the ancient Tibetan school's wave-like qigong is far inferior in terms of variety and combat effectiveness, but it has a unique advantage—the ability to perceive the future.

Since learning Ripple, Dia has always had a slight premonition of danger before it comes; Dia calls it Ripple Sensing.

'I'm afraid what I say will come true. This is troublesome. If I have to face a Nen user, the best option is definitely to learn Nen...'

However, without guidance, it would take far too long to develop Nen on her own, so for Diya, the only option is to focus all her efforts on cultivating Ripple.

Thinking of this, he immediately put on a tired expression, as if he were very exhausted.

Charlotte immediately noticed the weariness on his face and realized that Dia was still injured. She hurriedly told him to lie down and rest, and even tucked him in before taking small steps out of the room.

After the little girl left, Dia closed his eyes and began to concentrate.

After a while,

"call--"

Dia once again entered a state of Ripple Breathing, trying to quickly recover his body in order to deal with any potential crisis.

Chapter 3 Hunter × Hebra

"Brother Dia, over here, over here! My fried rice!"

It was another rainy day. Inside the bustling Ian's Restaurant, an uncle was shouting loudly.

A tall, young man was seen carrying a bowl of fried rice with eggs. He greeted the man with a smile and handed him the rice.

The middle-aged man casually accepted it, intending to chat for a bit.

Boom!!

A loud clap of thunder came from outside the door.

The uncle was startled by the thunder, his hand slipped, and the rice bowl fell straight to the ground.

Before he could react, the uncle felt a sudden change in his vision, and the rice bowl that had been in mid-air was now firmly placed on the table.

Meanwhile, Diya, who was acting as a waitress, had already turned around and gone to another table.

The man's hand froze in mid-air as he looked around blankly, seemingly confused about what had happened.

Ignoring the bewildered uncle, from a perspective unseen by the others, a golden phantom slowly disappeared behind Diya.

That's right, it was Dia who just activated the power of her Stand, [The World], to stop time!

Diya calmly calculated the duration of the time stop in her mind.

'About 0.5 seconds, no change from yesterday, and the cooldown is still one minute, and...'

With a thought, Diya conjured up the [World] out of thin air, its golden body still covered with countless cracks.

But compared to the Stand that Dia saw a few days ago when she was still seriously injured and lying in bed, she is much better now.

'At its peak, if strength was A and speed was A, now it's at most strength C and speed B.'

'Your strength isn't as great as mine, and your speed is commendable, but if you're going to use it against an enemy, it's best to take action yourself. After all, the [World] can't be responded to with ripples.'

Dia could sense that the world's self-repair would likely take a long time without external stimulation.

Moreover, he could feel a vague resistance when using time stop, which prevented him from perfectly utilizing the time stop of "The World". This had nothing to do with the Stand itself, but was a strange thing deep in his soul.

Dia guessed that this was related to the huge difference in personality between him and DIO, the original owner of the World. If he was unwilling to change his personality to fit DIO, then he would probably have to slowly mold the World into his own image.

In the current world, using the Stand's original body to attack would be a very weak choice, as its offense and defense are both inferior to its original body, and it cannot use Ripple to speed up repair.

Although it's true that a non-Stand user can't attack a Stand, [Nen] is still a combination of spiritual power, so who knows if it can hit a Stand.

It's important to know that Dia, as a Stand user, suffers damage in sync with the "World".

For example, if you use a Stand to launch a sneak attack, and someone throws a random, wild punch that breaks the Stand's leg, then the Stand user's leg will also be broken.

Although the Stand's repair was not satisfactory, the Ripple technique was very effective, and in just a few days, his main body went from being seriously injured and bedridden to being almost completely healthy.

Ian was amazed by the speed of recovery.

Charlotte, in her chuunibyou phase, even thought he had some superpowers, so much so that she kept pulling him aside to tell him about her past these past few days.