With long, jet-black hair that cascaded down her back, the woman had strikingly large eyes and a curvaceous figure. Her skin was a bit darker, and a slightly cold aura emanated from her, snake-like.
Ron and Wendy approached the doorway.
"Ron? Wendy?" the woman inquired, looking at them.
Ron and Wendy exchanged a glance, then pulled out their phones and nodded.
"Let me introduce myself. I am Gel, the Serpent of the Twelve Zodiacs of the Hunter Association, and the leader of the team handling the Taris nation situation," she explained.
Ron had already speculated about her identity upon seeing her, and when Gel introduced herself, memories of what he knew about her surfaced in his mind.
Within the Hunter Association, the Twelve Zodiacs hold positions only second to the Chairman, Netero. They are all top-notch Nen users, but they each specialize in different areas—some in combat, others in intelligence, some in medical fields, and others in exploration.
Gel is a Poison Hunter.
She is also a coroner and a pharmacist.
Ron felt that the Hunter Association had chosen Gel to lead the team because she often deals with death, which fit the profile of the Taris nation's Nen users, centered around the theme of death.
"Do you have time now?" Gel asked, sizing up Ron and Wendy as they did the same to her.
She was well aware of their identities.
One from the Zoldyck family—
the world's number one family of assassins, which frequently interacts with the Hunter Association.
And the other from the Fiora Royal Family—
a part of the V5, with Wendy being one of the most valued young members within the Fiora Royal Family.
"It's convenient," Ron responded and relayed all the information Dominica had given him to Gel.
Gel's expression turned serious.
"It seems the situation is even more complex than I anticipated. We need to act quickly. What's your plan? Stay here, leave, or join us?"
"Dominica suggested that we join you," Ron replied.
"Good," Gel nodded. "You can come with us, but you must follow my orders and not stray. The Nen users from the Taris nation are extremely dangerous, as you've seen."
"Then follow me; my team is at the town's exit."
Gel led Ron and Wendy to the town's exit.
Four figures stood at the location, turning towards the sound of footsteps.
Ron did not recognize any of them.
Gel briefly introduced them.
"These four are my disciples..."
"This is Ron and Wendy."
"From now on, we will all move together."
Gel's instructions were brief and to the point.
The group headed toward the back mountain. As Nen users, even the rugged mountain paths couldn't slow their rapid pace, and they moved unimpeded.
Ron and Wendy were fully recovered.
Ron surveyed Gel's four disciples.
In terms of aura capacity, among this group, one person has reached A-level, two have achieved B-level, and only one remains at C-level, the same as Ron and Wendy. However, these individuals are older than Ron and Wendy.
As for Gel, she has also reached A-level, stronger or at least not weaker than any of her four disciples.
Such a team composition is very strong.
If they weren't, they wouldn't be assigned to handle the task in the Taris nation, given that the Nen users from there are exceptionally dangerous and in an unorthodox way.
"I remember Hisoka rated some of the Zodiacs during the Hunter Election arc," Ron mused.
"The scores weren't very high."
"Mizaistom Nana got 90 points."
"Kanzai scored 85 points."
"Pyon only received 77 points."
"And Illumi's score was 95 points."
"Among them, Mizaistom is a Crime Hunter, Kanzai's role isn't specifically tied to any Hunter type, and Pyon is a Recovery Hunter."
"Each has different demands from combat."
"Therefore, their combat capabilities differ."
"Crime Hunters like Mizaistom primarily need capabilities related to law enforcement and investigation, with combat possibly accounting for a significant part of their duties."
"Kanzai, being more straightforward and aggressive, may focus more on physical confrontation, which could reflect a balanced approach between intelligence gathering and combat."
"Recovery Hunters like Pyon focus less on combat and more on recovery operations, which might not demand as much combat readiness."
"Illumi is an assassin."
"For intelligence, Illumi doesn't handle everything himself but delegates parts to others, like Kalluto."
"Therefore, Illumi's emphasis on combat is very high."
"If Hisoka's ratings are based on combat capability, then according to these individuals' focuses, it's reasonable."
"However, this isn't necessarily accurate."
Regarding Hisoka's ratings, Ron had several doubts.
One is that Hisoka's ratings might not be based purely on strength but rather on his personal interests.
Hisoka craves battles that bring surprises.
The ratings reflect the surprise factor that Hisoka perceives.
If that's the case, it doesn't prove that those individuals' strengths correspond to their scores.
Another doubt is that Hisoka's judgments might not be accurate.
Nen users are a very special profession.
Aura is just one part.
Apart from aura, there are skills and specific Nen abilities.
And even aura can be concealed deliberately, making it unobservable.
Ron's current assessment of aura levels is based on a normal state of Nen usage, where the Nen user is simply using Ten, or basic aura envelopment.
Once someone deliberately conceals their aura, Ron can't detect it.
En cannot do everything.
Besides these, there are Nen tools, Nen spirits, etc., all of which can interfere in battle.
For instance, if Dominica hadn't had the Colosseum this time, it would have been impossible for Ron's trio to defeat Crawford's four, and they would likely have been defeated.
Dominica, in a series of one-on-one fights, defeated three people.
But if the four had attacked simultaneously, Dominica would surely have lost.
Of course, it must be admitted that Hisoka does have a keen eye.
Upon first seeing Biscuit, he could tell she was not simple.
However, the specifics of Biscuit's abilities were beyond Hisoka's ability to discern.
As they were walking Ron noticed something and looked over.
There, after entering the forest, one of Gel's disciples took out a small container, opened it, and a faint scent drifted out.
All the creatures nearby instinctively retreated.
No attacks on Ron and his companions occurred.
Shortly afterwards, Gel took out a map.
It was a map of the Taris nation.
A red dot was marked on it.
"Keru Prison, this is the first place we need to clear."
"Based on the distance, we'll arrive in an hour."
Gel looked at one of her disciples.
Earlier, Gel had mentioned this person's name.
She was the only A-level Nen practitioner among Gel's four disciples.
"Teacher, I'm ready."
An hour later, Ron and his group arrived near Keru Prison.
High walls surrounded it.
The terrain inside was sunken.
A dense, ominous aura seeped out from within.
This felt very similar to when Ron had visited a small town before.
It meant that the entire prison had already fallen.