Sasuke sprang lightly off the ground. Scaling the trunk with effortless agility, he soon reached the hollow in the tree. Ponzu's eyes widened when the camera feed showed the interior: it was filled with dead bees. Among them lay the corpse of the Bee Queen, and an intensely eerie aura had gathered around it—far denser than anywhere else in the village.
The moment Sasuke arrived, that aura seemed to find a target. It surged forward like a swarm, but since Sasuke was a Nen beast rather than a living body of flesh and blood, the aura couldn't attach to him.
"These parasites can only infect actual living creatures," Ron commented.
He issued a second command, and Sasuke leapt back down to the village entrance, where Gogus now stood. The old man's initial excitement had dimmed somewhat after seeing the state of the village.
"This place holds even more bugs than I'd imagined," Gogus remarked grimly. "I'm going to be here for a while to study them. You said you want answers, right?"
He glanced at the wireless camera Sasuke carried—his way of communicating with Ron.
Ron hesitated briefly, then said, "We'd like to know how these bugs got here, what happened to this village, and whether there are any survivors. My friend's grandmother is among them."
"There might be survivors," Gogus answered. "An outbreak rarely happens overnight; it usually develops bit by bit. That means there's a window for at least some people to escape. As for how and why it started, I'll need time to investigate."
He turned to Sasuke. "You mentioned your friend's grandmother is still here? Show me."
Ron looked to Ponzu for confirmation who just grimly nodded, then directed Sasuke to lead Gogus to the wooden hut where her grandmother's body remained. Pushing the door open, Gogus found the old woman leaning silently in a rocking chair. Suddenly, a black tendril whipped out in his direction. Gogus didn't dodge or block; instead, he opened his arms and let it pierce his body.
Closing his eyes, he stood still as his aura changed dramatically.
A sphere of energy pulsed outward from him, forming a large globe in the air, which displayed images of Ponzu's grandmother in her final days. From that vision, it seemed the entire village had already fallen into decay. The older Bee Queen, weakened and barely able to fly, approached Ponzu's grandmother as if exchanging final words—or bidding a last farewell. Moments later, the Bee Queen's wings ceased beating and its body fell to the ground, cracking open to reveal a black thread extending toward Ponzu's grandmother. She didn't move or resist. Instead, she sighed and showed a pained, guilty expression before returning to her hut. Settling into her chair, she gradually closed her eyes, life ebbing away. Yet that black thread remained, clinging to her.
When Gogus opened his eyes again, the vision ended.
"You saw that, right, Ron?" he asked.
"This is my Hatsu—the Nen ability I created to study these bugs. When they enter my body, I can extract a fragment of their memories. Fortunately, these particular creatures aren't overly lethal. Their desire is usually symbiotic. They don't kill their hosts outright; they wait until the host is near death. If there's no new host, they mimic the old one in order to maintain themselves. They can only inhabit one body at a time, and if that body is wounded, they may even help heal it."
He gestured to the old woman's corpse. "Her natural lifespan was nearly over when she got infected. Rest assured she did not die unjustly"
Just then, a breeze blew in through the open doorway, and Ponzu's grandmother's body collapsed to dust, the wind scattering it until there was nothing left—not even clothing.
Gogus stepped outside, heading deeper into the village. Ron turned to Ponzu. "Are you alright?"
She took a shaky breath. "I'm okay. I'm just relieved Grandma didn't die because of some horrible attack, but simply…reached the end of her life."
Before long, Gogus discovered a second type of parasite. Black vines or strange leaf-like growths sprouted on his skin, which took on a coarse, bark-like texture. Another large sphere formed in front of him, playing out memories of how this second bug spread: it didn't require close contact, but rather latched onto a target the host hated most before dying, drawn by that dying grudge. Once the parasite found its target, the person would slowly transform into a kind of living tree—skin turning rough, leaves sprouting. Eventually, they'd lose all mobility and die, decaying into rotten wood.
This time, Gogus paused. The changes to his body were clearly significant; he needed to stabilize himself before the parasite's effect went too far. Although he was enthralled by his research, he wasn't reckless enough to sacrifice his own life in the process.
Outside the village, Hanzo, Ruco, and Ponzu continued practicing their Nen basics under Ron's guidance. Sasuke remained at Gogus's side, and Chii recorded every detail of the unfolding situation. Though Ron wasn't especially eager to utilize these strange bugs himself, he was determined to document what they were capable of. If he ever encountered something again, at least he wouldn't be so in the dark.