In the southern region of the Ochima Federation
Lay an extensive coastline known as [Carter Port].
Carter Port formed a lengthy bay, occupying a significant portion of the Ochima Federation shoreline.
Due to its unique geography, it was often called the largest harbor across the six continents.
The southern Ochima Federation marked the southeastern corner of the six continents, beyond which stretched vast, endless oceans.
Few knew what lay beyond these waters.
Only a select handful understood that the ocean end led to the Dark Continent.
Perhaps because this location stood closest to the Dark Continent, Strange occurrences and phenomena frequently manifested here.
The most widely known among these was the regionally famous [Sea Market] renowned throughout the six continents.
The Sea Market is a local event, much like those in other coastal areas.
Every morning, fishing boats set out to sea and bring their catches to the market for sale.
Fishing boats are broadly divided into two types based on their time at sea.
One is the short voyage, typically small boats that go out to fish and return the same day.
The other is the long voyage, generally larger vessels with uncertain return times, usually around a week.
Long voyages are more likely to bring back rare ingredients and items, but they also carry higher risks.
If anything special is caught, it's sold to the local auction house, evaluated, and then auctioned off.
What makes this place unique is that the seafood here is anything but ordinary, and strange items often appear.
Most ordinary coastal cities can only harvest common ingredients, but many of the fish here are C-grade.
Even higher-grade seafood ingredients aren't unheard of.
Coupled with its reputation as the largest bay, Carter Port has been rated as one of the top ten tourist destinations across the six continents.
Every year, a considerable number of tourists visit, and the local tourism industry thrives.
"Boss, two servings of Grilled Giant Squid, please."
Menchi wore a simple white dress, looking more cute than alluring, with a touch of youthful charm.
On her head was a straw hat adorned with a small yellow flower.
Carter Port experiences significant annual temperature variations, with summer highs reaching 30 degrees Celsius and winter lows dropping below zero.
This diverse climate results in an exceptionally rich variety of fish species.
It was currently April, one of the few times in Carter Port when the weather was neither too hot nor too cold—just right.
Many tourists took advantage of this season to visit.
"Yeah, I'll be there when the time comes."
Akira answered the phone while casually accepting the grilled squid Menchi handed him.
"Then we eagerly await your esteemed presence" came the extremely deferential voice on the other end, speaking to Akira as if he were a servant.
Tucking the phone away, Akira prepared to enjoy his first taste of Carter Port culinary delights.
As one of the local signature ingredients, the Giant Squid was undeniably high-quality, classified as a C-grade ingredient across the six continents.
This alone spoke volumes about the caliber of the local cuisine. C-grade ingredients were already considered relatively rare.
Yet in Carter Port, they were used for street food.
It seemed the two of them were in for a treat.
"Was that Heavens Arena on the phone just now?"
Having caught only snippets of the conversation, Menchi asked curiously once Akira hung up.
"Yeah, Heavens Arena biennial Martial Arts Tournament is about to begin."
"The organizers invited me to make an appearance. Whether I compete or not is up to me."
"It's in two weeks, so we'll have plenty of time to finish our business here."
After finishing the Giant Squid, Akira went to a nearby stall to buy a cup of Seaweed Juice to quench his thirst.
The Giant Squid was indeed excellent—even if it wasn't caught that very day, it couldn't have been long, given how fresh it was.
The only downside was that it had been cooked by a street vendor, whose lack of culinary finesse slightly diminished the dish.
"The Martial Arts Tournament? That means you can legitimately claim the real championship this time."
Menchi smiled faintly, as if already picturing Akira standing atop the podium, trophy in hand.
Akira is currently the highest Floor Master of Heavens Arena. After defeating his predecessor, the 251st floor now belongs to him.
However, since he didn't participate in the last Martial Arts Tournament, his title is only the Strongest Floor Master.
He is not the Martial Arts Tournament champion.
"No, unless something unexpected happens, I'm afraid this Martial Arts Tournament won't proceed smoothly~ˇ."
Akira lowered his head and took a sip of Seaweed Juice, the smooth and refreshing taste washing over him.
The cool and refreshing seaweed juice instantly washed away the dryness lingering in Akira throat after eating the grilled squid.
"Is that so? What a pity."
Menchi truly hadn't expected any twists in the martial arts tournament, but given Akira reputation, he wasn't lacking this one competition.
***
Several days had passed since their visit to the Hunter Association.
Akira title as [One of the New World Top Five Nen Users] continued to spread.
In fact, most people weren't even calling him [One of the World Top Five Nen Users] anymore.
They were calling him [The World Strongest]!
The simultaneous declarations from the former Top Five Nen Users admitting inferiority to Akira had also circulated.
All perceptive individuals understood.
Even without an official announcement, Akira had already become the new [World Strongest].
Still, this martial arts tournament seemed quite interesting—definitely worth his time.
First, this tournament followed the plot of the movie "The Last Mission."
The last movie plot he'd participated in involved teaming up with Hisoka to deal with Omokage, after which he obtained the incredibly powerful Ditto.
Naturally, he couldn't miss this movie storyline either.
Secondly, the movie antagonist Jed was quite strong, with strength easily in the S- class range.
Such valuable experience points couldn't be allowed to escape.
Their trip to [Carter Port] wasn't just for food.
Nearly a year had passed and Hisoka had finally delivered the information about the Dark Sonata.
Just in time—otherwise, Akira would have had to "pay him a visit."
Unbeknownst to Akira, ever since he wiped out half of the [Phantom Troupe], Hisoka had prioritized Akira affairs above all else.
As a fruit farmer, he had no intention of dying meaninglessly.
Thus, Hisoka conducted investigations across all six continents before focusing on the southern region of the Ochima Federation.
Rumors spoke of bizarre incidents occurring in the deep waters near [Carter Port].
After extensive research and searching, Hisoka concluded it was related to the Dark Sonata.
But upon arriving, Akira discovered an unexpected bonus.
A new Pokemon was taking shape in his mind!
As the largest bay across the six continents, this place also possessed the potential to nurture Pokemon.
The attribute was obvious—it had to be a Water-type Pokemon.
But the specifics remained unknown.
Akira hoped for a Water-type suitable as a mount, which would fill the gap in his aquatic transportation options.
'After enjoying a few days here, I'll buy a boat and set sail.' As Akira pondered, lively cheers erupted from a nearby street.
It seemed some impressive street performance had drawn a large crowd, who clapped in unison from time to time.
Since the [Sea Market] was Carter Port flagship attraction, its layout covered vast areas.
Practically every non-residential zone was dedicated to the [Sea Market] or related industries.
Given its expansive footprint, the market streets were wide, lined with orderly rows of tents.
Beneath these tents, vendors displayed all kinds of marine products.
The pathways were paved with pale gray bricks, clean and spacious—a refreshing sight.
The locals clearly prioritized maintaining a pristine environment.
Akira and Menchi were both curious about the crowd's reaction and couldn't help but step forward to see what was happening.
Upon closer inspection, the two finally understood the reason for everyone amazement.
Standing amidst the crowd was a woman wearing what resembled a Native American headdress, adorned with white feathers all over her body.
Her performance outfit, which looked like a swimsuit, blended perfectly with the local environment.
Coincidentally, they had just seen this person at a Hunter Association meeting not long ago.
It was none other than Cluck, one of the Twelve Zodiacs.
With an air of pride, Cluck stood at the center, surrounded by pigeons circling above her.
They flew in patterns, paused at times and even formed characters through their coordinated movements.
This level of avian control was truly unparalleled, leaving the onlookers in awe.
Ordinary people might not notice, but only Akira and Menchi could hear it.
As the pigeons danced, the long feathers on Cluck body swayed gently.
Simultaneously, faint streams of Aura transformed into musical notes that reached the pigeons.
After the impromptu performance ended, many rushed forward, hoping to get Cluck autograph.
As a member of the Hunter Association Twelve Zodiacs, Cluck was quite famous.
If Akira remembered correctly, Cluck hobbies and profession were quite different.
She was both a musician and a dancer, as well as a Botanical Hunter.
The musician and dancer roles made sense, as the two didn't conflict.
But adding Botanical Hunter to the mix felt a bit odd.
It wasn't as fitting as Gel dual role as a pharmacist and Poison Hunter.
Seeing Cluck surrounded by the crowd after the performance, Akira and Menchi moved on to the next stall.
Cluck performance was interesting, but that wasn't what Akira was focused on.
Why was she here?
Was it just a coincidence?
Akira didn't believe Cluck had come all this way just to perform on the street.
Considering Cluck profession as a musician, Akira felt Hisoka intel was likely accurate!
Each member of the Twelve Zodiacs had their own area of expertise.
They might not all be exceptionally strong, but they were leaders in their respective fields.
To avoid overlap, Chairman Netero had deliberately assigned each Zodiac to a different domain.
This way, the Twelve Zodiacs could provide expert advice in almost any situation.
For example, Mizaistom, the Ox, was a lawyer. When legal matters arose, others would defer to his opinion.
As a musician, if there were reports of the Dark Sonata appearance, the Hunter Association would naturally send Cluck.
Of course, this alone wasn't definitive proof.
But Akira felt his speculation was likely correct.
At the following stalls, the two discovered even more bizarre products at the Sea Market.
It seemed anything related to the ocean could be found here.
Among these stalls, Akira found two types of games particularly interesting.
Some stalls didn't just sell items—they also offered entertainment.
These were roughly divided into two categories: treasure chest openings and shell gambling.
Both games operated on the same principle—betting on whether the contents inside were valuable.
The treasure chests inside the opening treasure chests all look the same from the outside. Pick one that catches your eye.
Each one costs the same price of 50,000 Jenny.
What you find inside depends entirely on luck.
You might draw a C-grade or even a B-grade ingredient, multiplying its value countless times.
Or you might end up with a worthless white stone or a pile of rotten seaweed.
The items inside vary in worth, but one thing is guaranteed—everything comes from the sea.
As for pearl gambling, it's even easier to explain.
It's similar to jade gambling back on Earth—you pay for the oyster shell you fancy, pry it open, and see if there's a valuable pearl inside.
Compared to treasure chests, pearl gambling usually costs more, with a single shell potentially setting you back hundreds of thousands or even millions of Jenny.
But high risk means high reward, and there's no shortage of people who've uncovered pearls worth tens of millions.
These two are the most famous games at the [Sea Market].
Unlike pearl gambling, where the prize is always a pearl, Akira was more intrigued by the mystery of the treasure chests.
An elderly woman sat in front of the treasure chest stall.
Perched on a small stool, she wore a straw hat identical to Menchi, her head slightly bowed as if dozing.
The chests were scattered haphazardly across the stall, though it was clear they had once been neatly arranged by number.
After some time being sold, only about half remained—around fifty chests.
Akira skimmed over a few before his gaze settled on one in particular.
He faintly sensed something off about it.
A trace of death aura, perhaps?
"Auntie, I'll take chest number sixty-six."
"Oh, sure."
Only when Akira spoke did the woman stir, lazily accepting his 50,000 Jenny before handing him the key to chest sixty-six.
The woman had a hundred chests in total, each with a numbered key.
One chest, one key.
Once a customer paid, she'd give them the key to open it. After the customer took the contents, she'd refill the chest and put it back up for sale.
She only sold what was inside—the chest itself couldn't be taken.
Click.
A low creak sounded as the chest opened.
Perhaps from long use and the damp sea air, parts of the interior had rusted.
Even the sound of it opening had changed.
"What's inside?"
Menchi leaned in beside Akira, her emerald-green eyes glinting with anticipation.
What would Akira first treasure chest yield?
When Akira finally saw what was inside, his breath hitched slightly.
Just as he thought.
His instincts hadn't been wrong.
The object was tainted with Death Aura, carrying faint traces of dark energy.
Hisoka intel.
The appearance of Cluck of the Twelve Zodiac.
An item steeped in death aura.
All these factors combined made the emergence of the Dark Sonata increasingly likely.
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