The massive airship was filled with various entertainment facilities. These required a vast number of staff members to operate, not just the guests who enjoyed them. However, within the commercial district lined with restaurants and boutiques, not a single soul was in sight.
The sense of confinement was as if one had wandered into the belly of a giant whale. The shops, clustered together like internal organs, all displayed 'Closed' signs. This miniature town, built solely for the amusement of its visitors, remained deathly silent, illuminated only by its artificial lights.
"This is incredible... I can feel the power overflowing...!"
In one corner of this ostentatious street, a suspicious group loitered. Every one of them wore robes of identical design. These large, hooded garments completely enveloped their wearers. Aside from differences in height, it would be nearly impossible to distinguish individuals by appearance alone.
This group was 'Team Brown,' led by the mentalist iTuber, Grandfather of the Galaxy. It wasn't as if he had simply happened to prepare hundreds of identical robes. This was, in fact, his Nen ability.
Grandfather of the Galaxy was a fortune teller who styled himself as the 'World's Most Sincere Swindler.' To him, fortune telling was merely an introduction to facilitate the manipulation of people's hearts. When faced with someone who openly declared they were out to deceive, a first-time client would naturally think, 'Who would ever fall for that?'
However, once they received a reading from him, their mindset would do a complete one-eighty. Though he called it fortune telling, its essence was nothing more than counseling for one's troubles. No matter how happy a person may seem, there is no one in this world without worries. He possessed the techniques and eloquence to skillfully expose the darkness within the heart.
Most human troubles are difficult to overcome. If they could be solved easily, they wouldn't be troubles in the first place. Standing before such walls, most people stop, unable to climb over. Only a handful of people can truly break through a barrier through sheer effort. Most simply stand still, waiting for someone else or time itself to resolve the issue.
Yet, the longer one remains stagnant, the more they lose the will to move forward. The next thing such a person does is try to forget the problem. Because they cannot overcome the wall, they compromise and choose a different path. While this method sometimes succeeds, it is never a fundamental solution, and more often than not, it leads to a vicious cycle of hitting the next wall.
Even if a wound of the heart seems healed, it can flare up again at any moment. To truly recover, one must look reality in the eye and face it. That is the best solution, and also the most painful choice. To move toward the future, one must face painful and unhappy memories, no matter how hard it is, and then accept the past as the past.
Grandfather of the Galaxy did not believe that he could solve the troubles themselves through fortune telling. It was enough to make the other person realize their true feelings and accept them. What he was doing wasn't particularly special—it was similar to the support provided in normal counseling to encourage independence—but his skill was extraordinary.
While his way of eloquently guiding the hearts of others was reminiscent of a Manipulator, he was actually a Conjurer. His ability was called 'Self-Liars,' which allowed him to conjure the robes he always wore. This was a composite ability of Conjuration and Manipulation.
He could manipulate those who wore the robes, but because Conjuration does not have a high affinity with Manipulation, he could not perform powerful mental interference. Its application fell under the 'Soliciting-type' classification.
Manipulation abilities are broadly categorized into three types: 'Coercive-type,' which completely controls both mind and body; 'Semi-coercive-type,' which robs the target of their physical freedom; and 'Soliciting-type,' which requests the cooperation of the manipulated target. While the Soliciting-type makes it difficult to control a target, it has the advantage of being able to manipulate many targets simultaneously with less energy compared to the other two.
"You must not use that power recklessly. Those robes draw out your own strength. If you consume energy, you will naturally exhaust your own physical stamina."
The greatest feature of 'Self-Liars' was that if the manipulated target was an ordinary person rather than a Nen user, it allowed them to use simple Nen.
Generally, when an ordinary person is manipulated by a Manipulation ability, it is rare for their aura nodes to open through that attack, but there are cases where it becomes possible to exercise Nen or a similar power. In exchange for diluting its mental interference capabilities, 'Self-Liars' had the effect of allowing the use of Nen as a reward for cooperation.
However, the only powers that could be used through this were 'Ten' and 'Ren.' The 'Ren' was of poor precision, only slightly increasing attack power, and was not particularly formidable. If a real Nen user fought one-on-one, they wouldn't be a worthy opponent. Furthermore, this effect was limited to when the robe was being worn; if it was removed or damaged, the power would become unusable.
Because there is a rule that one must not needlessly reveal the existence of Nen to ordinary people, Grandfather of the Galaxy explained this ability as the robes receiving 'galactic power' showering down from space to draw out their latent potential. It was an explanation that bordered on the absurdly suspicious, but his followers believed his words completely. In the first place, no person with even a shred of doubt would choose to wear such a suspicious robe.
"Oh, how tragic. If I could, I would not wish to involve you all... I thought to somehow protect everyone with my power, but it seems that will be difficult..."
As Grandfather of the Galaxy wept bitterly, the gathered supporters raised their voices.
"What are you saying, Master! We are actually happy. If even we can be of help to you, we will not hesitate to cooperate!"
"Everyone here is someone whose heart was saved by you, Master. Now it's our turn to help you. Let us unite and overcome this difficult situation together!"
While pretending to cry, Grandfather of the Galaxy was grinning behind his mask. While his ability certainly had many drawbacks, it specialized in generating numbers to compensate. Though he had conjured over a hundred robes, he still had plenty of energy to spare.
Even if the individual combat power was negligible, when gathered in such numbers, it became a force to be reckoned with. No matter how many ordinary people gathered, they could not defeat a Nen user, but the story changed completely if they became pseudo-users who could use Nen even a little. It was possible to crush an opponent with sheer weight of numbers. Even if there was someone with a troublesome ability, he could use his numbers to feel them out. For most such users, once their trick was revealed, they were easy to deal with.
One of the fans wearing a robe punched the wall of a nearby building. With that single punch, the wall, which should have been made of concrete, shattered, leaving a clear imprint of a fist.
"W-Wow... with this power...!"
He had never once asked them to help. He never even incited them to cooperate in the game to win. Even without taking direct methods, he knew the art of naturally guiding people's wills. That was his 'Mentalism.'
He was certain. He who controls the heart, controls the game. This 'all-participant' rule involving the audience was also on his side. No, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the rules were practically made for him.
He intended to be the winner of this game.
[5 seconds remaining! 4, 3, 2, 1... Game Start!]
Finally, the announcement declaring the start of the game echoed through the ship. The locks on the tranquilizer guns should have been released, but such things weren't necessary. He would only use them for dealing with ordinary people.
"Master, what shall we do now?"
"There is no need to rush. It is best if nothing happens. First, let us hide here and watch how the game unfolds."
There was no need to be hasty. With dangerous sorts like Tsukuteku around, it would be better to take action after the hot-blooded iTubers had exhausted each other. He had gathered his military strength. All that remained was to watch for the opportunity to deploy it.
"However, we don't know where an enemy might attack from. Everyone, please do not neglect your vigilance. I think we'll be fine since it's just started, though."
"...No, it seems we can't afford that luxury."
It was news of uninvited guests. For a moment, he thought they had already been found by other iTubers, but that worry was unfounded.
"Whoa, looks like some seriously creepy guys have gathered here. Is this a Black Mass?"
"I recall Grandfather of the Galaxy wearing similar robes, but I can't tell which one is which."
"Wait, hold on, this many people all at once is bad-ssy?! Fleeing... let's make a strategic retreat-ssy!"
"And you call yourself a member of the Six-chan Imperial Guard!"
The ones who appeared were an enemy team of only five people. Their wristbands emitted a silver light. Grandfather of the Galaxy had forgotten whose team that color belonged to, but it didn't matter if he remembered or not. A mere five ordinary people could be dealt with in a heartbeat by his army.
"We shall eliminate those who oppose our master."
"Grandfather of the Galaxy is the only one fit to be the King of iTubers!"
"We will show no mercy to those who get in our way..."
The group of over a hundred people, unified in their robed forms, moved sluggishly. They began to surround the five poor, lost children. Faced with such a sight, anyone would feel a fear as if they were being dragged into a bottomless abyss.
"Whatever, if you're up for it, that makes things easy."
However, Grandfather of the Galaxy felt a sense of wrongness. While three of the five were huddling together and trembling, two of them showed not a shred of agitation. Was it mere reckless bravado, or did they have some kind of plan? They simply stood in a natural stance, not even holding the distributed tranquilizer guns. As if to say such things were unnecessary.
He didn't have any proof, but his intuition told him. Making these two into enemies would be bad.
"Everyone, please calm down. For now, let's reorganize our stance—"
"Victory for Grandfather of the Galaxy!"
"Wooooooh!! Feel our power!!!"
"Wait, listen to m—"
Like a pack of predators swarming their prey, the excited crowd began their massacre. But they would soon learn reality. They would learn which side was the hunter, and which was the hunted.