Third person POV
'H-He's Boxer's dad?' Rin was left with her mouth wide open.
'He could pass as his twin brother.' Killua thought.
It took a while for them to process that information. They were completely taken aback by the fact that the man in front of them looked identical to Boxer. The similarities was uncanny. It was like they're talking to Boxer.
"Oh, have you met Boxer before?" Alan questioned.
"Yeah, we met him at Heavens Arena, he had a match with Rin on the 200th floor." Gon replied. He appeared to be unfazed that the man in front of him was Boxer's dad.
"That kid still playing around at that place, huh?"
"But Alan-san, if you don't mention that you're Rin's uncle, you could pass as Boxer's brother," Gon commented.
'There you have it! Gon is being direct!' Rin and Killua exchanged looks.
"Oh, haha! That happens a lot, but what can I do? Saiyan does age slower than normal humans." He made a pose with a victorious smile earning a deadpanned look from the three of them.
"Oh, how inconsiderate of me! I imagine you youngsters must be famished! It's time for dinner."
Clap. Clap.
He then clapped his hands twice, and the fog quickly dissipated. What was formerly recognizable as a woodland has been transformed into a constant bright iridescent white aurora similar to that of a hyperbolic time chamber. It wasn't until then that they understood; everything they had been observing up to that point had been a hologram.
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The fact that Rin, Gon, and Killua were actually in the Capsule Corp Headquarters was a major surprise to them. Killua, being the one who always aware with the most recent issue, was immediately realized what Capsule Corp was.
The Capsule Corporation is among the world's largest, wealthiest, and most powerful businesses. This is mostly because the company invented and began manufacturing highly advanced capsules, which quickly became very popular and beneficial. Not to mention the fact that this business has been operating since 681.
Although Capsule Corp's primary product is the DynoCaps technology, which is difficult to obtain due to the price and the legalization procedure, the company also develops and produces many other items, such as computers, laptops, and various products used for scientific research.
The Briefs resides in a separate section of the Capsule Corp Headquarters. It was a luxurious mansion made of concrete and glass, with towering windows that provided a view of the surrounding mountains.
There had to be a reason for putting the corporate HQ of such a large organization in such a remote location.
"I'm sorry to burst your bubbles. I'm sure you kids were very disappointed," Alan said as he took a sip from his drink.
"Huh?"
"I'm guessing you're looking for Ging and not me. Did you use Accompany to get here?" He gave a playful smirk while he propped his chin on the palm of his hand.
"...?!" The three kids had their eyes widened.
"H-How..."
"How do you know that we're from Greed Island?"
"Of course, I'd know. How could I not recognize the system I've been working on for years?" He started laughing all of a sudden.
That's when they begin to realize.
"Does that mean, you're..."
Alan nodded. "Yes, I am Alan Brief, the man behind the letter A in GREED ISLAND and a major funder of the game's development.
It wasn't a big surprise considering that he is the CEO of Capsule Corp as well as one of the company's primary researchers.
'That explains Boxer getting the ring.' Rin was taken back in time to when Boxer presented her with the ring in Heavens Arena.
"It appears that Ging is very closely related to your family, Rin." Gon grinned as he turned his head to gaze at Rin.
"It's just the universe bringing our paths together." Rin scratched the back of her head as she let out a hesitant laugh.
"But the real question is... why were we brought here to you when we were looking for Ging?" Killua wondered.
"You're looking for Ging. If so, it was going to be the most difficult hunt ever," Alan replied. "Although Ging was able to completely erase his existence from this world, the only person in this universe who could find him was Gozu, which is no longer the case now that he's gone."
"You guys being here could be part of his plan, for all I know." He refilled his glass with yet another mouthful of drink.
"You mean everything was a set-up?"
"You could be right." Gon said. "Razor, Dwun, and List were all waiting for me, and I realized that if Ging planned for me to go to Greed Island and meet his friends, meeting the others might be part of his plan."
Looking at the kids in front of him, Alan was left in deep thought.
'Are you certain you made the right decision, Ging?
-Flashback-
"Can you make it so that Magnetic Force sends Gon to me and Accompany sends him to you?"
Ging and Alan were the only two people still present in the operation room of Greed Island at the moment.
"Huh? Why in the world Accompany would send him to me?!" Alan stared at him in bewilderment as he made the unexpected request.
"I'm willing to meet with him if he uses Magnetic Force to see me on his own, but if he's a wimp who has to bring his friends along, forget it."
"Why is he a wimp if he brings his friends? You're always with Gozu."
"Forget about it! Just do it!"
"Aha! I see... You just don't want to feel self-conscious with a bunch of people around, right?" Alan snickered.
"Shut up! Just do it!"
-End of flashback-
"It appears that our meeting here is not an accident," Rin stated.
"Yeah, I think so too, there must be a deeper meaning to it." Killua considered.
"Meaning?"
"Razor was waiting for you to make you stronger. So, one would think Ging must have a role for Alan to play."
"Gon, I may not know where Ging is... But I do have a lead." Alan said while resting his chin on his hand and smiling. His gaze were fixed at the kids in front of him.
"The Dragon Balls."
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"You wouldn't believe how closely Ging is related to the Saiyans; Gozu met Ging for the first time during the Hunter Exam," Alan remarked as he led Gon, Rin and Killua towards the main base of the Headquarters building.
"Eh? Really?"
"Does that mean my father is also a Hunter?" Rin pondered.
"Nah, he didn't pass the test. Only Ging passed the Hunter Exam at that time. But Gozu was content because he said he finally found the person that can actually beat his ass."
Alan's quick recall of the past caused a bead of sweat to form on his forehead as he mused, "I still wonder if his brain was okay."
"After the exam, Gozu practically latched himself on to Ging like a leech, and even when Ging tried to avoid him, Gozu always managed to find him and drag him to places, so I guess that's how they became close friends and how I met Ging." Alan chuckled at the recollection of the event.
"It's wonderful that they're friends because Ging can be far too shy and stubborn for his own good." Alan made a remark as he unlocked the door to the control room, which is extremely secure and only accessible through a security access point.
"How does that have anything to do with Dragon Ball?" The man in the lab coat gave a grin in response to Killua's question.
"Saiyans were given the duty centuries ago to protect the Dragon Ball from falling into the wrong hands, a responsibility that was divided into two families; the Son and the Brief." He then went through another locked door. "Each has a method of protecting it; the Son hides it, while the Briefs have a method of tracking each Ball's location..."
The kids stared in awe at the enormous screen that was in front of them with their eyes wide open. The thing that stood out to them the most was a map of the world that was displayed on the screen along with seven red dots that were each located on a different continent, with four of the dots clustered together in one area.
"This is the Dragon Radar." Alan begin. "It appears you've already gathered the majority of it, Ringo-chan." Alan looked at the monitor, smiled, and then fixed his eyes on Rin.
"There's only three left..."
"If it's the Son who hides it, then..." Killua trailed.
"It depends on how they wanted to conceal it, such as entrusting it to someone they trust," Alan replied.
"...!" His simple response had already made the kids realize what he meant.
"Gozu has never trusted anyone more than Ging," Alan said.
"And here he said that the seventh ball was the most difficult to find, but the most difficult one is the one-star Dragon Ball that is currently with Ging."
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A/N
Hello guys, so this is a picture of Alan Brief. Although he looks identical to his son Boxer, Alan wears glasses occasionally and are always found with his lab coat. A trait that sometimes separate him from his son who like to wear casual outfit.
That's all from me! Stay tuned for the next chapter.