The situation had been extremely tense just moments ago; if he'd been even slightly slower, he might have lost his head.
His swift counterattack came at a heavy cost, draining a lot of his aura.
Don't be fooled by the fact he reacted quickly and managed to strike three times in a row; it was a desperate move that left him mentally exhausted.
Meanwhile, Larry took in the scene and glanced at Ging, who was walking beside him.
Ging had pulled a piranha plant from the head of a member of the stone wall by its roots, holding it tightly to stop it from moving.
As he came up alongside Larry, Ging kept his eyes on the plant and said, "This creature is really dangerous."
As a hunter with expertise in biology, Ging fully understood what these piranha plants represented.
Looking up at the dense canopy overhead, he noticed the relentless rain still pouring down, with no sign of stopping.
"These piranha plants grow from seeds at an incredibly fast rate," he explained. "The seeds come from the shade of the tree above us. Because the tree isn't very large and the rain interferes, it's hard to find the exact source."
Ging's tone grew serious as he continued, "Not only do these piranha plants grow quickly, but they can even survive without nutrients."
He observed carefully and confirmed that although the plants had extended their roots, they only pierced the surface of their safety suits; they hadn't penetrated any human skin.
Ging observed the vitality of the man-eating plant's seeds, noting that even when they landed on the safety suits, they still thrived, which meant these seeds were packed with extremely rich nutrients.
Watching as others pulled out the remaining roots, he explained, "Without these safety suits, things would be a lot worse. The suits have strong defenses; normal attacks don't affect them, but these seeds can still take root on the surface."
He added, "If you weren't wearing one, just regular clothes, the seed could easily grow inside your flesh. Then, it would feed off your body's aura, growing faster and possibly regenerating over and over.
That would"
"It'd be a nightmare to deal with. Every time you cut off the man-eating plant, it would drain more nutrients from the host. After a while, the organism just won't be able to handle the strain," Ging went on.
Hearing this, everyone's expressions darkened, especially those who had just been infected by the plant; they nervously checked their bodies for any leftover roots or seeds.
Beyond joined in, his tone grim.
"The worst part is, we have no real way to fight this. The entire forest is full of these trees, which means countless seeds will keep appearing. Even if something blocks them, they can still root and sprout on their own nutrients, making them incredibly hard to get rid of."
To reach Nitro Rice, they'd have to go deeper into the forest and face the seed threat head-on.
The best plan for now was to use something like an umbrella to block the rain, then the seeds would only grow on the umbrella, which would be much easier to manage.
Plus, if things went south, they could just abandon the umbrella and run.
At that, Meowth perked up and said quickly.
"If it's an umbrella you need, I have one right here, and it's even better, meow!"
It turned out Meowth had developed a special umbrella before, originally just to show off, but it was perfect for this situation.
The [Slippery Umbrella] looked like an ordinary one, but no rain could touch it at all.
When the rain falls, the umbrella's surface blocks it, causing the water to slide down its edges and drip to the ground.
The umbrella was made simply because someone thought it would be fun to hold one that the rain couldn't touch.
Meanwhile, deep within the forest, a dark, rushing "ocean" surged forward at an incredible speed.
Wherever this black tide swept through, life vanished, even the smallest blades of green grass disappeared without a trace.
And the path it followed was straight toward Larry and the others.
At the same time, a gathering was already taking place.
In the nine villages spread over six miles, there were six masters who, despite not knowing the five sacred books, nine classics, or the one art, boldly took on the responsibility of teaching 418 children.
After a thorough discussion, everyone agreed that Meowth's [Slippery Umbrella] was the best option.
Based on the information they had, this strange Piranha Plant-like seed seemed to have fallen from a tree.
It wasn't very large, but it was confusing and dangerous in the rain.
Even strong fighters like Ging and Beyond could only detect and dodge it using their ["En"] ability.
Most team members, however, couldn't do that.
At best, they could try to cut off the seeds as soon as they noticed them falling, but only a few, like Miru and Marione, were quick enough to manage that.
For the others, especially those who played support roles, dealing with this plant was tough.
They'd have to rely on the protection of their safety suits or hope someone else on the team could help.
That's why the umbrella, which could block the seeds, was so important, it could make the difference between moving smoothly through the forest or getting caught off guard.
No one knew how many trees in the forest carried these seeds; at a glance, they all looked similar.
Even if they found an area without these particular trees, there was no guarantee other types of trees wouldn't pose new threats.
After all, this was the Dark Continent, where the normal was often abnormal and unexpected dangers lurked everywhere.
The scene felt a bit strange: in a dense, rainy forest, a group of people dressed in "space suits" stood in the dim light, holding black umbrellas.
The atmosphere was heavy and tense.
Besides the uniform suits, the umbrellas had cute blinking cat faces on them, adding a curious contrast.
Trying to lighten the mood, Meowth clenched his fists and coughed twice softly.
Suddenly, the grass on the other side of the clearing rustled a few times, then went still, as if nothing had moved at all.
This sudden movement caught everyone's attention instantly.
Having just faced the man-eating plant, their expressions hardened, eyes narrowing as they prepared for a potential new threat.
The mushroom-headed child, Dwun, paused thoughtfully before slowly moving toward the suspicious patch of grass, the one that had moved oddly and was closest to her.
As she moved, Dwun gently waved her right hand, and a strong aura of aura wrapped around her.
A stream of aura bars, resembling data, flowed through her body, emitting a radiant light that symbolized her powerful aura.
The light flickered briefly before calming down, and the aura merged back into Dwun's body.
At that moment, her vision pixelated, signaling that she had activated her Nen ability, My Game World.
Though Dwun has a childlike spirit, loves playing games, and even looks like a kid, she's far from innocent or naive.