In the harsh weather of wind and snow, a figure appeared at the edge of the horizon, facing the howling wind.
Oboro was still in his black suit, wearing leather shoes. Although this place was in the northern part of Grusia, with consistently low temperatures… he was here to rescue someone, not for tourism, and hadn't changed his attire.
"Hmm… this must be it…"
After a while, Oboro approached, hooked his sunglasses down with his finger, revealing his eyes as he looked at a steep cliff under the dark clouds ahead.
It was a large prison.
However, it had already been occupied by people from the 'Shadow.'
Oh no, Jed, now resurrected, led a new organization, calling themselves 'Darkness.'
They had abandoned the name 'Shadow.'
Representing a new beginning.
"Curse energy, huh…" Oboro murmured softly, a slight smile appearing on his lips.
Another reason he was willing to act was his interest in resentment energy. Some of its characteristics were quite compatible with his soul-based Nen abilities, especially its attribute of amplifying will and emotions. Both malice and negative energy… seemed to be fully released through resentment.
It also seemed somewhat useful for the development of Thresh's Nen ability…
Mainly in the development of the 'ghost' aspect.
"There are many people."
He muttered, brushing off the snow accumulated on his shoulder, and sensed the surroundings slightly.
He walked closer with a smile.
V5 was quite disgusting… If they truly wanted to deal with the Shadow, they could have simply made a phone call to the authorities in Grusia, and they would have dispatched a large army for cleanup, without even using V5's own combat power.
Even so, they were unwilling to do so.
Although the Kingdom of Grusia was small, it was still a country. No matter how much Jed and his group struggled, they couldn't contend with the army; at most, it would just waste a bit of time.
After a while, Oboro followed a mountain path on the cliff and arrived in front of the imposing building standing atop the mountain.
The prison base's main gate was tightly shut, and the walls were covered with surveillance cameras.
"Could you open the door?"
Oboro took a few steps forward, took out an identification card from his pocket, held it up to a camera, and flashed it.
The ID card bore the official emblem of a department in Grusia.
Coincidentally… Grusia, this small country, was one of the territories infiltrated by the Fiers family's political power. It was easy for Oboro to obtain the necessary documents.
He shook the ID card, but the massive gate remained unmoved, showing no signs of opening.
No response.
Seeing this, Oboro casually discarded the ID card.
As expected… He would have to find another way in.
He walked up to the heavy steel gate and touched the cold metal surface.
It was daytime, but dark clouds loomed overhead, accompanied by wind and snow, casting a dim light, as if approaching night.
He bent his elbow, forming a fist, and exhaled a white breath due to the cold air.
Yes… he didn't plan to sneak in and carry out any covert rescue mission. It was better to barge in openly… to save time.
The next second, his fist struck the gate instantly.
The gate panel instantly caved in, and then the large screws, chains, and other parts connecting it to the wall snapped and exploded, scattering in all directions.
The gate, weighing several tons, flew out and landed heavily on the ground within the prison walls, seemingly hitting quite a few guards.
With the gate no longer blocking his view, Oboro could see the situation inside. Rows of armed soldiers stood in the prison base. They were all former public servants of this prison, but now their faces were contorted, and a black aura flickered in their eyes. It was clear their minds had been corrupted by curse energy and they were under control.
There were at least a hundred of them…
"Putting aside the side effects, resentment energy seems to have a more pronounced effect on the spirit and amplifies it compared to Nen… Is it more compatible with the mind?"
Oboro glanced at the enemies before him, discerning their peculiar condition, and analyzed with a thoughtful expression.
Dada da… Immediately, countless gunshots rained down upon him.
Oboro walked forward as if nothing was happening. The bullets hit him but fell to the ground without even damaging his clothes.
He slowly walked to the open space within the prison. He ignored the ordinary soldiers still firing and looked up at a figure standing on a building ledge.
A burly man with a striking rooster comb hairstyle was staring down at him.
This person… Oboro recognized him.
He was one of the descendants of the 'Shadow' from the original movie, who had injured Zege at Heaven's Arena and encountered Bisky.
His name seemed to be… Gaki.
The other two were named Purgatory and Asura.
Gaki stood with his arms crossed, his expression indifferent.
He sensed the extraordinary power of this man in a suit… Even under the intense gunfire, he remained unaffected, walking into the center of the crowd and looking up to meet his gaze.
"Are you… the monster sent by the Association?" Gaki stared at Oboro.
"Monster?"
Oboro was taken aback.
Then his expression became enlightened, and he said faintly, "To you, perhaps I am…"
"Another high-ranking official from the Hunter Association… Heh, the more people like you come, the better. After we execute all of you, let's see if they can still remain calm." Gaki shouted, and then numerous dense shadows appeared on the surrounding buildings.
They were all prisoners who had been held in this prison before.
These were all villains, different from ordinary people… After their minds were corrupted, they became puppets.
Not only that, but Oboro also sensed that some Nen users were mixed among the crowd. They were likely former Hunter Association members… also controlled by curse energy.
"Hundreds of people…"
Oboro stretched his shoulders.
It seemed that quite a few Hunters had been captured by the Shadow. Including Netero and Killua, there were at least twenty of them.
Should he kill them?
In this situation, killing them wouldn't matter, and he could even collect some souls… But after thinking about it, Oboro gave up the idea. The souls dropped by Hunters of this level had little effect on him anymore… possibly less than those of a few ants.
The rampant Chimera Ants in the Mitne Federation were excellent supplies. There was no need to focus on these.
Saving their lives… would be beneficial for the future presidential election.
Moreover, Netero was still in the prison…
Boom!
Then, Gaki leaped down from the building, like a cannonball hitting the ground, kicking up a large patch of snow, exuding a powerful aura.
He stood directly in front of Oboro, emitting an uncomfortable black aura from his body… it was the power of curse energy.
"Compared to Nen, it seems to rely more on the power of the heart… Unlike Nen, which is directly proportional to one's physical strength and blood, Nen is very balanced. Although Nen strength is crucial, one's mental strength cannot be ignored. In other words, as long as the inner darkness is great enough and the will is firm enough… the stronger the power that can be drawn from it, the greater the proportion of 'heart.' If Nen users have fifty percent Nen and fifty percent heart, then curse energy… is thirty percent body and seventy percent heart?"
"This is why curse energy is good at corrupting the mind…"
Oboro ignored Gaki's fierce expression and instead observed the energy he released, speaking softly in an investigative tone.
"I understand…"
After a moment, Oboro nodded slightly.
Around them, a large number of prisoners and controlled Association members also leaped down, converging towards Oboro.
"Today…"
Gaki unleashed all his curse energy, preparing to attack.
However, as soon as he opened his mouth to utter two words, the man before him suddenly disappeared.
In that instant, his heart turned cold.
Where did he go?
Where is the person?
Swish… He seemed to hear a faint sound near his ear, and the person appeared beside him.
Before he could even look in the direction of the sound, or react physically, something seemed to have been thrown at him, and then… he disappeared.
Gaki's pupils contracted, realizing his head had inexplicably flown off. He saw his own headless body standing on the ground, and also saw the man in the suit walking past him as if he were a ghost, without any warning, as if strolling leisurely.
The man didn't even glance at his corpse, just muttering to himself…
It seemed… he was still immersed in the experience of curse energy.
How did he kill me?
How… did I die?
Gaki's head, with a frozen expression, was filled with bewilderment.
He didn't understand… He didn't sense Nen… didn't see a weapon, saw nothing… and the person was dead.
With his head still floating in the air, Gaki's consciousness, before it vanished, witnessed the subsequent scene.
A surging crowd, like locusts, charged towards the man.
But in the next second, centered around the man in the suit, a gust of wind seemed to blow, and terrifyingly fast blades churned through the ranks.
Instantly, flesh and blood flew…
These puppets controlled by curse energy were torn apart like shredded paper, flying up or falling down in swathes.
They couldn't even get close.
They were dismembered from a distance!
With a plop, Gaki's head landed on the snow, his eyes facing the entrance of the prison.
And in just a few seconds, his assembled team, except for the unconscious Association members, all… died without a complete corpse.
"It's his hands…"
Gaki finally saw clearly what Oboro's weapon was.
It was simply his bare hands, but they moved so fast that ordinary people couldn't track their trajectory… and it seemed they could also cause attacks beyond a certain range.
Even more terrifying was that the man acted casually, using only a sliver of Nen, so faint… that even he didn't notice it, yet the power displayed was disproportionate to the Nen energy consumed.
This could only mean one thing… the intensity of the man's Nen was unimaginable!
"Is this… the monster from the Association?"
Thinking this, Gaki's consciousness faded into nothingness.
...
Oboro walked to the prison entrance and reached out to open the door.
Just as he was about to step into the corridor, a sharp knife suddenly stabbed out from the darkness, heading straight for his face.
"Interesting…"
Oboro's eyebrows twitched.
He hadn't sensed the attacker's movements at all; they were hidden very well.
In terms of aura changes and concealment, Oboro didn't believe anyone could completely mask his perception… For him to be unable to detect it could only mean it was a characteristic of curse energy.
A unique 'Zetsu.'
Perhaps… Netero was also tricked.
Oboro slightly tilted his head, causing the sharp knife to miss.
He was able to react because the attacker's movements were too slow… Although Zetsu maintained concealment, once seen, it was no longer hidden.
It was simply too large a difference in physical ability. If this stab had been from Beyond or Netero, Oboro might have been injured… Even someone of Silva's level of flesh and blood concentration, if they had launched a surprise attack, Oboro might have been hit.
But the person before him was too slow… Of course, the attacker might have already been going all out.
After dodging, Oboro immediately swung his large hand, and a slap directly hit the rushing black shadow.
With a loud bang, the attacker was hit as if struck by lightning. His frail body immediately slammed into the wall, blood flowing from his seven orifices, and his vision momentarily blurred.
Before he could regain his footing, Oboro's large hand, like iron pincers, grabbed his head and pressed his skull against the corridor wall.
As if trying to embed half his face into the cement.
The attacker was one of Jed's subordinates, a descendant of the 'Shadow,' Shura, with long hair.
In the original movie, he controlled all communication equipment and fought against Kurapika…
As soon as Oboro's hand touched Shura, the curse energy surging from him, like a miasma, crept up his arm and quickly spread throughout his body. Moreover, the resentment energy flowed into Oboro's eyes, invading his body.
It began to corrupt his spirit…
Curse energy and Oboro's own Nen intertwined, two completely different energies colliding, fluctuating.
It was as if Oboro was about to have his mind consumed by resentment.
But before he could even take half a breath, a shockwave erupted, and the resentment energy entangled around Oboro's body was instantly dispelled, leaving the struggling Shura in disbelief.
"So that's how it is…"
Oboro regained his clarity and looked at the man unable to move, pinned against the wall, saying indifferently, "Although it's more compatible with the mind, this kind of energy is far less stable than Nen… Amplifying negative emotions is essentially planting hidden dangers for oneself… Moreover, this power originating from the heart, once it completely expands, will take complete control, turning one into a walking dead. In other words, the individual will of the host is lost, losing initiative… becoming an empty shell of negative energy."
Oboro frowned. "It does have some merit… but overall, it's still too trashy, completely incomparable to Nen."
With that, Oboro took a step forward, his fingers contracting.
He had no intention of letting go of Shura, and continued walking down the corridor with the man's head pressed against the wall.
This caused Shura's facial bones to continuously twist and shatter… even his eye sockets were oozing blood. His feet dangled off the ground as he struggled, unable to even cry out.
In the quiet corridor, only the sound of his bones gradually shattering could be heard.
"Essentially, it's the same as Nen. You want to corrupt my mind… no matter what, your will must be stronger than mine. That's the prerequisite…"
"Unfortunately, judging from your resentment energy, your resolve for revenge is too childish… This won't do. With just this level… it's hard to achieve anything." After a while, Oboro reached an indoor room down the corridor, released his grip, and discarded Shura's corpse.
Half of the opponent's face was ground away, leaving a shocking trail of blood on the wall.
The person had already died…
His instructions and advice could not be heard at all.
Ahead of Oboro was the entrance to the prison's depths, leading to various cells, blocked by a gate.
The waist-high iron gate was open…
The lights hanging on the wall flickered intermittently.
In his vision, from the deepest part of the prison, a surging and powerful ominous energy emanated.
Condensed black resentment energy formed a vortex-like abyss within, as if intending to swallow everything.
Waiting for his grand arrival.
Furthermore, waves of resentment energy surged towards him.
This mental pressure… finally made Oboro slightly serious.
Faint green mist began to drift around him…
His leather shoes stepped through the mist, and he moved forward without any hesitation.
"You… are the best experimental material… Don't disappoint me…"
Oboro muttered.
A hint of anticipation.
Curse energy is not entirely useless… it has some merit that can be utilized.
It would be beneficial for the better development of Thresh's Nen ability.
Resentment energy has several characteristics.
Negative emotions, transmission and corruption of the spirit, concealment and stealth of aura.
It fits well… with the ghosts he manipulates…
Mid-Autumn Festival, wishing all esteemed readers, your wishes come true, and health and peace.
Eat well and drink well today… For those working away from home, find time tonight to go out and eat something delicious, don't treat yourselves poorly.
You are all the best!
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