Watching the gradually approaching Shalnark, Kisho used "Ren," unleashing without reserve all the Nen energy within his body.
Under the effect of "Ren," his "Ten" became increasingly condensed, and his "En" also gained a wider range and sharper sensitivity.
Shalnark's speed wasn't particularly fast.
When he saw Kisho's Nen, a trace of surprise appeared in his green eyes:
"Not bad~"
He smiled.
"In such a short time, the degree of progress in your Nen ability is really impressive."
A purplish-red cellphone with demonic wings appeared in Shalnark's hand.
"However, beating me won't be that easy."
Along with the phone, two antennas appeared, which he pinched between his fingers. The sharp tips of the antennas reflected a chilling cold light under the sunlight.
He gave Kisho a slight smile. His speed suddenly surged, and in the blink of an eye he was in front of the boy, his arm swinging—
"If you get stabbed, you're finished!"
Kisho's expression turned cold. He twisted his body to dodge, and at the instant his body leapt into midair, he also raised his arm, swinging out a wind blade that slashed straight toward Shalnark.
"—I can't let him get close!"
Shalnark's offensive was blocked. He didn't press the attack, flashing aside to avoid the wind blade.
The wind blade whistled past his side and struck the ground, kicking up a spray of sand and gravel.
"Eh," Shalnark stopped.
He looked at Kisho and asked in confusion,
"Wasn't your Nen ability taken by the boss?"
He was extremely curious about the Nen Kisho had suddenly released, and without caring whether it was someone else's secret, he asked bluntly,
"Then why can you still use this kind of Transmutation-type move?"
Kisho replied expressionlessly,
"You guess."
"Just tell me, I don't want to guess."
Shalnark smiled, not feeling at all that there was anything wrong with his question.
Naturally, what answered him was the black lines steadily appearing on Kisho's face as he stood there in silence.
...
On the other side, the Spiders watching the battle were equally curious.
Uvogin raised his arm and rubbed the back of his head, directly asking,
"Yeah, boss, isn't that kid's Nen ability with you?"
"It would be more accurate to say that a part of his Nen ability is with me," Chrollo replied calmly.
"The interesting thing about Kisho is that among the Nen abilities he possesses, there are parts that I cannot steal through 'Bandit's Secret.'"
Pakunoda, standing beside him, spoke up after hearing this,
"Is it because of restrictions—so even if it's stolen, it can't be used?"
"No."
Chrollo slowly shook his head, a contemplative look in his eyes.
"The Nen ability he's using now—I had already seen it before the first time I brought him back to the base. I also tried to steal it, but even after satisfying the four conditions for activating a Nen ability, I still failed."
"Eh?" Everyone was shocked.
"Why?"
Chrollo raised his hand to cover his mouth as he thought. After a moment, he lowered his hand and said slowly,
"Two possibilities."
"First, the Nen ability Kisho is using now does not belong to him."
"Second, this boy called 'Kisho' is not, in the true sense, a 'human.'"
After hearing the boss's explanation, the Spiders' faces showed even more confusion—and even existential doubt.
Why was it that they understood every single word the boss said, yet couldn't understand them when put together?
—"A Nen ability that doesn't belong to him," yet he's clearly using it.
—"Not human"? Could he be some kind of phantom beast that can turn into a "human"? That doesn't seem right either!
As the discussion about Nen abilities on this side gradually rose to the level of philosophy; on the battlefield, the fight between the two grew increasingly intense.
"You're pretty good at running. You must've trained a lot lately."
Shalnark's voice hadn't even arrived yet when he appeared behind Kisho for who-knew-how-many-th time, fingers tensed, forming a blade as he swung down toward the back of Kisho's neck.
With a loud "bang," Kisho turned and raised his arm to clash with the palm blade. The instant their limbs met, the two separated again, retreating to opposite sides.
"Good thing I dodged fast."
Shalnark shrugged. Looking at the Nen flames wrapped around Kisho's fist, he smiled and said,
"If I got hit by that punch, it'd probably hurt for a long time."
Kisho withdrew the Nen flames and snorted.
"Why don't you take a punch and find out?"
"No thanks."
Shalnark smiled, but there was no sense of ease in his eyes.
This kid was far harder to deal with than before.
His "En" was much wider than that of ordinary people. Although Shalnark really wanted to stick the antenna into his body, the moment he got even slightly close, the kid would slip away like an eel.
And then there were the four elemental powers he could use. Their power might not be strong, but they came from angles that were far too tricky—one careless moment, and he'd get hit.
Once he got hit—
At this thought, Shalnark's gaze met Kisho's. The murderous intent filling that kid's eyes was no joke.
He was fighting with the resolve that "someone will die." If Kisho seized an opportunity, Shalnark might really die by his hand.
Although he had a trump card that could guarantee victory, he didn't like using it. Besides, the boss probably just wanted to see where this kid's limits were.
Shalnark suddenly smiled.
At a speed several times faster than before, he vanished instantly from Kisho's field of vision.
Machi, watching the battle, spoke up,
"He's finally getting serious."
"Tch," Feitan said disdainfully.
"It took him this long to deal with a kid. Even if he's not in the combat group, that's still too slow."
Hearing this, Chrollo turned to glance at Feitan, smiled, and said nothing.
The sound of wind was carried along by the person approaching at extreme speed.
Kisho stood in place, unmoving. He even voluntarily withdrew his En, maintaining it only within half a meter around his body.
Kisho could feel that the cold light of the antenna was already aimed at his back.
At that instant, Kisho let out a low shout, pouring all his Nen into his legs and stomping fiercely on the ground.
With his movement, Shalnark—who appeared beside him—had a flash of shock in his eyes.
"What—"
The sand beneath his feet suddenly sank, as if the underlying layer had been pulled away.
Caught off guard by the collapsing quicksand, Shalnark lost his balance, his body faltering.
Before he could adjust, Kisho's low voice sounded by his ear,
"Didn't you notice that while you were chatting with me, I was standing right here the whole time?"
The battlefield had been chosen in the desert—Kisho's Nen couldn't instantly disintegrate rock yet, but making sand flow was no problem at all.
This was the opportunity he had been creating, waiting for—
In an instant, the roles of attack and defense reversed.
A three-edged spike glowing with cyan light suddenly shot out from the boy's sleeve, stabbing toward Shalnark's heart at a speed that couldn't be seen even with "Gyo"—
And in the very next moment, Kisho's figure appeared on the other side of the sand pit.
Kisho still maintained his attacking posture. The force in the fingers gripping the three-edged spike was so great it seemed as if he would crush the handle.
The attack he had charged to its absolute limit—an attack that would surely let him avenge himself—slowly dissipated.
He stood there with cold eyes as the Nen attached to the three-edged spike gradually dispersed.
Everything returned to calm.
Standing in the half-meter-deep sand pit, Shalnark's face no longer held even a trace of mockery.
The antenna in his hand was only one millimeter away from his own body.
—Under an overwhelming premonition of death, he had almost used the trump card he hated.
He clenched the antenna, and it vanished in his hand.
He leapt out of the sand pit back onto the ground, facing Kisho as he re-evaluated this kid he hadn't paid much attention to just a second ago.
And the three-edged spike in the boy's hand, gleaming with cold light—the lethal weapon that the boy had concealed from start to finish.
Staring at the boy whose expression was gradually calming, the killing intent in his eyes slowly fading, Shalnark sighed inwardly.
This boy called Kisho… from beginning to end, had become completely different.
Not far away, the spectators stood in silence, no one speaking.
The turn of events had come too fast. What was thought to be a cat-toying-with-a-mouse fight had unexpectedly turned into a mouse growing fangs capable of piercing a cat's throat.
Chrollo smiled faintly. In his hand, the black-covered "Bandit's Secret" slowly closed.
He glanced at the group members behind him, who had likewise grown serious and were re-evaluating Kisho, and smiled with satisfaction.
"That's enough."
He spoke gently to the boy,
"Welcome, No. 8."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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