Four chapters posted. If you think it's okay, please send some free small gifts. Thank you, everyone!
On the grassland, a breeze blew past, making the grass rustle.
Leo and Netero stood ten meters apart, facing each other.
Leo took a deep breath, took half a step forward, and bowed slightly, his tone sincere and full of respect.
"Chairman Netero, it is my honor that you are willing to give me some guidance."
Netero looked at him with a smile and stretched casually.
The bones throughout his body made a series of slight cracking sounds. On that old face, the original laziness gradually faded, replaced by an unfathomable composure.
"Young man, fists and feet have no eyes."
Chairman Netero's tone was nonchalant.
"Don't blame this old man later if I hit too hard."
Leo looked up and grinned, revealing a row of white teeth.
"To be lectured by the Chairman is my honor! Please, don't hold back!"
He took half a step back and slowly assumed a starting stance.
His body sank slightly, lowering his center of gravity, with his hands one in front of the other like a bow ready to fire.
"Chairman, here I come."
"Make your move."
Netero waved his hand casually.
His posture seemed loose, with his hands hanging naturally and his body tilted slightly, as if he were an old man sunbathing.
But Leo's pupils contracted slightly.
No openings.
Clearly his whole body was full of openings, but behind every 'opening' lay a fatal trap.
Is this the strength of a martial arts Grandmaster?
Leo took a deep breath and suddenly exerted force with his feet!
Bang!
A small pit exploded in the grass, soil flying everywhere!
His figure vanished from the spot like a ghost!
In the next instant, he appeared behind Netero!
His right leg rose high, tearing through the air like a battle-axe, bringing a sharp whistle as it kicked fiercely toward Netero's lower back!
He used sixty percent of his power for this kick.
It was enough to snap a tree as thick as a waist!
However— Netero did not look back.
He just gave his waist a light twist, like a willow branch blown by the wind.
Leo's leg grazed the edge of his clothes, not even touching a single hair!
'What?!'
Leo's pupils shrank, but his body's instincts made him change his move immediately!
The moment his right leg missed, he turned with the momentum, his left elbow aiming straight for Netero's ribs!
Netero still did not turn around.
He simply raised his right hand and gave a light palm strike to the joint behind Leo's left knee.
The force wasn't great, but the positioning was terrifyingly precise!
Leo felt his left leg go numb. A feeling of weakness instantly spread from the joint. The power he had been ready to unleash was like a punctured balloon, draining away instantly!
His body stumbled, and he fell to one knee!
"Thump."
His knee hit the grass with a muffled sound.
Netero withdrew his hand, turned around, and looked at him with a smile.
"Good speed."
He said, his tone like he was critiquing a junior's homework.
"Just a bit lacking in accuracy."
Leo knelt on one knee, looking up at that smiling old face.
There was no humiliation, no frustration.
Only an even more burning Battle Intent.
He suddenly exerted force to stand up, his left foot pushing off the ground, and he shot out like a cannonball!
A punch aimed straight for Netero's face!
This punch was fast and fierce, the fist tearing through the air and creating a low sonic boom!
But Netero's figure vanished the moment the fist was about to touch.
Leo's punch hit nothing, and his body leaned forward slightly.
He immediately withdrew his force and turned— Netero was standing five meters away, his hands still tucked in his sleeves, as if he had never moved.
He raised his right hand and playfully beckoned Leo with a finger.
Leo took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart.
'So fast.'
It wasn't teleportation or a Nen Ability; it was pure movement speed so fast it exceeded visual capture.
He gritted his teeth and charged forward again!
This time, he no longer sought a one-hit kill but instead launched a continuous offensive!
Fists, feet, elbows, knees—every part of his body turned into a weapon, pouring toward Netero like a torrential storm!
However— Netero was like a fallen leaf.
His body swayed, spun, and dodged within the wind of Leo's punches. Every movement was just right, and every shift perfectly avoided Leo's attacks.
Despite the storm-like offensive, he was like someone strolling through a courtyard, completely at ease.
And his counterattacks were even more impossible for Leo to defend against.
Sometimes it was a finger poke at the node where Leo exerted force, causing his power to instantly collapse.
Sometimes it was a palm strike at the moment Leo shifted his center of gravity, causing him to stumble out of balance.
Sometimes it was just a single step that made Leo's prepared attack miss completely.
None of the strikes were heavy.
But every strike precisely hit Leo's most uncomfortable spot.
In terms of power, the elderly Netero might not even match the current Leo, but combat isn't just about power. Netero's vision and technique were leagues ahead of Leo's.
Ten moves. Twenty moves. Fifty moves.
Leo's offensive grew fiercer, faster, and more ruthless—but every time, it was nonchalantly neutralized by Netero.
Menchi stood in the distance, watching with her mouth agape.
"This... this is too..."
Buhara swallowed and murmured.
"They're not even on the same level..."
Satz's eyes were full of solemnity.
"The Chairman's combat experience far exceeds Leo's. Every move he makes hits Leo's most vulnerable spot—not physical vulnerability, but the nodes of power flow, the moments of center-of-gravity transfer, the openings where old force is spent and new force hasn't yet emerged."
He paused and said softly.
"This is... the methods of a martial arts Grandmaster, the true Peak of technique."
On the battlefield, Leo finally stopped his offensive.
He panted slightly, his chest heaving, his breathing somewhat hurried.
From the start until now, it had only been five minutes.
But his exhaustion was greater than during a normal thirty-minute battle.
It wasn't physical exhaustion, but mental.
Every attack seen through, every exertion interrupted, every change of move predicted—this feeling was like a person throwing punches in the dark, never able to hit the enemy.
Netero stood in place, still in that leisurely posture.
He stretched, rolled his shoulders, and said with a smile.
"Oh? Stopping? I've only just finished warming up, my body hasn't even fully loosened up yet!"
Leo looked up and grinned.
In that smile, there was no frustration, no discouragement, only an even more vigorous Battle Intent.
"Of course not."
He slowly straightened up and moved his somewhat aching joints.
The 'warm-up'... is about enough."
He took a deep breath, his eyes becoming more serious than ever before.
"Next, it's time to get a bit serious."
The moment the words fell— Boom!!!
Majestic Nen erupted from Leo's body like a volcanic explosion!
Golden Nen flames rose and surged violently around him, forming a visible shockwave that blew the surrounding grass flat against the ground!
The air seemed to become viscous and heavy. Menchi and the other two in the distance felt an invisible pressure rushing toward them!
"Hiss—!"
Menchi and Buhara both gasped, forced to subconsciously take half a step back by this powerful Nen Pressure!
Buhara's eyes widened as he murmured to himself.
"So... so strong! As expected of the fierce man who slaughtered the Genei Ryodan!"
Menchi swallowed and nodded involuntarily.
Satz also said in a low voice.
"Just as I thought..."
On the battlefield, the ease on Netero's face finally vanished.
In those seemingly cloudy old eyes, a flash of genuine surprise appeared.
'Oh?' He narrowed his eyes slightly, carefully observing the Nen rising around Leo.
'At this age... to have such a quantity of Nen and Aura... is quite impressive.'
The thought flashed through his mind.
'Biscuit was right. Give him a few more years... and surpassing me will only be a matter of time.'
'It seems...'
Netero slowly stood up straight, and those hands tucked in his sleeves finally reached out.
A deeper, more restrained power, yet one that seemed to contain the vastness of an endless ocean, slowly spread from his seemingly withered body.
There was no ostentatious explosion like Leo's, just a calm flow.
Yet it was like a towering mountain, unshakable, silently neutralizing Leo's violent Nen Pressure into nothingness.
"Come."
Netero raised his right hand and beckoned to Leo.
In those eyes, a light of seriousness finally emerged.