A side note... It seems all the Hunter x Hunter fanfics on Tomato have been axed. I took a look at other Hunter fanfics written by other authors, and the readership numbers have plummeted, with only ten or twenty thousand readers left. Mine hasn't fared any better.
It might be because the current arc I'm writing isn't very good, and the current readership is miserable...
— — Divider — —
Zeno heard Leo's confident and arrogant words, but did not answer directly.
"Young people are truly full of vigor."
He rotated his shoulders, his bones making a faint clicking sound.
If his grandfather, Maha Zoldyck, were to join in, Netero would not let them off easily.
He didn't want to be bothered by that old monster; whenever the Zoldyck Family ran into him, they were always the ones on the receiving end of a beating.
Of course, he wouldn't tell Leo this.
"It seems this commission will be quite troublesome. I also feel like the pay is too low."
He took a step forward and walked toward Leo.
Sliva followed by his side, the two walking shoulder-to-shoulder at a steady, measured pace.
The air around them became heavy, and an invisible sense of oppression surged forth instantly.
Sliva spoke without turning his head.
"Dad, this guy is an Enhancer."
"His body is extremely powerful, and his punches carry immense force. Be careful when engaging him."
Zeno snorted.
"Hmph, you're underestimating me too much. My bones aren't that decrepit yet."
Though they spoke lightly, both their expressions turned serious.
Zeno's eyes were no longer squinted; they were wide open, revealing the sharp pupils beneath.
Sliva's jaw tightened slightly, his breathing deepened; every inhalation felt like he was gathering strength.
Watching the two approach, Leo pulled one hand out of his pocket, waved at them, and grinned.
"Let me witness the strength of the Zoldyck Family!"
The moment his words fell, the Nen of all three erupted simultaneously.
Zeno and Sliva's Nen flowed across their bodies, forming a dense defense.
It wasn't the flashy, sky-piercing kind of eruption, but rather an introverted, steady, and rounded power polished over decades.
Leo was different.
A golden aura surged from his body, rising to the sky like a burning sun.
The ground beneath his feet couldn't withstand this power; it cracked outward with him as the center, the fissures spreading like a spiderweb. Gravel was swept up by the shockwave, shredded into pieces in mid-air.
The powerful aura instantly enveloped Sliva and Zeno, causing both to pause simultaneously.
A flash of surprise crossed Zeno's eyes.
It wasn't because of how strong Leo's Nen was—he had seen stronger. When that old guy Netero exploded with his full power during his Peak, it was even more exaggerated than this.
But Netero was an old monster who had lived for over a hundred years; it took decades, even a century, to accumulate that kind of Nen capacity.
This young man before him was only in his early twenties.
At this age, with this kind of capacity, he had never seen anything like it.
"A truly astonishing capacity, enough to make one hesitate!"
Zeno's voice carried a hint of genuine admiration.
"It seems there's a possibility we might end up meeting our demise here today."
He lifted his head slightly, not looking back, his voice as calm as if he were discussing a mundane matter.
Although the capacity was extremely astonishing, the outcome of a battle didn't depend solely on Nen capacity.
"Sliva, assist me. If there's an opportunity later, it doesn't matter if you kill me along with him. Don't worry about me."
Sliva's reply was short and crisp.
"Understood."
In the next instant, the three moved.
Zeno was the first to close in on Leo.
His speed was astonishing; Zeno kept his five fingers together, his palm forming a blade, thrusting directly at Leo's throat.
Leo didn't dodge; he blocked with his left arm. With a dull thud, both retreated half a step.
Sliva cut in from Leo's right side, his fist wrapped in thick Nen, smashing toward his ribs.
Without even looking, Leo pressed his right hand downward, catching Sliva's wrist perfectly.
Sliva was quick to react; he flipped his wrist to break free, then took the opportunity to drive his knee toward Leo's lower abdomen.
Leo lifted his left leg, his shin bone colliding with Sliva's knee, resulting in another dull thud.
Leo didn't budge, while Sliva was jarred back two steps, his knee feeling faintly numb.
Zeno continued the assault.
He used both hands simultaneously, his left hand striking at the eyes, his right hand clawing at the heart, his movements so fast they left afterimages.
Leo tilted his head, separated his hands, and slapped Zeno's wrists.
"Clap! Clap!"
With two crisp sounds, Zeno's hands were swatted away.
Yet he didn't withdraw; instead, he used the momentum to turn and slam an elbow strike toward Leo's temple.
Leo raised his elbow to meet it. The two elbows collided, and a shockwave exploded from the center, causing all the gravel on the surrounding ground to jump up.
At the same moment, Sliva appeared behind Leo.
He seized the opportunity, timing it with extreme precision—Leo had just collided with Zeno, his center of gravity was unstable, and his old force was spent while his new force had yet to generate.
He lifted his right leg and swept a kick toward Leo's lower back.
A pincer attack, coordinated exceptionally well.
But Leo's reaction was faster.
He extended his left hand, steadily blocking Sliva's kicking right foot.
Sliva's foot struck it, and Leo didn't budge an inch.
At the same time, he tilted his head slightly, and Zeno's hand blade grazed past his earlobe.
Having missed, Sliva immediately retreated.
His footwork was fast and steady; in the blink of an eye, he retreated three meters away, giving Leo no chance to counterattack.
Zeno did not retreat.
He thrust his hands out alternately, increasing in speed; his hand blades left afterimages in the air.
Every strike pointed toward Leo's vitals, and every strike was trickier and more vicious than the last.
Leo dodged amidst his continuous hand blade attacks.
His movements were small, without any large-scale displacement.
He simply tilted his body slightly, swayed his head gently, and shifted his feet with small steps—
Each time it was just right, each time it was perfect.
Zeno's hand blade, which was enough to pierce a person through, grazed Leo's clothing every single time.
The fierce palm wind blew the hair on his forehead, yet it could never touch him by even a fraction.
Zeno's attacks became faster and denser, but that young face remained just a few inches in front of him, yet he could never reach it.
It had been a long time since he encountered an opponent like this—someone who didn't rely on brute force to resist, but on precise judgment and instinct to neutralize every single attack.
Sliva attacked again.
He circled to Leo's side-rear, his right fist gathering a large amount of Nen.
He targeted the split second when Leo was dodging Zeno's hand blade—
In that moment, Leo's center of gravity shifted slightly to the left, creating an extremely brief opening in his right-side defense.
That opening lasted only a fraction of a second, but it was enough for Sliva.
He smashed his fist down, aiming directly for Leo's heart from behind.
Leo didn't turn around.
His "En" was always active; every one of Sliva's movements was within his perception, clearer than what his eyes could see.
He didn't dodge; instead, he instantly mobilized his Nen— "Gyo" circulated on his back, Nen surging from his entire body to the location being attacked, increasing his defensive power several-fold in that instant.
"Bang!"
Sliva's fist slammed into Leo's back, emitting a dull, thunderous sound.
Sliva's pupils contracted slightly; he knew very well how powerful his own fist was, and he hadn't expected it to have absolutely no effect.
The recoil traveled back along his arm, numbing the web between his thumb and index finger.
Leo was completely unharmed.
He didn't even turn around; he simply used the force of Sliva's punch, leaned his body slightly forward, and raised his hand to throw a punch at Zeno.
This punch had no charge-up, no preparation; it was thrown using the recoil from the moment he was struck, yet the speed was still astonishingly fast.
Zeno couldn't dodge in time and raised his hands to block in front of his chest.
"Bang!"
Zeno was knocked back several meters by Leo's punch, his feet plowing two shallow furrows in the ground.
Subsequently, he twisted his waist to generate force and kicked his right leg toward Sliva's chest.
The speed was extremely fast, the wind from the kick tearing through the air and emitting a sharp whistle.
Sliva's reaction was also very swift; he crossed his arms to block in front of his chest, Nen condensing into 'Ko' on his arms.
"Bang!"
The kick landed solidly.
Sliva felt a massive force transmit from his arms, his entire body lifting off the ground as he flew backward.
He flew over ten meters away, adjusting his posture in mid-air.
Upon landing, his feet plowed two long ravines into the ground before he could barely stabilize himself.
His arms were slightly numb, and the web of his hand ached faintly.
Sliva stood on the spot, staring at Leo, his gaze becoming unprecedentedly heavy.
He didn't rush up rashly again, but instead circled on the periphery, waiting for an opportunity to act.
Leo's attention returned to Zeno.
Zeno's hand blade attacks continued, the speed not slowing down, the force not weakening, but Leo's dodging became increasingly composed and effortless.
He was even able to spare attention in the gaps between dodges to observe Sliva's movements, judging the timing and angle of his next attack.
Watching this scene, Sliva felt shock surging in his heart.
He had seen Leo before.
That was at the Shiririko Auction House, when he was still fighting desperately against the Phantom Troupe.
At that time, Leo's strength was passable, but the current him was completely different.
"He is truly not simple..."
Sliva thought to himself, his voice very low, low enough that only he could hear.
"He always dodges Dad's attacks at the critical moment, while simultaneously paying attention to my movements and launching counterattacks. His skills... compared to that time, have improved tremendously."
He looked at Leo's young face, watched him weave through Zeno's storm of attacks with composure, and watched the faint, elusive smile at the corner of his mouth.
Although he already had some understanding of him, he was still very surprised.
He was worthy of being Netero's Disciple.
Zeno's hand blade finally slowed down.
Not because he was tired, but because he knew there was no point in fighting like this.
His attacks couldn't land, and even if they did, they couldn't break through his defense; Sliva's sneak attacks were also ineffective.
He withdrew his hands, took a step back, opened up a distance of ten meters, and re-evaluated the young man before him.
Leo did not pursue.
He stood on the spot, his breathing steady, without even a drop of sweat on his body.
He looked at Zeno, then glanced at Sliva in the distance, the smile on the corner of his mouth deepening.
"What, is the warm-up over?"
Zeno did not answer; he raised his hands, bringing them together in a cup shape, and Nen surged toward his hands.
Watching Zeno's movements, the smile on Leo's face faded a bit.
He knew that the real battle was only just beginning.