Chirp, caw-
The shrill cries of some bird echoed through the dark forest.
However, under the cover of the waterfall's sound, the piercing bird calls barely registered.
By the rushing river, in a sparse grove of trees-
Hisoka was lying on the ground in the forest, which was covered with grass and dead leaves.
His face was swollen like a pig's head, looking both pitiful and slightly ridiculous.
But compared to the injuries on his face, the rest of his body was unharmed.
"Hmm-?!"
Hisoka's eyes suddenly snapped open, and then he jumped up from the ground like a fish, instantly steadying himself.
But soon-
It felt as if his earlier battle with Moses had been nothing more than a seemingly brief yet strangely prolonged dream.
However, Hisoka quickly determined that this was not a dream.
Because of the severe yet familiar discomfort on his face told him everything.
Even without a mirror, he could guess exactly how he looked right now.
"I thought..."
Realizing what had happened, Hisoka's eyes narrowed into slits.
Just as he was halfway through his words, a voice laced with teasing came from the darkness nearby.
"Thought I'd kill you?"
The voice said.
Hisoka turned his head in surprise and looked in the direction where the voice came from, only to see Moses emerging from the dim light, carrying two plump mountain rats.
It was indeed as Moses said, the moment Hisoka lost consciousness, he had mentally prepared himself for death.
But the reality was that he had woken up, and all his injuries had been healed.
Hisoka stared at Moses, who was gradually approaching, not hiding the puzzlement on his face.
"Stop staring."
Moses came closer and casually threw two mountain rats to the ground, saying helplessly:
"Isn't it a good thing to be alive? Why do I see that your reaction doesn't seem to be the slightest bit grateful for surviving a disaster, but instead seems to want to open the coffin lid and lie back down? Whatever... from today onward, your obsession should be over."
"…"
Hisoka fell silent after hearing this.
On the surface, his fixation on Moses was about enjoying battles with strong opponents.
But fundamentally, he had always been the challenger, striving to conquer the mountain that was Moses.
But reality is so cruel.
No matter how strong his obsession is, no matter what price he was willing to pay…
Only in front of the huge mountain that was Moses can he feel a sense of powerlessness that is enough to make his soul tremble.
Hisoka didn't care about losing.
But when something was labeled 'impossible', then, just as Moses said, it was time for him to let go of this now-unattainable obsession.
'No chance of victory... no matter what?'
Hisoka thought dejectedly in his heart.
He had once believed he would never feel something as pathetic as despair. But now, he realized it was simply because he had never experienced this kind of indescribable defeat before.
Moses glanced at the silent Hisoka and said nothing more, instead starting a fire nearby.
In fact, when Hisoka was defeated and lost consciousness, Moses had briefly considered killing him.
Though the thought had been fleeting...
In the end, Moses still couldn't bring himself to do it.
After all-
In a certain sense, Hisoka had once been a comrade-in-arms who fought alongside him, a useful tool who had helped him on numerous occasions, and most importantly, the 'leek' that had brought him the most rewards.
So Moses didn't fulfill Hisoka's wish of 'defeat equals death', and even took out Black Clay to heal Hisoka's injuries.
"By the way."
While skinning the mountain rats, Moses suddenly remembered the Black Clay he had used on Hisoka.
"You probably haven't used up the Black Clay I gave you before, have you?"
He paused his work and glanced at Hisoka, who was still silent.
Back when they ventured to the Dark Continent, they had taken enormous risks. In return, they had brought back some unique treasures that could only be found there.
Of course, the spoils were divided equally among the entire team.
But due to personal preferences, some teammates chose certain items while others picked different ones.
For example, Biscuit had no interest in anything else and only took a pile of uncut gemstones.
As for Hisoka, he wasn't particularly interested in these things either, so in the end, he chose something more practical like Black Clay.
What Moses was asking about now was the portion of Black Soil that had been allocated to Hisoka back then.
Hearing Moses's question, Hisoka looked over, and although he remained silent, he nodded in response.
"Oh, good. You still have it."
Seeing this, Moses smiled, then stretched out his blood-stained right hand towards Hisoka and said seriously:
"Then return two arm's worth of Black Clay to me, plus... well, the amount used on that area is negligible, so just two arm's worth will do."
"…"
Hisoka's cheeks twitched a few times, and he felt that his face had never hurt this much before.
Seeing that Hisoka didn't say anything, Moses raised an eyebrow and said, "Hey, why are you acting mute? This isn't like you. Don't tell me you're planning to skip out on the debt?"
"…"
Hisoka was left speechless.
Today, he had truly been silenced by Moses.
…
Moses had earnestly fulfilled his promise with Hisoka.
He thought that this final battle could completely put an end to Hisoka's obsession.
As a result, before they parted ways, Moses discovered that Hisoka's 'fighting spirit' showed signs of resurfacing.
Still, Moses couldn't be bothered to dwell on it.
This time, he solved the Calamity that was attached to Hisoka, and also fulfilled the long-overdue promise. So now, he was rushing home without delay.
Hisoka watched quietly as Moses left.
Even though Moses's figure had disappeared from his sight for several hours, Hisoka's gaze remained fixed in that direction.
Why had his fighting spirit reignited?
Because Moses had casually said something to him:
"Hisoka, there's no need to be so disheartened. With my strength, I might very well be the strongest in the world. So, losing to the world's strongest is only natural, isn't it?"
The strongest in the world…
It was these words that brought Hisoka out of his depressed and decadent state.
He didn't know how Moses had reached the pinnacle in such a short time.
But his perspective was simple-
Since Moses could do it, then others also have the opportunity to do it.
And so, Hisoka wanted to keep chasing.
Even if he suffered another crushing defeat, it didn't matter.
But until then, he wouldn't recklessly challenge Moses again. Instead, he would devote all his energy to growing stronger.
For that-
He is willing to be Moses's 'apple'.
…
On the airship home, Moses received a message from Beans.
The content of the information is roughly that Netero had begun to seriously take care of his body in order to 'take on the challenge'. Although the results were promising, the doctors' judgment remains the same.
Even if Netero recovered exceptionally well, in terms of strength, his strength would, at most, return to 80% of his prime...
Moses quietly put away his phone.
It was nighttime.
In the corridor outside the airship's bar.
Two well-dressed, seemingly refined men in suits strolled down the corridor.
There was a gentle Aura surrounding them, making it obvious that the two are Nen Users with comparable strength.
Now-
These two Nen Users pushed open the bar's door and walked into the bar with smiles on their faces.
Then, their eyes slowly swept over the guests around them, as if they were looking at group of enticing prey.
In this world, there are many extremely secretive underground black websites.
These websites are basically gathering places for a group of people with peculiar hobbies.
And these two gentlemen in suits are users of these black websites.