Under the cover of darkness, Moses closed his Aura Nodes and entered Zetsu state.
Plunging the plaza into darkness didn't just amplify Ging's disadvantage from blocking his hearing, but also allowed Moses to restore his stamina and Potential Aura through Zetsu: Resurgence.
Killing two birds with one stone.
Ging noticed that Moses had closed his Aura Nodes, so he immediately followed suit and also closed his Aura Nodes, entering Zetsu state too.
Both of their presences vanished into the darkness.
At this time, Ging's disadvantage of not being able to hear anything became an even greater liability.
Unless he was willing to gamble on the chance that Moses wouldn't use Ring Chime in the dark.
'What to fear isn't the ability itself… but its user.'
Surrounded by the silent darkness, Ging thought silently in his heart.
An ability like Ring Chime, which reversed body commands, was hardly a threat to a top-tier Nen User like him.
The real problem was that this ability was in Moses's hands.
Just the way Moses seamlessly combined it with the Conjuration trait of instant conjuration and dismissal was enough to give Ging a headache.
'No rush. Time is on my side.'
Despite the unfavorable situation, Ging remained calm and composed.
In the darkness, there was only silence.
Time ticked by, second by second.
In Zetsu state, both sides moved with extreme caution.
Ging shifted his position and slowly approached the location of the flame-like Aura.
Suddenly, several sharp bursts of Aura shot toward him from the darkness.
Ging noticed it and all the Aura Nodes in his body opened up instantly.
Whoosh-
In the blink of an eye, solid Aura enveloped his entire body.
With the enhancement from his Aura, Ging leaped backwards.
Just at this moment, several Nen Spheres bombarded the ground of the plaza.
Boom, boom, boom!
Multiple Nen Spheres exploded on the ground, their explosive force shattering the tiles and sending debris flying in all directions.
Ging steadied himself and quickly turned his gaze in the direction where the Nen Spheres was coming from.
But all he saw was darkness.
Click, click, click-
Countless tiny fragments of stone scattered across the ground.
However, with his hearing almost completely blocked, Ging did not notice Moses quietly scattering these small pebbles in the dark.
Soon after,
the scattered sounds disappeared.
The plaza fell into complete silence once more.
Ging remained on high alert.
Just as he was considering his next move, he suddenly felt a strong sense of crisis.
'Behind me?'
Ging's eyes narrowed slightly, and without hesitation, he spun around and crossed his arms in front of him.
In the darkness, Moses threw a straight punch directly at Ging's arms, which he had raised just in time.
Bang!
A dull impact echoed.
A tremendous force surged through his arms, and Ging, who blocked hastily, staggered back several steps from the blow.
But by the time Ging's gaze swept over, Moses had already closed his Aura Nodes again and vanished completely into the darkness.
"Hmm?"
Unable to lock onto Moses's position, Ging instead immediately noticed the faint sensation beneath his feet.
Though barely perceptible, Ging quickly realized-
It was gravel.
And there are quite a few of it.
The next moment, Ging suddenly realized something.
The densely scattered bits of gravel were likely deliberately placed by Moses.
And the purpose, of course, is to keep track of his movements.
For both sides, the sound of stepping on these small stones would reveal Ging's position to Moses, but when Moses stepped on these pebbles, Ging cannot hear the sound.
This was the critical advantage of hearing in the darkness.
'He's really pressing me at every step...'
Before Ging could think further, another attack came from the darkness.
But this time, it was no longer a fist, but a powerful Nen Bullet.
It tore through the air, shooting straight for Ging's face.
Ging looked up at the Nen Bullet, and steady Aura surged throughout his body. Then, he raised his hand, and with his precise and precise control, he directly slapped the Nen Bullet away.
However, Moses's ability to switch between erasing his presence and launching attacks was too fast, so after blocking the attack, Ging only barely caught the faintest trace of Moses's fleeting Aura.
But even if Ging detected these clues, he was in a disadvantageous situation and had no capital to take the initiative to launch an attack.
If nothing changed...
He'd be toyed to death by Moses.
Realizing this, Ging suddenly removed his earplugs and then charged toward the flame-like Aura in the distance.
'Since my position would be exposed no matter how I moved, I might as well not hide.'
With this thought in mind, Ging suddenly went all out and rushed towards the flame-like Aura, which is his key to turning the tables.
In the darkness.
Moses could clearly hear the continuous crunch of gravel underfoot, so he opened his Aura Nodes without hesitation, and instantly saw the overwhelmingly vivid Aura radiating from Ging.
Without any pause, Moses rushed into Ging's path at top speed, then threw a preemptive punch aimed at his chest.
Seeing the fist coming, Ging abruptly stopped. Then, he raised a hand to deflect Moses's arm, redirecting the punch.
However, Moses seamlessly bent his arm inward, stepped forward, and hit Ging's chin with his front elbow.
When Ging heard the sound of breaking air caused by the change of moves, he swiftly leaned back, dodging the elbow strike. At the same time, he swept a leg toward Moses's lower body.
But before his counter could land, the all-too-familiar sound of wind chimes rang through the darkness.
However, Ging's reaction was extremely fast. The moment he heard the sound of the wind chimes, he issued opposite movement commands to his right foot that had kicked out, intending to neutralize the effect of Ring Chime.
However-
The reverse limb movement command he sent didn't cancel the ability's effect as expected. Instead, it made his right leg kick backward for real.
By the time Ging realized something was wrong, it was already too late.
His right leg jerked backward, forcing him into an awkward half-split.
Before he could recover, Moses's fist slammed squarely into his stomach.
Bang!
Ging, who was hit hard by the sudden blow, hadn't figured out what was going on before he was sent flying by Moses once again.
This time, the damage was even worse than the punch to his face from before.
"What are you doing? Suddenly showing off your splits?"
Moses watched Ging flew out and said in a teasing tone.
He was actually not sure whether Ging had taken off his earplugs, but that didn't stop him from shaking the wind chimes of Ring Chimes.
That's right.
Not the initial spinning motion to activate the ability, but directly shaking the wind chimes on the outer ring.
Therefore, even if the sound of wind chimes rang out, it wouldn't disrupt Ging's movements.
But in the heat of battle, it could mislead Ging's judgment.
Using the characteristics of Ring Chimes, Moses tightened the pressure, widening Ging's disadvantage further...
This was the difference between having a Nen Ability and not having one.