'Buzz'
As the explosion roared through the air, a whistling sound followed. Under the enhancement of Nen, Illumi's Nen-infused needles completely ignored the RPG blast, piercing through the explosion's smoke and speeding towards Yamcha with undiminished momentum.
They were fast, but Yamcha's reaction was even faster. With a simple sidestep, he effortlessly dodged the three incoming needles.
"So even ordinary nails, when enhanced with Nen, can possess such immense power?"
"This makes me want this kind of power even more."
Looking at the Nen-infused needles deeply embedded in the floor, Yamcha felt a growing admiration for the versatile and powerful nature of Nen. While Ki in the Dragon Ball world was indeed formidable, it lacked this kind of additional effect.
"Illumi, I'm warning you. If you and Killua continue attacking Yamcha, I will disqualify both of you."
Only at this moment did the black-clothed referee finally issue his warning.
But it was meaningless.
Illumi didn't care.
Whoosh!
At that instant, a small figure burst through the smoke from the explosion, charging directly at Yamcha at extreme speed. The surrounding smoke did nothing to obscure his vision.
It was Killua.
"Got him."
Illumi thought expressionlessly. His goal was to get Killua disqualified while eliminating Yamcha. After receiving the referee's warning, he stopped attacking himself and instead controlled Killua to continue the assault.
In his eyes—and in the eyes of most onlookers—Yamcha was merely a character who relied on modern firearms. He had some skill, but nothing special. Illumi had absolute confidence in his younger brother's close combat abilities. If Killua got in close, Yamcha would have no way to survive.
A bowman facing an assassin in close quarters? The outcome was obvious—the bowman would be slaughtered.
Apart from Netero, who had likely seen through some of Yamcha's disguises, only Hanzo felt that Yamcha was anything but simple.
The others believed Yamcha was doomed.
When it came to sheer combat prowess, Killua's strength was unquestionable. His performance in the exam had been among the very best.
However, just as Killua was about to strike, Illumi suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. A chill ran down his spine, and cold sweat seeped out.
The last time he felt like this was long ago—when he was injured during a mission.
As the eldest son of the Zoldyck family, Illumi had honed his senses to an extreme degree. Even the so-called "sixth sense" was something he might have developed.
Could it be that Killua was defeated?
Illumi didn't have time to think. He immediately pushed off the ground to move.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A series of grenade explosions erupted where Illumi had just been standing. The massive fireball engulfed half the arena, sending heat waves rippling through the air.
When the smoke finally cleared, everyone could see Yamcha standing with one hand raised in a choking motion, his eyes glowing.
Killua, on the other hand, was frozen mid-air, completely immobilized.
A simple yet effective Nen technique—telekinetic locking. The principle was straightforward: Yamcha had lifted Killua into the air using Nen, preventing him from touching the ground. Unless he could step on his own foot and levitate himself, there was no way to break free.
Meanwhile, Yamcha's other hand was also raised—pointing exactly at where Illumi had been moments ago.
It turned out that Yamcha had used his Nen to silently maneuver grenades behind Illumi, pulling their pins without him noticing.
Floating around Yamcha were numerous grenades, forming a deadly minefield.
His Nen was now exposed—his second layer of disguise had been lifted.
The reactions of the spectators shifted dramatically.
Netero remained unfazed, while Hanzo and Lippo looked as if they had expected this outcome. Leorio and Kurapika, however, were completely astonished.
"What an interesting apple."
"I really want it... But unfortunately, he still doesn't know Nen. I'll wait."
Hisoka covered his mouth with a playing card, his bloodlust barely contained.
Injured?
Illumi touched the scratch on his shoulder from the grenade's blast and narrowed his eyes at Yamcha, his gaze growing colder. A deeper, more chilling aura than Hisoka's emanated from him.
He had underestimated Yamcha.
And worse—he had allowed himself to get hurt.
"Killua has been disqualified. Illumi, cease your actions immediately, or we will consider this an act of defiance against the Hunter Association."
The black-clad referee issued his final ultimatum. Several examiners moved in, surrounding Illumi. Even if they knew they weren't his match, they couldn't allow him to continue disregarding the Association's authority.
"Forget it."
Just when everyone thought Illumi would attack again, he suddenly changed his tone and withdrew.
"I don't want to waste any more energy."
"I advanced, and Killua lost his qualification. That's enough."
His eyes were lifeless. No one knew what he was thinking.
Seeing that Illumi truly had no intention of continuing the fight, Yamcha finally released Killua and said, "I'll pay double the price to hire the Zoldyck family to assassinate my enemy. That way, you won't have to worry about an unfinished job, and you'll get double the reward."
Yamcha didn't believe for a second that Illumi would let things go. He was likely just backing off temporarily after realizing Yamcha wasn't an easy target.
If Illumi went all out, Yamcha would at least have to reveal his martial artist abilities, which he wasn't ready to do.
There were too many valuable things in the Hunter world—just as many as in Doraemon's world.
So Yamcha decided to solve the problem at its root.
"Good idea!"
Illumi clapped his hands in agreement. "Then Killua can take care of it on his way home."
Hiring the Zoldycks was always a double-edged sword. If you hired them, your enemies could hire them too. As long as different members executed the contracts, there was no issue.
"Let's go home. Mother is waiting. Remember, you're an assassin. You have no friends, and you don't need friends. You only need to follow Father's and my orders. Your only joy comes from killing."
"Oh, and before heading home, stop by Yorknew City."
Illumi whispered something to Killua, who nodded blankly and walked away from the arena, ignoring Leorio's frantic shouts.
Without removing Illumi's control needle, Killua would never be free.
"That'll be 20 million Jenny. Card or cash?"
Yamcha handed Illumi a card.
"There's 1 billion Jenny on this card. If anyone hires you to kill me, I'll pay double to kill them instead. Deduct the cost from this card, and if it's not enough, come find me."
"!!!"
Yamcha may lack many things, but money isn't one of them.
And soon, he'd have even more.
(End of Chapter)
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