Nolan was extremely ambitious.
As an underworld syndicate, there were criminal enterprises, some they should touch, some they shouldn't, all within Nolan's grasp.
The late Thumb Retona had overseen smuggling and viral research.
Middle Finger, the dark-eyed man Caleb, managed narcotics, from production at the source to distribution and sales, a complete vertical operation.
Ring Finger, the gaunt man Adam, controlled all industries related to the "human body," including organ trafficking, blood supply, and even the business of the Table.
Little Finger, the young man Luke, Nolan's adopted son, was responsible for casinos and loan sharking.
And finally, Index Finger Amanda specialized in fraud.
Yet, due to her flamboyant methods, she had drawn the attention of a Blacklist Pro Hunter on her way to Nolan's mansion.
Bushidora Ambitious.
A Blacklist Pro Hunter currently striving for Single Star status, a self-proclaimed prestigious Disciplinary Committee Member of the Hunter Association.
Had Morrow been here, he would have recognized Bushidora.
If asked why, it wasn't because Bushidora had made a name for himself in the future Election Arc, nor because he had teamed up with two other Star Hunters to restore the glory of the Pure Paladin Squad.
Rather, it was because Bushidora was one of those rare, ill-fated characters in the original story.
He made a grand entrance as a fierce Martial Artist, only to exit unceremoniously in the Election Arc without even a single panel dedicated to his death.
Now, driven by his professional instincts, Bushidora had set his sights on Amanda, who was involved in a massive fraud case.
For a criminal whose guilt was already undeniable, Bushidora had no intention of conversation. The moment he entered combat, his aura surged like a roaring tiger.
Boom.
Bushidora stomped the ground, charging straight toward Amanda, who stood behind a headless mannequin, his aura raging violently.
Along the way, limbless mannequins shattered into pieces as he barreled through them.
Faced with Bushidora's Enhancer-style frontal assault, Amanda merely took a step back, her heavily made-up face twisting in disgust.
"Persistent, brutish, and uncouth, men like you make me sick."
Before the words even faded, Amanda flicked her wrist. In the dimly lit clothing store, a trail of deep red aura flashed.
The headless mannequins scattered throughout the shop suddenly ignited with flame-like red aura.
Only those missing limbs remained motionless.
"Die if You Don't Love Me"
This was Amanda's Manipulation ability.
Any entity with a complete human body, once she removed its head, would fall under her absolute control.
Amanda believed that so-called "love" meant absolute obedience.
She tolerated no defiance. If it existed, it was nothing but tainted love.
And if she was forced to accept such tainted love, she would remove the "subject's" head, sincerely hoping that the headless body would become far more compliant.
This Manipulation ability should have only worked on living humans.
But Amanda's twisted ideology had granted the ability an unexpected degree of flexibility. She seemed to believe that as long as her desired conditions were met, there was no difference between a living human and a cold mannequin.
This was also why Amanda had chosen this location for the confrontation when options were limited.
The headless mannequins in the store had all become entities that "obeyed her every command."
So...
Under the influence of Nen, the mannequins had gained the flexibility and agility of human joints and muscles.
Tap, tap, tap...!
In an instant, all the headless mannequins shrouded in red aura within the store lunged at Bushidora with the posture of sprinters, frenzied and wild.
An ability to manipulate mannequins...
Seeing the headless mannequins swarm toward him, Bushidora remained calm, exuding the confidence of an Enhancer in offense and defense.
He showed not the slightest hint of retreat, maintaining his charging stance.
One headless mannequin struck first.
Bushidora merely waved his hand, and with a single palm strike, shattered the mannequin into four or five pieces.
Average strength.
From this result, Bushidora gained a basic understanding of the mannequins' durability.
He surmised that Amanda had enhanced the mannequins' flexibility and agility at the cost of their structural integrity.
This was putting the cart before the horse.
If the goal was to maximize the flexibility and agility of the controlled targets, she should have directly controlled humans instead of choosing mannequins and sacrificing their inherent strength.
This is why you'll lose!
Like a raging bull, Bushidora plowed through the oncoming headless mannequins, toppling them all.
In mere moments, the clothing store was littered with shattered mannequin remains.
Amanda stood at the very back, her smile gone, watching expressionlessly as Bushidora destroyed one headless mannequin after another.
Soon, only the single headless mannequin in front of Amanda remained, while the others had been obliterated by Bushidora's relentless assault.
With the destruction of the mannequins, Amanda could reclaim the dispersed aura and pour more of it into the last remaining headless figure.
Headless, intact torso.
Bushidora glanced at the scattered mannequin debris and gradually discerned the conditions for her control over them:
They had to be headless and have intact torsos.
Now, only the one headless mannequin in front of Amanda was left.
Though he had his suspicions, Bushidora still used Gyo on the chaotic mess of mannequin fragments as a precaution before proceeding.
The result confirmed that aside from the headless mannequin before Amanda, none of the others on the ground bore any trace of aura.
Having verified this, Bushidora abruptly charged toward Amanda, who was only five or six meters away.
At that moment, the headless mannequin in front of Amanda suddenly moved, intercepting Bushidora's advance.
Bushidora's eyes flashed as he gathered aura into his fist, then delivered a swift, decisive punch to the headless mannequin attempting to grapple him.
Crack.
With a crisp sound, the red aura enveloping the headless mannequin instantly dissipated, and its body shattered into pieces.
But at the same exact moment, not far from Bushidora's feet, a limbless mannequin suddenly exploded, revealing a twisted, headless human body dressed in a security guard's uniform.
The headless corpse, hidden snugly inside the mannequin, had a smooth, wax-like cut at the neck, as if coated with a transparent gel.
When Bushidora smashed the mannequin with a punch, the headless body shot out like a cannonball, slamming hard into the small of her back.
"Guh...!"
Having concentrated her aura into her fist for the attack, the sudden assault disrupted her defensive aura, leaving her vulnerable. The impact forced blood from her mouth.
She was sent flying sideways, shattering the glass window before tumbling onto the hallway outside.
—--
But Bushidora immediately propped herself up on her elbows, her eyes trembling as she stared back into the clothing store.
A twisted human corpse had been hidden inside the mannequin!
Because of the mannequin's outer shell, she hadn't been able to use Gyo to detect the aura concealed within.
But the bigger issue was that she had misjudged the situation.
This woman's ability worked on both mannequins and humans!
Bushidora's face paled, her fighting spirit draining away like a receding tide.
In this situation, the only option was to flee.