Seven Nen users died just like that.
Although their strength was quite ordinary, the ease with which they were dispatched made Kalluto momentarily dazed, flashing back to the scene before they stormed the mansion's courtyard.
—--
In the forest, Morrow stripped the clothes, gloves, and boots from the corpse of a forest ranger.
"What are you doing?"
Kalluto watched Morrow's actions in confusion.
Listening devices and other communication equipment had already been found and destroyed.
He didn't understand why Morrow was stripping the corpse.
"They'll be useful later."
Morrow didn't even look up as he spoke.
Hearing this, Kalluto didn't press further immediately, silently waiting for Morrow to finish before asking, "What use do these clothes have?"
"They can trick people."
Morrow took off the tracksuit Illumi liked so much and changed into the ranger's clothes instead.
Kalluto grew even more puzzled.
Seeing Morrow change into the ranger's uniform, his first thought was that Morrow intended to disguise himself to infiltrate the mansion.
But he dismissed that idea the next second.
They had already launched a full-frontal assault; there was no possibility of stealth now.
Just as Kalluto was lost in thought, Morrow handed the tracksuit over to him.
"Kalluto, you can shape paper into a human form, right?"
"I can, but I'm not skilled at it."
Kalluto answered honestly.
Morrow nodded slightly, unsurprised.
Given Kalluto's age, establishing the foundation of his Nen ability was already impressive; it was hard to expect comprehensive mastery at this stage.
"It's fine. With clothes and boots as 'containers,' the difficulty of control will be reduced."
Morrow held the clothes in one hand and pointed at the boots and gloves on the ground with the other.
Manipulators bordered the Emitter type, so some less talented or less diligent Manipulation-Type users would cut corners in developing their abilities.
For example, by using external objects to fix the shape of their aura.
What Morrow wanted was for Kalluto to use his paper manipulation ability and the clothes to create a decoy.
The forest rangers here, likely to guard against venomous snakes and insects, were practically armored from head to toe in their attire.
This inadvertently worked to Morrow's advantage.
Morrow briefly explained the plan of using the paper figure as a decoy.
However, Kalluto had doubts about the plan.
Still, he complied, manipulating paper to fill the clothes, boots, and gloves, gradually forming a humanoid shape.
"Will this really work?"
Watching Morrow adjust the decoy's clothes, Kalluto couldn't help but ask.
Morrow, with his back to Kalluto, chuckled. "No guarantees, but it's worth a try."
As he spoke, he carefully fitted the mask onto the paper figure's face, then stepped back to inspect it. After confirming there were no oversights, he nodded in satisfaction.
"I believe Nolan's hideout is guarded by well-equipped armed personnel and Nen users, but the Nen users' strength is probably mediocre."
"Mediocre?"
Kalluto almost objected reflexively but reconsidered and voiced his thoughts instead:
"When I took on this job, I looked into the 'Menu' organization. Their influence spans multiple continents. For an organization of this scale, isn't your judgment a bit rash and dismissive?"
"That's exactly the problem." Morrow turned to Kalluto and said seriously, "Because its sphere of influence is so vast, its core forces inevitably have to be dispersed."
When illegal industries involve "Nen," they undoubtedly become even more brazen.
Without corresponding power to oversee them, how could they possibly maintain stable growth? They would have long been devoured by competitors.
Of course, if the Menu Organization's influence were confined solely to the jurisdiction of the Ten Dons' Gambino, that would be a different story.
It was precisely this point that led Morrow to speculate that Nolan's standing forces weren't particularly strong.
Moreover, the exhaustive concealment and defensive measures at Nolan's hideout only added weight to his theory.
"If my speculation is correct, the Nen users stationed around Nolan would most likely rely on the firepower of armed troops to execute tactics like ambushes."
As he spoke, Morrow couldn't help but recall the first Nen user he encountered after his Death Rewind.
Using comrades as bait often yielded significant results.
At the very least, it could provide an advantage in the intelligence war of Nen abilities.
For Nen users entrenched in the underworld, leveraging subordinates as decoys or shields—or even trading their lives for intel—was hardly uncommon.
"Even if my speculation is wrong, this setup could still serve as a 'misdirection.' It's worth a try. Besides... opportunity favors the prepared."
Morrow flashed Kalluto a smile.
Kalluto remained skeptical.
—--
Inside the courtyard.
Kalluto's reminiscence ended, his gaze complex as he silently observed the figure atop the wall.
With just a single preparatory move before the battle, seven Nen users had been effortlessly encircled and eliminated.
Both the process and the outcome aligned closely with Morrow's predictions.
It seemed Nen wasn't the only weapon that could decide a fight.
Kalluto's eyes shifted to the corpses of the Nen users on the ground, and unbidden, he recalled Morrow's words to him that day in the alley.
If he had made preparations, like scattering paper near his assassination target beforehand, would he have suffered such a crushing defeat?
Then his thoughts turned to the two Shadow Beasts whose strength was no less than Morrow's.
How had Morrow defeated them?
Perhaps this was Morrow's true strength...
Kalluto's understanding was quietly shifting.
On the wall, unaware of Kalluto's thoughts, Morrow was only disappointed that these Nen users were around level 20, too low to grant him experience.
But it didn't matter.
His goal today was to eliminate Nolan, once and for all.
With that in mind, Morrow raised his arm, channeling aura to form a basketball-sized Shooting Star.
He then hurled it toward the armed forces in the courtyard.
The Shooting Star weaved through the hail of bullets, reaching the troops before exploding like fireworks.
Instantly, the fragmented remnants of the attack rained down on them, piercing their lives as ruthlessly as a storm of needles.
In mere moments, most of the armed forces lay dead on the ground.
Against an Emitter-type Nen user like Morrow, even the best-equipped troops stood no chance. This was a dimensional strike from Nen.
Not clearing the area from the start was merely to lure those Nen users into the trap.
Now, as long as the remaining obstacles were swept away, then...
"Hmm?"
Just as Morrow gathered Shooting Star in his palm to deal with the remaining armed personnel in the area, he suddenly noticed three Nen users emerging from the mansion.
Luke, Caleb, and Adam stepped past the gate, their eyes immediately landing on the corpses strewn across the ground.
But what shocked them even more were the bodies near the distant wall.
Those were the Nen users usually responsible for protecting Nolan, yet they had been slaughtered so quickly by the intruders.
From the first gunshot to now, barely three minutes had passed.
Truly worthy of the Zoldyck assassins...
Caleb no longer felt drowsy, instantly snapping to full alertness.
After all, the enemy was right in front of them. If he didn't shake off his lethargy now, he might end up dead on the spot.
Adam's smile remained unchanged as he carefully observed the aura around Morrow and Kalluto.
This one's no good, aura output's too weak.
His gaze lingered on Kalluto for less than a second before dismissing him outright.
To profit from his ability, Venture Capital, Adam had to select a competitor with substantial assets—or in this case, high manifested Nen quantity.
Someone like Kalluto, a pauper in comparison, would cause the investment to fail outright if chosen, as Adam wouldn't be able to extract double the returns from him.
That would result in Adam suffering a thirty-day ability seal, effectively rendering him powerless for a month.
Moreover, selecting a competitor required fulfilling two conditions.
First, he had to declare to the target: "You are my next competitor."
Then, under that condition, he had to withstand an attack from the chosen competitor.
In other words, after fulfilling the first condition, he couldn't be struck by anyone other than the competitor, otherwise, the investment would fail due to "breach of integrity."
This was the Limitation of Venture Capital.
Thus, before selecting a competitor, Adam had to avoid uncontrollable chaotic battles as much as possible.
The other one, though... acceptable.
Adam's eyes shifted, and upon assessing Morrow's aura intensity, he made his decision.
While Adam was evaluating his options, Luke stepped forward and addressed the few remaining armed personnel.
"Fall back."
At Luke's command, the surviving guards immediately holstered their weapons and retreated into the mansion without hesitation.
In that brief moment, Morrow and Kalluto scrutinized the three men who had emerged from the mansion.
When Kalluto sensed the manifested Nen quantity radiating from Luke and the others, his expression darkened, clearly feeling the oppressive pressure they exuded.
Strong... extremely strong!
Kalluto instinctively glanced at Morrow. From his angle, he could see Morrow's profile, calm as still water, and his own tension eased slightly.
But in reality,
Morrow was inwardly surprised, far from as composed as he appeared.
He hadn't expected that, aside from the seven Nen users he'd just killed, there would be three more, each even stronger.
"Between Lv.40 to Lv.45..."
Observing Luke's aura, Morrow silently gauged his strength. The dark circles under his eyes, between Lv.25 and Lv.30.
Morrow's gaze swept past Caleb swiftly. For targets with lower manifested Nen quantity, he could assess their levels more quickly.
And this bespectacled one... above Lv.50.
Examining the aura surrounding Adam carefully, Morrow felt a slight tension in his heart.
Apart from the one with dark circles, the other two, judging solely by their manifested Nen quantity, already possessed strength comparable to, or even surpassing, that of the Shadow Beasts.
Especially the bespectacled one, whose Nen intensity was not to be underestimated.
I underestimated the situation.
Morrow sighed inwardly.
The appearance of these three Nen users was an unexpected outcome.
This effectively overturned his previous assumptions.
It seemed the Menu Organization's foundation was far more formidable than anticipated.
Just the defensive forces stationed around Nolan alone included two Nen users comparable to the Shadow Beasts.
Yet...
Even with an opponent whose Nen level exceeded 50, Morrow felt not the slightest urge to retreat.
Precisely because he now recognized the Menu Organization's formidable strength, he couldn't afford to miss this opportunity today.
If he didn't face the challenge head-on, how could he ever overcome it?
If he failed to kill Nolan today, he would never be able to kill Feitan in the future.
Morrow's scattered thoughts gradually dissipated.
As his strength grew, his mindset had been evolving.
In the past, he might have considered relying on external forces to deal with Feitan, such as Kastro and Calista, whom he had temporarily left at Heavens Arena.
But ever since deciding to journey to the Kukan'yu Kingdom, the experiences and growth along the way had taught him the importance of confronting difficulties directly.
At its core, the existence of the Death Threshold not only brought urgency and threat but also served as the driving force that compelled him to push his limits and grow stronger.
This was a pursuit, not an escape.
If he didn't rely on his own strength to kill Feitan, there might come a day when he would fall at the hands of a "second Feitan."
With his thoughts clarified, Morrow instead felt a surge of unwavering fighting spirit.
This fighting spirit naturally radiated through his aura.
But what Morrow didn't know was...
His assumptions had actually been correct.
He had simply happened to encounter the Fingers, who had been dispatched under orders.
And his "Star Mark" had allowed him to locate Kalluto with unprecedented speed, enabling him to execute his plan to assassinate Nolan directly.
Had his execution been slightly weaker, he might not have had to face the Menu Organization's strongest combatants here.
As they say, the world is unpredictable, and this moment was no exception.
Faced with such circumstances, Morrow chose to confront them head-on.
His pure, unadulterated fighting spirit, amplified by his aura, soon swept across the entire area.
Kalluto stood nearby.
As the first to bear the brunt of it, he felt as though he was seeing Morrow in a new light, even catching glimpses of something eerily familiar in him.
Where had he seen this before?
Ah, yes. It was Father's overwhelming presence, an indescribable quality of strength.
Kalluto's heart pounded violently.
Luke, Adam, and Caleb, sensing the aura emanating from Morrow, narrowed their eyes and adopted solemn expressions.
This man... is strong.
Luke's hawk-like gaze locked onto Morrow, whose body thrummed with surging Nen. The overwhelming power they felt did not stem from the intensity of Morrow's aura.
Rather, it came from the oppressive pressure created by his formidable mental strength within the aura.
Hard to disagree.
Even with the 30% boost in aura output granted by Caleb, Adam found himself harboring the faint illusion of being at a slight disadvantage before Morrow.
An opponent capable of exuding such immense pressure could not be judged by ordinary standards.
As this thought crossed his mind, Adam met Morrow's gaze and smiled amiably. "So you're my next competitor."
First ability condition, achieved.