On the battlefield.
The cat girl was having a very rough time, her expression growing increasingly grim.
Not a trace of arrogance remained—only absolute focus.
Because...
Not taking this seriously would mean death!
"Too rigid..."
Aoki suddenly remarked, stepping sideways with perfect precision to predict the cat girl's move. At the same time, his hand shot out like an iron hook, aiming straight for her eyes.
Panicked, the cat girl forcibly aborted her motion, leaning back to dodge.
But Aoki seemed to have anticipated her choice.
His hooked fingers pressed against her chest instead, and with the activation of Ren, his aura surged like a bullet, ready to blast through her heart.
'Bad move!'
The cat girl hastily gathered her aura to defend her chest.
But this left the rest of her body vulnerable.
"That's what I mean—too rigid. Fighting purely on instinct, with no grasp of technique," came Aoki's indifferent voice.
His palm pressed against her chest, using the force to lift his right knee.
BAM!
A devastating knee strike, like a hammer, smashed into the cat girl's temple.
CRACK—
The cartilage shattered.
Her eyes bulged, veins bursting as she was sent flying.
She only stopped when she crashed into a protruding rock, her back crushed against it, damaging her spine.
"Impossible!"
"What kind of joke is this?!"
"How could I lose?!"
The cat girl flailed her claws wildly, trying to fend off any follow-up attacks.
Blood spilled from her mouth, her vision swimming with stars.
If not for the Chimera Ant's monstrous physique, that knee strike would have splattered her brains.
And this wasn't the first time something like this had happened.
'Why?'
'Why can he see through my moves?'
'Why does he always set traps where I least expect them?'
Her mind was in turmoil.
Aoki had been reading her intentions from the start.
And time and again, he had baited her into traps.
Just like earlier—what seemed like an attack on her eyes turned into a strike at her heart, only for the real target to be her head once she shifted her aura to defend.
The blood scattered around? All hers.
From the beginning until now, Aoki hadn't taken a single scratch.
'Damn it!!'
The cat girl gritted her teeth, her mood sinking to the depths.
…
Meanwhile, Kite, watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but smile.
"Is this victory?"
He stared in disbelief at Neferpitou and Aoki.
Cuts were slowly oozing blood from Neferpitou's neck, cheeks, abdomen, arms, thighs, and more.
Her body was also covered in dark bruises.
Her tail was missing—snapped off at the base.
For a feline creature, the tail was a crucial stabilizer!
The fact that Neferpitou had lost hers meant she had been completely overwhelmed in battle!
"And this rookie... isn't even scratched?"
Kite looked at Aoki in astonishment, shocked once again.
In the entire history of the Hunter Association, no Nen user had ever faced an opponent of Three-Star Hunter caliber right after awakening their aura.
To Kite, Neferpitou was undeniably a threat that only a Three-Star Hunter—and one specialized in combat—could handle.
"This is absolutely a genius."
Kite's eyes gleamed with admiration as he murmured, "With proper training, could he become the next Chairman?"
"No... the realm of the strongest Nen user is too distant."
"But reaching the level of the world's top five Nen users? That's entirely within expectations!"
Kite's own mentor was one of those five—Ging Freecss.
He mentally compared Aoki to Ging.
And instantly, Kite reached a conclusion.
Aoki could absolutely reach Ging's level!
By then, the world wouldn't have five top Nen users—it would have six!
...
"This is amazing!"
Perched on a tree, Gon beamed with excitement.
Even from a distance, he could tell Aoki had the upper hand.
"You're gonna win, newbie big bro!" Gon cheered.
...
On the battlefield.
Aoki walked slowly toward Neferpitou, his steps measured, his expression unreadable.
His aura swirled around him, rising and falling with each breath.
This effortless mastery put immense pressure on Neferpitou.
'He just awakened his aura, yet he's this skilled already?'
'Damn it!'
'Only the King should possess such talent!'
Neferpitou gnashed her teeth, glaring hatefully at Aoki.
The brief respite had allowed her to recover somewhat—the stars in her vision were gone, and her dizziness had faded.
But the bloodshot streaks in her eyes remained.
The capillaries in her sclera had ruptured entirely from that earlier knee strike.
"Warm-up's over."
Aoki regarded Neferpitou coldly. "Time to send you off."
Huh?
Neferpitou's jaw dropped in disbelief.
What kind of joke was this?
That was just a warm-up?
"Stop spouting nonsense!" She laughed mockingly, refusing to believe it.
That fight had clearly been all-out.
She had already gauged this human's strength and speed—only a quarter of hers!
But his combat skills, instincts, and perception were all superior.
That was why he had dominated her.
"If you still had power left, you could've killed me six times over when I fell into your trap!" Neferpitou sneered.
"But you didn't!"
"That proves this is all you've got!"
As she spoke, a sudden realization dawned on her.
Her lips twisted into a savage grin as she rasped, "I get it now."
"You're out of stamina, aren't you? Trying to bluff me?"
"Is this human bravado? Hahahaha!"
The Catgirl burst into laughter, convinced she'd seen through Aoki's weakness.
It made sense—humans were such fragile creatures, their stamina utterly lacking. After fighting her at full strength for so long, he should be exhausted by now.
"Looks like I'll be the one winning in the end," Neferpitou chirped, leaping up with a wide, excited grin as she fixed her gaze on Aoki.
After all, she still had over half her stamina left!
In response, Aoki remained expressionless, offering no explanation.
***
If you like the fic so far, you can read advance chapters in my P*treon: pa*re on . com / Aarvan (remove the spaces)