"Secondly, according to the intelligence sent by Hall, that Guzman whom Young Master has been keeping an eye on is suspected to have deeply infiltrated the upper echelons of the V5 nations, especially Kakin,"
Tsubone frowned and said, "According to what Hall saw with his own eyes, he spotted him at the birthday banquet of the Kakin Empire's First Prince, Benjamin Hui Guo Rou. At the time, he was having a very pleasant conversation with the First Prince, and their relationship did not look simple."
Kakin... The Three Sacred Treasures... The Seed Urn Ceremony... Roy finished the last piece of steak on his plate. Through [Shared Vision], he cast a faint glance at Hisoka, who had emerged from the street, hands in his pockets, slowly strolling toward the church.
An image autonomously surfaced in his mind: a man with a strong military aura, a stern and rugged face, followed by a bizarre Nen Beast resembling a fly with numerous compound eyes. His personal Nen ability, [He Who Inherits the Stars], allowed him to completely inherit the Nen abilities of his deceased subordinates, growing limitlessly... It inevitably made Roy think of the Path of [Faith].
It made him think of [Seize] and [Deprive]!
"You're too late. The person... has already arrived."
"Who?"
Roy lazily pulled out a napkin and slowly wiped his mouth. "Didn't you just say his name?"
"That guy..."
"Hisoka Morow!"
Tsubone's expression turned stern. She turned her head to look out the window. The night was deepening, the thick darkness dotted with a few stars, accompanied by a bright moon shedding its sly moonlight...
Meteor City.
Kastro stood in a cleared, spacious courtyard in front of the church. Through the moonlight, he stared intently at the end of the street, his eyes narrowing as his body tensed!
'A Nen user?'
'And it seems... not just an ordinary Nen user...'
'Young Master told me to retreat... which means this person comes with ill intent!'
His aura nodes vibrated, and as his Nen surged, he stood ready to strike. With his back to Roy, Kastro said, "Young Master, please allow me to be willful this once. I would like to test him."
Roy's clone, [Taiyi], whose once black hair now looked as if it had been dyed by frost and snow, entirely silver, held a scripture and silently chanted, "Praise the Sun."
He turned his head and cast a faint glance at Hisoka, who had already entered the courtyard. A red light flickered in the depths of his eyes, seeing through the opponent's true strength...
Roy then glanced at a transparent owl perched on his shoulder... The [Monster Encyclopedia] slowly unfolded...
Roy's profound gaze emitted a dark gleam. In an instant, through the owl's round pupils, he peered deep into the void...
Kakin Empire, Royal Palace. Inside a luxuriously magnificent hall, a man in full military uniform sat with his chin resting on his hand. Below him stood two rows of private soldiers, seven on each side, their faces stern and unsmiling. He was calmly listening to a green-haired young man explaining something beside him. At a certain moment, the man raised an eyebrow and, through the giant screen in front of him, locked eyes with the silver-haired boy in the pale church.
Just then, Guzman's voice rang out, "Hehehe... Your Highness, I told you, that guy is extraordinary."
"He discovered us just like that. It seems I have won."
"Reward him." A suitcase of money was casually tossed at Guzman's feet as the First Prince of the Kakin Empire, Benjamin Hui Guo Rou, waved his hand dismissively.
Guzman's green hair swayed slightly. Without even glancing at the suitcase of money at his feet, he smiled and said, "I made this bet with Your Highness solely to prove that Roy Zoldyck is no ordinary person..."
Guzman cast a disdainful glance at the private soldiers lining both sides, men Benjamin had carefully selected and meticulously trained. "He is no worse than these pieces of trash Your Highness has cultivated. In fact... he is stronger than all of them combined. He would make the most perfect nourishment for Your Highness."
Inside the hall, fourteen gazes suddenly stabbed toward him like knives...
Benjamin's dozen or so private soldiers reacted—some glaring, some narrowing their eyes, some clenching their fists, and others hiding their hands in their sleeves, forming knife-hands as they calmly waited for something... A moment later, Benjamin turned his head, glanced at Guzman, and asked, "And then?"
"Anger the Zoldycks and be hunted down for assassination for the rest of my life?"
"Your Highness is exactly right." A private soldier stepped forward. He was around forty years old and had served in the Kakin Empire's military, rising through the ranks from private, platoon leader, company commander, battalion commander, regiment commander, all the way to brigade commander. He was the most senior veteran who had followed Benjamin Hui Guo Rou the longest, practically watching him grow up. Stepping out from the crowd, he said, "I refuse to believe that an underage boy could be all that strong. But this [Church of Truth]!"
The old brigade commander narrowed his eyes, glaring at Guzman, and coldly snorted. "You people haven't just contacted His Highness. You've also been in touch with Morena, the Xi-Yu family... as well as several V5 nations like the Minbo Republic and the Kukan'yu Kingdom. I'll ask on His Highness's behalf right now... what exactly are you trying to do?"
"Kill!" Guzman was concise and candid. "Kill everyone in the Zoldyck family!"
"Even if it means gathering all the power in the world to do so!"
"Absurd!" The hall suddenly fell silent, followed by the old brigade commander and many other private soldiers practically laughing out of anger as they requested, "Your Highness, I, Grant, I, Gaspar, I, Colin, request that this absurd charlatan be expelled from the royal palace! The [Church of Truth] must not be allowed to continue preaching in Kakin!"
One by one, the private soldiers stepped forward, uniformly placing their right hands over their chests and dropping to one knee...
Inside the hall, upon the throne, Benjamin Hui Guo Rou looked down from his high vantage point at Guzman, the only one left standing. Watching him quietly, he asked, "What do you have to say?"
Guzman remained unmoved, a cold, mocking smile forming on his lips. "I stand by my view."
The old brigade commander couldn't hold back anymore. He abruptly raised his head, glaring dangerously at him. "What do you take Kakin for? So what if it's a powerful family? Could they possibly contend with an entire nation?"
"Guzman, don't forget, no matter how strong a human is, they cannot withstand a nuclear strike!"
There was a difference between the [Mortal] and [Nen]. The power of a [Nen] user was beyond the imagination of ordinary people... But in the face of a nation's mighty power, even someone as strong as Meruem couldn't withstand the Poor Man's Rose, let alone anyone else.
However... there were some things... some objects... some people, and even some [Calamities] that simply could not be measured by common sense...
For example, the Five Great Calamities, the wish-granting entity, or perhaps... a [Demigod], or even... a [God]!
"Foolish creatures!" Guzman simply ignored the numerous private soldiers led by the old brigade commander. He merely straightened his back and addressed Benjamin Hui Guo Rou, "Nuclear bombs are not omnipotent. Whether or not a human can withstand one, Your Highness, I believe you should be well aware."
Benjamin Hui Guo Rou fell silent...
Seeing him resting his chin in his hand without speaking, the old brigade commander and the others tactfully kept their mouths shut, even though they wanted to retort.
They faintly sensed that something was amiss. After a long while...
He looked glamorous and sexy. The top he wore, adorned with playing card patterns, looked somewhat similar to Ribery Garcia's, though the style was simpler and far less exaggerated, making it much more convenient for... combat!
*Tap... tap...*
"Excuse me, is the Father home?"
Pointy jester boots stepped right in front of Kastro. The magician leaned in close, asking Kastro with a grinning face. He spread his arms, and with a *swish*, he stretched a deck of playing cards out like an accordion. The sharp Nen aura attached to them made Kastro's eyes narrow, and then... his fighting spirit ignited!
"If you want to test him, then do it." A faint voice raced against time, drifting into Kastro's ears with the wind... Having received Roy's permission, Kastro's white hair fluttered as he explosively unleashed the [Ren] he was still currently training. Blazing flames could faintly be seen within it—the very manifestation of Flame Breathing!
"Whether he's home or not, haven't you already seen for yourself?" The young man stared Hisoka right in the face. Just like their life-and-death struggle at the Heavens Arena in the original story, it seemed destined that they would clash. He took a step forward with his right foot, blocking Hisoka's path.
*Swish, swish, swish...* The playing cards, coated in Nen, danced at Hisoka's fingertips like butterflies weaving through flowers... After undergoing the [Divine Protection], the young magician's strength had not only leaped forward compared to the original story, but he had also gained an added air of divinity. He was both bewitching and holy, a bizarre and contradictory fusion... His eyes narrowed into crescent moons as he smiled...
"Hehehe, don't misunderstand. I... am here to confess to the Father..."
Confess? Kastro didn't yield an inch. "It's late, and the Father needs to rest. If you want to confess, you can come back tomorrow."
"And what if I say I must do it today?" Hisoka's lips curled up into a V-shaped smirk. Before he could even finish his sentence, a sudden gust of wind from a punch shot straight toward his face!
He tilted his head and nimbly took a step back, dodging the attack!
*Bang!* The flame-wreathed fist, though unable to fly through the air like Roy's slashes, had already allowed Kastro to master [Externalization] under the dual enhancement of Flame Breathing and Nen, invisibly increasing the range and breadth of his attacks!
It grazed past Hisoka's hair and struck the wall behind him dead center, instantly leaving a fist-sized hole!
*Sizzle...* A faint smell of burning began to spread...
Hisoka tilted his head to look at his own hair and reached up to pat out the sparks. With another glance, a dangerous, bright gleam suddenly shot out from his narrow, slit-like eyes. With a flick of his wrist, he sent a playing card flying, slicing rapidly toward Kastro's throat!
*Whirrr...* The playing card, coated in Nen, was the exact application of [Shu]!
The face of the card displayed the Joker, its red nose seemingly mocking Kastro as it arrived in the blink of an eye!
Having his first punch dodged, Kastro coated his eyes with a thin layer of [Nen], immediately utilizing [Gyo]. Instead of retreating, he advanced, throwing another straight punch angled upward. It knocked the playing card away mid-flight and fiercely aimed for Hisoka's chin!
This punch carried traces of the Tiger Bite Fist, as well as traces of Flame Breathing · Second Form · Rising Scorching Sun. Combined, a hazy image of a fierce tiger wreathed in roaring flames unexpectedly materialized, letting out a roar to the heavens as it lunged straight at Hisoka with its bloody maw wide open.
This suddenly made Hisoka's brow furrow in concentration before he smiled excitedly... "Hehehe... [Enhancement]?"
What a sharp fist technique!
And that peculiar breathing method... The magician clapped his hands together and pulled them apart vertically, instantly stretching out a thin membrane. He looped it right over the neck of the fierce tiger. Just like how he defended against Gotoh's Nen-infused coins in the original story, he used the powerful elasticity granted by [Bungee Gum] to forcefully catch the blow.
However, the sheer force dragged him backward several meters, leaving two long skid marks in the small church courtyard!
"What immense strength this boy has!" In the Kakin Empire's Royal Palace, inside the luxuriously magnificent hall where First Prince Benjamin Hui Guo Rou usually resided,
The old brigade commander, Grant, captured this scene through the projection of the [Champion Owl] perched on Hisoka's shoulder. His pupils repeatedly reflected Kastro's punch, which fused Flame Breathing and the Tiger Bite Fist. Being exceptional at martial arts himself, he, just like Hisoka, immediately noticed that Kastro's breathing rhythm... was very unusual!
Coupled with the fact that his [Enhancement] affinity allowed him to exert one hundred percent of his physical strength... it was only natural that Hisoka was knocked back by a single punch.
'It's only to be expected.'
"Hmm... find out what his name is." A sudden order from Benjamin Hui Guo Rou came from the throne. Immediately, a private soldier responsible for intelligence gathering accepted the command and exited the hall.
As he brushed past Guzman, he shot him a subtle glare.
Illuminated by his green hair, [Spiritual Morphine] Guzman's attention wasn't on the soldier at all. His eyes were glued to the screen, a solemn light shining in his flickering pupils...
'By the Truth! In the end, just like that traitor Zigg Zoldyck, he has stepped onto the Path of [Faith]!'
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