Chapter 156: The Singularity of Nen Abilities
At present, Chrollo relied on two main abilities.
The first was external power ... bestowed by Quartz.
The second was his assimilation with the ground, transforming the battlefield into a frictionless field of ice… a transmutation-type technique.
In addition, he used markers.
These allowed him to free his hands and enhance his physical combat ability.
In the original work, Chrollo's marker ability didn't appear until his duel with Hisoka in Heaven's Arena. Therefore, it's hard not to suspect it was developed later. Before that, the Phantom Troupe had faced numerous life-threatening situations, and if this ability had existed all along, Chrollo wouldn't have needed to hide it.
But now, the markers had appeared early ...
and were being used against him.
"A one-on-one duel is true," Haze said, "but since Machi got involved, that was Hisoka's decision. So even if you two team up to kill him, as the referee, I won't say a word."
In the arena, Machi glared furiously at Hisoka, ready to strike, but Chrollo stopped her.
Seeing this, Haze reminded her gently,
"No need… you can go back."
Chrollo glanced at Machi.
"My fun with Hisoka has only just begun."
"Is that so?" he said, staring at his opponent in the distance.
"Hehehe… whatever, you can both come at me," Hisoka said, raising his hands and stretching lazily. "Though I'd hate to see her wither away… given the situation, there's nothing I can do!"
Seeing her captain's serious expression, Machi finally turned and left.
"Let's continue…"
Chrollo smiled faintly, stepped forward, and the battlefield he had created beneath his feet dispersed as he reopened the book and withdrew his power.
He calmly reassured the wary Hisoka:
"Don't worry. Because of power limitations, I can only use that once… so you can attack freely."
Chrollo maintained his composure, just as in the previous round, allowing Hisoka to make the first move.
He had already cornered him ... without giving him any room to counterattack.
"Once there's a first time, there will be a second,"
Chrollo thought confidently.
At this point, the atmosphere didn't feel like a duel between equals anymore. It was as if Hisoka were a subordinate challenging his superior.
"Impressive," Illumi remarked.
A few words and gestures from Chrollo had completely changed the flow of the battle. It's important to know that many factors can affect one's mental state during combat ... and momentum is one of them.
Hisoka's eyes widened as he swung his arm.
In an instant, as Chrollo moved, dark figures lunged at him from all directions ... some corpses, some stone fragments ... all repelled by Hisoka's Nen as he leapt back. Even if the attack had hit, it wouldn't have caused real harm; its purpose was confusion.
Bang!
Before anything could reach him, Chrollo retreated to an open area.
But Hisoka was already there ...
appearing behind him!
He had left that opening on purpose!
Using a strand of "gum" stuck to the ground, Hisoka had pulled himself backward, accelerating instantly. It looked as if he had teleported across space in a flash.
Even if Chrollo had been warned, he couldn't have reacted in time.
Hisoka's seemingly casual stance in the corner was actually camouflage.
He had been using Nen in his feet to stabilize his body.
Otherwise, once that Nen dissipated, his waist ... stretched to the limit ... would've snapped back like a rubber band, throwing him off balance prematurely.
The "gum" he'd attached to the ground, hidden by a corpse, was stretched to its utmost limit.
The Nen thread, extended until it became unnaturally thin, looked as if it might snap at any second ... unbelievable that it could maintain such elasticity.
More importantly, Hisoka's ability to conceal his aura was astonishing.
He had calculated Chrollo's distance and the exact number of steps he'd take. As Chrollo approached, even if he sensed the Nen in the air, there would be no time to react ... because by then, Hisoka had already used Nen to hurl an object, dispelling the Nen at his feet and completing a seamless ambush and strike.
At that moment, Hisoka's plan seemed perfect.
Chrollo, trying to evade while analyzing the situation, was still midair ... completely unprepared for Hisoka's explosive speed ...
and the playing card in Hisoka's hand was already slicing toward the back of Chrollo's neck, ready to decapitate him!
In the blink of an eye, even someone as strong as Chrollo couldn't react ... he only caught a glimpse of Hisoka's distorted grin from the corner of his eye.
"You're too easy to trick…"
At that critical instant, Chrollo smirked.
Then ... the man who was about to be struck vanished ...
replaced by a gleaming blade floating in midair.
The same weapon Chrollo had used earlier.
He had swapped places with it.
With a sharp clang, Hisoka's playing card struck the short sword.
Hisoka narrowed his eyes ...
from the details, he could tell this was not one of the two blades Chrollo had used before!
Bang!
Before he could turn, Chrollo's flying knee smashed into Hisoka's face without a sound.
The tremendous force hurled Hisoka off his feet, launching him straight into the thick mist.
Blood splattered everywhere ...
and the sound of bones cracking echoed through the arena.
Had the blow landed squarely on his neck, Hisoka would've died instantly.
A new ability!
"Coordinate swap?" Haze muttered, raising an eyebrow from afar.
This level of combat relied more on cunning ...
the control of the battlefield and the precision of every movement.
The slightest misstep meant death.
For instance, when Hisoka had used his "Bungee Gum" to pull himself toward Chrollo midair ... at that speed, an ordinary person couldn't possibly land accurately, let alone neutralize momentum and launch a perfect attack.
But Hisoka had used Nen on his feet to anchor himself, and through sheer physical mastery, converted that momentum into a clean, controlled strike.
An ordinary person would've been flung instantly.
Hisoka's plan was solid ... but still one step behind.
The candy he received from Quartz contained inherited Nen power ... the first "ground assimilation" method, capable of altering the battlefield's environment.
It also possessed an enhancement that weakened the combat ability of enemies within range.
And this new Nen ability, "displacement," was perfect for escaping.
"Complete…"
murmured Haze.
In other words, if Hisoka had been in Chrollo's position, he would've escaped the moment he sensed danger. This kind of displacement ability was undeniably hard to counter.
However, the fact that Chrollo hadn't used it before suggested… the ability had limitations.
Judging from Haze's revealed power level, Chrollo believed he wouldn't be able to run away from someone like him.
"A total defeat…"
Haze sighed quietly.
He believed Chrollo still had hidden abilities in his book, and that his true trump card had yet to appear. He wondered whether Hisoka had realized this.
With the marker, Chrollo could use two Nen abilities simultaneously ... not just one.
A ghostly mist spread across the arena as Hisoka stood once more, stepping forward. His face was battered, nearly crimson.
Chrollo smiled faintly, raising one hand to reveal another identical blade in his palm.
"This ability lets me hide a prepared weapon inside my body. My previous attack was just to make you believe I'd hidden it in my clothes. And it seems… you fell for it."
"If it had been poisoned," he added mockingly, "you'd already be dead."
A taunt.
A blatant one ... because Chrollo was telling the truth.
Moreover, his previous attack had been slightly off, giving Hisoka room to breathe. He even revealed and explained his Nen ability mid-fight.
This was no longer contempt ... it was dominance.
"Hisoka's Nen ability is too simple," Illumi commented. "Even with variations, they're still artificial. Fundamentally different from Chrollo's unpredictable diversity."
He realized that even if Chrollo strengthened his Nen, the actual difference in power wasn't large ... but the complexity of his abilities made all the difference.
Hisoka's Nen was limited to one core concept, and while his combat sense and creativity were superb, that simplicity now worked against him.
Without the brute force to overwhelm an opponent, simple Nen was useless.
That's why many Nen users pursue complexity and unpredictability when developing their abilities.
"What should we do? Should we save him?" Illumi asked, glancing at Haze.
"Save him? Why would we? I already said ... he'll die here," Haze replied with a grin.
"You're serious?"
"Of course."
(End of Chapter)