Hisoka thought that if he could actually kill him, taking his head to Chrollo might even earn him a seat as an honored guest in the Phantom Troupe. Joining would likely be a simple matter of approval.
Especially since the Phantom Troupe was currently missing not only Number 4, but Number 11 as well.
Unfortunately, Hisoka was destined for disappointment.
The Nen on Luo Ning's body shifted into [Ken]. He reached behind him and drew the short blade he carried on his back.
He was serious about his disguise.
A young Kakashi was also an expert in using ninja blades; after all, his father, White Fang, was a master of the sword.
Hisoka's gaze narrowed. He flicked a playing card directly at Luo Ning.
Luo Ning's Sharingan clearly saw the pink Nen attached to that card.
Hisoka used [In] to hide the thread of Nen connecting his hand to the card, and further applied [Shu] to the projectile to make it even sharper.
It seemed this guy's mastery of basic Nen applications was already flawless.
Luo Ning made a quick assessment. Simultaneously, he coated his short blade in [Shu], easily slicing through the playing card mid-swing.
During this process, however, Hisoka's Nen stuck to the blade.
Hisoka's finger twitched slightly. He yanked on the long strand of Nen, attempting to snatch the short blade directly from Luo Ning's hand.
[Bungee Gum]—this was Hisoka's Transmutation-type Nen ability.
He could give his Nen two properties: the elasticity of rubber and the stickiness of glue. Combined, they shared the nature of a specific snack: chewing gum!
"Hmm?" Hisoka let out a confused sound.
Despite pulling on the Nen, he hadn't taken the blade from Luo Ning's hand. In fact, he saw that the blade didn't budge an inch under his pull.
'He saw through my trick!'
The moment this thought surfaced in Hisoka's mind, Luo Ning's arm moved.
A power far greater than Hisoka's pull erupted from Luo Ning's arm. Simultaneously, Luo Ning's other hand, which wasn't holding the blade, prepared to strike from his waist.
It was the starting stance for the Big Bang Impact.
This ultimate move, originally belonging to Uvogin, was highly effective. After Uvogin's death, it had become Luo Ning's own specialty.
Drawn by the massive force, Hisoka's body was pulled rapidly toward Luo Ning.
'He didn't choose to proactively sever the Nen connection. He must have other plans!'
Luo Ning's gaze fell on Hisoka's fist, which was also tensing at his side.
'A head-on collision?'
The Sharingan's insight allowed him to see Hisoka's Nen flowing toward his fist.
But in Luo Ning's view, this was clearly not a wise move.
The moment they closed in, their fists struck simultaneously!
Boom!
Accompanied by the faint sound of cracking bone, Hisoka's figure was sent flying backward. However, Luo Ning's body also lurched forward, following the retreating Hisoka.
At the point where their fists collided, a layer of pink Nen had appeared!
It was Hisoka's Nen.
At the same time, Luo Ning noticed that the playing card he had sliced in half suddenly bounced off the ground as he lunged forward, shooting toward his back.
There was still hidden Nen on those pieces.
Luo Ning let go of the short blade in his hand as he lurched forward, reaching for the small pouch at his waist.
In the next instant, two senbon were fired from it, striking the playing card pieces directly.
The senbon pierced the cards and pinned them to the wall behind him. The momentum of the cards continued briefly, but they stopped less than two meters away from Luo Ning.
It turned out that while the senbon pierced the cards, they also struck the residual Nen Hisoka had left on them.
[Bungee Gum] was stuck to the senbon, which were now firmly embedded in the wall.
The elasticity of that thread of Nen was impressive, but it had a limit.
Pinned to the wall and stretched two meters behind Luo Ning, it had reached its breaking point.
A second later, [Bungee Gum] snapped, and the playing cards continued their flight. But by then, Luo Ning had already brought his raised foot heavily down onto the floor.
Enormous power exploded beneath his foot. The floor of the building couldn't withstand such a heavy stomp and shattered instantly.
Luo Ning plummeted downward, while the playing cards struck the debris kicked up by the collapsing floor.
The flying Hisoka crashed into a wall. His arm exerted sudden force, pulling back his aching fist in an attempt to use the Nen attached to it to drag the falling Luo Ning back up.
However, his eyebrows shot up. He found that the pulled Nen snapped back toward him instead.
The opponent had severed the [Bungee Gum] attached to his fist the very instant he fell!
'How did he do it?'
Hisoka scanned the surroundings but didn't see the short blade.
The weapon must have fallen with Luo Ning when the floor collapsed.
The Nen on Hisoka's body rapidly expanded into [En]. He moved, leaping to the side just as a short blade thrust out from the ground where he had been standing.
If he had been a step slower, that blade would have surely skewered his foot!
'He's a ripe fruit. Interesting!'
Hisoka retreated several times, pulling out more playing cards and throwing them in all directions. The moment he stopped, he stomped the ground just as Luo Ning had done. The floor shattered, and Hisoka dropped down after him.
A short blade streaked through the falling debris, aiming directly for his heart.
Simultaneously, a distinct bang reached Hisoka's ears.
Hisoka jerked both hands tight during the descent. His falling body came to an abrupt halt, and Luo Ning's blade whistled past, narrowly missing him.
However, blood sprayed from Hisoka's thigh.
It was caused by a Nen bullet Luo Ning had fired using the attack style he copied from Sydney, striking the outside of Hisoka's leg.
Yet, as the blood splattered, even more stones shot toward Luo Ning from above in an irregular pattern.
Playing cards were hidden behind those stones!
Luo Ning swung his short blade, retreating quickly, but he felt the blade growing heavier as more and more Nen attached to it.
Even with the Sharingan's powerful dynamic vision, some pebbles or cards managed to graze Luo Ning as he retreated.
Though they only left small nicks on his arms and legs, it made Luo Ning's gaze grow more solemn.
His retreating figure stopped at the stairs.
He tossed the short blade aside. It was covered in too much of Hisoka's Nen. Even if he used Lightning Release Chakra to shake it off, it would take too long. He couldn't clear it as instantaneously as he had when he briefly activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode to strip the Nen from his fist while falling.
Hisoka landed on the ground. He didn't continue the assault; instead, his gaze settled on the Nen thread that had been present on Luo Ning's left hand the entire time.
He hadn't gone all out, and likewise, his opponent was clearly holding back a trump card.
"What is your name?" Hisoka lightly brushed his hand over his own fist. The swollen area immediately returned to normal.
"Hatake Kakashi." Luo Ning gave the name of his disguised identity and then turned, leaping down the stairs.
At that moment, the sound of footsteps came from above. Members of the mafia had discovered the fighting inside the building and were rushing over.
Hisoka frowned slightly. He didn't linger either, nor did he continue to pursue Luo Ning.
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