After killing Don Veretti, Victor left the bungalow and returned to his home, where he slept peacefully.
He woke up just three hours later feeling completely refreshed, as his body grew stronger, his need for sleep decreased.
After waking, Victor cleaned himself up, ate his dinner, and walked back toward Heavens Arena.
After entering the Arena, Victor was assigned two matches. He won both effortlessly, as he didn't encounter any opponents as strong as Illumi this time.
With these victories, Victor reached the 100th floor and was immediately assigned his own private room.
Since his previous rented home wasn't safe, Victor decided to move into the Heavens Arena tower permanently.
While Victor was busy climbing the ranks of the Arena, a different scene was unfolding elsewhere. Somewhere in the Republic of Padokea, inside a bungalow in an unnamed city, a man sat in a chair.
He wore a white suit and calmly looked at the man opposite him, who was dressed in black.
Suddenly, he asked, "So, you are saying Veretti is dead?"
The man in the black suit nodded. "Yes, Boss. He was killed in his own home. Along with him, a Heavens Arena fighter who was close to the 200th floor was also found dead."
Hearing this, the man in the white suit stood up and walked to the window, observing the garden.
After a long minute of silence, he spoke without turning around. "Veretti contributed a massive amount of cash flow to our operations. Now that he is gone, many of the plans I prepared will be affected."
He paused, his eyes narrowing. "If someone could kill a fighter that close to the 200th floor, it means the assassin might be a Nen user."
After thinking for a moment, he gave a cold command. "Find out everything Veretti did before he died. Do not overlook even the smallest detail."
Hearing this, the man in the black suit said, "Yes, Boss." He then bowed and left the room.
The man in the white suit remained by the window, watching the garden in silence.
A few days passed quietly. The man in the white suit was reviewing files when he heard a knock at the door. "Come in," he called out.
The door opened and the man in the black suit returned, this time carrying a folder. The man in the white suit gestured toward a chair. "Sit down."
The man sat and opened the folder. "Boss, this contains the details regarding Don Veretti's death."
As the man in white began reading, his subordinate pointed to a profile. "This is Nacho, Veretti's confidant.
His body was not found at the house, so he has likely escaped. Our investigation confirmed that Veretti had threatened Nacho's family some time ago."
He continued, "It appears Nacho trapped Veretti by suggesting he recruit a fighter from Heavens Arena. When the fighter refused, Veretti sent two 150th-floor fighters, Abel and Kane, to kill him."
Instead, they were killed by the target. Two days after that incident, Don Veretti was found dead."
The man in the white suit turned the page and saw a photograph of twelve-year-old Victor. "So, this child is the killer?"
"Yes, Boss. He is the most likely culprit," the subordinate replied. "He killed not only Veretti but every professional fighter the Don sent after him."
The man in white stared at Victor's photo, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the table.
Tap, tap, tap.
After fifteen seconds, he stopped. "Does he know Nen?"
"No, Boss," the man replied hurriedly. "He has yet to learn it."
The man in white paused, his eyes cold as he looked at the photo. "First, bring me Nacho. And then..." He paused for five seconds and he looked at victor photo and said
"Send a Nen user and Bring me this kid's head."
"Understood, Boss," the man in the black suit said before leaving the room.
A few days passed quietly.
During this time, Victor had been fighting steadily, climbing without distraction until he finally reached the 190th floor.
After winning his matches, Victor left Heavens Arena. As he walked out, many people pointed at him. During his climb, he had become so popular that a small fan club had even formed. Seeing people trying to crowd him, Victor immediately ran away and vanished into the city.
A safe distance away, Victor stopped to grab a burger. As he ate, he checked his bank passbook and saw a long string of zeros. His total earnings had reached 165 million Jenny.
Suddenly, Victor felt a spike of intense danger. He ducked forward just as a loud "BOOM" echoed. A small crater appeared in the pavement where he had been a split second before. Victor realized that if he hadn't reacted, he would have been hit. He scanned the panicked crowd, but before he could spot the shooter, he felt another threat and jumped.
"BOOM!" Another crater appeared where he had just been standing.
Victor began sprinting toward a quiet area to lure the shooter out. But before he could get far, a gunshot rang out, and a bullet pierced his thigh.
The impact at high speed caused Victor to lose his balance and crash through a shop window.
He slowly stood up from the rubble, his leg throbbing with intense pain. Blood oozed from the deep wound.
Victor was confused; normal bullets shouldn't be able to pierce his skin so easily. Only armor-piercing rounds should do this, but the sound had clearly come from a revolver.
At the same time, he felt his aura fluctuating wildly. It felt as though his pores were opening even further under the stress of combat.
clop
clop
clop
clop
Victor heard the sound of boots and focused. A man in a black suit, holding a revolver, walked toward him.
The man aimed, and Victor dived to the side. The man fired at the empty space, but suddenly, Victor heard a "swoosh" sound from behind.
Before he could react, the bullet seemed to curve in mid-air and hit his lateral abdomen.
Victor crashed onto the road but he stood up immediately, ignoring the pain. He tore his T-shirt and quickly bandaged his wounds to stop the blood loss.
The man approached again. This time, Victor didn't run; he charged forward to force a close-quarters fight.
The man gave a strange smile and threw a punch. Victor's instincts screamed, and he backed away just in time.
The man immediately pointed his gun and fired again. The bullet pierced Victor's deltoid, but Victor stayed focused.
The man thought, 'I've hit him three times and he's still standing? Insane. I need to finish this.' He pointed his gun toward the sky, beginning to charge a massive amount of aura.
Victor didn't give him the chance. He pulled out his knife and threw it with all his strength.
Before the man could react, the blade struck his skull. The revolver dropped to the ground as the man collapsed.
Victor had stopped the attack just in time, Suddenly his vision blurred, and he fell. Just before losing consciousness, he felt someone picking him up and heard a voice, "Teacher, do you think he can be saved?"
After hearing those words, Victor blacked out.
Ten Minutes Earlier
A tall, blonde woman was walking with a young boy who wore glasses. Suddenly, they heard the sound of gunshots.
Immediately after, they saw Victor sprinting at high speed, followed by a man running in the same direction.
The boy, Wing, watched the direction where the man had disappeared. The woman standing beside him said, "Let's go, Wing. Let's watch some fun."
"Yes, Teacher," the boy replied. Together, they followed the man, stopping some distance away to watch Victor's battle. They remained hidden until Victor finally killed the man.
As soon as the fight ended, they released their Zetsu, but before they could reach Victor, he collapsed to the ground. Seeing this, the woman and the boy hurried over to him and picked him up.
Wing looked at Victor's condition and asked, "Teacher, do you think he can be saved?"
The blonde woman did not answer immediately. Instead, she observed Victor and said, "He only lost consciousness because of the blood loss, but his body is incredibly solid. He took those Nen-infused bullets and could still run."
She then picked up Victor's knife and noticed the aura lingering on the blade. After examining it, she looked at Wing and said, "Let's go."