Getting IDs

An absurd sneak attack.

It had come quickly and ended just as quickly.

Mizaistom left with Ankeli.

Of course.

Before leaving, he released Nobunaga from his "restraint."

Although Ankeli kept her head down and said nothing, she readily deactivated her Nen Ability, Punishment of the Judge.

Perhaps, to her,

losing to the "criminals" in her eyes, who were also a bunch of children, was deeply humiliating.

Of course, for the time being,

Ian and the others probably wouldn't see her again.

In his rage, Ian had severely injured her face.

If she couldn't find a Nen user with a healing ability to treat her, it would probably take a long time for her to recover using modern hospital technology alone.

After she deactivated her Nen Ability, Ian and his companions could all clearly feel a sudden sense of relief.

Clearly, before that,

they had all been afflicted with a Debuff without noticing. Perhaps, as more time passed, its negative effects would have fully erupted, clinging to them like maggots on bone.

It had to be said that no Nen Ability could be underestimated.

"They've finally left... Our luck was way too bad..."

"We only took care of a bunch of scum, and somehow we ran into that stickler..."

After they left, Ian breathed a slight sigh of relief. By now, he had very little Nen left.

"Ian, do you know that guy called Miza... stom?"

Nobunaga came over, working his arms as he asked in confusion.

It had to be said.

The man's Nen Ability really was terrifying.

He had been standing right there, unable to move a muscle!

In that state, even if an enemy charged at him and cut him down, he would probably have been able to do nothing but watch and offer his neck for the blade!

"You could say I know him..."

"His name isn't Mizastom, it's Mizaistom. That guy's incredibly strong. At least for now, he's someone we can only look up to..."

"But generally speaking, he won't go back on his word."

"So we were lucky to get his promise this time. Having him teach us is actually a good thing for all of us!"

Ian answered.

Uvogin, who was standing nearby, was a little surprised to hear that.

"Hey, Ian, is that guy stronger than Ron?"

Ian nodded and said thoughtfully,

"I think they're probably about even right now... But in a few years, Ron might be killed instantly if he faced Mizaistom!"

"Seriously!?"

Uvogin and Nobunaga exclaimed in shock.

Ian shook his head helplessly and explained,

"Don't just look at destructive power, idiots!"

"Haven't you two realized that fights between Nen users are all about observation and rules?"

"It's not just a question of who's stronger..."

"Forget it... You two are Enhancers, after all, so you don't really understand Conjurers and Specialists..."

With that, he gave them an example.

"Just like Chrollo said when he tested Mizaistom's ability earlier, Uvogin, Nobunaga, no matter how strong you are, once you trigger the rules of Mizaistom's Nen Ability, you'll be bound by it!"

"In other words... You can't move toward him, and you can't attack him..."

"Once you trigger those two conditions..."

Ian narrowed his eyes and said calmly,

"Even if you have the strength to split a mountain, you'll still be bound and unable to move. Nobunaga, you should know what that feels like."

Nobunaga's face turned a little pale, and Uvogin gritted his teeth and said indignantly,

"That's practically cheating!"

Ian nodded in wholehearted agreement and said with a smile,

"Congratulations, you got it right, Uvogin. Nen users are a group of cheaters to begin with..."

"Whoever can cheat, whoever knows how to cheat, whoever can cheat more subtly and more perfectly—that's who stands out among Nen users..."

At that, his tone grew more serious, and he said earnestly,

"So, you two must never underestimate any Nen user again!"

"No matter how weak they are, as long as their ability happens to counter yours, your advantage will vanish!"

"Don't think you have nothing to fear just because you're Enhancers. I'm telling you two, Enhancement has the least potential. You need ten times your enemy's strength to avoid coming to grief in a ditch, so you'll have to work even harder in your training from now on. Understood?"

The two exchanged a glance, both looking a little embarrassed.

They had thought Enhancement was very strong, but Ian had made it sound utterly worthless, leaving them somewhat dejected.

Ian had said all this both to knock them down a peg and spur them on, and for their own good.

In the original story, as formidable as Uvogin was when he first appeared, his death was just as pathetic.

Kurapika's ability had countered him completely.

He hadn't even managed to use a fraction of his strength.

Though it wasn't really his fault. That was just how Enhancers were: their attacks were too limited in variety, making them easy to counter.

But in this life, Ian was here.

Naturally, he couldn't let Uvogin and Nobunaga, the two closest to him, keep a weakness that others could easily exploit.

The group left Palu's house as originally planned.

Their original plan for the day had been to go out and get their identity information registered.

As people from Meteor City, they had no registered identities in any city outside it. That wasn't a problem yet.

But if they wanted to live outside in the future,

they definitely couldn't do without complete identity information.

They couldn't even board an airship, the main means of transportation between cities.

Naturally, there was no way to register nonexistent identity information through official channels. They needed to find the city's gray area, and as it happened, Uvogin and the others were best at that sort of thing.

At a dim street corner,

Uvogin walked slowly over. A group of young men standing against the wall, their hair dyed all sorts of colors and their eyes full of malice, glared at Uvogin as he swaggered toward them.

"Hey, brat, this isn't a place for you!"

"Brat, got any money? Hand it over now, and I promise I won't beat you up!"

A torrent of foul language followed.

Uvogin ignored them and went straight to throwing punches.

Before long, the street punks were all on the ground, bruised and battered, shouting,

"Hey! Boss, whatever you want to know, I'll tell you! Stop hitting us!"

Uvogin's mouth stretched into a savage grin. He patted the cheek of the one who had originally been the most arrogant and said "kindly,"

"Could you take me to your boss? I want to discuss a business deal with him!"

Seeing Uvogin like that, the man didn't dare say no.

And so, before long, Ian and the others were led into an underground pipe.

It had to be said, burrowing underground perfectly suited a rat's tastes.