Motive

He had not known that a power like Nen existed, but he had been able to keenly sense its traces...

Calista had only sensed the power of Nen after fighting Moro and seeing him use her Gazelle Step.

As for Kashi Toru, he had simply observed that Moro seemed to be wearing an invisible suit of armor in battle, or perhaps a wall that blocked every attack from his opponent.

He believed it might be some kind of energy originating from within the body.

He knew nothing about it, yet he yearned for this unknown power that could greatly enhance one's fighting abilities.

So, following his heart, he had come rather abruptly and stated his resolve without beating around the bush.

Moro looked at Kashi Toru, then at Calista.

To be honest...

Compared to Calista coming to find him, Kashi Toru's arrival surprised him more.

This man, who should have been tempered by Hisoka in the future before dying at Hisoka's hands, had actually come to him of his own accord to learn the secrets of Nen ability.

Could Kashi Toru's action, born from his true feelings, have inadvertently broken through his own Death Node?

Of course, that was contingent on Moro being willing to teach Kashi Toru Nen ability.

And there was no guarantee that Kashi Toru would not still catch Hisoka's attention in the future.

However—

Moro's gaze suddenly settled on Kashi Toru.

He was fully capable of helping Kashi Toru avoid his future Death Node. The only difference was whether he was willing to do it.

If he taught Kashi Toru Nen ability here in advance, would that count as stealing Hisoka's apple?

Seeing Moro stare at him without saying anything, Kashi Toru immediately put on a resolute expression.

He was not actually the type to pester someone endlessly. He also knew that Heaven's Arena was filled with remarkable people, so even if Moro rejected his request, he could find another way.

But he had already set his sights on Moro and was mentally prepared to persist for a while longer.

Seeing that Moro and Kashi Toru had locked eyes, Calista immediately grew anxious.

She had clearly arrived first!!!

In her haste, Calista completely forgot about manners. She reached out, grabbed Moro's arm, and said urgently:

"Mr. Moro, I'm willing too... I'll agree to any request, and besides, he's a man. There are some things he can't do!"

"?"

Question marks immediately seemed to appear over Moro's and Kashi Toru's heads as they both looked at Calista.

Calista came to her senses and nearly suffocated from embarrassment. She quickly let go and explained, "I meant things like cooking and laundry."

"Heaven's Arena has laundry rooms that stay open twenty-four hours a day. As for cooking..."

Kashi Toru smiled at Calista and said gently, "I have a chef's license. I should be able to meet most of Mr. Moro's needs."

"..."

Calista looked at Kashi Toru in disbelief.

Kashi Toru looked back at Calista, maintaining his gentle smile, but his eyes made it clear that he would not yield.

Invisible sparks burst where their gazes met.

Both of them came from martial arts backgrounds. They understood the importance of being a master's final disciple, and they knew even better the value of one-on-one instruction.

That was the root of their conflict.

Calista had never expected someone to suddenly appear out of nowhere, much less that he would state his purpose and determination so decisively.

In the end, she had been too careless.

Now that she had lost the initiative, she went all out.

"But you don't have breasts."

Calista thrust out her chest.

The smile on Kashi Toru's face instantly froze.

Beauty would only affect the speed of one's punches.

That was why Kashi Toru had no interest in women.

Yet as he narrowed his eyes and examined Calista's appearance, putting aside his personal preferences, this woman's looks were not bad.

And because she had practiced martial arts for years, her figure had lost some softness but gained cleaner, more striking lines.

For the moment, he could only look at Moro with some hesitation.

After all, he knew too little about Moro. He really did not know whether Moro might, because of...

"Let's talk after I finish my next match."

Moro did not respond to either of them. Leaving behind those words, he headed for the contestants' lounge.

Kashi Toru understood propriety. He immediately suppressed his concerns and said nothing more.

Calista instinctively wanted to say something, but when she saw Kashi Toru watching Moro leave like a devoted wife, she forcibly shut her mouth.

"I was here first!"

Once Moro was out of sight, Calista frowned at Kashi Toru.

Kashi Toru slowly shook his head.

"During the preliminaries, when you attacked Mr. Moro, you injured your own hand instead. Thanks to you, I noticed Mr. Moro. What I mean is... I was there that day as well. I ought to thank you."

"!!!"

A vein bulged at Calista's temple.

Contestants' lounge.

Moro sat in a chair, deep in thought.

Should he teach Kashi Toru Nen ability?

He was considering the matter.

Although he had come up with the idea of the Fruit Farmer Plan after arriving at Heaven's Arena...

He did not consider himself the kind of utterly heartless, refined egoist.

Even if he wanted to personally cultivate apples, he would have to choose the sort of person he would feel no psychological burden exploiting.

Someone like Taegol, for example.

Moro had always believed that people could lower their bottom line, but they could not have no bottom line at all.

Judging from the original story, Kashi Toru's nature should not have been bad. Moro did not want to use the Fruit Farmer Plan on him.

While he was thinking, it was time for his next match.

Setting the matter aside for now, Moro headed to the arena and began his twentieth match since arriving at Heaven's Arena.

The venue was still packed to the brim.

Almost every spectator had come to witness Moro's ascent to the 200th floor.

That was right.

In the eyes of the spectators, even though the match had yet to begin, they had already decided that Moro would win.

Because Moro had never disappointed them.

And that was indeed the case.

Moro easily defeated his opponent and earned his pass to the 200th floor.

Watching Moro's figure on the ring, the spectators were flushed with excitement as they shouted Moro's name with all their strength.

It was not entirely because Moro had helped them win quite a bit of money...

They had gained a certain kind of spiritual satisfaction from the matches.

Moro listened to the cheers pouring in from every direction, as though they might overturn the entire venue.

When he had first arrived in this city, he could not understand such near-fanatical atmosphere and enthusiasm.

But on the day of the preliminaries, when he watched two master martial artists fight to the death without holding anything back, his own blood had stirred as well.

So he could somewhat understand how they felt.

Surrounded by countless cheers, Moro walked toward the contestants' passage.

This place called Heaven's Arena was merely one corner of the entire world.

Yet it allowed him to experience one of life's flavors that should not be missed.

And the world was so vast—

So live well.

As expected, Moro saw Kashi Toru and Calista on the only route leading to the 200th floor.

"Come with me."

Moro left behind another sentence before walking toward the elevator.

This time, he had given them an answer.

Upon hearing this, Kashi Toru and Calista could not help glancing at each other.

The next moment, both of them sharply turned their heads away and refused to look at the other.