Let's Have a Proper Talk

On the way back to Heavens Arena, Oboro wore an amused expression.

The street and crowds before him suddenly twisted and blurred within his field of vision.

Someone was following him, brazenly releasing Nen along with a chilling killing intent to pressure him.

That person was making their presence known... provoking him.

"Heh heh."

Oboro released Nen power of his own to resist it, chuckled softly, and turned into a secluded, dim alley.

Once he reached the dead end of the alley, he slowly turned around and looked at the glamorous woman in high heels who had followed him in.

"So you really are a Nen user too..." The woman openly sized Oboro up, looking relaxed. "That's what I thought... No ordinary martial artist, no matter how skilled or experienced, could possibly defeat every opponent within ten seconds."

"Is there something you'd like to ask?" Oboro put both hands in his pockets, displaying Presence of Mind. "I can give you a few pointers."

"You're pretty arrogant... But as a newcomer who just reached the 200th floor, you don't seem to understand the situation very well. The people above the 200th floor aren't like the trash you fought before... Once you step into the arena, dying there is entirely possible. You saw the information and rules when you registered, didn't you?" The woman lifted a hand and brushed back her fiery red hair, every movement dripping with charm.

Her slit dress resembled a cheongsam, exposing her long, toned legs.

"I've heard plenty of trash talk like yours... So what is it? Did you come specifically to warn me, or did you want to spar before the match?"

That was right. The woman before him was Oboro's next opponent.

"I want you to forfeit."

The woman's expression turned cold.

"And if I don't...?"

Oboro rolled his neck and answered flatly.

"Then I'll have no choice but to kill you right now..." As she spoke, the woman spread her hands.

Nen power emerged from her palms. With a movement of her hands, petite toy girls began dropping from the air, more than a dozen of them in all.

"Conjuration..."

Oboro narrowed his eyes.

He had already looked into the woman beforehand. Her name was Jinsha, and her current record was four wins and three losses.

The rules above the 200th floor of Heavens Arena were different.

They revolved around the Battle Application System.

Every Nen user had a ninety-day preparation period. In other words, they had to participate in one match within ninety days, or they would be eliminated. If they achieved ten victories, they earned the right to challenge a floor master. Conversely, four losses meant disqualification.

If the woman wanted to remain on the 200th floor, she had to beat Oboro. She had already lost three times and was at the edge of danger.

The pile of Barbie Dolls on the ground slowly approached Oboro like puppets.

Nen users had all kinds of strange methods... For the moment, Oboro could not see what tricks these toys held.

"I'll give you ten seconds... Answer me. My patience is limited!"

The woman blew Oboro a kiss. Her words were seductive, but killing intent lurked beneath them. "It would break my heart to see a handsome little guy like you die here... You just reached the 200th floor, so you'll have plenty of chances later. Missing one match won't matter. Consider it... a lesson."

"You're that confident you've got me beaten?"

Oboro laughed in disbelief.

The next second, he transformed into a black Inazuma and lunged forward.

He pulled a large hand from his pocket and reached straight for the woman's pretty face.

Swish! However, just as he was about to touch her face, a sharp glint flashed past and stopped Oboro's attack, forcing him to shift his position, withdraw his move, and retreat.

After steadying himself, he looked closely and saw an adorable Barbie Doll floating down from above with a pair of miniature scissors in both hands. It appeared to descend slowly... while continuously waving its weapon and making snip, snip sounds.

Oboro raised his arm and saw that a piece of his cuff had already been cut away. Luckily, he had reacted in time. Otherwise... that strike would have taken his wrist.

"Ahahaha!"

Seeing the confusion and frustration on Oboro's face, the woman bent over laughing. "You're still too green. Trying to catch me off guard? I watched your match recordings... You're strong, and your physical abilities are astonishing, but before my Nen ability, your advantages will disappear completely! No matter how explosive you are, how terrifying your strength is, or how fast you move... touching me is impossible!"

With that, the woman lightly moved a finger. "My children, help Mommy kill him!"

As soon as she spoke, the Barbie Dolls accelerated... stumbling toward Oboro.

Their movements are clearly so slow... yet they managed to attack me in that instant. And with my speed and aura, there's no way this woman could have noticed me... These dolls are reacting on their own. Automated, huh...

Oboro's thoughts turned.

He smiled.

Nen ability truly was fascinating, vast, and profound...

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Before Oboro could launch a second attack, the dolls suddenly sprang into the air. Their speed was completely disproportionate to their sluggish walking motions.

The alley walls were struck by streaks of afterimages and exploded in an instant, leaving behind pitted holes.

Each doll looked different and wielded a different weapon... They seemed to have distinct effects, roles, and divisions of labor.

Then Oboro began weaving, twisting, and dodging amid the afterimages shooting toward him.

With his perception of Nen aura, it was difficult for these conjured toys to injure him... But there were too many dolls, and the alley offered very little space. As a result... Oboro looked slightly disheveled.

Several times, Oboro tried to break free from the Barbie Dolls' encirclement and subdue the woman first, but each attempt failed.

At one point... he had even rushed to within a meter of the woman. His fist had nearly felt the lingering warmth of her body and the breath from her nose, but at the crucial moment, a doll that had leaped up with a comb in its hand blocked him.

The doll was punched away, allowing the woman to regain her senses. Her face went pale with fright.

After running some distance away, she saw Oboro being entangled by another group of toys and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The dolls' speed and attacks became even swifter...

After a while, Oboro could no longer avoid them. Cuts began appearing frequently across his suit.

Yet no blood appeared... This was somewhat different from what the woman had expected.

Only his clothing...

had been damaged.

"Even Nen attacks can't cause real damage?"

The woman began to panic, forcibly steadying herself.

As long as her Barbie Dolls kept him occupied, the man would eventually... run out of stamina.

Moreover, even if her dolls were struck and damaged, they would quickly restore themselves.

That had been her original intention when she developed this ability.

"Give up... You can't win. Admit defeat obediently, and I'll give you a quick death so you won't suffer as much." The woman kept talking, trying to break Oboro's psychological defenses.

Her words seemed to have worked. The figure that had been circling around the dolls suddenly stopped.

"He finally... can't hold on anymore?!"

Seeing this, the woman showed delight and immediately shouted her thoughts aloud.

But... her smile soon froze on her face.

Her expression became horrified.

As if she had seen a ghost.

Oboro stood there with an indifferent expression while streams formed by the Barbie Dolls became black streaks, repeatedly striking the man's vital points—his chest, forehead, back of the head, even his groin...

Oboro simply stood there... allowing the dolls' weapons to strike his body.

Clang, clang, clang rang out nonstop, exactly like striking a steel plate.

Forget his hair—even his clothes were no longer damaged in the slightest.

Compared to his earlier frantic evasions and torn clothing, it was like heaven and earth.

"How can this be?!"

The woman was dumbfounded.

She could not understand it.

Her dolls... had maintained the upper hand the entire time and had practically been about to kill the Suit Thug! Why had her Nen ability suddenly... stopped working?

"You seem to have misunderstood... I was only playing with you. You didn't really think you could kill me, did you?" Seeing her expression, Oboro smiled. "To put it plainly, I just wanted to see what you were capable of... and learn about your ability."

"Your ability... isn't bad."

Oboro spoke in the tone of a teacher. "When everyone develops a Nen ability, they tailor it to their own traits and compatibility... Take you, for example. Your main body has no combat power and cannot fight at close range at all. As for your Nen power, it's mediocre at best. So... you understand yourself very well. The reason these dolls were conjured was to protect you... Thus, protecting your safety is always their primary driving force. They can block and counter any attack directed at you. This is absolute and compulsory! No matter how fast the attack is or how great the damage, their defense or counterattack will be one hundred percent... And corresponding to this 'guaranteed hit effect' is the price you must pay..."

"First, their offense and defense are limited. Once the force or damage exceeds what they can withstand, your ability becomes useless."

"Second, each of your dolls has a different role and purpose. Together, they form a small automated cooperative team... In other words, their appearance saves you the trouble of fighting personally, but it also seals off your main body's potential for growth. This ability takes too many shortcuts... Its flaws are huge. Clearly, you didn't consider this when developing it. You simply thought of whatever required the least effort."

"Or perhaps you're simply too weak... incapable of developing this ability to its ultimate or perfect state."

"Also, you lack an understanding of the essence of Nen. The concept behind your ability is decent, but this is only one way to use Nen. There are many other Nen techniques... that you have never studied carefully."

As he spoke, Oboro casually walked toward the woman.

The doll holding the scissors flew over, its blades seeming to stab into his eye socket.

A closer look revealed that the scissors... had been blocked and isolated by the Nen power condensed around Oboro's eye.

"See... This is one of Nen's techniques. It isn't simply wrapping Nen aura around one part of the body. It's something more complex than Ren." Oboro pointed at his eye and spoke gently.

The woman's pupils dilated as she backed away in terror...

She could not take in a single word Oboro said. All she felt was numbness in her hands and feet.

"I can think of at least ten ways to break your ability... This is the simplest one." With that, Oboro suddenly took off his suit jacket and covered it in his own Nen aura.

Then he drew it shut like a giant net, trapping all dozen or so Barbie Dolls inside.

The suit fabric instantly hardened, wrapping the toys within.

The dolls could no longer break free.

"Look."

Oboro lifted the bundle of clothing that was constantly trembling and bared his teeth in a grin at the woman. "It's best to control conjured 'weapons' personally. That way, they aren't easily taken away... You chose the worst possible method. Sometimes... simpler really is better. Losing your weapon can be fatal."

"Of course, you can try conjuring them again... But... you need time. Even a delay of one second can decide whether you live or die."

"Ahhhhhhh!"

The woman finally snapped. With a scream, she turned and fled like a madwoman.

She was afraid... This fear was a biological instinct originating from the depths of her soul!

She had fought Nen users before, but never encountered a situation like this... From beginning to end... only a few minutes had actually passed.

Yet in such a short time, the man had seen through her completely.

It also meant that there was an unimaginable gulf between them!

She... would die here!

Beyond the mouth of the alley... was a bustling street, along with sunlight spilling down from the sky... That was the woman's hope!

If she ran somewhere crowded, perhaps... maybe... in full view of everyone, the man would spare her life.

Murdering someone in broad daylight on the street would still bring Nen users some trouble and concerns.

Not to mention, Oboro was already a celebrity...

The woman kept her body tilted forward as she ran desperately for her life.

Suddenly, a burning hand reached from behind and caressed her cheek, its fingers tightening slightly as they covered half her face.

"Shh..."

Then the man pressed close behind her, his laughter sounding by her ear. "Don't run... I'm not done talking yet... I'm kindly teaching you..."

"Mmm, mmm, mmm~"

The woman's eyes filled with terror between his fingers, and tears flowed down her face.

But her mouth had been covered.

"Don't cry... Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you... Besides, you were the one who wanted to kill me first..."

Within the alley's shadows, Oboro stood behind the woman and comforted her gently.

His tone was calm, but the fingers covering her face were gradually tightening.

The skin and cheekbones of the woman's face began to deform, her expression twisted in agony. Yet... she could not make the slightest sound to call for help.

Her raised arm was only three or four meters from the street. Her fingertips stretched desperately toward the sunlight and passing figures... hoping someone would notice that something was wrong.

But at that moment, those few short meters were... impossibly out of reach.

Despair... suffocating despair!

"Let's... have a proper talk."

Half of Oboro's face appeared behind the woman. The corner of his mouth curled up as he dragged her back into the darkness.