Dreams

Dreams

Whoosh! A few minutes later, in the ruined, scarred plaza, Sato was sent flying by Oboro's kick, his body trailing a wisp of smoke.

He shot up like a ball, crashed onto the ground, and spat blood.

Close behind came the black shadow descending from the sky once more... like an ink-black cloud.

Ignoring his body that was about to fall apart, he forcibly rolled over and shot away with all his strength, dodging the core area of the Tree Monster's swing!

The deafening sound and lingering shockwave, along with the dust drifting through the air... and the flying stones, struck his back, worsening his injuries! With his abilities, he had to keep his mind taut to barely avoid the two monsters' "guaranteed hit" rules... This was already the limit of what he could do.

Because... the two monsters' attacks were too destructive and covered too wide an area!

Bang! But he had barely fled any distance when Oboro caught up to him, threw a God Fist, and blasted his chest.

At that moment, Sato's eyes nearly split open as he finally cried out in pain.

"This guy... isn't affected by the two monsters' attacks... Even if the monsters' hands strike him, they won't cause him the slightest injury... What kind of Nen ability is this? Although I saw through his 'restriction,' I... still overlooked something. I only saw the surface... His Nen ability is even more complicated than I judged... Some kind of 'pattern,' or perhaps factor, is subtly influencing everything..."

Sato's thoughts churned.

This was the first time since his debut that he had encountered such a mysterious, unfathomable Nen ability.

It completely overturned his understanding of abilities.

It was so complex that... even with his experience, he could only glimpse the tip of the iceberg.

"They were created by me... with my Nen... my own Nen... Do you know how long it took me to create them? How much time I spent..." Amid the dust filling the sky, Oboro walked closer to where Sato had landed. The latter was already struggling to get back up.

"That's right, this is a game... It has game rules. As the creator, I can make a few 'adjustments' and enjoy some 'special perks.'"

"However, every time I use this natural advantage buff, it causes signs of the Game World collapsing. I have to gradually perfect it and make adjustments afterward. It's time-consuming and exhausting."

"My Nen ability is an extremely massive project, and it gives me quite a headache... I've been trying every possible means to privatize the Game World as much as possible, striving to turn it into something like a private server, geared toward my identity and original intention as a GM... But the problem is, a private server means instability. It means the game can collapse, become fragile, leave backdoors for virus intrusions and other risks. Once it encounters a true expert, the operation and restraints of the 'rules,' including their compulsory effects, might lose their power... and turn the situation against me... Sigh..."

"So if I don't want anyone finding loopholes, I have to maintain stability and fairness... Right now, I'm only temporarily blocking out 'fairness' through game maintenance, turning it into a crippled private-server game. But patching it up every time is troublesome... Once the Game World is complete, fully stabilized, and manifested in the real world, I won't be able to do this anymore... I can make the rules of 'fairness' favor me, and I do have some good ideas, but I'm never satisfied... It's still not broken enough..."

Listening to the voice drawing closer, Sato's pupils contracted. In an instant, he understood... That was it... Rules! Game rules!

No wonder...

With a whoosh, Oboro arrived before him and waved a hand, sweeping away the haze in the air.

The two wild monsters seemed to have stopped attacking as well.

"Do you know why I'm telling you all this?"

Oboro looked at the disheveled, miserable ninja before him, whose true face had been exposed, and smiled. "I think... you're very strong. Maybe you can give me some good advice."

"..."

Sato fell silent.

He understood... he no longer had any chance of winning.

Oboro had revealed these things to him because... he was bound to die. Oboro would not leave him alive.

No one would reveal their secrets... unless the other person was dead.

He had tried attacking the two monsters, but from the game's perspective, their health bars were too thick... It was simply impossible for him to kill them quickly. If Oboro had not attacked him, he might still have had hope.

To be honest, lasting this long was already impressive.

"Hehehehe..."

Sato laughed. The motion pulled at his wounds, turning his face ugly. He looked Oboro in the eye. "Have you heard yourself? The fact that you developed this kind of Nen ability means your level far surpasses mine. You've even reached a realm beyond my imagination... Do you still need to ask me?"

Sato felt that... Oboro's ability absolutely could not have been achieved by one person alone.

There had to be many powerful helpers around him.

"Two heads are better than one... Everyone sees problems from different angles..." Oboro answered.

He had the system. The plans provided by the system were already the most perfect ones...

Sato did not truly understand Oboro's ability, but Oboro's words just now had allowed him to guess a few things.

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes... I wouldn't believe someone could really accomplish an ability like yours... It's already absurdly overpowered. What more could you possibly want?" Sato was telling the truth.

"No, no, no... You think it's overpowered because you haven't seen some of the truly terrifying people in this world, including certain species and unknown things..."

Oboro shook his head. "What I want to do is still far from enough..."

"Then I... can only wish you well... Though I don't think it's possible."

Sato said calmly.

"Really... no advice?"

Oboro was somewhat disappointed.

Sato did not respond. The man flicked out his sword hilt and released his Nen... not to attack Oboro.

Instead... he cut his own throat.

He committed suicide...

There was no begging, no resistance... He knew his fate. Rather than being killed by someone else, he chose to kill himself.

At least... it showed the dignity and resolve of a "ninja."

"What a shame... I was hoping you could destroy the two wild monsters and let me test out how the red and blue double buffs feel..."

Leaving those words behind, Oboro turned and walked away.

Elsewhere, the only Nen user beside Brown had just killed the Gromp and the Raptor.

To pull away from the monsters' attack range, one needed the speed and strength to do so.

Clearly... this Nen user was far inferior to Sato.

One of the Ten Dons, Brown, was merely an ordinary person. Being held back by him also forced the Nen user to divide his attention to protect him.

After the monsters vanished, the man had just grabbed Brown and prepared to flee when a hand pierced through his chest from behind.

The man widened his eyes in disbelief... So fast... The battle on Sato's side had already ended? Oboro pulled his arm from the sticky body... His expression was somewhat weary.

"You..."

At the side, Brown of the Ten Dons changed color, at a loss for what to do.

He stood there blankly...

Oboro catching up meant... Sato was already dead.

The person he had relied upon most... had ultimately still lost. No matter how unwilling he was to accept it, that was the truth.

"I can step down! I can give you my seat among the Ten Dons, give you everything... Anything you want!"

At that moment, Brown, who had once been lofty and composed, revealed a petty, common side of himself. Panic spread through every inch of his body.

"Can't you understand human speech? I told you from the very beginning, I'm... not interested in you."

Oboro glanced at him and spoke calmly.

As he turned to leave, a black phantom rose and swept past the upper half of the Ten Don's body.

The next second... Brown's flesh and blood exploded. Only the remains of his lower body were left as he collapsed.

"I'm a little tired. Time to go back and get some proper sleep..."

Oboro leisurely walked farther away, yawning with a bitter smile.

Brown of the Ten Dons was dead!

Very quickly, the news spread through the underground forces within the country, causing an enormous uproar...

Later... when Mafia groups in other regions around the world received the news, they too erupted.

After all, he had been one of the Ten Dons...

As expected, the other nine Ten Dons intervened one after another. But... the person who rose to power was not Brown's previously designated candidate. It was Oboro, the former head of the Fills Family! He had gained the support of the Ten Dons, stunning everyone.

This was especially true for the gangs within the Republic of Padokea. They knew that before his death, Brown had dispatched armed troops to wipe out the Fills Family... He simply had not found Fills Lily, Oboro, and several other key figures.

After the matter ended, they pieced together the cause and effect... It had been a contest between the Fills Family and Brown of the Ten Dons! The outside world had no idea how Brown died... Yet countless rumors and bits of hearsay flew everywhere.

Every finger pointed at Oboro.

The Ten Dons did an excellent job sealing off information.

They reduced public discussion as much as possible and concealed the truth, because Brown's death had also dealt a slight blow to the Ten Dons' authority.

Overall, the impact was not significant.

And since the other Ten Dons had already spoken, Oboro's rise to power was set in stone. Even if those below had complaints, they could only swallow them.

Besides, after enduring that great battle, the Fills Family had also established a certain degree of prestige.

A month later, Oboro, the butler David, and Lily moved into the estate that had once belonged to Brown.

Now... this place had become the Fills Family's base! "Master, Brown's armed forces have been fully taken over. There was basically no resistance. As for his businesses... the gangs within our territory have suffered severe losses and will likely need a long time to recover. Also, representatives from several families wish to see you..."

"Go deal with them..."

Oboro replied perfunctorily.

"Yes." David nodded.

"The Ten Dons also hope you can meet them soon. After all... you're a new face."

"They just want me to state my position. I've only just risen to power. I need some time before I have any say." Oboro smiled dismissively and looked at the woman in the wheelchair. "I can make a trip there and figure some things out... But afterward, I won't be coming back. I'll find a way to hand over my seat among the Ten Dons to David..."

The Old Butler was greatly shocked upon hearing this.

"Don't be nervous. I'm only letting you be the family head in name... I don't like trouble."

Seeing that he had misunderstood, Oboro explained.

The old man relaxed after hearing that.

The clever Fills Lily immediately understood. "You want to be a hands-off boss and hide behind the scenes?"

"Can you really bear to give it up? At least on the surface, becoming one of the Ten Dons gives you status, resources..."

"I'm not very interested in that stuff... It makes no difference whether David holds the position or I do. I originally stayed in the Mafia for so long because of certain goals... The time I've delayed has already exceeded my estimate." Oboro spoke frankly.

His goal had already been achieved.

"Indeed... Even now, if someone didn't know you well, you wouldn't seem like a Mafia man... It does suit your style."

Lily nodded lightly.

"That's settled, then. I've already decided."

Oboro clapped his hands.

"Even the Ten Dons can't tie you down. May I ask what you plan to do?"

Lily blinked her eyelashes, somewhat curious.

Although they had known one another for a while... she and David actually knew very little about Oboro's background and identity.

They only knew... he had once gone to a place called Heavens Arena.

Oboro rarely mentioned his own affairs.

"What am I going to do..."

Oboro pondered for a moment, then grinned. "Chase my dreams, I guess..."

Dreams?

The butler and the woman were both stunned.

They had never expected that answer.

Something came up today, so this chapter is earlier.

Salute!