If It Were the Leader...

"Depths of the Tree Hollow."

It was an ability with strict conditions for use and a considerable cost.

That was why Rice used it only when necessary.

To keep Franklin from dying on this mission, Rice had activated it without hesitation.

As he had said, he normally wouldn't care whether Franklin lived or died. But he was leading this mission, so he had to take responsibility.

As for Franklin's desire to stay and fight to the bitter end, Rice couldn't care less.

"If you can't let it go, I'll call you a car right now."

Rice pulled out his phone. "I'll even throw in a free service to stop the bleeding. You won't have to worry about bleeding out on the way."

"You were too slow."

Franklin didn't dwell on that. Instead, he delivered the pointed remark coldly.

He meant Rice had taken too long to rob his target.

Rice understood and spread his hands. "You were too fast."

He meant Moyu had taken very little time to beat Franklin to a pulp.

"..."

Franklin had no answer.

Rice sighed. "Getting beaten so badly you have to run for your life feels awful."

"..."

Franklin remained silent. He glanced at Rice but saw no injuries.

So that remark about running for his life was clearly aimed at him.

And he couldn't argue.

As things stood, that kid really had driven him off.

Satisfied that Franklin had gone quiet, Rice got up. He drew on what little Latent Aura he had left and sealed the wound on Franklin's right shoulder with resin.

That would stop the bleeding.

"Your ability's called Double Machine Gun, right?"

After dealing with the bleeding, Rice withdrew his Nen and glanced at the empty space beyond Franklin's right shoulder. "Guess you'll have to change it to One-Handed