The wind carried blood through the air, filling it with the smell of rust.
As Coleman slowly approached, he frowned in distaste.
Why couldn't he clean up after himself properly?
There was blood everywhere. Where was Coleman supposed to step?
He did his best to find spots that hadn't been soaked in blood. He didn't want his new black leather boots stained red.
He looked around and finally spotted a dark silhouette beside the stream.
The closer he got, the more clearly he could see the bloodstains on him.
"Hisoka, let's make a deal. Next time, clean up properly."
Who painted on a canvas that was all filthy?
How was anyone supposed to appreciate the painting like that?
Hisoka acted as though he hadn't heard a thing, offering Coleman nothing but a silent back.
Coleman raised an eyebrow and, without hesitation, tossed a sharp dagger at him.
You shouldn't touch a beast with its back to you.
Otherwise, you might get bitten by this strange man for all you knew.
Sure enough, before the dagger could even graze Hisoka's shoulder, he turned and knocked it aside.
Bloodshot veins writhed menacingly in his eyes. They were usually golden, but now they seemed tinged with red.
He slowly got to his feet, then lunged at Coleman with incredible speed.
Like a leopard coiled to spring.
Coleman neither dodged nor fought back. He simply took a few steps backward.
"Spider Trap."
The corner of his mouth curled up as he murmured softly.
White threads tangled together.
In a matter of seconds, a strange "net" formed and drifted in front of Coleman.
Hisoka narrowed his eyes and grinned.
"Bungee Gum."
He muttered the words, stretching one hand back.
His Nen stretched like chewing gum and stuck to a large rock.
He suddenly stopped in front of the net. The momentum sent the rock attached to his Nen hurtling forward.
Just as expected, the moment the rock touched the threads, it was sliced into pieces.
But circumstances prevented Coleman from laying too many solid threads this time.
Most of the net was made of threads formed from Nen.
As the pieces of rock fell, one of them tore apart the sticky Nen thread that had become detached from its owner.
Coleman kept backing away, showing no intention of fighting.
This time, however, he didn't lay the trap high in the air.
Instead, he set one netted line after another just above the ground.
Hisoka, gone wild, failed to notice the threads beneath his feet. The instant the rock shattered the fine threads, he took a quick step forward and charged.
Suddenly, his eyes flew wide open, and he forced himself to stop.
He struggled to control his body and keep himself from pitching forward.
Unable to move at all, he felt a faint sting in his ankle. A bead of cold sweat slid down his forehead.
He took several deep breaths and managed a strained smile.
"You're serious?!"
The thread beside Hisoka's foot was clearly one of the kinds Coleman usually used to "hunt."
It was extremely sharp.
It could slice a person apart without them even noticing.
It was far sharper than the net he'd just strung up in the air!
Coleman shrugged, looking completely innocent. "Calmed down?"
"..."
"Don't worry. If I were serious, your foot would be on its way to get reattached along with my left arm!"
Coleman thought he was being very merciful. So that he wouldn't have to find a doctor for Hisoka, he had specially wrapped the threads in a layer of Nen.
That way, Hisoka wouldn't accidentally charge straight into the "trap."
Slowly relaxing his stiff muscles, Hisoka rubbed his shoulder and grimaced.
Little Coleman's threads were as sharp as ever.
If they hadn't both used their Nen as a protective layer, that thing would have cut right down to the bone.
But it still hurt like hell.
The fine thread had sunk into his flesh.
Coleman wound the thread around his hand and yanked. All of it recoiled, except for the strand embedded in Hisoka's ankle.
He sauntered over and pulled out a small knife.
He cut the strand, then gathered up the two pieces.
After looking him over, he patted Hisoka's leg.
"Nothing's broken. You just need to get it stitched up at the hospital later."
Coleman got to his feet, utterly unconcerned.
He raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Back to yourself?"
And you thought you could empathize with me?
Are you even cut out for that?
You couldn't even avoid a little trap like mine, and you think you can create a massive slaughter scene?
Keep dreaming!
Hisoka shrugged and gave an awkward chuckle. "Ahem. That method really isn't for me."
Besides, compared to those useless ants, Hisoka preferred savoring the fruits he'd picked out himself.
He was even willing to wait for those fruits to ripen, until they became strong enough to threaten him.
After all, that was what made a fight fun!
"Next time, just give them my family name."
Coleman spoke lazily.
"They're just nobodies. The name Zoldyck is more than enough to keep them in line."
As he walked past, Coleman recognized the head lying on the ground.
Just some nobody whose name he hadn't even bothered to remember.
Not worth mentioning.
He didn't mind Hisoka using the Zoldyck name to keep them in check.
"I was afraid your father would hunt me down."
Hisoka made excuses behind Coleman.
It wasn't because he'd gotten carried away with the killing that he'd attacked without saying anything to those people.
It was just that Silva was too much trouble to deal with.
"Heh. My father would hunt you down?"
Coleman gave a mocking laugh.
If you didn't pay him a cent, why would Silva kill you?!
Dad charged a fortune for an appearance these days, okay?
He wouldn't even lift a finger for less than several billion!
Unless my brother and I skipped work.
But...
Coleman rubbed his chin and thought for a moment.
Once Killua grew up, maybe Father would be able to slack off every day.
Tsk.
Coleman frowned, feeling a little irritated.
Would that mean he'd never be able to go home again?
Was he really going to have to go outside whenever he wanted a smoke?
"Coleman, have you been smoking again?"
Hisoka wrinkled his nose, catching a faint trace of tobacco.
Coleman looked back and answered.
"Hey, hey, doesn't your dear old dad forbid you from smoking?"
He said it would give away his position.
Hisoka, though, didn't think it mattered.
So what if you gave yourself away?
Just look at the way the eldest son in Coleman's family assassinated people.
As long as he thought they were weaklings, he wouldn't even bother hiding his appearance. He'd charge right into the crowd and kill his target.
Then he'd leave a bloodbath behind and walk away.
Just walk away!
So brazen!
As if there were no laws!
Thinking about it made Hisoka click his tongue.
Compared to that, wasn't Coleman pretty good?
At least he met the most basic requirement of an assassin.
He killed from the shadows.
"He doesn't forbid it. He means I shouldn't smoke in front of him."
Coleman glanced over and saw Hisoka staring off into space.
"Dad can't control Illumi. Do you think he doesn't want to?"
Ever since Illumi learned disguise, he'd gotten wilder and wilder.
He could hide anywhere.
Silva couldn't be bothered to look for him anymore, so he'd let him do as he pleased.
At the moment, the only person in the Zoldyck Family Silva could trust was Killua!
And he'd started showing his favoritism openly.
Since Killua had white hair, everyone in the Zoldyck Family had always favored him a little—including Coleman.
"Oh, speaking of that, Coleman, do you know what your brother's been doing with disguises lately? Could you try to fix Illumi's taste?"
Hisoka really couldn't understand why a handsome, refined man would disguise himself as someone covered in nails.
Just tell him, did that look good?
What was good about it?!
Hisoka recalled Illumi's latest disguise and looked thoroughly baffled.
"It's all right. Isn't it cool?"
Coleman looked as though that were the most obvious thing in the world.
"And isn't the point of a disguise to keep people from guessing what you look like? From the way you're reacting, my brother must be doing a pretty good job."
Come on, someone covered in nails looked incredibly cool.
"Then why don't you disguise yourself like that?"
"Good heavens, that's really ugly!"
"Then why would you—!"
"But my brother's different. He looks cool with a disguise like that!"
Coleman smiled, his eyes full of admiration for beauty.
Hisoka took a deep breath, then let it out dejectedly.
He shouldn't have brought it up!
Those twins were both abnormal!
One was a brother-con, the other a little-brother-con.
No matter what the other did to himself, he was always the best-looking, the coolest!
Hisoka trudged ahead, leading Coleman.
Today, right here and now,
Hisoka unilaterally declared
that he was the most normal child of the three!
What kind of normal person would call someone covered in nails "incredibly cool"?!
Before you continue