A dozen or so black-robed figures formed an impenetrable ring.
Beneath their matte masks, crimson slit-pupiled eyes locked on the five of them. Their cold hostility felt like icy spikes against the skin.
The air went still.
Even the wind passing beneath the eaves sounded unusually clear.
Gon stood at the front, fists clenched until his knuckles turned white, his eyes full of anxiety he could no longer hide.
Kurapika was in this village.
He was only a few steps away, yet these people stood firmly between them.
"Move!"
Gon gritted his teeth, his voice low.
"I want to see Kurapika!"
The tall masked man at the front did not budge. He said nothing, merely raised a hand again and gestured for them to retreat.
There was no room for negotiation.
"Why waste your breath on them?"
Gon could no longer hold back his anger. Golden Nen burst from his body and enveloped him.
The power of Eighteenfold Spinning Rock gathered furiously in his right fist. The wind from it sent fallen leaves spiraling into the air.
"We'll force our way in!"
Before the words had left his mouth, he shot forward like a cannonball.
Boom!
His eighteenfold punch slammed toward the masked leader.
The force of his fist exploded outward, making the air crack.
Killua moved almost at the same instant.
Blue-white lightning surged from his fingertips, forming several sharp blades that shot toward the masked people on either side to disrupt their formation.
"Genos, cover us!"
"Leorio, stay back and be ready!"
"Understood!"
The armor on Genos's chest opened. His High-Heat Energy Cannon charged, then fired a blinding white beam right behind Gon's punch.
Leorio drew his scalpel and took position at the rear, his Nen taut, ready to rush in and treat anyone who got hurt.
A