The Prelude to Battle (Bonus Chapter)

First, thanks to the book friend "Not a Homebody" for the tip—here's today's bonus chapter.

Let it explode: Unlimited ticket system!

"Jed, let me see how much you've improved over these decades. Perhaps I'm the one who pushed you into the abyss, perhaps because of me your Shadow Clan subordinates were persecuted, but today I'll repay it all. You can attack me until your resentment fades." Behind Netero appeared a massive thousand-armed Guanyin statue. Netero's ultimate technique—100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva.

"You and I are like two sides of the same coin. This is the power of light that opposes your grudge—100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva!"

To think the Chairman of the Hunter Association wouldn't know his subordinates ordered the slaughter of his best friend's people? Ridiculous. Who would dare act without Netero's tacit approval? He talks about old friends, about debts owed, but did he ever truly care? If he cared, would he be ignorant of the Shadow Clan's plight? Would he not know they were hunted and persecuted, with the few survivors imprisoned everywhere? He probably knew—he just didn't want to.

Even more absurd, Jed had once willingly become Netero's shadow as Hunter Association Chairman. He personally led the Shadow Clan as the Association's covert division. The truth of what happened might only come to light when the Dark Notebook is made public. But that truth surely isn't bright—it must contain the hidden, dirty dealings of various nations.

"Spare me the nonsense, Netero. Power has no justice! No light or dark! The victor is king. When did you start clinging to this laughable 'light'? It seems these decades have eroded you with power. You've grown slick and calculating! Using the same grand, hollow words we both once scorned." Jed mocked Netero mercilessly. Yes, he hated him. Back then, Netero had betrayed him, his closest friend, for those so-called leaders and irrelevant people. They'd even crossed blades, and Netero had hired Maha Zoldyck—whose strength rivaled them both—to ambush him. Under their combined assault, Jed had fallen. And that wasn't all—after his death, they'd slaughtered his loyal subordinates. Now, the once-mighty Shadow Clan had dwindled to a few dozen, all imprisoned.

These were Jed's grievances. Netero's so-called justice was nothing but bullshit to him. Both had blood on their hands—what was there to argue about good and evil? And when it came to killing, countless people had died by Netero's hand or through his orders. He spouted, "This is for your own good," while committing such inhuman acts—was that justice? Was that light?

"As long as I kill you, as long as I win, I'll be justice! The victor is king!" Behind Jed, the Hundred Ghosts Curse's eyes blazed, and countless purple beams of resentment shot toward Netero.

"Today, no matter your grudge, I'll repay all those from the Shadow Clan who died with resentment. Attack freely until your anger fades." Behind Netero, the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva's thousands of massive hands blocked the Hundred Ghosts Curse's assault.

"Bullshit repayment! Hypocrite! Can you bring the dead back to life? Can you give homeless children their parents again? Can you restore the lost bonds of those who lost family? No! You can't! You can do nothing! The children who lost their parents and homes have grown up! They don't need parents anymore! Their hearts are filled with hate! Hatred for you hunters who took everything from them! You're the one who caused all this! You and your hypocritical, inactive, even oppressive Hunter Association!" Jed's black eye sockets turned red as he spoke, his resentment deepening. A surge of immense power erupted from him again. This time, the strength Jed displayed was nearly equal to Netero's.

"Today, I'll kill you! Hundred Ghosts Curse—Rakshasa!" The double-chinned Japanese female ghost finally revealed her true form—a terrifying green-faced, fanged demon. Jed unleashed all her resentment, clearly preparing for a big move, about to unleash his ultimate technique.

"Jed, is this your strongest move? It's indeed a remarkable technique. But you can't beat me—your way is wrong. 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva—Ninety-Ninth Style! Light is justice! Justice always wins!" Netero also concentrated all his Nen, releasing a power equal to Jed's—no, perhaps slightly superior. He too prepared to clash with his ultimate technique. The Ninety-Ninth Style of 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva was Netero's strongest move aside from the life-costing Zero Hand—a devastating, wide-range attack that delivered ninety-nine palms in an instant.

"Hahaha, justice always wins? No! Only the victor is justice! Die, Netero!"

Though Jed's Hundred Ghosts Curse was powerful, when it came to manifested monsters, Rakshasa was no match for the Thousand-Armed Guanyin. She had only two arms against a hundred or a thousand—no advantage in a fight. If Jed knew Eastern culture, he probably wouldn't have manifested Rakshasa, given the vast gap in rank between Rakshasa and Guanyin. Most importantly, Eastern mythology had a tale of Guanyin subduing Rakshasa.

For now, the battle between Jed and Netero hung in a stalemate, suspended in midair. But the towering Heaven's Arena shook constantly under their powerful auras, like an earthquake.

"What immense power—it's the Chairman's Nen!" Morel and the others, still fighting, marveled at the overwhelming Nen above them.

"You dare get distracted while fighting me? You're insulting me." Aureole waved his hand, tearing apart the purple smoke that had trapped him, and charged at Morel. The aura from Netero and Jed's fight was strong, but to Aureole, who had been tormented countless times by Meruem's Nen, it was nothing. Bound by fate, Lion Aureole had locked onto Morel among the hunters, but this wasn't a one-on-one duel like the original—it was one against three.

Besides Morel, there was the flashy, non-mainstream Gourmet Hunter and the Bounty Hunter. Morel was the strongest of the four. Despite Yin Hu's original taunts about Morel's weakness, in a real fight, Morel was no pushover. His Nen ability might not seem strong and required the bulky pipe, but its practicality was excellent. For example, one of the Royal Guards, Pouf, had an ability called Beelzebub, similar to Morel's Purple Smoke Soldiers. Beelzebub let Pouf split into countless tiny copies for dodging or surveillance, but the main body had to be at least fly-sized, and all clones combined equaled Pouf's full strength—good for mobility, but useless in a direct fight. Morel's Purple Smoke Soldiers, however, didn't reduce his own strength, only his total Nen output. He could precisely control fifty soldiers, each decently strong. Fighting Morel meant a 1v50 battle, not 1v1.

Moreover, Morel had extremely high combat IQ. Many opponents of similar strength were outsmarted and worn down. For instance, Lion Aureole in the original—his Nen was close to Morel's, and his superhuman physique matched Morel's weapon-enhanced strength, yet he lost in a breath-holding contest. Then there was Leopard Kite, whose speed overwhelmed Morel, but he was utterly outclassed in intelligence—his ridiculous Nen ability was completely countered by Morel.

So even with Aureole's boosted power, Morel and two decent Star Hunters held their own, even putting Aureole slightly on the back foot. Morel's mental fortitude was remarkable. In the original, when faced with Pouf, Pitou, and Youpi—who had scared Knuckle, a similarly strong and stealthy fighter, bald—Morel didn't flee. Instead, he outmaneuvered them, even messing with the clever but obsessive Pouf's logic. And his two disciples were strong enough to hold off the vastly superior Youpi for a long time.

Consider this: Squad Leader Zazan's physical strength wasn't top-tier among Chimera Ants, yet in a direct clash with Phantom Troupe member Feitan, Feitan crushed her. So how strong was Youpi, who physically dominated Zazan? Touching him meant death, grazing meant injury—no exaggeration.

On the other side, the fight between Evil Spirit and the muscular Crime Hunter was also intense. Evil Spirit wasn't exceptionally strong—in the original, he was defeated by Killua and Gon before the Chimera Ant arc, and the fight felt underwhelming. But he wasn't weak either—even pre-Ant arc Gon and Killua had the power to take down the Bomber. Against human armies, he showed explosive strength like Uvogin's from the Phantom Troupe, though not quite as strong. His opponent was a One-Star Hunter. In the Chairman Election arc after the Chimera Ant arc, Illumi single-handedly killed a bunch of hunters, including some One-Stars. But were One-Star Hunters really weak? No way. Those Illumi killed were probably frauds or support-types. Real combat-oriented One-Star Hunters weren't much weaker than official Troupe members—they could easily crush the lower-tier ones like Shizuku.

After all, the Hunter Association, the largest organization in the Hunter World, only had a few hundred active hunters. Think of Menchi and Satotz—both legitimate One-Star Hunters. They might not match Hisoka, but they were close to Gotoh, the Zoldyck family butler. Most importantly, judging strength by star rank was the dumbest thing. The Hunter World had far more people playing dumb than you'd imagine.

"Hey, Zazan, stop playing around. Need help? I'm already done here. You and Aureole are dragging your feet." Meanwhile, two other powerful Nen users were fighting in Heaven's Arena. Zazan vs. Yin Hu and Kanzai.