The dust filling the sky slowly settled. Lin Ye stood amid the collapsed rubble, his knuckles white around the hilt of his katana. His Observation Haki was already spread to its fullest, like a taut net locked firmly onto the dozen or so people before him, especially their leader, the bald man called Wild Lion. Terrifying. Wild Lion's aura was like a raging tsunami, dense and vicious, carrying the crushing pressure of something that could flatten everything in its path. That killing intent had been honed amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood, a terrifying presence only someone who had killed hundreds, even thousands, could possess. The two Nen users behind him had auras on par with Red Ogre's, while the remaining dozen burly men were ruthless characters with blood on their hands. A faint aura coated their weapons, making it clear that they had all undergone basic Nen training. He was facing over a dozen enemies alone, including three genuine Nen users, and their leader, Wild Lion, was far stronger than he had imagined. This was the most dangerous situation Lin Ye had faced since transmigrating to Meteor City. "Brat, were you the one who killed my third brother, Red Ogre?" Wild Lion spoke again, his voice booming like muffled thunder. He lightly planted his Mountain-Cleaving Axe on the ground, and its heavy blade sank straight into the hard earth, sending gravel flying. His eyes fixed on Lin Ye like a starving wolf's, filled with brutal killing intent. "I was." Lin Ye's voice was calm, without the slightest tremor. The more desperate the situation, the clearer his head became. Panic and fear would solve nothing. All he could do now was give it everything he had and find a chance to break through. Even if that chance was only one in ten thousand. "Good. You've got guts." Wild Lion grinned, revealing yellowed fangs. "You're the first brat who's lasted more than three days after laying a hand on the Wild Lion Gang's people in District 13. I'll give you a chance. Break all four of your limbs, get on your knees, and kowtow a hundred times to my third brother. Then I might give you a quick death." Lin Ye smiled coldly. "If you want to kill me, do it yourself. Talking won't kill anyone." Before his words had faded, Lin Ye moved. He did not wait for his enemies to strike first. With such an overwhelming gap in strength, striking first was his only sliver of hope. "Shave!" His rapid footfalls blurred together, and his body vanished from where he stood. At the same time, he raised his right leg high, concentrated his entire aura at the tip of his foot, combined it with Armament Haki, and unleashed a vicious kick. "Tempest Kick!" Three silvery-white air blades formed a triangular pattern, slicing through the air with piercing whistles as they hurtled toward Wild Lion and the two Nen users behind him. He had no expectation that this attack would hurt Wild Lion. His goal was to disrupt their formation and create an opening to escape. But what happened next made Lin Ye's pupils contract sharply. Facing the three fierce air blades, Wild Lion stood completely still. He merely snorted, and his aura surged, activating Ken at full strength. Dense aura covered his entire body like a thick suit of armor. Clang! Clang! Clang! Three deafening metallic crashes rang out. The three Tempest Kick blades struck Wild Lion hard, but they left only three faint white marks on his aura armor before dissipating, without even breaking his skin. "That's all the strength you've got?" A mocking smile spread across Wild Lion's face. "Not even enough to scratch an itch, and you dared kill my brother?" Just then, the two Nen users behind Wild Lion moved. They rushed at Lin Ye from the left and right like two streaks of black lightning. The man on the left carried two short blades and moved extremely fast, concentrating all his aura on their edges. He was clearly a Manipulation Type Nen user who specialized in speed and assassination. The burly man on the right wore a pair of iron gauntlets, his muscles bulging and knotted. Like Wild Lion, he was clearly an Enhancement Type, combining offense and defense. They worked in perfect coordination, one attacking and the other defending, sealing off every avenue Lin Ye could use to dodge. Lin Ye's gaze sharpened. His Observation Haki had already predicted the paths of their attacks. "Kami-e!" He instantly released all tension from his body. Like a falling leaf, he turned slightly with the airflow from the incoming short blades, perfectly evading the left-hand man's assassination strike. At the same time, he extended a finger on his right hand, coated it in black Armament Haki, and activated Finger Pistol, driving it hard toward the other man's fist. Clang! His fingertip slammed into the iron gauntlet with a piercing crash. The Enhancement Type man grunted and staggered back several steps, a deep dent punched into his gauntlet. He stared at Lin Ye in shock. He had never imagined that this ten-year-old brat's finger could possess such terrifying strength, enough to punch through even an iron gauntlet coated in Nen. But Lin Ye suffered too. The tremendous recoil sent a sharp pain through his finger and numbed his arm, briefly throwing his aura into disarray. In that instant, Wild Lion moved. His speed utterly belied his hulking physique. Like a charging lion, he appeared in front of Lin Ye in a flash. With all his aura and devastating power behind it, he swung the Mountain-Cleaving Axe straight at Lin Ye's head. The blow split the air with an explosive crack. Before the blade even reached him, the fierce wind stung Lin Ye's cheeks. There was no escape! "Iron Body! Armament Haki! Ken!" Lin Ye instantly unleashed every defensive method at his disposal. His aura surged frantically toward his head and upper body, black Armament Haki covered him from head to toe, and Iron Body hardened his flesh like steel. CLANG!!! The deafening crash exploded across the open trash heaps. The Mountain-Cleaving Axe struck Lin Ye's crossed arms squarely, its enormous force bearing down like a mountain. His legs sank into the ground in an instant, rubble swallowing him past the knees. Agonizing pain tore through both arms, and his bones felt as though they were about to shatter. "Urgh-" Blood sprayed from Lin Ye's mouth, splattering the ground in front of him. His defenses had been broken. Wild Lion's strength was simply too great, exceeding everything his defenses could withstand. Even the triple protection of Iron Body, Armament Haki, and Ken could not stop that full-force axe blow. "Interesting. You actually took a blow from my axe and survived." Surprise flickered in Wild Lion's eyes as he looked at Lin Ye, then gave way to cruelty. "But this is as far as you go." He sharply exerted his wrists, pressing the Mountain-Cleaving Axe down again, intending to split Lin Ye in two. Gritting his teeth, Lin Ye used every ounce of strength he had to hold against the blade, then jerked backward and activated Shave, moving more than ten meters back in an instant. Only then did he narrowly evade the lethal blow. But he had barely steadied himself when a sharp whistle sounded behind him. The Manipulation Type Nen user with the short blades had already circled behind him. Both blades, wreathed in strange aura, stabbed viciously toward his lower back. Lin Ye's Observation Haki predicted the attack, but his body was already at its limit. He could no longer execute a perfect dodge in time. Shhk! A short blade plunged into his lower back, drawing a spray of hot blood. Pain instantly swept through Lin Ye's entire body. His vision darkened, and he stumbled, nearly falling. "Die, brat!" The Enhancement Type man with the iron gauntlets charged in as well, driving a punch packed with his entire aura toward Lin Ye's chest. Attacked from both front and rear, he had nowhere to dodge. For the first time, despair appeared in Lin Ye's eyes. He had already used up seventy percent of his aura, and his injuries were only growing worse. The bones in both arms were cracked, and a short blade remained lodged in his lower back. There was no way he could avoid this punch. Was he really going to die here today? He couldn't accept it! He hadn't even left Meteor City yet, hadn't taken the Hunter Exam, hadn't pushed the fusion of Haki and Nen to its ultimate limit! How could he die here? An overwhelming will to survive erupted in his heart once more. He gathered every last bit of aura remaining in his body into his chest, covered it frantically with Armament Haki, and took the punch head-on. BAM! The immense force sent Lin Ye flying backward like a kite with its string cut. He slammed into an abandoned shipping container behind him, denting its metal wall inward. He slid to the ground, blood spilling continuously from his mouth as his vision began to blur. Every bone in his body felt shattered. His aura was completely depleted, and he lacked even the strength to lift a finger. He could no longer maintain his Armament Haki, and it faded entirely. He could not sustain even the most basic Ten. He had completely lost the ability to fight. Wild Lion approached him step by step with his two subordinates, dragging the Mountain-Cleaving Axe along the ground with an ear-piercing scrape. "Brat, weren't you so good at fighting?" Wild Lion looked down at Lin Ye, a cruel smile plastered across his face. "Get up and keep fighting. Weren't you so impressive when you killed my brother?" He raised the Mountain-Cleaving Axe, its blade coated in dense aura, and aimed it at Lin Ye's head. "Don't worry. I won't let you die too quickly. First, I'll chop off your limbs. Then I'll hang you from a trash heap and let you bleed to death, so you can join my brother in the grave." The axe rose slowly, carrying icy killing intent, poised to fall. Lying on the ground, Lin Ye watched the Mountain-Cleaving Axe draw ever closer as his consciousness began to slip away. He truly could not hold on any longer. Just as the blade was about to strike Lin Ye's head, a sharp whistle suddenly came from the distance. A Nen projectile formed from highly concentrated aura shot toward Wild Lion's head like a bullet, carrying terrifying penetrating power. Wild Lion's expression changed drastically. Without a second thought, he pulled back the Mountain-Cleaving Axe and held it in front of himself. Clang! The Nen projectile struck the axe blade with a piercing crash. Its immense force drove Wild Lion three steps backward before he regained his footing. He jerked his head up and looked toward the direction the projectile had come from, his eyes filled with shock and fury. "Who's there?! You dare interfere with the Wild Lion Gang? You're asking to die!" Lin Ye also turned his head with difficulty toward the source of the sound. A man stood atop a nearby trash heap. He looked to be in his forties and wore a black trench coat washed so often it had faded. His hair was streaked with gray, and a faint scar marked his face. He held an old-fashioned revolver, a thin wisp of smoke still rising from its muzzle. No violent aura radiated from him. Even the most basic Ten was nowhere to be seen. He looked like an ordinary middle-aged man. Yet standing there, he was like a mountain, steady and solid, with a fathomless presence forged through brushes with life and death. The man slowly descended the trash heap. His footsteps were light, yet every step seemed to land on everyone's heart. Without so much as a glance at Wild Lion and his men, he looked at the dying Lin Ye on the ground and frowned slightly. Only then did he turn toward Wild Lion. His voice was calm, but carried unquestionable authority. "This child is under my protection." "Leave." That single word thundered in everyone's ears. Wild Lion's expression instantly turned ugly. He could sense that this stranger's strength was unfathomable. He was undoubtedly a top-tier Nen user. But here in District 13, he could not let the Wild Lion Gang lose face just like that. "Who the fuck are you?! You dare meddle in the Wild Lion Gang's business? I suggest you stay out of this, or we'll kill you too!" Wild Lion roared, tightening his grip on the Mountain-Cleaving Axe. His aura surged again as he prepared to fight. Hearing this, the man finally raised his eyelids and gave Wild Lion a glance. It was an indifferent look, yet it carried a bone-piercing chill. "The Wild Lion Gang? Never heard of it." "I'll say it one more time. Leave. Otherwise, none of you will be leaving here today." Before his words had faded, the man's aura erupted. It was nothing like Wild Lion's wild, outwardly surging aura. This aura was restrained to the utmost, yet terrifying beyond measure. Like a bottomless abyss hidden beneath a tranquil sea, it instantly pressed down on everyone present until they could barely breathe. Wild Lion's face went deathly pale, and his body began trembling uncontrollably. At last, he understood what kind of person he had encountered. This man's strength far surpassed anything he had imagined. He was even more terrifying than the governor of District 13. Fighting him head-on meant certain death. "Fine... fine! I'll remember you! We're leaving!" Gritting his teeth, Wild Lion spat out a final threat, then turned and fled with his men without looking back. He did not even bother with the corpses on the ground. The dozen or so men vanished beyond the trash heaps in an instant. At last, the world fell quiet. The man put away his revolver, walked over to Lin Ye, and crouched down, looking at the dying boy with a slight frown. Lying on the ground, Lin Ye looked at the man before him as his consciousness grew hazier and hazier. He opened his mouth, trying to say something, but only coughed up a mouthful of bloody froth. His vision went black, and he passed out completely. Just before he lost consciousness, he heard only one quiet remark from the man. "You're a tough one to kill."
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