With no time to think, Blackbra instinctively unleashed his Nen Aura, mixing it with a raging torrent of killing intent and sending it surging forward.
It was his usual tactic. Until that Hunter appeared, even the most seasoned warriors and martial artists had lost all ability to fight back once his killing intent, infused with Nen Aura, engulfed them.
"What?"
Still airborne, Dio stiffened involuntarily as the killing intent enveloped him, but the vibrations of his Hamon actually freed him from its effects.
That momentary hesitation still gave Blackbra an opening.
Blackbra's right fist shot out like a spring-not toward Dio, but into the wall beside him!
Boom!
A small crater appeared in the wall, cracks spreading outward from it, while the recoil launched Blackbra like a cannonball.
Blackbra narrowly escaped the ambushing fist, and Dio's Overdrive struck empty air!
Blackbra flipped several times in midair to dissipate the force before barely managing to land. He immediately turned back and raised his guard.
Only then did he have time to examine his enemy closely-a tall young man who looked to be in his early twenties. Even now, he could see no sign of the man releasing Nen.
But what was that golden current?
Could Nen turn into other forms of energy?
After his failed ambush, Dio turned and saw that his opponent had already taken a defensive stance, so he did not recklessly press forward.
His ambush had failed because he had overlooked an important ability possessed by Nen users-Nen Intimidation.
When ordinary people faced a Nen user's killing intent infused with Nen Aura, even battle-hardened warriors could become paralyzed with fear, or even be frightened to death!
If Hamon energy had not been so extraordinary that it could actually block his opponent's Nen Aura attack, he would probably have been in danger from their very first exchange.
It also sounded a deafening warning bell for Dio. Even though he had read the original story, forgotten details could severely undermine his information advantage.
A Nen user. He hasn't used Conjuration to create a weapon, and he doesn't seem to be planning to fire a Nen Bullet. Is he a Transmuter or a Manipulator?
Dio grew more wary as he began analyzing the enemy before him. He had refrained from using Time Stop during the ambush because he feared his opponent might have some counterattack ability. Now, it seemed he did not.
"Hey, you're not a Hunter, are you? Is that little bounty really worth risking your life?"
Unable to stand the stalemate, Blackbra spoke first, while his hand began inching toward his waist.
Dio remained silent. Speaking would disrupt his breathing, and he needed to maintain it to draw out his Hamon energy.
Without Hamon's protection, his opponent's killing intent would immediately immobilize him.
Still, judging from their brief exchange and the descriptions of Nen users in the original story, the enemy before him was clearly very crude in his use of Nen.
Dio had also noticed Blackbra's hand creeping toward his waist. He probably had some weapon hidden there.
I can't let him get it!
Dio made his decision immediately and advanced without hesitation.
If his opponent was an Enhancer, he would be even harder to deal with once he had a weapon!
Seeing this, Blackbra knew his plan for a surprise attack had fallen through. He abandoned all pretense and quickly pulled his weapon from his waist-a baseball!
During one of his past escapes, he had dreamed of the baseballs he had handled countless times as a pitcher.
When he woke, he discovered that he was actually holding a baseball!
He had named it-[Magic Ball]!
Blackbra lowered his head and focused, then abruptly turned sideways and raised his right leg. His body tightened like a drawn bowstring, steadily gathering power.
His ball-holding right hand twisted behind his head, then snapped forward like a steel whip breaking free of its restraints. The ball flew from his fingertips!
Purple Nen enveloped the baseball as it streaked through the air like a venomous snake, flashing coldly as it struck toward Dio!
Meanwhile, Blackbra bent his knees slightly and pushed backward, preparing to put some distance between them.
Dio stared fixedly at Blackbra. He made no attempt to dodge the incoming baseball and charged straight ahead:
"Time, stop!"
[The World]!!
The world before Dio's eyes abruptly froze and lost its color. Billions of tons of raindrops hung suspended in the air, forming a vast, cold, oppressive curtain.
The baseball stopped abruptly in midair.
He threw a ranged weapon. Was he an Emitter?
The golden Stand, [The World], appeared out of thin air and casually punched the suspended baseball aside.
Dio charged forward with his full attention fixed ahead. The baseball had not slowed him in the slightest.
Outside Time Stop, Blackbra saw Dio charging headlong toward him, completely ignoring the incoming attack. Only one thought filled his mind-
At this distance, with my pitching speed and the power of [Magic Ball], he's dead! I've won!
But before a smile could spread across Blackbra's face, a figure suddenly appeared ahead and to his left, freezing his expression.
Dio's expressionless face filled his vision, and those icy eyes made Blackbra's pupils contract sharply!
What happened? How did he get here? Where's my ball?
Dio had no intention of giving him time to react. He twisted his waist and hips, and with his peculiar breathing, golden Hamon surged into his left fist.
Without hesitation, Dio unleashed a punch pushed to its utmost limit!
[Sunlight Yellow Overdrive]!
The most powerful heavy punch among the Hamon Overdrives tore through the air as Dio drove it savagely into Blackbra's waist!
In that split second, Blackbra only had time to swing his left hand over to shield his side.
Bang!
Blackbra instantly felt as though a massive iron hammer had struck him. His body doubled over like a cooked shrimp as he was hurled into the air.
The unbelievable agony made Blackbra's mouth gape open, but no sound came out.
Dio lowered his shoulder with the momentum. His right arm swept up like a gathering storm, shattering the raindrops in its path as he drove a vicious uppercut toward the airborne Blackbra before he could muster any strength!
Finish him while he's down!
Sensing death approaching, Blackbra's adrenaline surged and his mind raced. At the critical instant, he roared inwardly:
[Magic Ball], come back!!!
The baseball Blackbra had just thrown, still flying through the air, seemed to strike an invisible wall and accelerated to a speed far greater than before,
hurtling toward Dio!
Dio had not expected the baseball to return, let alone faster than its initial throwing speed!
Trailing a fierce rush of wind, the baseball tore through the curtain of rain and just barely grazed Dio's knuckles, knocking his supposedly certain punch off course!
No! He's not an Emitter!
Dio suddenly realized his earlier judgment had been wrong. His enemy's failure to use Conjuration to create a weapon at the start of their encounter had led him to misjudge the man.
Simply throwing a projectile weapon had also seemed much like an Emitter's approach.
But for a pure Emitter to make that baseball follow such a trajectory would require extremely advanced skill.
Although Emission was adjacent to Manipulation, it was still a different category. Judging by the speed and strength his enemy had displayed, his Nen probably could not manage that level of control.
There were two possible explanations-he was a Conjurer, and the baseball had a special ability!
Or he was a Manipulator who was simply controlling the baseball.
Dio leaned toward the former. If the man was a Manipulator, why control a fabric-covered baseball rather than an iron ball or some other kind of ball?
That meant he had used Conjuration to create the baseball in advance to make others mistake it for a real one!
In reality, it was a weapon created through Conjuration with a special ability.
When an enemy dodged his pitch and shifted their attention away from it, he would control the baseball to attack them from behind!
Kurapika used a similar approach in the manga. I didn't expect some random wanted criminal to have a tactic like this, too.
Surely he hadn't used Conjuration to create the baseball, failed to figure out how to dismiss it, and kept it around ever since?
Dio's heavy punch missed, throwing him off balance. He realized that his best opportunity to finish the man had passed.
The baseball had only grazed his knuckles, so his right fist had not suffered much damage.
Dio forcibly checked his momentum and took several quick steps forward, barely regaining his balance.
Even so, he believed that after taking that lightning-fast punch, even a Nen user would probably be struggling to endure it now!
Before you continue