Atop the mountain peak stood a sacred martial arts ground.
In terms of structural durability, it surpassed the fighting rings of Heavens Arena by a tier.
Yet when Morrow was sent flying backward, he still managed to crater the wall with his impact.
The thunderous collision echoed instantly across the entire mountaintop.
The Shingen-ryu master of the dojo and his hundreds of disciples all heard the commotion but remained unmoved.
Netero had already briefed them beforehand.
On the open training grounds.
The outcome of Morrow and Hisoka's initial exchange had left the examinees utterly stunned.
The terrifying speed and staggering impact force.
Every frame unfolding before their eyes challenged their very understanding of combat.
Even Killua broke out in a cold sweat at that moment.
This was the consequence of lacking a profound understanding of Nen.
If even Killua, born into the Zoldyck Family, reacted this way, it went without saying how the other examinees, completely ignorant of Nen, must have felt.
Kalluto silently glanced at the startled Killua, complex emotions stirring within.
It was all because of the Nen needle implanted by their eldest brother, Illumi. Not only had it altered Killua's perceptions and memories, but it also made him excessively sensitive to danger.
Many times, Kalluto had considered removing the Nen needle from Killua.
Such thoughts would have been unthinkable in the past.
But under Morrow's influence, Kalluto had begun forming his own opinions and daring to make decisions.
Yet despite these intentions, he always stopped short of action.
Because inserting the needle into Killua's mind had been a collective family decision.
Even allowing Killua to be exposed to Nen abilities required the family's approval.
Watching Killua's reaction now, Kalluto recalled their encounter with Hisoka in the Milsy Wetlands.
Back then, Hisoka's unrestrained, distorted aura, amplified by the Nen needle, had nearly traumatized Killua.
If only he had mastered Nen, it wouldn't have been so severe.
With a soft sigh in his heart, Kalluto accepted this was beyond his power to change.
On the training grounds.
Hanzo dragged the petrified Gon into a swift retreat, not stopping until they reached the edge of the field.
His earlier words to Gon had been emotional.
But that didn't mean he wanted to watch the young man throw his life away.
So while distancing themselves from the danger, he'd brought Gon along.
At this moment.
Including Hanzo, numerous gazes, ranging from shock to horror, were fixed on the scene.
Before the dust-shrouded wall.
A figure stirred the sandy haze, quickly revealing himself to be Morrow, who appeared completely unharmed.
So he combined the properties of "Bungee Gum" and endowed his body with rubber-like traits... Similar to Tsubone's Conjuration ability. It seems he actively sought change, shifting part of his Nen System's focus toward Conjuration.
Morrow strode calmly out of the dust, musing to himself.
He had seen it clearly when Hisoka activated his ability.
This was no longer a pure application of "Bungee Gum," it was part of his body directly transforming into rubber. This type of ability application is one direction within the Conjuration category.
It essentially treats the "body" as a clay-like substance, then under the influence of Nen, molds (conjures) the body into the desired form.
In Morrow's understanding, Gel's ability to directly conjure her arms into snake-type Nen Beasts, and Tsubone's capability to transform her body into various vehicles, both fall into this category.
He hadn't expected Hisoka, whose Nen System was already highly refined, to seek change and develop this direction of ability.
All for... Defeating me.
Morrow's eyelids lowered slightly, the corners of his mouth curling into a faint smile.
Soon, the smile gradually widened, spreading across his entire face.
Illumi was like this, and so was Hisoka.
Then let's fight.
Morrow's aura output suddenly surged and billowed like flames.
Not for survival, not for victory or defeat.
Only to see whose "Nen" was more correct, more powerful!
Finally responding to me without holding back... I'm so happy.
Hisoka's unique antenna instantly picked up the signal of Morrow's aura.
His excitement, which could only be fully unleashed in life-or-death battles, broke through its previous threshold at this moment.
So Hisoka immediately responded.
Whoosh!
Hisoka's surrounding aura abruptly erupted again, actually stirring up a shockwave through the flow of his aura.
Squish.
Immediately after, Hisoka's feet compressed once more, adopting an offensive stance.
On the other side of the training ground.
Morrow's body was also surging with torrential aura as he stepped forward, slowly raising his right hand level.
With this movement, the distribution of his aura output changed rapidly, flowing to his arm in an instant and condensing in his palm within the blink of an eye.
The state of his aura became sharply focused in that moment, taking the form of a spear.
But after completing the aura mobilization, Morrow didn't immediately release Shooting Star.
Hisoka keenly detected this pause before Morrow released his ability.
He didn't let this opportunity slip.
Or rather, he was extremely confident.
Swish!
The compressed limbs and pink Nen rubber suddenly released, their incredible elasticity once again granting Hisoka tremendous explosive power. His figure vanished into thin air, as if instantly merging with the atmosphere.
Yet the shrill sound left behind proved Hisoka's change in position.
Moving at a speed barely visible to the naked eye, he attacked Morrow once again.
「Astral Step」
Maintaining the condensed aura in his right hand, Morrow also disappeared into thin air the moment Hisoka activated his ability.
The next instant, Hisoka's figure appeared first, but Morrow's trace had vanished before his eyes.
Simultaneously, Morrow appeared at Hisoka's original position, as if the two had instantly swapped places.
But in this round of confrontation, Morrow had gained the upper hand.
The reason was simple.
Distance has always been one of the advantages of Emission, and Morrow had already condensed aura in his dominant hand before using Astral Step.
This meant he could launch an attack at the fastest possible speed.
「Shooting Star · Star Rain」
Nen bullets instantly materialized in Morrow's palm, then split into dozens of projectiles that shot toward Hisoka's back like a meteor shower.
At this moment, Hisoka, having lost his attack target, remained in his ready stance. If anyone had approached him at that moment, he could have seamlessly followed up with an attack.
Yet Morrow chose to create distance while freely leveraging the advantages of Emission.
In an instant, beam-like Nen bullets bombarded Hisoka's body and the surrounding ground.
Boom!
A dense series of explosions instantly engulfed Hisoka.
For a moment, shattered stones flew and waves of dust billowed endlessly.
But Morrow's eyes remained sharp as an eagle's, seemingly able to pierce through the smoke to observe Hisoka's condition.
After the explosions subsided, he condensed a fluorescent green Nen bullet in his right hand.
「Deceptive Shooting Star」
Morrow casually tossed Deceptive Shooting Star behind him, then crouched with his palm pressed against the ground, his gaze fixed on the spreading dust.
By observing the dust's movement, he could detect Hisoka's actions in advance.
So from the moment Hisoka was swallowed by the dust, any attempt at a sudden offensive would inevitably reveal itself first.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...!
Suddenly, fragments of stone pierced through the dust, cutting through the air with sharp whistling sounds as they shot toward Morrow.
These stone fragments were clearly debris from when Morrow had earlier smashed against the wall.
After switching from offense to defense to block the attack of Shooting Star · Star Rain, Hisoka had likely used his Bungee Gum ability to remotely adhere to the stone fragments behind him, then contracted and launched them.
This not only disrupted the dust flow to interfere with Morrow's judgment but also used the stone fragments' assault to create an opportunity for his next attack.
The moment Morrow saw the stones piercing through the dust, he discerned Hisoka's intention.
Meaningless.
Morrow's gaze burned intensely. Under the effect of Gyo, he confirmed that the stone fragments carried no residual Bungee Gum, only pure aura enveloped them.
No need to evade.
With his current aura output level, rapid switching between offense and defense wasn't exactly effortless, but it was far from strained.
Simply put, he could now fight with ample resources.
Maintaining his crouched stance with one hand pressed to the ground, Morrow let the airborne stone fragments strike his face and body. With a sharp crack, they shattered into fine debris.
Throughout the entire process, Morrow didn't even blink.
At that moment, Hisoka flashed out from within the dust.
Morrow, fully prepared, seized the moment to channel aura into the ground.
「Insidious Shooting Star」
A stellar cross materialized along Hisoka's trajectory.
However, Hisoka skillfully utilized the elastic burst speed granted by his rubber-like properties. Even with Morrow's high-level prediction, he couldn't compensate for the casting delay of Insidious Shooting Star.
Or rather, Hisoka's speed stat had surpassed what mere tactics could counter.
He bypassed the area marked by the stellar cross, his form blurring into an arrow-like afterimage as he closed in on Morrow once more.
Morrow lifted his gaze, his expression unchanged.
With such speed, trying to land a hit through prediction alone was indeed impractical...
Morrow had somewhat anticipated that Insidious Shooting Star would struggle to keep up with Hisoka's velocity. He immediately withdrew his hand and rose, entering a defensive stance preemptively.
Unconcerned with Morrow's thoughts, Hisoka harnessed the speed boost from his elasticity, his entire body radiating a fierce, tiger-like assault as he threw another powerful punch at Morrow. The earlier Deceptive Shooting Star and the release of Insidious Shooting Star had somewhat dispersed Morrow's aura output.
Therefore, as long as he maintained this fierce offensive, Hisoka was confident he could break through Morrow's defenses.
Yet Morrow remained calm in the face of danger, crossing his arms in front of him.
Boom!
Hisoka's ferocious punch landed on Morrow's crossed arms, instantly creating a violent shockwave of aura.
The powerful impact sent Morrow's body flying backward.
However, thanks to his Nen defense, the punch still caused him no harm.
Hisoka's speed was indeed astonishing, but it was limited to linear charges.
This undoubtedly made it easier for Morrow to track his trajectory.
Thus, even without using his Starlight Convergence ability, Morrow could rely on his combat instincts to defend against Hisoka's attacks.
And now, he was flying backward at an incredible speed.
This was because he hadn't allocated much aura to his feet while defending against Hisoka's strike.
The reason for this maneuver was... Counterattack!
While airborne, Morrow abruptly twisted his body, executing a motion akin to a swimming pool turn, bending his legs and stomping toward a specific spot.
And that spot... Was the Deceptive Shooting Star he had thrown earlier, now hovering motionless in midair.
Morrow's feet landed smoothly on the stationary Shooting Star, the entire sequence flowing naturally as if it were the result of precise calculation.
Crack!
The moment his soles touched the Shooting Star, Morrow exerted force, shattering it with a powerful stomp.
A brief, crisp sound, like shattering glass, echoed through the air.
At the source, starlight fragmented.
And Morrow, swift as lightning, retraced his path in an instant, arriving before Hisoka.
At this moment, Hisoka hadn't even retracted his extended punching arm.
So when his pupils reflected Morrow's figure, they abruptly contracted, and he saw a fist enveloped in solidified aura rapidly enlarging in his vision.
Morrow returned the punch.
Boom!
The aura-wrapped fist struck Hisoka's face.
With a dull thud, Hisoka's face deformed like a sponge under the impact, and in the next instant, he was sent flying sideways, crashing violently into the thick wall of the training ground.
Another loud crash reverberated through the arena.
Hisoka's body embedded itself into the wall, sending fragments of stone flying and raising a cloud of dust.
This astonishing scene... Caused the observing examinees to instinctively retreat, pressing their backs against the wall until they could go no further.
Although the arena was spacious, they still felt an intense sense of danger.
After all, they didn't believe their bodies were tougher than that thick wall; if caught in the crossfire, they might be instantly pulverized.
If even the examinees outside the arena felt so insecure, how much more so for Hanzo and Gon, who remained on the field.
Dammit, stop fighting already!!!
Hanzo's forehead was already covered in cold sweat as he inwardly shouted, If you're going to keep fighting, at least take my number tag first!!!
Gon's thoughts weren't as elaborate as Hanzo's.
Witnessing Morrow and Hisoka's fist-to-fist clash firsthand, the terrifying speed and power nearly froze his mind.
The world... Was revealing its dangerous side to him.
Inside the arena.
Before the thick wall, smoke and dust billowed and spread.
Morrow looked at the churning smoke and slowly clenched his right hand.
The punch he had just landed on Hisoka's face felt rather strange in terms of sensation.
"Did he turn his face rubbery at the last moment?"
Sensing the peculiar texture lingering on his fist, Morrow muttered to himself.