Eyes enhanced by aura could see farther and clearer.
Not to mention the humanoid soldiers formed from white smoke gathering on the ship's deck... just the iconic giant pipe carried on the tall, burly man's shoulder, along with distinctive features like his prominent bulbous nose and broad jawline, were enough for Morrow to confirm his identity.
Without a doubt, this was the Single Star Sea Hunter Morel, who had shone brilliantly during the original Chimera Ant incident.
But how had Chimera provoked Morel?
Could it have accidentally caused trouble while foraging?
Morrow considered this possibility.
Because Chimera had a huge appetite, Morrow typically allowed it to forage independently.
Since this place bordered the sea, Chimera naturally chose to hunt in the ocean when it needed to eat.
After all, the sea was rich in resources, easily satisfying Chimera's dietary requirements.
However, Morrow had given Chimera commands such as not harming or coming into contact with humans while foraging. Given Chimera's obedience, it definitely wouldn't act recklessly.
On the sea surface, the ship cut through the waves.
Morel, carrying his iconic giant pipe, keenly detected a gaze coming from the cliff on the shore.
His eyes shifted and he spotted Morrow maintaining Ten at the cliff's edge.
That person...
Morel's eyes behind his sunglasses flickered slightly, then he suddenly looked up at Chimera flying through the air with beating wings.
He abruptly realized this magical beast, which had never appeared in rumors or records, wasn't fleeing but flying with clear purpose toward the young man at the cliff's edge.
Moreover, judging by its current flight posture, it showed no intention of attacking or hunting, instead revealing a hint of... joy?
Could it be that this magical beast was tamed by that young man? Impossible!
Morel shook his head sharply, instantly dismissing this absurd speculation.
The only certainty was that this magical beast's behavioral change might be related to that young Nen user at the cliff.
Rather than the taming theory, it was more likely some kind of Manipulation ability with strict conditions.
A slightly anxious male voice suddenly came from behind Morel.
"Hey, hey, there's someone over at the cliff! If we don't quickly control this big guy..."
"Calm down, Grachan."
Morel steadily gripped his pipe, gently resting the smoking end on the deck as he calmly said, "This mysterious magical beast clearly holds no hostility toward that person. It might even have been summoned by him."
"Morel, are you joking?"
Grachan, wearing only boxers and revealing his wheat-colored, muscular upper body, widened his eyes, his rugged face filled with disbelief.
Morel continued explaining without turning around:
"That Nen bullet that streaked across the sky earlier was most likely fired by that person. Grachan, think carefully, this magical beast immediately showed an aggressive posture when facing us, but after that Nen bullet appeared, it immediately turned and flew toward the shore."
"This..."
Grachan thought back and found it was indeed true.
Earlier, when they intended to control the magical beast, they had mentally prepared themselves to provoke it before taking action.
And that's exactly what happened. The magical beast was enraged by them, but suddenly withdrew its hostility and turned to flee.
The reason for its abrupt change seemed to be the Nen bullet streaking across the sky like a signal flare.
At this thought, a speculation instantly surfaced in Grachan's mind.
Could this magical beast have been tamed by that young man?
After all, only domesticated creatures would forcibly suppress their instincts due to a "command."
But the idea of taming a magical beast was virtually unheard of.
"Grachan, let's move closer first."
Morel took a deep drag from his smoke pipe and exhaled a massive cloud of smoke, which quickly coalesced into numerous Deep Purple soldiers.
After these preparations, he said with a serious expression, "No matter what, our priority is to restrain that magical beast."
"Understood."
Grachan's expression tightened, and he suddenly raised his right arm.
Following his gesture, a smoke soldier who had just emerged from the cabin swiftly tossed over a surfboard with a white smoke cloud swirling around its tail.
Snap!
Grachan caught the surfboard firmly, took a swift step over the railing, and leaped toward the sea.
His original Nen ability was to conjure a surfboard, but this ability could only be activated on rainy days.
With clear skies at the moment, the conditions for his ability were naturally unmet, forcing him to rely on an ordinary surfboard enhanced by Morel's white smoke ability.
Splash.
The surfboard landed on the sea first, sending sprays of water into the air.
Grachan followed closely, landing steadily on the surfboard. His agile figure remained motionless amidst the waves, showcasing remarkable balance.
Seeing this, Morel immediately activated the white smoke attached to the surfboard's tail.
The smoke cloud spun rapidly, transforming into an efficient propeller.
The surfboard, which would otherwise drift with the waves, instantly gained powerful momentum, carving a straight white wake across the sea.
With the assistance of Morel's Nen ability, Grachan sped toward the cliff on the shore at an astonishing rate.
Though the relationship between the magical beast and the young Nen user remained unclear, as Morel had stated, the immediate task was to restrict the magical beast's freedom of movement.
Their relentless pursuit of the beast was due to its earlier entanglement with a fishing net in the seabed, which ultimately caused the fishing boat to capsize and sink.
Although all the fishermen aboard had been rescued, the danger posed by the magical beast was evident.
As Pro Hunters, Morel and Grachan could not stand idly by when encountering a creature that threatened public safety.
Chimera, having received Morrow's Shooting Star summons, paid no heed to Morel and Grachan's intentions. Its sole thought was to return to Morrow's side.
At the edge of the cliff.
Morrow observed the formation Morel had deployed and thought to himself that Chimera must have indeed caused trouble.
But to know exactly what had happened, he would need to ask.
As a member of the Hunter Association now, he had no concerns about communicating with Morel.
As this thought crossed his mind, Morrow suddenly noticed Morel's movements on the ship's deck.
"Hmm?"
Morrow raised an eyebrow as he saw Morel suddenly assume a baseball batting stance. The giant smoke pipe cut a sharp arc through the air, its massive bowl striking a suspended smoke ball with force.
Thud!
Accompanied by a dull impact sound, the smoke ball shot out like a cannonball, flying straight toward Chimera in the sky. Yet the tail of the smoke ball trailed a white smoke ribbon, from which dozens of Deep Purple soldiers were linked.
These smoke-constructed soldiers were as light as nothing, now being dragged high into the air like kites, without affecting the smoke ball's flight speed in the slightest.
"Tch."
Seeing this, Morrow could only marvel at the sheer versatility of Morel's ability.
Or rather, the malleability of smoke allowed it to exhibit diverse auxiliary capabilities in coordinated actions.
But admiration aside, Morrow had no intention of letting Morel attack Chimera.
「Shooting Star · Gemini」
Morrow swiftly mobilized his aura output, raised his hand toward the Deep Purple formation being carried skyward by the smoke ball, and condensed a Nen bullet in his palm in an instant before firing it.
Whoosh!
The Shooting Star shot through the air, instantly splitting into dozens of Nen bullets.
On the ship's deck.
Morel's expression shifted slightly.
What fast Hatsu... This person is extremely powerful.
Just from this astonishing release speed alone, Morel reached his judgment, simultaneously confirming his earlier speculation.
This highly skilled young man was indeed connected to that magical beast.
Even so, restraining the magical beast's mobility took priority.
In response to Morrow's Emission attack, Morel quickly reacted.
Under his precise control, the Deep Purple soldiers linked in the air shrank in size to reduce their target area.
But that wasn't all.
Morel stared intently at the numerous Nen bullets approaching like a meteor shower.
He actually attempted, relying on his reaction speed, to manipulate the Deep Purple soldiers into creating holes in their bodies before the Nen bullets hit, allowing the projectiles to pass through the voids...
Though the idea was sound, humans ultimately have their limits.
Morel couldn't perform such precise micro-manipulation on so many Deep Purple soldiers. As the meteor shower of Nen bullets arrived, over half were destroyed in the initial confrontation.
Had he not preemptively reduced the Deep Purple soldiers' size and controlled some to implement void defense measures, this wave of Star Rain would have been enough to annihilate all the Deep Purple soldiers.
Morrow observed Morel's countermeasures clearly, truly witnessing this Sea Hunter's exquisite control.
The smoke soldiers have high control precision but extremely weak durability... The remaining ones aren't worth worrying about.
After destroying over half the smoke soldiers, Morrow slowly lowered his hand without further action.
He could tell Morel insisted on targeting Chimera to manage potential risks.
This was typical Pro Hunter behavior.
Moreover, Morrow suspected Chimera might have caused trouble, so before formally communicating with Morel and the others, he naturally wouldn't let the situation escalate further.
Just then, amid the howling sea wind, a sharp whistling sound suddenly tore through the air.
From the sea surface below, a harpoon came flying through the air.
Morrow glanced down, instantly tracking the harpoon's trajectory and determining it would merely pass by his side.
However, Morrow unnecessarily extended his hand, accurately catching the incoming harpoon.
Hum!
The harpoon's shaft was firmly gripped by Morrow's right hand. In the transition from extreme motion to complete stillness, the entire harpoon vibrated violently, emitting a resentful humming.
The harpoon's tail was connected to a slender iron chain, tethered within the smoke cluster at the rear of Grachan's surfboard. The harpoon had been thrown by Grachan.
His intention wasn't to harm Morrow, but he hadn't expected Morrow to catch it so effortlessly.
Seeing this, Grachan didn't hesitate any longer. He decisively leaped onto the slender iron chain and sprinted along it at incredible speed.
The chain was quite thin, and with the surfboard moving with the waves, it swayed in the sea breeze like a wind chime.
Yet, with astonishing balance, Grachan moved across the chain as if walking on flat ground, maintaining impressive speed.
At the same time.
On the ship's deck, Morel placed the mouthpiece of his pipe between his lips.
Well done, Grachan... I won't waste these few seconds you've bought me. And... the sky is on our side too.
Morel took a deep drag from his pipe, his chest swelling abruptly as he simultaneously gauged the wind's direction with his skin.
Right now, there happened to be a favorable wind blowing toward the shore!
This allowed him to blow out a smoke net at maximum speed while Grachan distracted their opponent, then ride the tailwind to join the remaining Deep Purple soldiers in casting an inescapable net around the magical beast.
In that moment, Morel and Grachan shared a tacit understanding, both knowing what needed to be done and how to coordinate with each other.
But Morrow wouldn't let them have their way.
Although Grachan's reckless and hasty action had indeed captured Morrow's attention, based on his understanding of Morel's abilities, Morrow knew that for Morel and Grachan to achieve their initially revealed objective, the key still lay in Morel's smoke ability.
Therefore, even with Grachan's movements, Morrow never relaxed his focus on Morel.
「Astral Step」
Without even releasing the harpoon in his hand, Morrow's figure suddenly blurred and vanished.
The harpoon he had been holding immediately fell from mid-air.
The chain connected to the harpoon instantly lost its support and plunged straight toward the sea surface.
But Grachan was prepared. At the critical moment, he unleashed explosive force from his feet and, bolstered by his aura, launched himself into the air.
Still, Morrow's sudden disappearance shook Grachan's composure.
Simultaneously.
Morrow crossed a hundred-meter distance and materialized out of thin air beside Morel.
His index and middle fingers pressed together, he tapped them against Morel's throat.
"Cough, cough..."
Morel, who had been about to exhale a massive cloud of smoke, widened his eyes abruptly. The moment his windpipe was struck, violent coughing interrupted his Nen ability activation.
A teleportation ability?!
Morel's mind reeled in shock. He immediately retreated while coughing, but felt a numbness in his wrist, followed by a lightness in his hand.
His pipe had already been snatched away by the young man before him.
Morel's expression changed sharply, but finding himself instantly at a disadvantage, his alarm bells quieted instead.
He realized his opponent's "methods" were rather gentle.
Nevertheless, Morel continued retreating while commanding the remaining twenty Deep Purple soldiers on the deck to converge around him.
But in the next instant, streaks of light filled Morel's vision.
He saw Morrow raise his hand, palm upturned, as twenty small spheres condensed from aura appeared.
With a light flick of his fingers, these glowing orbs shot toward the surrounding Deep Purple soldiers with lifelike precision.
The moment each Nen sphere collided with a smoke soldier, both dissolved into particles of Nen energy and vanished.
Witnessing this, Morel's expression shifted with profound shock. He was not only astonished by the opponent's exquisite skill in simultaneously controlling twenty Nen spheres on a single palm, but also realized that Morrow might have considered the possibility of the attack affecting the ship, so... with monstrous judgment, he precisely controlled the power of the Nen spheres to just offset the Deep Purple.
"You..."
As Morel's pupils contracted and he was about to speak, he saw Morrow take out a Hunter License from his person, seemingly intending to use his identity as a Pro Hunter to indicate he meant no harm.
Seeing that Hunter License, Morel had only one question at that moment.
When did such a figure emerge in the Association!?
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Bonus chapter @1000power stones