Chapter 155: A Battle of Strategy
Slash!
Hisoka lunged first, striking without hesitation.
No matter what Chrollo said… battle and strength were the only truths that mattered.
Hisoka's grin was faintly sinister. During his years with the Phantom Troupe, even if he hadn't fully grasped all of Chrollo's abilities, he knew his fighting style well.
In close combat… he was absolutely superior!
Chrollo held a book in one hand and, with the other, drew a short, strangely shaped blade from his coat.
It wasn't a dagger more like a finely sharpened knife.
Lowering his stance, he didn't retreat; instead, he met Hisoka's demonic assault with a calm smile, not even taking a step back.
"His ability has started… which one is it?"
Chrollo murmured, opening his book slightly as he observed with curiosity.
Chrollo was a thinker ... his intellect was his true weapon. A head-on clash was never to his advantage, and he knew it.
"Heh-heh-heh…"
Hisoka chuckled, interposing himself between Chrollo and the enemy.
Chrollo easily evaded the playing cards Hisoka had hurled earlier but that was merely to shake his defense.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
A flurry of punches followed, Hisoka hammering forward with manic rhythm.
Chrollo staggered and slipped aside, countering at the same time with his blade.
Noticing a faint poison coating the weapon, Hisoka grew alert and dodged instinctively.
"Strange…"
Illumi murmured.
"You noticed it too?" Haze asked, glancing his way.
Illumi nodded. "Hmm… His aura, his Nen output it's above Hisoka's. That's why he dares to face him directly. But logically, Chrollo shouldn't be this strong… The only explanation is that candy he ate earlier."
"An inherited legacy…" Haze thought.
The Nen of Chrollo, Shizuku, and Pakunoda an inherited power.
He didn't inherit their abilities, only their raw Nen and energy.
Even so, it had temporarily raised Chrollo's level to that of an underworld-class combatant.
The two clashed fiercely, weaving across the battlefield.
Hisoka's attacks were relentless, dense, and deadly yet restrained. He wasn't aiming to kill immediately, but to force Chrollo into melee range, limiting his control of the book in his hands and thereby restricting his Nen abilities.
At the same time, Hisoka was studying the unpredictable ways Chrollo wielded his skills.
"It's about to begin," Haze murmured.
Chrollo's physical abilities were exceptional. In a one-on-one fight, he could stand against Silva. Back in Yorknew City, he'd faced both Silva and Zeno at once though he lost, he'd shown impressive capability.
In other words, even the "weaker" members of the Phantom Troupe possessed physical strength far beyond that of normal Nen users.
And now, Chrollo's Nen had reached that very peak.
Across the battlefield, Chrollo moved backward, ducking under Hisoka's spinning kick, his blade flashing toward Hisoka's face. Rather than attack wildly, he sought perfect angles to counter.
Hisoka tilted his head slightly but the blade still sliced off a few strands of his hair.
Behind his back, his fingers flicked, and the cards that had fallen to the ground shot out sideways like bullets.
At the same time, Hisoka used his sticky Nen to immobilize Chrollo's arm preventing him from dodging or blocking since Chrollo's only free hand was still gripping the book.
"Compared to him, you're too simple…"
Chrollo smiled calmly, stabbing through Hisoka's Nen restraint with his sword and freeing himself. He then hurled the blade.
With a sharp whoosh, the cards sliced through Chrollo's coat but missed.
He'd already slipped out of the garment.
The coat hit the ground and Chrollo vanished from Hisoka's sight.
Hisoka twisted to dodge the thrown sword, but his foot slipped. Looking down, he realized the ground, once stone, was now polished smooth like a mirror.
No friction. No traction.
A powerful gust of wind struck the back of his neck.
Bang!
A heavy punch slammed into Hisoka's temple. His eyes reddened instantly, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
The force of the blow was far greater than expected.
Even though he managed to defend in time, Chrollo's boosted Nen easily surpassed his own.
And the attack had landed on a vital spot.
But Hisoka's reaction was inhumanly fast. He used Nen on his legs, making his feet adhere to the ground to stabilize his stance.
It worked barely. Every movement now required him to release and reattach his Nen grip, or else he'd fall again.
Even so, he turned and counterattacked only to find Chrollo had already retreated, circling him gracefully like a skater on ice.
His long black hair swayed as he glided effortlessly across the slick surface.
"The second method," Haze observed.
If Chrollo had borrowed Nen through Quirk's ability, then this must be the real effect ...
domain control.
He had turned the battlefield into his personal territory.
"So, his plan is a one-on-one duel a man's fight," Haze said with a smile.
"If I weren't strong enough to be here, even a slightly weaker underworld-level fighter would've been outmatched… maybe even killed. Ever since I shackled him, Chrollo's been trying his hardest."
In high-level battles like this, it wasn't just about Nen. It was strategy and adaptability.
Hisoka quickly realized he couldn't stay inside this altered zone. He tried to use external objects, expanding and contracting his Nen to escape, but Chrollo was faster. Within this field, his movement speed was several times Hisoka's.
Every step Hisoka took, every twist required intense Nen focus just to stay upright, which slowed his reactions and overloaded his mind.
Chrollo kept cutting off his Nen attacks, darting in with rapid strikes from every angle.
Whenever Hisoka attempted to counter, Chrollo withdrew instantly composed and calculating.
"Hmm… Hisoka's like an insect trapped in a web," Illumi said coldly. "This Nen field isn't even a hundred meters wide, but once caught inside… he can't escape. He can only take hits."
"The situation's bad," Illumi continued flatly. "Hisoka's going to die."
Taking advantage of a brief opening, Hisoka ran. He used Nen to stick his shoes to the floor, trying desperately to escape the field otherwise, he couldn't fight on equal ground.
But after only a few meters, Chrollo's kick sent him sprawling.
He couldn't flee. Couldn't fight freely.
The match was utterly one-sided.
Chrollo pummeled him with relentless blows, Hisoka covering his head like a boxer under fire.
The flurry left him ragged and bloodied.
Hisoka knew that as long as he revealed no weakness, he'd survive but if this kept up, exhaustion would kill him first.
Chrollo's Nen was stronger. His strikes heavier. Even defending drained Hisoka faster than Chrollo attacked.
"You're too weak," Chrollo said coldly, seeing Hisoka falter and guard only his vital points.
Pausing briefly, Chrollo's hand flashed another short silver blade appeared, identical to the first, and he thrust it forward.
He hadn't just hidden a weapon.
"Both hands free… even with the book closed, he's still using a skill," Hisoka realized.
The "bookmark"… that was the trick.
Even as blood dripped from his chin, Hisoka's grin widened.
Just as the blade was about to pierce his abdomen, Hisoka raised his arms dramatically.
"Careful not to hurt your comrades!" he sneered.
In that instant, Machi who had been standing by felt her body jerk uncontrollably.
She was yanked forward, dragged straight into the center of the fight.
Her eyes widened as realization struck: Hisoka had secretly attached a strand of Bungee Gum to her earlier, hiding it perfectly.
Normally she would've noticed but the chaos Haze caused had distracted her.
"Damn you!" Machi hissed.
"Don't be mad," Hisoka smiled.
Her sudden appearance forced Chrollo to sheath his blade and catch her mid-fall.
That instant fleeting, but perfect was all Hisoka needed.
He had been waiting for it.
Using Machi as cover, Hisoka flicked a card toward Chrollo's face.
Chrollo anticipated the strike, but Hisoka's speed combined with Machi's interference left him with no time to react.
The card sliced across his cheek, leaving a deep, bloody line.
Before Machi even regained her balance, she swung at Hisoka but he was already gone.
Even though the floor was slick, debris corpses, broken tables, shattered chairs provided enough footing. Hisoka leapt from one to the next, springing clear of the Nen field.
He'd failed to deal a mortal blow, but he was free.
"What a shame…" he muttered, licking the blood from the card with a wicked smile.
Chrollo steadied Machi, staring at Hisoka coldly.
"How despicable. I thought you truly wanted a one-on-one fight."
Machi glared daggers at Hisoka.
"Can't be helped," Hisoka said lightly. "You used external aid first I just evened the odds. After all, I don't want to die here."
Battered and bruised, Hisoka looked like a mess disheveled hair, torn clothes, body covered in cuts. Yet he was smiling.
"The only one I can attack is her," he said.
Illumi nodded slightly. It made sense if Hisoka had targeted anyone else, they'd have sensed it instantly. Machi, momentarily unfocused, was the only opening.
"Even if he escaped the assimilation field," Illumi added, "he only regained his movement. Hisoka's still at a disadvantage. Chrollo probably has plenty more tricks waiting for him…"
"Who knows?" Haze said quietly from where she sat on a corpse. "Let's keep watching."
...
(End of Chapter)