Authors Note:
Hey everyone,
I'd really appreciate some feedback on this chapter. The fight doesn't quite feel right to me yet. Parts of it were written by me, and parts were assisted by AI, and I think that disconnect might be showing.
More specifically, the fight doesn't feel fully Hunter × Hunter–worthy in terms of tone, pacing, or character hierarchy. I'm not completely satisfied with how the movements, Nen usage, and overall flow come together.
I hope that the next time we get a fight like this it will be beter.
------------------------------------------------------
Serik's Ren rose first.
It surged unevenly around his body, pooling too thick around his fists before settling back into his frame. Whatever he was holding back slipped through anyway—anger bled into his aura until it pressed outward, heavy enough to feel from afar.
Illumi felt it at once.
His Zetsu disengaged a fraction too late, the shift scraping against Serik's Ren before his own aura snapped into place.
Neither announced the fight. That moment had already passed.
Illumi moved.
A single step forward, straight and precise. His hand cut toward Serik's throat, fingers aligned, wrist relaxed. The strike was clean enough that, if unanswered, it would end the exchange immediately.
The attack was too fast, Serik stepped diagonally, but his heel planted harder than intended. The stone bit back. Illumi's fingers passed close enough that the skin on Serik's neck prickled from displaced air. His forearm brushed Illumi's wrist to redirect, but the contact lingered a hair too long.
Illumi's hand completed the motion into empty space.
He adjusted instantly.
A second strike followed, lower this time, angled toward the ribs. Serik could not fully evade it. He accepted part of the impact, Ren thickening as the blow landed against his side.
Emperor's Root.
The force traveled through his frame, down his legs, and into the ground. The stone beneath his feet vibrated faintly.
The hit landed.
"Ugh"
Serik did not move but took an unintended sharp breath from the lingering pain.
Illumi withdrew half a step, eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly.
'Not perfectly.' Illumi thought
He accelerated.
The next sequence came faster—Illumi closed the distance with a single step and started attacking succesivly with his fist, palm, knees and elbows leaving no pause for reassessment. The strategy changed from singular to cumulative pressure.
Serik moved around the strikes rather than away from them, stepping inside angles that would have been unsafe against a less precise opponent. His guard stayed closed, his weight settling after each movement. A strike clipped his shoulder—dull impact, controlled. Another caught his thigh, deeper this time. His leg stiffened for a fraction of a second before the force drained into the ground.
'Shit'
Illumi's strikes were landing.
They simply were not having much of an effect. Serik was redirecting all of the power into the ground, that did not mean that Serik had it easy he still felt pain and was unable to counterattack up until this point, Illumi did not give him any opening, he could not see a way to redirect the attack towards Illumi.
Illumi's focus sharpened.
He altered his approach.
Illumi began targeting Seriks ribs and stomach with sharpend hands.
Serik adjusted.
Moon Hollow.
He did not oppose the force. He received it. His arm traced a shallow arc, guiding Illumi's momentum past him rather than away. The movement was subtle enough that it almost looked like compliance.
Illumi for the first time felt a sense of danger from Serik.
For an instant, his balance wavered.
Serik did not capitalize.
Illumi recovered immediately by backing away, but something had changed.
'I have fallen into his rhythm, I need to break out of it.'
Illumi pressed even harder.
Serik saw Illumi's attempt to break his rhythm but all he gave was a small smile.
The spacing closed further. There was less room to reposition, less margin for error. Against most opponents, this would force mistakes.
but against Serik, it stripped away excess.
Moon Hollow became smaller. Each redirection required less movement. Illumi's own acceleration fed the technique, his pressure narrowing his options rather than expanding them.
Illumi committed—only slightly more than before.
It was enough.
Serik was already there.
Moon Hollow opened the line.
'Take this'
Jade Pulse.
No wind-up. Just a clean and precise, compact strike placed on his ribs. The impact drove Illumi back a couple of steps.
Serik started taking on a casual stance that looked like he let his gaurd down, but his legs were in position ready for any unexpected movements and Illumi noticed that. He touched the place Serik hit. It hurt but what hurt more was the fact that Serik seemed to be smug and relaxed at this moment, somebody he evaluated as his lesser seemed more like a worthy adversary than he thought.
"What do you think now of me Illumi?, Am I still easy to catch up on."
Illumi went into his stance and said "You are not that far off"
This ticked Serik. The rhythm of his stance faltered, just enough that he had to consciously reset it.
That was deliberate, Serik concluded. 'I can not let him get to me, I know what I have been through' Serik closed his eyes his mind went into overdrive. He traced the scar on his chest with his finger. Slowly, he started feeling the same drive he had when facing Jons challenges, the unwavering desire for victory.', Illumi noticed a shift in Seriks nen but could see no opening so he continued assasing the situation before reacting.
The space between them filled—not with hostility, but accumulated intensity. Ren pressed heavily against Ren, testing the boundaries.
That was when Jons and Tsubone stepped back into the garden.
Tsubone halted the moment she sensed the exchange of aura.
'He shifted' is what Jons thought when he saw Serik standing there with his eyes closed.
"I suppose it was unavoidable," she said calmly. "This is what happens when new Nen users are placed too close together."
Her gaze moved between the two fighters.
"And their dispositions are poorly matched."
Jons exhaled slowly.
"I'm fairly certain my young master initiated it."
Tsubone did not look at him.
"That is irrelevant," she replied. "Only the outcome matters."
Jons turned fully toward her.
"You want to wager?"
Tsubone's lips curved faintly.
"I knew you wouldn't resist."
"You seem the greater gambler," Jons said.
Her eyes gleamed.
"Then we choose our own young masters. If I win, I want your strongest poison."
Jons considered briefly.
"Fine. If I win, I want a promise. If my young master ever asks you for something reasonable, you will comply."
Tsubone paused—genuinely surprised.
Then she smiled.
"Agreed."
'Easy win' is what they both thought as their focus returned to the fight.
Illumi moved again.
The needles came free, and with them, something else dropped away.
The pressure changed. It stopped spreading and began to point.
Serik opened his eyes just as Illumi stepped into range.
Illumi's movements became narrower with one hand he stabbed towards Seriks collarbone and with the other towards his stomach. Serik used moon hollow to deflect the hits but he was a step too late.
The first needle slipped in beneath Serik's collarbone.
Serik's breath caught as the metal bit through flesh and aura together. This gave Illumi the openeing he needed to pierce Seriks stomach.
Serik adjusted immediately, Ren thickening in his stomach area, but that adjustment created another gap.
Illumi found it.
A needle sank into Serik's thigh, shallow enough to avoid disabling the leg, deep enough to send a sharp burn through the muscle.
Serik grimaced and frustration became evident on his face but he did not take a step back.
he adjusted his form and took the stance for moon hollow, this time he would deflect them precisly.
Illumi did not wait for Serik to recover he pressed.
He stopped chasing strikes and began carving space—forcing Serik to choose which areas to protect, then punishing the choice.
A needle glanced off hardened Ren at Serik's shoulder. Another slipped in at the forearm. None proved fatal.
Now it was Seriks turn he moved inside the pressure.
Moon Hollow tightened. He stopped trying to redirect everything and instead guided Illumi closer.
That was the mistake Illumi had been waiting for.
but Serik proved to be a tough nut, he stepped into range as his thigh screamed in protest and struck.
Jade Pulse.
"Crack"
The impact snapped through Illumi's guard and into his ribs. A dry crack split the air as bone gave way and Illumi was driven backward.
Illumi adjusted mid-air, Serik tried to follow but he was step too late his leg refused to move faster.
Illumi took this chance to run towards Serik with a needle planning on stabbing Seriks heart and finish this fight.
Seeing this Serik took a deep breath focused and noticed that Illumi has started favoring his right, the trajectory was unclear, so serik decided to make it clear he moved his nen towards his stomach and pelvis, took his stance and waited for Illumi to reach him.
Illumi seeing the distribution of Seriks nen continued with his plan to stab him in the heart, a heart beat later Illumi reached the required distance, Serik took this moment to gambleand moved his nen towards his heart but most of it towards his legs and kicked at Illumis left side.
"Crack"
Serik proved to be better at timing this time around.
Illumi disengaged immediately, landing several steps away. His right arm hung at an unnatural angle. Even his breathing became a little labored.
Serik did not pursue.
He stood still, chest rising unevenly. Blood seeped slowly from the multiple puncture wounds. One needle remained lodged just below his shoulder, vibrating faintly with residual Nen.
Neither advanced.
For a moment, only Ren pressed against Ren—thinner now, but the intensity only grew stronger.
Illumi spoke first.
"Neither of us have the advantage."
Serik lifted his chin slightly.
"So what, I never planned on defeating you outright," he said. "I wanted you to feel the gap between us. So you would never call me an easy target again. This gap you see here will only grow wider."
Their stances loosened from regicnition that the fight has ended.
Pushing further would mean permanent damage.
The exchange had already said everything that mattered.
Jons and Tsubone remained silent, both exhaling in quiet regret.
My poison.
My leverage.
No winner had emerged today.