Hisoka felt a strange mix of emotions after hearing that answer.
"I see... thanks."
He ended the call and lay silently in the hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling.
Kaizen's answer... it might be true, or it might be a lie.
That was the tricky thing about information.
If someone doesn't tell you, you stay in the dark.
But once they do? You can never be sure it's the truth.
"Still... one thing's for certain—right now, I'm no match for Kaizen."
"At his age, that level of strength... even the Zoldycks would call it excessive."
"Illumi's aura can't compare to his."
"It's unsettling..."
He chuckled dryly.
"I'm not even looking forward to my fight with Chrollo anymore."
And yet, Hisoka had no intention of backing down.
If his interest in Chrollo had been at 100 before, now it was just slightly less—maybe 95.
As for Kaizen's abilities? What he revealed was only part of the truth.
Currently, Kaizen had six known nen beasts.
Among them, Natsu and Uchiha Sasuke were considered the most powerful.
Killer Queen, Chitong, and the Lantern Ghost's ability also posed serious threats—somewhat buggy, even.
They weren't "A-rank" by conventional standards, but they were incredibly dangerous.
Kaizen also had two things he used often.
One of them was the Hexflare Bomb.
This time, he even entered the fight himself, without relying on the Sumas Space ability.
All things considered, he'd only shown about half of what he could do.
Kaizen left the arena.
Hisoka ended up in the hospital.
The match was long over, but discussion about it hadn't died down.
If anything, it was only getting more heated across Heavens Arena.
Kaizen's name was quickly becoming legend—"young genius" was no exaggeration.
But even so, no one dared to look down on Hisoka.
The Floor Masters ranked Kaizen as one of the Upper Floor Masters—and not just among them, but one of the most formidable.
As for the Middle and Lower Floor Masters, they'd reached a quiet consensus:
Once Hisoka was cleared to challenge for the Floor Master title again, anyone standing in his way... would surrender without a fight.
There was no need to risk it.
Hisoka was too strong, too unpredictable, too bloodthirsty.
Losing your life in the ring wasn't just possible—it was likely.
Becoming a Floor Master was prestigious, sure.
But compared to staying alive?
It wasn't worth it.
Most of the fighters on that level already had access to resources and income.
Even opening a private dojo could bring in a fortune.
...
At the TST training base, Sadaso returned.
Killua and Gon continued their training with Wing.
...
Up in the skies, an airship glided smoothly through the clouds.
Back at Heavens Arena, a figure with long purple hair stepped into a quiet corner, pulled out her phone, and dialed a number.
The line connected quickly.
"Machi?"
"Boss. I've got something to report."
"Go ahead," Chrollo responded calmly.
"I just watched the match between Hisoka and Kaizen," Machi said. "Kaizen won."
"However, Kaizen was holding back—he didn't fight at full power. He kept some of his abilities hidden."
Chrollo wasn't surprised.
"I figured as much."
He might have already anticipated it before the call.
"With Kaizen's current strength... Boss, I don't think he'd ever agree to join us. He has no reason to."
"In that fight, he used two Nen beasts and one Nen tool."
"One beast had fire-based abilities. The other could use both fire and lightning."
"His nen tool created a variety of explosive effects—Nen bombs."
"His aura capacity is enormous. After that kind of fight, he didn't even look winded."
Chrollo was silent for a moment.
"Then we give up."
"Understood, Boss."
Machi ended the call.
...
Shalnark, who'd been nearby, glanced over.
"What was that about?"
"Machi," Chrollo replied. "She watched the fight between Hisoka and Kaizen. Based on her assessment... Kaizen's strength now surpasses the level where we could reasonably expect him to join the Troupe."
Shalnark raised an eyebrow. "He's that strong?"
"According to her... other than me, there may be no one in the Troupe who could defeat him in a one-on-one."
He paused, then added, "And even I would need to be fully prepared—intelligence, abilities, the works. It can't be a spontaneous fight."
That wasn't arrogance.
It was Chrollo's honest assessment, grounded in confidence in his abilities—and his need for preparation.
But Kaizen? He wasn't afraid of Chrollo. Not even if Chrollo came at him with 100% preparation.
Machi had only seen a fraction of what Kaizen could do.
In a life-or-death situation... his true strength was on another level.
...
"So strong?" Shalnark muttered, shocked.
It felt impossible.
But he knew Chrollo wouldn't deceive him.
And Machi's gut instincts were rarely wrong.
She was one of the most perceptive members of the Troupe.
Shalnark couldn't help but think back to the time he'd seen Kaizen on the airship.
Back then, Kaizen hadn't seemed all that powerful.
In fact, Shalnark was sure he'd been stronger.
But in just a few short years, Kaizen had surpassed all expectations.
It was hard to believe.
"Then I guess we really do have to give up."
With talent like that—and no background from Meteor City—recruiting Kaizen was close to impossible.
Hisoka had been an exception.
But even then, most of the Troupe didn't trust him.
They could sense he'd joined for other reasons.
...
Four days passed.
During that time, Kaizen and the others transferred to a different airship.
It had taken them four days to reach their current location—but this still wasn't their final stop.
They had arrived in a port city.
Gourmet Paradise—a city built on a small island, known across the Human World for its food—was still ahead.
To reach it, they would need to take a luxury cruise ship from the port.
One by one, they boarded.
Gourmet Paradise was considered the culinary capital of the world.
It boasted every type of dish imaginable.
Naturally, it attracted people from every corner of the world—chefs, food lovers, even gourmets of legend.
In some ways, it reminded Kaizen of Heavens Arena.
Both were places that drew in massive crowds.
The Arena attracted fighters and battle junkies.
Gourmet Paradise attracted chefs and food lovers.
And the latter group was far larger.
As the ship neared the island, Kaizen looked out toward the shore.
Even from a distance, he could already feel it...
Gourmet Paradise was unlike anywhere else.
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (1047 chapters in total)