"Brother Ryker, she looks like she's up to no good," Gon whispered, giving the blonde twin-tailed loli a suspicious side-eye.
"I think our three-man team is perfectly fine as it is. Adding another person would just complicate things. Especially a girl. Taking care of her would be way too troublesome," Killua agreed, adopting a mature, serious expression.
Biscuit Krueger's jaw practically unhinged, and the corner of her mouth began to twitch violently.
What do you mean, 'taking care of me would be troublesome'?! And what does being a girl have to do with anything?! Biscuit screamed internally, her carefully constructed cute persona completely crumbling in her mind.
These two snot-nosed brats... they have no idea that I'm literally decades older than them! If I wanted to, I could crush their little skulls with one hand!
Biscuit had initially approached them because she was genuinely intrigued by Ryker. She had never seen anyone defuse a post-mortem bomb using directional counter-explosions. Furthermore, she possessed a twisted, playful hobby of joining groups of young boys and intentionally causing drama to make them fight each other. It was her weird idea of fun.
But to be instantly rejected before she could even start her machinations? That was infuriating.
"Don't worry! I absolutely won't be a burden! I am a very mature and capable young lady!" Biscuit quickly forced a bright, innocent smile back onto her face. "Not only will I not slow you down, but I can also take care of your daily needs! If you let me join, I promise your journey will be much more comfortable!"
She was desperate to get closer to Ryker. Aside from his terrifying physical stats, she had noticed something incredibly subtle about his aura during the fight with Genthru.
Ryker's movements carried the distinct rhythm of the Shingen-Ryu martial arts style.
As the current master of the Shingen-Ryu school (and Wing's teacher), Biscuit was shocked to see an outsider utilizing their closely guarded techniques. She had to know if Wing had secretly taught this monster, or if he had learned it somewhere else.
"Oh? You really want to join us that badly?" Ryker looked down at the loli with a faint, amused smile. "You're even willing to cook, clean, and take care of our daily chores?"
Ryker knew exactly what this old woman was plotting. However, in the canon timeline, Biscuit was the one who trained Gon and Killua in advanced Nen techniques. She was an exceptional, albeit brutal, free tutor. Having her around would save Ryker a massive amount of time and effort in training the boys himself.
Furthermore, since she was basically offering herself up on a silver platter, Ryker saw no reason not to exploit her for free labor.
Ugh?! Biscuit's eye twitched again. I am a Double-Star Stone Hunter! I have never cooked or cleaned for anyone in my entire life! Who does this kid think he is?!
But since she had already offered, backing down now would make her look incredibly suspicious. She had to maintain her innocent loli disguise.
"Y-Yes... of course! I'll handle all the chores! Please, leave it all to me!" Biscuit agreed, her smile straining slightly.
"What's your name?" Ryker asked, feigning ignorance.
Damn it! I literally just told you my name three minutes ago! Are you ignoring me on purpose because I look young?! I just want to know where you learned Shingen-Ryu! Biscuit roared in her mind, her fists clenching tight.
"My name is Biscuit!" she chirped, forcing her voice to sound impossibly sweet and harmless.
No one looking at this adorable, frilly loli would ever suspect that she was actually a towering, hyper-muscular juggernaut.
"Alright, Biscuit. I'm Ryker. You can call me Brother Ryker. These two are Gon and Killua," Ryker introduced the group, fully intending to take advantage of her fake age to establish dominance.
B-Brother Ryker?! Kid, I am old enough to be your grandmother! Biscuit thought, resisting the urge to snap his neck.
"However, our team doesn't accept dead weight," Ryker continued, his tone shifting into something more serious. "If you want to join us, you have to pass a final test. You have to fight me. I need to see exactly how capable you are."
"Huh?! Ahahaha!"
Biscuit was stunned for a second before a genuine, slightly evil giggle escaped her lips.
What an arrogant little brat!
He clearly lacked the experience to sense the true depth of her aura. Just because he was physically strong didn't mean he could challenge a Master-class Nen user like her. If he wanted to test her, she was going to teach him exactly why the sky is high and the earth is wide.
"Of course! But I have to warn you, I'm actually really strong! If I accidentally hurt you..." Biscuit giggled, putting a hand to her cheek.
"Don't worry. If you can actually beat me, I'll let you be the captain of the team, and we'll follow your orders," Ryker replied casually.
"Really?!" Biscuit's eyes lit up. This was perfect. If she became the captain, she could interrogate him about his martial arts and boss the three boys around as much as she wanted.
"Hehe... alright then! Let's spar! Do you want to do it tomorrow? You used up quite a bit of aura today fighting the Bomber," Biscuit offered graciously, flashing an evil grin. She wanted to crush him at his absolute best.
"No need. That barely counted as a warm-up. We'll do it right now, right here," Ryker said, gesturing to an empty clearing on the outskirts of the courtyard.
So arrogant! Biscuit sneered internally. Fine. Don't blame me when you're crying on the ground.
"Alright then! Don't hold back! I can use my Nen to heal you afterward anyway!" Biscuit smiled confidently.
"Gon, Killua, come here," Ryker called out to the boys, who had started to wander off. "Watch this spar closely. Depending on your own talent, you might learn something incredibly valuable today."
Gon and Killua immediately sprinted over and sat down on the grass like two obedient students, their eyes wide with anticipation.
Hm? These two don't seem worried about their boss at all, Biscuit noticed, glancing at the boys. Do they really think this kid can beat me?
Ryker and Biscuit stepped into the center of the clearing, facing each other.
Biscuit adopted a very specific, perfectly balanced fighting stance.
The Shingen-Ryu opening stance, Ryker noted, recognizing it instantly from the traits he had plundered from Wing.
Let's see if he really knows it, Biscuit thought, her eyes narrowing.
As if answering her silent question, Ryker smoothly shifted his weight, adopting the exact same stance. However, his posture felt completely different from Wing's. It was flawlessly fluid, lacking any of the rigid rigidity that plagued her student.
"Your martial arts style... it's very unique. It's remarkably similar to mine. Would you mind telling me who taught it to you? I'm just curious," Biscuit asked, dropping the loli act for a moment to speak as a genuine martial artist.
"A friend taught me. Your form is quite good too, Biscuit," Ryker smiled.
He knew perfectly well that Biscuit was the apex of the Shingen-Ryu school, second only to Isaac Netero himself. In the canon timeline, she was firmly placed in the absolute top tier of human fighters.
However, Ryker was no longer bound by the normal rules of this world. His raw stats and plundered traits had pushed him into a realm that rivaled, and perhaps even surpassed, Netero in his prime.
Shingen-Ryu: Still Water!
This was the core philosophy of the style. By refining one's mind to the state of a perfectly calm lake, a martial artist could instantly detect the slightest ripple of killing intent or hesitation in their opponent, allowing them to counterattack flawlessly.
Biscuit was an absolute master of this technique. But as she analyzed Ryker, she felt a profound sense of shock.
She couldn't sense a single opening.
Ryker's mental state was like an infinite, placid ocean. There were no ripples. He felt no pride, no fear, no tension—just an absolute, perfectly rounded emptiness.
What an incredible state of mind! It's leagues beyond Wing... wait... oh no!
In that brief moment of shock and realization, a tiny ripple formed on the surface of Biscuit's own "Still Water." Her mind wavered.
That was all Ryker needed.
Shingen-Ryu: First Strike!
Ryker moved silently, appearing directly in front of Biscuit without generating any wind or sound. He launched a seemingly ordinary, slow-moving palm strike.
But as the Grandmaster of the style, Biscuit immediately recognized the horrifying reality of that strike.
It wasn't slow. It was perfectly synchronized with the natural flow of her own aura. It was a strike that utilized the concept of flow. By riding the momentum of her own slight hesitation, Ryker was effectively multiplying his striking force tenfold.
Shingen-Ryu: Gale!
Forced onto the defensive, Biscuit rapidly gathered her aura into her hands to intercept the palm strike.
BANG!
The two palms collided. A massive, localized shockwave exploded outward from the point of impact, tearing up the grass and forcing Gon and Killua to shield their eyes from the gale-force winds.
"Whoa! That's amazing! Brother Ryker clearly used less physical strength, but he completely overpowered her! Why is that, Killua?!" Gon yelled over the roaring wind.
"I... I don't know..." Killua muttered, his assassin's eyes struggling to comprehend the hyper-advanced martial arts exchange.
Biscuit felt like she had just swallowed a fly.
From the moment they clashed, she realized she had fallen into a perfectly executed trap. Because Ryker had seized the initiative during her momentary lapse in concentration, he had gained the "high ground" in their psychological battle.
His attacks flowed like an endless, crashing tide. One after another, with no pauses and no wasted movements.
He was constantly targeting the tiny fracture in her focus, hammering away at it to force it wider.
What a terrifyingly perceptive monster! Biscuit cursed internally. She swore on her life that this was the first time she had ever met this kid. Yet, he was wielding her own martial art with a level of mastery that arguably surpassed her own.
Shingen-Ryu was about letting the heart guide the body. It allowed physical reflexes to surpass neurological limits. It was incredibly similar to Hisoka's [Hyper Intuition] trait, which Ryker also possessed.
By combining the Shingen-Ryu techniques plundered from Wing with Hisoka's absolute combat instincts, Ryker had achieved martial perfection.
In a battle between two Shingen-Ryu masters, the fight wasn't about physical strength; it was about mental dominance. And Ryker was crushing her.
The pressure on Biscuit mounted exponentially with every passing second.
"I have to admit... to reach this level of mastery at your age is truly astounding," Biscuit gritted her teeth, breaking the silence as she deflected another barrage of strikes. "But I am your senior! I really, really hate showing people my true form... but losing to a brat like you would be far too humiliating!"
Biscuit violently shattered the rhythm of the fight, leaping backward to create distance.
She took a massive, deep breath.
Her frilly pink dress suddenly stretched tight. Her chest expanded dramatically, instantly ballooning to the size of massive, E-cup dairy cows.
Before Gon and Killua's horrified eyes, the petite, adorable loli's body violently expanded. Her delicate arms and legs thickened into massive, vascular trunks of pure muscle. Her height skyrocketed, tearing the fabric of her dress.
In an instant, she transformed from a cute little girl into a towering, terrifyingly imposing, hyper-muscular titan of pure, unadulterated physical violence.
The primordial beast had finally bared her fangs.
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