Why is this kid's aura so monstrous?! Binolt screamed internally. He must be an Enhancer! He focused all his aura into his hair to increase its durability... but how?! He's just a teenager! Is his overall aura capacity actually higher than mine?!
The serial killer's face twisted into an expression of pure horror.
A deeply unsettling feeling clawed at his chest. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at the other three people—the two brats and the little girl—who were still bickering near the crater. Slowly, carefully, he shifted his weight backward, preparing to bolt.
He had to escape.
At the very least, he knew he couldn't see through this kid's strength. His ultimate attack, his incredibly sharp, Nen-infused scissors, couldn't even cut a single strand of the boy's hair. The gap between their power levels was an insurmountable abyss.
As a wanted fugitive, Binolt's survival instincts were unparalleled. He knew when a hunt had turned into a trap.
SWISH!
Without warning, Binolt exploded forward instead of backward. It was a desperate feint. His scissors flashed like a striking viper, aiming for Ryker's lethal weak points—the throat, the heart, the eyes!
But the teenager didn't even take his hands out of his pockets.
Ryker simply tilted his head slightly to the left, leaned back an inch, and shifted his shoulders. He effortlessly wove through the frantic barrage of blades, the steel whistling harmlessly past his skin.
He's too fast! Binolt's eyes bulged.
Speed and the lethal sharpness of his scissors were his two greatest weapons as a Blacklist Hunter. And both were completely useless against this monster.
POOF!
In a panic, Binolt thrust his left hand into his pocket and threw a massive handful of white powder directly into Ryker's face.
Quicklime!
It was a common, low-level material item found in Greed Island, often used by dirty players for cheap sneak attacks. If it got into an opponent's eyes, the resulting chemical burn would cause excruciating pain and potentially permanent blindness.
Simultaneously, Binolt slammed a purple smoke bomb onto the rock beneath them.
Under the cover of the thick smoke and the quicklime, Binolt instantly reversed his momentum and sprinted into the badlands, desperately using Zetsu to mask his presence.
In a matter of seconds, he had cleared fifty meters.
Damn it! He completely overpowered me! He can't be a rookie! But if he's a veteran, why haven't I ever heard of him?! Binolt gritted his teeth, panting heavily as he sprinted like a wounded animal.
He etched the kid's face into his memory. Once he was safe, he would find a way to get his revenge.
"Oh? Leaving so soon without saying goodbye? That's quite rude," a calm, distinctly amused voice suddenly echoed in the canyon.
Binolt froze, his boots skidding across the dirt.
His face drained of all color. He stared in absolute disbelief at the path ahead of him.
Standing there, fifty meters ahead of where he had started, was the same teenager. His hands were still casually tucked into his pockets, and he was smiling warmly.
How?! How is this possible?! He was behind me! When did he pass me?! I didn't even see him move! Binolt's mind completely shattered.
He finally realized the horrifying truth. He was dead.
"There's no need to push me to the brink, kid!" Binolt yelled, gripping his scissors so tightly his knuckles turned white. "I didn't actually mean you any harm! I was just passing by!"
"Just passing by?" Ryker chuckled. "Is that why you threw quicklime in my face and tried to sever my jugular?"
"Don't push me!" Binolt roared like a cornered rat, his eyes wide with a mixture of terror and absolute madness. "If you force my hand, I'll take you down with me!"
"Force your hand?" Ryker's smile faded into a look of bored indifference. "And what exactly are you going to do about it?"
Binolt's sanity snapped.
With a primal scream, he lunged at Ryker again, wielding the scissors with both hands. He swung them wildly, his arms turning into a blur of frantic, desperate slashes. Any normal player caught in this barrage would be instantly shredded to ribbons.
But to his absolute despair, Ryker simply stood there.
He still didn't take his hands out of his pockets. He just swayed.
[Hyper Intuition]
[Super Senses]
With his passive perception traits pushed to the absolute limit—and combined with his mastery of the Shingen-Ryu Still Water philosophy—Ryker could practically see Binolt's attacks before the man even moved his muscles.
Ryker didn't even need to use En (Aura Expansion). He simply sidestepped every frantic thrust with millimeter precision. He was treating a lethal, A-Rank bounty hunter like a warm-up exercise.
"Wow... amazing! Brother Ryker is dodging everything! How is he doing that?!" Gon gasped, watching from the crater.
"It's pure instinct... he can read the trajectory of the attacks before they happen. He's using the absolute minimum amount of movement required to dodge," Killua muttered, his assassin's eyes wide with awe.
Even Killua, who possessed incredible speed, knew that if he fought the scissor-wielding maniac, he would be at a massive disadvantage. But Ryker was treating him like a toddler throwing a tantrum.
"Damn it! Damn it! Die! Die!" Binolt shrieked, completely breaking down. "Why won't you let me run?! Why won't you just die?!"
He realized, with crushing clarity, that he was nothing more than an insect to this boy.
BAM!
The instant Binolt's frantic rhythm broke, Ryker finally moved.
He didn't draw a weapon. He didn't even use a named technique. He simply vanished and reappeared directly in front of Binolt, burying a painfully controlled, Nen-infused punch deep into the cannibal's stomach.
Binolt's eyes practically popped out of his skull. He doubled over like a boiled shrimp, coughing up a massive mouthful of blood as his scissors clattered to the dirt.
He collapsed onto the rocky ground, his internal organs feeling as though they had just been run over by a freight train.
And that was with Ryker deliberately pulling his punch. If he hadn't, Binolt would have instantly exploded into a mist of blood and bone.
[DING! You have defeated 'Demon Barber' Binolt in a direct combat scenario! 10% Auto-Plunder activated...]
[DING! You have utilized the item 'Continuous Lucky Star'!]
[Success! Acquired: {Enhancement Mastery} (Purple), {Devouring Perception} (Purple)!]
[DING! Synergy Detected: {Super Senses} + {Devouring Perception} (Purple) have triggered an automatic fusion!]
[Congratulations! You have acquired the new fused trait: {Weakness Perception} (Purple)!]
The mechanical chimes echoed pleasantly in Ryker's mind as a massive surge of energy flooded his cells, reinforcing his already absurd physical stats.
The Purple [Enhancement Mastery] trait was a nice bonus. Ryker's Enhancement affinity was already sitting at Double Red + Triple Gold; he was inching ever closer to synthesizing his first Black-tier trait.
But the real prize was the fusion trait.
[Trait: Weakness Perception (Purple)]
[Effect: By making physical contact with an opponent (or their biological material), the user can utilize their mental energy to instantly perceive the target's physical vulnerabilities, old injuries, and Nen weaknesses. Note: This effect is nullified if the target's mental strength vastly exceeds the user's.]
Incredible, Ryker smiled.
It was a direct, massive upgrade to Binolt's gross hair-eating ability. Ryker no longer needed to ingest anything; a simple touch was enough to download his opponent's medical history. And since Ryker's mental strength was already off the charts, the restriction was basically a non-issue.
Ryker crouched down and casually dragged a finger through the pool of blood Binolt had just coughed up.
Buzz.
A subtle mental wave pulsed through Ryker's mind.
[Target Weakness: Third rib on the right side. Sustained a severe fracture during childhood that healed improperly, resulting in chronic structural weakness.]
Very convenient, Ryker nodded in satisfaction.
"Cough... hack..." Binolt convulsed on the ground, clinging to life by a thread.
Ryker looked down at the pathetic serial killer. He had no sympathy for him.
He knew Binolt's tragic backstory—a poor kid from the slums who found a rich man's wallet, tried to return it, and was brutally beaten by the man and his bodyguard for supposedly trying to steal it. That singular event of extreme injustice had warped Binolt's mind, turning him into a sociopathic cannibal who hunted young women.
It was a sad story. But Hunter x Hunter was a cruel, cannibalistic world. Poverty and weakness were original sins. If Ryker wasn't strong, he would have been the one lying in a pool of his own blood right now.
"Wait!"
Biscuit suddenly called out, jogging over with Gon and Killua trailing behind her.
"This guy is actually quite skilled," Biscuit said, looking down at the groaning serial killer. "We're currently lacking a good sparring partner. Don't kill him just yet."
Ah, the classic Bisky training method. Utilizing a lethal threat to force the boys to evolve.
"If that's what the Master wants," Ryker shrugged, stepping back. "Hear that, Binolt? You have a chance to live. Assuming you can prove your worth."
Binolt slowly pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, glaring at Ryker and Biscuit with the hateful eyes of a wounded wolf.
"Just kill me," Binolt spat, blood dripping from his chin. "I'll never submit to you brats."
"Why so eager to die?" Ryker chuckled. "I don't care about your pride. I only care if you can complete the task my teacher assigns you."
Biscuit stepped forward, looking down at the killer with absolute authority.
"Hand over all your Spell Cards," Biscuit ordered coldly. "I'm going to give you a chance. For the next two weeks, you will fight these two boys. If you can avoid their attacks for two weeks, I will let you go. But if they manage to knock you out, or if you can't stand back up, I will kill you myself."
"Just... avoid them?" Binolt blinked, genuinely confused.
He looked at Gon and Killua. The boys were incredibly weak compared to the monster who had just punched him. Dodging them seemed laughably easy.
"Yes. But there's a catch," Biscuit continued, gesturing to the surrounding terrain. "You cannot leave this specific rocky basin. It's roughly ten meters wide. If you step outside the boundary, I will kill you immediately."
Binolt swallowed hard. Ten meters of space to dodge two highly motivated Nen users. It was essentially a cage match.
"And I have one more rule," Ryker interjected, his voice chillingly calm.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"You can use your scissors. You can use your Nen. You can use every lethal technique you possess," Ryker smiled darkly. "In fact, if you manage to kill either of these two boys during the training... I will personally escort you out of the basin and let you go free."
Gon and Killua visibly flinched. The atmosphere instantly plummeted below freezing.
"Hehe... really?" Binolt rasped, a twisted smile slowly returning to his bloody face. He could tell the older boy was dead serious. He was genuinely offering the lives of his subordinates in exchange for a proper fight.
"Without question. Furthermore, Gon, Killua—you are fully authorized to kill him," Ryker said, turning his back on the group and casually sitting down on a nearby boulder. He closed his eyes, acting as though the matter was settled.
Biscuit smiled internally. He understands. A true warrior can only be forged on the razor's edge of death. Safe sparring builds technique, but only mortal danger builds instinct.
In truth, Ryker had already planted a miniature [Lightning Core] inside Binolt's stomach during that single punch. If Binolt actually managed to land a lethal blow on the boys, Ryker would detonate the core and vaporize the cannibal instantly.
But the boys didn't know that. And for the training to work, they couldn't know.
"Attack!" Biscuit barked.
Killua, realizing the serial killer was currently crippled by his injuries, immediately lunged forward, aiming a lethal hand-chop at Binolt's neck.
But as Killua closed the distance, a terrifyingly cold killing intent washed over him.
Whoosh!
Binolt, despite coughing up blood seconds prior, twisted his body with impossible speed. He swung his scissors upward in a vicious arc, barely missing Killua's eye and slicing a shallow cut across the boy's cheek.
Killua scrambled backward, his heart hammering in his chest as blood dripped from his face.
He's fast! Even while heavily injured, he's incredibly dangerous! If I hadn't leaned back... I would have lost my eye! Killua realized in horror.
"Gon, be careful!" Killua shouted. "He's not a normal opponent!"
"We need to fight smart!" Gon nodded, analyzing the situation.
"I've got a plan," Killua said, his eyes narrowing. "We'll rotate. I'll attack from a distance by throwing rocks, and you rest. After six hours, we switch. We won't give him a single second to sleep or heal!"
"Got it!" Gon instantly agreed, shattering a nearby boulder with his Nen to create ammunition.
For the next three days, the basin became a living hell.
Gon and Killua bombarded Binolt with a relentless, never-ending hail of rocks. They traded shifts perfectly, ensuring the cannibal never had a moment of peace.
By the third day, Binolt was completely exhausted. His body was battered, bruised, and pushed to the absolute limits of human endurance. The internal damage from Ryker's punch prevented him from utilizing his full speed, and the constant bombardment wore down his mental defenses.
As Killua moved in to deliver a finishing blow to the exhausted killer, Binolt closed his eyes.
The memories of his childhood flashed before his eyes. The wallet. The beating. The spit. The hatred that had fueled him for decades.
But as he lay there, about to die at the hands of two children, the hatred suddenly vanished. He realized that the pain he had inflicted on innocent women and their families was no different from the pain that had been inflicted on him. He had become the very monster he despised.
He accepted his death. He smiled.
"Wait!"
Gon's voice suddenly echoed through the basin.
Killua stopped his hand-chop millimeters from Binolt's neck. "What is it, Gon?!"
"Let's not kill him yet," Gon said, his eyes bright with determination. "We only beat him because we teamed up and exhausted him. We should keep training until we can beat him one-on-one!"
"That's incredibly arrogant, Gon," Biscuit warned from the sidelines. "In a one-on-one fight, even injured, he is lethal."
"I don't care. I want to beat him fair and square," Gon insisted.
Killua sighed. "Fine. We do it your way."
But before they could resume their stances, Binolt slowly pushed himself off the ground. He dragged his battered body over to where Ryker was sitting and collapsed onto his knees, pressing his forehead against the dirt.
"Thank you," Binolt whispered, his voice trembling.
Ryker opened one eye, looking down at the groveling cannibal.
"Thank you... for pushing me to this limit. For making me see clearly," Binolt continued, tears mixing with the blood on his face. "I finally remember who I used to be before the hatred consumed me. I... I will train your friends with everything I have left. And when I'm done... please bury me here."
Gon and Killua stared in shock. The terrifying serial killer was crying, genuinely repenting for his sins.
"Come at me!" Binolt stood up, wiping his face. He turned to the boys, his eyes clear and resolute. "I will fight you with my full strength! I promise I won't kill you, but I will make you work for it!"
"Don't trust the words of a villain," Ryker's cold voice instantly shattered the emotional atmosphere.
Gon and Killua flinched. Ryker's cynical reminder immediately put them back on guard. Was this just a trick? A ploy to get them to lower their defenses so he could slice their throats?
"He has a point," Gon muttered, raising his fists. "Let's go, Killua!"
The brutal, one-on-one training commenced.
For the next week, Gon and Killua took turns fighting Binolt in brutal close-quarters combat. Even injured, the Scissors Hunter was a terrifying opponent. Both boys suffered numerous cuts, bruises, and broken bones.
But their growth rate was astronomical.
Under the constant pressure of near-death combat, their application of Ten, Ren, and Gyobecame fluid and instinctual. They learned to read Binolt's movements, predict his slashes, and counterattack with devastating precision.
By the end of the seventh day, the gap had officially closed.
BAM!
Gon landed a flawless, Nen-infused hook directly onto Binolt's jaw, sending the serial killer crashing into the dirt.
Binolt lay on his back, staring up at the sky, gasping for air. His body was covered in fresh injuries. He had lost. He had officially been surpassed by two children in a matter of ten days.
"I lost," Binolt rasped, letting his broken scissors fall from his hands. "You win. Go ahead... kill me."
"Brother Ryker," Gon turned to Ryker, suddenly bowing deeply. "Please spare Mr. Binolt! He helped us get so much stronger! He's a good person now!"
"Thank you, Mr. Binolt!" Gon added, bowing to the serial killer as well.
Binolt stared at the boy in absolute shock.
"He's a Class-A Blacklist Bounty Hunter and a serial killer," Biscuit reminded them dryly.
"I don't care! He helped us!" Gon insisted stubbornly.
Ryker stood up and slowly walked over to the defeated killer.
He looked down at Binolt, then at Gon's pleading face.
"Human nature is a fickle thing," Ryker said calmly. "I don't believe in sudden, magical redemption. But... I did say I would let you go if you completed the task."
Ryker raised his hand and flicked his finger.
A tiny, peanut-sized spark of white lightning shot out from his fingertip, grazing Binolt's ear before...
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