In the audience, Leo watched this scene, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
"It's coming."
His voice was very soft, only heard by the few people around him.
"Hisoka is about to start his misdirection."
Sophia stared nervously at the arena, her hands unconsciously gripping the armrests of her seat.
"Master, Kastro..."
"He's doing very well."
Leo interrupted her, his gaze never leaving the arena.
"Speed, power, timing—all have made a qualitative leap. And he remembered what I said—always maintain 'Gyo' during battle; don't be fooled by Hisoka's tricks."
He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"But Hisoka is still Hisoka. His Moves are only those few, with little change. But with just those few, he can play out countless variations; that is Hisoka's perverted combat talent."
Kalluto sat quietly, his gaze moving back and forth between the two.
He felt the two were similar in strength, but Hisoka's eyes made him a bit uncomfortable.
Goreinu leaned over and asked in a low voice.
"In this situation, Kastro's chances of winning should be very high, right?"
Leo didn't answer directly.
He looked at the two on the arena and was silent for two seconds.
"That depends on whether Kastro is willing to risk his life."
His voice was very calm.
On the arena, Hisoka wasn't surprised when he saw his sneak attack was dodged.
"Hisoka, the same Move won't work on me."
Kastro looked at Hisoka with a calm gaze.
Their gazes collided in the air; there were no sparks, no sound, but the air seemed to become viscous.
The clamor in the audience gradually quieted down.
Silence.
Extreme silence.
Then—
Hisoka moved.
His body was like a spring being released, instantly accelerating from a standstill to the extreme, his deep purple figure pulling out an afterimage under the lights.
Kastro's pupils rotated rapidly, tracking Hisoka's trajectory.
His body didn't Move.
He was waiting.
As Hisoka closed in within three meters, his right hand suddenly rose, and five playing cards shot out from between his fingers.
Fast as bullets under the enhancement of Nen, they shot toward Kastro's face, throat, heart, lower abdomen, and thigh respectively!
The playing cards spun in the air, their edges glinting with a cold light.
Kastro didn't retreat.
His hands moved rapidly.
"Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang—"
Five crisp impact sounds rang out almost simultaneously; the five playing cards were precisely swatted away by him, nailing diagonally into the arena floor, their bodies half-submerged in the concrete.
But Hisoka had already closed in under the cover of the playing cards.
His right fist twisted out from his waist, booming straight toward Kastro's chest!
Kastro pulled his hands back, crossing them to protect his chest.
"Bang!"
The fist smashed into his forearm, the impact transmitting through the bone to his whole body; his feet slightly left the ground as he slid back half a step.
But while sliding back, his right leg had already risen, his knee driving toward Hisoka's lower abdomen!
Hisoka's body twisted like a snake, his waist turning to the side to avoid the knee strike.
At the same time, his left hand reached out, fingers spread, slapping toward Kastro's face!
Kastro leaned back to avoid it, his left hand striking from below, his fist aiming straight for Hisoka's head!
Hisoka also leaned back, the fist grazing past his face.
The two engaged in a storm-like close-quarters melee within a distance of less than a meter.
"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang—"
The dense impact sounds exploded like popping beans.
Kastro's fists grew faster and faster.
His punching trajectory was straight, simple, without any redundant movements; every punch was thrown from the most direct angle, power condensing at the fist's edge, speed accumulating along the way.
This was the purest way of fighting for an Enhancer—no flashiness, no tricks, just using the fastest speed and strongest power to crush head-on.
A minute later, the two exerted force simultaneously, pulling apart using the impact of a collision.
Hisoka raised a hand to wipe the corner of his mouth, where there was a shallow bloodstain, not knowing when it was grazed.
He looked at the blood on his fingertip and smiled, his smile full of pleasure.
Hisoka asked with a smile.
"What about your ability? I want to see it again."
Kastro grinned.
"Of course, no problem. My ability is similar to Master's, but not as strong."
The next moment, rings of tiger-like stripes instantly appeared on his body, his muscles bulged slightly, and his entire aura suddenly became dangerous and violent.
This was his ability: "Tiger Stripe Combat Body," which had the effects of enhancing the physical body and accelerating self-healing, allowing him to enter his optimal combat state in a short time.
Hisoka's eyes lit up instantly; it really was very similar to Leo's ability. He shouted excitedly.
"Interesting, simply wonderful."
Since he couldn't beat Leo, using Kastro as a substitute wasn't bad either.
Hisoka flipped his wrist, playing cards held between his fingers, Nen injected into the cards.
Swish, swish, swish!
Several playing cards tore through the air, drawing tricky trajectories as they shot toward Kastro's face and limbs!
Kastro's footwork was agile, precisely evading them.
Hisoka seized the tiny gap in his evasion, closing in like a shadow!
Pinching a card covered in Nen between two fingers, he ruthlessly slashed at Kastro's throat!
Kastro erupted instantly!
Even stronger Nen gushed out; instead of retreating, he advanced, throwing a hook that condensed the strength of his entire body, hitting Hisoka's incoming wrist dead on!
Bang!
The powerful impact sent Hisoka stumbling back.
Kastro seized the opportunity, his body instantly pulling out a blurry trajectory as he moved at high speed!
It was as if two or three figures of Kastro appeared on the arena at the same time, revolving around Hisoka.
This was the speed increase brought by the "Tiger Stripe Combat Body"—not an illusion, but pure speed so fast it pulled out afterimages.
Moving at high speed, Kastro used the Tiger Bite Fist against Hisoka.
The Tiger Bite Fist in the "Tiger Stripe Combat Body" state could perform long-range attacks; although the power was lower than a direct hit, it won through surprise.
His fist condensed a Nen mass in the shape of a tiger's head—Tiger Bite Cannon Fist. Swinging both fists, several tiger head phantoms opened their mouths and flew toward Hisoka.
Hisoka's eyes flickered, his wrist flicking, and playing cards shot out again, directly hitting the Tiger Bite Cannon Fist.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The arena instantly erupted in a series of explosions, smoke and dust rose everywhere, and stone fragments flew.
In the smoke, Hisoka's eyes darted around, and his ears twitched slightly.
His senses were fully open, searching for Kastro's location.
At the very moment the explosion occurred, Kastro had hidden himself within the smoke and dust.
Kastro's figure suddenly appeared at Hisoka's side, his right fist smashing down fiercely with the sound of breaking wind!
Hisoka turned directly, his counterattack almost without any gap.
Holding a playing card, he slashed toward Kastro's chest!
Neither of them retreated.
Kastro didn't dodge or avoid, continuing to smash down.
'Bang—!'
'Squelch—!'
Two sounds rang out simultaneously.
Hisoka's attack carved a shallow bloodstain on Kastro's chest, blood seeping out and staining the white martial arts uniform red.
Meanwhile, Kastro's fist smashed heavily into his left cheekbone.
Hisoka's vision went black, and his body flew backward uncontrollably.
He crashed heavily onto the arena floor, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Critical Hit! Kastro scores two more points!"
The referee's voice rang out again.
A more intense cheer erupted from the audience.
A thick metallic taste of blood spread in Hisoka's mouth.
"Hiss..."
He used one hand to push off the ground and stood up quickly, the other hand covering his rapidly swelling cheek.
Kastro stood a few steps away; the wound on his chest was still seeping blood, but his breathing was steady and his gaze calm.
"Hisoka, I told you, I would pay back this punch!"
"Hehehe..."
Hisoka let out a string of low laughs, pleasurable to the point of being distorted.
His body writhed enchantingly, his face wearing a perverted sense of satisfaction.
He licked the blood from the corner of his mouth as if savoring the taste of that punch just now.