Chapter 103 103 Heavens Arena
Tapping his finger lightly on the armrest, Zane began giving instructions after the report finished.
Dealing with a regular force like the Happo Navy, it was naturally impossible for the Hunting Team to come out without casualties.
It didn't matter if these people were originally pirates or something else.
Once they joined the Hunting Team, as long as they didn't break Zane's rules, he wouldn't treat them any differently.
Right now, the one thing the Hunting Team didn't lack was money.
Zane naturally wouldn't be stingy with the pensions for those who had fallen.
Once Zane finished his instructions, Nico Robin nodded to show she understood and departed.
Watching her leave, Zane smiled slightly.
Nico Robin's logistical capabilities were indeed beyond reproach.
Since she joined the Hunting Team, he had certainly found things much easier.
'Next is the development of the third eye.'
With Nico Robin handling the post-war matters...
Zane had more time to deal with his own affairs.
Such as the third eye.
The previous few days were far from enough for him to figure it out.
Now that the business with the Happo Navy was concluded, he prepared for further development.
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Hunter World.
Heavens Arena.
'As I thought, it's a double. No wonder he suddenly appeared behind me earlier when he was clearly in front.'
Sitting in the packed audience, Killua watched the duel on the ring intently.
When he saw one of the combatants suddenly split into two during an attack, a look of 'I knew it' immediately appeared on his face.
The two fighting on the ring were Hisoka and the Heavens Arena star, Kastro.
Although he had learned Nen ahead of time...
...after leaving the Zoldycks, Gon still wanted to return the number tag to Hisoka as soon as possible. At Killua's suggestion, they headed to the Heavens Arena together to hone their strength.
By now.
Gon and Killua had been hanging around the Heavens Arena for over three months.
'They've already learned Nen. I wonder if Gon helped him or if he met Wing like in the original plot.'
Killua was focused on the match, unaware that someone was also watching him.
Not far from Killua, Zane rested his chin on his hand, observing the Nen aura surrounding Killua with interest.
Since taking care of Chinjao, his primary focus had been on the Hunter World.
This was not just to create more time to develop the third eye, but also to look for suitable prey.
Like this time.
Zane didn't come to the Heavens Arena specifically to visit Gon and Killua; rather, the prey he had recently targeted resided here long-term.
To be precise, the target was actually a Floor Master at the Heavens Arena.
After observing Killua's situation, Zane turned his gaze back to the ring.
His attention was naturally focused on Hisoka.
'What poor taste.'
Watching Hisoka take successive hits from Kastro's Doppelganger ability on the ring, looking as if he had no power to resist, Zane's eyes showed disdain.
Kastro was indeed a star player at the Heavens Arena, and certainly had the strength to become a Floor Master.
But putting aside the mistake in his Nen development, there was a clear, massive gap in basic fundamentals between him and Hisoka.
While Hisoka currently seemed to be at a disadvantage, he was simply playing with Kastro.
Or rather, this was an expression of his annoyance.
Kastro was also a 'fruit' that Hisoka had taken an interest in.
For this reason, Hisoka had specifically spared him during their first fight, all to let him grow in the future and ripen into a delicious fruit.
But Kastro had clearly disappointed Hisoka.
Despite being an Enhancer, he had developed a Doppelganger ability that involved Conjuration and Manipulation.
This erroneous development undoubtedly meant the fruit hadn't become delicious; instead, it had rotted prematurely.
"Oh? No severed arms? He just finished him off directly?"
Suddenly, the development on the ring made Zane's brow arch.
On the ring, after enduring Kastro's attacks, Hisoka didn't offer up an arm like in the original plot. Instead, he used [Bungee Gum] early to fire cards that adhered and rebounded, killing him.
Had the plot changed?
Or was Hisoka...
Just as Zane was lost in thought...
...and the audience was cheering for the victory...
Suddenly, a flash of crimson flickered in Zane's eyes.
Shing!!!
A sharp blade-light suddenly struck from behind, slashing toward Zane's neck without warning.
Clang!
His right hand, which had been resting on his cheek, had moved at some unknown moment, steadily blocking the horizontal blade with the back of his hand.
The blade was enveloped in extremely powerful Nen aura.
But upon meeting Zane's hand, it was as if it had struck an immovable, towering mountain.
The blade could not move forward an inch.
Pupils constricted.
The attacker's expression changed. Decisively abandoning the attack, they turned and leaped from their seat.
Agilely stepping across the heads of the audience behind them, the person rushed toward the outer wall of the venue.
Shing!!
Flashes of blade-light followed.
The thick outer wall was easily torn open, leaving a hole.
Without a moment's hesitation, the attacker jumped through the hole into the sky outside the Heavens Arena.
Their body plummeted downward.
Just before hitting the street below, they whipped a spiked chain from their sleeve and embedded it into a nearby wall.
The chain snapped taut.
Displaying immense arm strength, the attacker used the pull of the chain to slow their descent and landed smoothly on the street.
They didn't stop.
As soon as they landed, the attacker turned into a blur, racing away from the Heavens Arena at incredible speed.
"Ahhh!!!"
Back where the attacker had split the wall and jumped, the audience members whose heads had been stepped on cried out in pain.
This sudden turn of events immediately caused the nearby cheering crowd to look over.
Including Killua, who was not far away and exceptionally sharp.
'What happen—huh? Zane?!'
Sensing something wrong, Killua looked back at the area where the cries of pain were coming from.
With a sweep of his gaze, his confusion was quickly replaced as he sharply caught sight of a familiar figure.
His eyes widened, and he hurriedly stood up and headed over.
'Retreating miles away after a missed strike—is it a professional assassin? I didn't expect to become someone else's prey while I was busy hunting others.'
Standing before the hole in the outer wall, Zane crossed his arms and looked down at the street below.
His extraordinary vision allowed him to clearly see the attacker fleeing rapidly along the street.
A playful look appeared in his eyes.
The hunter and the hunted.
What a familiar relationship.
He hadn't expected that after several months, he would feel that same sensation from the Hunter Exam again.
"Zane!"
A cheerful greeting came from behind.
Zane looked back and immediately saw Killua running toward him.
"Yo, long time no see!" Zane also broke into a smile, raising his hand to greet him.
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