The On swirling through the air quickly merged, forming a massive Rakshasa even larger than before. This time, Jed poured all his bitterness into unleashing the Rakshasa, determined to give it everything he had, even if it meant his own end. It was his final, desperate act.
Meanwhile, in a corner not far from the battlefield, Leorio watched with a mixture of fear and disbelief. "Is that the enemy Larry is facing?" he muttered, swallowing hard.
The sheer aura that filled the air sent chills down his spine, freezing him in place. He had no intention of fighting, let alone confronting such a terrifying foe head-on.
Just hours before, he had been trapped in the sewers by Gaki and had only recently emerged, still sticky with grime and scraps of discarded fruit and vegetables. Thankfully, Kurapika and the others had crossed paths with him after dealing with resentful landlords.
"That's Larry's nen beast!" Gon said, eyes locked on the motionless nen beasts standing against the Rakshasa.
His expression hardened with determination, he wanted to grow stronger too. Having grown up in the wild, often surrounded by animals, Gon's ability to sense aura was far sharper than an ordinary person's. What he felt went much deeper than Leorio's basic fear.
Gon felt the same intensity, just like Killua, the silver-haired "cat" who was standing nearby.
At this point in the story, set between the Greed Island and Ant arcs, Gon and Killua had just met Kaito. Killua, unaware of the mental needle implanted in his mind, still reacted instinctively to danger.
The powerful auras radiating from both Larry and Jed only heightened his alarm. Unlike the original story, where only the main characters faced off, now there was this new figure named Larry, whose presence added even more power to the battlefield. The pressure in the air was several times greater than before.
Among them all, Kurapika remained the calmest. Having witnessed Larry's strength firsthand during their time in Yorknew, he understood just how formidable his ally truly was.
It's no exaggeration to say that he was the one who defeated the Phantom Troupe, with half of the spiders falling by his hands. If he hadn't moved so quickly, even more would have died.
Yet, when Kurapika watched his movements, so fluid and intense they felt like a scene straight out of a blockbuster movie, a flicker of surprise still showed in his eyes.
"Hehehe... the nen beast master and Rakshasa," Hisoka murmured, leaning back slightly in a way that looked almost seductive at first glance.
That posture wasn't just for show; it gave him a better view of Rakshasa in action. "If I jumped in the middle, I'd probably just get torn apart by the chaos," he said, bringing a playing card to his lips.
His coquettish gaze stayed fixed on the battlefield as he let out a deep sigh. That card was the king he had drawn not long ago.
Hisoka's attention was especially drawn to the four nen beasts surrounding Larry, and in his eyes, a rare hint of fear flickered. Larry's strength had far surpassed what he had expected.
He had initially believed that Larry's strongest nen beast was the steel behemoth, and while the others were powerful, none matched that level. But today's fight showed him otherwise, Larry had three other nen beasts that rivaled the steel giant in strength. No one even knew if that was all of them.
"Just as I thought," Hisoka whispered to himself. "This is the most perfect fruit I've ever encountered in my life." Then, a tinge of regret slipped into his voice: "It's a shame I'll never get the chance to pluck it."
Because of his passion as a "fruit farmer," Hisoka had developed exceptional eyesight, allowing him to accurately assess others' strength, potential, and rank them accordingly. He knew exactly where he stood and how far he might go in the future.
But picking a fruit like Larry? That was pure fantasy. Larry's title wasn't exaggerated, he truly was "The Strongest in the World," and the strongest of all types at that.
Hisoka's words caught the attention of Leorio, who stood nearby. After a moment of stunned silence, Leorio nodded in strong agreement. "Yeah, if even Hisoka can't get close, then forget about us. Their battle is already the peak of human combat..."
At this moment, countless people across the six continents held their breath, eyes glued to every movement on the screen. Those with Nen abilities, who could see the images with perfect clarity, were especially anxious about jed's fate.
The final meeting of the V5 was attended only by the top leaders of each faction, and among them, only a handful possessed nen. Not all of these individuals fully understood Larry's true strength.
In the past, Larry's reputation was mostly built on his public battles in the Sky Arena, where he was known as both the "strongest fighter" and "the strongest in the world." Yet, only a select few truly grasped the extent of his power. Aura, a life energy, couldn't be detected through the screen, making it difficult to gauge Larry's real condition.
In contrast, Jed's massive Rakshasa looked overwhelmingly powerful. But only a few knew this was a last desperate move from a man on the brink of defeat.
"Is it finally happening?" Netero's eyes shone as he stared at the gigantic Rakshasa, a wave of nostalgia washing over him. He seemed to relive the moment decades ago when he first attacked Jed.
The Rakshasa's palm gathered countless grievances, and its enormous body whipped up fierce gusts of wind that blew violently in all directions. The dark winds alone were enough to overwhelm the few watching the battle. Leorio was even slammed into the wall beside him.
"Ouch," Leorio muttered, rubbing the back of his head.
The sudden blow had left him with a sore spot, and his face twisted into a grimace. What was he even doing here? Wasn't he supposed to be Zushi's personal doctor?' Instead, he'd been knocked out, thrown into a sewer, and now he had to endure this brutal windstorm.
Gon wisely decided to lie flat on the ground to lessen the wind's impact. He braced himself and called out, "Leorio, you should lie down too."
Hearing this, Leorio quickly followed suit, feeling an immediate relief. Among them, Hisoka remained the most composed. As the strongest of the group, he resisted the wind with effortless grace, showing a level of control and elegance that set him apart from the rest.
Hisoka casually waved his hand, sending four playing cards flying toward the two pillars on either side. With intense focus behind them, the cards sliced through the iron as effortlessly as cutting through tofu, embedding themselves firmly into the stone pillars.
There were four cards in total, one on the upper left, one on the lower left, one on the upper right, and one on the lower right.
With Hisoka's sticky aura connecting the four playing cards, a pink spirit barrier formed in front of him, blocking most of the strong wind. Narrowing his eyes, Hisoka couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.
"Can pressure alone really create such a powerful wind?" he wondered, watching the barrier bend and stretch under the force.