Nen can only be countered with Nen.
This is common knowledge.
When the enemy potentially possesses a counter-type (or retaliatory) ability, approaching with a Manipulation-type ability is the optimal choice.
However, Kanzai and Talia are both Enhancers.
That said, the high fault tolerance inherent in the Enhancement category can also compress the risk of probing to a minimum.
Therefore, the thing that truly vexed Kanzai was not the enemy's ulterior motives beneath their bluster, nor the possibility of an impending counter-type ability, but...
The constraints of ensuring the client's safety, combined with the current environment where retreat is impossible, made him completely inhibited.
Hearing Saffu's statement now, Kanzai didn't feel the problem had been solved at all.
He even wanted to roll his eyes, but he held back.
Saying "don't worry about my life or death" is easy, isn't it...
If the mission failed, his lifetime of stellar reputation would be ruined.
Kanzai remained silent, pretending not to have heard Saffu's words.
He stared intently at the door, seemingly able to send his gaze directly to the center of the hostile aura.
"I have already submitted a statement to the Hunter Association that the commission has been successfully completed."
Saffu's voice suddenly came from behind him, and Kanzai was slightly startled.
"What?"
He couldn't help but turn to look at Saffu, who gently shook her phone.
Saffu's expression remained calm as water, and she said plainly:
"You should soon receive the confirmation message that the commission is complete."
"..."
Kanzai was stunned, immediately followed by the subtle vibration of his phone.
Taking out his phone to check, he did indeed receive the commission completion confirmation, along with a message about the huge remuneration instantly transferred to his account.
"Aren't you afraid I'll run off?"
Kanzai looked up, observing Saffu with a strange look, as if meeting his former client for the first time.
Saffu put down her phone, ignoring the anxious expression of Talia beside her.
A slight smile surfaced on her cool face:
"The assassin gives you a choice of two, so I also give you a choice of two. Even if you choose to run, I will calmly accept the result."
In her speech, she even consciously avoided the word "flee"...
Because there was no need for provocation.
This was Saffu's decision stemming from her true self.
"Tch."
Kanzai put away his phone.
Since the noble princess dared to put her own life on the gambling table, he didn't need to be hesitant.
As for running...?
What a joke.
He wouldn't make such a move, which would only tarnish his identity as a professional Hunter, even if he were forced to copy an essay ten thousand times.
"Talia, look out for her."
Leaving this instruction, Kanzai pushed the door open and stepped out.
Outside was a short corridor only three meters long, and at the end of the corridor was a spacious lounge area with sofas.
Kanzai saw a man standing in the lounge area the moment he stepped out.
The source of the aura was this very man.
"Yo, you finally came out."
The man was Mull, and he smiled somewhat flippantly.
Kanzai took two steps forward, his Nen surging visibly around him:
"You look quite relaxed..."
"Terrifying, terrifying."
Seeing the Nen released by Kanzai, which was far stronger than his own, Mull still maintained a flippant smile on his face, but his heart was filled with intense danger.
An encounter-type spatial ability, plus the Shenzi amplification prepared beforehand...
Even with such preparations, Mull still lacked sufficient confidence.
The reason wasn't entirely because of Kanzai's status as a member of the Twelve Zodiacs, but because the sheer intensity of Nen Kanzai displayed was overwhelmingly powerful.
Seeing it up close with his own eyes was far more convincing than any rumor.
"If your attack hits me, I'll die on the spot, won't I?"
Mull also released the maximum amount of visible aura, but a portion of his Nen was dedicated to the Shenzi, resulting in a total amount that was less than 50% of Kanzai's.
Such a massive, obvious disparity, however, could not determine the outcome of the battle.
Because the bizarre nature of Nen brings too much uncertainty to combat.
Kanzai looked at Mull expressionlessly and took a step forward.
Judging solely from the difference in visible aura, he could certainly knock Mull out with one punch.
But under the assumption that the opponent might possess a counter-type Nen ability, he couldn't pour all his attack power into a single exchange.
The biggest taboo when dealing with counter-type abilities is to go all-in right at the start.
Even if he could instantly defeat the opponent, it might still lead to a situation where he hurts the enemy by a thousand but loses eight hundred to himself, by accidentally triggering the ability's condition.
First, I'll probe the ability type.
It might not be a counter-type ability; it's just one extra probing step anyway...
Kanzai mused silently.
Battles between Nen users often prioritize probing in the first round, like cautiously navigating through a fog.
For Kanzai, given his current predicament, if he could have a full map, he wouldn't need to be so overly cautious.
The battle was about to erupt.
But at that moment, a sudden loud crash instantly echoed through the entire airship.
The sound came from the room behind Kanzai.
Kanzai's pupils constricted.
The instant he heard the sound, he understood that someone had brutally crashed into the client's room, likely by smashing through the ceiling.
"Hm?"
In the extremely brief interval when Kanzai was shaken by the loud sound, Mull used the information gap, flashed to Kanzai's side, and immediately pulled out a long, pointed fruit knife, stabbing towards Kanzai's carotid artery.
This was clearly a pre-arranged plan, intended to seize this opportunity to strike with genuine killing intent.
Kanzai reacted, defensively countering with a reflex action stimulated by the intense killing intent.
But the moment he threw his punch, he inwardly cried out, Not good.
Bang!
The punch, which he couldn't control the power of in his haste, landed on Mull's outstretched elbow, coming in after the knife.
Crack.
Accompanied by a miserable sound, Mull's body flew backward.
His arm, lacking sufficient defense, was instantly shattered with a comminuted fracture.
Then Kanzai saw Mull smile.
That bastard... set up a double failsafe!
Kanzai's eyes narrowed, and he immediately saw a momentary ripple, like water waves, in the surrounding environment.
The lounge area's walls, ceiling, and sofa—everything was still there, only tinted with an old yellow hue.
At the same time.
A sharp pain shot through his arm, which dropped limply.
Kanzai quickly glanced at his right arm and instantly understood the reason.
It was indeed a counter-type ability, possessing the effect of distributing damage, and it was also spatial in nature.
This is trouble...
Boom!
A huge sound abruptly arrived.
Moro, walking in the corridor, could still feel the ground slightly trembling.
"A blatant attack."
He looked back in the direction the sound came from. It was clearly Kanzai's area.
Fortunately, he hadn't gotten too close, or he would have been caught up in it now.
Moro retracted his gaze and arrived at the passage outside the cockpit, then stopped.
"En."
The Nen surrounding Moro's body instantly expanded outward like lines of light, passing through the floor, walls, and ceiling in a spherical shape, allowing him to probe inside the cockpit.
"Oh?"
As the En swept over the captain's room, Moro keenly detected an anomaly.
Despite such a huge commotion, and despite being touched by the En...
The people inside showed no sign of panic.
"Manipulated?"
Moro thought to himself.
(End of this Chapter)
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