The wind from the punch scraped past Tsubone's cheek!
Tsubone's expression didn't change. She countered with her own punch, her muscles bulging to an exaggerated, terrifying degree. In the world of Hunter x Hunter, when it came to female powerhouses, apart from a certain "Gem Hunter" who liked to act young, she had the most strength.
*Bang!* Their fists collided.
Uvogin only felt a colossal force strike him, sending him flying backward at twice the speed. With a *crash*, he smashed through several tables and chairs!
"This old hag... her strength is incredible!" The young Spiders were stunned. This was the first time they had seen someone beat Uvogin in a contest of strength!
For a moment, they stared with wide eyes, unable to believe it.
Sean stood to the side, hands in his pockets, watching the fight with leisure. He wasn't the least bit surprised by this outcome.
'700 Strength... 600 Speed... 0 Aura... In front of a powerhouse who has broken their limits, it's still not enough.'
A "hexagram" flashed in the depths of his right eye. Sean had instantly seen through Uvogin's stats. Still, to possess 70 times the strength of a normal person without even opening his aura nodes... Uvogin had plenty to be proud of for that alone!
"Hehe... she's a bit tough, huh. Uvogin, how long are you going to sleep?"
A cold glint flashed. A long katana was unsheathed. Seizing the opening after Tsubone's counter, Nobunaga, his face taut, staggered his footing, lunged forward, and thrust his sword straight at Tsubone's heart!
"Haha... that's the stuff! Old man, don't you kill her, she's mine!" Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Uvogin coordinated with Nobunaga, leaping up and bringing his fist down again!
One high, one low, making it impossible to cover both. Their teamwork was incredibly tacit.
'Unfortunately... "Good tactics, but your speed... is just barely passable."' Sean smiled. As soon as his words fell—
*Smack! Smack!* Two hand-chops struck first, one smacking Nobunaga's long katana aside, the other hitting Uvogin in the chest. They were so fast that the young Spiders, even straining their eyes, could only make out afterimages.
That's right, Tsubone was using the Zoldyck family's famous assassination art—"Snake Liveliness"!
"Too weak. If this is all you've got, you won't be able to protect that little girl over there."
Sean glanced at Chrollo. Sarasa was trying to break free from his grip. "Chrollo, let me go!"
Chrollo, still a proper-looking pretty boy, didn't say a word. He already possessed the budding form of a leader's charisma.
"Teacher Ben An taught us to be united."
"Shalnark, you watch Sarasa. Franklin, you're with me."
"Sigh... so annoying. Just to be clear, I'm not doing this to protect that nasty woman." Machi, who was squatting on a table, seeing the situation, charged over with Chrollo and Franklin!
At the same time, Feitan shot Phinks a look. One drew a thin sword, the other cracked his knuckles, and they both laughed as they joined the fray!
"So united. Did I just inadvertently give these Spiders a push?" Sean glanced at Chrollo, rubbing his chin.
Just as he was thinking, Chrollo, Machi, Franklin, and Feitan shot straight past Tsubone, leaving only Phinks yelling, "Uvogin, you're not so tough, huh?" as he charged Tsubone.
'Go for the leader first? "I should remind you, you four brats picked the wrong opponent."' Tsubone had no intention of intercepting Chrollo, Machi, Franklin, or Feitan. She merely glanced at them before lifting her leg in a whip-kick aimed at Phinks.
'Cunning little Spiders... a sneak attack. How terrifying.'
A fierce wind, a cold glint of a blade... Anyone who dared to treat these kids as actual children would absolutely die without a proper burial.
But... while *those* children weren't children, he, Sean, wasn't just some ordinary boy. Witnessing Chrollo change direction mid-run and charge straight for him, Sean snapped his fingers. "Number 2, Number 3, Number 4, Number 5... get to work."
*Poof! Poof! Poof!* Aura followed his will, the hand seal formed in an instant.
Four consecutive sounds were heard. The "Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu" was deployed. Four Seans split off in four directions, rushing toward Chrollo, Machi, Franklin, and Feitan.
Pakunoda, who was hiding to the side, waiting for a chance... Sheila, who was clutching a "Hunter Adventure Notebook" (actually a "New World紀行")... Shalnark, who was watching Sarasa and didn't dare move... and Sarasa herself... all cried out in shock!
They rubbed their eyes, suspecting they had seen wrong.
"Holy crap! 'Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu'?!"
"Isn't that Naruto's famous move?"
"I thought Teacher Ben An made it all up... I can't believe it's actually real?!"
Their little brains couldn't process it. Chrollo, Machi, and the others, who were face-to-face with clones 2, 3, 4, and 5, felt it most deeply. They were so shocked their jaws dropped.
Franklin was a bit slow. In his moment of daze, Sean's clone #3 punched him in the eye. Pain. Real, genuine pain.
"Everyone, watch out! This isn't an illusion! It's solid! That guy really is using the 'Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu'!"
"Ohohoho... Last time you mentioned Sean could conjure the abilities from his manga, this old man didn't believe it. Now it seems I was blind."
On Kukuroo Mountain, in the small wooden cabin, Netero fiddled with the "monitoring glasses" on his face, watching through Tsubone's eyes as the four Seans split off, clucking his tongue in wonder.
"Even Specialists have different leanings. Some lean toward Transmutation, some toward Enhancement. Sean leans more toward Conjuration. That was the unanimous conclusion my father and I came to," Zigg said with a smile, watching the battlefield. 'The brat has his hands in his pockets, acting all cool. He has a trace of my style back in the day.'
Speaking of Maha... "Where's the old man?" Netero winked slyly at Zigg. "He's not... avoiding me, is he?"
"You've got some self-awareness, at least." The two looked at each other and burst out laughing. After a moment, Netero's smile faded. His gaze shifted to Chrollo and the others, and he narrowed his eyes. "This group of kids from Meteor City isn't half bad. The one with the thin sword is fast. That little girl who looks pissed off... her methods are vicious, aiming for the low-hanging fruit. And that kid who Sean punched... he's got a big frame, and he's tough."
"Overall, trying to beat them with just clones... probably isn't enough."
Zigg nodded. "They are the best of the best who survived in that kind of place, after all. They have some skill."
"But... that's all it is."
"Multi-Size Jutsu!" Seeing that Tsubone was about to end her fight, Sean blew a breath at clones 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Boiling "Nen" surged. Four ten-meter-tall giants took shape in an instant. With a casual stretch of their necks, they hit the church ceiling!
Chrollo, Machi, Feitan, and all the other little Spiders just felt a massive shadow fall over them... They were completely dumbfounded.