'Ma-niao?'
Netero chuckled. "This kid Sean is too mean."
"Yeah. He's too mean." Maha smacked his lips. Without the brat here to bicker with him, even food had no flavor.
"There aren't many names Silva remembers. This Joyce Mattel, with two limit breaks in both body and Nen, is best left for Silva to handle." Zigg glanced at Maha. "Father, should I call Silva now?"
"No rush." Maha rocked his chair, squinting at Sean in the image. He said, puzzled, "Haven't you noticed the brat is a bit... excited?"
"Based on his usual piss-poor attitude, this old man thinks he's confident he can take out that Joyce Ma-niao."
'His name is Joyce Mattel, not Ma-niao!'
"Old man, don't let this kid Sean lead you astray." Netero didn't forget to remind Maha, "That Joyce Mattel is very alert. He released his [En] right from the start. If Silva wants to avoid being discovered, he either has to use [Zetsu] or maintain a certain distance."
"This way, it won't be easy to quickly cut into the battlefield and save Sean in time."
A battle could change in an instant; it was no child's play. But Maha looked at Sean suspiciously. The brat's mouth was pulled up in a confident smirk that didn't look faked.
"Enough nonsense. That's my grandson, he doesn't need your concern."
This one sentence nearly choked Netero. The great Chairman chuckled hoarsely and immediately stopped talking.
'This old fool is getting senile! There'll be a time for you to regret this... It's just a pity for Sean. He's probably going to get beaten to a pulp.'
A milky-white Nen aura steamed out. Inside the abandoned factory shed, Joyce Mattel looked at Sean with a blank expression, seemingly unfazed by being called 'Ma-niao'.
He didn't even bother to ask about Eugene or Manda. Instead—
He chose to act directly!
'A bunch of trash. If they're dead, they're dead. But if His Highness's quota isn't met, it's inexcusable for me not to deliver something.'
"Swish!" His figure flashed, fast as lightning. Sean only saw a blur, and Joyce Mattel was already in his face, a whip kick striking upward!
'This speed isn't right!'
'Sage, appraise!'
[Joyce Mattel]
[Bone Age: 45]
[Strength: 11,000 (Normal: 10) Remark: 2-level limit break]
[Speed: 12,700 (Normal: 10) Remark: 2-level limit break]
[Qi Quantity: 10,250 (Normal: 10) Remark: 2-level limit break]
[Nen Ability Level: 2-level limit break]
[Comprehensive Strength Evaluation: C-]
'C-? A mature Hisoka, or Uvogin and Nobunaga, are only about this level.'
Sean's eyes flashed, and he grinned. "Tsubone, it looks like we've run into a tough one today!"
The old butler's expression was grave. She didn't speak. The moment she caught sight of Joyce Mattel, she tensed her entire body in preparation.
Using "Shadow Step," she crossed her arms and blocked in front of Sean!
"Bang!" Leg and arm collided. Tsubone's eyes widened. She felt an indescribable, immense force strike her, instantly breaking through her [Ko] and sending her flying!
[Ko]: An advanced Nen application technique combining the four major principles [Ten], [Zetsu], [Ren], and [Hatsu] with [Gyo].
First, use [Gyo] to concentrate all qi to one point, then use [Ten] to wrap all the emitted qi to increase its density, and finally use [Zetsu] to close the aura nodes, completely eliminating any possibility of leakage. It was the ultimate "absolute enhancement of a localized area"!
But even so... Tsubone, who had enhanced her forearms in advance, still couldn't withstand Joyce Mattel's kick. She crashed head-first into a pile of scrap parts.
'Brute force really is something.' "It seems, respected Mr. Ma-niao, you've been drinking a lot of 'ma-niao' (horse piss)." Sean bared his white teeth and shouted, "Brothers, time to get to work!"
"Poof! Poof! Poof!" No. 2 through No. 10 came online, instantly surrounding Joyce Mattel.
'Nen beasts? Or clones?' Ten Seans suddenly appeared. Joyce Mattel's eyes flickered, and he calmly raised his arms.
"Multi-Shadow-Clone Jutsu. This move is fine for dealing with those kids in Meteor City, but against a true expert..." Netero shook his head. "It's completely ineffective. Not only that, but it disperses his power, making him an easy target to be picked off one by one."
"That damn dog has said as much." Maha picked up his H-manga and fanned himself with it, saying comfortably, "You learn from your mistakes. You think the brat wouldn't have thought of this?"
"He's definitely... brewing up some evil fart!"
The memory of Silva taking out No. 2 through No. 10 with a single hand-chop was still vivid. The old man didn't believe Sean would be unaware of this principle.
As Maha said, Zigg, who was always meticulous, was the first to notice something strange about No. 2 through No. 10. These clones all had a "feather" shaped mark on their faces, which seemed different from the clones his father and Zeno had described.
'Wind-Style Multi-Shadow-Clone Jutsu! That's what it should be called now!'
In the gap created when Tsubone was kicked away and Joyce Mattel was retracting his leg, Sean, after summoning his "brothers," unhesitatingly used "Shadow-Imitation Jutsu"!
The shadow beneath his feet spread out silently.
Mr. Ma-niao, whose attention was fixed on No. 2 through No. 10, was imperceptibly frozen in place.
But a 2-level limit breaker was a 2-level limit breaker. Mr. Ma-niao was not trash like Eugene and Manda. He immediately sensed something was wrong and burst out with [Ren] to forcibly sever the shadow rope!
Unfortunately, a shadow rope that could hold even Silva for a moment could, at the very least, hold for two or three seconds.
And... two or three seconds was enough!
"Expansion!" The ten-meter-tall little giant reappeared in the world. Without even needing Sean's signal... he raised his man-sized fists and frantically hammered them down on Joyce Mattel!
"Muda... Muda Muda!" Fists rained down like a storm.
A critical hit from the Land of Giants, surging and violent!
The dirt and stone ground was kicked up into a cloud of dust, obscuring the electronic arc and temporarily blocking the screen.
The old men, who were "eating melon" behind the curtain, lost their view and immediately grew restless.
"How did the signal cut out?" Netero fiddled with his surveillance glasses and glanced at Maha. "Old man, your family's tech isn't very reliable."
"Heh. If you can't see, then don't. Did I beg you to watch?" Maha shot Netero a look and said coldly to Zigg, "Call Tsubone. What's wrong with her? One kick and she's off the air?"
Zigg gave a wry smile. 'The opponent is a 2-level limit break master. Tsubone is a 1-level limit break. It's already impressive that she could take one kick and not pass out.'
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Zigg made the call.
Tsubone pushed off the parts scattered on her body and stood up again. She reached up and adjusted the angle.
The screen returned.