The dust cleared.
The shadow rope snapped with a "pa." Joyce Mattel, who had been besieged by nearly a thousand fists in two seconds, appeared to be unharmed.
But the wisp of blood he couldn't stop from leaking at the corner of his mouth clearly showed he wasn't as relaxed as he seemed.
"Wind. That kid Sean's every punch carries wind." It was confirmed. That mysterious "feather" insignia was the proof of the "Wind" characteristic imprinted on the shadow clones.
"Heh. My son is still the sharp-eyed one." Maha rocked his chair, unperturbed, and said sarcastically, "Unlike a certain fellow who doesn't even have a grandson, who bad-mouths just for the sake of bad-mouthing. He just can't stand to see others do well."
'Who's he trying to subtly dig at?'
"Ho ho. I am just stating the facts." Netero gave Maha an annoyed look and said faintly, "It's a pity Sean isn't my grandson."
"Otherwise, I'd go up and swat this Ma-niao dead."
"The key point is, aren't you just worried he's not his opponent?"
'Jinx. It seems you really called it.' Zigg frowned and said in a low voice, "The cold wind chills to the bone. Wind itself has a penetrating characteristic. This kid Joyce Mattel is quite smart; he knew to attach a layer of [Ken] to his body's surface immediately."
"Therefore, Sean's seemingly fierce offensive didn't cause him any substantial damage."
"Old man, did you hear that? This time, it's not me deliberately bad-mouthing Sean," Netero picked up where Zigg left off. "The gap created by physical and Nen ability levels is not something that fancy ninjutsu can make up for."
"Now is when Sean will be truly tested!"
As the great Chairman's voice fell, a cannon-like fist, wrapped in powerful Nen, smashed toward Sean!
Fast speed, great power. Compared to Eugene, Joyce Mattel seemed like a creature from another dimension!
Even from ten meters away, Sean could feel his skin sting sharply from the wind of the fist!
'If this one lands, I'm dead even if I don't die.' Sean squinted, a trace of crimson quietly appearing in his eyes.
Using the Sharingan, he barely managed to see through the punch's trajectory. With a shift of his feet, he narrowly dodged it.
"Screech!" The fist grazed past Sean's cheek. The fist's wind was like a knife, leaving a bloody mark on it!
When the master is insulted, the servant dies. Tsubone saw this and was enraged. She kicked off the ground and cut into the battlefield, only to be blocked by Sean's backhand.
"You should rest." One of her forearms was clearly hanging limp—broken. Joining the battle in this state would only drag him down. She would be fated only to be a punching bag!
"My apologies." Tsubone lowered her head in shame.
Sean didn't look at her. He grinned, baring his white teeth. "You don't need to apologize, and I don't need your apology."
"You know, Tsubone... right now, I just want to beat this Ma-niao to death."
With a "snap" of his fingers, the shadow clones returned. Sean raised his essence, spirit, and qi to their peak state and said softly, "Eight Gates—Open!"
"Boom!" A milky-white Nen aura exploded forth. The Gate of Opening, followed by the Gate of Healing. The youth held nothing back, choosing to open two gates directly!
A surging amount of qi swept out from him, and his great tendons bulged like coiling dragons.
Noticing this scene, Joyce Mattel's gaze hardened. He spoke for a rare moment, "Suspected Conjurer-type clones, and a suspected Manipulator-type shadow-binding jutsu, and now you're copying an Enhancer, flaring your aura."
Mr. Ma-niao glanced at Sean's Sharingan and came to a sudden realization. "It seems you must be from the Kurta Clan, one of the Seven Beauties."
"Perfect!" Joyce Mattel undid his buttons, took off his suit jacket, and tossed it aside. He suppressed his voice into a low laugh, "His Highness has long been interested in your Scarlet Eyes. Today, I'll take your eyes to make up for the unfinished quota!"
'Specialist—Scarlet Eyes. When the red eyes activate, they can use the abilities of the other five types. That would explain why this youth can use Conjuration, Manipulation, and even Enhancement.'
However... "That's quite the backstory you've imagined. Unfortunately, as a dog, just like your master Tserriednich, you're just an egg!"
Sean's black hair flew up. He did a simple neck rotation, and his joints cracked like popping beans, "Ka, ka, ka"—a soul-shaking sound!
'Coveting Scarlet Eyes?' Joyce's "His Highness" immediately made Sean understand. The so-called kidnapping incident was just to satisfy the perverted hobbies of that foul fourth prince!
"You know His Highness?"
Joyce was startled. He frowned and stared at Sean, saying sinisterly, "Since you know His Highness's name and still insult him so freely, then it's only reasonable for me to send you to your death, right?"
'Ooh, how scary.' Sean sneered. "Getting defensive already?"
"I don't think I said anything wrong. Egg in a jar, egg in a jar. Tserriednich or Benjamin, aren't they all just eggs?"
He stomped his feet hard! "Boom!" The ground spider-webbed. As his words fell, Sean struck first. He flashed to Joyce's side and used "Snake Awl," wrapped in surging Nen, to shear at Joyce's neck!
A spirit snake tasting the air, coiling out. The hand-chop was ice-cold. Joyce Mattel was suddenly startled. He hadn't expected Sean's speed, after that strange aura burst, to increase to a level approaching the second-level limit! Truly... unexpected!
With a beautiful 'iron bridge' backbend, Mr. Ma-niao lowered his center of gravity and dodged the shearing blow with ease.
"Ho ho. A pity. If he were just a little faster, that would have been it." In the cabin, Netero saw it clearly. It was his first time seeing Sean open the Eight Gates. He glanced at Zigg, "This must be what that kid Sean relied on to snatch the bell from Silva."
Zigg smiled and nodded. "The Eight Gates combined with the Shadow-Imitation Jutsu. Silva was caught off guard for a moment, and Sean found his chance."
"What 'caught off guard'? Zigg, don't make excuses for him." Maha pouted. "In the end, isn't it just that Silva himself is trash?"
"Can't blame anyone else."
"Oh ho ho ho!" Netero laughed mischievously, "You can't say that. In this entire continent, you're the only one, old man, who dares to speak of Silva that way."
"Yes, Father." Zigg gave Maha a speechless look. "The boy is grown up. At least give him some face."
"Hmph." Maha snorted, rubbed the arms of his glasses, and turned his gaze back to the battlefield, saying no more.
His Snake Awl having missed, Sean wasn't discouraged. He followed up with a kick toward Joyce Mattel. With their speeds being comparable, Joyce Mattel, as Tserriednich's confidant—specially sent to Meteor City to handle his dirty work—was naturally no slouch!
He returned with a whip kick of his own, aimed at Sean!
"Dong!"
"Screech!" The two legs collided. The friction of Nen against Nen created a jarring, ear-piercing sound.
Even Tsubone, who had retreated from the battlefield, had to mobilize the Nen in her body to protect her eardrums.
She stared at the battle, not daring to blink.