Hunter x Hunter: From Obtaining the World to Beyond Heaven

"By now, Feitan is probably cursing him out, right?"

Unlike the listless Kuroro, Paknoda, who is a patient, is quite optimistic.

She even had time to laugh and tease Feitan about his impatience.

"..."

Kuroro looked at the optimistic Pakunoda, but couldn't say a word.

He couldn't understand why every decision he made pushed the people he cherished into the abyss.

First it was the knight in shining armor, then Machi, and now even Pike is leaving him.

In the ensuing silence, it was finally Paknotta who spoke first:

"Kuroro, hold my hand."

She felt her consciousness fading, and if the [binding] on her body were to be removed now, she would probably die in the next moment.

But Paknotta still made the request.

Kuroro hesitated for a moment, then reached out and grabbed Pakunoda's hand.

This simple act of holding hands was a forbidden zone that neither of them dared to cross for more than a decade.

Pakunoda gained the ability to help Chrollo by agreeing to a condition that she could never have contact with the most important person to her—Kuroro—for the rest of her life.

From that time on, they lived like familiar strangers, maintaining a distant yet intimate relationship for many years.

But now, that constraint is no longer a concern.

Paknoda is paralyzed, and taking her out of New Delhi would be tantamount to putting the safety of everyone else at risk.

Kuroro wouldn't do that, and neither would Pakunoda.

So, for Paknoda, who was paralyzed in bed, death was the only outcome.

"Look at you, is it so uncomfortable for you to hold my hand?"

Paknoda forced a smile and said, suppressing her reluctance:

"It's no use regretting it now. The restrictions have been lifted, and my abilities have completely failed. I'm a useless cripple now."

"It's a pity. I have the ability to read other people's minds by touching them, but I can't read your mind at all."

"It's a pity that after such a long time of intimate contact, I can no longer feel my own hands."

"But Kuroro, you know what? I'm really happy right now..."

In the dim light, Paknoda seemed to see the cheerful, dark-haired boy from her childhood again.

He was right beside her bed, and he said those words she would never forget:

"I like Parker the most."

Chapter 424 Kuroro's Backup Plan × Two Days Later

Kuroro reached out and closed Pakunoda's eyes.

'She's dead.'

After realizing this.

He sat motionless by the bed for 41 seconds, then got up, broke off Paknoda's right ring finger, and put it in the inside pocket of her left breast pocket.

Then he picked up a lighter, lit the pillowcase beside the bed, and threw it onto the corpse on the bed.

The flames instantly ignited the silk bedding, spreading to the corpse's clothes and the mattress beneath it, crackling and popping. The scorching air rose and swirled, like a dying person exhaling their last breath, turning into an endlessly spinning vortex.

The flames greedily licked the skin of the corpse, turning it to charred black. Tiny hairs were instantly ignited, mixing with the seeping oil and emitting a strange smell.

Tiny fireballs burst from the giant fireball and landed squarely on Kuroro.

He remained unmoved, merely flicked the strings, and continued to remain silent.

People are precious when they are alive.

When a person dies, they're just a lump of flesh.

Kuroro muttered to himself as if trying to comfort himself, then turned around expressionlessly and walked out of the bedroom and hall before the flames spread throughout the room, pushing open the door.

He didn't look back even once.

squeak-

The sun high above the door casts cold, straight rays, like a transparent sword of judgment hurled down by a god.

Kuroro squinted, scrutinizing for a long time, until someone approached—

"Commander, what's the next step?"

Phinks' voice pulled Kuroro back to reality.

He turned to look at Finks, who was missing an arm, and suddenly felt that the other man seemed much calmer than before.

This is a very rare state for Nen users with Enhancement-type abilities.

Kuroro was still uneasy and asked with a frown:

"Are you alright? Your left arm isn't your dominant arm, so the power of [Return to Heaven] will be reduced, right?"

They were all self-taught, and although they had undergone rigorous combat training, professional martial arts techniques such as ambidextrous fighting were still too far-fetched for them.

Finks nodded:

"That's how it should normally be."

"But when my right fist was blown off, I suddenly felt like I could take it a little further in terms of developing my abilities."

Phinks lowered his head seriously, looking at his left fist as if it were a rare treasure:

"It's strange, I used to never quite get the relationship between the number of rotations and the power of my punches right, until I no longer needed to throw a punch..."

"On the contrary, I feel that I can count how many times I should spin, and even how many punches I should throw."

"My intuition tells me that I don't have many punches left. With each punch I throw from now on, I will spin for longer and make it more powerful. The final 'Return to Heaven' will be much stronger than I imagine."

A powerful and terrifying aura surged within Phinks' body, like a tough whip and torture device, wrapped around his only remaining left hand.

Even without witnessing the power of Phinks' punch firsthand, Kuroro could still sense the deadly threat.

[Restrictions and Oaths] can grant a person power far exceeding their true capabilities.

Normally, once a [restraint and oath] is made, it cannot be changed unless a new ability is developed or a new use is derived from an old ability.

However, some people may encounter opportunities under certain special circumstances to further modify their "constraints".

Kuroro's "Bookmark Chapter" is the former case, while Phinks is currently facing the latter case.

To compensate for the inevitable decrease in punching power caused by the loss of his right fist, he modified the restraints.

The statement "Rotate your arm before punching; the more you rotate, the more powerful your punch" has been changed to "Rotate your arm before punching; the more you rotate, the more powerful your punch, but each punch must rotate more times than the last."

In other words, as Fink's number of punches increases

Sooner or later, when he uses his Nen ability "Return to Heaven," the number of times he needs to rotate his arm will reach an unacceptable level.

It seems like only one condition is missing, but it almost completely locks in the upper limit of this ability, exchanging the entire future for short-term power.

In fact, this is the true usage of "restraint and oath".

Overly conservative constraints will not allow your abilities to undergo a qualitative change; only radical constraints can bring about transformative power.

Kurapika's chains are like this, and so is Gon's forced growth.

Thus, Phinks was able to use his current "Return to Heaven" to manipulate an enormous amount of spiritual energy, even exceeding his actual capacity.

The reason he could make such a destructive decision was the same as what Finks said—he felt he wouldn't be able to leave Kakin alive.

[Enhancement Type] His single-mindedness is fully embodied in him.

Kuroro didn't say much, but gave Phinks a deep look before saying:

"Before Parker left, he left behind the formula for [Ampoulemumab]. Now, the most urgent task is to send it out and give it to the elders."

“All our means of external communication have failed. Kakin’s cyber forces are probably listening to calls to Meteor City right now. It’s not difficult to get the formula out, but it’s difficult to avoid being caught by the King’s Army afterward.”

Feitan's gaze grew increasingly cold as he listened, and his voice, like that of a venomous snake, suddenly rang out:

"Then let's use this as bait to lure the royal army to us, and then set traps and ambushes."

"Kill them until they dare not investigate us anymore!"

In a direct confrontation, they cannot contend with a large-scale regular army, but if the encounter is transformed into urban warfare and ambushes, even if the Phantom Troupe is reduced to only four members, they can still deal with the situation calmly by taking advantage of the terrain and traps.

Rather, it was precisely because they had only four men left, and all of them were top-ranking combatants in the brigade, that Feitan had the confidence to fight against the regular army.

But his suggestion was immediately rejected by Kuroro.

"Don't overestimate our capabilities, and don't underestimate the determination of the regular army."

"If their commanders, after weighing the casualties, feel that the losses from urban warfare will outweigh those from direct artillery bombardment, then they will 100% bombard our block directly with artillery shells. Even if we take shelter underground, there is no guarantee that they won't have some advanced weapons to deal with it."

"Faced with the army's advanced weaponry, only Uvogin among us can put up some resistance, but it's only some resistance. You and Phinks should both know that."

Upon hearing his name called, Uvogin perked up slightly and silently stood behind Feitan.

"cut……"

Feitan gritted his teeth in resentment, feeling a faint throbbing pain in his eye sockets.

He had to admit that Kuroro was right: Nen users were as strategically valuable as humanoid nuclear weapons in one-on-one combat, but they were ineffective in large-scale battles.

Unless it is someone who has specifically developed the ability to deal with multiple people.

But that doesn't mean much. After all, Nen users are one in a hundred, but weapons can be mass-produced, and soldiers are recruited in the tens of thousands every year. They are not even in the same league.

"So what should we do?"

Phinks, having regained his composure, spoke on Feitan's behalf:

"The border blockade is much tighter now than when we came. Even if we escape, we will face a large number of pursuers and high-speed special equipment such as armed helicopters. The chances of survival are not high."

"Our only way to survive is to wait until the lockdown is lifted, but by then, everyone in Meteor City will probably be dead."