Hunter x Hunter: From Obtaining the World to Beyond Heaven

But the crowds blocked their way.

By this time, people on the periphery had heard their voices. Some cautious people had begun to quietly retreat, but some busybodies did the opposite and tried to squeeze into the crowd with curious expressions.

This rush only made the already crowded area even more congested.

The human walls, inside and out, trapped those desperate people inside in a steamer of death and deadly germs, turning them into a flesh-and-blood culture medium for fungi!

And the source of all this is undoubtedly the arm that was stuck in the white "snowman" citizen's body, yet strangely, no fungus spread on it!

That was Kuroro's left arm, which had just been nearly chopped off by Kido.

Chapter Ninety-Three: Problems × Brainstorming

I saw Kuroro's left arm.

Dia immediately understood the whole story; this must be the backup plan left behind by Kuroro.

Dia wasn't surprised that Kuroro would leave a backup plan; rather, it would be truly strange if someone like him panicked enough not to leave any traps when he fled.

Even the fact that Kuroro dared to give up one hand in exchange for a chance to leave didn't shock Dia. Wasn't this just basic tactic for a desperate criminal?

But there was one thing in everything that just happened that truly shocked Dia—

'Kuroro, do you think I'd give up hunting him down just because some citizens have been infected?'

Dia subconsciously assumed that Kuroro was trying every means to infect these citizens with his abilities in order to keep him busy saving the citizens who were trapped in the crisis of fungal infection.

After all, judging from the situation just now, it's almost a certainty that the strange fungus has spread on a large scale.

Even the strongest person couldn't disperse so many people at once, unless a serial killer appeared and sent them all flying with a single bomb.

To be honest, Dia couldn't really do that kind of thing; he wasn't the real DIO.

However, it's unlikely that he would be foolish enough to give up the chance to hunt down Kuroro just to save a few citizens.

Today, Kuroro can use a few citizens to make Dia back down; the day after tomorrow, he can use the same methods to force Dia to do anything.

Dia knew in her heart which was more important.

In the Chimera Ant arc of the manga, most of the hunters in the ant extermination team were already morally upright, but when faced with the large-scale killing of the people of East Gothor during the selection ceremony, they did not impulsively start a war with the ants directly, but waited for the right opportunity before taking action.

The argument of moral blackmail is that their inaction led to the deaths of some people who could have been saved, but in reality, no one would really blame the hunters who risked their lives for this reason (except for those with ulterior motives and hypocrites).

Idealistically speaking, human lives cannot be measured by quantity, but when ideals are grounded in reality, the ability to make decisive and quick decisions is also an important factor in testing whether a hunter is qualified.

If Kuroro really left behind that moral trap with those thoughts in mind, then Dia is truly laughing in anger; the other party is completely treating him like a child...

But upon reflection, Dia felt it didn't make sense.

His previous assumption seemed a bit too arrogant, as if he were treating Kuroro like a naive child.

'If there's anything about his ability that we should take seriously?'

Diya frowned. The mechanism of this unknown fungus was not complicated. He could roughly guess some of the core mechanisms of its abilities just by observing it with the naked eye.

First, as summarized earlier, the ultimate goal of fungal infection is always to kill or directly control the infected person.

This is the most obvious and reasonable guess.

In addition, there's the growth mechanism of fungi; it's likely that the closer they are to Kuroro's body tissues, the easier it is for them to grow...

and many more.

Dia realized a problem he had been ignoring.

Does that mean the closer he gets to Kuroro, the faster the fungus grows? How can he get close to him then?

What if the fungus continues to grow even after killing the opponent? Wouldn't that force him to trade one-for-one with Kuroro?

Dia's brain began to work frantically.

Will fungi continue to grow during the "time stop" period?

If growth fails, Dia can completely remove the infected skin or tissue before the fungus spreads.

But the problem is, what if the fungus is still growing during the "time stop" period? Will the fungus be considered part of your body?

In reality, it's quite vague what will stop and what won't during a time stop.

Just like when Dia stopped time, his clothes were not stopped along with him, and his Nen ability was not stopped, proving that the mechanism of time stopping is not simply internal or external or whether it belongs to Dia's body.

Similarly, if he is poisoned, time stop cannot stop the poisoning process, because the toxin is flowing in the blood. There is no reason for the toxin to be stopped while the blood is still flowing.

Thinking about this, Diya was basically certain that [Time Stop] could not protect him from the fungal infection, and even if it could, he wouldn't risk his life.

What if it's done remotely?

Unfortunately, Diya's spirit beast did not come out with him; his running speed had far surpassed that of the slowly flying cloud.

Even as he ran out of the hall, his spirit beast was probably still struggling to fly towards the ground...

'And guns...'

Dia's second thought was of his pistol, but to his dismay, he discovered that he had carelessly discarded it during the battle... (See Chapter 80)

'It must be due to DIO's influence!'

That was all he could think of, but even if he carried a gun, would it really be of any use?

The light steel bullets attached to the 【Metallic Ripple Nen】 are effective against grunts, but against a master like Chrollo, they are only moderately effective.

If he can't find an opportunity to strengthen this method in the future, he will probably have to give up this useful ability.

Moreover, his bullets are limited, so it's hard to say whether he can wear down Kuroro.

'Damn, is finding a way to control this fungus the only option left?'

Dia reluctantly realized that he would have to stay here for the time being until he found a way to control this mysterious fungus.

Because the most abundant and safest samples of fungi are found here.

but.

Diya's eyes narrowed; he wouldn't give up on this race so easily.

Kuroro should have escaped about 5 seconds ago. When Dia first stepped out, she could still sense his presence within the circle.

But now Kuroro has escaped his circle.

However, Dia was certain that the other party had not escaped the range of his [Ripple Radar].

In his extreme condition, he can extend the [Ripple Radar] to about 200 meters, even though Kuroro is currently in a state of near-serious injury and is carrying someone with him.

Dia roughly estimated that it would take Kuroro ten seconds to escape the detection range of the [Ripple Radar].

Ten seconds!

This is the leeway that Dia has given herself.

If it takes more than ten seconds, there's basically no hope of catching Kuroro in the sewers. But if he can exploit the fungus's weakness within ten seconds, he still has a chance!

Dia didn't include the two seconds of "time stop" in the count, because that was saved for when she faced Chrollo and made the final decision.

'Hehe, it's a bit difficult, but it doesn't seem impossible...'

Dia's lips curled into a cold smile. Kuroro had given him a difficult problem, so he would definitely have to use all his skills.

Give him a big surprise...

Chapter Ninety-Four: The Long-Awaited Crimson × Pursuit

The first second has passed...

The countdown has begun.

When it comes to fungi, the first thing that comes to mind for Dia is JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind, and Jokcrat's Stand, "Youthful Days".

While both are reproducing fungi, the destructive power of "Youthful Years" is far greater than that of the white fungus before us, and its range and growth rate are also incomparable.

'The growth conditions for [Youthful Years] seem to be...falling? That ability is far stronger than the fungus before us...'

Diya carefully recalled these memories of his past life. They weren't very vivid for him; some of the details weren't even as memorable as what Qiduo liked to eat.

In his past life, although he liked these works, he wasn't a fanatical fan who would delve into every little detail of the settings. (Besides, many of Araki's settings became increasingly difficult to grasp the deeper one went into them.)

Who knew he would actually time travel? It's not like he didn't have any studies. For a liberal arts student to remember so much is quite an amazing memory.

So all potential time travelers must remember this bloody lesson!

Getting back to the main point, the growth conditions for the fungus have been basically determined: the closer it is to the tissue left by Kuroro, the faster it grows.

This condition limits the scope of the ability's effectiveness.

Thinking this, Dia's eyes narrowed, and she flashed into the crowd like a monster with immense strength.

At the same time, he released a little of his aura to prevent people on the outside from squeezing in with him.

Finally, he casually tossed out all the uninfected people near the center circle.

Although they might get a few scratches, it's better than losing their lives. Dia also grabbed the torches from their hands and threw them away to prevent them from getting burned when they landed.

After all this was done, the third second passed...

To everyone else, what had just happened was like a whirlwind rushing into the crowd and blowing everyone away.

Only then did the horrifying scene in the center of the crowd come into everyone's view—

Blood everywhere, white, unknown creatures, and gnawed corpses...

Those who were initially curious and wanted to squeeze in immediately became quiet, and those who were blocked inside and unable to get out also breathed a sigh of relief at being freed.

Diya flashed like lightning, appearing at the crime scene, a few pebbles in her hand—

It was ejected when he broke the artificial manhole cover on the ground, and he picked it up casually.

After a cursory glance at the scene, Dia began to analyze:

'There are three people in total. One person's head has been covered and he is currently inactive. One person has been completely parasitized and is now being manipulated. The other person's neck was bitten, causing a ruptured aorta, and he has lost consciousness and is likely dead...'

'The bite wound is spreading with fungus extremely rapidly, reaching the heart... even faster than it reaches the brain?'