Ever since Illumi saw through the weakness of Moro's ability…
One word had surfaced in Moro's mind: "Turn the tables."
Just like Illumi accurately read the nature of Moro's ability, Moro in turn predicted that Illumi would make the most precise move at the most critical moment.
That's why Moro, in his gravely injured state, intentionally exposed his reserve, leading Illumi to make a "perfectly reasonable" decision.
He trusted that Illumi would recognize the situation and respond within seconds.
And so, the Extractive Flying Star, which should've only been able to target regular puppetmen, successfully struck the two special puppetmen Illumi had willingly sent into the line of fire.
As the energy-extraction effect of the projectile activated, Moro's injuries began healing visibly.
The Extractive Flying Star could only absorb vitality from living bodies.
And Illumi's puppetmen—though their brains had been forcibly shut down via Manipulation Nen—were still technically alive.
Just those two special puppetmen alone were enough to heal Moro halfway.
Had it only absorbed from a regular puppetman, there wouldn't have been nearly enough to turn the tide.
This decision was crucial.
By using his "injury" to mislead Illumi, and then dancing at the edge of death…
Thankfully, Illumi didn't disappoint him.
The pain in Moro's body faded, and while backing off to gain distance, he began charging up Nen in his palms.
Next, he needed to take out that regular puppetman, so the Star Marker could transfer to Illumi.
Unfortunately, the Extractive Flying Star wasn't powerful enough…
Its core design prioritized draining life, not explosive damage.
If only it packed more punch—it could've destroyed the puppetmen outright, forcing the marker to jump to Illumi.
But now, he still had to eliminate the regular puppetman—giving Illumi a window to react.
"Healing from Enhancement Nen…"
Illumi watched the green glow from the special puppetmen's corpses rise into the air and enter Moro, who had looked near collapse but was suddenly almost fully restored.
He immediately understood what was going on.
So Moro had gone on the defensive just to create this opening?
Still, the possibility of a damage-transfer trick via the puppetmen was high.
Illumi's eyes turned cold. He glanced at the retreating Moro, then at the blood-soaked regular puppetman.
"Gyo."
Illumi's eyes lit up with Nen.
With just a single look, he spotted the faintly glowing Star Marker hidden beneath the blood.
Confirmed: the ability's medium.
His reaction—
Didn't escape Moro's watchful gaze.
"Too cautious…"
Seeing Illumi choose to examine the puppetman with Gyo rather than attack, Moro sighed internally.
Illumi clearly had the upper hand, but showed no desire to crush his opponent. He didn't have the typical Manipulation Nen user's urge to go for the kill.
He just wanted control. Step by step.
So, even now, as the situation turned against him, Illumi's first reaction was eliminating threats.
"I can't use the Extractive Flying Star anymore… I need to destroy that puppetman fast!"
From Illumi's response, Moro quickly grasped what was going on. He gave up on full recovery, choosing instead to eliminate the puppetman as fast as possible.
He ditched the slower, weaker Extractive version for his standard Flying Star.
But to obscure his real intent, he fired two shots—one at Illumi, the other at the puppetman.
That way, he could mask his true target.
It was a smart move.
But he overlooked something important—
In the time he'd spent developing his Nen abilities, Moro hadn't had time to hone his mastery of advanced techniques like Ko and Ryu.
So, in those brief moments of Nen allocation, his coordination wasn't nearly as efficient as an elite.
His projectiles prioritized speed, not power.
Which is why—
The moment Illumi saw the shots, he confirmed his guess and saw through Moro's intent.
His logic? The Flying Star aimed at him was too weak to be a threat—but the one aimed at the puppetman could easily destroy it.
"He's trying to break the Nen connection to the puppetman…"
Illumi moved fast. The second Moro launched the projectiles, he flicked a Nen needle at the puppetman.
His goal was to sever the Nen embedded in the puppetman and prevent any "damage transfer."
But because his needles embedded Nen into targets instead of dispelling it remotely, he couldn't simply cancel the existing link.
He had to use brute force to destroy the old needles.
Until that happened, the puppetman had to remain unharmed.
Swish—
Illumi's needle flew like a hawk and struck the Flying Star aimed at the puppetman—
BOOM!
They collided midair in a thunderous explosion.
Had there been fewer needles in the puppetman's head, Illumi could've just destroyed them directly. But now, he had to intercept.
Meanwhile—
The other Flying Star struck Illumi.
But he tanked it with raw Nen defense. His clothes burned, but he was physically fine.
"Come here!"
Illumi ordered the puppetman to approach and moved toward it.
That crucial Flying Star had been intercepted.
Moro's eyes narrowed. Illumi must've already figured out a countermeasure. Moro also realized he'd made a mistake:
His habit of pulling back after marking a target, something he did in past fights to charge a more powerful Deceptive Star.
But here, that gave Illumi space to intercept.
Compared to other foes, Illumi's battlefield instincts were simply too sharp. He'd always dissect Moro's tactics like a surgeon.
"No choice, then."
Realizing he couldn't get the Star Marker onto Illumi, Moro decided to switch plans.
He gathered Nen and launched a Deceptive Flying Star behind him.
Whoosh—!
It hovered about 100 meters away, powered up, and then turned back—rushing toward Moro.
This was the original method—no marker, just precision control.
At the last moment, Moro sidestepped.
The returning star zoomed past him, blazing straight toward the puppetman.
At that moment, Illumi was busy removing the Nen needles.
This was Moro's chance.
The Deceptive Star hit the puppetman.
Its stored energy exploded in a massive blast, launching smoke, rock, and wind in all directions.
Birds scattered from the surrounding forest.
Seeing the hit land, Moro exhaled and gathered Nen once more in his palm, forming a jagged, stalactite-shaped spike.
"My Ko is terrible…"
While charging, Moro muttered to himself.
To use Flying Stars, one had to focus Nen into the hand—like using Gyo.
But with Ko, you concentrate all your aura into a single point for maximum damage.
Moro just wasn't good at Ko.
In normal training, he could use it—but it took too long. Not viable in real combat.
Learning techniques was one thing. Using them fast enough was another.
"Star Marker… is still there."
His eyes widened as he peered into the smoke.
He hadn't gotten the marker onto Illumi.
Sighing, he fired another Flying Star into the cloud—and prepared to flee.
But just then, a Nen needle burst from the smoke, piercing the star—
BOOM!
It exploded mid-air.
Then—
Illumi emerged from the smoke, riding the shockwave, charging forward.
His body was filthy. Hair a mess. Clothes torn.
The Deceptive Star had hit him while he was distracted removing needles—but even if it didn't land a kill, it wounded him.
Now Moro could feel it—rage and cold, killing intent pouring from Illumi.
Even someone raised in the Zoldyck family—a monster by birth—was still human, and humans feel emotion.
When the situation spun out of control, even monsters bred in Zoldyck soil would show fury.
But no time to process that now—Illumi was already in his face.
Even without puppetmen, Illumi had overwhelming melee ability.
Now that his Nen wasn't being divided among puppets, he resembled a full-blown Enhancer.
"Starlight Convergence."
Feeling the pressure, Moro activated his defense.
The aura around him shattered into star-like fragments and wrapped Illumi within it.
But Illumi charged in without hesitation.
His style was brutally efficient. With the threat of his needles, he cornered Moro immediately.
Moro, in this starfield state, could only move small amounts of Nen.
Against someone like Illumi, that meant pure defense—no counters, just dodges.
A limitation that let Illumi go wild.
But without this ability, Moro wouldn't even survive.
CLANG!
His red crystal blade deflected an incoming needle.
Using its length, Moro parried it.
But Illumi—with his fingers—flicked the deflected needle right back at Moro.
An insane move.
Only with the Convergence boost did Moro narrowly dodge it.
But that gave Illumi an opening.
He stepped in and kneed Moro in the stomach.
Moro's other hand came up just in time to block.
Thud!
The impact sent out a shockwave.
Then—Illumi's left hand shot forward like a serpent, aiming for Moro's chest.
Finally, he showed the true style of a Manipulator: one-hit kill intent.
But he wasn't using a needle—he had altered his hand's shape into a razor-sharp blade.
A Zoldyck family technique, modified by Nen.
It made the hand longer, sharper, deadlier.
The blade reached Moro's death zone in an instant.
With the starfield's sensory feedback, Moro could block it.
But he knew—even if he blocked this one, Illumi would just strike again.
So—why not gamble it all? Go for mutual destruction.
At that moment—
A terrifying killing intent erupted from the Trial Gate nearby.
It crashed onto both fighters like a tidal wave.
Suddenly, Moro felt like he'd been dropped into a bottomless ocean.
Cold. Suffocating. Crushing.
Even his iron will cracked under the pressure.
The starfield around him glitched, as if about to collapse.
"Damn it…"
He gritted his teeth.
But he wasn't the only one affected.
Illumi, too, froze mid-strike.
Because this monstrous pressure came from his great-grandfather, Maha Zoldyck.
First came shock—then confusion.
Why was Maha here?
Did Kalluto summon him?
Moro, now free to move, looked toward the source.
There stood a tiny old man.
Bald, wrinkled, with bulging eye bags and a wide mouth stretching across his frog-like face.
It was Maha, the most powerful and mysterious Zoldyck.
No wonder his killing intent felt so inhuman…
Moro's expression turned grave.
As Moro and Illumi watched—
Maha, in outdated slippers, slowly walked to a canvas bag that had been tossed aside before the battle.
He knelt down and pulled out a pair of giant-eyed frog sunglasses—a model not yet released to the public.
Then, with great interest, he put them on…
And took a selfie with his phone.
"…."
"…."
Moro and Illumi stared in stunned silence.
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50 Powerstones? (5 Bonus Chapters)
20 Advance Chapters: patreon.com/milezen