Chapter 140

Nen Ability: [Teleportation]

(Emission-Type)

Effect: Enables the user to instantly teleport to another location. The ability has two primary features:

Active Activation: The user can specify the desired teleportation destination. However, this consumes a significant amount of aura (Nen energy). If the aura is insufficient, the teleportation attempt fails.

Passive Activation: When facing a life-threatening attack, the ability activates automatically, teleporting the user to a random nearby location. The destination will prioritize areas away from immediate danger to the user's life.

If the area is overwhelmingly hazardous, and the aura consumption required to teleport exceeds the user's reserves, the ability compensates by consuming the user's lifespan.

In essence, this is a survival-focused Nen ability, designed to help the user evade deadly threats.

When activated under perilous conditions, the ability automatically teleports Kute to safety. However, if his aura is insufficient, it drains his lifespan to function.

This explains Kute's current pale and exhausted appearance—his recent forced teleportation not only drained his Nen reserves but also significantly reduced his lifespan.

In the past, this ability had saved Kute from numerous predicaments. Yet, with each use, it left his body weaker and less resilient.

Feeling the debilitating weakness within, Kute couldn't help but feel despondent:

"Looks like it's time for me to consider retiring after this."

Resolving himself with this thought, Kute staggered toward the eastern coastline.

Meanwhile, elsewhere:

Hunter licenses are incredibly handy. Using the online privileges that come with his license, Kastro searched the Hunter-exclusive network for any traces of Kute's movements.

After meticulously analyzing and piecing together the information, he finally uncovered a potential lead—a route indicating Kute's movements.

"This place… the eastern coast on the outskirts of the city?"

Having pinpointed the location, Kastro immediately sprang into action.

"Kute's head is mine!"

Every predator has its path, and every hunter has their network.

As Kastro closed in on Kute's trail, Machi also acquired the same crucial information through an underground black-market information exchange.

"The eastern coast, huh?"

Without wasting a moment, Machi began heading in the same direction.

At the eastern coastline:

Two figures were already standing silently, waiting.

One tall, the other shorter. One aged, the other robust.

One carried a solemn air, while the other exuded calm.

The only striking similarity between them was their silver hair.

Although they displayed no overt Nen aura, their mere presence radiated an overwhelming sense of security and confidence.

When Kute arrived and saw Silva Zoldyck's face, he immediately let out a sigh of relief, as if his entire body had relaxed.

"The rest is up to you experts," Kute said, his confidence bolstered by the presence of Silva and Zeno Zoldyck.

"Those two bastards are your targets. Get rid of them for me!"

"Two?" Silva's lion-like gaze bore into Kute, carrying a weighty sense of authority.

"Our initial contract specified a single target," he said gravely.

"But I paid you so much!" Kute protested. "That amount of money is enough to cover multiple contracts!"

"One job, one payment," Zeno replied, stroking his small beard. "The contract stipulated one target, so we will only eliminate one person."

"Then I'll commission you for another job on the spot!" Kute said through gritted teeth, his hatred for Machi, who had interfered and killed his second-in-command, palpable.

"Unfortunately, we do not accept new contracts while in the field. It's our family rule," Zeno said calmly, not even bothering to glance at Kute.

Kute was flabbergasted. "Aren't you the Zoldyck family, renowned assassins who make their living by taking contracts?!"

"Now it's the same client, and the second target is part of the same group as the first. How can you turn down this money?!" Kute spat, his frustration evident.

Zeno remained unmoved, his calm demeanor unshaken.

After a pause, Kute seemed to catch on to something.

"Fine, tell me what it takes for you to deal with both of them!"

"Customer, I've already explained—rules are rules," Zeno reiterated, his tone steady.

Kute stared at him, his expression saying, "Who are you trying to fool?"

After a moment, Zeno smiled faintly, his aged face displaying a glint of cunning.

"You'll need to pay extra."

The eastern coastline wasn't far from the city, and there was only one shortcut leading there—a shaded forest path.

Inevitably, Kastro and Machi crossed paths once again on this road.

Despite the initial stiffness of their first meeting, this time Kastro and Machi merely exchanged a glance, acknowledging each other's presence without speaking.

With unspoken understanding, they turned away and continued on their respective paths.

Both advanced in silence, moving swiftly through the shaded forest trail until their surroundings opened up into a clear, expansive view.

"There!"

The two simultaneously spotted Kute standing on the beach below.

However, to their surprise, Kute did not appear startled by their arrival.

"You finally made it!"

He even grinned, flashing them a bloodthirsty smile.

"Something's not right!"

Kastro and Machi's instincts screamed danger, instantly putting them on high alert.

And at that moment—

"Whoosh!!"

A brilliant beam of light suddenly descended from above, aiming directly at them!

"Dodge!!"

The thought flashed through both their minds, and their bodies instinctively reacted, moving to evade the attack.

Boom!!

The beam struck the ground with a deafening explosion, sending an eruption of dirt and debris flying everywhere.

Countless fragments scattered as a thick yellow haze blanketed the air, obscuring visibility.

"If your acting had been more convincing—looking grim or menacing enough to catch them off guard—they might not have had time to react and would've been hit outright."

From above, Zeno Zoldyck descended gracefully, hands clasped behind his back, as he approached Kute. His tone was calm, yet laced with criticism over the failed ambush.

"Apologies, but I'm a thief, not an assassin. Stealth and subterfuge aren't exactly my specialties," Kute replied, licking his lips, his face showing no hint of remorse.

"Besides, rather than killing them outright without giving them time to react, I much prefer seeing their faces contort in helpless struggle…

"To witness that despair in their eyes as they realize there's nothing they can do."

Kute's gaze turned crimson, and his voice grew more sinister. "I want them to understand the stark inequalities of this world and to feel the true meaning of cruelty!!"

"That's your real motive, isn't it?"

Zeno shot Kute a calm, knowing glance before shaking his head. "Well, you're the client this time, so we'll humor you.

"Not that we were counting on you to make a significant contribution to our efforts anyway."

Without hesitation, Zeno delivered the thinly veiled insult, effectively calling Kute useless.

Ignoring Kute's darkened expression, Zeno turned his attention to the enormous crater left behind by the light beam, its edges still dissipating the haze.

"They managed to dodge, huh?"

Silva Zoldyck's cold gaze shifted to Kastro and Machi, who stood at opposite ends of the crater, his expression unreadable.

He nodded slightly in acknowledgment, his voice calm yet heavy with authority:

"Even among top-tier Nen users, few could react fast enough to avoid that attack."

"For your bodies to move instinctively and evade it… Your fundamentals are solid."

Silva, typically a man of few words, offered this rare, begrudging praise.

Earlier, Silva and Zeno had concealed themselves at the forest path's exit, ready to unleash a devastating ambush.

The light-beam attack Silva had just executed wasn't as powerful as his signature Heaven's Strike, which had obliterated Cheetu, the Chimera Ant. Even so, it was an attack far beyond what ordinary Nen users could hope to withstand.

The fact that the pair had avoided it was impressive but, in Silva's eyes, only marginally noteworthy—enough for him to comment on.

After delivering his assessment, Silva's silver hair flowed unnaturally, as if stirred by an invisible wind. The aura surrounding him surged like a stormy ocean, waves crashing and roaring with intensity.

"So strong…"

Kastro and Machi struggled to their feet simultaneously, feeling the overwhelming pressure emanating from Silva. Their pupils contracted under the weight of his immense presence, as if a towering mountain bore down on them.

They had barely managed to evade the earlier attack.

The difference, however, was apparent: Kastro casually wiped a small trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, while Machi, visibly worse off, cleaned a streak of blood trailing from her lips down to her chin.

Her injuries were noticeably more severe than Kastro's.

"So, this is the help Kute managed to find?" Machi murmured, her voice tinged with grim realization.

"As expected, my master was right. Even a dying camel is still bigger than a horse. No matter how weakened they might seem, a group like this—the world's top thieves—

"—is bound to have a few trump cards hidden up their sleeves!"

Kastro clenched his fists in frustration, berating himself for his own overconfidence.

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