Chapter 9: The End of Morittonio

Playing cards danced between Hisoka's fingers as he launched them in rapid succession, each one enhanced with his aura to achieve razor-sharp lethality. The cards created an intricate web of attack angles, cutting off Morittonio's escape routes.

As Hisoka closed in for a flying kick, he caught only the leader's top hat, Morittonio had already ducked low, ready to counterattack. Hisoka's speed was impressive; he immediately twisted to deliver an elbow strike toward the older man's crown.

Their arms collided with a sharp crack. Through the exchange, Hisoka noticed how Morittonio had tilted his body just so, using his blocking arm to obscure his other hand as it snatched up the fallen hat and thrust it into Hisoka's face.

That moment of blindness was all Morittonio needed. His fist crashed into Hisoka's abdomen with devastating force.

Blood sprayed from Hisoka's mouth as he sprang backward to create distance.

"Talent needs time to mature," Morittonio said calmly, lowering his arms. "No matter how gifted you are, you're still just a novice Nen user." His confidence was palpable.

The brief exchange had ended decisively in the leader's favor.

"I'm not even serious yet. Can you handle more?" Morittonio spread his hands in invitation.

"Please," Hisoka's smile never wavered as he wiped the blood from his lips.

"Since you've discovered my true identity, let me show you John Doe's secret." Morittonio produced an ordinary handkerchief. "Watch closely. Place it over your face while visualizing your desired appearance..."

The fabric seemed to melt and reshape itself as Morittonio's features transformed. When he removed it, his face perfectly matched the serial killer's wanted poster.

"This is the killer's magic, my Nen ability: 'Truth Behind the Patch!'"

Oboro watched from his position without surprise. This was the precursor to Hisoka's future Texture Surprise ability.

"Fascinating..." Hisoka's eyes gleamed.

"Now for some real magic, full of tricks and calculation. Be careful, Hisoka."

Morittonio thrust his hand toward the boy. Suddenly, an invisible force slammed into Hisoka, deforming his right arm as it threw him across the space.

Surprise flickered across Hisoka's face, he clearly hadn't expected that.

"Something's... crushing me," he analyzed even as he flew through the air, his mind working despite the pain.

"Time to make hamburger meat again..." Morittonio's expression turned savage as he rose into the air, watching Hisoka scramble to avoid repeated invisible impacts.

"Feel it coming... your trembling life, creaking under pressure..."

The leader's taunts echoed as he toyed with his prey. Despite Hisoka's instinctive use of Ken to defend himself, the attacks kept breaking through, worsening his injuries.

At this rate, death seemed inevitable.

"Oboro... won't you help him?" Morittonio called down to the watching youth.

"No need. To my eyes, you're already dead."

"Oh?"

Morittonio seemed unimpressed, but Oboro knew Hisoka better. His growth in combat, his insight, his tactical thinking, all were monstrous. Morittonio thought he had the upper hand only because he didn't truly understand what Hisoka was. The boy had developed Zetsu through pure instinct; mastering advanced Nen techniques wouldn't be beyond him.

As if on cue, Hisoka's eyes suddenly blazed with aura. In his enhanced vision, two massive conjured iron rods became visible as they attacked. Using the momentum of the previous hit, he locked his arms around one rod before it could strike.

"What?!" Morittonio's composure finally cracked. "He's using Gyo? Impossible! I never taught... I deliberately gave him wrong information to prevent this!"

The leader recovered quickly, increasing his Nen's magnetic force to crush Hisoka between the rods.

But Hisoka's form slipped through the gap, launching himself to the stadium's roof.

"How simple," he called down. "I expected something more mysterious, but it's just magnetism..."

"You used the handkerchief demonstration to trick me into thinking your Nen would be visible," Hisoka continued, brushing off his injuries. "Magnetic attraction between invisible rods... is this really your trump card? How dull..."

Morittonio's silence spoke volumes.

"The essence of magic is misdirection," Hisoka lectured. "You're far too obvious."

"The fight isn't over, boy! My ability transforms aura into magnetic iron pillars, but you haven't seen its full power. Don't celebrate too soon!"

"Iron Bipolar!"

The air filled with countless invisible rods.

"Stop playing around," Oboro called coldly to Hisoka. "Finish it."

"Hehehe..."

Hisoka vanished in a blur of movement. Morittonio's rods shot wildly at his afterimages, missing every time.

The boy kept appearing on the invisible constructs themselves, using them as platforms before vanishing again. More disturbing still, the rods began moving against Morittonio's will, as though Hisoka had stolen control of his own Nen constructs.

"How?" Morittonio's mind raced. "Is he copying my ability? No, that's impossible, he hasn't even mastered basic Ren properly. He's just using raw aura, he couldn't possibly..."

The scene triggered a memory of Ging Freecss.

Suddenly Hisoka appeared behind him, dropping from above.

"I'll end this show with my own magic..."

He made a pulling motion with his hand. All the magnetic constructs surrounding Morittonio crashed inward simultaneously.

The impact shook the building itself.

Hisoka snapped his fingers in appreciation as Morittonio's broken form hit the ground.

"My... ability..." the leader coughed blood. "Using Iron Bipolar like that... Hisoka does it better than me... I never imagined my Nen could be so perfect..."

"My aura has the properties of both rubber and gum," Hisoka approached slowly. "I can attach one end to your magnets to control their path, then attach the other end to you and contract it instantly. I call it 'Bungee Gum.'"

"Bungee Gum... children's candy... hehe... that suits you..."

"Your first real Nen battle... how did you reach this level so quickly?" Morittonio's breath grew weaker.

"Your Nen techniques were too simplistic for him," Oboro explained coldly. "He's been studying you since joining. Killing civilians dulled your edge. You rely too heavily on your ability, neglecting basic principles. You know more techniques like Ten, Zetsu, and Ren, but you don't use them effectively. Your combat mindset never evolved beyond novice level. That's why you failed."

"So my full strength... was this flawed and ridiculous to you..."

"Hisoka... Oboro... you two... and him... truly are... monsters of the same breed..."

His final words clearly referenced Ging before he expired.

Hisoka crouched down, using his new Texture Surprise technique to give Morittonio's corpse John Doe's appearance one final time.

"This face suits you better," he smiled. "I looked forward to this fight but... it was rather boring. Perhaps I'm just too strong?"

Oboro didn't respond, already walking away. With Morittonio dead, the circus held nothing more for him.

Hisoka fell into step beside him as they left the venue together, while in another part of the building, the celebration continued. Abaki, having finally slipped away from the party, searched in vain for her three missing companions.

"Where could they have gone?"

...

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