Breaking the Deadlock × Opportunity × Cheetu

The baboon's luck was both good and bad.

He managed to shatter most of the Nen bullets Joey launched—

but the one imbued with Killer Queen's First Bomb was already less than two meters away when it was destroyed.

At that range—

when Killer Queen pressed its thumb—

the explosion engulfed the baboon point-blank.

His scream of agony was instantly swallowed by Joey's roaring declaration:

"Too late!"

The baboon was sent flying, his body shredded, drenched in blood.

On the other side, the elephant-type Chimera Ant tried to swat down Sheer Heart Attack with its trunk—

but the moment of contact resulted in a blast that tore half its trunk clean off.

In an instant, the battle flipped.

"Rip off a fingernail…"

Joey muttered, stepping toward the crumpled baboon—

Only to pause.

Because—

to his surprise—

the baboon actually obeyed.

Sobbing through clenched teeth, he ripped out another fingernail.

He didn't even try to scream loudly—

he just prostrated himself, trembling, barely daring to breathe.

Like a wild beast begging for mercy.

A victim of Nen backlash—or rather, the collapse of his own authority.

He hadn't even mastered basic Nen control.

So what made him think he could project strength loud enough to dominate an opponent like Joey?

Confidence without substance—

A Hatsu without thought—

Trash, born from a trash method of awakening.

Joey shook his head.

The baboon's initial success had been pure luck—

a sneak attack with synergy from the elephant.

And even then, it wouldn't have lasted.

The Nen world isn't kind to improvisation.

Abilities born from impulse were rarely refined.

No longer seeing a reason to let the baboon live, Joey had Killer Queen stand watch over him.

If he moved even an inch, he'd join his elephant friend—blown to ash.

Joey turned toward the prison room—

André's conjured "Solitary Cell."

Its door was shut.

Cheetu and André were both missing.

"He took the strongest target with him… and trusted me with the rest."

Joey couldn't help but sigh.

Up above, Flutter had vanished from the sky.

Whether taken out, scared off, or just retreated—he didn't know.

Maybe Kite had intervened. Maybe not.

But Joey was sure of one thing—

his First Bomb had definitely been observed.

He didn't know how Flutter would interpret it.

But the damage was done.

A few minutes passed.

Joey had already used Golden Experience to heal his shattered finger.

The process was straightforward—

cut and regenerate a fresh bone.

It hurt, but it was clean.

He'd kept the baboon alive only long enough to carry out a specific plan—

one that required a live specimen.

Now that the notes were collected, there was no more use for him.

Killer Queen touched the baboon.

A beat. Then silence.

Two minutes later, the door opened.

André stepped out—his face pale.

"Handled?" Joey asked.

André shook his head. "That freak's too fast. The moment the door opened, he was gone. But not far. Be careful—he might double back."

Joey scratched his head. "Kinda expected that…"

"Curious?" André tilted his head.

"Solitary Cell," he explained, "was never for others—it's for me.

You could call it My Solitary Room."

"Inside it, I'm almost untouchable.

But getting a clean kill is incredibly hard."

"So you're the prisoner?" Joey raised a brow.

"Do you drag people in by taunting them?"

André grinned. "Prisoners always come with trash talk and wasted time. One day, I'll give you the full tour."

"No thanks. I'd rather not get roasted."

Just as Joey finished speaking—

Killer Queen suddenly swung a fist—

but instead of hitting an enemy…

Joey himself took the hit.

Pain exploded across his body.

Attacked.

Cheetu.

His full-body Ken had softened the blow, but not by much.

Joey dropped into a defensive stance.

So did André.

And then—

A flash of white shimmered at Joey's chest.

His wallet—exposed.

A heartbeat later—

it was gone.

"What the hell is this?"

Cheetu stood at a distance, examining it.

"This weird thing… it's alive?

It's giving off some kind of life energy... strange."

He held it loosely in one hand—

having already thrown a hundred punches in mere seconds,

leaving both Joey and André battered.

"A piece of art," Joey spat, wiping blood from his lip.

He was aching from head to toe.

That flurry of cat punches nearly dropped him.

If it kept going, he'd have been forced into retreat.

Or worse.

He glanced at André—

The man had weathered it far better than he had.

"Art?" Cheetu echoed, frowning.

But just then—

from within the wallet—

a tiny golden snake slithered up, tongue flicking.

Golden Experience's creature.

Its tail brushed against Cheetu's skin.

Its forked tongue tasted the air.

Poised to strike.

Cheetu's eyes narrowed.

He reacted instantly—

two fingers snapped together—

He caught the snake, flicking his wrist to fling it away before it could bite.

"Tch…"

Joey narrowed his eyes.

"He's fast—but not untouchable."

__________________________________________________________________________

For this week I will do more release depending on the power stones !

100 Power Stones = 1 chapter (in addition to the daily update) 

So give stones if you want mooooar !