Hunter: I became stronger even after I died.

Chapter 231 Instant Kill at First Sight
When Illumi appeared in Hisoka's form, some information immediately surfaced.

Faced with Illumi's incredibly accurate tracking, Kurt immediately realized that Illumi had located them through their cell phone's location tracking.

When Illumi openly admitted it, Kalluto felt angry for the first time about what his older brother had done.

why?
Kurt did not voice his angry question. Instead, he suppressed his anger and calmly drew the purple bamboo fan from his belt.

This silent gesture was a response to Illumi.

Illumi's dark pupils reflected Kal'ts' face, which showed no stubbornness whatsoever, only calm.

He could sense the anger beneath that calm exterior, and he knew exactly why Kurt was angry.

However, he still did not intend to tell Kurt that he had accepted the job to assassinate Morrow. What he wanted to do was to take Kurt, who had already finished the job, away from the center of the incident to ensure his safety.

However, besides the unprecedented anger directed at him, Illumi also sensed an undeniable firmness in Kalluto's aura.

This convinced him once again that his father and grandfather were wrong.

A killer doesn't need friends.

From the very beginning, Morrow should never have been allowed to take Kurt away; this potential threat should have been eliminated decisively from the start.

Illumi looked expressionlessly at Moro beside Kalluto, a hint of undisguised killing intent flashing in his dark eyes.

Even though his family tacitly approved of this, his murderous intent towards Moro never disappeared.

However, according to the rules, he did not have a legitimate "reason" to get involved.

Until Kuroro commissioned him to kill a "not yet identified" target.

And he happened to know perfectly well that this still undetermined target was actually Moro, whom he had always wanted to get rid of.

However, he did not proactively reveal Moro's information to Chrollo. Instead, as a Zoldyck family assassin, he accepted Chrollo's commission according to the rules and waited for Chrollo to identify the assassination target.

From the moment Kuroro finally found Moro through his own abilities and sent him the sketch, thus fulfilling the assassination request...

Illumi finally gained an identity and a reason to act legitimately.

From that moment on, he had to consider how to accurately complete the assassination mission.

Hisoka is an informant, which not only affects the assassination mission but also directly threatens the safety of the client.

Therefore, Illumi also acted as an informant, directly revealing Hisoka's identity and thus eliminating this potential threat.

of course.

Another reason that prompted him to do this was to ensure Kurt's safety.

This is the fundamental reason why he chose to openly and legitimately show himself first.

If it weren't for the presence of Kurt...

Having already gained the "first-mover advantage," not only would he, who had an assassination commission, not even the Phantom Troupe, who were aware of the threat posed by Moro, be so foolish as to walk over and give up their first-mover advantage.

This was the exchange condition he and Kuroro agreed upon based on the commission.

The implementation of this exchange condition also indirectly prevented Moro from being ambushed.

It can only be said that many things are like an equivalent exchange between constraints and vows, and there are always trade-offs.

Illumi held a beaded pin between his index and middle fingers, while behind him, a dozen or so pin-wielding figures tilted their heads and walked toward the Phantom Troupe.

After confirming that the needle was in place, Illumi said calmly, "Karto, I'll say it again, you've completed your mission, it's time to go home."

"I can go home whenever I want, it's none of your business."

Kal't exuded a chilling aura, and a hint of coldness gradually crept into his eyes as he looked at Illumi.

"..."

Illumi was taken aback, never expecting Kalluto to say such a thing.

These are the kinds of things Killua would say.

He frowned, a rare occurrence for him.

To correct Killua's beliefs and perceptions, with the family's consent, he inserted a Nen needle into Killua's head.
And now, Kal't even bears a resemblance to Killua.

This is all due to the influence of Moro.

"never mind."

Illumi muttered to himself, then suddenly flashed behind Kal't and delivered a palm strike to the back of Kal't's neck.

Kurt barely realized what was happening and could only hastily set up defenses.

However, there was an absolute gap in strength. Even though Kalluto used Nen to defend himself at the last moment, he was still no match for Illumi in terms of speed and power.

There was a dull thud.

Kurt was struck on the back of the neck, and his vision went black.

Illumi reached out and hugged Kalmod, who was leaning forward, but his eyes were fixed on Moro, who hadn't made any move and had even stopped Kurapika.

“What a surprise…”

Illumi stared at Moro with his dark, deep eyes. "You didn't stop me."

"Take Kurt with you."

The solemn look on Moro's face had faded, replaced by a calmness that could conceal any emotion.

Illumi paused for a moment, then immediately carried Kal't away.

Moro watched his retreating figure and suddenly asked, "Did the Phantom Troupe hire you to kill me?"

"Yes."

Illumi readily admitted it because Moro hadn't intervened earlier.

This frank answer surprised Moro, who then pressed on, "So the Phantom Troupe was able to discover Hisoka was the mole because you tipped him off?"

"I do not deny."

Illumi didn't bother explaining that his agreement with Hisoka only lasted until the first gathering, and that Hisoka not paying him was irrelevant.

When Kurt and Hisoka were placed on opposite ends of the scale, he didn't need to hesitate at all; he would only choose Kurt.

"Hiso crushed the phone that could directly contact you before he died in order to 'protect' you. Although his actions cannot change anything, you should still thank him when you see him after you die."

After Illumi finished speaking, he left without looking back.

Moro watched expressionlessly as Illumi led Kurt away.

You deserve to die, Illumi.

And then there's Hisoka...

Although it was done with good intentions, damaging the phone cost him an opportunity to retaliate.

But the real key point is that Illumi used Kal'ts phone to locate their position.

Moreover, with the assassination commission in hand, he was fairly certain that Illumi would return to the battlefield after sending Kal'ts away.

However, before that, Illumi taking Kalluto away wasn't exactly a bad thing.

Thinking of this, Moro felt a surge of powerful Nen energy coursing through his body.

"Kurapika, don't mess up your breathing."

"Ah."

Upon seeing Chrollo and his group, Kurapika uncontrollably entered Scarlet Eyes mode, but after hearing Moro's reminder, he quickly calmed down.

far away.

Illumi walked a distance, then suddenly turned back to look at Moro, a question arising in his mind.

He sensed from Moro a calm and detached attitude towards life and death, as well as an aura that was not to be underestimated...

Such a change in just six months?

Illumi recalled his battle with Morrow in January.

Leaving aside the leap in his charisma, it's the change in his demeanor that Illumi cares about most.

But Illumi quickly stopped thinking about these things.

Because in his eyes, Moro was already a dead man.

Inside the venue.

Moro maintained his "firm" stance and looked towards the situation on the other side of the troupe.

The dozen or so needle-wielding figures that Illumi had sent to block the road had their needles removed by the Phantom Troupe members and turned into corpses.

At that moment, Uvogin, Nobunaga, and Machi stepped past the group, each enveloped in a powerful aura, and made no attempt to conceal the killing intent emanating from their auras, as they walked towards Morrow.

Behind them, Kubi was using the power of "God's Left Hand, Demon's Right Hand" to rapidly replicate corpses. Beside Kubi stood a heavily made-up woman.

She used her hands as knives to deftly sever the heads of each replica corpse.

Surprisingly, as the heads rolled off, these replica corpses, which should have been mere decorations, slowly stood up under her control.

Moro's gaze swept across the scene, finally settling on the woman.

He vaguely remembered this woman.

He was the guy who, after the Finger organization was wiped out last year, manipulated a large number of deformed people in the forest to chase after him and Kurt.

No wonder...

With his keen sense of killing intent, Moro could detect a trace of murderous intent directed at Kurt, which the woman was trying her best to suppress.

"The new member recruited by the troupe was actually her."

Moro's eyes flickered slightly, a thought flashing through his mind, but he had no time to think about it deeply. His gaze was fixed on Uvogin, Nobunaga, and Machi, who were gradually closing in. His right hand quickly condensed a fluorescent green star.

The two sides are already at odds, so there's no need for further words.

"Flying Star - Split Bow"

With a wave of his hand, Moro unleashed a burst of energy, which instantly split into hundreds of arrow-shaped projectiles, raining down on the members of the troupe like a hail of bullets.

This flying star attack, without undergoing a power boost, splits into numerous smaller ones—

Therefore, although it may seem impressive, it is difficult to pose a substantial threat to individuals.

However, this could create opportunities for Morrow's next move.

A large number of arrow-shaped projectiles flew in, with Uvogin bearing the brunt, but he didn't care at all.

"Before you breathe your last, I'm going to crush every single bone in your body!"

Uvogin roared and used only "Strength" to withstand all the arrow-shaped psychic bullets that were about to hit him.

Although the impact of the telekinetic bullet slowed him down slightly, it did not affect his momentum. He charged straight at Moro like a bull.

Nobunaga and Machi also managed to defend against the arrow-shaped Nen bullets that were coming at them, thanks to their superb Nen control, and followed closely behind Uvogin.

Moro used Flying Star: Fierce Bow to slow their approach, then without hesitation reached out and grabbed Kurapika's arm, unleashing a burst of Nen containing Emission-type abilities from his feet.

Bang!
The ground suddenly cracked open.

Using the burst of Nen energy beneath his feet, Moro launched Kurapika into the air.

In that brief moment, he skillfully controlled the gun and fired a deceptive flying star diagonally downwards and behind him.

That's right.

After Illumi took Kal't away, Morel conceived the idea of ​​using the Flying Star to escape the battle.

He had previously marked the Chimera with stars, which could now come in handy.

Seeing Moro suddenly shoot into the air, Uvogin was not about to let him escape. He unleashed a burst of red energy, stomped on the ground, and chased after him through the air.

However, Machi and Nobunaga took the same action at this time.

The two leaped up almost simultaneously, clearing Wokin with even greater speed, and then landed on Wokin's shoulders.

Then,

Machi and Nobunaga used Uvogin in the air as a springboard and suddenly exerted force under their feet.

A look of surprise flashed across Uvogin's face. He had just taken off when Machi and Nobunaga forcefully pushed him back down.

In an instant, Uvogin's massive body plummeted to the ground like a cannonball.

Meanwhile, Machi and Nobunaga approached Moro and Kurapika in the air at an even faster speed.

Nobunaga's eyes were cold, his right hand gripping the hilt of his sword.

Machi already had the thread and needle between her fingers.

At this moment, Kurapika, who was being carried into the air by Moro, controlled the rapidly extending binding middle finger chain and attacked Nobunaga and Machi below like a snake.

As the chains, imbued with powerful Nen energy, approached, Nobunaga suddenly drew his sword and slashed at the chains.

Clang!
The blade, imbued with sharp Nen energy, slashed at the chains, sending sparks flying.

"It's not broken...!?"

However, when Nobunaga struck, the expected scene of severing the chains did not occur.

The chain held the blade in place, and the force from it swept Nobunaga, who was in mid-air, to the side, where he crashed into Machi.

The two were thus knocked down into the air.

Moro looked at them, stopped using the jet engines under his feet, and then, with Kurapika, landed steadily on the returning disc-shaped flying star.

The flying star carried the two of them and flew forward.

however--

When Moro shot into the air, Kuroro was already prepared to respond.

At the exact moment when Uvogin, Nobunaga, and Machi were chasing after him, Chrollo first threw the two headless corpses controlled by Amanda forward with his bare hands, ensuring that the distance was still within his ability range, and then materialized Thief's Secret.

"Put yourself in someone else's shoes"

The Emission-type ability is activated.

Swish!

Moro and Kurapika, who were supposed to be riding away on flying stars, suddenly switched places with the two headless puppets that Chrollo threw forward.

"This ability..."

Moro reacted extremely quickly. After being switched positions, he decisively raised his hand and shot a flying star towards Kuroro's location.

The flying star suddenly split apart, blocking the escape space directly below.

Faced with the oncoming swarm of stars, Kuroro made no reaction, simply turning the pages of his book again.

Just then, the headless puppets controlled by Amanda rushed to the front, trying to block Fei Xing with their physical bodies.

Moro glanced at it, instantly gathering all the information on the surface into his mind.

"As expected, the Phantom Troupe already knows about my abilities, but that... can actually be used to our advantage."

Taking in the positions of Kuroro, Pakunoda, Kubi, and Amanda, Moro suddenly crouched down, placing both hands on the ground simultaneously.

"Flying Star Leap"

Just as the splitting stars were bombarding the numerous headless puppets, Moro seized the fleeting opportunity and summoned a cross-shaped star beam beneath Chrollo and Pakunoda's feet.

These two people were positioned at the front, which was within their capabilities.

Moreover, the ability to leapfrog into stars is information unknown to the Phantom Troupe.

Amidst the increasingly complex situation, Morrow clearly saw the fleeting opportunity and seized it with unparalleled decisiveness and precision.

"Um!?"

Kuroro's pupils suddenly contracted, and the Nen fluctuations coming from beneath his feet instantly alerted him.

Although Paknoda was a beat slower to react, she also sensed the sudden killing intent.

However, out of instinctive concern, her first reaction was to prioritize the safety of the group leader.

This slight hesitation, coupled with an already slightly slower reaction time, ultimately led to a completely different outcome.

Kuroro dodged to the side in a flash, narrowly avoiding the deadly flying star that shot out from the center of the cross-shaped star.

And Paknotta—

"boom!"

With a deafening explosion, the shooting star that shot out from the cross-shaped beam of light accurately hit her lower body.

The violent energy instantly tore her body below the waist to shreds, and her mangled body was thrown high into the air by the shockwave.

The warm blood mixed with bits of flesh that fell from the sky splattered onto Kuroro's cheeks.

He suddenly looked up at the scattered pieces of flesh and blood flying in the air and Paknoda, who was now only half a body, and his pupils contracted sharply.

The scene before him, and the warm, wet touch on his cheek, instantly shattered Kuroro's composed demeanor with an indescribable impact.

The gains, losses, and outcomes in this instant.

This made him realize that the deal he made with Illumi was a mistake...

(End of this chapter)