Moments after Aisha bolted from their hotel room, four shadows streaked through the streets of Yorknew City: Gon, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio. Seeing Aisha's face drain of color before she vanished had signaled that something catastrophic had occurred, and the four boys had immediately dashed toward Cemetery Building, the destination displayed on her laptop.
Though sprinting at speeds that left bystanders gaping in disbelief, they could not hope to match Aisha's blinding pace.
"Aisha was so pale... I wonder what happened to her?" Gon murmured with deep concern. In all the time they had spent together, they had never seen Aisha lose her composure to such a degree.
"We can worry about that once we catch up! Hey, Kurapika, are we heading in the right direction?!" Leorio shouted while running.
Kurapika did not answer immediately, lost in solemn contemplation.
"Hey, Kurapika?!"
"Ah! What is it, Leorio?"
"Don't 'what is it' me! Why are you spacing out?!"
"My apologies. I was connecting the dots..."
"Hey, now isn't the time to—"
"Calm down, Leorio!" Killua cut in sharply. "This is no time for bickering! ...If we're unlucky, we might be walking straight into a clash with the Phantom Troupe!"
"WHAT?!" Leorio and Gon froze in shock.
"...You realized it too, Killua," Kurapika murmured quietly.
Connecting Hisoka's intel, the opening of the Yorknew auctions, the Mafia Community's Underground Auction, and Aisha's sudden panic, Kurapika and Killua had arrived at the exact same conclusion: the Phantom Troupe was raiding Cemetery Building.
"Seriously?! The Phantom Troupe is in Yorknew?!"
"Connecting the pieces makes it the most probable scenario! Aisha realized it and rushed to Cemetery Building!"
"Wait a minute! Even if the Troupe is raiding the place, why would Aisha run off to protect a bunch of mobsters?!"
None of them knew the answer. Outside of the Causa Family's inner circle, no one knew of Aisha's connection to the Mafia.
"I don't know either!" Kurapika shouted. "Which is why you three should turn back! If you keep going, you'll be dragged into my war with the Spiders!"
"Ha! Stop talking nonsense!" Leorio fired back. "Do I look like the kind of coward who abandons his friends?! If you think so, I'll cast [Palm Sage / Hoimi] right into your eyes!"
"He's right!" Gon agreed fiercely. "If Aisha is fighting the Troupe, we're going to help her!"
"Exactly," Killua grinned. "We're not letting you have all the cool moments, Kurapika!"
Kurapika stared at his companions. Though they knew the terrifying caliber of the Spiders from Hisoka, they refused to turn back. A faint, grateful smile crossed his face.
"...You idiots. Don't blame me if you get killed!"
"We've gotten way stronger too! I'm not the same kid who fought Hisoka!" Gon declared.
"Besides, having a healer around is essential," Leorio boasted. "And I've got plenty of tricks left!"
"Though honestly," Killua added with a smirk, "for all we know, Aisha might have already wiped out the Troupe by herself."
"Haha... knowing her, that's genuinely terrifying!" Kurapika laughed wryly.
Having trained alongside Aisha and Bisky—where four-on-one sparring sessions failed to leave a single scratch on her—the boys found it impossible to picture Aisha losing a fight.
"Wait, is Aisha really that strong?!" Leorio asked in disbelief.
"She's a monster," Kurapika said bluntly.
"Not even human," Killua nodded. "She's definitely stronger than my old man."
"I honestly wonder if Chairman Netero is actually stronger than her," Gon chimed in.
Their absolute confidence eased Leorio's worries. As someone who had spent less time training with her, Leorio had instinctively worried for the delicate-looking girl. Hearing his friends' assessments brought immense relief.
Then, that relief was shattered into dust.
The Awakening of the Ominous Aura
A wave of suffocating, terrifyingly ominous aura crashed over the entire district of Yorknew City.
"GH—?! W-What... what is this...?!" Leorio gasped, his knees buckling under the sheer spiritual weight.
It was an aura of astronomical proportions, far exceeding anything a mortal human should be able to produce. Kurapika, whom Leorio had considered the pinnacle of aura reserves among their peers, seemed like a flickering candle compared to this ocean of dark energy. Even civilians unable to see Nen felt an instinctive, primal dread, stumbling in panic through the streets.
"Is this... Hisoka?! No... it's different!" Gon gritted his teeth. The malice matched Hisoka's, but it was saturated with a profound, agonizing grief and righteous fury.
"GET BACK!!" Killua shrieked, executing an instant leap backward, drenched in cold sweat. "Don't go near it! We'll be slaughtered! There's no way we can fight something like that!!"
Against an impossible chasm in power, retreat was the only logical survival instinct for an assassin.
"Are you out of your mind, Killua?!" Leorio yelled. "Are you telling us to abandon Aisha?!"
"I'm not abandoning her! But against a monster like that, we'll only get in the way and die for nothing!!"
"We won't know until we try!"
"Both of you, stop!" Gon pleaded. "Let's just regroup with Aisha! If the five of us are together—"
"CALM DOWN!!" Kurapika's roar cut through the chaos. "Listen to me, all of you! ...This isn't an enemy. This is... Aisha's aura."
Silence fell like a lead weight.
"...What did you just say?" Killua stared blankly.
"It's the truth. This presence... belongs to Aisha."
"That's impossible! Her aura is normal—wait! Her concealment ability!"
Killua's brilliant mind clicked the pieces together.
"Yes," Kurapika confirmed. "Aisha developed [Angel's Veil] specifically to hide this aura from the world."
"You knew all along, Kurapika?" Gon asked softly.
"I pried it out of her during our training. She intended to tell you when the time was right. So please, don't—"
"Don't what? Did you think we'd despise her over a secret?" Gon smiled warmly. "I'd be way more upset if you thought that little of us!"
"Damn straight!" Leorio barked. "Did you really think I'd stop being Aisha's friend over some spooky aura? Don't underestimate me!"
Listening to his friends, Killua stood frozen in internal torment.
Never betray your friends, his father's voice echoed.
Never fight an opponent you cannot defeat, his brother's needle whispered, paralyzing his limbs with phantom terror.
No! Killua screamed inside his soul. Aisha is not an enemy! She's my friend! And I will never abandon my friends!!
Summoning every ounce of willpower, Killua shattered the mental shackles holding him back. Pushing past the fear, he stepped forward to stand beside Gon and Leorio.
"Yeah... damn right! I'm not running away from my friends!"
"Then tell that to Aisha yourself," Kurapika smiled. "She'll be overjoyed."
"Let's go!"
Desperate Rescue at Cemetery Building
Before they could take another step, a deafening thunderclap echoed across the skyline as Cemetery Building violently imploded, collapsing into a mountain of dust and rubble.
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!"
"The building collapsed?!"
"Is Aisha still inside?! ...Wait, I can still sense her aura! She's alive!"
"Hurry!"
As they sprinted toward the disaster zone, a figure descended gracefully from the sky. Shrouded in fading aura, Aisha landed gently before them, treating the burden in her arms like fragile porcelain.
"Aisha—?!"
Their joy turned to horror as they saw what she carried: a middle-aged man soaked in blood, his abdomen torn open by a fatal wound.
"Leorio... please! Help my father! Please save him!!" Aisha cried out, her voice breaking in absolute desperation.
Seeing their unflappable, godlike friend weeping in terror shook all four boys to the core.
"Her father?!" Leorio reacted instantly. "Set him down! Let me see the wound!"
"We're out in the open!" Kurapika warned. "The Mafia will surround us any second!"
"We don't have time to move him!" Leorio snapped. "His wounds are critical! If we waste five minutes finding a quiet room, he'll bleed to death!"
"Understood," Kurapika drew his chains. "Gon, Killua, watch the perimeter! Don't let a single mobster get close!"
"Leave it to us!"
"Aisha, hold your father's hand," Kurapika urged gently. "Leave the rest to us."
"T-Thank you... thank you all so much...!" Aisha wept.
Leorio placed his glowing hands over Dominique's mangled torso.
"Dammit! The wound penetrated completely—the stomach and liver are lacerated! We have to stop the hemorrhaging first!"
Pouring massive aura into his Hatsu, Leorio activated [Palm Sage / Hoimi]. Bypassing the normal strict diagnostic limitations through raw willpower and aura output, he forced the cellular regeneration of the severed blood vessels and organs.
"Ugh... M-Mischa..." Dominique groaned weakly in delirium.
"Hold on, Dominique-san!" Aisha gripped his hand, tears streaming down her face.
"Don't worry, Aisha!" Leorio gritted his teeth, sweat pouring down his forehead. "I created this ability for moments like this! Believe in me! Believe in your father's life force!"
The deep, jagged wound began to knit together. Flesh and muscle fibers closed over the ruined cavity, until the gaping hole was completely sealed.
"Phew... it's closed! The bleeding has stopped!" Leorio exhaled in exhaustion, wiping his brow with a weary smile. "His vitals are stabilizing. We still need to get him to a hospital for a blood transfusion and infection screening, but the fatal danger has passed."
"Thank you... thank you so much, Leorio!" Aisha sobbed in profound relief. "Whatever payment you want, I'll pay it!"
"Heh... I don't want your money," Leorio turned away, scratching his cheek sheepishly. "Seeing a patient and his family smile like that... that's the only payment I'll ever need."
Those words, which seemed so uncharacteristic of the money-obsessed youth, were the very words Leorio had dreamed of saying his entire life. He had sought wealth solely to acquire the means to save those who died for lack of treatment. His true ambition was pure, selfless salvation.
"Now go," Leorio urged. "The mob is closing in. Take him to El Hospital—it's only a few blocks away. I just sent the route to your phone."
"Thank you, Leorio... but please, promise me: do not chase the Troupe! Even without Hisoka and their wounded, there are still nine lethal monsters among them!"
"Wait... wounded?" Leorio blinked. "You injured them?!"
"Yes... I fought three of them in the hall."
Leorio stared at Aisha's pristine, unblemished clothes. She fought three Spiders simultaneously and walked away without a scratch?!
The Phantom Troupe's Retaliation
Aboard a hot-air balloon drifting over Yorknew City, the surviving raid team tended to their casualties.
"Everyone alive? How's Feitan?"
"...Fine. Won't die... till I kill that girl," Feitan muttered through gritted teeth, clutching his ruined left arm and punctured torso.
"Shizuku has a shattered jaw and broken arm," Machi reported. "The real issue is Franklin."
"Franklin's internal organs are ruptured," Shalnark explained, manipulating Franklin's body with [Black Voice] to forcefully channel his aura into cellular healing. "I'm keeping him stable, but it's only buying time."
"Who the hell was that monster...?" Nobunaga growled.
"She read Feitan's Hatsu instantly and crushed Franklin in close combat," Shalnark analyzed grimly. "She's an absolute freak."
"The Mafia will spot this balloon soon," Uvogin declared, stepping toward the basket's edge. "Franklin and Feitan are combatants—dying is part of the job. But Shizuku's ability is rare. We can't lose her here."
"You're staying behind as bait?" Nobunaga asked.
"I'll draw the entire Mafia Community to the wasteland. You guys head back to the hideout."
"I'm staying with you!"
"Don't be an idiot, Nobunaga! Who's going to guard the wounded if you stay? Three guards for three wounded—it's the perfect split."
"Uvo, that girl might come after you!"
Uvogin grinned ferociously. "You think I'm gonna lose? I've got a secret weapon I've never shown anyone. Mafia, Shadow Beasts... even that monster girl—I'll crush them all with my own hands!"
With a savage laugh, Uvogin leaped from the balloon into the city below.
Touching down in an alley, Uvogin began slaughtering Mafia patrols to draw their attention. Within minutes, hundreds of mobsters surrounded him in the wasteland, firing submachine guns, sniper rifles, and bazookas—only for the kinetic rounds to bounce harmlessly off his aura-reinforced flesh.
"Is that all the Mafia's got?!" Uvogin roared, tearing through men like paper.
Suddenly, four figures stepped forward through the dust: the Shadow Beasts.
"Did you kill the guards and the guests?" Worm, a hollow-cheeked assassin with sharp teeth, hissed.
Uvogin didn't answer. Gathering every ounce of aura in his core, he roared to the heavens:
"[EXPLODING FLESH STEEL BODY / (MUSCLE EVOLUTION)]—!!"
His muscular frame expanded massively, swelling into an unnatural, gargantuan titan of solid steel sinew.
This was the secret Enhancement ability Uvogin had developed from the stolen Black Book seven years ago.
Worm surged from the underground to ambush him from his blind spot, but his strike couldn't pierce a millimeter of Uvogin's titan flesh. With a casual backhand, Uvogin pulverized Worm into the dirt.
"Gwahaha! Feel honored! You're the first to witness my full power!"
Uvogin grinned down at the trembling Shadow Beasts.
The massacre of Yorknew had only just begun.
◆
Dad (Dominic) didn't die! In the previous chapter, I never actually stated that he was dead. The Phantom Troupe were indeed the ones who stole the Black Book. However, as explained in the story, they haven't undergone extreme overhauls—aside from Uvogin, they've merely honed their canon baseline skills. As a result, Shalnark's manipulation precision has improved to the point where, when controlling a Nen user, he can manipulate their aura flow to a certain degree.
The next overhaul is Uvogin. To put current Uvo in simple terms: imagine Younger Toguro at 80% muscle mass with Uvogin's head on top!
Here are the details for his ability:
[Explosive Flesh Steel Body / Muscle Evolution]
Type: Enhancement
Description: A pure, explosive muscle enhancement Hatsu. Wielded by Uvogin, who already possessed supreme physical muscle, the resulting destructive power is colossal. Standard Nen training requires alternating categories across the chart in a balanced, mountain-like progression. This ability completely ignores that rule, binding the user to an extremely inefficient single-category regimen.
Born from Uvogin's sheer obsession with Enhancement and his willingness to become an asymmetrical Nen user. The longer this restriction is maintained and the more daily hours dedicated exclusively to Enhancement training, the higher the muscle enhancement multiplier climbs.
＜Restriction＞
Must never engage in Nen category training for any type other than Enhancement.
＜Vow＞
If he practices category training for any non-Enhancement type, the power multiplier of this ability permanently resets to baseline.