In a ruined district of Yorknew City, three Nen users faced off.
Two of them, Gon and Kurapika, wore burning rage on their faces. In stark contrast, the third, Uvogin, wore a twisted grin of bloodthirsty pleasure.
To Uvogin, killing held no hesitation, regret, or guilt—only pure joy. For Gon, who couldn't stand senseless slaughter, and for Kurapika, who stood before the butcher of his clan, suppressing their fury was utterly impossible.
In the desolate silence, with only howling wind and surging aura echoing through the air, the battle ignited the instant a piece of rubble clattered to the ground.
"ORAAAH!!"
Uvogin lunged forward with a preemptive strike, driving a massive, aura-clad right fist straight at Kurapika. Kurapika leapt at the last split second, flipping through the air to evade the blow, and snapped a downward kick directly toward Uvogin's medulla oblongata.
Uvogin raised his arm just in time to block. Against the Shadow Beasts, he hadn't bothered to defend, but that was because their attacks couldn't scratch him. Now, having deactivated [Muscle Evolution], his defensive density was reduced. He knew that taking Kurapika's aura-packed kick directly to the back of the neck would deal serious damage.
Uvogin blocked the kick, but Kurapika had struck with his left foot from Uvogin's right flank. Blocking it required Uvogin to use his right arm, creating a momentary blind spot. Gon exploited that split-second opening instantly.
"HAAH!"
"Guh-! Y-You little-!"
Gon's punch slammed into Uvogin's ribs. However, due to the sheer difference in physical mass and manifested aura, it only dealt minor damage, failing to score a decisive blow before Uvogin's counter swung around.
Using the recoil of his blocked kick, Kurapika leapt higher and lashed his right-hand chain down to intercept. But Uvogin bounded backward, evading the chain by a hair's breadth as it cratered the concrete.
To evade even from that awkward posture...
That chain is packed with serious aura...
Kurapika adjusted his estimate of Uvogin's reflexes, while Uvogin recalibrated his assessment of Kurapika.
"Not bad. You're way tougher than those Shadow Beast clowns. The kid's still green, but dealing damage to me at his age is damn impressive."
"Getting praised by a monster like you makes me sick!"
"Don't be like that. I'm paying you a compliment."
Despite his banter, Uvogin analyzed the situation with razor-sharp focus.
The chain user is either a Conjurer or a Manipulator. Imbuing weapons with aura through Shu was standard for any decent Nen user, but the sheer destructive force that shattered the ground pointed to high specialization in external objects.
If Kurapika was a Manipulator, the threat was limited to chain manipulation. But if he was a Conjurer, the weapon likely possessed special rules or secondary effects. A prime example was his fellow Troupe member Shizuku, whose conjured vacuum cleaner could swallow anything non-living.
I have to assume the chain has a dangerous ability.
Turning his attention to Gon, Uvogin sensed the familiar aura of a pure Enhancer. Strong for his age, but not yet a lethal threat. Getting distracted by the kid and caught by the chain was the real danger.
Ignore the kid and slaughter the chain user first!
With instant resolve, Uvogin sprinted past Gon and charged straight for Kurapika.
"Focusing on me?!"
"I'm wiping out the biggest nuisance first!"
Kurapika whipped his chain to keep him at bay, but Uvogin slipped past the strikes with minimal movement, closing the distance instantly.
"At this range, your chain is useless!"
"Is that so?!"
Kurapika swung his chain at point-blank range, but Uvogin clamped his massive hand around Kurapika's wrist. Once caught in the grip of the Troupe's strongest powerhouse, escape seemed impossible.
"Gotcha!"
"No... I caught you."
Uvogin barely had time to register the words before his center of gravity vanished. Without relying on brute force, Kurapika applied the yielding principle of Ju (柔) from Kazama-ryu Aikijujutsu, shifting his caught wrist by an inch to redirect Uvogin's forward momentum and flip the titan onto his back!
"Wha—?!"
What did he just do?!
Before Uvogin could shout, Kurapika's cold voice rang out:
"Is it wise to focus solely on me?"
A tremendous aura flared right behind him.
"First comes rock! Rock, Paper... ROCK!!"
"GAFAAH?!"
Gon's fully concentrated Ko strike slammed straight down into Uvogin's face.
Channeling his entire aura pool through high-risk ritual chanting, Gon's strike packed explosive destructive force, shattering Uvogin's nose and sending blood spraying across the rubble.
Yet, even after taking that direct blow to the face, Uvogin grinned with savage ferocity.
"Not bad, brat! I'll admit it—you're a real threat!"
He had reinforced his face with aura at the last millisecond, reducing a lethal blow to a broken nose.
"Damn it!" Gon gritted his teeth.
"Don't look so down. That hurt like hell. You're gonna grow into a beast... if you survive today!!"
Uvogin surged to his feet and raised a boulder-sized fist to crush Gon. Gon prepared to dodge—only to watch Uvogin freeze mid-swing.
"My arm?! No... my body won't move?!"
"Gon!"
"Got it! Take this! ROCK!!"
Unable to move, Uvogin reinforced his torso with Ken, but without Ko, Gon's second Rock drilled into his solar plexus with agonizing force.
"GOHACK-! W-What... Chains?! When did—?! ...In?!"
Coiled tightly around Uvogin's entire body were translucent chains, hidden until now beneath a veil of In.
"So you understand In," Kurapika said calmly. "You're not as stupid as you look. But your tactical awareness is lacking. In a two-on-one fight, focusing exclusively on one target makes capturing you child's play."
"Bastard! You think this puny chain can hold me?! UOOOOOOHH!!"
"It's useless. Brute force cannot break it."
Bound by [Chain Jail / Chain of the Restraining Middle Finger], Uvogin's motor nerves were completely paralyzed, leaving him frozen like a statue.
Kurapika's strategy was meticulous: he kept his offensive chain—[Strike Chain / Chain of the Striking Index Finger]—visible to draw Uvogin's eyes, while cloaking the binding Chain Jail in In.
Yet Kurapika knew the battle wasn't over. To achieve complete victory, he needed to apply his secondary seal before Uvogin could react.
Uvogin proved him right.
"Let's see you hold THIS! URAAAAAAAAHHH!!"
"Tch! Not in time—"
Before Kurapika could apply his next chain, Uvogin triggered [Muscle Evolution]!
His muscle mass expanded explosively. The sheer biological expansion strained the fragile links of Chain Jail, threatening to snap them. Recognizing the danger, Kurapika deactivated Chain Jail and retracted the links before they broke.
"GHAHAHAHA! So that's the weakness of your little parlor trick! The moment I get a little bigger, your toy chain cracks like glass!"
Uvogin roared. As he noted, Chain Jail's absolute paralysis was balanced by standard physical durability; an explosive shift in muscle mass could force it open.
"That almost had me sweating... But I won't fall for the same trick twice! I'm keeping my eyes glued to your chains! Now, let's go for round two!!"
◆
Meanwhile, Leorio was sprinting through the district searching for his friends.
Damn it! Aisha told us not to chase the Troupe! Please don't do anything reckless!
Heading toward the collapsed skyscrapers, Leorio finally spotted Killua standing motionless.
"Killua! If you were gonna run off, you should've told us! Where are the others—whoa! What is THAT monster?!"
Leorio froze as he caught sight of the titan fighting Gon and Kurapika in the distance.
"It's a member of the Troupe," Killua muttered, trembling violently. "Kurapika wouldn't stop, and Gon ran in to help... But we can't beat that! Run, Leorio! Call Aisha! Hurry!"
"Aisha is escorting Dominic to the hospital! Even if we call, she might not make it in time! What are YOU doing standing here?! We have to jump in! If all four of us attack together—"
"I-I CAN'T!!" Killua screamed, tears streaming down his pale face. "My body won't move! I want to help them, but... but—!!"
Seeing his snarky, confident friend breaking down in sheer agony, Leorio's voice softened.
"...I get it. Wait here, Killua. Don't worry, I'll save them."
"Are you crazy?! You'll just get killed!"
"I know that. I might just be running to my death. But... I'm not slick enough to abandon my buddies, survive, and become a doctor with my head held high."
Leaving Killua behind, Leorio sprinted straight toward the battlefield.
Run! Run away! the needle in Killua's skull shrieked.
Shut up! They're my friends!
Run! You can't win!
I won't abandon them!!
Then, Killua saw Gon take a direct blow from Uvogin and go flying through the air, vomiting blood.
The fear of death was instantly incinerated by a far greater terror: the terror of losing his best friend forever.
"UAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!"
...
...
...
Screaming in rage and agony, Killua plunged his fingers into the side of his own head, gripped the cursed needle of Illumi's manipulation, and tore it violently from his brain!
◆
Uvogin was rampaging like an unstoppable juggernaut, pressing Gon and Kurapika with relentless swings.
Kurapika managed to pull Gon out of the direct path of Uvogin's stomp, but Gon was heavily battered.
Just as Uvogin prepared to finish them off, a voice echoed from directly behind him:
"That bastard Illumi... he really shoved this garbage into my skull."
Uvogin spun around in shock. Standing just meters behind him was Killua, holding a bloodstained, twisted needle, a serene smile on his face.
"Ah, that feels amazing. I'm completely awake now."
"Killua?!" Kurapika gasped, sensing a completely transformed presence.
"Hey, giant. You did a real number on my friends. Time to pay the tab."
Using Rhythm Echo, Killua split into multiple afterimages, closing in and aiming a lethal strike directly into Uvogin's ear canal!
"Get off me, brat!" Uvogin thrashed, feeling genuine danger as Kurapika's chain struck the back of his neck.
Realizing that playing defense against the chain was dragging out the fight, Uvogin channeled all his aura into raw physical speed and power. He lunged forward and grabbed Kurapika's right arm, crushing the forearm bone with brute force.
"Gah-!"
"Take this!"
Killua drove his electrified hands into Uvogin's back with [Thunder Palm], shocking the titan and forcing him to loosen his grip so Kurapika could break free.
Uvogin swept his massive leg around, trapping Killua mid-air. Just as he went to crush the boy, Gon reappeared, slamming a fierce Jajanken: Rock into Uvogin's unprotected ribs!
"GAH?!"
With Uvogin reeling, Kurapika unleashed [Holy Chain / Chain of the Healing Thumb], instantly knitting his shattered forearm bones back together.
"What?! You're a Conjurer! How can you have Enhancer-level healing?!" Uvogin snarled in disbelief.
Standing side-by-side, Gon, Killua, Kurapika, and the newly arrived Leorio faced the titan together.
"I've got a secret technique too," Leorio declared with fierce resolve. "It only works if I hit him directly. Cover me!"
"Right!"
Leorio charged forward. Gon intercepted Uvogin's counter-fist, while Killua called down [Thunderbolt / Narukami] from above, paralyzing the titan with a lightning bolt!
Leorio drove his aura-laden fist straight into Uvogin's chest:
"[Mahoymi / Splendor Flash Fist]!!"
Restorative Nen flooded Uvogin's internal organs with overwhelming vitality, causing a paradoxical biological rejection that tore through his nervous system from within!
"G-GAAAH-?!" Uvogin shrieked in incomprehensible agony.
"NOW!" Leorio yelled before collapsing from aura exhaustion.
Gon followed up with a devastating Jajanken: Rock to Uvogin's gut, while Killua discharged his remaining electrical aura to freeze the titan's muscles.
Uvogin swung his arm desperately to swat away Kurapika's incoming chain, but the links didn't shatter.
"That's my reinforced chain," Kurapika said coldly. "The real trap is already around you."
From Kurapika's left arm, an unseen chain was already coiled around Uvogin's torso:
"[Seal Chain / Chain of the Sealing Left Hand]!!"
The seal forcibly shut down Uvogin's aura nodes, extinguishing his Nen entirely and collapsing [Muscle Evolution].
"And now... [Chain Jail]!"
Stripped of his aura and bound in absolute paralysis, Uvogin crashed to the earth, unable to move a single finger.
"D-Damn it all...!!"
The roar of the captured Spider marked the end of the battle.
◆
[AN]
I feel a bit bad that Kurapika's new abilities don't have any crazy twists. In the original series, the index finger chain was unknown at the time, so I took the liberty of creating one. If it turns out to be something critically important in canon later on, I'm going to cry.
As most of you predicted, Leorio's ability is indeed the Flash Blossom Radiant Fist (Senka Rekkō Ken). It's pronounced Mahoimi, but its effect is essentially the same as the Senka Rekkō Ken from Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai.
Here are the detailed ability specifications:
Kurapika's Nen Abilities:1. [Restraining Middle Finger / Chain Jail]
Type: Conjuration
Description: A chain conjured from Kurapika's right middle finger, ending in a clawed hook. It wraps around the target to completely paralyze their physical body. However, its structural durability is very fragile, meaning an average Nen user could shatter it easily.
Restriction: Can only be conjured with very low structural durability.
Vow: None in particular.
2. [Striking Index Finger / Strike Chain]
Type: Conjuration
Description: A chain conjured from Kurapika's right index finger, ending in a heavy plummet/weight. It doesn't possess any specialized supernatural effect, but boasts immense structural durability and can be loaded with heavy aura as a pure offensive weapon. In regular combat, he uses this as his primary weapon to divert attention away from his other chains.
Restrictions & Vows: None in particular.
3. [Healing Thumb / Holy Chain]
Type: Conjuration + Enhancement
Description: A chain conjured from Kurapika's thumb, ending in a cross. In normal conditions, its effects are modest, but while [Emperor Time] is active, it exhibits miraculous healing power capable of mending fatal wounds in seconds.
Restriction: Cannot be used on anyone other than himself. (Note: This restriction is an original rule for this novel).
Vow: None in particular.
4. [Sealing Left Hand / Seal Chain]
Type: Conjuration + Specialization
Description: A chain conjured from Kurapika's left hand, ending in a five-pointed star (pentagram). Wraps around the target to completely seal their Nen. However, its effects only manifest while [Emperor Time] is active.
Restrictions:
Only activates while [Emperor Time] is active.
If the target visually spots or identifies the chain before the ability activates, the sealing effect fails completely. Additionally, 24 hours must elapse before attempting to use the ability on the same target again.
Vow: None in particular.
(Note: Kurapika's other chains—Dowsing Chain and Judgement Chain—function identically to canon).
Leorio's Offensive Nen Ability:[Flash Blossom Radiant Fist / Mahoimi]
Type: Enhancement
Description: Leorio's ultimate offensive strike, executed by concentrating aura into his fist with Ko. By driving a fist laden with hyper-accelerated healing energy into the target, it triggers abnormal cellular division, destroying the target's tissues from the inside out. Because of this mechanism, it acts as a standard physical punch against non-living matter. Due to its horrific lethality, Leorio treats this as a forbidden technique he avoids using whenever possible. Because it requires full concentration in Ko, leaving the rest of the body in Zetsu, it carries immense risk.
Restrictions:
Only activates when delivered with a fist enhanced by Ko.
Only activates upon direct contact with the target's bare skin (ineffective if blocked by clothing, gloves, or physical armor).
Vow: None in particular.