As Aisha assumed the fundamental stance of Kazama-ryu, Phinks—one of the fiercest combatants among the Phantom Troupe—surged forward to seize the initiative. Wearing a vicious grin as if relishing the mortal struggle to come, he let his aura swell and charged straight toward Aisha.
It was not a thoughtless assault. Behind him, the other Spiders coordinated their movements to back him up. Syncing their timing, Pakunoda fired bullets from her handgun while Machi hurled ultra-fine Nen threads tipped with needles at Aisha. Phinks plunged forward with complete faith in his comrades' covering fire.
Aisha evaded the synchronized assault using Shukuchi (Ground Shrinking). By rotating the aura concentrated beneath the soles of her feet, she moved in an arc, instantly flanking Phinks from behind.
Even though Phinks had seen this movement in Shizuku's memory replay, witnessing it and experiencing it firsthand were entirely different matters. Unable to keep pace with her instantaneous shift in velocity, Phinks left his back wide open. Having taken his rear, Aisha prioritized reducing their numbers, preparing to finish him with a single Penetration Palm (Shintou-shou).
Yet the Spiders were not so easily bested. The moment Machi realized her thread snare had been evaded, she yanked the advancing Phinks back with an attached tether. She had pre-fastened a thread to him—a precaution taken precisely because they understood Aisha was a formidable adversary.
Praising her rapid judgment inwardly, Aisha immediately adjusted her footwork to target another opponent.
Just then, sensing an unexpected melody, Aisha instinctively leapt back. An instant later, a dual-bladed lance drove violently into the ground where she had stood a fraction of a second earlier.
The one wielding the twin-headed lance was Bonolenov. He was a combatant possessing a unique ability: generating varied melodies through holes perforating his entire body, transforming those acoustic resonances into raw combat power.
As a frontline fighter of the Troupe, his capabilities were undeniably top-tier. Aisha sharpened her focus, making sure not to be disoriented by his bizarre rhythmic cadence.
A torrential barrage of attacks closed in around Aisha as she continued her evasive dance.
Machi wove a perimeter of threads to restrict Aisha's Shukuchi gliding.Pakunoda imbued her bullets with Shu to amplify their kinetic impact, suppressing Aisha's mobility with suppressive fire.Phinks wound his arm in rapid circles, storing destructive force while trusting his comrades' support.Bonolenov played multifaceted melodies, attempting to throw Aisha off-balance with erratic rhythms and specialized Nen techniques.Kortopi held a poison-coated blade in his left hand, continuously replicating swarms of identical daggers with his right and hurling them in high-density barrages.
It was a relentless, suffocating storm of offense. A single miscalculation could easily hit one of their own comrades.
Yet Aisha read every vector, deflected, dodged, parried, and slipped through every incoming strike, emerging completely unscathed.
"Are you kidding me? We threw all that at her, and she doesn't have a single scratch?!"
Faced with Aisha's miraculous technical mastery, even the seasoned Troupe members began to show agitation.
Overwhelming a single opponent with this many members simultaneously was unprecedented for the Spiders. And yet, the young girl before them stood untouched, her composed stance unwavering.
"She isn't even using Ten... how is this possible?"
"Calm down," Chrollo's steady voice cut through the tension. "She is likely concealing her aura with an ability. It is impossible to endure attacks of this caliber without aura."
The leader's words restored order to his limbs.
Indeed, it made sense. Defending against Nen-enhanced attacks without using aura was an impossibility.
While most of their attacks had missed entirely, several strikes had made contact. To be precise, Aisha had parried and redirected them with her hands, but they had undoubtedly touched her body.
The only reason she sustained zero damage from those aura-infused strikes was that she was concealing her aura beyond their perception, exactly as Chrollo deduced.
Having arrived at a rational explanation, the Spiders' panic evaporated. If an ability had a mechanical premise, a counterstrategy could be found.
Watching the Spiders regain their composure, Aisha chose not to press an aggressive assault. Had she struck while they were disoriented, she might have eliminated at least one member before Chrollo gave his advice. Yet she held back for a specific reason.
It was because of the three Troupe members who remained motionless.
Chrollo stood calmly observing the battle with his conjured book in his right hand. Nobunaga maintained an Iai drawing stance within a four-meter En, his eyes shut tight. Shizuku stood with her vacuum cleaner, Blinky (Deme-chan), conjured beside her, watching in silence alongside Chrollo.
Nobunaga gathered a terrifying shroud of sword-intent with closed eyes, while Chrollo and Shizuku showed no hint of offensive intent. That stillness only magnified the eerie tension.
They were clearly aiming for something—an orchestrated ambush the moment a vulnerability appeared. Aisha could predict the broad outline of their tactics, but reading every nuance in advance was impossible even for her.
—Well, knowing that much is more than enough—
Facing unknown variables was standard fare in Nen combat—doubly so when surrounded by multiple enemies. Whatever they threw at her, she would simply neutralize it. In a sense, it was an extreme, yet pragmatic conclusion.
Maintaining the fundamental posture of Kazama-ryu, Aisha waited. The Spiders maintained their encirclement.
Realizing that repeating the previous assault would yield identical results, Phinks resolved to lock down Aisha's mobility, even at severe personal risk.
Steeling his resolve, he violently spun his right arm to multiply his striking power.
Twenty, perhaps thirty revolutions. The moment he halted the rotation, the aura enveloping his fist swelled explosively. From Aisha's perspective, it was practically screaming: *'I am about to punch with my right arm!'* Yet if a fist laden with that much concentrated aura landed cleanly, even Aisha would suffer far more than superficial bruising.
Whether his intent was to force her on the defensive or buy time for his comrades to restrain her, Aisha had zero intention of letting the attack unfold.
"Here I—"
*Here I come!*—or so he intended to shout, but the words died in his throat.
A single step. The instant he shifted his weight forward to initiate the charge—the exact fraction of a second his consciousness turned toward movement—Aisha's edge-kick stomped straight through the instep of Phinks's right foot.
"GAHHH?!"
Saturated with aura, the stomp shattered the bones of his foot, crushing the joint beneath her heel. Keeping her foot planted on his crushed limb, Aisha closed into point-blank range. With his center of gravity broken and Aisha inside his guard, Phinks couldn't even swing his aura-charged arm downward.
Capitalizing on her momentum, Aisha drove a brutal elbow strike into his solar plexus, followed instantly by a rotational shoulder check (Kougeki). The crushed instep bore the agony of being ground into the asphalt throughout the sequence.
A sickening crunch echoed as bone splintered and tore. Phinks was hurled violently through the air toward Chrollo in the rear.
"PHIN—!"
Watching her comrade fly backward unconscious, Pakunoda reflexively turned her gaze toward him. That compassionate reaction created a fatal opening before Aisha.
Rather than pursuing Chrollo in Phinks's trajectory, Aisha closed the distance to Pakunoda in a flash.
Had Chrollo moved to catch Phinks, Aisha would have attacked Chrollo directly. But Chrollo remained utterly composed, prioritizing the optimal path to victory.
He chose not to create an opening by catching his fallen comrade, maintaining unbroken focus on the enemy—a ruthless, yet tactically correct decision.
The rest of the Spiders lacked that absolute detachment. Pakunoda's momentary lapse allowed Aisha inside her range. Desperate to save the Troupe's vital memory specialist, the others surged forward, but they were far too slow.
Forming an open palm to drive kinetic shock directly into internal organs, Aisha whipped her joints and struck Pakunoda's abdomen. The internal shockwave violently scrambled Pakunoda's viscera, reinforced by an aura pulse that ensured catastrophic trauma. As Pakunoda collapsed limply, Aisha drove a final palm strike into her jaw.
With brain and internal organs thoroughly concussed, Pakunoda lost all consciousness and sank to the ground.
An instantaneous double knockout. Neither was dead, but neutralizing two elite Spiders had taken less than a single second. Rather than sheer terror, the surviving Spiders felt a strange, chilling reverence before Aisha's overwhelming mastery.
"Honestly, having bad premonitions hit the mark this accurately... maybe I'm a fortune-teller after all."
"Could be. From now on, I'll trust your intuition without question."
"Me too. But just for now—"
"Yeah. We'll crush any premonition by sheer force."
Yet the Spiders' fighting spirit did not crumble. Instead, an even darker, fiercer resolve ignited across their ranks. Sensing the absolute conviction radiating from their entire beings, Aisha heightened her vigilance.
—Enemies with eyes of absolute resolve are always the most dangerous—
Having clashed with countless desperate adversaries over her century of life, Aisha knew this well.
Even against insurmountable power disparities, those who discard their lives can unleash unforeseen miracles—a rare, lethal phenomenon in Nen combat.
Aura erupted from the three vanguard combatants in direct proportion to their resolve. Aisha stood in natural balance, keeping her senses locked on all six surviving Spiders.
Anticipating this battle, Chrollo had pre-assigned specific roles to every member. Obeying without hesitation, Nobunaga never broke his Iai drawing stance despite his fallen comrades, while Shizuku gritted her teeth and monitored the battlefield.
Machi and the vanguard had their orders as well: halt Aisha's movements, even at the cost of their lives. They had been ordered to die if necessary to create a single split-second opening.
And every single member accepted that order.
Even knowing they were designated as disposable pawns, they answered Chrollo with absolute obedience.
Viewing their lives not as personal possessions but as components of the collective Spider, they harbored neither hesitation nor fear.
There was only one duty: execute the mission to the end!
Melodies began resonating from the holes piercing Bonolenov's flesh. At that acoustic signal, Machi and Kortopi launched their assault.
Channeling every drop of aura, they initiated a suicidal charge. Ordinary attacks would be easily countered against a monster who surpassed the collective might of the Troupe.
Hence, an all-or-nothing blitz. Converting their very lifeforce into raw aura velocity, Machi and Kortopi charged at unprecedented speed.
Feeling the crushing pressure of their desperate resolve, Aisha elevated their threat level by another tier.
Evading this suicidal charge was elementary for Aisha. Emitting aura beneath her feet would launch her high into the air. Against someone commanding total air superiority, only powerful long-range snipers or airborne combatants could compete.
Yet Aisha chose not to take flight.
Because emitting aura detached from her body would bypass [Angel's Veil], broadcasting her true aura to the world.
And what would happen then? The catastrophic negative malice born from her post-mortem Nen would deluge the surrounding area, inflicting severe psychological and physical trauma on ordinary civilians.
Though the exact radius was uncertain, Aisha deeply feared the consequences on the fragile patients inside the adjacent hospital. As long as any risk remained, deactivating [Angel's Veil] or emitting raw aura were choices she refused to make.
There was, of course, a second reason—one Aisha might not consciously acknowledge.
Evading a life-or-death charge through cheap aerial retreat felt, in some corner of her heart, like admitting defeat. In short: she was simply stubbornly competitive.
Aisha gathered her aura to intercept the incoming assault.
Raising her right hand toward the heavens and her left hand toward the earth, she assumed an immovable stance.
Kortopi charged empty-handed. Knowing his offensive power was negligible, he resolved to act as a living human anchor—turning his own body into a sacrificial weapon to grapple Aisha upon death.
Machi gripped the master anchor of the Nen threads woven through the surrounding trees and vehicles. Pulling this central line would violently contract the entire perimeter toward the center—where Aisha stood ensnared.
Machi and Kortopi would be caught in the web as well, but if it fulfilled their order and created a window for their comrades, they welcomed the sacrifice.
Timing his performance to their charge, Bonolenov concluded his song: *Jupiter*. The ability manifested from that acoustic rite was the colossal, crushing sphere: [Jupiter (The Son of the Earth)].
A massive Nen sphere hurtling at sonic speed, designed to pulverize everything in its path. Though it would inevitably catch his comrades in the blast, Bonolenov fired without a shred of hesitation.
Any Spider in his position would have done the exact same—such was the pride of the Phantom Troupe.
Yet suicidal charges, self-sacrificing devotion, and the collective pride of the Spider—all shattered before the pinnacle of Aisha's century of relentless discipline.
Gathering aura into her left palm, Aisha set it into high-speed turbulent rotation—an advanced evolution of 『Meguri (Circulation)』, the technique she had deployed against Netero.
The violently spinning aura vortex amplified its density and destructive power, baring its fangs at the charging Kortopi.
The strike Aisha unleashed was not Penetration Palm, but a standard palm heel—yet infused with rotational kinetic energy far exceeding ordinary aura output.
Conviction undeniably enhances aura potency. Kortopi's sacrificial charge had elevated his output far beyond his biological ceiling.
Yet conviction and emotional intensity have hard limits. No matter how deep one's resolve, aura power cannot scale to infinity.
Kortopi's charge failed to grapple Aisha or push her back a single millimeter; the rotational palm strike blasted him through the air like a ragdoll.
Aisha angled her palm strike so that Kortopi's trajectory clipped Machi beside him. Though not struck directly, the concussive force threatened to blow Machi away. Desperate to immobilize Aisha, Machi yanked her threads—only for the effort to prove completely futile.
The instant her left palm struck, Aisha swung her right knife-hand downward. Cloaked in aura sharpened to an atom-thin razor edge, the descending strike severed every converging thread in midair.
As Machi and Kortopi were thrown back, the colossal sphere of [Jupiter] descended to crush Aisha. Designed to strike the split-second opening after countering two foes, even this coordinated sequence failed to catch Aisha off-guard.
Meeting the sonic sphere with an aura-infused high kick drawn back like a bow, Aisha shattered [Jupiter] in midair before it could inflict a scratch.
The entire sequence transpired almost instantaneously, weaving numerous advanced Nen applications in seamless succession.
A supreme martial art achievable only by one who had perfected basic and advanced principles through a century of training. Even Netero, who stood as her peer in martial mastery, could not deploy so many discrete techniques simultaneously.
Yet the emotion filling Aisha's chest after unleashing this absolute mastery was... shock and admiration.
—So THIS was their true trap!—
The exact moment her kick shattered [Jupiter], a flashing blade closed in on Aisha's neck.
The one executing the strike was Nobunaga. The swordsman who had been maintaining his Iai stance far behind Chrollo was suddenly standing directly beside Aisha!
Appearing at her flank without a trace of movement—Aisha recognized this instantly as teleportation. A high-level application of Emission, a capability Aisha had faced several times in her past life. She had considered the possibility of teleportation strikes throughout the battle.
She had never lowered her guard against Chrollo. Yet the activation speed of this ability defied all expectation.
And for good reason: the user of the teleportation ability was not Nobunaga, but Chrollo.
Aisha, who read the underlying intent of her opponents, had tracked Nobunaga's fierce hostility. Nobunaga harbored zero intent to activate an ability; his spirit was saturated purely with the murderous intent to cut down anyone entering his range.
Chrollo, meanwhile, had emitted zero intent—acting as a total spectator until the exact microsecond Aisha kicked [Jupiter].
To activate an ability with zero preliminary buildup the instant an opening emerged—Chrollo's tactical execution was worthy of supreme praise.
Teleported instantly beside Aisha, Nobunaga himself remained completely unaware of the shift.
His order from Chrollo was simple: *'Keep your eyes closed, maintain your En, and hold your Iai stance. Slay anything that enters your circle without opening your eyes.'*
Having concentrated his aura to its absolute limit, Nobunaga reflexively drew his blade against the foreign presence inside his En.
He felt no surprise at the sudden displacement—with his eyes closed, he didn't even know he had moved.
Aisha, meanwhile, had just shattered the giant Nen sphere with an upward kick. Forbidding herself from aerial emission bursts to protect the hospital, her right leg was extended skyward while her left foot was anchored to the ground under immense downward pressure. Shukuchi was impossible.
Nobunaga's sword-draw, backed by every drop of his refined aura, achieved breathtaking velocity. Across Aisha's long life, few strikes had ever matched this speed—the sole exception being Netero's [100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva], though that was far too exceptional.
The secret behind that blinding speed lay in Nobunaga's Hatsu.
Within the Troupe, his ability was considered strictly for 1v1 duels—a restriction made obvious by its underlying conditions.
To activate his technique, Nobunaga must maintain a continuous En and remain stationary in an Iai drawing stance. In other words, he cannot move toward his enemy.
While effective against charging opponents, it was useless against retreating targets, and facing multiple foes would leave him surrounded before activation. Yet its effect was ruthlessly simple:
The instant a target enters his En, the speed of his draw and the cutting power of his strike are amplified exponentially. Simple, yet devastatingly lethal. Once triggered, evasion is virtually impossible—an unavoidable, lethal strike.
And that strike—imbued with the collective obsession of the Spider—now sliced into Aisha's flesh...
◆
Rewinding to the moments before the battle began.
As the morning sun bathed Yorknew City in radiant light, four figures sprinted through the streets.
Those four were Gon, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio. Following their late-night tactical meeting, they had fallen into deep, exhausted slumber. Having survived a mortal duel and depleted their aura, such exhaustion was inevitable.
They had been awakened by Kurapika's ringing phone. On the other end was Aisha, who had scouted ahead to El Hospital.
The intelligence she provided was more than enough to jolt their sleepy minds into high alert:
A full-scale assault by the Phantom Troupe. The Spiders were deploying all available members to raid El Hospital and uncover Aisha's abilities. Shocked, the four leaped out of bed, shared the briefing in seconds, and dashed from the hotel.
"Moving this early in the morning?! If you're thieves, act like thieves and move at night!"
"Agreed! Give us a break!"
Leorio and Killua's complaints were understandable.
While criminals aren't legally bound to nocturnal hours, avoiding daylight is standard criminal psychology. Furthermore, rushing out before recovering from last night's battle warranted some venting.
"Leorio, are you okay?! Aren't you exhausted from healing my injuries?!"
"Yeah, this is nothing!"
In truth, Leorio had consumed the most stamina and aura among them.
Not only did he have the smallest aura pool, but he had also cast [Mystic Palm / Hoimi] at dawn to treat Gon.
Gon's wounds from Uvogin hadn't fully closed the night before, so Leorio had performed emergency treatment at sunrise once his aura regenerated slightly.
Consequently, Leorio's condition was far from combat-ready. Gradually, the gap between Leorio and the other three widened.
"Leorio!"
"I'm fine! Just leave me behind and go on ahead!"
Panting heavily, Leorio shouted for his comrades to prioritize Aisha.
"Got it!"
"Wait, Gon!"
As Gon accelerated to honor Leorio's wish, Kurapika called out to halt him.
"What is it, Kurapika?"
"There is no need to leave Leorio behind."
"What are you saying?! If we don't hurry, Aisha will—! You three go ahead!"
"Calm down! Aisha is not someone who will be defeated so easily! Even if all of us attacked her together, we could not win."
Kurapika's words restored composure to Gon and Killua. Indeed, even with Bisky making four against one, they had been completely overwhelmed. Imagining Aisha losing, even to the Phantom Troupe, felt impossible.
"You're right. Honestly, by the time we get there, Aisha might've wiped them all out already."
"Ahaha. That sounds scary, but completely plausible."
"That doesn't mean we sit back and don't help!"
"Of course not. But Leorio, our enemy is the Phantom Troupe. Defeating even one of them is the limit of our current strength. Jumping in recklessly might only get in Aisha's way."
While Uvogin was not the average benchmark for the Troupe, he was the only Spider they had fought, making him their baseline reference—even though Uvogin ranked at the very apex of raw physical output.
"Then what are you saying we should do?!"
"An ambush targeting an opening. That is our only viable strategy."
"An ambush?"
"Precisely. We will approach the hospital in total Zetsu to conceal our presence from the Troupe. We assess the battlefield, wait for a vulnerability, and strike simultaneously."
"I see. Aisha overwhelmed three Spiders alone, so the rest will struggle against her. While they're focused on Aisha—"
"We hit 'em from behind with a bang!"
"Exactly. Leorio, you can maintain Zetsu, correct?"
"Heh! Who do you think I trained with? Behold the Zetsu forged under Ninja Hanzo!"
With that, Leorio dropped into absolute Zetsu, completely erasing his presence so thoroughly that he seemed to vanish before their eyes.
"Not bad, Leorio!"
"Indeed, a flawless Zetsu. From this point forward, we maintain continuous Zetsu. Once we reach the perimeter, we assess and act. Understood?"
"Yeah!"
The four advanced toward the hospital in stealth.
Though moving in Zetsu slowed their pace, they advanced steadily, placing absolute faith in Aisha.
When they reached an elevated vantage point overlooking the hospital grounds, the battlefield was already in full swing. While Aisha's aura remained hidden behind [Angel's Veil], the sinister aura radiating from the surrounding Spiders distorted the air.
Though intimidated by the pressure, the four realized that with the Troupe entirely absorbed in fighting Aisha, detecting their approach would be virtually impossible.
"(Listen carefully. We split up and approach under Zetsu. Once in position, hold your ground. Do not enter their detection range. When an opening appears, I will signal the attack with my chains. That is the cue for everyone to strike at once.)"
"(Understood.)"
"(Leorio, pair up with Killua. When Killua paralyzes an enemy with lightning, follow up and neutralize them.)"
"(Got it, leave it to me.)"
"(Gon, strike with full power. If it fails, we will cover you.)"
"(Understood!)"
"(Good. Begin operation.)"
At Kurapika's signal, the four moved into position swiftly and cautiously.
Concealed behind cover, they closed within striking distance unnoticed by the Spiders, waiting for the perfect moment—trusting Aisha to endure until that window arrived.
◆
Nobunaga's sword-flash cleanly sheared through part of Aisha's body.
The severed pieces tumbled to the earth, scattering across the ground.
"Im... possible..."
Whose whisper was that?
Chrollo's? Bonolenov's? Shizuku's? Or Nobunaga's, who had swung the blade? Perhaps all of them simultaneously.
Only one thing was certain: the voice belonged to a member of the Phantom Troupe.
The reason for their disbelief was singular:
Having engineered an inescapable strike through sacrificial coordination, Aisha had completely blocked the blow without suffering a single scratch.
How had she neutralized an unavoidable slash?
The answer lay in the strands of black hair scattered across the ground, and the thick braid of hair tightly coiled around Nobunaga's blade. Aisha had blocked Nobunaga's divine draw using her own hair.
Never underestimate human hair—its natural tensile strength rates at 3 on the Mohs hardness scale, equivalent to copper wire of identical gauge.
While individual strands are easily cut with scissors due to their microscopic diameter, thousands of strands bound together in a dense bundle become remarkably difficult to sever.
Furthermore, Aisha had infused her hair with aura, elevating its hardness far beyond copper wire—surpassing even diamond.
Whipping her reinforced hair between her body and Nobunaga's blade, the draw sliced through part of the hair before losing momentum. Manipulating the strands with aura, Aisha twisted them at high speed, snaring and locking Nobunaga's katana in place.
With that, the Spiders' ultimate gamble collapsed completely.
Chrollo's plan had accounted for failing to kill her, calculating that even a minor laceration would draw blood—allowing Shizuku's [Blinky (Deme-chan)] to drain her blood and induce hemorrhagic shock. But without a wound, the strategy was moot.
"That was a magnificent strike. The pinnacle of Iai sword-drawing born from extraordinary talent and discipline. I thoroughly enjoyed it."
"...Quit mocking me. You don't have a single scratch."
"I am speaking with complete sincerity. Thanks to you, the hair I inherited from my mother is completely ruined."
Looking down at her cut hair with a sorrowful expression, she looked every bit like an ordinary young girl.
"You were remarkable as well. Your activation speed from zero intent was breathtaking. All of you are combatants of exceptional caliber. Which makes it all the more tragic... that you couldn't channel that strength into helping others."
She offered sincere praise for their prowess—and sincere regret for their chosen path.
"Unfortunately, I'm not flexible enough to change my way of life just because someone told me to."
"I see. Then allow me to change it by force."
Saying that, she did not return the sword—she snapped the blade clean at the hilt and tossed the broken steel to the dirt.
"YOU BASTARD! MY SWORD!"
"Weapon destruction is a fundamental principle of combat, is it not?"
Aisha replied coldly to the enraged swordsman. In a formal duel, etiquette might apply; on a lawless street against criminals, Aisha showed zero mercy.
"Damn it...! Boss, run! I'll buy time!"
"Yeah. I couldn't help much, but I can at least buy time for the Boss to escape."
"As long as the Boss survives, the Spider wins."
The surviving Spiders stepped forward to shield Chrollo.
Nobunaga without his sword, Shizuku with an injured arm, and Bonolenov nearly drained of aura—all prepared to lay down their lives so Chrollo could rebuild the Spider.
"No. I will act as the decoy. The rest of you scatter and retreat."
Yet Chrollo halted their sacrifice, taking the role of rearguard upon himself.
"What are you saying?! If the head dies, what happens to us?!"
"Nobunaga, do not lose sight of our foundation."
Chrollo summarized their founding doctrine in a single sentence:
The creed established during the early days of the Troupe—even if the head dies, another replaces it, and the Spider lives on. The individual must never take precedence over the Spider.
If Chrollo bought time while the others scattered, at least one would escape to regroup with the remaining members at the hideout (though only two remained, one in critical condition) and rebuild the limbs over time.
Chrollo calmly concluded that the exhausted members couldn't buy meaningful time and would only be captured immediately.
Yet Chrollo's selfless gamble was rendered entirely meaningless by the arrival of a single man.
"Hello, Chrollo♥ You look like you're having quite a rough time♦"
"Hisoka."
The Magician's entrance plunged the battlefield into further chaos. Dropping down from the hospital roof, Hisoka landed squarely between Chrollo and Aisha.
"Hisoka! The traitor who sold us out has the nerve to show his face?! Perfect! I'll cut you down right here and avenge Uvo!"
"Oh, how terrifying♠ But allow me to correct you: I had nothing to do with his defeat♣ I only leaked info on this raid and a few abilities—I never said a word about yesterday's battle♥ His defeat was his own fault♦ Besides, how does an unarmed man plan to cut me down? I'm genuinely curious♠"
"YOU PIECE OF—!"
"Nobunaga, be quiet."
Chrollo restrained the raging swordsman.
"So this was your objective, Hisoka."
"Precisely♥ I joined the Troupe—or rather, pretended to join—purely so I could fight you one-on-one without interference♣"
"I see. Everything unfolded according to your scenario."
"A little too perfectly, even♦"
Hisoka flared his sinister, pitch-black aura, stripping off his shirt and peeling the spider tattoo from his back. The tattoo forged via [Texture Surprise] vanished into thin air, declaring his total severance from the Troupe.
"Aisha♥"
"Could you please stop infusing my name with weird emotional undertones? It sends shivers down my spine."
"Impossible♠ More importantly, I'll take Chrollo; I'll leave the remaining Spiders to you♣ You don't intend to let them escape anyway, yes?"
"Well, that is fine, but... You're so fixated on the feast before you that you haven't noticed, have you? My condolences. And Chrollo—you were far too focused on Hisoka and me as well."
"What? What do you mean—?!"
Both Chrollo and Hisoka reacted with confusion, but before they could process her words, it was already too late.
◆
The moment for the ambush had arrived. When Nobunaga appeared beside Aisha, their hearts leaped into their throats, but his draw was so fast that being unable to intervene had actually worked in their favor. Overcoming that scare, they seized the ultimate opening.
With Chrollo's attention entirely absorbed by Aisha and Hisoka, Kurapika unleashed his chain veiled in total In.
A strike devoid of killing intent, launched into the blind spot of a distracted adversary. Even Chrollo had zero time to react.
Bound tightly by the chain, Chrollo was stripped of his Nen, and the conjured book in his right hand vanished into mist.
"This is—"
Chrollo realized his predicament, but his body was completely immobilized.
"Boss!"
"Not on my watch!"
"Guh?!"
As Shizuku moved to assist Chrollo, lightning crashed down from above. Caught completely off-guard by the supersonic strike, the electric shock paralyzed her limbs.
"Sorry about this, lady!"
Capitalizing on the paralysis, Leorio closed in and drove a clean uppercut into Shizuku's jaw, scrambling her equilibrium.
"An ambush?!"
"First comes Rock!"
"WHAT?!"
Gon attacked simultaneously. With Bonolenov distracted by Chrollo's capture, he reacted too late to the massive aura gathering behind him.
"JANKEN ROCK (GUU)!"
"GUHHH—!!?"
Exhausted from battle, Bonolenov couldn't evade. Gon's brutal body blow slammed him into the hospital wall, knocking him unconscious instantly.
"Who are these brats?!"
"They are my wonderful friends. And leaving yourself wide open in combat gets you points deducted."
Aisha spoke calmly as Nobunaga stared in shock at his falling comrades. He whirled toward Aisha, but she showed no mercy to such a massive opening.
Seizing his left arm, she swept his legs out from under him, twisting her grip to flip him into a high-speed airborne spin.
Slamming his head into the pavement, she drove an edge-kick into his throat for good measure. After a brief spasm, Nobunaga went completely limp.
In mere seconds following Kurapika's chain strike, the remaining Spiders were completely neutralized. Hisoka stood with wide, blank eyes at the anticlimactic speed of it all.
"No... this... this is a bit much, isn't it, Aisha?"
"I have no idea what you mean. ...And please don't make that tearful puppy face. You're making me look like the bad guy."
"Just when I thought I could finally fight Chrollo to my heart's content... you leave me with this? I have every right to complain...♦"
After infiltrating the Troupe for over three years just to fight Chrollo, having his duel snatched away at the finish line warranted some complaints.
Yet Aisha had zero intention of releasing Chrollo—she couldn't afford to let a single Spider escape.
In Japon, there is a saying: *'Having your fried tofu snatched away by a hawk.'* This was the textbook definition.
"Does this mean... I don't get to fight you either?"
Hisoka had agreed to duel Aisha after settling things with Chrollo. But this hardly counted as settling things—Hisoka hadn't done a single thing.
"Well... fine. I'll fight you later..."
Seeing Hisoka's pitiful expression, Aisha felt a pang of sympathy and agreed to a duel.
Instantly, Hisoka's sorrow vanished, replaced by a radiant, sinister grin.
"Wonderful♥ Then I won't have to kill your father to draw out your bloodlust after all♦"
"—! ...Don't tell me!"
"My, I guessed 'father' on a hunch, but it seems I hit the mark? Dominic, was it? ...Did you think I would pit you against the Troupe and just walk away?"
Yes—while Aisha fought the Spiders, Hisoka had scouted inside the hospital to locate Aisha's emotional anchor. Had Aisha defeated Chrollo and reneged on their duel, he planned to force her hand by targeting her father.
"If you lay a single finger on him—!"
"Yes, yes! That bloodlust! It sends shivers down my spine! Kukuku, rest assured, Aisha♥ I haven't laid a single finger on your father♠ But if you refuse to fight me... who knows what might happen?"
"...Very well. Name the time and place. I will face you wherever and whenever you desire."
Hisoka's fixation on Chrollo met an untimely end.
Yet his obsession with Aisha bore fruit through his layered contingency.
Facing the greatest, ripest fruit of his life, the Magician smiled a hideous, ecstatic smile.
Author's Note: I created Nobunaga's ability. For an Enhancer specialized in 1v1 duels, this straightforward amplification felt most natural.