The woman felt utterly stifled. It was like a game scenario: a lone assassin shows up late to a team fight, sees a bunch of low-health enemies, and prepares to reap an easy harvest—but right as they're about to unleash their skills, they get silenced. No matter how hard they mash the keyboard, nothing happens.
Time crawled by. The slowing effect inside her mist grew more pronounced against Akame and Sasuke, yet the woman's own situation was only getting worse.
Ron glanced toward Sasuke.
"That should do it. Sasuke, use that technique!"
In the next moment—
"Chidori Stream!"
A piercing chirping sound rang out as lightning flared around Sasuke. Unlike before, it didn't stay confined to his body, but spread outward like a sudden thunderstorm covering the entire area.
Ordinarily, the woman could dodge lightning by predicting the exact angle of an attack. It was like sidestepping a bullet: you don't outrun the bullet, you move before the shot fires by reading the shooter's aim. The same logic applied here, which was why Ron had let Sasuke build up this move for so long—so the woman wouldn't have any space to evade.
Her pupils shrank. A split second later, powerful currents surged through her body, paralyzing her at once. She froze on the spot.
"Rashomon—Susanoo."
A massive, dark-red arm manifested, seizing her firmly in its grip.
"Lampent, use your oil mist!"
They were far from the original battlefield, but Ron still didn't know if Oster had reinforcements nearby. Revealing the smog's power was no big deal, but Sumas's existence was a different story—better to keep that hidden as long as possible. People might figure out he had a spatial Nen ability if he used it often, but they didn't need to know he possessed a spatial Nen Spirit.
Ron opened a door. Sasuke shoved the woman through it. With a thought, Ron made the door vanish. Then Akame and Lampent disappeared as well.
"Ponzu, give me Natsu's location."
"Yes, Captain. About two thousand meters behind you."
Without hesitation, Ron raced in that direction. Ponzu's presence was a huge help with intel, letting her bees serve as an extended surveillance network—even in places without cameras. That also helped Ron save some aura. Large-scale infiltration of security systems by Chii could drain a lot of aura, which was a problem during intense battles. With Ponzu around, she could handle that job using her own Nen.
Soon, Natsu's fight with the young man came into view. Both were in rough shape. The young man's injuries looked severe, and Natsu's aura was noticeably weaker. It was a stalemate that might have dragged on indefinitely if Ron hadn't arrived.
A surge of aura flowed from Ron's body toward Natsu, and the boost restored Natsu's physique to its initial level before the fight began. The young man's face fell. Until now, both sides were evenly matched, both battered. He had been waiting for a moment to capitalize on a slip. Suddenly, his opponent was back to full strength.
How was he supposed to handle that?
He almost choked on his next breath. Now revitalized, Natsu attacked with renewed ferocity. Ron raised his hand:
"Nen Bullet!"
A projectile of concentrated aura slammed into the young man who was too tiered and slow to dodge.
"Boom!"
Already in bad shape, the young man's leg buckled.
"Ugh!"
He dropped to one knee, breathing raggedly. Natsu seized the moment.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
From near point-blank range, the blazing torrent struck him head-on—too close to dodge. Violent flames engulfed him, scorching cloth, wounds, skin, and flesh beneath. The heat was so intense that his clothes burned away in seconds; some pieces vaporized to ash, while others melted and clung to his skin. Parts of his flesh were seared black as pain wracked his body.
"Ahhh!"
He let out a desperate scream, body convulsing. As he tried to stand:
"Bang!"
Another Nen Bullet caught him in his other leg.
"Thud!"
He collapsed again, both knees slamming into the rubble. Then—
"Bang!
"Bang!
"Bang!"
One shot after another pelted him in the arms, waist, and near his chest—painful but not instantly fatal. Ron stepped in.
"I can let you live…if you tell me everything about Oster. The more, the better."
The young man glared.
"I will never betray Lord Oster. And you…you won't win. We're just the weakest of Oster's subordinates. The truly powerful ones are already on their way. When they get here, your days are numbered. They know all about your abilities now. So just wait for death! I lost, fine, I admit it. But the fact a genius like you is going to die with me…I've got no regrets."
Ron frowned.
"My intel is out? As far as I know, none of you Four Beasts had the chance to report anything to anyone else."
The young man gave him a mocking grin.
"Who told you there are only four of us in the Four Beasts?"
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