In the Distance
"They actually fought to a draw...?"
Biscuit (Biscuit Krueger) stared at the mountain with disbelief plastered across her face.
"That was the full-power Hyakushiki Kannon—the five-type fusion!"
"And he pushed it back in a head-on clash?!"
"Aoki… have you already reached the level of the world's strongest?"
Activating her Gyo, she focused all her Nen into her eyes, multiplying her vision severalfold.
Even through blinding light, explosions, and cyclonic winds—she saw everything clearly.
Aoki Hiroshi, transformed into a spear of black lightning, had pierced straight through Hyakushiki Kannon's palms, forearms, elbows, and upper arms—one seamless strike.
The deadly thrust had even reached Netero himself.
Though the attack ultimately burned out and was deflected by the surrounding golden energy field—
Biscuit saw clearly:
Aoki's black lightning armor was still intact. Untouched.
In other words, he could have kept fighting.
"I thought I had already overestimated him…"
She took a deep breath, chest heaving with emotion.
"But I still underestimated you, Aoki…"
"You… you can already be called the strongest Nen user in the world."
"Even though it's only a four-type fusion, not yet five…"
"In terms of raw power—there's no one left who can face you head-on."
V5 Conference Room
All the world leaders stared wide-eyed at the live feed, frozen in disbelief.
As the smoke and dust cleared—
Two figures stood on opposite halves of the split mountain peak.
Unshaken.
Aoki Hiroshi still stood in his thunder armor, his aura menacing, flickering with arcs of lightning.
Netero remained calm, arms folded, as Hyakushiki Kannon regenerated its thousand golden arms above him.
Clearly, both had held back.
"Impossible!"
One leader couldn't suppress his outcry:
"He took on Netero head-on… and came out unscathed?!"
Other V5 leaders shared the same aghast expression.
"It really ended in a draw…"
"Unbelievable. He actually matched Netero blow for blow!"
"Aoki Hiroshi's strength… has reached a world-class tier!"
"Damn it—Hunter Association will keep pressing us down!"
"Worry about the retaliation first. He hasn't forgotten we attacked him."
"Right. Blaming it on Pariston won't fool someone like that."
Faces turned pale—especially among those who had planned or approved the ambush.
Just the thought of a world's strongest Nen user retaliating gave them chills.
They had no means to resist.
In fact, if Aoki simply hinted at retaliation, their own subordinates would likely turn on them, hand them over just to curry favor.
"Damn it! Why does someone like that even exist?!"
"Forget it. Let's admit defeat."
"Don't make foolish moves. Preserve at least some dignity."
"Sanctioning that assassination attempt… was the worst decision of my career."
"Tch. Who would've thought Aoki was this much of a monster?"
The room fell into a grim silence.
Cold sweat poured down their brows, their eyes filled with dread.
They could already see their end approaching.
On the Mountain Peak
Aoki and Netero shared a knowing smile—Then simultaneously released their Nen abilities.
Whoosh—
The black thunder dissolved.The Hyakushiki Kannon vanished.
The suffocating, oppressive aura that had blanketed the mountain finally dissipated.
A powerful gust swept through, filling the vacuum caused by their earlier clash.
Dust spiraled into the air—but not a speck landed on either man.
Their Nen aura had already formed invisible shields, instinctively repelling all external forces.
To masters of their level, this was second nature.
"To think… I actually lost."
Netero gently leapt across the vast fissure between them, landing beside Aoki on the opposite slope.
He looked down at his hands, sighing.
Then held them up for Aoki to see.
"That black lightning of yours… terrifying."
"It pierced through my Hyakushiki Kannon, shattered the golden force field— and still had enough power left to burn me."
In the palms of his hands, there were blackened scorch marks.
Twisting, sharp lines.Left by Aoki's thunder.
"My technique is just focused brute force," Aoki said humbly."Nowhere near as comprehensive as yours, Chairman."
"If you had counterattacked in that moment, you probably would've knocked me clean out of Black Thunder Mode."
When using Hyakushiki Kannon, Netero could still move freely.
If Aoki's spear had been parried and Netero had countered—
He would've been facing the final boss up close.
"Different roads. No need to compare." Netero waved it off."Besides, that Hell Spear of yours—it still has more power, doesn't it?"
"If I'm not wrong, it's strongest with just a single finger."
"When it comes to pure lethality, you've already surpassed me."
"I needed five-type fusion to reach this. You're only at four."
Aoki simply smiled.
Both of them had held back.
This was, after all, just a sparring match.
Aoki's most powerful version of Hell Spear was the One-Finger Strike—fully focused penetration.
Netero's strongest move was the secret Zero Form—A thousand hands forming a prison, unleashing a divine breath from its mouth.
Their true trump cards.But neither chose to use them.
"Say, Chairman… have you ever thought about the path beyond the Perfect Domain?" Aoki suddenly asked.
"Oh?"
Netero's eyes lit up. He nodded solemnly.
"I'm all ears."
As the world's strongest Nen user, of course he'd pondered it.
He simply no longer had the energy or time to pursue it.
But the desire? That never left.
"Biscuit once told me," Aoki began,"You discovered two paths to reach the Perfect Domain…"
Images flowed through Aoki's mind.
He knew Netero's genius was undeniable.
From scratch, he had constructed an entirely new system of Nen theory—culminating in the Perfect Domain.
But due to the world's limited background, his vision had reached its ceiling.
Aoki, however, had seen farther.
He knew—What lay beyond that mountaintop.