HunterxHunter: I Became Stronger After Death

This was a premeditated ambush.

As he was flung backward, Kortopi realized this instantly.

Although he managed to react in time to grab the opponent's knife hand, the subsequent Nen bullet had struck him squarely in a vulnerable area where his defensive Nen was weakest.

When offensive and defensive strength becomes unbalanced, the resulting damage must be endured.

The impact forced Kortopi to spit out a mouthful of blood, the pain contorting his features. Despite the searing pain and disorientation, Kortopi resisted the encroaching haze on his consciousness. In that life-or-death moment, he acted decisively.

"I need to summon Feitan's puppet—the one with the strongest suppressive capability—to disrupt his pursuit," Kortopi thought.

With his decision made, his crimson-glowing eyes activated his ability.

Back on the long street

The Feitan puppet, armed with its thin blade, distorted briefly in a flash of red light before disappearing.

Hisoka, who had been observing from a distance, narrowed his eyes at the sight. A thoughtful expression crossed his face as he glanced in the direction where Kortopi had been stationed.

In the single-lane passage

Kortopi, still midair, crashed heavily onto the cement road, the impact echoing loudly.

Before he could react, the red light he had previously emitted manifested the Feitan puppet before him.

Moro advanced steadily toward Kortopi, without even glancing behind him. With a dismissive wave of his hand, he effortlessly shattered several incoming flying stars, reducing them to scattered green light.

However, the sudden appearance of the Feitan puppet obstructed Moro's pursuit.

"A handmade puppet that can be summoned and dismissed like a Conjuration-type ability… As expected, Specialist Nen users defy conventional rules," Moro thought.

His gaze lingered briefly on the puppet's empty, lifeless eyes. The hatred born from countless "death replays" he had endured did not transfer to this mere imitation of Feitan.

Still, Moro couldn't help but notice how much Kortopi seemed to rely on Feitan's swift assault capabilities, even at the expense of ignoring Hisoka's potential response.

"Perfect. This will be a good opportunity to test my new ability: Stellar Convergence."

Moro stopped advancing, his expression calm.

The Feitan puppet, seeing no movement from Moro, remained stationary as well, holding its blade at the ready. The puppet's orders were to prevent Moro's pursuit, but it was incapable of acting autonomously beyond those instructions.

Kortopi, coughing violently, wiped the blood trickling from his mouth. He struggled to stand, swaying on unsteady legs as if he might collapse at any moment.

If not for the destruction of Uvogin's puppet by Hisoka earlier, which allowed Kortopi to recover a third of his Nen capacity, the earlier attack might have already killed him.

"Why… cough... why are you attacking me?" Kortopi rasped, his bloodstained mouth twisting in anger as he glared at Moro.

Moro didn't bother answering. Instead, he released the full extent of his visible Nen.

In an instant, every aura node in his body opened wide, releasing a torrent of luminous, turbulent Nen. The energy shimmered with an almost tangible sharpness, like raging rapids illuminated by moonlight.

This powerful aura conveyed an unmistakable intent for battle.

At the sight of Moro's explosion of Nen

Kortopi was struck by the similarity to Hisoka's earlier aura. Both were filled with an overwhelming, unprovoked menace.

"Two maniacs in one night... neither with any grudge or reason for this attack... Why?!"

The sheer arbitrariness of it all enraged Kortopi more than anything.

"Kill him!" Kortopi roared, his voice laced with both fury and desperation.

At his command, the Feitan puppet sprung into action. With an almost imperceptible sound, it transformed into a blur of motion, its blade aiming straight for Moro's heart.

Under the flickering light of streetlamps, the killing intent was palpable.

Moro's new ability: Stellar Convergence

As the Feitan puppet charged, Moro's Nen, which had been surging wildly, suddenly condensed and exploded outward, transforming into a dazzling array of tiny star-like lights. These star points formed a radiant, swirling galaxy-like field within a five-meter radius around him.

Standing at the center of this glowing galaxy, Moro was enveloped by a thin layer of Nen, creating a stark contrast between himself and the stellar spectacle around him.

When the Feitan puppet's blade entered the star field, it disrupted the flow of the glowing stars, scattering them chaotically. However, as these stars were touched, they acted like neurons—rapidly transmitting information about the puppet's movements to Moro.

In Moro's mind, the puppet's attack path materialized like lines on a celestial map, as if tracing its movements through a star chart.

Moro vs. Feitan Puppet

With precise timing, Moro took a step forward and slightly pivoted his body. The Feitan puppet, blade poised to strike, missed by a hair's breadth as it charged past him.

Before the puppet could adjust, Moro shifted again, avoiding its second slash aimed at his neck. His movements were fluid, each dodge perfectly aligned with the puppet's trajectory as predicted by Stellar Convergence.

Despite its aggressive coordination and rapid strikes, the Feitan puppet's attacks all failed to connect.

The Counterattack

Unbeknownst to the puppet, the scattered star points it disrupted had started to attach themselves to its body. These star points coalesced into glowing chains, gradually binding the puppet's movements.

Moro stepped back, observing as the chains grew denser, forming a luminous cross-shaped symbol over the puppet's chest—a star mark.

This mark enabled Moro to apply target-locking to his flying stars. With this enhancement, even his Deceptive Homing Stars, known for their unpredictable trajectories, could now strike with pinpoint accuracy.

Content with his test results, Moro dispersed the glowing star field, allowing his Nen to return to its original form. He advanced swiftly, gripping the puppet's neck.

With a decisive motion, Moro snapped the Feitan puppet's neck.

As its severed head hit the ground, the puppet's hard shell cracked apart, releasing a dark-red mist of Nen energy that immediately flew back toward Kortopi.

Kortopi's Reaction

From his vantage point, Kortopi saw Moro destroy the Feitan puppet with ease. His pupils contracted as he watched the puppet's remnants dissolve.

When the returning Nen energy entered his body, he suddenly noticed a luminous cross-shaped mark on his chest—the star mark that had been transferred from the puppet.

"What... is this?!" Kortopi gasped.

Desperate to defend himself, Kortopi summoned another puppet, this one a fully-powered humanoid.

Moro, however, calmly raised his hand, a massive green Nen orb forming in his palm.

"You made a fatal mistake," Moro said flatly.

Kortopi's reliance on his puppets had left him defenseless when marked. Instead of reinforcing his own Nen defenses, he had split his remaining energy further by summoning yet another puppet.

Moro's expression remained calm as he launched the orb skyward.

The End

The green Nen orb rose high into the air before shattering into multiple projectiles. These projectiles rained down like a meteor shower, each one curving mid-air to avoid the new puppet and head straight for Kortopi.

Kortopi's eyes widened in horror as the projectiles swerved past his puppet, leaving it untouched.

"What the—?!"

Before he could react further, Kortopi was consumed by the radiant barrage.

Elsewhere

On the long street, Hisoka strolled leisurely, deftly avoiding the arrows fired by Kortopi's remaining puppets.

But as the Feitan puppet vanished and Kortopi's aura dissipated entirely, Hisoka halted.

"Interesting," Hisoka murmured, his lips curving into a wide grin. His narrowed eyes trembled slightly with anticipation.

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