Chapter 58: Deception x Ambush

Reaping rewards amidst risks.

The developments unfolding so far proceeded exactly as anticipated.

Despite Hisoka's chaotic intrusion, the Phantom Troupe remained focused on dealing with Silva.

Such a decision provided an opportunity for both Hisoka and Moro.

The precise moment to strike would be the relaxation phase after Omokage believed he had successfully escaped.

As for whether he would be entangled by—or targeted by—Hisoka afterwards, that was simply the risk one had to face in this operation.

Disregarding the situation over at Silva's end, Moro shifted his attention to Hisoka and Omokage, who were already engaged in battle, and quietly slipped forward.

In the street outside the plaza.

Omokage flew backward, slamming heavily into a car parked by the roadside.

Accompanied by the sharp screech of twisting metal, Omokage's entire body became embedded in the vehicle.

This sudden and tremendous commotion frightened nearby pedestrians into quickly fleeing the scene.

Not far away, Hisoka walked toward the car.

Holding a playing card between his fingers, he pressed it against the bridge of his nose, masking the slight curve of his lips.

The cooperation of the other Troupe members heightened his excitement at this moment.

This intense, heartfelt emotion, amplified by his Nen, exuded a captivating and chilling aura.

Omokage pried apart the distorted steel frame on his body, breaking free from the wreckage that enveloped him.

He then swayed his body and snapped straight, his long silver-gray hair shaking off shards of car window glass with the violent movement.

"You do not exist in my memories..."

Straightening his upper body, Omokage looked with hostile eyes at Hisoka, who was surrounded by a powerful aura, and said coldly:

"Though asking 'why you are attacking me' at this point is quite meaningless."

As his voice trailed off, Omokage's eyes bled with a red glow, and driven by his Nen, he activated his ability.

[Soul Doll]

The dolls stored within his eyes dropped in front of Omokage amidst a burst of red light, rapidly materializing into three figures.

Two of them were shockingly Feitan and Uvogin.

The remaining figure was a man with arms as long as an ape's.

These were all dolls personally crafted by Omokage. Under the effect of his Specialist ability, the dolls could unleash roughly 30% of the original's combat power, including replicating the original's Nen abilities.

If he could capture the original's eyes, that figure could rise to a maximum of 50%, and their agility would undergo a qualitative transformation.

As a member of the Phantom Troupe, Omokage had even fabricated replicas of his comrades' dolls behind their backs; naturally, it was impossible for him to imbue them with the actual eyes of the originals.

Yet even without the eyes, the baseline strength possessed by battle-maniacs like Feitan and Uvogin was something Omokage valued greatly.

As for the other long-armed doll, it was a complete soul doll equipped with eyes.

These three dolls comprised one specializing in close-quarters suppression, one utilizing speed for containment, and one executing ranged bombardment.

Looking at the simulated dolls summoned by Omokage, Hisoka asked with keen interest, "May I ask you a question♡?"

Omokage ignored him and issued the command for the three dolls to kill Hisoka.

As the command took effect, the Uvogin doll charged at Hisoka first.

[Big Bang Impact]

The Uvogin doll initiated the assault with his ultimate move, gathering nearly all his Nen into his fist, which glowed with a conspicuous red light.

Despite retaining a portion of memories as a spiritual anchor, the fabricated doll without eyes ultimately lacked flexibility. When launching its attack, it carelessly exposed the vast majority of its body, which lacked Nen defense.

Hisoka was also a battle-maniac devoted to slaughter; how could he possibly miss such a glaring opening that was practically offering him a neck on a silver platter.

Originally, he had wanted to ask how much of the originals' power these fabricated dolls could unleash.

Now, it seemed that would no longer be necessary.

With a playing card pinched between his fingers, the moment the Uvogin doll threw its punch, Hisoka whipped the card across the Uvogin doll's neck with even greater speed.

Because the Uvogin doll had concentrated the majority of its Nen into its fist, this single strike directly decapitated it.

Yet before Hisoka could retract his strength, Feitan struck like a ghost, his thin sword thrusting forward and unleashing flurries of cold light.

Hisoka raised an eyebrow, hurriedly and somewhat awkwardly evading the onslaught.

Swish, swish—

Within just a second or two, two shallow cuts were slashed across Hisoka's arm and flank.

“Quite high aggressiveness, but lacking in lethality♧.”

Slightly surprised by the Feitan doll's offensive drive, Hisoka simply raised his hand and caught the Feitan doll's thin sword upon realizing its flaw.

[Texture Surprise]

The Nen lingering over his palms was instantly endowed with stickiness, firmly trapping the Feitan doll's thin sword.

Just as Hisoka was about to destroy the Feitan doll in one fell swoop, clusters of arrow-shaped Nen blasts suddenly rained down from above.

Lifting his gaze, Hisoka decisively retreated out of the coverage area of the arrow-shaped Nen blasts.

The Feitan doll also withdrew backward.

The next moment, the arrow-shaped Nen blasts landed like a torrential downpour, triggering a chain of explosions.

In a mere second or two, a massive cloud of dust billowed into the air.

Hisoka flashed out from the smoke and dust. Due to the increasing distance, the pink adhesive binding the Feitan doll's thin sword suddenly snapped.

“A standard cooperative combat squad configuration♢.”

Seeing that the final doll belonged to the Emitter type, Hisoka wasn't particularly surprised. With a flick of his wrist, he materialized several playing cards, pinching them between his fingers.

Having confirmed the dolls' strength, aside from the Emitter-type attack just now, there was basically nothing else to worry about.

Therefore, the next step was to strike directly at the head of the dragon.

The corners of Hisoka's eyes curved slightly, though his excitement was not as intense as before.

Furthermore, what Hisoka failed to notice was—

While he was dodging the barrage of arrow-shaped Nen blasts, Omokage used the cover of the smoke and dust to leave behind his fabricated doll filled with artificial eyeballs right where he stood, quietly slipping away from the combat zone afterward.

And this entire scene was witnessed by Moro.

"Very good."

Seeing Omokage leave behind a fabricated doll, Moro knew his opportunity had arrived.

If Omokage had simply fled outright, tracking him down would genuinely have been difficult.

By employing this form of escaping via a fake death, it was equivalent to retaining the vast majority of his emitted aura on the doll, thereby rendering his own physical strength and aura exceptionally weak.

A sharp glint flashed through Moro's eyes.

The battle on the street was far from over.

However, Omokage had already quietly retreated a certain distance, turning into a one-way alley flanked by buildings on both sides.

This location was already completely out of Hisoka's field of vision.

"What on earth is the origin of that guy..."

Omokage frowned deeply.

After only a few rounds of exchange, he had felt the terrifying strength of Hisoka.

Just in case, he had performed a cicada shedding its shell.

Omokage glanced back at the direction he had come from, still unable to fathom the reason behind Hisoka's attack even now.

Recalling his gaze, Omokage turned to look ahead at the silent alley.

The fierce battle on the street had turned the nearby living people into ostriches burying their heads in the sand, and naturally, no one would be lingering in this one-way alley.

Walking along a slightly steep upward slope, Omokage headed higher, intending to find a vantage point.

"Hmm?"

After walking a short distance, Omokage arrived at a T-junction. Sensing something amiss, he looked up toward the third-floor balcony of a building in the distance.

He saw three fluorescent green Nen blasts suspended in mid-air above the balcony's pitch-dark railing, arranged in a triangle formation.

At this sight, Omokage's gaze narrowed instantly, and as the fluorescent green Nen blasts abruptly plunged downward, he raised his guard.

Yet he quickly noticed that the trajectory of the Nen blasts was somewhat strange.

Judging by that descending angle, the landing point was not directed at him.

"Who is this again..."

Confusion flashed through Omokage's mind, and the next moment, he noticed the descent trajectory of the Nen blasts adjust slightly upwards, actually showing signs of heading toward him.

Just as Omokage focused his attention on the falling Nen blasts, a figure abruptly flashed out from a narrow alley right in front of him.

It was Moro, who had been lying in ambush here.

Ignoring the returning Nen blasts, Moro dashed right in front of Omokage, his right palm wreathed in Nen driving forward like a sharp blade straight toward Omokage's heart.

Omokage felt a jolt of shock, yet he managed to react in time, hastily lifting his hands to clamp down onto Moro's right wrist.

Immediately afterward, Omokage's pupils constricted as he saw fluorescent green Nen blasts condensing upon Moro's aligned fingers.

Whoosh—

The Nen blasts shot forth from Moro's fingertips, slamming directly into Omokage's chest.

In an instant, Omokage felt as though he had been struck by a heavy blow. Sent flying backward by the kinetic energy wrapped within the Nen blasts, he coughed out a large mouthful of fresh blood mid-air.