Chaos erupted inside the mall.
Screams echoed, people trampled over one another in panic, pushing and falling over in the mad rush to escape.
A scowl darkened the face of one of the Four Beasts.
"These pests are getting on my nerves. I could kill every last one of them."
"We can. This whole place is shrouded in mist—no one can see inside. Even if we slaughter them all, we can just blame it on that guy."
"Sure, if this were a normal day, it might cause a stir. But right now? Who cares."
"Heh. You guys are still talking? I already started. Feels great."
A woman's neck was twisted violently. Her eyes bulged, her body convulsing as she suffocated in the assassin's grip.
The female member of the Four Beasts said,
"I'm heading out of the mist. I'll relay our location from outside—use the walkie-talkies to keep in touch."
"Got it."
Her figure flickered and vanished beyond the mist's edge.
Kaizen glanced briefly in her direction but didn't give chase. He remained hidden in the haze.
Outside, the woman pulled out her scanning device, then grabbed the walkie-talkie to report back to her companions.
Inside the mist, the remaining three continued to converge on Kaizen's position.
Kaizen quietly opened a door, stepped through, and locked it behind him.
He moved quickly through the corridor.
At a dead end, he activated Ability—switching places with Natsu in an instant.
A member of the Four Beasts rounded the corner just in time to see Kaizen's form vanish into thin air.
"Damn it!"
"What is this guy doing?!"
"Is he seriously playing hide-and-seek with us?"
"How many times can he use that ability?!"
The woman hesitated.
"I don't think he's using that move himself. It's his Nen Beast that's doing it. We need someone to deal with the Nen Beast directly."
"I'll handle it," said the middle-aged man of the Four Beasts. "That thing's nearby."
He turned and rushed toward Natsu.
Meanwhile, the remaining two headed for the last place Kaizen had been spotted.
Kaizen continued his hit-and-run: opening one door, stepping through, exiting into another store, doubling back—always staying one step ahead.
...
Suddenly—
Bang!
A member of the Four Beasts slammed a door open and stepped inside.
He froze.
"Wait…"
His instincts screamed—something was off.
Too late.
As he turned, the door behind him vanished.
"Wha—?!"
"Where am I?"
"This isn't the mall anymore…"
"A spatial-type ability?"
"He can do this too?!"
He looked around. Nothing but endless yellow sand in every direction.
"Is he trying to trap me here?"
...
Outside, the woman realized something was wrong.
"Lawson? Come in. Where are you?"
"Respond, damn it!"
The others picked up the chatter. Confusion spread among the Four Beasts.
"What happened to Lawson?"
"No clue. He just vanished."
The middle-aged man flinched, momentarily distracted.
In that brief moment, a figure appeared behind him.
"Hmmph!" the man grunted and whipped around, throwing a punch.
Boom!
Sasuke Uchiha took the full hit without flinching. Instead, he grabbed the man in a tight bear hug.
Kaizen appeared nearby and touched the ground. A portal opened beneath them.
Natsu's fist ignited with flame.
"Fire Dragon Fist!"
His punch launched both Sasuke and the middle-aged man straight into the portal.
As the man tumbled through, the door sealed behind them.
...
Outside the mist, the female member's expression turned grim.
"Polly! Get out of the mist—something's wrong!"
Startled, Polly bolted, escaping the fog just in time.
Kaizen watched her leave but didn't pursue. He'd already achieved his objective. Wasting energy wasn't worth it.
There were originally four members of the Four Beasts.
Using the mist, strategic teleportation, and a sequence of pre-set portals, Kaizen had worn them down.
The doors, placed ahead of time and camouflaged within the mist, were difficult to spot—especially for those unfamiliar with his tricks.
While seasoned Nen users are sensitive to aura changes, Kaizen had several advantages. One: the Four Beasts had no intel on his techniques. Two: he'd pushed them to the brink of impatience.
Each door could be created instantly with a thought. But setting up multiple traps still took time and drained aura. Though his Sumas supplied much of the power, Kaizen also had to shoulder part of the cost.
But it was worth it.
Now, only two of the Four Beasts remained.
With Natsu and Sasuke Uchiha on his side, Kaizen wasn't the one who needed to be afraid anymore.
He also had other allies waiting in reserve.
By trapping the others in Sumas' dimensional space instead of fighting to the death, Kaizen preserved strength for the battles still to come.
His aura pool dwarfed that of most Nen users at his level—but the numbers he faced were no joke.
And the fight against the Three Hounds hadn't been long ago.
Even elite Hunters can't stay at peak forever.
With a quiet thought, Kaizen dispelled the Lantern Ghost.
Natsu and Sasuke took off after the last two enemies.
The momentum shifted.
The remaining members of the Four Beasts looked shaken. Their confidence drained away, replaced by mounting fear.
"Ponzu, have the bees marked their locations?"
"They're tagged."
"Good. Give me coordinates."
"Yes, Kaizen."
Natsu and Sasuke each chased one of the targets, flanking from opposite sides.
The hunt was still on.
But this time, the roles had reversed.
Kaizen was the Hunter.
And the Four Beasts—were the prey.
------------
+490 chapters on patreon.com/FanficsHub