"Separate!"
The woman and the young man exchanged a glance—and then bolted in opposite directions.
Natsu took off after the young man.
Uchiha Sasuke went after the woman.
Kaizen also moved in the direction of the woman.
The strength of the two Four Beast members wasn't bad.
But the tracking device—the real target—was in the woman's hands.
She turned back to glance at Sasuke and Kaizen, her expression darkening.
"Why are both of you chasing me?"
"Do you think I'm the stronger one?"
"Or… have you figured out I'm carrying the chant tool?"
She felt Kaizen closing the distance with every second. A cold sweat ran down her back.
I didn't expect this at all.
This guy's been hiding so much strength.
I have no shot at winning.
What now?!
She reached for her phone to contact Oster—but Kaizen didn't give her the chance.
He raised his hand.
A blast of aura burst forth, aimed directly at her.
She leapt aside, narrowly dodging it. Her phone clattered to the ground.
But there was no chance to go back for it.
A spark of lightning flickered across Sasuke's body.
In an instant, his speed shot up—he was closing in fast.
The woman clenched her jaw.
Click!
A metallic snap echoed as two heavy pieces of metal detached from her body and crashed to the ground with a dull thud.
The moment she shed the weights, her speed surged.
Kaizen frowned.
"She was carrying a load?"
"If she was ready for combat, why didn't she take it off earlier?"
"Or… maybe it had some kind of enhancement function?"
As he passed the abandoned weights, he reached out and sent both pieces into Sumas's space.
...
Inside Sumas's dimension.
The young man and the middle-aged man were already sealed away.
One was stranded in a desert region.
The other, in a grassy plain.
The zones were entirely cut off from one another. Only Kaizen and Sumas could manipulate the terrain.
Neither prisoner had the strength to breach the spatial barrier.
They were cautious at first, glancing around for hidden threats. But when it became clear they were alone, they each let out a sigh of relief and began searching for a way out.
It didn't take long to realize there was none.
Kaizen hadn't left any exits.
They checked their comms—their walkie-talkies were intact, but useless.
No signal could penetrate the spatial field.
Eventually, both sat down to conserve their strength.
They knew this was just the beginning. Kaizen wouldn't lock them away without follow-up.
He'd be back.
To interrogate—or execute them.
Best to save energy.
...
"Spatial-type ability..." the middle-aged man muttered. "It's exceptional."
"A Nen beast that controls fire... another that uses mist..."
"One that's built for defense..."
"And one that swaps places across space."
"And now this—this power to trap enemies in an isolated space."
"This Kaizen kid... he's terrifying."
"If he developed all these abilities on his own... at his age..."
"Then he's already far beyond A-rank."
"Reaching S-rank would just be a matter of time."
A complicated look crossed his face.
He was an A-rank Nen user himself—and like every other A-rank, he longed to ascend to S.
But so few ever managed it.
So very few.
In the entire United States of Saherta, S-ranks could be counted on one hand.
Among the Four Beasts, the middle-aged man was the only one who knew the truth about Oster.
The target wasn't Kaizen himself—it was the village.
And Oster had been laying foundations there for a long time.
All for one reason.
Oster had been stuck at A-rank for years.
Of all the Four Beasts, he was closest to breaking through to S.
But he could never quite make the leap.
Without reaching S-rank, he'd never become anything more than a minister.
Royalty passed their titles down.
Nobility passed on estates and privileges.
But ministers? Once they died, they were replaced. Their children inherited almost nothing.
That wasn't enough for Oster.
He wanted more.
And becoming an S-rank Nen user was the key.
First, it would grant him a longer lifespan. Those who broke into S-rank often lived significantly longer—barring accidents or unusual conditions.
Exceptions existed—like the illness that plagued the Kurta Clan.
But look at Netero—he'd lived past a hundred.
Maha Zoldyck was even older than that.
And Linne had achieved similar longevity.
Once Oster reached S-rank, he had the means to raise his own noble house.
To build a legacy that would last beyond him.
That was what Oster truly wanted.
But he had to keep his ambition hidden until he succeeded.
And Kaizen—who'd caught glimpses of Oster's plans—had become a threat.
He couldn't be allowed to live.
Even worse, when Gogus mutated into a monster, Oster had obtained sensitive information from him—clues that pointed to Ponzu.
Now Ponzu and Kaizen were traveling together.
That gave Oster one more reason to take Kaizen out.
...
The middle-aged man's thoughts turned bitter.
He had no chance of ever becoming S-rank.
And Oster had thrown himself into all sorts of schemes chasing that goal.
But Kaizen?
For him, the path looked like smooth sailing.
The difference between them was simply too wide.
...
Meanwhile, Natsu had already caught up with the fleeing youth.
The method he used was simple.
He suddenly stopped running—and clapped his hands together.
"Position Swap."
His ability didn't just work on allies.
It could also target enemies.
In the blink of an eye, the young man appeared where Natsu had been—and Natsu materialized in front of him.
The youth was caught completely off guard.
But Natsu was ready.
He reacted in an instant.
Flames erupted around Natsu's body, and he shot forward like a blazing arrow, slamming toward the young man.
"Boom!"
The youth dove to the side.
But Natsu twisted midair, abruptly shifting direction...
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