Just as about half of the attacking puppets were destroyed, several new ones appeared—completely different from the previous batch.
Their aura was significantly stronger.
And their appearance made Machi freeze in place, her expression darkening.
"Uvogin? Shuji? Shalnark? Kurap—no... Kortopi?"
Machi's face turned grim.
She understood immediately.
These people were clearly dead. But now they were standing here, moving—fighting. There was only one explanation: someone had stolen their corpses and turned them into puppets.
"To defile the bodies of the dead... unforgivable."
If it had been someone else's corpse, she might not have cared. But this—this was Uvogin, Shuji, Shalnark, and Kortopi. They had been her comrades.
Machi remembered what Chrollo had said earlier—Shuji's body had vanished.
"So it was you who took it."
"You didn't just steal Shuji. You stole Uvogin. You stole all of them."
"This is too much!"
"I'll kill you!"
Machi was furious.
Murderous intent surged violently from her.
The four puppets immediately locked on to their respective targets.
Uvogin charged at Machi.
Shuji rushed toward Misty alongside with the remaining puppets.
Shalnark rushed at Shizuku.
Kortopi went straight for Nina.
With the addition of these new elite puppets, the fight turned. Misty and the others were suddenly at a disadvantage, overwhelmed by both numbers and strength.
Misty was outnumbered.
Shizuku and Nina simply lacked the raw combat power to keep up.
And Machi—her rage made her reckless, unable to fight at her full capacity.
In truth, after reconstructing her Nen ability, Machi was now significantly stronger than before. Her talent had always been solid, her nen rank was respectable, and her regular training made her upper-mid tier within the Phantom Troupe—even as a support and healer.
But anger was clouding her judgment, and she was making mistakes.
Not far away, the man behind it all—Omokage—watched with a grin.
"As expected of Troupe-member-level puppets. These are far better than the ones I've made before," he said, licking his lips. "If only I could turn all of the Phantom Troupe into puppets…"
"Feitan, Phinks, Nobunaga... Chrollo."
"All of them would make excellent additions. With that kind of strength, the puppets I'd create wouldn't be far behind."
"With seven or eight puppets at this level, unless I was facing the entire Troupe at once, I'd have the upper hand."
Then his eyes turned to Ron—and Omokage frowned.
"What's his deal?"
"His aura's not weak. His strength shouldn't be average either. So why hasn't he made a move?"
"Is he just going to sit there while his comrades are defeated?"
"Or is he hiding something?"
Omokage snorted.
"No matter. Even if he's got a trump card, I'm not afraid."
"This battle—I've already won."
"You'll all become my puppets!"
Ponzu looked anxiously toward Misty and the others. "Captain… can they win?"
Ron replied calmly, "If we're talking pure strength, yes. Those puppets are still just puppets. They can't compare to living fighters. Once everyone regains their composure, they'll win."
Misty shattered a puppet with a single punch.
But the rest surged in again, undeterred.
Shizuku, gripping her Blinky, suddenly seemed to realize something.
A powerful suction force locked onto the puppets wounds.
Blinky's ability didn't work on living people.
In Shizuku's mind, puppets still counted as living beings.
But their internal components—their parts—did not.
Just like how she couldn't absorb blood because it wasn't technically "foreign matter," puppet components were different.
As parts were pulled away, Shalnark's performance began to decline. Shizuku immediately gained the upper hand—and the longer the fight went, the more dominant she became.
Soon, half of Shalnark's body was gone.
Crunch.
Shizuku moved in behind him, lifting Blinky high and slamming it down hard.
Shalnark's puppet body shattered.
She activated Blinky fully—its suction force intensified, drawing every remaining piece of the puppet into its mouth.
Then she looked toward Misty, then toward Nina.
She moved to support Misty, not by closing in, but by turning Blinky in Misty's direction.
Suction locked onto the wounds of the surrounding puppets. Mechanical fragments and debris were ripped from their bodies, flying toward Shizuku.
Misty, already strong, had been struggling mainly due to the number of opponents.
Uvogin's puppet had great strength, but it lacked Misty's flexibility.
Ron remembered from the original story—even against Nobunaga, the Uvogin puppet hadn't had much of an advantage. It had been cut down in a single strike.
A puppet's strength could never truly match the living.
Misty wasn't going to miss that kind of opening.
She threw a punch—another puppet shattered.
Then she slammed another one into the ground.
Once the puppets showed weakness, Misty would seize the chance—and one blow was enough to finish them off.
Before long, only Uvogin's puppet remained in front of her.
But even that puppet wasn't in great shape. Misty had inflicted several wounds already. When Blinky's suction took effect, components were pulled out one by one. Uvogin's body was now riddled with empty gaps.
Misty was steadily taking control of the fight.
Shizuku's ability was ideal for support, and it synergized well with many fighters—especially Ron's Nen Beast, Akame. The blood-extraction effect paired with Murasame was a perfect match.
At this moment, Machi had also calmed down.
"Nen Thread: Restraint!"
Her threads, now enhanced for durability, had some stickiness as well. Once they bound an enemy, the effect was not inferior to Kurapika's Chain Jail—in some cases, even stronger.
Shuji's legs were completely bound, unable to move freely.
Machi shifted position, pulling the thread taut and dragging Shuji's body toward her. She anchored the other end of the thread to a massive boulder.
Then—
"Nen Thread: Sharpness!"
Her threads, now focused on cutting, were sharper than any blade.
They shot straight toward Shuji's neck.
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