Chapter 864
Misty's punch landed cleanly, catching Phinks off guard and forcing him to take a step back. But instead of being angry, Phinks looked excited.
"Now this is getting fun," he said. "Come on, let's go again."
This kind of direct, head-on clash was exactly the kind of fight Phinks loved.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Their bodies moved at high speed, fists colliding again and again. Each impact generated a sharp sonic boom that echoed through the space.
Feitan narrowed his eyes slightly. Franklin and the others wore more serious expressions as well.
Misty's strength was truly impressive. She wasn't just matching Phinks in raw power—she had other abilities, too. Taken together, her overall strength exceeded his. And judging by her age, she wasn't even that old.
"At that age, none of us had power like that."
"Where did Ron find someone like this?"
"Or could it be that it's because of Ron's training that she's become this strong?"
Members of the Phantom Troupe speculated silently. The truth was—it was both.
Misty's talent was undeniable. Even before learning Nen, she had been able to see aura, just like Machi. However, unlike her Misty did not waste many years on the wrong road. Her innate ability was exceptionally rare but just as important was the training plan Ron had instructed Chii to design for her.
It was tailored specifically to Misty's situation, allowing her to train with maximum efficiency. No one else could have prepared a regimen like that.
Training could make someone stronger, but the efficiency of that training made all the difference. It depended on both talent and method.
Talent was something determined at birth. Apart from very rare exceptions, it couldn't be changed—unlike in cultivation stories where someone might alter their innate root. In this world, that was next to impossible.
Which meant the training method mattered even more.
Most people trained at about 60% efficiency. A small number could reach 80%.
However, Misty's training efficiency exceeded ninety percent.
And that was only part of it. Some people, while training, might develop side effects—muscle tears, overexertion, or in rare cases, even rhabdomyolysis. She avoided all of that due to Ron's precision planning.
.........
....
.
Between Ron and Nasubi, a massive chessboard had appeared.
Each chess piece represented one of the princes, and one had already been removed from the board—broken clean in half. That piece represented the Twelfth Prince. She was already dead.
At this moment, Ron and Nasubi were analyzing who the murderer was. More precisely, which prince the killer was affiliated with.
Ron had an overwhelming advantage here. He remembered clearly—it had been a private soldier under the Fifth Queen.
"Ron, have you made your choice?"
"Almost."
"Then place your bet. How many points will you wager?"
According to their rules, both Ron and Nasubi had started with zero base points. For each round, a bet could range from one to ten points.
If the guess was correct, that number was added. If wrong, it was subtracted.
The cumulative score would determine the eventual winner.
"Ten points," Ron said.
Nasubi raised an eyebrow.
Ron knew this would make Nasubi suspicious, but there were only two conclusions Nasubi could reach.
First, that Ron was involved in the death of the Twelfth Prince.
Second, that Ron possessed some sort of divination ability.
Neither suspicion concerned Ron. He wasn't worried about any potential information leakage. Nasubi's strength wasn't above his.
.......
....
.
Misty's sparring session concluded.
All eyes turned to Ponzu.
Among the three, Ponzu was currently the weakest. But her potential was the highest.
Neither Machi nor Misty could be guaranteed to reach S-rank as Nen users. Ponzu, however, had a real chance.
"Ponzu, what kind of training do you need?"
"The captain said before—if I want to improve, my path is different from yours. I need to face life-threatening situations. Intense crisis is what helps me grow the most."
"Life-threatening?" Machi looked across at the Phantom Troupe members, then hesitated. Her gaze settled on Chrollo.
To her, Chrollo was the best option—not simply because of his strength, but because he was smart enough to understand exactly what kind of pressure would help Ponzu the most.
He didn't need to actually endanger her life. He just had to simulate enough pressure.
If someone else stepped in, they might really put Ponzu in danger.
Chrollo noticed her gaze and stood up.
Pakunoda frowned slightly, clearly displeased.
"Machi, does it have to be the boss?"
She didn't think Chrollo needed to handle something like a training session personally. One of the others should have been enough.
"He's the best fit," Machi said simply.
Chrollo waved his hand.
"Pakunoda, no need to argue. We agreed to this, so we'll follow through. Besides, it's been a while since I've moved around. I could use the exercise."
Chrollo stepped forward.
"Begin," Machi said.
At that moment, a swarm of bees appeared—materializing directly from Ponzu's body and filling the air.
Feitan narrowed his eyes again.
"Are those Nen beasts?"
"No. They're real bees—not conjured," he replied.
"Then is she a spatial-type Nen user?"
Given that the bees were real, this was Feitan's first conclusion.
"Spatial-type Nen users are usually Emission types."
"Or she's just raising magical beasts."
Feitan wasn't necessarily wrong.
Knov was a prime example. His ability, Fourth-Dimensional Mansion, was technically Conjuration—but only for the apartment itself. The spatial component came from Emission. Nob himself was an Emission-type Nen user.
Chrollo came to the same conclusion as Feitan.
A short blade appeared in his hand.
The bees swarmed toward him.
Chrollo's eyes swept across them, memorizing all their movement patterns.
Then he swung his blade in a sharp arc behind him.
But just as it cut through the air, his pupils contracted.
The expected resistance—of blade hitting insect—did not come.
The strike had missed.
"What?"
The other Phantom Troupe members also looked surprised.
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