The choice presented by Tree Rings also meant that Illumi's Nen was indeed Post-Mortem Nen.
No wonder it possessed such astonishing strength.
Morrow was all too familiar with Post-Mortem Nen.
In essence, the human body was what shackled the true upper limits of Nen.
But Nen strengthened by death could break free from this restraint.
It was precisely because these shackles were gone that the power of Post-Mortem Nen could manifest in all sorts of absurd and bizarre forms.
This was true for the countless mechanical lifeforms in that massive metal mobile city on the Dark Continent.
It was also true for the Entropy Bird with its fortified luck that he had subdued.
Without exception, they were all closely linked to Post-Mortem Nen.
And Illumi's ability to be resurrected and return was surely thanks to the power of the wishing machine.
Although the phenomenon of 'resurrection' wasn't particularly strange within the Nen system, for example, the Kakin Empire's second prince's ability and Eve of the Kukan'yu Kingdom both possessed such abilities, the nature of it was completely different if this resurrection originated from the power of 'Ai,' one of the Five Threats.
Based on the information he had, Morrow deduced that the abnormally strong power on Illumi was most likely granted to him directly by the wishing machine upon his resurrection.
In other words, the wishing machine itself could probably be absorbed by Tree Rings.
The individual strength of the Needle People isn't bad either. To control over five hundred of them simultaneously while maintaining this level of quality... even if he returned from the dead with the help of the wishing machine, achieving this should be nearly impossible.
After confirming that the Post-Mortem Nen on the Needle People could be absorbed, Morrow calmly suppressed the impulse to activate his Tree Rings ability on the spot, using Astral Step instead.
Swoosh!
He crossed a hundred meters, grabbed a Needle Person, and returned to the ground. At the same time, he gathered aura in his arm and hurled the Needle Person upward like a cannonball.
Boom!
The flung Needle Person shot through the falling crowd like a projectile, blasting a hollow tunnel through the sky full of Needle People.
It seems he nourished the Nen needles over a long period of time using a 'storage' method. That way, he only needs to expend a small amount of aura output to control them during use, while also ensuring the Needle People's strength and precision. For a Manipulation-type, this is indeed feasible.
Morrow looked up, his pupils reflecting the sky full of falling Needle People and the empty path he had just blasted open with his bare hands.
Through the huge gap in the crowd, an Airship could be seen passing high above.
The Needle People had jumped from there.
But Morrow's focus was on Illumi's Needle People.
His train of thought seemed lengthy, but with his superb instantaneous thinking ability, he completed it in a flash.
So, after suffering from Star Mark Transfer, you're still confident enough to try and counter my Starlight Convergence with 'quantity' and 'individual strength.' Fine, I'll trust in that confidence of yours for now, Illumi.
Relying on the information Kalluto had previously mentioned about the Needle People's strength and his own understanding of the Nen system, Morrow quickly and accurately deduced the current nature and usage of the Needle People.
Considering the individual strength of the Needle People, if he were to absorb all five hundred-plus of them 'one by one,' he would inevitably face some risks.
And this was precisely Illumi's tactical thinking. It was obvious he was dangling an opportunity for 'Star Mark Transfer' in front of Morrow, in exchange for forcing Morrow to bear the risk of the Limitation required to use 'Starlight Convergence.'
However, the fact that Illumi dared to make such a move also showed that he was full of confidence in his current self, not at all worried about a Nen bullet attack after being locked on by a Star Mark.
Morrow easily saw through the psychology Illumi had exposed in his opening move.
But he was more concerned with not directly revealing the special offensive capability of Tree Rings against Post-Mortem Nen.
So, his tactical conclusion remained unchanged.
The most effective way to deal with a Manipulator was always to strike at the source.
Even so, for Morrow to suppress the thought of absorbing the first Needle Person he touched was a display of inhuman calmness.
Once he entered a battle, the mental fortitude he had tempered with Starlight Convergence became his most terrifying weapon.
"Kalluto, Kurapika."
Morrow quickly called out their names.
The moment they heard Morrow's voice, Kalluto and Kurapika reacted swiftly.
Without needing more specific instructions, they knew what to do.
This was a tacit understanding developed from spending a long time together.
Just as Morrow's voice faded, Kalluto and Kurapika retreated from the area covered by the sky full of Needle People at top speed.
As they fell back, they both kept their heads raised, looking at the densely packed Needle People getting closer and closer to the ground, their faces grim.
Only now did Kurapika truly understand that Kalluto's earlier description of the Needle People was no exaggeration.
For group-controlled Manipulation-type puppets, the individual strength of the Needle People was indeed outrageous.
And Kalluto had never imagined that Illumi had nourished such a large number of Nen needles!
How much time and effort must that have taken?
No, even if he had invested an immense amount of time and energy, he might not have been able to achieve this.
Behind this, there had to be a driving force akin to obsession.
This alone was enough to show how intense Illumi's bloodlust for Morrow was.
After all, this kind of Manipulation medium, created through nourishment, was often a one-time-use item.
Yet Illumi was using all of these preparations, which had taken an unknown amount of time, in one go right now.
Just to kill Morrow!
An indescribable anger surged in Kalluto's heart.
As Kalluto and Kurapika retreated, Morrow had already activated the aura throughout his body. He aimed his right palm at the Airship high above, while a burst of aura erupted from under his feet, blooming in a conspicuous glow.
"Insidious Shooting Star · Myriad Radiance."
In an instant, it was as if a sea of stars had been inverted on the ground. Countless spots of light bloomed like a profusion of flowers on the ground around Morrow, imprinting one stellar cross after another as if stars were falling to earth.
Then, myriads of star beams shot out from the light spots, aimed straight at the group of Needle People about to crash to the ground.
Papapapapa!
One after another, the star beams accurately struck every Needle Person at the forefront.
Under Morrow's conscious control of the force, the star beams of Insidious Shooting Star did not pierce the Needle People's defenses, merely blasting them all away with powerful impacts.
Just like that, the dense rain of light beams hammered the mid-air swarm of Needle People, sending them flying back up and flinging them higher into the sky.
Morrow's reason for not destroying the Needle People directly wasn't entirely to create the illusion for Illumi that he couldn't break through their group defense.
A more important reason was that he didn't want to waste all this potential Tree Rings energy.
That's right.
From the moment Tree Rings presented him with the choice, all of Morrow's actions had only one purpose.
That was to convert the maximum amount of Tree Rings energy.
So when he realized the special nature of the Needle People, and the effort and time Illumi had poured into them, 'waste not' became the primary principle of his actions.
In other words, destroying one Needle Person could mean destroying 1% of the Tree Rings energy.
Watching the swarm of Needle People fly back up into the sky, Morrow raised his right hand, and a ball of aura suddenly condensed in his palm, followed by the appearance of a sharp-edged stellar cross.
"Shooting Star."
The stellar cross spun, and a Nen bullet shot out.
It accurately passed through the gaps between the Needle People in the air, following the previously cleared path straight toward the Airship high above.
Since Illumi had shown confidence in his opening move that he could defend against a Nen bullet after being locked on by a Star Mark, Morrow didn't have to worry that this attack would pose a threat to him.
—--
In the air.
The Shooting Star traced a dazzling trajectory of light, smashing into the Airship unimpeded.
Boom!
The Airship exploded with a tremendous roar, blooming into a giant firework in the sky.
Countless pieces of wreckage scattered in all directions, carried by the shockwave.
And amidst the falling debris, a thick, pitch-black aura plummeted straight down.
It was Illumi.
Did you back down?
Black aura swirled around Illumi like mist. His cold gaze passed through the sky full of Needle People, looking down at Morrow on the ground from his high-altitude vantage point.
Even before the Airship was destroyed, he had taken in every one of Morrow's moves.
Instead of seizing the opportunity to implant a Star Mark at the first moment, he had instead used a technique-focused method to knock the Needle People back into the air before they could land and surround him.
This was clearly a sign of fearing being surrounded by the Needle People, to the point of being willing to give up an opportunity.
Illumi was not surprised by this result.
Although he already knew from the wishing machine's feedback that Morrow's strength far exceeded his previous understanding, his own power, under the effect of the wishing machine's ability, now surpassed Morrow's.
What's more, these special Nen needles, which he had spent time and effort preparing, were equivalent to a very powerful buff for himself.
It was precisely because of the strength of the Needle People that he could so efficiently seal off Morrow's trump card.
On the other hand, Kalluto must have also revealed to Morrow the information about the Needle People's self-destruct power.
But the result wouldn't change because of that.
You have no chance of winning.
Illumi's expression was indifferent as he fell.
From the moment he understood the wishing machine's mechanism, even an opponent like Morrow, who had repeatedly overturned his perceptions, had absolutely no chance of surviving his current murderous assault.
He would definitely win.
This confidence didn't come entirely from his meticulous preparations, but more from the power granted by the wishing machine itself.
Illumi manipulated the numerous Needle People in the air, making them collide with each other to gain momentum.
He didn't care if their limbs were twisted off in the process.
As long as he could regroup for an attack in the shortest time possible, completely submerge Morrow, and then detonate them all collectively, the value of this tactic would be instantly realized.
At the same time, he used severed limbs thrown by nearby Needle People to continuously buffer his descent.
Before the Needle People submerged and self-destructed on Morrow, he still had to adhere to the advantage of a Manipulator and distance himself from his opponent as much as possible before the tactic played out.
—--
On the ground.
Morrow watched the Needle People almost desperately trying to get close to him and knew that Illumi didn't want him to repeat his old trick of blasting them back into the air.
No, perhaps that wasn't right.
Illumi probably didn't care about that at all.
Even if he did repeat the action of blasting the Needle People away, in Illumi's eyes, it would only lead the battle into a war of attrition. The result would still be the same.
From beginning to end, Illumi exuded this kind of absolute confidence.
As expected... you're full of confidence.
Morrow tilted his head up, his eyes burning with a flame-like aura sheen, clearly seeing Illumi's 'everything is under control' posture high in the sky.
Well then...
Morrow didn't care about these minor details.
Now that Illumi had definitively entered his field of vision, what he had to do next became simple.
"Insidious Shooting Star · Myriad Radiance."
Once again, countless piercing lights shot up from the ground. The beams were as dense as rain, accurately hitting the Needle People falling from the sky.
With a series of muffled explosions, the Needle People, like heavily struck billiard balls, were once again violently blasted higher up.
"Astral Step."
Morrow calmly activated his teleportation ability.
Swoosh!
His figure vanished into thin air.
The next moment, he was stepping on the back of a Needle Person in mid-air.
Seeing this, a ripple went through Illumi's eyes. While quickly locating him, he immediately prepared to detonate the Needle Person Morrow was stepping on, as well as the ones nearby.
However, before he could put the thought into action, Morrow disappeared again.
Hm?
Illumi's pupils constricted slightly.
An Emission-type teleportation ability with no 'time limit'?
Under his intense gaze, Morrow had indeed teleported to another Needle Person higher up, closing the distance between them even more.
A familiar feeling quietly spread from the bottom of Illumi's heart.
He had obtained such power by relying on the wishing machine.
But what about Morrow?
How did he, as a mere human, advance his ability to such a realm in a not-so-long period of time?
Illumi's heart trembled slightly, but he instantly suppressed these distracting thoughts that were useless in battle.
A teleportation ability with no time limit must consume more potential aura.
In a war of attrition and in terms of frontal combat ability, he could still gain the upper hand with the power granted by the wishing machine!
Bloodlust surged like a tide.
Relying on prediction, he preemptively detonated the Needle People higher up.
The timing of the detonation precisely caught the instant Morrow's figure disappeared again.
This meant his prediction was successful.
However...
Morrow's teleportation distance this time was much farther than the previous few.
This was a common feint in battle.
But when used at a critical moment, it could often bring about unexpected effects.
Just like that, Morrow slipped past the Needle People's self-destruct zone and appeared in front of Illumi.
Although Illumi hadn't anticipated this move, he still reacted with an extremely outstanding mental fortitude, launching the fastest possible counterattack in an instant.
A wisp of needle-sharp aura stabbed straight at Morrow's face.
It was a beadhead needle wreathed in black aura.
Morrow tilted his head slightly, letting the beadhead needle in Illumi's fingers graze past his cheek.
Illumi immediately flipped his wrist, about to plunge the needle's tip into Morrow's body.
The Nen, strengthened by death, had greatly enhanced the characteristics of his Needle People ability.
One of these enhancements was that he no longer needed to insert the Nen needle into the target's head to achieve compulsory manipulation.
To conceal this change, the Needle People Illumi currently controlled still had their Nen needles pinned in the most conspicuous spot on their heads.
This detail alone was enough to show Illumi's somewhat meticulous mind.
But it was meaningless.
Morrow's right hand shot out like lightning, grabbing Illumi's neck with even greater speed.
Illumi showed no sign of panic.
He had enough aura strength to defend against this attack from Morrow, and thus was confident he could plunge the Nen needle into Morrow's body before his neck was snapped.
Except...
Morrow made no attempt to snap Illumi's neck, and Illumi failed to push the Nen needle any further forward.
Because Illumi was suddenly unable to move.
It was as if he had been frozen in place.
What?!
Illumi's pupils trembled. As far as he could see, the black aura swirling around his body was being forcibly torn away and absorbed by Morrow's right hand.
Impossible!
My Nen... is clearly stronger than his!
The scene unfolding before him completely shattered Illumi's perception.
Watching the confident composure on his face crack and crumble, Morrow activated Tree Rings to absorb the Post-Mortem Nen while saying in a calm, flat voice, "You've worked hard. I can see you've been preparing for this moment for a long time."
Illumi tried to struggle, but his body and aura were completely unresponsive.
Of course they were.
The Post-Mortem Nen was what supported his current form, so once the source of that Post-Mortem Nen was choked off, he naturally couldn't even move an inch.
"I can also see that you've tried really hard to kill me, but..."
Morrow's tone was indifferent. "Illumi, I have no interest in the outcome of this fight. From the very beginning, I was only thinking about how to increase the value of 'waste recycling.' This difference, you can fully understand as the true gap between us."
Before his voice had even faded, the suction force of Tree Rings suddenly surged.
Illumi's expression was forever frozen in a moment of disbelief.
In the final moment before his consciousness faded, he finally understood.
Morrow's existence, to him, was perhaps the most special individual in the world, one he could never fight against, no matter what.
At the same time.
The number of rings on the back of Morrow's hand, starting from the fourth, skyrocketed to the fifth, then the sixth.
As he had expected, the energy that Illumi had pre-charged into the Nen needles could also be harvested by him.
And so, the Tree Rings energy, for the first time, broke through to the seventh ring.