Taro Kime staggered down the dimly lit streets, a wide, drunken grin plastered across his face. His steps were uneven, swaying slightly with every movement, but the confidence in his voice was unwavering as he spoke to his equally flushed brother, Yaru Kime.
"I'm telling you, brother," Taro slurred, throwing a careless glance at the glowing neon signs above, "those girls are so easy."
Yaru blinked, his cheeks red from both alcohol and excitement. "But brother… if this place is really that… heavenly… you should take me sometime."
Taro laughed, a booming, careless sound that echoed through the alleyways. "Me and you are blood brothers, Yaru. Don't you worry. I'll take you any one of these days, and I promise… you'll be like, 'Brother… you were right!' When there are twenty thousand girls all over you."
Yaru choked back a laugh, shaking his head. "Twenty thousand? That's quite an exaggeration, no?"
They both doubled over, laughing so hard their voices mingled with the hum of the city at night. But the laughter abruptly died when Taro's eyes landed on a small boy, standing alone, leaning against his car, the street light clearly highlighting him.
The boy was no more than twelve, but something about him made both brothers freeze in place. His hair was spiky, pure white like freshly fallen snow, striking against his pale skin. His eyes. Icy blue and wide, pierced through the dim light, giving him an intensity that made Taro's grin falter. The boy held a picture in his small hands, studying it with sharp, observant focus.
He wore an oversized dusty-blue hoodie, the hood resting loosely around his neck. His dark, wide-leg track pants bore a thick white stripe down the side, and the baggy fit of his clothing made him appear even smaller, almost fragile. Yet, there was a weight to his presence, a silent command of attention that neither Taro nor Yaru could shake.
Taro blinked once, then muttered under his breath, a brat…
But when their eyes met, Taro's drunken squint against the boy's piercing blue. Taro's expression shifted from annoyance to something almost… captivated. What beautiful eyes… he thought. I've never seen anything this beautiful in my life. More beautiful than the Scarlett Eyes.
Yaru's reaction mirrored his brother's, though his voice came out as a soft whisper, "Brother… are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
Taro straightened, shaking off the sudden awe, and forced a grin. He took a step forward, his voice loud and deceptively casual. "Hey brat. Don't you know it's dangerous to be out alone here in the night? There are some really bad people out here."
Yaru followed, hands tucked into his pockets, his posture unsteady but his voice filled with feigned concern. "Yes… it might be terrible if someone happened to kidnap you now, wouldn't it? Where's your mom and dad?"
The boy, Yuzuki, slowly lowered the picture he had been staring at. His icy gaze lifted, meeting Taro's directly. He spoke calmly, almost bored, but every word carried weight.
"The pictures match."
Taro froze mid-step. "Huh?…"
Yuzuki continued, his tone cold, precise, and unnervingly confident. "Taro 'Windslash' Kime. Bounty: 145 million Jenny. Nen Ability: Gale Edge. Manipulation and Emission type. Generates razor-sharp wind currents capable of slicing metal and redirecting attacks. Now, am I speaking to the right person?"
Taro's face darkened instantly. "Brat… who are you? And why do you know so much about me?"
Yaru, far less measured, instinctively pulled out a gun and pointed it at Yuzuki, shouting, "Stop asking questions, brother! Kill this brat! He knows too much… even your Nen type and ability!"
Taro's hand shot up, stopping him. "Yaru, don't be an idiot. Don't shoot or you'll damage the goods. Just look at this kid… he's beautiful, and with those eyes as well. This is the biggest catch of our lives. Royalty and nobles would pay a fortune for him."
He turned his piercing gaze back to Yuzuki, a slow, unnerving smile spreading across his face. "It doesn't matter how you know so much about me… so tell me. Why are you looking for me?"
Yuzuki's expression didn't waver. He stared at Taro deadpan, his icy-blue eyes locking on as if weighing the man's very soul. Then, suddenly, a manic smile spread across his face.
"I'm here to kill you, Taro. You've committed too many heinous crimes and don't deserve to live."
Taro's smile vanished. His instincts screamed danger. This kid was different. He's bad news.
"Yaru," Taro barked, voice sharp with panic and authority, "forget the money! Shoot this brat now!"
Yaru obeyed without hesitation, firing multiple rounds toward Yuzuki. But with the grace of a predator, Yuzuki leapt over the car, bullets ricocheting against metal and pavement.
"Shit… he's agile," Yaru muttered, eyes wide.
Yaru tried to flank him, running along the right side of the car. But before he could react further, Yuzuki reappeared on the left, holding a metal plate like a shield.
"There he is!" Yaru shouted, sprinting after him.
Taro joined the chase, frustration and disbelief flashing across his drunken face. Bullets flew, and Yuzuki blocked each one effortlessly with the plate, his movements precise and fluid. He counted every shot in his mind. When the last bullet struck the pavement harmlessly, he pivoted sharply, launching himself toward Yaru with a speed that left the man reeling.
Yaru's eyes widened in shock. What?
Yuzuki's movements were precise, almost effortless. With a fluid pivot, he delivered a perfectly timed drop kick to Yaru, sending him crashing into the window seal of a nearby car. The impact reverberated through the metal, the thud echoing down the quiet street.
"Yaru!" Taro bellowed, his voice sharp with panic and disbelief. Instantly, three razor-sharp wind slashes tore toward Yuzuki with whistling fury.
Yuzuki, calm as a predator stalking prey, danced around each strike. The wind slices shredded the air where he had been a heartbeat ago, cutting shallow grooves into the pavement and splintering the edges of nearby trash bins. He moved with almost playful ease, a ghost weaving between the deadly currents.
"Damn it!" Taro shouted, clenching his fists in frustration. "This brat… he's fast, agile, and he knows Nen!" His eyes darted, scanning for any sign of weakness. "Who the hell is this kid?!"
Yaru, blood streaking his face from earlier collisions, scrambled to free himself from the car's dented metal window frame. He fumbled, reloading his gun, but Yuzuki's eyes, icy and unreadable, locked onto him.
"I'm sorry," Yuzuki said, voice almost apologetic, "but you are not my target. I'm going to need you to stay out of this."
With a precise flick, he threw the metal plate like a boomerang. It spun through the air with a metallic hum, striking Yaru squarely in the chest and sending him sprawling, unconscious. Yuzuki landed silently a few meters away, observing the fallen man with a thoughtful tilt of his head.
I've been taking lives lightly since coming into this world, he thought to himself. The weight of a life… it's far heavier than I've been letting on. I've let power get into my head.
Taro, enraged, unleashed another trio of wind slashes. Yuzuki didn't even flinch. He sprinted left, weaving through the storm of blades, leaving the attacks to crash into the street where he had been standing moments before. Deep gouges scored the pavement, chunks of asphalt flying in every direction. He came to a smooth, precise stop, wiping a faint bead of sweat from his brow.
Disappointing, he mused internally. Taro has far less Nen than I expected. At this rate… he's basically nothing. He has zero percent chance of beating him.
He had even allowed himself to use the encounter as a simple test of his own reflexes, agility, and instincts but even that revealed how painfully slow Taro was. Yuzuki's sharp gaze scanned him, noting the man's predictable patterns, and he felt a faint pang of boredom.
"I'm sorry," Yuzuki said aloud, his voice soft yet carrying a deadly undertone. "I've seen enough. I will now kill you. And I'll make it swift."
Taro laughed, a low, dangerous chuckle. "Don't get cocky, brat. You're fast enough to dodge my Nen slashes, sure, but you should know something. Nen isn't what made me feared. No… it's my overwhelming power!"
Before Yuzuki could react, Taro surged forward, a cruel smile across his drunken face. His fist shot upward in a devastating punch, aimed directly at Yuzuki's chest. The air whistled with its momentum, charged with the invisible pressure of his Nen.
Yuzuki stood perfectly still, watching him with icy calm. Taro's eyes widened as Yuzuki made no move to dodge. Overconfident kid… he's mine now, Taro thought, the thrill of dominance flashing across his features.
But as his fist neared Yuzuki, it froze, suspended a mere meter away. Taro's eyes widened in sheer disbelief. "What!?" he barked, straining with all his might, yet the punch refused to move forward.
Yuzuki's smile widened, a cold, triumphant glint in his eyes. "Checkmate," he said.
Taro pushed with all his strength, muscles straining, Nen flaring in chaotic bursts, but it was useless. His mind spun in confusion. What is this… how can he…?
Yuzuki's voice cut through the chaos, calm and deliberate. "You see… my Nen Ability is called Limitless. Its base function is Infinity. Essentially, I divide the space between us infinitely, so your fist cannot reach me. There's a more detailed explanation, of course but we don't have time for that. Simply put: I have more Nen than you, so you cannot touch me."
Taro staggered back, disbelief etched into every line of his face. "Impossible… it's impossible to use such an ability without losing a ton of Nen…"
Yuzuki's hand slipped into his jacket, producing a sleek gun. His gaze was cold, unwavering. "Well… I have my eyes to thank for this," he murmured, and fired.
The bullet struck Taro straight in the heart. He made a final, fleeting expression of pure disbelief, a frozen scream in his wide, drunken eyes, before collapsing to the ground. The night air seemed to hold its breath, the city streets eerily silent save for the settling of debris from their earlier skirmish.
Somewhere high above the buildings, a figure watched with keen interest. A girl in a pink dress, her yellow hair tied in playful double ponytails, leaned against the edge of the rooftop. Her smile was wide, sharp, and tinged with amusement.
"I came here to buy a diamond back from that Taro guy," she said softly, her eyes sparkling with delight, "but it seems… I've found a much better diamond now, haven't I?"
Her gaze lingered on Yuzuki below, calculating, curious. There was a sharpness in her expression, a glimmer of anticipation for what this prodigy might do next.
This was Two-Star Stone Hunter, Biscuit Kruger.