"Today's fighters are our two biggest hot topics!"
The booming voice of the arena announcer echoed across the entire audience.
"Let us welcome—one of the most promising contenders to challenge the Floor Master—Hisoka!"
Under the spotlight, Hisoka strode toward the arena, waving to the crowd and even blowing them a flying kiss.
Cheers erupted. A fighting star like Hisoka had no shortage of fans here in Heaven's Arena.
"And the challenger facing Hisoka—someone we're not unfamiliar with either. The rising star of recent days—Hyuga Arin!!"
The spotlight swung to the opposite entrance.
Amid the roaring cheers—
Hyuga Arin stepped onto the arena with an expressionless face.
Though he was a newcomer who had arrived only days ago, Hyuga Arin had fought all the way from the first floor to the 200th without a single defeat, accumulating quite a following of his own.
Even if he didn't care in the slightest.
"Fighting under spotlights like this… I'm really not used to it," Hyuga Arin sighed helplessly.
Even after staying here for so long, he still hadn't adapted to Heaven's Arena's style of combat.
Old habits from childhood died hard—ninja training emphasized hiding oneself completely, striking from the shadows with a fatal blow.
"And now—let the match… begin!!"
This time, even the referee didn't dare linger on the stage and hurriedly retreated.
These two were living Yamas. One slip-up, and the referee might die on the spot.
"Looks like you're pretty disappointed with Heaven's Arena," Hisoka said, idly flicking playing cards between his fingers.
"The fighting frequency is too low. And now no one even wants to fight me," Hyuga Arin replied flatly.
He'd thought this place was some kind of EXP paradise.
Turns out… just this?
It wasn't even as good as casually killing a few people on the battlefield.
"Well, you do kill a bit too ruthlessly," Hisoka said, not realizing that he himself wasn't much better.
Still, compared to Hyuga Arin, Hisoka showed restraint.
Apples with growth potential—Hisoka would leave them alive to mature.
Hyuga Arin wasn't like that. If he could kill you, he absolutely would.
Hisoka was a fruit farmer, carefully cultivating premium apples.
Hyuga Arin was a lawnmower—good or bad, everything got cut.
They seemed like the same kind of person, yet their approaches to enemies were fundamentally different.
Whoosh.Whoosh.
The two appeared simultaneously at the center of the arena, engaging in close combat.
Hisoka's speed and strength were terrifying, his punches and kicks amplified by Nen to astonishing levels.
Though Transmutation-types weren't as strong as Enhancers, they could still exert about eighty percent of that power.
Hyuga Arin's Gentle Fist formed an airtight defense—soft yet hard, fluid yet sharp—actually suppressing Hisoka.
His palms struck like dense raindrops, tapping Hisoka's tenketsu points in rapid succession.
If not for Hisoka's quick Nen defense, he would have already lost his fighting ability.
This was high-level Nen application—Flow.
Hisoka lightly tapped the ground and leapt back, disengaging once he realized close combat wouldn't give him the advantage.
With a flick of his wrist, several playing cards flew out.
Hyuga Arin raised his hand as well, throwing shuriken to collide with the cards midair.
"Your close-combat skills are impressive," Hisoka said sincerely.
Of course they were.
Hyuga Arin curled his lips slightly. Last night, he'd used [Brain Booster] to delve deeply into Gentle Fist.
[Gentle Fist (Lv8) EXP (0/12800) Trait (None)]
After level seven, each level of Gentle Fist was a qualitative leap.
Now, even against jōnin-level ninjas in close combat, he wasn't afraid.
With high-level Gentle Fist alone, he could fight them head-on.
This exchange was only preliminary probing.
Hisoka widened the distance again, cards appearing between his fingers and flying toward Hyuga Arin.
"Unknowable Fire."
Flames ignited in Hyuga Arin's hands as he faced the incoming cards.
"Bear Paw Technique!"
Faint pads emerged on his palms.
"Fireball Cannon!"
Compressed air shells wrapped in flames blasted forward, incinerating the flying cards completely.
"I won't give you time to set anything up."
Hyuga Arin activated his Byakugan, locking his gaze onto Hisoka. With Gyo reinforcing his vision, he could see all Nen clearly.
Hisoka fought like a magician—hiding what mattered, showing you what he wanted you to see. When the trick was complete, the opponent was already dead.
"This is just wonderful," Hisoka said, his expression full of enjoyment.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Fireballs struck around Hisoka, only to be wrapped in a layer of pink Nen. As the fire pushed forward, it was like hitting rubber—the pink aura stretched elastically.
In the next instant, all the fireballs rebounded.
"Rotation!!"
A blue chakra dome enveloped Hyuga Arin, blocking the returning fireballs and dispersing them completely.
When the Rotation ended, Hisoka had vanished from Hyuga Arin's sight.
"Above!" Hyuga Arin, who had been tracking Hisoka the whole time, immediately looked up.
He saw Hisoka descending from above, two cards in hand.
Hyuga Arin took a deep breath.
"Fire Release · Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
A blazing fire dragon burst forth, charging straight at Hisoka.
"Oh my." Hisoka let out a light sigh as the Nen wrapped around his waist suddenly tugged, pulling him sideways.
"Don't think you can escape!!" Hyuga Arin controlled the fire dragon, making it chase Hisoka relentlessly.
But in the next instant, Hyuga Arin's expression changed.
A tremendous pulling force suddenly appeared on one of his arms, yanking his entire body upward.
Without Hyuga Arin's control, the fire dragon crashed heavily into the arena.
BOOM!!
A massive crater appeared in the stage.
Hisoka, holding cards in both hands, looked up at Hyuga Arin being dragged toward the ceiling.
"You're paying too much attention to me," Hisoka chuckled. "You didn't even notice that I'd already stuck my Nen onto you."
During their close combat, he'd attached his Nen to Hyuga Arin.
And Hyuga Arin, focused entirely on observing Hisoka, had neglected himself.
Hyuga Arin landed upside down on the ceiling, taking a sharp breath.
"Fire Release · Great Fire Dragon—"
The ceiling suddenly shattered, interrupting his jutsu as he fell along with the collapsing debris.
"You didn't think I forgot you could stand anywhere, did you?" Hisoka sprang upward from the ground, cards in hand.
At the very moment they were about to collide—
Hyuga Arin vanished.
Hisoka looked down at the arena floor.
Hyuga Arin had reappeared there instantly.
The Nen sticking him to the ceiling was suddenly dispelled, while Nen under his feet yanked him back down.
Almost instantly, Hisoka was dragged back onto the arena as well.
"You brushed against my aura just now," Hisoka said with a light laugh, raising a card in his hand. Pink Nen wrapped around it, the other end connected to Hyuga Arin.
Whoosh.
Pulled by Nen, the card shot straight toward Hyuga Arin.
"Exorcise."
Hyuga Arin placed a hand on his shoulder, erasing the Nen instantly.
He tilted his head slightly as the card sliced past his cheek.
"What an unexpected ability," Hisoka said, looking thoroughly satisfied.
Hyuga Arin inhaled deeply.
Again.
"Fire Release · Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
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