Chapter 376: Chapter 376: Hisoka’s Request
Kaizen’s arrangement with Sheila was simple—she worked for him, unpaid.
He had no intention of letting her leave the Sumus space. In fact, he didn’t even plan to communicate with her directly.
To Kaizen, she was essentially free labor. A B-rank worker he had acquired without spending a single Jenny.
Still, Sheila had her uses.
The forest area within Sumus housed a large number of dangerous creatures. Without proper management, they could spiral out of control. To survive, Sheila had no choice but to keep them in check.
In that sense, it seemed unfair to her.
But then again, there was one undeniable fact—she was alive because of Kaizen.
Had he not intervened, Sheila would have been long dead.
By that logic, her life belonged to him.
Kaizen thought about another A-rank Nen user imprisoned within the pyramid inside Sumus.
For now, that prisoner served as a test subject—a training dummy for his experiments.
Whenever Kaizen acquired a new ability or had an idea he wanted to verify, he would use this prisoner to test it out.
A perfect sparring partner.
The captive had formidable strength, ranking at A-class. And since he was trapped inside Sumus, specifically in the pyramid, there was zero risk. If Kaizen ever found himself in danger, Sumus’ power would intervene, guaranteeing his safety.
Back when Kaizen first arrived at Heavens Arena, he had joined TST to scout for potential allies. But in the end, TST turned out to be useless.
The fighters there were too weak to be of any real help.
They couldn’t move freely with him, either.
But the Nen user imprisoned in Sumus could.
...
A shadowy figure approached Kaizen.
"Hisoka?"
Kaizen tensed instinctively.
Even though he was fairly certain Hisoka wouldn’t betray him during this Hunter Exam, he couldn’t be completely sure.
After all, who could truly predict what went on inside Hisoka’s head?
"Interested in a fight?" Hisoka asked, his usual grin in place.
"With you?"
"Exactly."
"Not interested."
"Even if it’s just a light spar?"
Kaizen frowned slightly.
"A light spar?"
That didn’t sound like the Hisoka he knew.
Hisoka wasn’t the type to be satisfied with half-measures.
Besides, Kaizen wasn’t Gon. He wasn’t some greenhorn waiting to grow strong enough to entertain Hisoka.
Unlike them, Kaizen was already a formidable opponent.
Hisoka’s excitement came from the unknown. From seeing how an opponent’s abilities unfolded in battle.
Like a game of Gungi—each move countered with another, each strategy dismantled and rebuilt. That was what thrilled him.
So why was he suddenly suggesting a casual match?
There was only one explanation.
Hisoka was desperate for a fight.
"Can I trust you?" Kaizen asked.
Hisoka’s expression shifted ever so slightly.
"I promise."
Hisoka’s voice carried an unusual weight.
"Between you and Illumi, he’s the one I truly want to fight. I wouldn’t risk ruining my chance to battle him just for a quick match with you."
"If I killed you, Illumi might come after me. And if he did, I’d probably end up dead."
"Assassination is his specialty, after all."
"Of course, there’s a chance I’d kill him instead. But either way... it wouldn’t be ideal."
Kaizen nodded slightly.
Hisoka’s promise wasn’t worth much, but his interest in Illumi was genuine.
In the original story, he had even gone as far as making "engagement rings" just to mess with him.
...
"You make a good point," Kaizen admitted. "But I’m an assassin."
Hisoka blinked, intrigued.
"What do you mean?"
"I don’t fight for fun. I don’t kill for pleasure. It’s a job. If you want me to fight, you’d better pay me."
Hisoka’s eyes gleamed.
"Payment?"
"That’s right."
"So you are interested."
"Depends. If your offer meets my expectations, I’ll accept. But I have conditions—this will be a controlled fight. The moment I decide to stop, we stop."
Hisoka’s grin widened.
"How about a billion Jenny?"
Kaizen shook his head.
"I don’t need money."
"Then what do you want?"
"Rare Nen-related materials. Mysterious artifacts. Something worth my time."
Hisoka fell silent for a moment.
Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small glass container.
Inside was a shimmering, water-blue substance.
Kaizen’s eyes widened slightly.
"Liquid ore?"
He recognized it immediately.
An elder from the Kurta Clan had once mentioned it—a substance with mysterious properties, supposedly tied to advanced technology.
Kaizen didn’t have a scientific background.
But Altan did.
With her expertise, he could unlock the ore’s secrets.
Moreover, Sumus was essentially a mobile research facility.
If Altan studied this properly, the results could be groundbreaking.
And if this ore came from the Dark Continent...
Then it might be a key to something much bigger.
Kaizen hadn’t expected Hisoka to have something like this.
Logically, liquid ore should’ve been under tight control by the world’s leading nations.
Yet here it was, in Hisoka’s hands.
"This will do," Kaizen said.
Hisoka’s expression turned eager.
Kaizen continued, "You know I’m a Beast-type Nen user. Fighting my real body wouldn’t be what you’re looking for."
"So, let’s set some ground rules."
"I’ll summon two Nen beasts for you to fight."
"You’re not allowed to attack me directly."
"I’ll make sure my beasts fight you seriously for at least ten minutes."
"But when I say stop, we stop."
Hisoka’s eyes flickered with excitement.
"And how do I know you’ll really give it your all?"
Kaizen shrugged.
"Believe me or don’t. Just like I have to believe you won’t break the ’point-to-stop’ rule."
Hisoka chuckled.
"Fair enough. So... shall we begin?"
"Let’s."
Kaizen activated his ability.
In an instant, two imposing figures emerged at his side.
------------
+415 Chapters on