HunterxHunter: I Became Stronger After Death

A paper fan, a kimono, and wooden clogs.

A bowl-cut hairstyle and a delicate, doll-like face.

These features immediately confirmed Moro's suspicion—

Kortopi had come for him.

And judging by the poorly concealed killing intent, it was obvious—

This was an assassination mission.

Moro had previously considered Kortopi's tracking abilities when searching for Feitan,

but he never expected to meet him under these circumstances.

But then again,

the Zoldyck family was always full of bizarre individuals.

Letting a mere child take on an assassination request against a Nen user?

Even with Nen,

the risks far outweighed the benefits for someone so young.

But perhaps it was precisely this kind of insane training regimen

that allowed the Zoldyck family to produce one monster after another.

Still, Moro couldn't help but think—

if Illumi or even Silva had been sent instead…

now that would be a real problem.

His gaze fell on Kortopi's six-to-seven-year-old face.

At that moment,

he suddenly felt that the Zoldycks' insanity might actually be a good thing.

Kortopi's Decision to Kill

Technically,

Kortopi had already completed the mission.

He found the target.

That alone fulfilled the conditions of the contract.

He didn't need to go through with the assassination.

But…

Operators are willful.

Sometimes, taking action was simply a way to assert dominance.

Kortopi stepped out of the alley,

standing at the intersection.

His small frame was now enveloped in dense, refined Nen.

Opening his fan,

he covered the lower half of his face,

his deep purple eyes locking onto Moro's figure.

"I thought I hid myself well enough,"

Kortopi's voice was clear and childish,

but his tone was far too steady for his age.

Moro, maintaining a calm demeanor,

released his Nen to its fullest extent and responded:

"You thought you hid well."

"But in reality?"

"The killing intent you leaked out was just like this filthy alley water—"

"Impossible to ignore."

One benefit of experiencing countless death replays

was heightened sensitivity to killing intent.

So it wasn't that Kortopi's concealment was bad.

For his age,

it was already exceptionally good.

But Moro's experience and perception

were simply on another level.

Kortopi didn't know this.

He only saw that Moro was mocking him.

His expression immediately hardened.

Even as a Zoldyck,

even after enduring hellish training—

He was still a child.

And a child couldn't help but feel anger

when belittled.

"Die."

Kortopi's cold, childlike voice

was tinged with murderous intent.

He loosened his left hand,

letting thin, long paper slips fall to the ground.

At the same time,

he swung his right hand,

causing a gust of wind to scatter the paper into the air.

In an instant—

The scattered paper transformed into a storm of deadly projectiles,

rushing toward Moro like a rain of arrows.

Moro, however,

simply sidestepped.

The paper shards missed completely,

embedding themselves into a nearby metal door with a sharp clang-clang-clang.

Moro didn't even bother looking back.

Instead, he glanced up—

Toward the sky.

The Hidden Attack

Above,

countless tiny triangular paper shards

floated down like snowflakes.

At first glance,

they seemed harmless.

But Moro knew better.

These triangles were the real threat.

Kortopi's strategy was clear:

The larger, visible paper shards were a distraction. The tiny, unassuming paper flakes were the real killers.

If even one stuck to him,

it could mean instant death.

Moro lowered his gaze and moved forward,

launching a small Nen projectile upward as he walked.

A single finger flick—

BANG!

The projectile exploded mid-air,

obliterating all of the falling paper shards.

Even with such a precise detonation,

none of the surrounding wires or infrastructure were damaged.

Kortopi's eyes widened slightly.

"Damn it…"

His lips tightened.

The difference was already painfully clear.

He couldn't even touch him.

A Futile Dance

Not willing to give up,

Kortopi swung his wide kimono sleeves,

scattering more paper into the air.

Then, in a strangely elegant motion,

he twirled his fan.

The moment he did—

The falling paper seemed to come alive,

fluttering toward Moro like drifting willow leaves.

Moro's sharp eyes instantly spotted—

Hidden among them were more of those triangular death traps.

"So obvious…"

For all his training,

Kortopi was still a child.

He lacked the cunning of an experienced assassin.

Even without knowing the exact effect of the triangles,

the fact that they were hiding among decoys

made them easy to avoid.

A Crushing Disparity

SWOOSH—!

Moro swept his leg through the filthy alley water,

coating his Nen over the liquid.

The water rose up,

forming a liquid barrier—

Blocking Kortopi's paper attack.

At the same time,

Moro stepped forward,

his Nen suddenly shattering into countless star-like fragments.

"Stellar Convergence."

Accompanied by a celestial glow,

Moro walked straight through Kortopi's attack.

Kortopi panicked.

His instincts screamed DANGER!

He jumped back,

his paper fan brimming with killing intent.

At that very moment—

The first wave of paper projectiles,

which had embedded in the metal door,

suddenly reversed direction—

Flying straight toward Moro's back!

It was a brilliant tactic—

But Moro never even turned around.

As if he had eyes in the back of his head,

he sidestepped perfectly,

dodging every single one.

A second later—

He was in Kortopi's striking range.

A Total Breakdown

Kortopi's face twisted.

This wasn't a fight.

It was a complete and utter domination.

He slashed upward with his Nen-infused fan,

but Moro simply leaned back to avoid it.

At the same time,

Moro reached out—

For Kortopi's wrist.

A surge of fear exploded within Kortopi.

He ripped his hand back,

but—

He hadn't accounted for the length of his fan.

If he wasn't fast enough,

he'd still be caught.

So, in a split-second decision—

He abandoned his weapon.

Moro's fingers missed his wrist—

Instead, he caught Kortopi's discarded fan.

Holding the fan,

Moro looked at the retreating boy,

His gaze filled with boredom.

"That's it?"

"That's all you've got?"

Kortopi's face paled.

The gap was too wide.

So wide,

he couldn't even see the possibility of victory.

Damn it…!

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