Hunter: I Became Stronger After Death

Half a year.

That was how long Moro had been practicing nen.

In terms of technique, aura control, and even potential aura capacity...

Moro was far inferior to the veterans standing before him. Worse yet, he lacked battle experience with nen abilities.

He—

Had never had lofty ambitions.

If anything, his only goal was to live well, eat well, and sleep soundly.

That's why he never sought trouble, choosing instead to quietly refine his nen while earning money to repay Morena.

As for combat, he had sparred a few times with Saisin, posing as an Enhancer, but those were nothing more than friendly scuffles.

Now, with his life on the line, did he regret not spending more time sharpening his skills?

Moro didn't regret it—nor did he have the luxury of pondering such things.

He only knew one thing: he had to rely on his nen ability to find a sliver of hope in this nearly inescapable situation.

But before using his nen ability, he needed to create an opening—

In the silence, Moro's mind raced.

Chrollo had stopped Kortopi out of curiosity, but Moro didn't believe for a second that Chrollo would patiently wait for his response.

After all, there was Pakunoda's memory-searching ability. Once they captured him alive, they could extract all his secrets effortlessly.

Even if Moro revealed the name of Chrollo's nen ability and its conditions and restrictions, it probably wouldn't disrupt Chrollo's focus.

So how could he use the limited opportunity of "speaking" to his advantage?

What could he say to shake the composure of the people before him?

Faced with a life-or-death crisis, Moro's mind burned like wildfire.

Then, a name naturally came to him—

Sarasa.

That name was tied to the very formation of the Phantom Troupe and remained a painful wound for Chrollo and the others.

"Sarasa."

Without hesitation, Moro loudly uttered the name buried deep in the hearts of Chrollo, Pakunoda, and Shalnark.

The street, the wind, the rain.

A name that had no place here erupted like a tidal wave, striking Chrollo, Pakunoda, and Shalnark's hearts with raw force.

How did this boy before them know Sarasa's name?

As confusion flashed in their minds, Moro seized the moment.

"Fraudulent Shooting Star."

Moro raised both hands, conjuring two egg-sized, glowing green nen projectiles in his palms.

The green nen orbs immediately shot forward, heading straight for the momentarily distracted Pakunoda and Shalnark.

Direct hit on the opening!

In an instant, the glowing green nen bullets reached Pakunoda and Shalnark.

But Kortopi, who showed no reaction to the name "Sarasa," intervened at the last second. He shoved Shalnark aside, saving him from the oncoming attack.

At the same time, Chrollo, with his extraordinary composure, steadied himself in the final moments and yanked Pakunoda out of harm's way.

The two green nen bullets missed their targets.

Meanwhile, Moro dashed toward the sidewalk.

The person guarding the back door...

Judging by the violent killing intent, they were undoubtedly one of the Troupe's enforcers.

Until that person revealed themselves, Moro would never risk heading in that direction.

His only escape route was along the sidewalks!

Glancing back quickly at Chrollo and the others, Moro noted the failure of his Fraudulent Shooting Star.

Ultimately, it was because his Hatsu wasn't polished enough—he couldn't unleash his ability any faster.

But Moro couldn't deny that in this brief minute of contact, he had come to truly understand Chrollo's brilliance.

Characters with names and reputations in the original story were not to be trifled with.

Moro turned his gaze forward. Though his Shooting Star had missed, he felt no disappointment.

His Fraudulent Shooting Star had a second stage…

"Apologies," Shalnark muttered on the deserted street as he regained his composure, his brows furrowing slightly.

Kortopi gave Shalnark a puzzled look before turning his attention to Moro, now sprinting through the rain, and began pursuing him.

Chrollo's gaze was icy as he dashed forward, his figure cutting through the rain like a shadow as he chased after Moro.

Shalnark and Pakunoda steadied themselves and followed suit.

Questions lingered, but once they captured Moro, all their doubts would be answered.

Ahead.

Moro glanced back at his pursuers.

"Just about…"

Calculating the timing in his head, Moro raised his right hand, preparing to intercept the returning stars.

Moro's Fraudulent Shooting Star was a composite Emission-Operation ability with a maximum range of 100 meters.

When the stars reached their limit, they would freeze in mid-air for 1–5 seconds, depending on the pre-set duration.

Once the delay was over, the stars' power, speed, and size would double as they reversed trajectory, homing in on Moro.

This secondary enhancement was a conditional effect of the ability, tied to a restriction:

The returning stars could harm Moro himself.

In other words, if no obstacles blocked their path, Moro would have to either dodge them or endure their impact.

The reason Moro had imposed this restriction lay in the rings on his right hand.

Under the rings, his entire hand was as tough as a tortoise shell...

Allowing him to deflect the returning stars with his hand.

Having calculated the timing, Moro adjusted his stance without warning.

Amidst the endless sound of wind and rain, two faint noises suddenly rang out.

Moments later, two glowing green projectiles pierced through the rain, radiating dangerous energy as they hurtled toward Pakunoda and Shalnark.

The suddenness of the event caught them off guard. With Chrollo and Kortopi leading the pursuit, neither could come to their aid.

As the stars, now twice as powerful, closed in, Shalnark barely managed to react, twisting his body slightly to avoid a direct hit.

The star struck his side, tearing away a chunk of flesh from his waist, as though bitten by a monstrous maw.

Pakunoda was a fraction slower.

Blood sprayed as the star tore through her upper torso, leaving a gaping hole. Her lifeless body collapsed to the ground.

The sudden development disrupted Chrollo and Kortopi's rhythm.

Seeing his opportunity, Moro poured most of his remaining aura into his legs and sprinted forward with all his might.

He had done all he could—if he still couldn't escape, he was prepared to accept his fate.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, he caught a fleeting glimpse of a shadow out of the corner of his eye:

A face contorted in malice, eyes brimming with rage.

Phinks?!

The thought barely registered before Moro felt a cold sensation on his nose.

His consciousness unraveled like a string stretched to its limit, snapping away in an instant.

In his final moment of awareness, a single question echoed in his mind:

Am I… dead?

Cold. Shaking.

Moro's eyes flew open. What greeted him were rows of vertical, rusted iron bars.

It looked like a cage.

"Where… is this?"

He stared at his surroundings, bewildered.

The lingering sensation of death still clung to him, but it was quickly replaced by a flood of memories.

He was back to the moment he had first crossed over into this world—a year ago!

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