A brilliant gold fireball blazed in Natsu's hands. Even from a distance, one could feel its scorching heat.
"Go!"
With a forceful throw, Natsu hurled the fireball like a baseball toward the ground. The instant it landed, it exploded and spread in every direction. In the blink of an eye, the entire area was transford into a sea of flas, burning away every vine in sight. Ron could almost hear countless wails echoing through the inferno.
After a long while, the flas receded. In the center of the scorched ground, a figure struggled to stand. But before he could fully regain his balance:
"Rashōmon—Susano'o!"
Uchiha Sasuke shifted forms, summoning a small, dark-red giant behind him. In one swift move—bang!—Sasuke appeared in front of the young man, fist clenched, and slamd it straight into his head. The enormous impact caved in the man's face, instantly flattening it.
Bang! Another punch sent blood splattering everywhere. Then Sasuke hauled the young man off the ground, grabbing his left arm with one hand and his right arm with the other, pinning his legs underfoot so that he hung there like a figure on a cross. The mont the young man tried to struggle, a crackle of lightning coursed over his entire body, causing him to convulse violently.
"Have you cald down now?" Sasuke asked. "Ready to talk?"
"Talk about what?" The man's gaze wavered in confusion.
"Why you want to kill Ponzu."
At Ponzu's na, he erupted in fury again, his face twisting into a savage grimace. Another flash of lightning ran through him, and only then did he settle slightly.
"What happened in your village?" Ron pressed.
The young man seed to recall sothing, but at the ntion of Ponzu, he would fall back into madness. Ron had no choice but to signal Sasuke to use more lightning techniques, forcing him to remain lucid.
"Who's pulling your strings?"
"Who sent you?"
"…Anyone else involved?"
Ron asked nurous questions, but none yielded answers. So made the young man go berserk imdiately, while others triggered delayed hysteria as he tried to rember. It was as if sothing in his mind set off a trap whenever certain topics ca up.
"What's your na?" Ron tried asking.
A fleeting look of recognition passed through the young man's eyes before he descended into another bout of frenzy. More lightning surged through his body—bang!—and as if reaching so extre limit, countless vines burst out of him. Though calling them "plants," to Ron, it looked more like they were "fleeing," scuttling away from the young man's skin, dropping to the ground and burrowing deep into the soil.
As more vines escaped, the man's body grew shriveled. Curiously, his mind cleared a bit. Ron seized the chance:
"Who are you? What happened in your village? Why are you so intent on killing Ponzu?"
He showed no reaction to the first questions, but at Ponzu's na, rage overca him once more.
"Why?" he shouted.
"Why is Ponzu the only one allowed to live? Why only her? It's not fair! Not fair!"
He howled in desperation. "I want to live, too! Why not ? Who decided that?"
Suddenly, his whole body convulsed. With a wet cough, he spat out a mouthful of blood. His life force ebbed rapidly. Ron wished he could heal him enough to get more information, but it was impossible—his life energy had been pushed far beyond its limits. Just like a novice Nen user who'd opened their aura nodes without learning Ten, he was losing energy faster than he could maintain it…perhaps even worse.
It was clear he'd never had the potential to reach A-level on his own. This power ca from overtaxing his body—draining every last drop of his life force.
The vines were the real reason he could fight at that level.
"Are those things another form of those insects?" Ron muttered, eyeing the ground.
"It's very likely," he continued answering his own question "He and Ponzu are from the sa village, and from what we know, her background is unique. His words gave us a clue: it seems Ponzu was the only one who made it out of that village alive. The others weren't 'qualified' to survive or leave. That difference probably has sothing to do with the Bee Queen."
Ron's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Chances are, this wasn't so external enemy. There must've been trouble inside the village itself."
After the struggle ended, Ron moved away from the battlefield. He opened a door in the side of a cliff, and Ponzu and Ruco stepped out. At Ron's signal, the doorway vanished.
"Captain, what happened?" Shiba asked.
"We were attacked."
Ron decided not to reveal too many details to Ponzu until Gogus finished his research. No need to burden her with baseless speculation.
"It's settled now. Let's keep going," Ron said.
"Captain," Ponzu asked hesitantly, "that place we were just in—was that your Nen ability?"
He nodded. "Yes."
"That's amazing! It's like an entirely different dinsion. Can we develop abilities like that, too?"
"You'll have to discover that for yourselves," Ron replied.
He pulled a car out from Sumas's space, started the engine, and set off. After about two hours, the trio arrived in a city and parked in a hotel's underground lot.
"Ruco, did you check the airship schedule?" Ron asked.
"There's one leaving tonight."
"Then book it. I'll take Ponzu and head out tomorrow—I accepted another job," Ron said.
"All right."
They had dinner, and Ron escorted Ruco to the airship station.
"Goodbye, Captain," Shiba called, waving from afar.
"Take care," Ron replied.
Once Ruco boarded, Ron and Ponzu returned to the hotel. Fresh from a shower, Ponzu wore cozy, cartoon-patterned pajamas. She approached Ron, looking like she wanted to say sothing but hesitated.
"Ponzu? What's on your mind?" Ron asked.
"Captain…am I just lacking in talent?"
She looked troubled, her question lingering in the air.
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