A young man with cloudy eyes stood at the edge, scanning his surroundings while hiding his aura, searching for an opportunity.
Finally, he found it.
He approached the old O.
The target was exactly where the old man had broken his arm.
The wild beast battling the Old O noticed the young man's movements and quickly intensified his assault, leaving the old man no energy to spare for the newcomer.
"Pfft!"
A sharp blade pierced the old man's severed arm.
Pain contorted old O's face, and he growled, "Get away!"
With a single strike, the young man was sent flying backward, his chest scorched black. The flames had burned not only his clothes but also the flesh beneath.
Yet the young man seemed unfazed, flashing a smug smile at old O. "The battle is over!"
He raised the dagger in his hand and licked the blood from its blade.
"My ability is to manipulate blood! Now that you have a wound, the blood will keep flowing. And it will all obey my commands!"
The young man raised his hand in triumph. But Old O's expression shifted to one of unease as he felt the blood in his body begin to stir.
Suddenly, Old O's face hardened. He raised his other hand, bringing it close to the wound on his severed arm. Magma erupted from his palm, scorching the wound and sealing it shut.
The young man's ability faltered, its power slipping away.
Old O glared at the young man, a shadow crossing his face.
Panic flashed in the young man's eyes, but it was too late.
Old O lunged at him, shouting, "Die!"
The wild beast member fell again. By now, five of their ranks were down, leaving only seven of the twelve beasts standing.
The suited young man's face paled. "The strength of the Kute Gang of Thieves is too much. Our wild beasts are no match for them. We need to report this to the elders."
He turned to a nearby figure. "Get back quickly and relay this information."
A petite woman, seemingly fragile, sprang into action at the suited man's command. She materialized a broom and took to the skies.
"Don't let her escape!" shouted a member of the Kute Gang.
Old U created a water dragon, sending it hurtling toward the woman.
Old O hurled a mass of magma at her, while Old T slammed his hand down, causing a tree to shoot up from the ground, its branches sweeping toward her.
Old K summoned another Nen Beast, this one winged and airborne.
But the wild beasts weren't without their own abilities. A shirtless young man clapped his hands, and suddenly, Old K's Nen Beast switched places.
A short-haired boy observed Old U's water dragon. "Come down!"
In an instant, the water dragon plummeted to the ground, rendered powerless.
Meanwhile, a middle-aged man with a bald head, masked and wielding a massive axe, charged at the tree created by Old T. With each swing, he cleaved through the wood, the tree collapsing under the assault.
"Don't underestimate our wild beasts! We're the elite of Meteor City!"
Despite only having six members left, the wild beasts' resolve intensified. The remaining fighters were the true strong ones, having survived the earlier skirmish.
The suited man began to issue commands.
"Be careful. Don't engage directly, our goal is to buy time, not eliminate them. Time is on our side."
The others nodded, including the two A-level Nen users.
It was unusual for a B-level to lead two A-levels, but the wild beasts accepted it without question.
Old K regarded the suited man with interest. "Interesting."
The bald butcher approached Old T, axe in hand.
Old T frowned, this was not the kind of opponent he preferred to face.
But the bald butcher wouldn't give him a chance to swap.
The shirtless young man matched up against Old K, both of them A-rank troublemakers among the wild beasts.
The suited man positioned himself before Old O, with a white-haired boy serving as his assistant. Before Old U stood a pair of twin women, both possessing transformation abilities. One wielded a melee weapon while the other utilized long-range attacks, working in tandem to keep Old U at bay in a temporary stalemate.
The suited man knew this standoff was only momentary. The wild beasts were indeed outmatched by the Kute Gang of Thieves. If they reverted to their previous combat strategies, more would fall.
As they stalled for time, he felt the pressure mount. "Time!"
At that moment, the suited man wished more than anything for time to pass quickly. Every second felt like agony.
He waited for two things: potential support from the elders and for his own Nen to activate.
But that activation was still a long way off.
"Hopefully, we can hold out until then. These guys are tough! Is this really the world's top criminal group? I still can't fathom how Zoldyck's people managed to sever that guy's arm."
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