After blasting open the gate to District Eleven, Ryo was met with an intense hail of gunfire.
With the Six Eyes, he could see the presence of Nen and quickly realized that most of the people behind the gate lacked Nen abilities. Occasionally, a few had Nen, but they didn't seem particularly strong.
However, each of them was armed.
If he could activate Infinity, Ryo wouldn't worry about them at all, as no bullet could touch him with Infinity active. But he hadn't yet gained Infinity or the RCT.
So he had to dodge carefully; too many injuries, and he'd be dead.
"Good. This makes it more fun. I don't like boring games," the white-haired, blue-eyed boy smirked, his grin wild and the markings on his face adding a hint of wickedness.
The Six Eyes allowed him to observe the trajectory of the bullets, helping him dodge them.
At first, he found this dodging game somewhat interesting.
But as time went on, constant dodging became tedious.
Not wanting to keep avoiding, he had two options — take the bullets head-on or eliminate every armed enemy.
But he needed to wait a little longer.
Just a bit more, and his cursed energy would be fully restored.
The white-haired figure moved with agility through the dense storm of bullets, weaving through without a scratch.
With the Six Eyes' 360-degree vision, he could even avoid attacks coming from behind.
A very useful pair of eyes.
Except… they were exhausting.
The Six Eyes' mental toll was higher than he had anticipated, his head throbbing as if a saw were grinding inside his brain.
And the occasional nosebleeds forced him to wipe his nose with his sleeve every now and then.
Annoying.
He bit his tongue, swallowing the blood pooling in his mouth. As he tasted the metallic tang, he sensed his cursed energy was ready, a crazed smile spreading across his face as he raised his hand.
"Blue."
"Dismantle."
"Blue."
Without pause, he unleashed two attacks in rapid succession, instantly killing most of the enemies around him. Some were obliterated by Blue, leaving no intact bodies behind.
The third use of Blue, however, wasn't an attack; he used it for high-speed movement.
He broke through the encirclement and stormed into District Eleven.
Then came District Ten, District Nine, District Eight…
His already pale skin seemed to grow even whiter, and his body accumulated numerous wounds.
His once white hoodie had almost turned completely red from blood.
"Ugh… persistent pests." He glanced at the inverted pentagram that appeared on the back of his hand, his tone full of irritation, his expression cold.
It was something one of his targets had carved into him just before they died.
This mark allowed his pursuers to keep tracking him.
He hated it when others forced things upon him.
...
District Two.
The architecture here was refined and luxurious, not unlike high-end residences in the outside world.
In one mansion, people were conversing quietly.
"I heard there's a new ability user stirring up quite a commotion in District Thirteen."
"Oh?"
"They're supposedly in District Seven now, breaking through gates by force."
The upper three districts, the middle six districts, and the lower four districts made up the thirteen districts.
Reaching District Seven meant he was already in the middle districts.
"How strong is he?"
"The vultures sent six hundred men to capture him, but they couldn't manage to catch him."
"All of them ability users?"
"No."
Meteor City has a population of over eight million, with the Vulture Gang numbering more than ten thousand members, seventy percent of whom are spread across the lower four districts.
As for the upper three districts... there's no presence of the Vultures there.
To those in the upper districts, the Vultures are just a lowly, insignificant presence.
"The commotion is getting too loud. Tell the Vultures to keep it down. Also... try to recruit that new ability user."
"If he doesn't cooperate, just kill him. He's caused enough trouble already." The voice in the darkness held the dismissive tone of a superior addressing a subordinate.
"I understand…"
*Boom* — a sudden explosion echoed as a blast tore through their building, and the face of the man hiding in the shadows was illuminated by the light pouring through the hole.
"…What happened?" The man was stunned at first, then erupted in anger, "Who dares!"
Who would actually dare…
"The new ability user who stormed District Seven… he's already reached…"
"District Two." The person responsible for reporting information quickly looked into the distance, then immediately updated.
That was the very district they were in.
"Where's the Council?! Are those guys not going to intervene with all this noise?" The man furiously pulled out his gun, aiming at the supposed intruder.
But he couldn't spot the figure anywhere.
"The Council's people are on their way…" his subordinate reported nervously.
"That guy's already reached District One!" The man pointed furiously in a direction.
The gate to District One had just exploded, mirroring the destruction that had been inflicted on their building moments before.
"It's been ages since I've seen something like this." The man's expression turned dark, and he let out an angry, humorless laugh.
The last time someone had dared to be this brazen was over a decade ago.
It had also been a group of young ability users, breaking their way through from the lower districts into the upper districts.
They even wiped out several families in District Three.
But… those people were never punished; instead, they became a new, untouchable force rooted in District Three.
"This isn't necessarily a bad thing, sir," his subordinate cautiously reminded him.
"A new, strong ability user could change the dynamics in Meteor City. The Vultures chased him all the way from the lower districts to the upper districts. His strength makes him worthy of being here, so what right do those Vultures have to step into this territory?"
"Someone has to take responsibility for all this commotion."
A powerful ability user wouldn't face any punishment; instead, Meteor City's powers would try to recruit him.
Meanwhile, the weaker Vultures… would clearly be the scapegoats.
"You're right. Let's get our people moving." The man nodded, his grin widening.
The Vultures' existence had been tolerated.
But the Council held the real control.
Perhaps this time they could try for a larger slice of the pie?
...
Elsewhere, at the passage to District One.
"So, this is District One…" Ryo walked freely into the area, using his Six Eyes to monitor the surroundings.
Each passage was guarded by ability users, but none of them had stopped him when he broke through.
Despite fighting his way from District Thirteen to District One, he hadn't encountered any particularly challenging ability users.
Only the Vultures had continued chasing him.
By the time he reached District Five, they had become too wary to openly pursue him.
Though the hidden, watchful eyes were still present.
Ryo's goal was District One, so he used the opportunity to head there directly.
The gazes followed him from behind, but no one made a move.
Interesting. When would those lurking in the shadows finally make their move?
"No exit path in sight…" Ryo scanned his surroundings.
In District One, there was hardly any garbage in sight; instead, there were elegant, luxurious residences. The people walking around were well-dressed, and children openly carried toys or food, running around with bright smiles, looking well-fed and carefree.
At several street corners, people dressed as priests stood, seemingly maintaining order.
It was a stark contrast to the previous districts.
Now, should he give his shadowy followers a chance to act?
With this thought, Ryo stood still, using his Six Eyes to analyze the surroundings. As expected…
Blood dripped from his nose, making it look as though his abilities had backfired on him.
Feigning vulnerability, he quickly headed into a secluded alley, as if anxious not to be seen in his weakened state.
As soon as he stepped into the alley, a shadow fell around him, dimming his vision.
Figures appeared both in front of him and at the alley entrance he'd just come through.
"Running for so long and finally decided to stop?"
"Kid, you killed our people, so be prepared to be killed in return."
The figures were exceptionally tall and muscular, appearing to be Enhancement types.
"I'm not interested in being killed by trash." Ryo wiped the blood from his face, his tone wild.
"Blue." He poured all his remaining cursed energy into this single attack.
Boom!
Invisible energy gathered into a sphere, blasting forward like a bomb, sending the figures flying.
They were thrown through multiple houses, leaving a deep trench in the ground, only stopping when they crashed into a building.
The spire of a church hundreds of meters away seemed to tremble.
When Ryo emerged from the alley, he was alone.
"Maybe I should find someone to ask about the exit…" he muttered to himself.
Speaking of which, there were still a few gazes following him.
"You won't find out, because the exit isn't in plain sight." A deep voice sounded.
Ryo turned to see a figure emerging from the void behind him.
It seemed to be either a teleportation or cloaking ability.
"So you finally decided to show yourself," Ryo remarked calmly, his large, upturned eyes resembling a predator's gaze, exuding a calm, evaluative look.
He'd known someone was tailing him ever since District Six.
Of course, it wasn't just this person.
"I see you noticed me a while ago." The man, dressed in black robes embroidered with an inverted cross, had blonde hair and green eyes, looking like a typical priest.
"Thanks to you, I've gotten to watch quite a show after so many years." The man clapped his hands slowly, with a tone of admiration.
So, not a Vulture. If he were a Vulture, he would have shown up with the others in the alley.
So, those other watchers weren't Vultures either.
Other powers in Meteor City, perhaps?
It seemed he'd caused quite a commotion.
The white-haired, blue-eyed boy's gaze darkened slightly, showing a hint of menace.
"Want to know how to leave here? Don't rush…" the man began, but didn't finish.
Ryo, bored, raised his index finger and made a slicing motion.
But there was no sound of cutting or splattering blood.
The man stood there, unharmed, save for a few thin cuts on his body.
Dismantle had hit him but hadn't sliced him apart.
This meant…
The man was a capable Nen user, maintaining a constant layer of aura around his body for protection.
At his current level of skill with Dismantle, Ryo couldn't cut through him completely — only break his defense.
"You're an impatient one, aren't you…" the man looked at the boy, then down at the new wounds on his body. Some lingering energy seemed to be corroding the cuts, causing blood to keep flowing without clotting.
He could feel the invisible slashes hitting him repeatedly, without seeing or understanding the method.
Just a small movement from the boy, and he was injured.
"Looks like you're quite a skilled ability user. I assume you hold some authority?" Ryo mused, studying him.
The Six Eyes had indeed detected aura, but he'd assumed it was a natural trait of the people in this world. Most humans here had aura, though ordinary people, unable to use Nen, let their aura leak out, explaining their shorter lifespans compared to Nen users.
Nen has six categories: Enhancement, Emission, Manipulation, Conjuration, Transmutation, and Specialization.
Nen users can mask their aura to blend in as ordinary people, so Ryo hadn't paid much attention to it before. But now it seemed this man was likely a Manipulator, and that this body was an ordinary one controlled remotely by another Manipulator.
"Come to the church with me; we can talk there," the man continued.
As he finished speaking, he vanished, leaving no trace of his aura.
Another advanced use of Nen.
This guy wasn't just average — he was probably a high-level Nen user.
Ryo stood there, looking toward the distance.
The church was the tallest building in District One, a masterpiece of elegance and grandeur, unlike the old structures in District Thirteen.