Chapter 13: The Thrill of Victory
Riding on Toru's back, Haru held a few stones he had picked up along the way. Concentrating his aura on his fingertips and combining Ten, Ren, and Gyo, he enhanced his control over his aura. This process of distributing aura to specific body parts is called Ryu. Using his fingers like blades, Haru etched intricate five-pointed star patterns into the stones as if carving tofu.
While Haru busied himself, the five birds under his Star Mark control soared high above like scouting drones. They had locked onto a group of five shady-looking individuals—clearly poachers. The birds flapped their wings occasionally, maintaining an aerial surveillance while guiding Haru toward the targets.
Suddenly, one of the birds noticed a floating eyeball high in the air, swiveling to face the approaching flock.
Haru, riding on the tiger's back, immediately tensed and glanced upward. Even with Gyo enhancing his vision, the small floating eyeball was barely visible.
"This poacher team has some real talent…"
There was no doubt that the floating eyeball was a manifestation of someone's Nen ability. Haru pressed forward, continuing to advance while controlling the birds. As they flew past the floating eye, Haru feigned disinterest, then suddenly directed a gray bird to circle back. Like an arrow, the bird pierced through the eyeball.
The eyeball burst like a bubble, dispersing into a cloud of white aura.
---
"Ahhh!"
A bald man leading the poachers suddenly screamed, clutching his right eye.
"Boss Garo! What happened?" one of the others exclaimed.
"Damn bird!" Garo snarled, lowering his hand to reveal an empty, blackened eye socket. "Those birds… one of them attacked my God's Third Eye!"
The other four exchanged uneasy glances.
"Could it have mistaken it for an insect?" joked one of them, a burly man carrying a massive sack on his back. However, Garo's glare quickly silenced him.
"Thanks to Garo's Third Eye, we've been able to avoid trouble and make good hauls this trip," another said diplomatically. "We've even caught a Crescent Tiger! We should head back and sell this loot before anything else happens."
"Shut up!" Garo barked. In his empty socket, aura began to swirl and condense, forming a new glowing eyeball. The recreated eye rotated as Garo scanned the surroundings.
"Birds don't attack for no reason. This isn't just bad luck… Stay alert. Search the area."
The others nodded, spreading out into a defensive formation, weapons at the ready.
---
Haru observed the group from a distance, formulating his plan. With a flick of his aura-enhanced finger, he launched a pebble infused with Bullet Flick, sending it speeding through the air. The projectile struck one poacher on the cheek, drawing blood.
"Argh!" the man cried out, firing his rifle wildly into the forest.
"Stop wasting ammo!" one of his teammates shouted. "Do you want the security forces to hear us?"
The group fell into tense silence, eyes scanning the forest. The burly man carrying the sack spotted a shadow moving rapidly toward him.
"It's the Crescent Tiger!" he yelled, raising his gun to fire.
But before he could pull the trigger, a sharp impact shattered his arm. He screamed in pain, dropping his weapon.
"Bang!"
Garo's glowing eye fired a Nen projectile, striking the tiger. Despite the hit, Toru lunged at the burly man, ripping through his throat and leaving him lifeless. Bloodied but unrelenting, the tiger continued its rampage, slamming into another poacher and retreating into the shadows.
---
The remaining poachers panicked. One of them, trembling, felt a sharp pain in his neck, as if struck by a bullet. He screamed, firing aimlessly into the air.
"What's going on?!"
"Stay calm!" Garo commanded, his glowing eye scanning the area. He finally spotted a small figure darting through the forest.
"You can't outrun my sight," Garo growled, locking onto Haru.
Aura gathered in his glowing eye, forming three consecutive Nen projectiles. Garo fired, each shot homing in on Haru's rapid movements. The third hit its mark, throwing Haru off balance.
"Got you," Garo muttered, gripping his pistol tightly.
Haru steadied himself, his Ken absorbing most of the impact. "Not bad," he said, repositioning to counterattack.
"Roar!"
This time, a wolf leaped from the shadows, only to be gunned down by the poachers. Garo's eye fired another projectile, decapitating the wolf.
---
However, something was off. Two of the poachers who had gunned down the wolf suddenly turned on their ally, knocking him unconscious.
"What are you doing?!" Garo yelled, bewildered.
Before he could react further, a five-pointed star-shaped rock struck him. Though his Ken shielded him, the attack left him momentarily stunned.
"What's happening?" one of the controlled poachers sneered, revealing a glowing Star Mark on his cheek. "Poaching protected animals is illegal. We're turning ourselves in—you should do the same, boss."
Furious, Garo fired his pistol, killing the two traitors instantly.
---
Haru, observing from a distance, raised his hand. Energy gathered at his fingertips as he prepared his Bullet Flick.
"Nine seconds… ten seconds…" he murmured, charging the attack.
Sensing the danger, Garo unleashed his strongest Nen projectile.
"Boom!"
The two attacks collided mid-air, creating a shockwave. When the dust settled, Garo was bloodied and battered, his glowing eye fading into smoke.
"Kid…" Garo muttered, collapsing. "You should… try the Heavens Arena…"
"Yeah, sure. Want me to write your obituary while I'm at it?" Haru quipped, brushing off the exhaustion from the fight.
Victory had never felt so sweet.
---
As Toru emerged from the forest, Haru inspected the battlefield. Five poachers lay incapacitated or dead, and his controlled wolf—though decapitated—was somehow regenerating, its head inching back toward its body.
"Interesting…" Haru mused, studying the phenomenon with Gyo.
A voice interrupted him.
"Well, aren't you something? Taking out a whole crew on your own?"
Haru turned to see a green-haired woman with a confident smirk stepping out from the shadows.
(End of Chapter)