Ron raised his eyebrows slightly.
"In this situation, she opened her aura nodes on her own?"
"Well, I suppose that makes sense."
Typically, there are two ways to open one's aura nodes.
One is proactive.
The other is passive.
Passive opening happens with the help of another Nen user. This can be violent or non-violent. In the original story, Wing helped Killua and Gon open their aura nodes in a non-violent way—gentle enough that neither of them suffered serious harm.
For rookie fighters, however, the experience is often brutal. Before their nodes are opened, they're harshly tortured. They might even lose a body part.
That's why new rookie killers emerging from Heaven's Arena tend to have such drastically changed personalities: after going through extreme cruelty, many become unhinged.
The proactive way is simpler: once a person's training reaches a certain level, they open their own aura nodes.
That appears to be what happened with this woman. Driven by her desire for revenge, she must have put herself through rigorous training to improve her body to a high level—enough to clash with Killua, though still weaker than him.
Even so, her talent clearly isn't on Killua's level, meaning she's likely hit her limit. And with all those intense emotions—unwillingness to accept defeat, fury, hatred—stacked together…
Boom!
Her aura nodes opened.
A rush of power coursed through the woman, and her eyes lit up.
"What is this?"
Although she had been on the brink of losing consciousness, she snapped fully awake. Staring down at her own hands, she muttered:
"What kind of power is this?"
Yet the moment she glanced at Killua's back, all other thoughts vanished. Her entire focus settled on him. Overwhelming hatred flared once more.
"Whatever this is…"
"Now I can finally kill that murderous devil!"
"As long as I can take him down, I don't care if I go to hell!"
In an instant, the woman sprang up from the floor and launched herself straight at Killua. Sensing danger, Killua quickly dodged aside. The woman missed her strike, but now she held the advantage.
With her aura nodes open, she felt her body become light and agile. Her strength, speed, and reflexes had all soared.
Missing once, she attacked again.
Killua, suddenly outmatched, could only dodge. In a blink, their positions reversed.
"Die, you killer demon!"
Killua's expression grew grim.
"What's going on?"
"Where is she getting this power?"
"Could there be someone else here?"
He scanned the area but saw no one else. He couldn't figure it out.
The woman let out a cold laugh.
"Killer brat, who are you looking for? Think another person gave me this? No, this is my own power. My strength has surpassed yours now. Can't accept it?"
Ron still didn't move, just quietly observed. He wanted to see how far Killua could push himself against someone who'd just opened their aura nodes.
The gap between a Nen user and a non-user is immense, but that doesn't mean a non-user has zero chance of killing a Nen user. Especially if the Nen user can't fully utilize their abilities, while the non-user's latent potential is already near its peak.
Before long, Ron lost interest. He noticed that once Killua realized he was outclassed, his reaction was the same as during the Hunter Exam when he faced Hanzo.
"Because of Illumi's needle?" But it isn't just about the needle."
"The needle is one part, but Killua's own mindset is another key factor."
"If I help Killua remove Illumi's needle now, it won't be as effective as him breaking through that mental barrier on his own and pulling it out himself."
After exchanging more than a dozen moves, Killua stopped trying to fight head-on. He switched to evasion. Killua was clearly looking for a chance to run.
Seeing this, the woman attacked even more furiously, holding nothing back.
"Murderous devil! What are you doing now?"
"Why are you dodging? Why are you running?"
"Is it because I'm stronger than you?"
"Do you only kill those weaker than yourself? Show the same nerve you had when you killed my father!"
Killua wanted to flee, but the woman blocked every path. And in such a closed space—on an airship hundreds of meters above the ground—jumping off was hardly an option. With no footholds below, even Killua would struggle to survive.
Killua was forced into a corner.
"Go to hell!"
The woman lunged at him. Though she knew nothing about Nen technique or theory, she was subconsciously gathering her newly awakened aura into her hands. It was a crude application, but still a massive power boost.
Right now, Killua couldn't block it. He gritted his teeth.
"Damn it!"
Just then, a figure suddenly appeared between Killua and the woman's strike.
Her blow landed—
But it vanished without a trace, like a stone sinking silently into the depths.
Killua gaped in disbelief.
The woman froze, then hurriedly retreated, watching Ron warily.
"Cousin Ron?"
Killua recognized him immediately, his voice edged with relief.
"Cousin?"
The woman heard Killua's words and her face twisted.
"So you're related to this murderous brat? You must be no better than he is. Fine, I'll kill you both!"
She attacked again, but Ron merely raised one hand. A powerful pressure crashed down on her.
In that instant, her body came to a complete halt—not by choice, but as though forced. She froze in place, a chill flooding through her as though she'd fallen into an icy cavern.
"Killua," Ron said, turning his head. "Do you want me to take care of this?"
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