Elita gave a small nod.
"These three?"
Biscuit turned her gaze toward the trio known as the Bombers.
"They're called the Bombers. Before I came here, they had already killed quite a few players."
Biscuit nodded. She had looked into Greed Island before ever entering, and even without prior knowledge, she could easily guess the nature of the Bombers—ruthless methods, killing for profit, or perhaps simply killing for fun.
She had seen far too many of that kind of person outside. Was there a single Nen user whose hands weren't stained with blood? She had encountered worse, even more vicious people. But for Ron, killing purely for amusement was not something he liked. Killing was a job. No money, no killing. Otherwise, it simply wasn't worth it.
"We can begin," Ron said, looking at Shizuku and the others.
The three of them nodded, their figures flashing as they split into three different directions. Ron, meanwhile, came to stand in front of Killua and Gon.
"You've more or less finished learning the basics?"
The two exchanged a glance and nodded.
"I've learned most of it, Ron-nii," Killua said. "Compared to before, I've gotten a lot stronger. Could you spar with me again?"
During the Hunter Exam, Killua had been completely crushed by Ron, a blow that dealt a heavy hit to his confidence. Only after coming into contact with Nen did he realize the existence of another world entirely. At Heaven's Arena, when he learned Nen, Killua had been thrilled. But upon reaching Yorknew and witnessing Kurapika's strength, he was once again shaken.
"Now?" Ron asked.
Killua nodded. "Yeah."
"You're still a little far off," Ron said. "For now, watch their fights. Learning the basics doesn't mean you're already a mature Nen user. Don't rush."
Biscuit perked up at Killua's challenge, but she knew full well that in his current state, he was nowhere near Ron's level.
Ron studied the aura of Killua and Gon. He had to admit, the two really were geniuses. From the time they started learning Nen until now, it had been less than a year, and they had already mastered all the fundamental techniques except Ryu. Their Hatsu abilities were still in the early stages of development, but their foundations were solid, and their aura reserves considerable.
Aura came from physical and mental energy. Even before learning Nen, the two had possessed strong bodies and strong wills. Thus, after learning Nen, their energy quickly transformed into aura. Just like how newly born Chimera Ants could possess enormous aura reserves without training, Killua and Gon, with their innate strength, had already reached such levels.
"In a one-on-one fight, they should already have a chance against a lower-class Shadow Beast," Ron thought.
Freshly trained in Nen, Gon and Killua could already handle those rookie killers from Heaven's Arena. And lower-class Shadow Beasts weren't much stronger than such rookie killers. Only mid- and upper-class Shadow Beasts could barely count as proper Nen users.
Elita stepped forward. Normally not specialized in offense, after acquiring the Horse Zodiac Card she could now fight in a style similar to Uvogin's—condensing aura into her fists alone was enough to cause devastating destruction. Combined with her keen sense of smell, she gained an edge in battle.
Shizuku faced Genthru alone, holding her Conjured Blinky-chan.
On the other side, Ponzu didn't immediately approach the remaining Bomber, instead maintaining distance as dozens of bees flew out to confront him, their wings buzzing.
Biscuit observed the three.
"Not bad at all. Ron must've gone through a lot to bring them into his team. They're all above the average line for Nen users—some well above. And their abilities are quite interesting."
Elita clashed head-on with one Bomber, not giving an inch. She made a few mistakes from lack of experience with this fighting style, but in raw power, speed, and aura, she surpassed her opponent. With time, her advantage would only grow.
Gon watched Elita seriously.
"She's an Enhancement-type like me? She's not using any special ability—just condensing aura into her fists to strengthen her punches. Is that how Enhancement-types usually fight?"
Meanwhile, Shizuku maintained her distance against Genthru. Whenever he tried to close in, she used the Dragon Zodiac Card's frost ability to create ice and block his advance. If he tried to disengage and support his comrades, she would raise an ice wall to cut him off.
It left Genthru increasingly frustrated.
Bang!
"One pinch of gunpowder "Little Flower"!"
The ice wall shattered under the explosion. Genthru darted toward Shizuku with incredible speed, but unable to reach her directly, he aimed instead at her weapon. Little Flower could damage Blinky, but Blinkyn's overwhelming strength could in turn deal heavy damage to Genthru.
The only one in danger of falling behind was Ponzu.
Previously, the Zodiac Cards crafted inside the ark could instantly raise their users to A-rank Nen levels. But that was within the ark. After Ron's modifications, they could now be used outside as well—though instead of boosting someone all the way to A-rank, they only granted a single ability with little boost in aura capacity.
At first glance, it seemed like a downgrade, but in practice, it was far more useful. The previous version had been of little practical value to Ron.
Bang!
Ponzu's training in Nen had started later than the others, and her natural talent wasn't exceptional. Ron still had Oster's experimental data under adjustment; it hadn't yet been applied to Ponzu. But once it was, her power could leap several tiers in an instant.
For now, though, her strength, speed, and reflexes were all weaker than her Bomber opponent. She could only use her bees explosions to restrict his movements.
Killua watched her intently.
"Even Ponzu's already gotten this strong? Back during the Hunter Exam, she was actually pretty weak—maybe even below Kurapika."