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Chapter 717 - Chapter 714

Facing Genthru's charge, Gon was momentarily overwhelmed, unsure of what to do. But almost immediately, he gathered his aura, preparing to engage in battle.

The scene felt familiar to Ron.

"In the original storyline, Gon reacted the same way when facing Neferpitou."

Ron shook his head. In canon, Gon had indeed defeated Genthru—but that was after he'd developed Jajanken, and only after the volleyball match that had pushed his strength significantly higher. His victory came with careful planning. The Gon standing here now wasn't ready to take on someone like Genthru.

Though the situation wasn't identical, Gon's decision to confront Genthru head-on mirrored his later encounter with Neferpitou in spirit. The outcome wouldn't be all that different.

Bang!

Genthru reached Gon in an instant. His foot struck Gon squarely in the chest, sending him flying. But his true attack landed on Biscuit.

The sudden change startled Genthru. He had meant to continue attacking Gon, but with Biscuit now between them, all he could do was redirect his strike at her instead. To him, it made no real difference—he hadn't seen through Biscuit's true power.

"How noble—sacrificing yourself for a comrade," he sneered, a cruel smile curling at his lips. "In that case, I'll do you the honor!"

He thrust his palm toward her, aura condensed into a handful of volatile gunpowder.

But in the next instant, Genthru's expression froze. The gunpowder ignited—yet it didn't harm Biscuit. Instead, the force bounced back onto him. His eyes widened in shock.

"What…?"

Before he could make sense of what happened, Biscuit's right arm began to expand—visibly, rapidly, until it was massive. She aimed it squarely at Genthru.

Then she punched.

Boom!

The blow landed cleanly on his face. Genthru felt his entire skull compress, the bones in his jaw and cheeks fracturing, crumbling beneath the sheer power. Dizziness overwhelmed him. He was sent flying backward.

Right into Shizuku's path.

She raised Blinky-chan in both hands and swung at the back of Genthru's head.

Wham!

The impact drove him into the ground. His body convulsed a few times, then lay still.

On the other side, the two remaining Bombers saw what had happened to Genthru and panicked. But panic only led to mistakes—mistakes that Elita and Ponzu would not let slip by.

Pop!

A bee flew into one of the Bombers mouths and exploded violently. His skull burst apart—white, yellow, and black matter sprayed in every direction.

At the same moment, Elita's clenched fist smashed into the back of the final Bomber's head.

Boom!

He collapsed instantly.

All three were now lifeless.

Biscuit gave them a cursory glance, then looked away.

In the original timeline, Biscuit had spared the Bombers—even knowing how many innocent players they had killed. But now, she didn't care that they had been killed by Shizuku's group. This was the nature of Hunters. Most weren't kind-hearted. Fewer still were selfless saints. Menchi was an outlier even within the Hunter Association. People who acted strictly by law and justice were rare.

Her gaze turned to Gon.

"Gon, what were you trying to do just now?"

Gon snapped back to awareness. "Fight."

"Fight? With that person? Do you even understand the difference in strength between the two of you?"

"No."

"Then why didn't you run?"

"Because he was coming after me."

"So what?"

"I didn't want to run," Gon said, meeting her eyes. "If he was coming for me, running would be meaningless."

Killua's expression shifted slightly. He had been the one who ran.

"Then, Gon, have you considered that your actions could've gotten someone else killed?" Biscuit asked calmly.

Gon's pupils shrank.

"If I wasn't strong enough, I could've been seriously injured."

"If it hadn't been me standing in front of you, but someone else, they might've died from that man's attack. Did that ever cross your mind?"

Ron raised an eyebrow.

In the original timeline, Gon and Killua had faced Neferpitou—and their reactions had been completely different. Killua fled. Gon tried to endure. To Ron, Killua's choice made more sense. Gon's was the reckless one.

But back then, Morel had told Killua: "If you keep running, you'll eventually abandon your friends."

Of course, Morel didn't know about the needle planted in Killua's mind at the time.

Ron didn't agree with Morel. People shouldn't act without certainty. Gon's reckless decision had led to Kite losing an arm before the battle even began, drastically weakening his fighting potential. If not for that, they might've had a chance to escape from Pitou, who hadn't yet fully mastered Nen.

That said, Kite's death hadn't been entirely negative. Through death and rebirth, his talent had evolved. In his human form, Kite had likely reached his limit at A-rank. But in his Chimera Ant form, he now had the potential to surpass that ceiling.

Gon furrowed his brows.

Biscuit didn't say anything more and let him think about it.

Ron turned to Shizuku, Elita, and Ponzu.

"Shizuku, Elita, Ponzu—you three can swap out. Bring the others in."

"Understood, Captain."

The three of them pulled out their Leave Cards. Three flows of aura wrapped around them, and a moment later, they disappeared.

They reappeared back in the dojo library.

Ron turned to Killua. "Killua, come with me."

Without another word, he walked away. Killua followed close behind. Only after they were far enough from Biscuit and Gon did Ron stop.

"Killua, before we talk about developing your ability, let's clarify one thing first. Is lightning really the foundation you want your Nen ability to be based on?"

Killua hesitated briefly, then nodded.

He was a bit surprised, though—not because Ron was talking about this, but because he wasn't bringing up what had just happened with Gon and Genthru.

"Ron-nii, I have a question…"

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