Exquisite Ryū, powerful Nen.
These were precisely what Morrow lacked two years ago.
But now, things were completely different.
Just moments ago, the formidable physical prowess Morrow displayed with a mere extension of his hand forced Wing into full alertness in haste.
Such a drastic change in strength often catches people off guard.
And the opening was created in that very instant.
Morrow simply used this change as bait, exploiting Wing's habitual thinking to prevent him from responding as swiftly as usual at the critical moment.
Even a mere 0.1-second delay...
In that situation moments ago, it was enough to decide the outcome.
Of course.
This was all predicated on Morrow knowing that Wing was an Enhancer.
The reason for the victory was so simple and direct.
But for Wing, it felt almost suffocating.
This result far exceeded his worst expectations.
He stood frozen in place, his mind roiling with shock.
Even he couldn't clearly see the key to Morrow's victory, let alone the observing Zushi and Siper.
In the eyes of the two disciples, they only saw their master defeated in an instant.
Siper was surprised, yet found it reasonable.
After all, she had witnessed Morrow's formidable strength during the Hunter Exam.
Zushi knew nothing about Morrow, so he was naturally astonished.
The arena fell into temporary silence.
Only a faint buzzing sound could be heard coming from Morrow's pocket.
Morrow withdrew his hand, thinking that Wing should have realized the gap between them and given up any thought of challenging him again. Without another word, he strode toward the back door.
Originally...
If Wing had agreed to his suggestion of meeting another time, he wouldn't have minded having another arena match with Wing, competing using "Ryū" and "physical techniques."
He felt this form of combat would better satisfy Wing's martial pursuits.
However, Enhancement types were mostly stubborn; once they encountered something, they rarely backed down easily.
Since that was the case, Morrow ended it quickly.
After all, he was in a hurry to meet Kurapika.
"Teacher!"
Just as Morrow passed Wing and the others and was about to exit through the back door, Gon's shout came from behind.
Hearing this, Morrow stopped and turned to see Gon and Killua running toward him.
Seemingly prompted by Gon's sudden shout, Wing and Zushi slowly snapped out of their daze and also looked toward Gon and Killua.
What the master and disciple first noticed was Gon and Killua's highly proficient Ten.
Wing, after all, was trained in the Shingen-ryu school, and quickly adjusted his mindset. His eyes behind his glasses swiftly assessed the two, unable to hide his admiration.
What ordinary people took years to achieve in training, these two young men had accomplished in just half a year.
Hearing about it was one thing; witnessing it firsthand was another level of astonishment.
Zushi watched his peers display Ten more advanced than his own, his young face turning solemn.
He was a Manipulation type, but his personality was more like an Enhancer, with a rigid and methodical demeanor.
Gon and Killua, having rushed over, immediately sensed the unusual atmosphere in the arena.
But they paid it no mind, quickly running up to Morrow under the watchful eyes of Wing and Zushi. Morrow looked at the two who had hurried over and said seriously, "You can stop here."
"Ah..."
Gon and Killua had intended to escort him all the way to Chimera, but they could hear the undeniable tone in Morrow's words, so they nodded with slight disappointment.
Morrow smiled at them, then quickly glanced at Wing, Zushi, and Siper.
Aside from them, there was also Hisoka...
For Gon and Killua, these people were practically ideal sparring partners at this stage.
Morrow walked out of Heavens Arena and headed straight toward the outskirts of the city.
From earlier until now, the phone in his pocket hadn't stopped ringing.
After a moment's thought, Morrow took out his phone.
The lit screen displayed Biscuit's name.
As soon as Morrow answered the call, Biscuit's furious roar exploded in his ear: "How dare you ignore a cute girl's call?! Do you have any idea how serious this is?!"
"I was busy earlier."
Morrow brushed it off casually.
Biscuit was far too sharp to miss the dismissiveness in his tone and cut straight to the point: "There's something I need to tell you..."
"Is it about the match with Wing?"
Morrow beat her to it: "It's already over."
The other end of the line fell silent for two or three seconds.
Then came Biscuit's slightly surprised voice: "That fast?"
"Yeah, I'm in a hurry to meet Kurapika, so I made it quick."
"..."
Biscuit fell silent again, seemingly having already imagined Wing's fate.
But she knew Wing's personality too well and wasn't worried at all that he'd be discouraged.
"Then it's fine."
Biscuit shook her head and sighed softly, never expecting that even after two years of dedicated training at Heavens Arena, Wing would still suffer a crushing defeat at Morrow's hands.
It just went to show that the gap between people could sometimes be utterly unreasonable.
"Biscuit, when are we going to have a match?"
Just as Biscuit was about to hang up, she suddenly heard Morrow's invitation.
Immediately, her eyebrows shot up.
You little brat...
Her eyes glinted as she instantly switched to a coy tone, pitching her voice higher: "Oh, you~ You little pervert! How dare you set your sights on me? But I'm not ready yet~"
"?"
This time, it was Morrow's turn to fall silent for a moment before he quietly hung up.
But it had been so long since he'd seen Biscuit that hearing her long-unheard delicate voice actually made him feel a bit nostalgic.
"Never mind."
Morrow shuddered.
He actually really wanted to fight Biscuit in her muscular form.
Not for the sake of testing their abilities against each other, but to see how far his current Ryū and physical techniques could take him against Biscuit.
Too bad Biscuit didn't take the bait...
Maybe she was busy with something?
Morrow wondered.
—--
Three days later.
Chimera landed in a forest called Spiral Forest.
This vast forest earned its name because all the plants, and even the rocks and mountains that can be seen everywhere, bore distinctive spiral patterns.
It was also largely uninhabited due to the many dangerous creatures that dwelled there.
Even the most experienced Hunters typically only operated around the forest's edges.
Spiral Forest also had the alias "Demon Forest."
This nickname wasn't because of any legendary demon fruit, but because the red-eyed demon clan had once taken root here for a period of time. Following the precise coordinates provided by Kurapika, Morrow soon found a small hill deep within the forest, encircled by scarlet thorns.
The thorny plants grew menacingly, their crimson tips seemingly laced with venom.
Before the thicket of thorns, Kurapika stood in silence.
Upon spotting Morrow, a trace of gloom on his face quickly faded, replaced by his usual composure.
Morrow approached, greeted Kurapika, and then surveyed the astonishingly dense thorny thicket around them.
As if sensing Morrow's curiosity about the meeting place, Kurapika softly explained, "This is where I grew up. After much thought, I decided this was the most fitting resting place for my clansmen."
"Oh?"
Morrow understood, his gaze instinctively shifting past Kurapika to the hill wrapped in scarlet thorns.
Upon closer inspection, even the growth pattern of the thorns formed concentric spirals.
It seemed Kurapika had built a tomb here for his Kurta Clan brethren, a place to lay the Scarlet Eyes he had personally reclaimed.
With the Phantom Troupe eliminated…
For Kurapika now, the most important task was to grant his clansmen eternal peace.
"May I take a look?"
Morrow suddenly thought of something, withdrawing his gaze and turning to Kurapika.
Kurapika was momentarily taken aback, not expecting this request, but nodded. "Of course."
Before the words fully faded, he raised his right hand, and with a surge of Nen, a chain slithered like a snake around his arm.
Clattering...
The chain, guided by Kurapika's will, shot into the scarlet thicket, forcibly carving a path through the layered spiral formations.
"This way."
Kurapika stepped onto the forcibly opened path, leading the way.
Morrow was about to follow when he noticed flowers blooming amidst the grass nearby. He walked over, plucked one, and then hurried after Kurapika.
Soon, the two passed through the chain-forged passage and arrived before the rocky face of the hill.
Kurapika again manipulated the chain, clearing a blank space amid the dense, vine-like thorns.
It was then that Morrow noticed the spiral patterns etched into the hill's rocky surface.
But his attention was quickly drawn to a latch embedded in the rock, surrounded by faint stone seams.
Next, Morrow watched as Kurapika hooked a section of the chain onto the latch and pulled, forcibly extracting a heavy square stone block from the hillside, revealing a small opening.
Kurapika set the extracted stone block aside and bent down to crawl through the opening.
Morrow followed.
Inside was a long, narrow corridor, about fifty meters long.
Beyond the corridor lay a semi-circular tomb chamber.
The floor, walls, and even the ceiling of the chamber were paved with spiral-patterned stone slabs.
On the walls, spiral-shaped lamp stands, seemingly crafted from dried fruit shells, held flickering candle flames that illuminated the chamber.
At the far end of the tomb stood an arched stone wall. Niche-like alcoves were carved into the wall, with slightly over half containing Scarlet Eyes floating within containers.
A careful count revealed fifteen pairs.
Based on currently known intelligence, there are only thirty-six well-preserved pairs of Scarlet Eyes in the world.
But this data may not be entirely accurate.
The only certainty is that, through Ging's intelligence network, only thirty-three pairs of Scarlet Eyes have been traced.
One-third of these are in the possession of Kakin's fourth prince, Tserriednich.
Morrow's gaze swept over the Scarlet Eyes in the alcoves, where any extra space was filled with fresh flowers.
On the floor in front of the alcoves stood a small stool.
Morrow glanced at the stool, knowing full well that Kurapika likely often sat there, yet finding it difficult to imagine what emotions Kurapika felt while gazing at his clansmen's eyes from that spot.
"Kurapika."
Morrow approached the alcoves, placed the flowers in his hand inside, and spoke with his back to Kurapika:
"I've mastered Divine Script. If you think it's necessary, I can use it to reinforce this place, though you'll need to infuse your own Nen to activate it."
"..."
Kurapika didn't respond immediately, instead silently watching the flowers Morrow had just placed in the alcove.
Divine Script...
Having worked at Ging's ruins for half a year, he was no stranger to Divine Script and well aware of how difficult it was to master.
So this was what Morrow had been studying since passing the Hunter Exam.
Receiving no response from Kurapika, Morrow turned around to look at him, noting his lowered eyes and pensive expression.
"Do you need it?"
He pressed for an answer.
Kurapika looked up at the question, his gaze shifting back to his clansmen's eyes surrounded by flowers.
If it were anyone else, he might have many considerations.
But if it was Morrow, he could accept the kindness without any psychological burden.
Because he had long regarded Morrow as family.
"Yes, I'll have to trouble you again."
Kurapika nodded gently.
Both Morrow and Kurapika were the type to act immediately.
After deciding to use Divine Script to reinforce and modify the "Resting Place," they began working right away.
The basic modifications were simple: adding a facial recognition-like function that only Kurapika could activate, and comprehensively strengthening the entire tomb chamber.
While setting up the Divine Script, Morrow suddenly said: "I plan to visit Meteor City."
"Oh?"
Kurapika's eyes sharpened.
Meteor City was the Phantom Troupe's hometown.
A place with deep and complex ties to the mafia.
Ever since the Phantom Troupe became history, people from Meteor City had frequently come to cause trouble for Kurapika.
There was little Kurapika could do about it.
Though Meteor City was a discarded place, it still operated on a national scale.
Moreover, Meteor City had established long-term trading relationships with the mafia, accumulating who knows how many weapons through these dealings.
Alone, Kurapika couldn't possibly stop Meteor City's persistent, relentless, clingy retaliation.
Hearing Morrow say he was going to Meteor City immediately made Kurapika think of these recent retaliatory actions.
Morrow knew Kurapika was clever; some things didn't need further explanation once said. "In the end, they're just a bunch of annoying pests. Let's teach them a lesson."
Morrow's tone was calm as he spoke these words.
But what he truly intended was to directly bombard Meteor City.
Kurapika looked into Morrow's eyes, which appeared placid yet concealed a chilling bloodlust.
This was yet another thing the other was doing for his sake.
"Alright."
Kurapika still agreed.
The current situation in Meteor City was actually already quite precarious.
Not only because of the Phantom Troupe's downfall...
But also because they had angered the Ten Dons.
To change this situation, some members of Meteor City's Elder council actually harbored the naive notion of personally forming a new Phantom Troupe.