Currently, the number of players on the inner court is 2 from Razor's team and 4 from Gon's team.
However, Razor can re-conjure the No. 6 and No. 7 Nen Beasts at any time.
So strictly speaking, the inner court strength of both sides is 4 versus 4, while the outer court areas are completely unguarded.
This time, it's Gon's turn to serve.
For Razor, who has already recalled most of his Nen Beasts, this is almost no pressure at all.
His receiving technique is quite remarkable. If not for the level gap, he might have done even better...
Razor stared intently at Gon on the opposite court.
Thinking about the Nen techniques Gon had just displayed, he couldn't help but glance sideways at Morrow's figure, thinking to himself:
It seems he's not only exceptionally strong but also a good teacher.
Whether it was the earlier demonstration serve or the move that secured Gon this serving opportunity...
Razor realized that, more than winning this match, Morrow seemed to place greater importance on the growth opportunities for his "student."
Yet, it was precisely this seemingly effortless behavior that thoroughly ignited Razor's fighting spirit.
This was no longer just about guarding the game.
Silently feeling the boiling of his blood, the tension in his muscles and bones, and the fluctuation of his aura, Razor entered his peak condition at this very moment.
As the match reached this point, both sides were approaching a critical juncture.
Gon looked at the volleyball in his hand, his mind filled with scenes from the match just now.
If he could gather all his aura into his hand and attempt to compress it further...
Just like the most difficult form of Ten, forcefully restraining the gathered aura that was almost on the verge of breaking free.
The smaller the compression, the greater the power!
When receiving, I don't have the extra focus to stabilize my stance. No matter how many times I try, I definitely can't handle Razor's serves.
But serving is different, I have more time to accumulate power!
Gon took a deep breath, his eyes seeming to see only the volleyball.
He stared down at the ball, as if within the swirling aura he could see the figures of Morrow and Razor when they served.
So amazing, truly incredible...!
Ging must be this amazing too, right?!
Then...
Can I do it too?
I... want to do it!
I want to be as amazing as Razor, as Ging, as my teacher!
In that instant, Gon's focus became incredibly sharp.
His longing for "that level" immersed his mind completely.
He even forgot to breathe.
At this moment, he concentrated solely on the volleyball before him.
All his thoughts were devoted to the upcoming serve.
In this mental state, fueled by such surging emotions, the aura around Gon suddenly expanded significantly.
Seeing this, Razor's heart jolted, and he slowly widened his eyes.
Staring intently at the massive amount of aura surging from Gon, he suddenly smiled.
If I block it head-on, I can probably catch it, but the impact would likely push me out of bounds...
If I use a deflection method, once the ball flies into the air, Morrow and Hisoka will immediately use their abilities to seize it.
The best option... is still to catch the ball.
It seems this will take some effort.
Razor's thoughts raced, and he quickly made his decision.
「Fourteen Devils」
He first withdrew the Nen from Nen Beast No. 5, then split off two more masses of Nen, re-conjuring the taller and stronger Nen Beasts No. 6 and No. 7.
Although the essence of the volleyball match was also a contest of both sides' Nen abilities and proficiency in Nen techniques, it was still quite different compared to actual combat.
For example, limited by the size of the court, when facing a serve with power reaching a certain level, even if one could catch the ball unscathed, they would likely be pushed directly out of bounds by the impact force.
This would result in an immediate disqualification.
Considering the intensity of the aura Gon was currently emitting, Razor judged that the power of this serve would far exceed ordinary levels.
To avoid being pushed out of bounds, he had to temporarily adjust his strategy.
And the re-conjured Nen Beasts No. 6 and No. 7 were his safeguards for what came next.
From this perspective, Hisoka's composite ability usage was practically cheating on this court.
Theoretically, as long as Hisoka remained on the court, he would almost never be eliminated.
But Razor wasn't anxious.
He would deal with Hisoka last.
Even if Hisoka's ability to receive the ball head-on was extremely strong, as long as Razor preserved his three Nen beasts until the end, he could employ a passing strategy to counter Hisoka's capability.
Now, let's take back possession first.
Razor prepared to receive the serve.
And Gon also prepared to serve.
Imitating Razor, he tossed the volleyball high into the air.
As the ball reached its peak, he swiftly channeled his entire body's aura, gathering it into his right fist.
Whoosh...
The rapidly surging aura stirred up gusts of wind.
Gon's right fist, enveloped in a large amount of aura, glowed brilliantly like a lantern.
But that wasn't all.
Gon continuously condensed the mass of Nen light.
If he could compress all his aura to the size of the volleyball, it would greatly enhance the power of his serve.
However, Gon's proficiency was ultimately too low; he had only managed to compress it slightly when the volleyball began to descend.
「Ko + Shu」
Gon's pupils turned golden from the aura, and he abruptly threw a straight punch, striking the volleyball.
Boom!
Accompanied by a dull sound like spring thunder, the volleyball shot forward, wrapped in solidified golden aura, resembling a pure Nen wave aimed directly at Razor.
"Tch…"
Razor's open eyes were instantly dyed golden by the light.
The corners of his mouth twitched slightly as he planted his stance firmly, reaching both hands forward to accurately grasp the oncoming volleyball.
Another loud impact echoed.
Within Razor's hands, two forces of Nen clashed violently.
Squeak!
Razor suppressed the aura from Gon on the volleyball, but the impact transmitted through the ball pushed Razor's body, sliding him rapidly toward the back line.
At that moment, Nen Beasts No. 6 and No. 7, like guardians on either side, braced against Razor from behind.
With them acting as supports, they forcibly halted Razor's slide.
The two masses of Nen clashing in Razor's hands, after continuous collision, soon shattered and dissipated.
On the opposite side of the court.
Seeing that Razor had caught the ball, Gon showed no sign of disappointment.
Even though it was caught, I did it!
Gon's eyes shone brightly as he looked down at his bruised and battered fist, breaking into a happy smile.
Morrow, standing nearby, smiled and praised, "That was a beautiful shot."
"Thank you, teacher!"
Gon looked up at Morrow, his smile growing even brighter.
But soon, the aura fluctuations from the opposite court directly shattered the seemingly relaxed atmosphere in the arena.
Razor withdrew the aura output from all the Nen Beasts in the inner court, his sharply defined face still wearing a smiling expression.
Yet the aura around him continued to surge, constantly emitting a palpable sense of pressure.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Razor once again tossed the volleyball into the air.
"It's still a spike, but this one feels even more powerful!"
"Is his target... still Gon?"
Outside the court, Tsezguerra was so stunned by the match that he could barely feel the intense pain in his body, his gaze fixed intently on the situation inside the arena.
Razor looked up at the volleyball.
Approach run, jump!
Then he swung his arm in a wide arc, delivering another ferocious spike.
Boom!
The volleyball shot toward the opposite court like a heavy cannonball.
This time, the trajectory was clearly aimed at Morrow in the midfield position.
So he's no longer fixated on targeting Gon, but has shifted his focus to winning itself...
Facing this cannonball serve that far surpassed the previous one in power, Morrow swiftly sidestepped, his right arm extending forward like a spear, a fluorescent green mass of Nen gathering in his palm like a barrier.
Boom!
The moment the volleyball and the Nen mass collided, two violent streams of Nen energy clashed head-on.
Instantly, a ring-shaped shockwave exploded outward.
The dispersed impact even created faint spatial ripples in the nearby air.
"With one hand...!"
The spectators, as well as Razor and Killua in the inner court, all showed varying degrees of surprise.
It's impossible to receive that!
Even if he could catch it, he'd be quickly forced out of bounds.
Squeak!
As the two powerful auras collided and eroded each other, the ensuing impact immediately pushed Morrow's body backward.
It's fine, Hisoka will–Huh?
Gon and Killua thought Hisoka would use his ability to assist Morrow, but when they looked at Hisoka, they found him completely detached, as if it had nothing to do with him.
Hisoka narrowed his eyes, watching Morrow being pushed almost to the baseline, with no intention of intervening.
Seeing this, Gon and Killua's expressions changed, and they both rushed forward.
However, just as they reached Morrow's vicinity, the clashing auras suddenly exploded like a bomb.
The surging shockwave instantly sent Gon and Killua flying backward.
Crack!
A crisp sound echoed through the court.
Everyone looked and saw Morrow's outstretched right hand being flung back, his body taking a step backward as he sidestepped.
Without the palm to block it, the volleyball flew straight toward the outer court.
"Oh no!"
"It's impossible to block Razor's serve with one hand!"
Tsezguerra and the others all paled, thinking Morrow had been careless.
Killua and Gon, who had failed to provide support from the inner court, could only watch helplessly as the volleyball flew toward the outer court.
Only Razor and Hisoka's eyes suddenly turned serious, quickly glancing past Morrow's calm face to look at the departing volleyball.
They had both noticed, the earlier Nen explosion had directly neutralized most of the volleyball's power.
More precisely, it had burned away most of the Nen energy.
So, under such an explosion, even if Morrow had used both hands, the result would have been the same, losing his grip.
However, Morrow hadn't actually blocked the volleyball with his hand, but with a condensed, emitted mass of Nen.
This sudden explosion was also something he deliberately caused.
But what truly shocked Razor and Hisoka wasn't this advanced Emission technique, but rather...
Morrow had precisely seized the extremely brief moment when the physical collision and Nen impact canceled each other out, then attached Nen to the volleyball.
No!
It would be more accurate to say he infused the residual Nen on the volleyball with Nen properties.
What incredible release speed, and what remarkable precision...
The success rate of such an operation was terrifyingly low.
Yet Morrow had accomplished it.
Both Razor and Hisoka stared intently at the fluorescent green glow on the volleyball.
At the front of the inner court's baseline.
Morrow steadied his posture slightly, his expression calm.
In the distant air behind him, the flying volleyball suddenly froze in place.
This unexpected turn of events once again stirred reactions from the spectators.
"Huh?"
Under their astonished gazes, the volleyball reversed direction the next second and flew back toward Morrow.
Morrow merely reached out behind him and caught the volleyball steadily.
"..."
The entire arena suddenly fell silent.
Gon and Killua stared blankly at the volleyball in Morrow's hand, completely unable to understand what had happened.
The only possibility they could think of was that Morrow might have used some advanced technique beyond their comprehension.
Tsezguerra also stared dazedly at Morrow at the baseline.
Just from these few exchanges, Tsezguerra realized that the level of power Morrow displayed was likely something he could never reach in his entire life.
But at this moment, he truly understood that this was no longer a gap in skill, but a difference in realm.
Hisoka's eyes were now like hooks, deeply embedded in Morrow's face.
"Heh, hehe..."
He didn't know what Morrow had been doing during this time.
But one thing was certain, Morrow's current "technique" was even more chilling than during the Hunter Exam.
He had improved again, at an unbelievable speed...
Hisoka's golden pupils trembled incessantly as he looked at Morrow.
In his chest surged an uncontrollable excitement, along with boiling fighting spirit.
But there was also a trace of icy fear.
Even he himself couldn't discern the source of this fear, was he afraid of Morrow's unreasonable rate of improvement, or was he afraid that no matter how hard he strived in the future, he still wouldn't be able to satisfy Morrow...
Morrow glanced at Hisoka, who was clearly enticed, paid him no mind, and threw the volleyball to Killua.
Seeing the volleyball flying toward him, Killua snapped back to reality and instinctively reached out to catch it.
Morrow looked at him and said, "Your turn, Killua."
"..."
Killua looked down at the volleyball in his hand, thinking about Gon's performance earlier. A competitive spirit surged in his heart, yet it was mixed with worry about disappointing Morrow.
Morrow saw through his thoughts and reminded him, "Think about how I just received the ball."
"Huh?"
Killua suddenly looked up, meeting Morrow's gaze.
The encouragement contained in that gaze felt almost tangible as it reached him.
Killua paused for a moment, understanding Morrow's meaning, and a sharp glint suddenly flashed in his azure eyes.
He gave Morrow a nod, his expression suddenly turning serious and focused.
Seeing this, a faint smile curled at the corner of Morrow's lips.
—--
Confrontation.
Razor looked at Morrow with a complicated gaze, sighing, "You... are truly a monster..."
"Likewise."
Morrow returned the words exactly as they were given.
Razor shook his head with a wry smile, then abruptly changed the subject, saying, "Treating this match as a live lesson, be careful not to overplay your hand."
"Razor."
"Hmm?"
"Haven't you realized it yet..."
Morrow slowly raised his right hand, Nen flowing as steadily as water, and said calmly, "You stand no chance of winning."
"..."
Razor's eyes widened, and in the silence, a trace of excitement curved at the corners of his lips.
"Interesting. Then let me see just how much weight your confidence carries."