Forty-four hand signs. Through constant practice, Luo Ning had compressed the time required to the absolute limit.
His hands blurred in front of his chest, moving like phantoms. In less than four seconds, Luo Ning completed all forty-four signs!
A massive amount of chakra converged in his mouth, to the point where it felt as though nearly half the chakra in his body was being drained away. One had to remember that he was currently under the empowerment of the Nen he had rented from Milia.
This was a B-rank ninjutsu—a complete B-rank offensive ninjutsu that he was unleashing regardless of the cost!
When a Nen user utilizes their power, there is a limitation known as Actual Aura Power (AOP). Even the strongest Nen users find it difficult to release all of their Nen in a single instant. In Luo Ning's memories of the manga, only Chairman Netero had achieved an instantaneous, unrestrained burst of his own Nen.
That move was called ZERO HAND!
It was a strike that contained Chairman Netero's very life!
However, the execution of ninjutsu did not have this limitation. While a ninjutsu would not directly drain a ninja dry, its explosive power could infinitely approach the state of Netero's condensation of his entire body's Nen.
To be more specific:
Luo Ning's normal explosive output of Actual Aura was judged by Milia to be around 700! The Big Bang Impact combined with the Cherry Blossom Impact allowed Luo Ning's explosive power to far exceed 700, even doubling it to reach 1500.
But that was essentially the limit.
Compared to Luo Ning's massive Potential Aura Power (POP) of 8400, this single explosive strike could only consume about one-sixth of his Nen. Although this limit could be expanded, he didn't know how much energy he would have to spend on cultivation to achieve it. Even with the Nen rented from Milia, it was difficult for his burst to exceed the 1500 value; the added Nen mainly provided him with enhanced stamina.
But ninjutsu was different.
The more chakra consumed, the more powerful an offensive ninjutsu could become. It was not bound by the restrictions of Actual Aura Power at all.
Currently, after converting the Nen rented from Milia into chakra, Luo Ning's total value was around 23,500. The moment the ninjutsu was unleashed, it consumed approximately 13,000 units of his chakra!
the power of this single strike was roughly ten times the explosive power of the Big Bang Impact and Cherry Blossom Impact combined!
"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
The chakra condensed within Luo Ning's body transformed into scorching flames, which he spat out from his mouth in a single breath!
The searing heat instantly formed a powerful firestorm on the stage, turning everything in the vicinity into a sea of fire. Uvogin, being the primary target, was directly swallowed by the intense flames.
The overwhelming fire looked as if it might sweep toward the spectator stands, but it stopped spreading the moment it reached the edge of the arena. Arena 227 was already quite large, and Luo Ning had moved to the very edge of the stage when he cast the technique.
In the spectator stands, someone finally couldn't sit still when the Majestic Destroyer Flame erupted.
Two figures leaped out from the crowd simultaneously. Ignoring the spectators who were frantically retreating in fear, they skirted the edge of the flames and rushed toward Luo Ning's position from the wall of the stands.
Luo Ning's gaze swept over them, and he immediately recognized their identities.
The one with his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist was Nobunaga.
The other, a petite woman with pink hair rushing toward him with an expressionless face, was one of the Troupe members, Machi—the one who specialized in transforming Nen into threads and enjoyed hanging her enemies to death.
Furthermore, Luo Ning felt pressure coming from behind him, as if he were being targeted by something. Without looking, he could roughly judge that the one aiming at him was not Shalnark, but Franklin, the Troupe member who had arrived with Machi.
He had already learned this from Milia before entering the arena. As an Emitter, Franklin specialized in medium-to-long-range attacks. This meant that Nobunaga and Machi's attacks would likely arrive only after Franklin's assault had descended.
The Majestic Destroyer Flame was complete. A large amount of chakra had left Luo Ning's body, leaving his hands free once again.
His hands formed a cross seal in front of him.
Another Luo Ning appeared directly behind him. Immediately upon appearing, the clone began to form hand signs rapidly.
"Earth Style: Mudshore Return!"
Slabs of stone flipped up from the ground, only to be riddled with holes in quick succession accompanied by a series of 'thud thud thud' sounds.
It was Franklin's predicted attack!
A barrage of Nen bullets poured down from the stands. While tearing through any spectators standing in front of that tall figure, they also shredded the stone slabs rising from the ground into dust.
However, at that exact moment, Franklin—who was standing on the high platform with earlobes reaching his chest and hands raised, his fingertips flipped open like gun barrels to release Nen bullets—suddenly felt a sense of crisis.
He instinctively dodged to the side, his raised hands sweeping the Nen bullets in that direction.
He saw a young man with an inverted V-shaped hairstyle quickly dodging the lethal spray of Nen bullets. Franklin's brow furrowed as he sensed the strength of the opponent's aura; it gave him a vague feeling of being on par with himself. Especially when he glimpsed the spot he had just occupied, he saw a small hole that had appeared out of nowhere, making him even more cautious.
'Did that Luo Ning on the stage make arrangements in the shadows long ago?'
With such an assistant, it was no wonder he dared to accept Uvogin's challenge on stage.
By now, Nobunaga and Machi had closed in on Luo Ning's vicinity at the edge of the stage. But before the two could strike, Luo Ning crouched down and pressed both hands onto the ground.
"Earth Style: Earth Flowing River!"
Luo Ning injected chakra into the ground. The floor and the walls being stepped on by Nobunaga and Machi resonated with his chakra, instantly changing from solid stone into undulating mud.
The two of them, never expecting such a change, had no time to react. The moment they stepped forward, they fell into the mud. A peculiar force even swirled around them as they sank, dragging them rapidly toward the center of the stage.
Machi waved her hand, shooting out Nen threads into the bodies of nearby spectators. The spectators became her best tools; as she pulled them toward her, she pressed down on them, using them as leverage to force herself out of the mud's restriction.
Meanwhile, Luo Ning had already leaped off the stage and was running quickly toward the exit.
As for Uvogin on the stage, the flames from the Majestic Destroyer Flame had not yet completely dissipated, and Luo Ning wasn't sure if this strike could thoroughly burn him to death.
But he didn't have time to check carefully now.
The Pro Hunters he had hired with a high salary could help him briefly stall Franklin and the others, but if he really expected them to stop the Troupe entirely, Luo Ning felt that was unlikely. For a bit of money, the Hunters wouldn't completely risk their lives for him. Specifically, the people he had hired were either members of the Hunters Guild or mercenaries. These guys were experts at doing the bare minimum to collect a reward.
During his last transaction with Wesley, Luo Ning had taken an interest in Wesley's bodyguard, Adley. After all, that was someone who would assist Beyond in traveling to the Dark Continent in the future; he certainly had strength.
Therefore, using Adley to block the Troupe members was, in Luo Ning's view, the best choice. Moreover, Adley had brought him a surprise: he could help contact mercenaries to provide him with safe harbor.
Luo Ning had naturally and happily agreed.
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