The result was clear. Although the attack hit Takeru squarely, it failed to inflict any meaningful damage...
After casting a brief, indifferent glance in the direction of the attack, Takeru continued walking deeper into the estate.
Seeing Takeru completely ignore her, Kikyo felt a surge of anger. Her ability activated, and a dense barrage of projectiles shot towards Takeru. Yet, it was all utterly futile...
"Paper Blizzard! Wind!" Under his mother's orders, Kalluto, seeing Takeru disregard them, unleashed his Nen Ability, launching a direct attack.
Takeru, surrounded by a storm of paper shards, stopped and allowed the onslaught to continue unimpeded...
However, all the paper shards merely fluttered off upon contact with Takeru, who felt no pain whatsoever...
"Your attacks are completely useless, you know," Takeru said with a cold smirk as he slowly advanced toward the two.
Hearing him, Kalluto didn't respond, merely fanning his paper fan with greater force. With his movement, the fallen paper shards on the ground seemed to be pulled by a strange force, forming a chaotic vortex that rushed towards Takeru.
Unfortunately, the result was much the same as before. The shards barely touched Takeru before falling away once more...
Witnessing this, the expressions of Kikyo and Kalluto darkened further. Kalluto rapidly fanned his paper fan repeatedly, gathering a massive swarm of paper shards that surged toward Takeru as a concentrated stream.
"Snake Bite Dance," Kalluto's voice drifted over after the paper stream had already struck Takeru...
"What an overconfident fool!" Kikyo sneered upon seeing this. Clearly, she didn't believe Takeru could survive such an assault...
Yet, her smile quickly vanished. As the paper shards scattered, Takeru's completely unharmed form was revealed once again...
Though his equipment had been damaged, it instantly repaired itself.
"Go. Subdue them." Looking at the two, Takeru summoned the Shadow Persons hidden within his own shadow...
At his command, the Shadow Persons materialized and immediately launched attacks at Kalluto and Kikyo.
Using Gyo to focus Nen in their eyes, the two saw the figures of the Shadow Persons and quickly distanced themselves from Takeru...
However, the Shadow Persons, following Takeru's orders, attacked expressionlessly with simple, straightforward punches and kicks. Their fists were coated in Armament Haki, though their naturally dark forms made the distinction less obvious...
The Shadow Persons' attacks were basic… simple punches and kicks. While their speed was decent and they instinctively used Observation Haki, Kikyo and Kalluto were no pushovers, skillfully dodging the attacks and launching counterattacks...
"Do not dodge. Endure the attacks," Takeru ordered again.
Hearing this, the Shadow Persons pressed their attacks without evading, disregarding any potential damage. The result was predictable: Kikyo and Kalluto couldn't breach the Shadow Persons' defense, while the clones' attacks could injure them. Without further thought, the two retreated, fleeing towards the mansion...
Seeing them leave, Takeru recalled the pursuing Shadow Persons, allowing them to fade back into his shadow.
He then checked his equipment. The defense values had increased again: Twilight Shadow's defense rose from 40 to 60, the armor's from 50 to 75, and finally, Twilight Moon now provided an additional 45 defense and a staggering 90 Strength.
Sensing the increase in his own power, Takeru threw a plain punch at a nearby tree, unleashing no special energy. The tree was effortlessly sent flying...
After briefly experiencing his enhanced strength, Takeru resumed his journey toward the mansion...
As he neared the butler's quarters, his Observation Haki detected several figures lying in ambush within the forest, led by Gotoh...
However, unlike the others, Gotoh stood directly in Takeru's path...
"What is your business here? Have you come seeking revenge?" Gotoh asked solemnly, a serious look on his face as he deftly manipulated special coins in his hands.
"Well, how to put it... I've come to find Zeno Zoldyck and Silva Zoldyck. I wish to test my skills against them. Of course, you are free to treat me as an invader… that's perfectly fine," Takeru replied with confident composure.
"I understand," Gotoh said, nodding. Then, with a swift motion of both hands, he launched a barrage of coins at Takeru...
Simultaneously, from the forest, the four other butlers in ambush sprang their attack.
Takeru, however, remained utterly calm. He simply used his shield to block Gotoh's coin assault.
"Shadow Corps," Takeru murmured softly. Four Shadow Persons were summoned, and Takeru's Aura Capacity diminished by about ten percent. Unconcerned, he assigned one clone to each of the attacking butlers...
Gotoh, seeing Takeru easily block his attack with the shield and then summon Nen Constructs, frowned deeply.
But having already labeled Takeru an invader, he had no intention of backing down. The speed of his coin attacks increased, a relentless stream of spinning projectiles pouring toward Takeru...
Yet, the outcome was similar to before. The coins striking the shield, which had now evolved twice, could only leave faint marks, far from triggering the Destructive Evolution skill...
"Ah, what a pity. Your attacks are completely ineffective," Takeru sighed, observing the marks on his shield.
"Oh, is that so?" Gotoh's expression remained unchanged as he continued his assault. This time, he used coin collisions to alter trajectories, sending coins arcing around Takeru's shield to strike his body directly...
"Oh? Because I carry a shield, you assume my personal defense is weak?" Takeru sneered, perceiving the tactic through his Observation Haki.
"Then let me show you despair," He stated flatly. He lowered his shield, allowing the high-velocity, spinning coins to strike him directly.
Takeru's sudden action surprised Gotoh. Then, as the coins impacted Takeru without causing any injury, shock replaced surprise on Gotoh's face...
"Soru!"
In that moment of Gotoh's astonishment, Takeru used Soru to appear directly behind him.
Sensing danger, Gotoh instinctively threw a punch behind him. Takeru met it with a fist cloaked in Gyo...
Boom!
A loud impact echoed as Gotoh was sent flying. Though he had used Ken for defense and wasn't severely injured, he was undoubtedly left in a disheveled state!
Quickly getting to his feet, Gotoh wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, glaring at Takeru with a grim expression.
He truly hadn't expected someone so young to have developed his Nen Abilities to such an extent.
Most baffling was that bizarre defensive capability. Gotoh was certain Takeru hadn't been using Ten or Ken to protect himself when he lowered the shield.
"You should realize the gap between us now, shouldn't you?" Takeru said coolly, watching Gotoh stand.
Takeru naturally hadn't used his full strength in that strike. While it wouldn't have killed Gotoh, getting up wouldn't have been so easy otherwise.
"Perhaps. But as a butler, I have no reason to retreat," Gotoh replied firmly, glancing at his colleagues still locked in combat with Takeru's Shadow Persons.
As he spoke, another set of coins appeared in his hand. Even knowing they might not inflict significant damage, this was his strongest form of attack...
"That's enough, Gotoh. Leave the rest to me." Just as Gotoh prepared to risk his life to stop Takeru, a figure appeared silently beside him and spoke.
"We haven't met before, have we? Your actions don't seem like those of someone seeking revenge against our Zoldyck Family," Zeno said, looking at Takeru with curiosity.
"Correct. I have no other purpose here. I merely wish to spar with you," Takeru replied, nodding in agreement with Zeno's words.