Even Chrollo isn't a match for Hisoka in one-on-one encounters.
Kaizen had imagined a battle between himself and Hisoka many times before.
In a pure one-on-one fight, Kaizen knew he wouldn't necessarily outperform Hisoka.
Of course, that didn't mean he was weaker.
It was more about how much of one's actual strength could be displayed in such a setting.
Let's put it in numbers.
Kaizen might be able to draw out 90% of his true power in a straight fight.
Hisoka? Maybe 96%.
Like Chrollo, Kaizen wasn't built for spontaneous battles. His strength lay in preparation and planning.
Still, if push came to shove, Kaizen wouldn't back down from a direct confrontation.
There was a power gap between them—but Kaizen's arsenal was broader.
So even if he could only show 90%, that 90% still surpassed Hisoka's 96%.
And in a planned fight?
Kaizen could go all out—100%.
Hisoka? Maybe 98%, at best.
...
Kaizen loaded 17 units of aura into the Hexflare Bomb. Once the Bomb was prepped, he transferred it to his other hand.
Boom!
The frost bomb struck the target dead-on, freezing it instantly.
Crack!
A sharp cracking sound echoed. The next second, the target shattered on the ground into a hundred icy fragments.
"Flame."
"Frost."
"Corrosion."
"Explosion."
"Thunder."
"Storm."
Kaizen evaluated each one calmly, analyzing the target's reaction.
"Flame has a burn effect, obviously… but I don't really need to use it."
"Natsu and Uchiha Sasuke are already strong with fire attacks."
"If I use flame bombs, it's just feeding aura to Natsu through an unnecessary step. I might as well transfer aura directly—much more efficient."
"Frost? Very useful. Slows the enemy down. Combine it with Libra's gravity game and add in Mist, and it becomes a serious control combo."
"Corrosion… not very effective. Probably won't find many uses for it."
"Explosion? Can't compete with Killer Queen's firepower—but it could be useful to mask Killer Queen's true ability."
Kaizen wasn't keen on revealing Killer Queen's power just yet. The longer he could keep it under wraps, the better.
"Thunder's like Sasuke's Lightning-Style jutsu. Causes some paralysis."
"Storm's not particularly lethal—it's mostly cutting. Kinda like Wendy's Blade Storm. Covers a wide area though."
"It's hard for an enemy to dodge. Good option for unpredictable attacks."
...
The day's training passed quickly.
For Kaizen, adjusting to changes in his Hexflare Bomb was a breeze—whether hitting stationary targets or tracking moving ones.
His control had reached a near-master level.
...
At lunch, Kaizen sent Shinji off to the training ground.
Dinner was held in his courtyard restaurant.
Just Kaizen and Ponzu.
Recently, Kaizen had been testing the maids. He'd given them two conditions:
Use only high-quality ingredients.
Never repeat a dish.
There were also strict quantity requirements—each meal had to meet a minimum amount.
In general, the better the ingredient, the harder it was to cook right. Low-grade ingredients were more forgiving. But high-end ones? If mishandled, the result was obvious.
Several maids worked together in the kitchen.
As Kaizen took his first bite, he could feel the food transform in his stomach—radiating a soft warmth throughout his body.
The effect of Gourmet Cells.
...
Night fell.
Kaizen took a shower, changed into pajamas, and lay down with a book in hand.
His great-grandfather Maha Zoldyck had once told him to slow down and savor life.
Kaizen figured reading was as good a place to start as any.
And there was one more thing on his mind—
Second Shadow.
He wanted to improve the distribution methods of Raiken and Akutagawa Ryunosuke to further empower Natsu and Sasuke.
This ability had originated during the Hunter Exam, but ever since then, he'd been too busy to refine it.
Now that the Saherta affair had settled, his next plans were Heavens Arena and Gourmet Paradise.
He'd finally have time.
...
"Transfer the comics from my memories..."
"I remember them, but not every panel perfectly."
"I'll need to reconstruct them from memory, then revise."
"But to do that, I need decent literary and artistic skill. Otherwise, the result will be too low-quality to be worth publishing."
"This isn't a rush job—quality comes before speed."
Natsu and Sasuke weren't temporary allies. They'd be long-term parts of Kaizen's arsenal.
So when it came to adapting Raiken and Akutagawa Ryunosuke, it wasn't about how fast he could get it out.
It was about impact.
"I should read more on this…"
"Then, pick a platform."
Pause.
"No… why should I pick a platform?"
"I could just make one myself."
A spark lit in Kaizen's eyes.
"I've got the money. Altan has the best tech. And I've got the right connections."
"The Hunter Association. Fiora. Kakin…"
"I can absolutely build my own online platform."
"Start by offering generous terms to attract authors."
"Once there are enough contributors and works, readers will naturally follow."
"Then I can promote Raiken and Akutagawa Ryunosuke directly on the platform."
"It'd be way more effective than just submitting it elsewhere."
...
"For print publishing, I can partner with existing companies—or start one myself."
"Compared to my previous life, the internet here is still lagging."
"That means novels might be easier to promote than comics for now. Less bandwidth needed."
"The platform can cover both—novels and comics."
"And animation."
"A triple threat."
"Raiken and Akutagawa Ryunosuke can both be adapted into novels and anime versions too…"
Kaizen closed the book with a soft thump.
A new project had just begun.
------------
Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (1047 chapters in total)