Ging attended the auction solely to bid on the Scarlet Eyes and the Bone-Chopping Scarlet Knife from the Seven Chef's Knives.
Therefore, after winning the Scarlet Eyes, there was no need to stay until the auction ended. He left midway, contacted the auction staff, paid, collected his items, and departed.
However, shortly after leaving the Southernpiece Auction, he was intercepted by Gregg and Eros.
From their urgent behavior, Ging concluded that they, like him, were tasked with obtaining the Scarlet Eyes at all costs.
Due to his intervention, the bidding price had far exceeded their budget, leading them to abandon formal bidding and resort to underhanded tactics instead.
Of course, these two men, who might as well have "I'm a gangster" written on their faces, were more inclined toward coercive buying and selling.
That's why they showed themselves openly instead of attacking without a word.
This could be discerned from the fluctuations in their aura.
But Ging had no interest in wasting time here and directly preempted their coercive intentions.
Nevertheless, Ging didn't immediately take action, waiting instead for the conditions of "self-defense" to be met.
In Gregg and Eros's eyes, Ging's stance not only revealed a weak aura but was also full of openings in every movement.
They had initially been cautious because this was the Ten Dons' territory, thinking that even if they used underhanded methods, they shouldn't go too far.
But now, seeing Ging so weak yet completely unaware...
They exchanged a glance, deciding to beat Ging up first, then force him to sell them the Scarlet Eyes.
As Nen users from the Kakin mafia, these two probably couldn't even dream that a world-class powerhouse would pretend to be weak in such a place.
And he acted so naturally, even talking about preparing for self-defense.
Normally, someone with such terrifying strength wouldn't mess around like this.
A single slap would send them to meet their great-grandmothers.
Yet, this seemingly impossible scenario was exactly what Ging Freecss, one of the world's top five Nen users, was pulling off.
"Coincidentally, we're in a hurry too."
Gregg cracked his knuckles, his expression blank.
The Fourth Prince had given them until September 10th to deliver the Scarlet Eyes, so they needed to obtain it quickly and immediately depart for Kakin.
Without wasting words, Eros surged with a torrent-like aura, charging at Ging like a grizzly bear.
"Not planning to put down the eyes..."
As he launched his attack, Eros noticed Ging still holding the Scarlet Eyes with both hands, showing no intention of letting go. His brow twitched slightly.
Such a foolish act was actually troublesome for him.
After all, he had to control his strength to avoid killing Ging with one punch and account for Ging's resistance to ensure the Scarlet Eyes wouldn't be damaged in the process.
However, Eros's concern soon turned into a bewildered emotion mixed with shock.
As he raised his fist and approached Ging, poised to strike, his vision suddenly trembled and blurred, accompanied by a crisp sound of shattering bone ringing in his ears.
Huh?
A brief moment of disorientation and a sharp pain erupting from his jaw made Eros realize belatedly that he had been hit.
When did that...?!
But Eros couldn't see where the attack had come from; at the very least, it definitely wasn't from Ging's hands.
Confusion and bewilderment flooded Eros's mind in that instant, followed by his body losing strength as he staggered backward and collapsed onto the ground.
"Eros?"
Gregg, who had also rushed forward, sensed something was wrong upon hearing the sound of breaking bone.
But in the mere blink of an eye as he shifted his gaze and looked back at Ging's position, Ging was nowhere to be seen.
Moreover, in that extremely brief moment, when he realized Ging's aura had also vanished, he hadn't heard any movement or detected even the slightest fluctuation in aura.
In other words, that seemingly weak guy had likely retracted all his aura output into his body at an absurdly fast speed before "shifting position."
He used Zetsu; he's definitely going to sneak up on us...
Driven by a strong sense of crisis, Gregg, realizing this in an instant, spurred the fastest burst of thinking in his life.
He concluded that the opponent would stealthily approach for a surprise attack.
So, almost simultaneously with losing sight of Ging, he clenched his fists, lowered his gaze to the concrete ground, and suddenly, like a gorilla, slammed his fists forcefully into the ground.
Boom!
His fists, wrapped in Nen, shattered the concrete ground.
Propelled by the violent impact, a barrage of shattered stones shot out in all directions, forming a protective barrier around Gregg.
This was Gregg's countermeasure in the nick of time.
Even if it couldn't harm Ging, it would force Ging, who was in Zetsu, to retreat.
That's what Gregg thought.
But as he prepared to regroup, his gaze pierced through the flying debris and he saw... Ging was still in his original position.
As if he had never disappeared in the first place.
How...?
Gregg was momentarily stunned, completely baffled by what had happened, with no mental capacity left to ponder the reason.
He quickly lifted his hands from the ground, about to straighten up.
But as he began to rise, a sudden dizziness made him stagger and drop to one knee. His right hand, hastily used to support himself, trembled uncontrollably.
Was I... hit?
At that moment, Gregg shared the same doubt as Eros.
Unfortunately, Ging wouldn't answer that question.
Because both his hands were holding the Scarlet Eyes, he could only use his "feet" to deal with Gregg and Eros.
And he hadn't actually vanished earlier.
He had simply observed Gregg's eyeballs and deftly shifted into Gregg's blind spot.
Of course, he had indeed closed all his aura nodes.
Meaning, he had moved with ghostly speed and skill, without any Nen enhancement, to maneuver within Gregg's blind spot.
Thus, he created the illusion that Gregg assumed he was sneaking up for a surprise attack.
By baiting out the opponent's move recovery like this, the rest became easy.
Just like a side-scrolling fighting game... Find the opening, land a combo, and finish them off.
In Ging's view, most battles between Nen users were practically no different from games.
No matter the type of opponent, strong or weak, there was always a strategy to clear the stage the fastest.
Better to cripple them.
Ging thought for a moment.
He didn't intend to kill Gregg and Eros, but they wouldn't escape punishment.
With that thought, he walked toward Gregg and Eros. Along the way, he casually lifted his foot and, with incredibly precise control of force, sent a Nen bullet with just the right amount of power into the nearest target, Gregg's body.
This was the same method he had used to attack Gregg and Eros earlier.
But he wasn't an Emission ability user.
For him, however, mastering Emission attack techniques like this was an easy feat.
It was a result of his innate talent.
At that moment, Gregg, struck by the Nen bullet, finally realized that he had been hit by one earlier. Amid the intense pain, his slightly contorted face showed an expression of disbelief.
He actually just used his foot to...
Gregg's eyes trembled violently as he stared at Ging as if looking at a monster.
The earlier confrontation had actually been witnessed by two people hiding in the shadows.
One was Morrow, the other Morena.
In a normal Nen battle, when a second-rate fighter faced a powerhouse like Ging, only those directly involved could truly grasp the despairing gap in strength.
But the current situation was far from normal.
Even as bystanders, Morrow and Morena could keenly feel Ging's extraordinary and terrifying power.
His skill... is just too monstrous.
Morrow recalled the earlier battle scene.
He firmly believed that if Ging wanted to, even without using his hands, he could rely on his overwhelming aura superiority to instantly crush Gregg and Eros.
But Ging didn't resort to brute force. Instead, he used an even lower manifested Nen quantity than Gregg and Eros...
Then, with terrifying skill and minimal Nen consumption, he effortlessly took down Gregg and Eros, two of the Heil-Ly Family's top combatants.
This is... the strength of one of the world's top five Nen users.
Can that level of skill be achieved through "effort" alone?
Probably... talent is the most crucial foundation.
Just from catching a glimpse of Ging's strength in that brief exchange, Morrow had already grasped the true weight of a world-class powerhouse.
It was as if a new door had been opened for him.
But beyond that door stood an insurmountable peak.
The talent possessed by geniuses... also varied in degree.
And Ging's talent undoubtedly belonged to the highest tier.
Morrow could use Tree Rings to quickly close the gap in aura output level, but he couldn't change the innate gap in talent.
However, he suddenly thought of the ability "Starlight Convergence."
Could Starlight Convergence replicate Ging's level of skill...
Morrow considered the possibility.
A person's innate talent might be fixed from birth.
But the infinite possibilities of "Nen abilities" might be able to change that reality.
Just as Morrow's thoughts drifted, the situation on the field had already been settled.
Ging disabled Gregg and Eros with precise control, maximizing their injuries to the point of permanent disability while ensuring they remained alive.
"Why didn't you kill me?!!!"
Gregg, who could no longer feel his body, glared at Ging with bloodshot eyes.
Hearing Gregg's grief-stricken and furious words, Ging replied in a matter-of-fact tone: "If I killed you, that would be excessive self-defense. I'm a law-abiding citizen and firmly refuse to break the law."
"You... what kind of joke is this?!"
Gregg would never believe such nonsense from Ging, thinking he was merely toying with him. He roared hoarsely: "Damn bastard, don't think this is over! The Heil-Ly Family will never let you get away with this!!!"
"Then bring it on."
Ging said with utter nonchalance: "My name is Ging Freecss."
After casually revealing his identity, he paid no attention to Gregg's reaction and turned sideways to look at the nearby greenery.
"You're the mastermind, aren't you... Had enough of the show?"
After a brief dead silence, Morena in a long dress emerged from behind the tree.
Ging observed Morena, who showed no intention of fighting, and said: "After watching the spectacle, didn't consider sneaking away?"
"I don't engage in meaningless actions."
Morena walked through the plants, her face expressionless as if she had already detached herself from life and death.
Her implied meaning was that escape from Ging's watchful eyes was impossible.
Hearing this, Ging calmly stated: "I'm in a hurry. If you could cooperate obediently, it would be a great help."
"Alright."
Morena maintained her Zetsu state throughout. To any observer, she showed no signs of struggle or resistance, like a fish lying on the chopping block.
"So, since I 'didn't make a move,' how do you plan to deal with me?"
"Equal treatment."
Ging glanced sideways at Gregg and Eros, who were still roaring impotently on the ground, making his meaning perfectly clear.
Morena said calmly: "If you consider this justified self-defense too, then go ahead."
"You're... quite interesting."
As he spoke, Ging lightly flicked his toe, sending a Nen bullet toward the unresisting Morena.
Morena remained unperturbed, though she sighed quietly to herself.
If this is how it ends, then so be it.
With an attitude of complete detachment, Morena instantly accepted her fate of being disabled here.
Just as the Nen bullet was about to hit Morena, a figure suddenly appeared before her.
This figure was none other than Morrow, who had been observing from the shadows.
The moment he appeared, he swatted at the Nen bullet with his palm.
A crisp clink sounded.
The Nen bullet was deflected by Morrow's palm but struck Gregg directly in the chest as he was shouting angrily.
A spray of blood blossomed from his chest, his expression froze, and he gradually lost all signs of life.
"Such is the unpredictability of fate."
Morrow looked at Gregg, whose life was taken by the stray bullet, and sighed sincerely.
Morena gazed at Morrow, who had suddenly appeared to block the Nen bullet for her, her usually placid face slowly revealing a trace of surprise.
She paid no attention to Gregg, who had been killed by the stray bullet, feeling only inexplicable confusion in her heart.
Seeing Gregg's fate, Eros instinctively shut his mouth.
Ging glanced at the lifeless Gregg, then turned his gaze to Morrow, his eyes holding a trace of barely perceptible peculiarity.
Morrow, with his back to Morena, swiftly exchanged a look with Ging.
"This woman stays put, I need her."
"Oh, understood."
"Want to fire another shot?"
"?"
A question mark popped up over Ging's head, but he considerately kicked another Nen bullet toward Morrow while shouting loudly:
"I didn't expect you to have companions! Then don't blame me for being ruthless, take this!"
"Ridiculous. What use is such a weak attack?"
Morrow sneered coldly, raising his hand once again to swat the Nen bullet away.
Ding.
The Nen bullet was deflected, flying unerringly toward the immobilized Eros on the ground.
"Hey...!!!"
Eros' eyes widened abruptly.
Thud.
The second stray bullet casualty appeared in the arena.
"Impossible! Could this be your Emission ability?!"
Morrow exclaimed in surprise.
Ging replied calmly, "You discovered it too late."
"Damn it, I was careless."
Morrow's tone was filled with gravity.
Morena: "..."