Chapter 9: Nine Points Lost
Just then, the referee's voice rang out: "CRITICAL HIT! Gon scores 2 points!"
"WOAAAAAH!"
The stadium erupted in a deafening roar. The audience was flushed with excitement. They didn't really think Gon could win, but seeing the untouchable Hisoka actually get hit gave them a perverse thrill.
Hisoka licked the blood from his lips. His expression wasn't pained; it was as if he had just tasted an unexpected delicacy.
Wearing a chilling, excited smile, he slowly walked toward Gon.
Gon took a deep breath, pulled the #44 badge from his pocket, and held it out.
Hisoka looked at the badge and took it. This was his formal acknowledgment of this "green fruit."
The instant their eyes met, both leaped back, creating distance.
Without hesitation, Gon activated Gyo, focusing Nen in his eyes. His entire Aura flared to life.
Hisoka, seeing this, showed a flicker of surprise, which quickly melted into a thicker, more intense excitement. "It seems you've done your homework on my ability... But it looks like... it wasn't quite enough!"
Before his words even faded, Hisoka vanished.
So fast! Gon's pupils contracted. This speed was far beyond his expectations. He kicked out on pure instinct.
SMACK!
Hisoka blocked it easily, and an instant later, a tearing pain erupted in Gon's stomach—Hisoka's fist was buried deep.
"Urk!" Gon grunted, his entire body sent flying backward as if hit by a sledgehammer.
"GON!" Killua shot up from his seat, his nails digging so deep into his palms they nearly drew blood. A mix of rage and an unfamiliar, suffocating helplessness washed over him. Hisoka's power was far beyond his worst-case scenario. This feeling of watching his friend be brutalized, unable to do anything, was sickening.
Kyle's eyes were locked on the ring. "Hisoka didn't even use Ken to reinforce that punch... That was just his basic Aura output and physical strength."
Beside them, Wing said grimly, "That is the absolute gap in Aura. Gon, you must feel that chasm now... Don't push yourself too far..."
Before Gon even hit the ground, he saw with a jolt of panic that Hisoka had already appeared at his landing spot.
Worse, Hisoka's fist was pulled back in an exaggerated wind-up, as if gathering all his power.
I can't take that head-on! Gon twisted in mid-air, crossing his arms to guard, focusing his Aura for defense.
But the next moment, the unbelievable happened.
Hisoka's punch seemed to have a bizarre, drilling force that tore right through his guard, smashing solidly into his cheek.
POW!
Gon hit the floor hard. Blood sprayed from his mouth. His vision swam, the world spinning. With astonishing willpower, he flipped to his feet and jumped back again.
It's no good. I can see him, but my body can't keep up! The gap in speed and power is too big!
And... my right arm... He realized with dawning horror that his right arm was sluggish, heavy, as if stuck in invisible glue.
It was when we exchanged the badge! Or during one of his attacks!
He instantly understood his situation. He dropped his Gyo, which was draining his reserves, to focus every last bit of Aura on defense.
"Down! A clean hit! Hisoka scores 4 points!" the referee's judgment echoed.
Hisoka savored the defiant light still burning in the boy's eyes. It was just delicious.
Is this how it ends? No! Absolutely not!
A stubbornness, a rage that came from his very bones, exploded outward, banishing the pain and fear. Gon's eyes became as hard as a cornered animal's. He stared at Hisoka.
"HISOKA! Now, I'll show you my new power!"
With a roar, he focused his entire mind and strength into his right fist.
Before the shocked eyes of the entire stadium, his right fist and forearm, in an instant, turned a deep, light-absorbing, pitch-black!
"IT... IT CHANGED COLOR! Gon's arm is black!" The announcer's voice was distorted with shock. "What is this? A new Nen ability? Some unknown mutation?"
Hisoka's pupils widened. For the first time, his playful, mocking smile vanished, replaced by a pure, greedy interest—the look of a man who had just discovered an unknown treasure.
He could feel it. That was not Nen. It was something else... another system entirely, one that was filled with a raw, primal power!
"HAAAA!" Gon shot forward like an arrow, his blackened fist cutting the air, aimed straight at Hisoka's face.
Incredibly, Hisoka didn't dodge!
He didn't even block. He tilted his head up, widening his eyes, wanting to feel the full impact of this unknown ability.
CRACK!
The Armament Haki-clad fist connected. Hisoka's head snapped to the side, blood flying from his mouth.
But... he was laughing. A genuine, trembling, full-bodied laugh. The pain... it was wonderful!
Gon, seeing his chance, unleashed a storm of blackened fists, pouring every ounce of himself into an assault on Hisoka's face.
Yes! Like that! Hisoka screamed internally, forcing down his own instinct to counter, just enjoying the beautiful, painful barrage.
Finally, Gon leaped, concentrating all his remaining power and Aura into that black right fist, pulling back for a decisive, finishing blow—
Hisoka's index finger, as elegant as a conductor's, twitched.
"Crap!" Gon felt an irresistible force yank on his right fist. His all-or-nothing punch went wide, and the force of his own swing, combined with the pull, left him completely off-balance and wide open.
THWACK!
Hisoka's counter-punch was simple, brutal, and had been waiting. It smashed into Gon's face.
He was sent flying. But Hisoka's finger twitched again, pulling Gon's airborne body back toward him and straight into a vicious, rising knee that slammed into his stomach.
"URK—!" Gon's eyes bulged. His stomach revolted. Acid and blood sprayed from his mouth, choking him.
It still wasn't over. Hisoka followed through, lifting his leg in a heavy side-kick that landed squarely on Gon's ribs.
Gon was sent flying like a sandbag, crashing and rolling across the arena floor.
The entire stadium was dead silent. The earlier cheers were gone, replaced by a stunned, horrified silence. Only the referee's cold voice echoed, announcing the inevitable:
"Down! Clean hit! Left hit! Right hit! 5 points for Hisoka! Hisoka's total: 9 points!"
Gon, his arms trembling violently, pushed himself up from the floor. Every part of his body screamed. His mouth was filled with the coppery taste of blood.
He lifted his face. Sweat, dirt, and blood dripped from his stubborn chin.
But his eyes were still firm, like an unquenchable flame.
Nine points to two.
One more point, and he would lose.