In fact, Rimo had been guarding against this old Yin-Yang bastard ever since Oss waved his hand and ordered his younger brothers to surround him.
From the brief exchange earlier, Rimo could already tell that Oss's personality was completely different from his rough and reckless appearance. Just like Rimo 's predecessor, Oss was a LYB who liked to play dirty tricks from the shadows rather than charge head-on.
So as early as the moment Oss pulled out the dagger, Rimo had already begun moving toward Machi without hesitation.
After all, Rimo possessed super-speed regeneration. If Oss's target had been himself, Rimo would not have worried in the slightest.
The only thing he truly feared was Oss aiming for Machi. If Machi were killed, Rimo would truly have nowhere to cry.
Rimo 's sudden appearance completely exceeded the expectations of both Machi and Oss.
For a moment, both of them froze at the same time.
With the blessing of his Nen and physical strength, Oss's dagger pierced straight through Rimo 's abdomen, opening a horrifying hole.
Blood instantly soaked through Rimo 's clothes from the wound, bright red spreading rapidly across his white fabric.
"Rimo !!!"
Machi completely panicked.
Those large, crystal-clear eyes were filled with fear, and the tears that had been trembling in her eye sockets instantly overflowed and rolled down her cheeks.
Flustered and at a loss, Machi pressed both hands tightly against Rimo 's wound, desperately trying to stop the bleeding.
But it was completely useless. The blood continued to flow mercilessly through her fingers.
Machi slowly raised her head, staring blankly at Rimo , who was still wearing that familiar smile.
The moment she realized she might lose him, countless beautiful memories shattered one by one inside her mind.
At that instant, Machi felt as if her heart was being tightly squeezed by an invisible hand.
Even breathing hurt.
Oss, however, felt the complete opposite of Machi.
After a brief moment of shock, his face was immediately filled with uncontrollable ecstasy.
Originally, he had only planned to kill Machi, the support role, first. But he never expected that the main pillar, Rimo , would throw himself in front of the blade.
This was simply a gift from heaven.
Oss couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Jie hahahahahaha! I never expected there to be such a stupid person in Meteor Street. Ba Ba, don't worry, I'll send the rest of them down to keep you company soon!"
Lost in his excitement, Oss did not even notice that Machi had shouted Rimo 's real name.
To him, as long as Rimo was dead, capturing Machi would be effortless. After that, he could slowly use her as leverage to eliminate Uvogin and Nobunaga one by one.
And maybe… just maybe… he could even pick up the desire for Machi that he had abandoned earlier.
What Oss didn't know was that when he was attacked by the elder's direct guard and forcibly initiated, his Aura Nodes had been violently opened.
At this very moment, under the stimulation of Oss's Nen, Rimo 's Aura Nodes were also beginning to open one after another.
In Oss's understanding, Rimo 's ability to conjure flying knives out of thin air already proved that Rimo was a Nen user.
Since he was a capable person from the beginning, Oss never considered the possibility that Rimo could suddenly awaken more power.
He also didn't understand concepts like Ren, Zetsu, or Gyo, nor could he judge Nen by observing aura flow.
And even if Rimo suddenly became stronger, Oss believed that a hole blasted through the abdomen was still fatal.
Boom!!
A massive surge of Qi erupted violently from Rimo 's body!
In an instant, Rimo was completely enveloped by steam-like aura.
The Qi he released unconsciously soared to a terrifying height of five or six meters into the air.
So-called Qi referred to the life energy within the body, and the ability to control and utilize that life energy for offense or defense was called Nen.
After merging with [Indestructible], Rimo obtained an immortal body, and the life energy within him could be described as endless.
Of course, that did not mean Rimo was invincible.
Leaving aside the strange and absolute rules of Nen, even in terms of raw aura volume, Rimo was not yet truly unstoppable.
It was like possessing an enormous reservoir of water, but only having a tiny faucet to release it.
No matter how vast the water supply, it was meaningless if it could not be properly output.
When it was said that a person's aura amount was fixed, it referred to their potential aura.
The usable aura required constant training to gradually convert that potential into active Nen.
This was clearly shown during Biscuit's training of Gon and Killua in the Chimera Ant arc. At first, they could only maintain Ren for a few minutes, and later they managed half an hour.
Even so, the Nen Rimo unconsciously released was already more than enough to suppress Oss.
At this moment, Rimo 's aura was so overwhelming that even Oss, who had not mastered Gyo, could clearly perceive it.
An oppressive pressure from the level of life itself radiated outward from Rimo 's body.
"T-This… this is…"
In Oss's vision, it felt as if a gigantic beast was roaring endlessly inside Rimo .
Cold sweat poured down Oss's forehead like rain.
Clang—
His hands trembled violently, and the dagger slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.
At the same time, the massive hole Oss had stabbed into Rimo 's abdomen healed completely the instant Rimo 's Aura Nodes fully opened.
Rimo completely ignored Oss, who had already been frightened out of his wits.
From the moment his Aura Nodes opened, Oss had become nothing more than a disposable ant.
One squeeze was enough to crush him.
Rimo slowly raised his hands, watching with curiosity as a steady stream of Qi continued to rise from his body.
"I remember… keeping the Qi still, standing in place… imagining my own image… imagining the Qi flowing through the body like blood, starting from the head, through the right shoulder, arms, legs… then to the left…"
"…then imagining the flow slowing down, gradually stopping… surrounding the body, forming a wall."
Rimo recalled Yungu's teachings to Gon and Killua and followed them step by step.
For Rimo , this kind of visualization was not difficult at all.
In an instant, the contraction of Qi was completed.
The aura that had soared five or six meters high rapidly compressed and smoothly wrapped around Rimo 's body.
It felt like being submerged in thick liquid, yet also like wearing weightless armor.
[Ten].
Although the visual impact was far less dramatic than before, Rimo could clearly feel that his power had increased exponentially.
Rimo took a deep breath, overwhelmed with excitement.
With endless vitality as a foundation, his Qi was constantly growing.
It was like having an automatic cultivation system running nonstop.
There was no helping it—his life force was simply overflowing.
Rimo clenched both fists.
This feeling of power… was intoxicating.
After admiring his newfound strength for a moment, Rimo tilted his head and looked at Oss, who was drenched in sweat.
"So… how do you think I should thank you?"
Endless malicious intent surged from Rimo 's body, spreading outward in all directions around Machi.