HunterxHunter: I Became Stronger After Death

It was as if he had sprung out of nowhere…

Hisoka's appearance was completely unexpected.

In that instant, Moro was genuinely startled.

He had anticipated that Hisoka might relentlessly pursue him, but in his mind, the chase would end at Heaven's Arena.

What he hadn't considered was that Hisoka would track him down to such a remote and obscure location in such a short amount of time.

What Moro didn't know was…

Hisoka had gone all in—spending everything he had—to find him.

If Moro had known, he might have considered taking the money and willingly telling Hisoka where he was.

Moro stared at Hisoka, suppressing the other half of the words he had been about to say.

Now, strangely, he felt calmer.

He wasn't sure if Hisoka would honor their "cold war for a year" agreement.

But he did know that Hisoka adhered strictly to certain principles. For Hisoka to show up secretly and deliberately leak his aura…

It was a clear sign that Hisoka wasn't here to engage in a one-on-one fight. He had another purpose.

If Hisoka's goal was simply to break the agreement and force a duel, he could have created the illusion of a life-threatening attack to pressure Moro into responding.

But Hisoka wouldn't do that.

In matters like this, Hisoka pursued perfection.

To him, stacking cards had to be done meticulously, with no misaligned edges. Only then could the satisfaction of toppling the cards reach its peak.

Realizing this, Moro swiftly closed his aura nodes, switching from Ren to Ten.

The attack he had prepared earlier—under the guise of pointing at Hisoka—was quietly dispelled.

Of course, such subtle movements couldn't escape Hisoka's notice.

Hisoka watched with amusement as Moro withdrew his hand, his expression and smile seemingly saying, "I don't dislike such tactics."

Seeing Hisoka's reaction, Moro became even more certain that Hisoka wasn't here to break their agreement.

Still, being under Hisoka's intense gaze was undeniably uncomfortable.

Turning his attention away from Hisoka, Moro looked at Sambika and spoke earnestly, "May I have a chance to explain myself?"

"…"

Sambika said nothing and merely shook her head.

Her aura remained at its peak, and after sensing Hisoka's deliberate release of his own aura, her defenses only grew stronger.

Hisoka's presence was indeed intimidating.

Even though Hisoka had restrained himself, his aura alone conveyed an overwhelming sense of danger to Sambika.

In her eyes, Hisoka, who radiated danger, was clearly an acquaintance of Moro.

Given the situation, her only thought was to leave this place as quickly as possible.

Feeling the heightened defensiveness in Sambika's aura, Moro sighed inwardly and tried to clarify, "I do know him, but we're not close. More importantly… I'm not like him."

"Oh," Sambika replied absentmindedly before cautiously asking, "Can I leave now?"

"Of course."

Moro had initially intended to gather more information from Sambika. If not for Hisoka's interruption, he might have already learned something significant.

From their brief interaction, Moro had developed a basic understanding of Sambika. Naturally, he wouldn't resort to force to keep her there.

"What's your name?" Moro asked as Sambika began to step away.

She paused and softly replied, "Sambika Norton."

"Sambika…" Moro repeated the name, feeling a faint sense of familiarity but unable to place it.

Could she be a minor character from the original story with very little presence?

As he pondered, Moro debated whether to follow Sambika back to the village.

He was almost certain that the "virus" originated from Nolan's research facility, but its exact location remained unclear.

Just as he was about to speak, Hisoka drawled, "Sambika, aren't you even a little curious about what kind of relationship I have with him?"

Not at all, Sambika thought.

But while she was accustomed to going with the flow, she knew better than to say that out loud in this situation.

"What kind of relationship?" she asked, indulging the eager expression on Hisoka's face.

Hisoka's lips curled into a grin. "We're in a passionate relationship… though we're currently in a cold war."

"?"

Sambika froze, her large eyes filled with confusion as if her brain had suddenly been overloaded with incomprehensible equations.

Moro's eyelids drooped as he gave up any hope of salvaging his image in Sambika's mind.

This… this was the price of stealing kills.

Still, if given the chance, he'd probably do it all over again.

The silence stretched for a couple of seconds.

Sambika finally let out a sharp breath, cautiously glanced at Hisoka, then turned to Moro.

"Can I… go now?"

She was desperate to leave, not wanting to stay a moment longer. If it weren't for the palpable strength of both men, she would've fled without looking back.

Hearing her request, Moro sighed and abandoned the idea of following her back to the village. Instead, he tiredly waved his hand, granting her permission to leave.

Taking this as a yes, Sambika turned and left without hesitation.

Only when she was sure there were no movements behind her did she relax slightly.

"Master was right—perverts are terrifying!" Sambika thought as she quickened her pace.

Moro watched her retreating figure and let out another sigh.

"Ugh."

Turning to Hisoka, Moro asked, "Are you planning to break our agreement?"

"Of course not," Hisoka replied, casually toying with a playing card.

Moro frowned. "Then why are you here? Don't tell me this is just a coincidence."

"I came specifically to find you," Hisoka said bluntly, a rare moment of directness. "To… end our cold war as quickly as possible."

"So, you do want to break the agreement," Moro replied sharply.

Hisoka raised a finger and wagged it, smiling. "Not quite."

"How is it not the same?"

"Breaking the agreement implies ending the relationship. I don't want to break up."

Hisoka's golden eyes sparkled with urgency as he smiled. "So, I'm offering concessions to shorten the duration of our cold war. Isn't that generous of me? Doesn't that make you happy?"

"I see."

Moro took a deep breath and said seriously, "If I agree to reduce the cold war by, say, two months, will you leave immediately?"

"Rejected~" Hisoka sang, shaking his head.

Moro frowned. "Isn't that exactly what you want?"

"It's not the same."

"Then what's different?"

"Words spoken insincerely only make the cold war worse."

"Fine, fine. Let's do this your way."

"Mmm~" Hisoka's smile widened.

Moro sighed, his frustration bubbling over. He lazily gestured with his finger. "Alright then, bark like a dog to entertain me."

"Woof woof~~"

"???"

Moro immediately regretted it.

At that moment, he finally understood how Hisoka had come up with Bungee Gum and Texture Surprise.

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