HxH: Apex Predator

At the very moment Ryker faced the incoming nen bullet, he instinctively dodged and once again glanced at the blond narcissist from the corner of his eye.

As the gunshot rang out, Binolt shifted his attention toward the shooter. Even though he wasn't the target, he still found it irritating.

"Hey! Are you trying to take me out too?

Aim properly, damn it!

Or better yet, just stand back and watch. I'll finish off this brat soon enough—he won't last much longer at this rate."

The moment those words left his mouth, both Ryker and Binolt noticed something bizarre—the bullet Ryker had just dodged suddenly made a sharp turn in midair and came flying toward him again at high speed.

"Don't be ridiculous. Someone who can't even grasp the battle situation shouldn't be running his mouth.

Haven't you realized it yet? That kid is just toying with you. From the very beginning, you haven't even touched the hem of his clothes."

"And as for stamina, look at yourself—your forehead is already sweating after just this short exchange. Now take a good look at that kid.

His aura, his breathing—nothing has changed from start to finish.

If we want any chance of survival, we need to work together. Fighting alone will only get us killed faster."

'Are these homing bullets?'

'I see… Judging from how he's still aiming at me, every tracking bullet he fires must require a certain amount of time for pre-aiming.'

'Since he started aiming at me, it's been about thirty seconds…'

'No, wait—according to the rules of Hunter x Hunter, abilities that are more powerful or have multiple effects usually come with stricter limitations and conditions. The stronger the ability, the greater the cost.'

'A perfect example would be Uvogin's Big Bang Impact compared to Chrollo's Skill Hunter—the conditions and restrictions are worlds apart.'

'I remember thinking back when I first read the original series—if it weren't for Pakunoda's abilities and Feitan's torture techniques, Chrollo's book would probably have a third fewer abilities.'

'Ahem, getting off track. Based on that logic, if this guy's ability was just homing bullets, then the thirty-second pre-aiming condition would be way too much of a drawback for such a simple function.'

'What if he was caught in a sudden close-quarters battle? Especially a one-on-one fight? No way his opponent would just let him aim uninterrupted for thirty seconds—he'd already be dead before he could even fire.'

'And if he was forced into melee combat while still needing to aim? That kind of restriction is way too harsh for something as basic as auto-tracking bullets.'

'That means… there has to be something else attached to these bullets—an ability that only activates upon impact.'

'So far, the nen aura on his bullets doesn't seem overwhelmingly powerful. If I use Ken to defend, I have at least a 60% chance of blocking them.'

'And if I predict the impact point and use Ko in advance, my chances of stopping the bullet rise to 99%.'

'But if his bullets have an ability that triggers just from making contact with my nen—like some kind of control effect that activates upon hitting either my body or aura—then that's a whole different story.'

'Though it's unlikely, I'm not about to take that risk. Best to dodge for now.'

The narcissist's voice interrupted Ryker's thoughts.

"So, fellow professional, have you considered my proposal? If we don't decide soon, this brat will pick us off one by one.

Forget about getting paid for the job—at this rate, we'll be lucky to leave here alive."

"Don't forget, his four clones are still outside the building. His real body definitely isn't at its peak right now.

This is the best chance we'll get to take him down."

Binolt hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Fine. But first, let me hear your battle plan."

With that, he deliberately distanced himself from Ryker and moved to stand beside the blond.

"All you have to do is buy me one minute. That's it. You saw it just now—my bullets can track their target. If you hold him off for a minute, I'll be able to fire two more shots."

"With three tracking bullets chasing him at once, I highly doubt he'll stay as calm as he is now.

Once my bullets keep him occupied, you can use your close-combat skills to finish the job."

"With both of us working together, we do have a chance to turn the tables. Binolt simply nodded before charging toward Ryker once more, engaging him in melee combat."

'My conjured gun, Bloodhound, has its first ability—Bloodthirsty Pursuit.'

'The activation condition is that I must pre-aim at my target for a continuous thirty seconds before firing. If I lose sight of them at any point, the timer resets.'

'The first bullet has a range of 300 meters. As long as the target remains within that distance, the bullet will permanently track them.'

'If I want to fire a second bullet, I need to aim for another thirty seconds. However, the second bullet's range is reduced to 250 meters. Within that range, both bullets will now track the target.'

'The same pattern continues—each subsequent bullet has a reduced range. If I want to have six bullets all tracking simultaneously, my target must be within just 50 meters.'

'If my target escapes beyond the range of any bullet, that bullet immediately vanishes.'

'And if I lose a bullet this way, it takes ten minutes before I can reload a new one—but the remaining bullets in my revolver are unaffected.'

'For example, if I fire three bullets and one disappears due to range limits, I can still fire a fourth bullet after another thirty seconds. But my max capacity is now five bullets until the cooldown ends.'

'Distance control is crucial when using this ability.'

'However, there's an exception—if even a single bullet lands, it permanently attaches to the target.'

'This activates Alpha Pack, allowing me to fire subsequent bullets instantly, without needing to aim. All remaining bullets will automatically home in on the marked target.'

'But this only works on the same target. If I want to attack someone else, I have to start the aiming process all over again.

And there's one final secret—if I successfully land all six bullets on the same person…'

'Then the hidden ability, Hound's Possession, is triggered.

In this state, the target is forcibly possessed by a hunting hound spirit. They lose all self-awareness and control over their own body.'

'They will obey my simple commands—things like tracking, attacking, or subduing prey—just like a real hunting dog.

The Hound's Possession state lasts for three hours. During this time, I can also access fragments of their memories.'

'And if I successfully trigger Hound's Possession, my revolver instantly reloads all six bullets, allowing me to hunt my next prey.'

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