HxH: I Will Be Supreme

Among the heroes Oboro created were Yi the Master Swordsman and Kassadin the Voidwalker. He initially considered choosing Juggernaut or Kassadin for this battle, but ultimately decided against it. Although Juggernaut's Highland bloodline and Kassadin's Voidwalking would have given him incredible speed and teleportation abilities, the sheer number of opponents with unknown Nen abilities made these choices impractical.

Both the Blade Master and Kassadin were vulnerable to Binding. If Oboro couldn't cut their numbers in half quickly enough, the tide would turn against him. Unlike Hisoka, who craved excitement, Oboro enjoyed fighting for the sake of self-growth. He feared death and refused to take unnecessary risks. This battle had to end quickly, which made the Snow Twins his optimal choice.

"Not many left," Oboro muttered to himself.

His injuries were not serious. He had consciously controlled the course of the battle and avoided fatal blows. The abdominal wound was the worst, but no internal organs had been damaged.

Had the battle been different, with the 'Beast' beside Brown and their numbers closer to thirty Nen users, Oboro would never have faced them directly. There were many ways to fight; using the terrain and environment to defeat them one by one would have been the better solution. He was confident in his abilities against a dozen opponents, but taking on Brown's entire armed team of Nen users directly required a different approach.

Oboro surveyed the square, where bodies lay scattered about. Some dead, some barely breathing. He approached Uka's body first. Her lower body was unrecognizable, covered in slowly melting frost that prevented bleeding. Her string ball was gone. She hadn't been a manipulation type, but rather a specialist.

Next he checked Green. The boy's chest was still rising and falling slightly, his face raw and his eyes destroyed. "Still conscious?" Oboro raised his eyebrows. It was impressive for someone so young to have fought at this level. Under different circumstances, Oboro might have mentored him. As his words faded, Green's life force finally ebbed away.

Oboro methodically eliminated the survivors until he reached the one with the least severe injuries. The man was covered in wind and snow cuts, but still retained a roughly human form. His dilated pupils stared upward as he lay on his stomach. It was the Nen user who had drained Oboro's aura.

"I can save you. Do you want to live?" Oboro asked, stopping beside him. The man's eyes trembled, but his injuries prevented him from speaking. "Are you a Nen exorcist?"

The ability to drain aura reminded Oboro of a rare group: the Nen exorcists. Their ability could almost be considered a loophole in the natural laws of the Nen. Such a powerful ally could prove invaluable to Oboro's future plans. No hunter could succeed alone; he needed a team, and a Nen exorcist would be a valuable addition.

The man's eyes suddenly cleared, as if he was gathering his remaining strength. He smiled at Oboro, then deliberately dissipated his remaining aura like a dragon with its string cut.

Oboro frowned, but walked away without hesitation. Despite his injuries and depleted aura, he managed to clean up the remaining survivors in the palace.

Days later, four of Brown's Nen users returned to the palace. They had dealt with the chaos caused by the Fells' infiltration of the Seven Great Families, established control, and left behind garrison forces. They hadn't heard from their companions in days, which struck them as unusual.

"These guys get to hide in peace while we suffer," one complained as they got out of their car at the palace entrance. His words were cut short by the smell of blood and decay.

His companions continued talking before they, too, realized something was wrong. They discovered the decomposing body of a guard, surrounded by flies. Their hearts sank as they ventured deeper into the palace and found more bodies showing signs of instant death.

"This doesn't look like much of a battle. Could it have been just a few enemies? Or even one?" they wondered, examining the strange causes of death. "Anderson's team hasn't found Lily, the housekeeper, or Oboro yet."

"Could Oboro have done it alone? That would be suicide! He'd have a better chance to use the chaos with the rest of the Fells family to escape. How arrogant would he have to be to think..."

One of them dialed Green's number, but there was no answer. They hurried through the palace until they reached the central square. The sight before them made their blood run cold.

In broad daylight, a man sat on a stone platform beside the fountain and smiled at them. Eighteen decaying bodies lay neatly on the ground, their fallen companions.

The man held up Green's ringing phone and answered it. "Welcome home," he said quietly.

"Run!" one of them shouted. Despite the warm, sunny day, they felt trapped in the grip of winter.

Less than ten minutes later, Oboro dragged several fresh corpses to the well and arranged them neatly. "Now to wait for the next wave of customers," he mused.

Meanwhile, Brown hurried back to the Republic of Batocchia by spaceship, his premonition growing worse. All of his Nen users had fallen silent. The only positive news was that the gangs were under control and the Firth family had been purged, though the woman, the housekeeper, and most importantly, Oboro, remained at large. Without leadership, his forces had suffered heavy losses.

In his private spaceship, Brown chain-smoked cigarettes, having given up his usual cigars. His hair had grown noticeably whiter, and sleep eluded him. "They must all be dead," he said, staring out the cabin window.

Sato and two other Nen users stood silently behind him.

"Did he do this? How?" Brown's temples throbbed with pain as he struggled to understand.

"I will find him and kill him," Sato declared coldly.

Brown turned to face him and hesitated before replying, "I'll leave that to you. I trust you." Those three were his strongest trump cards and Sato had never let him down before.