Elsewhere…
The thirty-man squad had split into three units, each composed of ten operatives.
From three directions, they began encircling Aoki Hiroshi's location.
Zzzzt...
While marching through the forest, the leader of one squad suddenly paused.
"Did you guys hear that?" he asked, eyes narrowing.
"Nope." ×9
Everyone shook their heads.
Zzzzt...
The sound came again, faint but clearly unnatural.
The captain frowned.
"No... I'm sure I heard— What the hell is that!?"
His face twisted in shock as he pointed toward the woods on their left.
The rest of the squad turned—and their expressions changed just as fast.
A flicker of blue lightning darted through the trees, moving like a living beast.
Zzzzzzt!
This time, the crackling was unmistakable.
Every one of them heard it clearly—an electrical hum surging through the air.
"Shit! Take cover!"
The squad leader barked the order and dived behind a tree.
The others scattered, ducking for shelter.
Too late.
A wolf—made entirely of lightning—lunged into view.
It let out a silent snarl, electricity arcing wildly across its body.
Crack-crack-crack!
Dozens of bolts of lightning exploded outward, blanketing a 50-meter radius.
The entire unit was caught within the blast zone.
Panic gripped them.
Outside the forest…
Pariston Hill stepped out of his car just as static hissed from his radio.
Zzzt...
"Hm?" He raised a brow and pressed the receiver."Team A, report."
No response.
Only distant sounds—muffled crashes, explosions, wind ripping through trees.
Then—
BOOM.
A burst of static. The radio blew out.
"Something went wrong."
Pariston's expression turned grim. He grabbed the backup radio.
"Team B, report."
Bzzt. The device buzzed.
Then a voice—Team B's leader.
"This is Team B—unexpected engagement... wait—what is that!?"
"Aghh—it's lightning! It's lightning!!"
The line went dead. Another radio overloaded and shattered.
Silence followed.
Pariston stood still for a moment.
In less than one minute, two of his three elite squads were wiped out.
This wasn't normal.
"Lightning…?"
He muttered, brain racing.
"This region has no natural electrical activity.Biscuit's Nen has nothing to do with lightning either."
"So it's him—Aoki Hiroshi."
"His Hatsu must be like Killua Zoldyck's… a Transformation-Type: Lightning."
It was the only explanation that made sense.
He must have completed his Nen awakening.
And developed an offensive lightning-based ability.
"A troublesome development… but expected."
Pariston's tone grew serious for the first time today.
But only serious—not worried.
"A lightning-based attack can kill two squads if they're caught off guard."
"But now that we've gathered intel… that advantage is gone."
His eyes narrowed.
He had anticipated this.
In his mind, Hiroshi awakening Nen was a probable outcome.
Which is why he had contingency plans.
"In Nen battles, intel is king," Pariston muttered with a confident smile."A rookie like him—just a few days into training—can't have developed real technique."
"Even if he's strong, he'll still be rough and inefficient.My real opponent is Biscuit."
He activated Team A's frequency again.
"Team A—switch to smokescreen formation. Use thermal optics."
Click.
"Team A, acknowledged," came the reply.
But—Zzzzt.
Pariston heard static in the background again.
Electricity.
He smiled faintly. Everything was within expectations.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Team A launched smoke grenades and flipped on infrared goggles.
"Target is located... wait—what the hell is that!?"
"Why can't we see—? Shit, it's alive!!"
"It's coming!!"
BOOM!!
A massive explosion erupted.
Even from outside the forest, Pariston could feel the tremor.
His expression shifted to one of disbelief.
"Team A! Report! Is anyone still alive!?"
No response.
Pariston's stomach sank.
He had miscalculated.
Aoki Hiroshi's ability wasn't just Transformation: Lightning.
Team A's report described it as a living thing.
"It…?"
"A Nen Beast… one that manipulates lightning?"
"So… an Emission-Type, not just Transformation?"
His thoughts churned.
Creating a Nen Beast capable of lightning wasn't unprecedented.
After all, Biscuit had done something similar.
She was a Transformation-Type, yet conjured the Emission-Type Cookie-chan.
Nen users can cross systems—at reduced efficiency—but it's possible.
"Did Hiroshi inherit this from Biscuit?"
"Same base type, but developed a lightning-based Nen beast?"
It made sense.
Pariston had spent years as Vice Chairman. He had seen countless Hatsu profiles.
Based on experience, this seemed likely.
"So it's him, Biscuit, and that beast… and I'm alone. A three-on-one."
He exhaled deeply.
"Killing Aoki Hiroshi under these circumstances… won't be easy."
"Even with an intel advantage, I'll pay dearly."
"No choice. I'll do it myself."
Pariston's aura surged, his usual carefree smile hardening into murderous resolve.
This could no longer be resolved with diplomacy.
It was kill or be killed.