"Start!"

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the match began.

Killua and the others quietly hoped Kaizen would win.

Most spectators just wanted to see a great fight.

The Floor Masters were watching closely, using this as a chance to evaluate both Kaizen and Hisoka’s strength.

...

As soon as the referee left the ring, Hisoka casually pulled out a deck of cards and began shuffling with dazzling speed.

A flash of hands. A blur of motion.

This was Hisoka’s style.

It’s what earned him the nickname The Magician.

And even with Kaizen standing across from him, Hisoka didn’t change.

Kaizen wasn’t interested in figuring out what strategy Hisoka might try.

Instead, he made his move immediately.

A figure appeared beside him.

"Natsu."

Without hesitation, Natsu lunged at Hisoka, flames erupting around his body in mid-air.

Hisoka narrowed his eyes, amused as Natsu charged.

"Stronger than last time... how exciting."

He flicked his wrist.

A card shot out, spinning at high speed toward Natsu.

But just before it could land—

Boom!

A burst of flame exploded, intercepting the card mid-air.

Natsu tore through the smoke and arrived in front of Hisoka.

Meanwhile, Kaizen grabbed the Hexflare Bomb from his waist with one hand, pouring aura into it, then passed it to his other hand.

A burning sphere of condensed flame remained in his palm.

Kaizen looked toward Hisoka and hurled the fireball with force.

With Natsu attacking from the front, dodging wasn’t so easy.

Boom!

The fireball struck and exploded violently, showering the area with sparks.

Hisoka’s silhouette reappeared, a little scorched.

Burn marks decorated his outfit.

He didn’t seem bothered.

In fact, he looked even more thrilled.

Kaizen knew full well—Natsu alone wouldn’t be enough to defeat Hisoka.

But right now, Natsu’s job wasn’t to win.

It was to keep Hisoka occupied.

Which meant Kaizen could use this fight to fully test the Hexflare Bomb.

From Hisoka’s perspective, this was the battle he’d been longing for.

From Kaizen’s point of view—it was field testing.

If he truly wanted to kill Hisoka, he wouldn’t need to try this hard.

If Natsu and Uchiha Sasuke attacked together, Hisoka would be overwhelmed.

Add in the Rotten Blade’s lingering effect, and Hisoka’s condition would steadily decline.

It wouldn’t be difficult for Killer Queen or Chitong to find an opening.

With their abilities, one solid hit would be enough to declare Hisoka finished.

...

"More!" Hisoka licked his lips, eyes sparkling.

Kaizen switched the Hexflare Bomb back to his dominant hand.

In his free hand, a new bomb appeared.

"Thunder!"

He launched a thunder orb toward Hisoka.

Faster than the previous attack, the lightning ball exploded the moment it reached him.

Electric arcs danced across the field.

Hisoka froze briefly from the shock.

Natsu was also struck by the edge of the blast.

Kaizen noted it.

The Hexflare Bomb’s attacks didn’t discriminate between allies and enemies.

That was the difference between a game world and reality.

In real life, friendly fire was still fire.

Unlike in most games where projectiles phased harmlessly through allies, this power was ruthless.

Before Hisoka could fully recover, Kaizen launched another.

"Storm!"

The wind-based bomb burst apart into hundreds of slicing fragments.

Like countless blades, they slashed through the air around Hisoka.

He reacted, covering himself with aura—floating it just above the skin.

But it wasn’t enough.

Thin cuts opened across his body.

His clothes became increasingly ragged.

When the last wind blade vanished, Hisoka broke past Natsu and rushed Kaizen directly.

Natsu pivoted to chase.

But suddenly—

The floor shifted.

Hisoka had set something up earlier using Bungee Gum.

It now connected one stone slab on the ring floor to another.

Two slabs snapped toward Natsu from opposite sides.

Natsu smashed through one with a fiery punch.

Boom!

The stone shattered, but Hisoka had bought time.

He closed the distance between himself and Kaizen.

Kaizen calmly summoned another bomb.

"Frost."

The frost orb landed at Hisoka’s feet and burst.

The air temperature plummeted.

Frost spread quickly along Hisoka’s limbs.

His movements slowed.

Natsu caught up again.

But shards of shattered slate clung to his body—some embedded in him—interfering with his speed.

Hisoka’s Bungee Gum was both elastic and sticky.

And it was tough to shake off.

Still, under the intense heat of Natsu’s flames, it would begin to melt away.

Kaizen raised his hand again.

This time, he summoned a new bomb—one not yet seen.

Unlike the others, this one seemed quiet.

Calm.

But sometimes, calm held the most danger.

"Blasting."

The orb exploded with a thunderous shockwave.

Hisoka was blasted backward—again and again—until he finally skidded to a halt dozens of steps away.

If the arena weren’t so massive, he might’ve already been sent flying out of bounds.

A thin stream of blood ran down Hisoka’s forehead.

There was a shallow wound—small, but bleeding heavily. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

It must’ve grazed a vessel.

He wiped the blood with his hand and brushed his hair back.

His red-streaked bangs fell neatly behind his ears.

He used Bungee Gum to temporarily seal the vessel at the source of the bleeding.

...

"Corrosion."

The sixth type of bomb.

Upon landing, it released a thick, mist-like fog.

It obscured vision slightly, but its true danger lay in its corrosive power.

Hisoka had to strengthen his aura to defend.

Still, it wasn’t enough to stop Natsu from launching another assault.

And through the mist, Hisoka grinned.

Wider than before.

Blood on his face.

Eyes wild.

He was just getting started.

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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (1047 Chapters in total)