Inside the dust-filled ring…
Using the lingering echoes of the last explosion as cover, Moses spread several black cards, also using In to block their Nen fluctuations, around the area, while another set of black cards was directed into the ground below.
He left only one last card for a frontal assault.
This was his all-in gamble.
Success or failure depended solely on this final attack.
After completing his layout, Moses raised his hand and a black sword was conjured, but the battle that took place in the ruins a few years ago suddenly appeared in his mind.
His enemy at that time was an Emitter from the Erimo Bandit Group, whose ability was to condense his Aura into the shape of fangs.
However, when attacking, the opponent will condense two fangs, one for a direct assault, and another from underground.
In terms of means and methods, it is the same as what Moses is doing now, sending the black playing cards into the ground.
'Let's see how this plays out.'
With a thought, Moses gripped his sword in his right hand, pressing his left palm slowly to the ground.
Using the properties of the Emission System, he channeled his Aura in shadow form to penetrate through the ground, attempting to accelerate its speed to match Super Speed.
Hiss-
His left palm, which was touching the ground, glowed with Nen.
Focusing intensely, Moses injected the shadow-like Aura into the earth.
Afterwards, regardless of whether it would succeed or not, Moses raised his right hand, pointing his sword in Netero's direction.
Just as he had jumped into the air without hesitation, believing that Netero would not take the initiative to attack, he was now also believing that Netero would remain standing still.
So for Moses, even if there was a lot of smoke dust blocking his vision, he could easily pinpoint Netero's location.
[Super Speed: Spear]
The Nen surged along the black sword, then contracted, propelling it forward with incredible force.
With a sharp sound of breaking through the air, the black blade shot forward, carving a cylindrical path through the smoke.
In a flash, the black blade had vanished at the end of the corridor and appeared right in front of Netero.
Zztt-
A golden stream of light appeared and deflected the black sword accurately.
Without any surprise, the black sword, which was far less powerful than the 100-Type Guanyin's palm strike, disintegrated instantly.
But at this moment, the ground where Netero was located began to move abnormally.
Small mounds appeared on all sides of where he was standing, and then black playing cards broke through the ground and flew out, still hanging around Netero like jumping landmines.
But this move had already lost its element of surprise.
Due to the constraints of distance and angle, Netero certainly couldn't use 100-Type Guanyin to deal with these playing cards that Moses used as a teleportation medium.
Instead, both of his hands moved at the same time, creating a series of afterimages, and his index fingers pierced through all the playing cards hanging around him in the blink of an eye.
Swish, swish, swish-
Before Moses could activate his Divine Script for teleportation, the playing cards that had just broken through the ground shattered into fragments, scattering outward.
However, Moses's setup wasn't quite finished.
A black shadow the size of a bowl suddenly appeared on the ground between Netero's feet.
This shadow didn't erupt from below. Rather, it emerged smoothly, like ink spreading on rice paper.
As a result, Netero couldn't immediately gauge its movement by sensing disturbances underground, causing his response to lag, unlike his earlier swift reaction to the black cards.
The shadow emerged with lethal intent, targeting Netero's most vulnerable spot.
"Hmm?"
Netero's thin, white eyebrows twitched slightly.
But the anticipated outcome didn't happen.
Instead, the black shadow transformed into a shadow clone, which quickly reached out, grabbing Netero's legs. Then, using the height gained from its human-like form, it forcefully lifted Netero into the air.
Netero, eyes half-lidded, gave a deadpan expression.
He was genuinely impressed by Moses's cunningness and evil taste, even in battle.
Ryu!
With lightning speed, Netero channeled his Aura to his legs and, with a sharp twist, shattered the shadow clone into a burst of shimmering fragments.
But just before Netero redirected his Aura, a tiny black shape arced through the air, landing strategically behind him.
It was a black card Moses had tossed into the air right after deploying Super Speed: Spear.
Due to the controllability of the split shadow, Moses could manipulate the black card's position, delaying its fall or accelerating it to strike the perfect offensive angle.
Just like now.
Netero was suspended in mid-air, with the black card precisely positioned behind him.
[Teleport]
Moses once again appeared out of thin air behind Netero.
This time, without any buildup, he swung his blade swiftly at the back of Netero's head.
The reason why the attack area was chosen above the back of the head, which was the least vulnerable area, was because Netero had transferred more than half of his Aura to his lower body to strangle the shadow clone moments before.
Therefore, the area above the back of the head is the farthest position where Netero can use his Aura to defend.
'I hope I can succeed this time!'
For a brief instant, time seemed to freeze, and a bright light emerged in Moses's eyes.
The black blade, which is filled with Nen, sliced through the air, landing solidly on the back of Netero's head.
As the blade met Netero's scalp, it left a faint cut, and a hint of blood seeped out. But just then, Netero countered with a sharp, backhanded elbow strike to Moses's sword arm.
Accompanied by the crisp sound of broken bones, a shockwave burst from Moses's forearm.
The blade of the black sword, which was supposed to move further, trembled from the impact, and, deviating slightly, sliced off Netero's topknot instead.
In that instant-
The severed strands of white hair scattered in the air like a spray of fireworks.
Moses didn't care about the injury on his right arm at all. His gaze was fixed on the horizontal bleeding wound on the back of Netero's head. Strands of black tendrils could be seen entwined on it, and joy appeared in his eyes.
'Now, all I needed to do was teleport far away and wait for Kyoka Suigetsu to take effect...'
Buzz-
Just then, a golden light shot downward, slamming Moses into the ground with meteor-like force.
The unexpected impact forced blood from Moses's mouth.
"Huh?!"
Being attack, Moses wanted to teleport, but found that the black playing card reserved outside did not respond to him.
'What's going on?'
Before he had time to think more, the golden light that followed completely submerged Moses.
Boom boom boom…
100-Types Guanyin's relentless palms landed in succession.
Meanwhile, Netero watched from the side, touching the few strands of hair left on his head and the cut that was still bleeding.
"Crafty little brat... you have endless tricks up your sleeve."
Netero murmured in slight admiration.
Moses's inability to teleport out of 100-Types Guanyin's attack range was no accident—it was due to Netero's cunning maneuver.
As the saying goes-
Old age brings wisdom.
Just now, when Netero pierced those black cards rising from the ground with his index fingers, he had simultaneously released thin streams of Aura, destroying all the other black cards Moses had placed around as backup.
This was the true reason Moses couldn't teleport away.
Thus, the battle's outcome was sealed beyond doubt.