Gourmet Hunter (HxH Fanfic)

A chilling blade streaked through the night as it descended from above.

Law held the frightened Ellie and quickly retreated to regroup next to Kenda, who had just steadied himself.

"Very sharp..."

The one who had attacked Kenda just now was a scruffy, bearded man. In his right hand, he held a scimitar with an exaggerated arc. What was more exaggerated was that the blade's surface was so broad that it resembled half a shield more than a weapon.

This scimitar is not a modern weapon. It was ancient, passed down through generations. While modern firearms were far more practical, the man's choice to wield this unconventional weapon suggested he possessed extraordinary skill with it.

Rising to his feet, the bearded man rested the curved blade casually on his shoulder, appearing unconcerned by the submachine gun in Kenda's hands.

Whoosh!

Another figure descended from above and landed next to the bearded man, standing slightly in front of him. It was a thin man who was missing both ears.

The mantis hunts the cicada, unaware of the lurking oriole.

The assassins storming toward the car were the mantis, while these two, who were lying in ambush in the alley, were the oriole.

That was the literal analogy, but in terms of strength, Law and Kenda are not cicadas, and the bearded man and the earless man are not qualified to play the role of orioles.

"You are so useless. Your sneak attack was actually discovered by a little kid." The earless man started to scold after he landed.

The bearded man spat on the wet ground and retorted, "It's true that my Zetsu isn't great, but that little brat can use Nen, didn't you notice?"

The earless man was slightly stunned when he heard this. He focused his Aura in his eyes. After seeing the Ten on Law, he was surprised and said, "Huh. I didn't even realize. But so what? It's just a kid. Nothing to worry about."

"Are you stupid?"

The bearded man coldly looked at Law, who had a calm expression, and said in a deep voice: "Although my Zetsu isn't very good, I still managed to fool Kenda, but this little brat noticed it."

If Law hadn't pulled Kenda away in time, this one blow would have definitely killed Kenda, and everything afterward would've been a breeze.

After hearing what the bearded man said, the earless man's brows furrowed as he realized the problem, "You're saying… this kid's stronger than Kenda?"

"I didn't say that. Just kill them all. Stick to the plan and kill Kenda first."

With his massive blade still resting on his shoulder, the bearded man spoke with blatant disregard, as if Law and Kenda weren't even worth taking seriously.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here."

Law positioned Ellie behind him and whispered in a low, reassuring voice.

He did not rashly attack the enemy because he knew his priority was to protect Ellie.

"Yeah." Ellie replied quietly, trying her best to appear calm.

Although she has experienced this many times, she is still young after all, so it is impossible to be able to remain calm and composed. However, such performance is already commendable.

Kenda, who is standing in front of Law and Ellie, was still shaken.

'If it weren't for Law, I would have been beheaded by now. Protecting Young Lady would have been impossible.'

As the two enemies continued their nonchalant conversation, revealing their intentions, Kenda seized the opportunity to shoot them.

The alley was not narrow and there was no cover. In such terrain, a firearm would prove devastatingly effective. Coupled with the enhancement provided by the conjured monocle, Kenda was confident that he could kill the two opponents in front of him with a single magazine.

'Pay the price for your arrogance.'

Without another word, Kenda opened fire.

Muzzle flashes illuminated the alley, gunfire echoing loudly as a torrent of bullets tore through the rain-soaked air toward the two men.

However, despite facing Kenda's shooting, the bearded man and the earless man remained calm.

The earless man, standing slightly ahead, stood his ground. His placement wasn't random, as he was deliberately absorbing the brunt of the attack.

As the bullets neared him, something bizarre happened.

There was no smoke, no sparks, but the bullets abruptly veered off course, splitting to the left and right as if repelled by an invisible force.

[Firearm Ban]

This is the earless man's Nen Ability, which belongs to the Manipulation Category. No matter how powerful the bullet is, when it approaches the earless man, its trajectory will be forcibly altered, mainly sliding to the left or right.

The origin of Firearm Ban lay in the humiliation he once suffered at the hands of a sharpshooter.

That sharpshooter shot off the earless man's ears with his precise shooting skills, but did not take his life, leaving him humiliated but alive. When the earless man later learned Nen, he developed Firearm Ban, a highly specific ability designed solely to counter firearms.

Moreover, the earless man's Nen Ability had its limits. He could only alter bullet's trajectories, but he couldn't control the bullet to hit back at the enemy.

In essence, Firearm Ban functioned as an invincible bulletproof shield. In a gunfight among normal people, it was an unparalleled defense, but in battles between Nen Users, it was more of a niche, situational ability.

However, Nen Abilities were strange and unpredictable, so what seemed useless to some could still hold value to others.

The gunfire ceased as a magazine of bullets was used up. The earless man stretched out his little finger into his nonexistent ear as if to clean it, but without an ear, the action looked a little funny.

Throughout the barrage, the earless man hadn't moved a muscle, so Kenda didn't need to turn the muzzle of his gun. However, the thirty bullets had veered harmlessly aside.

"… They all… slid off."

After Kenda ran out of bullets, he did not change the magazine and a look of shock appeared on his face.

[One Shot, One Kill]

This was his Nen Ability. The conjured monocle he wore amplified his vision and allowed him to guide his bullets toward the target, ensuring they hit with absolute precision.

When he fired, his conjured monocle told him that all thirty bullets would hit the target.

However, what happened in front of him was that the bullets all slid away when approaching the earless man, forming eerie, L-shaped trajectories. Since the bearded man was standing behind the earless man, he was not hurt at all.

"Unfortunately, in the face of my Firearm Ban, guns are just toys." The earless man lowered his hand with a smug expression on his face.

"Exactly." The bearded man laughed loudly and held the schimitar across his body.

They knew that the monocle that Kenda had conjured could help increase the bullet's hit rate to 100% within a specific distance.

The conjured monocle has the ability to turn 'prediction' into reality. Not to mention in the alleys, even in open terrain, when the distance is shortened, no matter how fast one's speed and reaction are, they will be hit by Kenda's bullets no matter how they dodge.

Their confidence stemmed from the fact that Firearm Ban completely countered Kenda's Nen Ability. Moreover, the reason why they didn't go after Barney was because the commission they accepted was to kill Ellie Garfield.

Almost all the assassins on the street on the rainy night were targeting Barney, but these two were the only ones who were targeting Ellie.

While the remuneration was a little less, it was more than enough. Moreover, they came prepared and estimated the risk value to be almost zero, that's why they took action.

However, while they prepared meticulously, they did not include Law in it.

A little kid who can use Nen, and whose sharp instincts seemed to surpass even Kenda's.

"Law, take Young Lady away and meet up with Master."

Kenda threw away his submachine gun and glared at the two people coldly.

The prediction effect of One Shot, One Kill wasn't limited to firearms alone.

"No, we have to go together!" Ellie, who was hiding behind Law, spoke with a trembling but firm voice.

"Listen to me."

Kenda took off his white gloves, stared at the two men, and said, "Kuri and Vogt are up to no good. I'll deal with these two. Law, take Young Lady and meet up with Master as quickly as possible. Be wary of Kuri and Vogt."

When Law heard this, his eyes narrowed. His original plan was to fight alongside Kenda and take down these two enemies together.