Hunter X Hunter: I Got Stronger After I Died

The car's front end had crumpled from the violent impact, fusing almost entirely with the tree trunk by the roadside.

Thick white smoke billowed from the twisted hood, with flickers of fire visible amid the fumes.

1,200 meters away, on a slope beside the road—

A man in camouflage lay prone behind the slope, with a sniper rifle set up in front of him.

"Continue."

A cold, detached voice came through his earpiece.

Upon hearing the command, the sniper aimed at the car, which was half-obscured by the rising smoke. He used his instincts to estimate the position of the driver's seat and pulled the trigger.

A sharp crack echoed.

A long, pointed bullet shot out of the suppressor, tracing a fleeting line of fire as it tore through the night and hit the car shrouded in smoke.

Then came a second shot, a third, and a fourth—

The sniper reloaded and fired repeatedly until his magazine was empty.

Even with the smoke obstructing his vision, his shots were based on well-trained intuition.

As long as the target remained in the driver's seat, he was confident in his precision.

Once the clip was emptied, the sniper loaded another magazine but did not fire. Instead, he observed the burning car and the surrounding area through his scope while waiting for further orders.

BOOM!

Suddenly, the car exploded, flames bursting skyward and pushing thick smoke even higher into the night sky.

The heatwave flattened the nearby grass.

Several meters away, behind a tree—

Moro leaned against the trunk, his eyes cold and sharp.

His clothes were smudged with dirt and soot.

Fortunately, his Nen-enhanced defenses had saved him. When he had broken through the passenger door amid the smoke with sheer strength, he hadn't been scratched by any sharp debris or glass shards.

After escaping into the roadside forest under the cover of darkness, he hid behind a large tree, waiting to see how the sniper would respond.

The fact that the sniper continued firing at the car confirmed that Moro's position was still safe—at least for the moment.

However, Moro dared not make any sudden movements. Any unnecessary action might expose his location to the sniper's line of fire.

He steadied his breathing and calmed the adrenaline coursing through him.

"What just happened?"

Reflecting on that life-or-death moment, a glimmer of doubt flickered in his eyes.

When the bullet cut through the night toward him, he had felt an almost supernatural sense of impending death—an instinctive burst of awareness in his mind before the windshield shattered.

Guided by this gut feeling, he had tilted his head just enough to dodge what would've been a fatal shot.

Given his current level of Nen, even if he had time to use "Condense" to strengthen his defense, it wouldn't have been enough to block a sniper round.

Especially in the chaos of a surprise attack, there simply wasn't enough time to deploy such a defense faster than the bullet could hit.

The only way to survive was to dodge entirely.

The reason for this limitation boiled down to "hardware"—

His aura capacity and the strength of his "Focus" were still too weak to withstand a sniper's bullet without extra defenses.

If his aura had been strong enough, he could've withstood the shot without reinforcing his defense.

As things stood, long-range threats like snipers were far deadlier to him than a close-range encounter with a Nen user.

In some ways, a sniper was more dangerous than a powerful Nen user like Zazan.

It was frustrating but true.

Moro touched his earlobe and felt blood.

If not for that split-second danger sense…

Moro let out a long breath, suppressing his shock as his eyes grew more focused.

"If I don't take care of that sniper…"

The constant threat of being locked in a sniper's sights severely limited his mobility.

If there were additional enemies nearby, his situation would become even more precarious.

The only good news was that there seemed to be only one sniper.

If there had been a second one, Moro wouldn't have gotten away with just a graze—he'd be dead or severely injured.

"At least 1,000 meters away..."

The sniper's reckless, rapid firing suggested that he didn't care about giving away his position, essentially presenting Moro with an opportunity.

Even so, knowing the sniper's position wasn't enough to solve the problem.

The longer the distance, the higher the risk of closing the gap.

If Moro tried to retreat instead, he'd be exposing his back to the sniper without knowing the maximum range of the rifle.

And if there were other hidden enemies nearby, retreating or advancing could both lead to disaster.

That was the most difficult part of this situation.

While taking out the sniper was crucial, it was just as important to confirm how many attackers there were.

Ideally, Moro needed to pinpoint their locations as well.

This would give him the freedom to decide whether to attack or withdraw.

In a normal situation, that would be the best approach—

But Moro had a different plan.

Gathering intel on the enemy's numbers and positions would take time.

And every second that passed increased the risk of something going wrong.

The worst-case scenario was that the sniper would relocate, creating an invisible pressure that left Moro at an even greater disadvantage.

So instead of staying put and gathering information, Moro decided to take the initiative and eliminate the sniper as quickly as possible.

This decision had to be made without hesitation.

He needed to strike while the sniper's overconfidence in revealing his position remained.

"There's only one chance."

Moro closed his eyes, constructing a mental map.

He visualized the surrounding trees, the burning car, the uneven road, and the distant hillside...

He systematically removed every obstacle in the direct path and identified a viable trajectory.

A few seconds later—

Moro opened his eyes, and a faint Nen glow shimmered in his gaze.

"Fraudulent Shooting Star."

He raised his hand, adjusting his aim.

Bright aura gathered in his palm, forming a fist-sized energy projectile.

Whoosh!

The Nen sphere shot through the air, weaving between the trees and halting mid-air about 100 meters away.

At that moment—

Moro darted out from behind the tree, stopping at a pre-planned position. He kept his eyes locked on the suspended energy sphere as it expanded and then shot back toward him.

As it neared his face, Moro shifted his head at the last second.

The sphere's light flashed past his eyes and, like a meteor, shot through the gaps in the forest and hurtled toward the sniper's location.

The second phase of the Fraudulent Shooting Star—the Return Shot.

This ability doubled the speed and power of the original shot in exchange for the condition that Moro himself could be hit by it.

By dodging the returning shot, Moro unleashed its full force and extended its range beyond its usual 100-meter limit.

In an instant—

The projectile streaked like a shooting star, heading straight for its mark 1,000 meters away.

On the hillside—

The sniper spotted Moro as he suddenly stepped out from behind cover.

He swiftly aimed, controlled his breathing, and began to pull the trigger.

"Huh?!"

Just as he was about to fire, his scope was blinded by a brilliant flash of light.

"What the—?!"

The sniper jerked his head up.

BOOM!

The hillside exploded.

A powerful shockwave of shrapnel and debris engulfed the sniper.

In an instant, he was flung backward like a ragdoll, his body riddled with holes and torn to shreds—dead before he hit the ground.

In another direction—

A brooding young man watched the explosion with wide eyes, stunned.

He had witnessed the green projectile soar over 1,000 meters and still unleash such destructive force.

"The range… and it still had that much power?"

The youth removed his crackling earpiece, hesitating as he glanced toward Moro's location.

Even for a Nen user skilled in projection techniques, maintaining both power and stability over long distances was a rare feat.

For the first time, the young man questioned whether he should continue approaching.

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Powerstones?

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