'The ability to enhance power usually has a time limit. It is irrational to confront him head-on during this period, but I don't have a choice right now...'
Moses dodged the Nen Bullets while assessing the situation.
The shadow clone that was just destroyed by the Nen Projectile has turned back into a normal shadow and is currently on its way back.
Meanwhile, the other shadow...
Mosesu suddenly mobilized more Aura into to his legs, thereby briefly enhancing his explosive speed.
Boom!
Amidst the flying debris, Moses's figure quickly flew out of the attack range of the Nen Bullets.
The diamond-shaped Nen Bullets, resembling a flock of geese, whizzed through the air, tearing apart rows of audience seats in the distance.
Though Moses temporarily escaped from the fire range of the Nen Bullets, he did not relax at all.
Because his sudden burst of mobility was not to avoid the attack of the Nen Bullet, but to create distance between him and Satoga.
Compared with Franklin's Nen Bullets, Satoga posed a far greater threat at the moment.
However-
Moses's preemptive maneuver failed to produce the desired outcome.
With a powerful Aura all over his body, Satoga took small steps and came in front of Moses at an extremely fast speed.
Moses's pupils constricted slightly and he immediately dismissed the thought of using Shadow Shift to retreat from danger.
If he chooses to back away at this moment, he will lose a great opportunity to break one of the spider's legs!
'Until I recover the shadow, I must not retreat...'
Satoga's surging Aura was reflected in Moses's narrowed pupils. Moses steadied his body and not only did not retreat in the face of the battle, he even chose to dismiss the black sword in this perilous moment.
This decision was to free up more Manifested Nen to fortify his defenses.
Swish-
The black sword vanished and turned back into visible Aura which flowed back to Moses's body.
Satoga saw Moses dismissing the black sword, but did not pay too much attention to it.
Now, with Three-Minute Heat enhancing him, he can attack freely with a very high tolerance rate.
Satoga swung his arms and threw a barrage of rapid jabs toward Moses.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The air whistled as a flurry of fist shadows enveloped Moses.
The punches were not mere afterimages, as their speed was genuinely blinding.
Each strike hit Moses' body and arms, generating dense shockwaves that burst outward.
Facing this storm-like assault, Moses did not retreat at all. Instead, he relied on his mastery of Ryo to channel two-thirds of his Manifested Aura into dense Aura Clusters on his body and arms, resisting Satoga's punches head-on.
The Aura Clusters concentrated on Moses's body acted as though equipped with an auto-locking mechanism. They can always flow into position just before a punch landed, and then counteract the force of each blow in a defensive stance.
One second, two seconds-
In mere moments, Moses had endured dozens of punches.
However, Moses relied on the 'Fluid Aura Clusters' to neutralize the attack power of each punch.
This almost miraculous defensive maneuver required not only a high level of proficiency in Ryu, but also instantaneous processing of information, along with exceptional reflexes and critical thinking.
Moses succeeded.
Amid the intense defense, he subtly shifted his footing to adjust his position, causing Satoga, who was relentlessly attacking, unknowingly turn his back to Franklin.
This minor adjustment in positioning allowed Moses to defend against Satoga's rain of punches without having to worry about Franklin's attack for the time being.
Satoga, who focused all his attention on attacking, did not realize this, but Franklin saw through Moses's positioning tactics immediately and snorted coldly.
Without bothering to criticize Satoga's carelessness, Franklin quickly repositioned himself to counter Moses's maneuver, leaving Moses fully exposed to his line of fire.
Three seconds-!
Moses's defense was on the verge of collapse, and he was now exposed to Franklin's line of fire, his situation becoming extremely precarious.
And yet, in these three seconds, the shadow that had been destroyed by the Nen Projectile and reverted to its normal state finally returned to Moses's side.
'Good... Just in time.'
Moses's gaze sharpened with focus.
His defense was on the brink of falling apart, but the 'conditions' have been met!
…
Not far away.
Franklin pointed the modified mechanical gun barrel at Moses.
Silently, points of light rapidly coalesced within the gun barrel.
As he was charging strength, Franklin failed to notice the slight movements on Pakunoda's side.
If he looked towards Pakunoda's direction now, he would see something breaking through the stone slab on the ground behind her.
Soon, under Franklin's accumulated force, the Aura accumulated in the barrel instantly turned into a linear laser and shot towards Moses.
Its speed is extremely fast, far exceeding the speed of Nen Bullets.
In just a blink of an eye, the laser beam pierced through Moses's head.
However, neither Franklin nor Satoga noticed that Moses's body was slightly distorted for a moment before the laser pierced his head.
This phenomenon occurred whenever the Shadow Shift was activated.
"Got him… huh?"
Franklin's face suddenly changed as he saw that Moses, whose head was pierced by the laser, suddenly disintegrated into countless black specks.
'It was…'
'A Nen Clone!?'
Franklin's heart sank, and the image of Moses dismissing the black sword before resisting Satoga's attack flashed through his mind like lightning...
At the same time.
Moses reappeared behind Pakunoda.
More accurately, it was the shadow that was set up a few seconds ago. It passed through the ground, broke out of the ground behind Pakunoda, and then transformed into a shadow clone.
Then, Moses used his Shadow Shift and switched places with the shadow clone that emerged from the ground.
And this shadow...
Had been preemptively placed by Moses earlier when he rushed toward Pakunoda, adhering it to his foot.
His original plan was to kick the shadow forward during the charge, but he was attacked by Satoga's Nen Projectile during the charge.
At that time, Moses stomped down with his right foot to dodge the Nen Projectile and pushed his body to avoid the Nen Bullet.
It was at that moment that Moses took advantage of the situation and released the shadow sticking to the soles of his feet into the ground.
In the end, because of the second Nen Projectile released by Satoga, Moses was unable to dodge and could only exchange positions with the shadow clone who was entangled with Franklin, letting the shadow clone bear the attack for him.
Now…
Moses used the shadow that appeared behind Pakunoda to avoid the joint killing blow of Satoga and Franklin, and at the same time, he got a perfect opportunity to attack.
This moment was precisely what Moses had been waiting for, and this is the reason he was risking everything to withstand Satoga's onslaught.
Fortunately, he managed to hold on for the crucial three seconds with his Ryu...
Moses's eyes glinted coldly, and he stretched out his right hand towards Pakunoda's back. At this moment, a black sword conjured out of thin air, instantly bridging the gap to strike.
Immediately-
Before Pakunoda could react, the black sword pierced through her body with a chilling 'shk'.
In an instant, blood splattered in all directions.
"W-what…"
Pakunoda's face froze in shock as her gaze fell on the bloodstained blade protruding from her chest.
She just saw that Moses was forced to exchange positions with his shadow clone under Satoga's attack, and then the shadow clone was defeated by the Nen Projectile, while Moses, who swapped place with his shadow clone, was first stuck by Franklin's Nen Bullets, and then suppressed by Satoga in close combat.
Thinking she might be able to provide some firepower support, she started to move.
As a result, she suddenly noticed the movement coming from behind her, and at the same time, he saw the scene of Moses being killed by Franklin and Satoga's joint offensive.
But at the next moment, she felt a cold sensation creeping across her back. Before she could fully process it, the bloodied black sword had pierced through her chest.
'When-'
Blood spread across her chest as Pakunoda stood there in stunned disbelief, unable to comprehend when Moses had maneuvered the shadow into position.
'I'm going to die here.'
'But…'
'I can't just die meaninglessly like this.'
'Something to do...'
'I have to do something before I die.'
Pakunoda suddenly dashed forward.
Splurt-
Her voluptuous figure rushed forward for a distance to escape from the black sword that pierced her chest, and a lot of blood was spilled on the ground.
Franklin and Satoga, who were not far away, saw this scene and their faces changed drastically.
'Damn it!'
Not only did their coordinated assault failed to kill Moses, but it also allowed Moses to sneak up behind Pakunoda without anyone noticing!
The humiliation was unbearable, filling Franklin and Satoga with fury!
Moses ignored the killing intent mixed with anger coming from Franklin and Satoga, and calmly watched Pakunoda's futile struggle before her death.
"The fifth one..."
Before the words had fully escaped his lips, Moses swung the black sword at Pakunoda's neck.