Chapter 18: The way to the top! Part 3

'….I can't win…

Wait..

Clean hit?

Roberta got a critical there when she stabbed me. Why did the referee called it wrongly?

Was it on purpose?

But why?

She would have gone to 9 points, 1 short of victory.

Now that I think about it, she also seemed surprised to connect that hit.

I get it!

That only means that she manipulated the referee before our clash occurred.

The order she imposed on him was to call a 'clean hit' for her.

That's it!

She sends the manipulation compulsion before each attack.

The order is, every time, to call a 'clean hit'.

She cannot possibly give the order to call a 'critical hit', as it would rise suspicion if she could not deliver.

With her speed, she can make it seem like a 'clean hit' really happened, but she can't do the same for a 'critical' one.

This time, however, she fucked up!

She really got a critical, but couldn't change the order mid process.

So the order she gives can't be changed afterwards.

But how does she do it?

Damn it! Think!

I can't go blindly! What if she manipulates me? Maybe she already has…

She is bound to need a condition to activate her Hatsu. Something that she has to keep repeating before she initiated an attack.

Wait…

…!!!!

That fucking umbrella!!

That weapon is the key in the end!

I need to cover both the referee's and my sight.

After that I can pummel that bitch to the ground.'

Enlightened, Enma crouched, stabbed his fingers in the floor and grabbed a giant tile out of the pavement of the ring.

<What is Enma doing? Is that young Gon's move? It is, isn't it? The famous tile grabbing!!>

'Sorry Gon, I'm stealing your tactic.'

The teen threw the tile and, when it was mid air, destroyed it with a single punch in a thousand of fragments.

As the huge amount of dirt and debris hit the ground, the entire arena was covered in fine particles of dust.

<A huge cloud of smoke is blocking our view! What is happening inside?>

'En!'

Enma was prepared.

'With the dirt around blocking our view, she can't use her ability at all.'

Differently from Roberta, who was, at the moment, blinded, everything that entered Enma's En radius was as clear as seeing it in daylight.

'Ken!'

He activated the Nen advanced form, and his body was covered by an impressive halo of compressed green Nen.

Enma disappeared towards Roberta's position.

Roberta was not an amateur.

Despite the sudden situation, she could still employ En herself.

Unfortunately, she had never trained the technique much, resulting in a rather pathetic attempt.

Nonetheless, Roberta tried to defend herself with the umbrella.

'Itto shura! Ko!'

To be sure, Enma closed his eyes, and activated his senses to the maximum.

Bzzzz!

He dodged a swing and finally, for the first time, was able to enter Roberta's personal space.

The was a check, and a mate was coming.

The girl's impressive speed reached its limit, and soon couldn't keep up anymore.

Enma materialize his chance after her first misstep, kicking her in the guts with such a force, that she was lifted 10 meters in the air.

Enma teleported behind her, locked his arms around her waist and, once gravity started dragging the duo back down to earth, he began to spin.

Roberta was helpless, she couldn't free herself, her opponent was too strong for that.

The ground come closer and closer.

When only a couple of meters where left, Enma separated from the maid with a flip, leaving her to smash on the hard concrete.

The impact came, and it was so strong that the entire arena trembled, and the whole floor cracked.

That was the infamous move of the ninja gaiden.

The public's cheers settled and Roberta was revealed in her sorry state.

Her glasses were destroyed and blood was pouring out of a huge cut on her head.

She used Ken at the last moment, but it didn't do much to protect her.

"KO! Enma wins!!"

<I can't believe it! He has done it! What a reverse! Enma wins with a KO! He finally reached the 10 wins!

Will we see a new floor master?>

…

Enma was standing on the ring, thinking about the fight.

Roberta's Nen ability was called "Umbrella dance".

Basically, she would first think of an order, and then select a target.

She couldn't really control another person's mind, her ability worked more as a compulsion.

The target would feel an subconscious desire to fulfill said compulsion, and his judgment would become foggy.

Done that, her umbrella would open and, if the target laid his eyes inside the red ring painted on the object, he would have been trapped in the manipulation.

The order would be executed only after the umbrella would close, with a single second of delay.

Roberta would fake an attack in that second, to make it appear to the public and the cameras that contact could have possibly been made, and giving a reason to the referee to yield to her manipulation.

'Every time she approached, she would maneuver herself in order to be in front of the referee's eyes, so that he couldn't avoid to gaze at the giant umbrella.'

She didn't usually use her ability on her opponents, because nobody would expect her to manipulate the referee directly.

Also, had she used her ability on her opponents, there was a high chance they would have felt it after few times.

Once discovered, her Hatsu was only a nice parlor trick, and also very easy to find a countermeasure to.

'Sadly, she had to use the ability against me when I went on the offensive, as I am far stronger than her in close range.

She opened the damn umbrella, and I instantly lost my tempo. The compulsion was probably 'Get slower', 'Stop attacking', or 'Be more cautious'...

Nothing too outrageous, but enough so that I couldn't close the match sooner, giving her all the time to get more points.

That is when I put the dots together. She would always open the umbrella before every attack.

She was always facing the referee, and, gazing at the umbrella would distract me, exactly when I was about to gain the upper hand.

She is really smart.'

…

-Enma's room-

After Gon's fight against Hisoka on the 10th of July, the 2 kids business at Heaven's arena was over.

They stayed to watch Enma's match, but were now ready to leave.

"Enma! We are going."

"Oh? Where to? Don't you want to keep training here?"

"At Gon's home."

"Yeah! My home is at Whale island, It's been so long since I've met with aunt Mito. I promised to visit."

"Also, with Gon's fight against Hisoka, we don't have a reason to be here anymore.

We earned more than 800 million Jenys between the both of us."

"I see. So I guess we'll be seeing each other at Yorknew city."

"Yes! Kurapika and Leorio too! Wing said they both passed the hidden test."

"That is good news."

"And you? When will you fight the Floor master? Have you decided who to challenge?"

"1st of September. That also mean that I'll be a little late to our meeting…

Yes, I've chosen a good one."

"Understood. Good luck than."

"Yeah! Good luck, I hope you win!"

…

-1st of September- Yorknew city-

"8 billion? How the hell is a game worth 8 billion?"

"Leorio, you don't understand! That is a limited edition game! There are only few copies out there… It's super rare."

"Ok, Ok I get it! How much do you have?"

"Ehm…only few millions."

"What! How do you think you can buy it with so little money?

Luckily for you, Yorknew city is a place full of opportunities, with the right idea, we can make it big."

Leorio said with grin, and continued.

"By the way, where is Enma? Wasn't he at Heaven's arena with the 2 of you?"

"Yeah, after reaching the 200th floor…"

…

" …And this is basically what happened."

"Hisoka was there? And Gon fought with him? Gon, you manage to hit him in the face? Good for you! You avenged me!

Also, Floor master? Enma will challenge a floor master? I can't believe it..."

"That is because you didn't see him fight..."

"Bah! How strong can he be?! Is his fight today?"

"Yes! He is probably already fighting."

"Unbelievable…"

'These kids are already this strong? And here I thought that learning Nen was impressive enough…'

…

-At the same time- Heaven's Arena-

"Clean hit!!! 1 Point Guldo!"

<9-0! Is this the end for Enma? Are floor masters really that strong?

This has been a one sided fight till this very moment.

It's the second fight in a row that he's on the brink of losing.

Can Enma reverse the situation one more time??>