Chapter 46: The Second Explosion Method!

Not long after returning to his room, Kaizen heard a knock at the door.

He opened it to find Lina standing outside.

"Come on in," Kaizen said, letting her inside for a while.

Later that evening, Carlisle came by to collect Lina.

"Congratulations," Kaizen said.

"I just got lucky," Carlisle replied modestly.

"Let's go, Lina," Carlisle called.

"Okay, Father."

With Carlisle and Lina gone, silence settled back into the room. Kaizen's gaze shifted to the crystal ball sitting on the table before him.

"We're more than halfway there," he muttered to himself. "The second Nen beast isn't far from appearing."

Two days later.

Ding-dong!

The doorbell rang, and Kaizen opened the door to find Isaiah standing in the hallway, wearing a strained smile.

"Hello?"

Isaiah handed over a small bag.

"Take this, Kaizen."

Kaizen tilted his head. "What's this?"

"My experiences," Isaiah said with a touch of sadness in his voice. "I've lost too many matches… I was stripped of my title as a Heavens Arena competitor, and I can't make a comeback anymore. But you still can."

Isaiah exhaled slowly, as if releasing a burden.

"You were smart not to rush into matches," he continued. "I see potential in you—a future Floor Master."

He placed a hand on Kaizen's shoulder. "Forgive me for putting my hope on your shoulders, but I believe you have what it takes. These notes hold everything I've learned over the years… I hope they can be of some use."

Kaizen hesitated for a moment but eventually took the bag.

"Thank you. Would you like to come in and sit for a bit?"

Isaiah shook his head. "No need."

"In that case…" Kaizen reached into his room and retrieved a small stereo. "Here, this is for you. It's the music I listen to during training. Please accept it."

Isaiah blinked, taken aback by the gesture.

"I insist," Kaizen said, a sly smile creeping onto his face. "If you don't take it, I won't accept your gift either."

With a reluctant chuckle, Isaiah gave in. "Alright, alright. I'll take it. But I need to get going now… I'm leaving the city soon. Until we meet again, Kaizen."

"Goodbye," Kaizen replied, watching Isaiah turn and leave.

When the door clicked shut, Kaizen brought the bag over to his desk and opened it.

A slow, knowing grin spread across his face.

"So… the old man was trying to take me down, huh? Did he lose and decide to blame me?"

Inside the bag was a notebook, but that wasn't the real surprise. A faint shimmer of poison coated the cover—both light and lethal varieties mixed in. Even the slightest touch could kill a lion.

But Isaiah didn't know one crucial thing.

Kaizen had trained at the Zoldyck estate. Poison was nothing new to him.

Killua had once downed Tonpa's laxative juice without so much as a stomachache. And Silva Zoldyck had shrugged off a poison that could drop an elephant, squeezing the toxin out of his veins.

Resistance to poison was second nature for the Zoldycks—and Kaizen was no exception.

To most people, this gift would've been a death sentence. To Kaizen, it was just another trinket.

That's why he had accepted it without hesitation.

Downstairs, Isaiah glanced back toward Kaizen's room, a cruel smile forming on his lips.

"You little brat… you're probably dead by now," he muttered, climbing into his car and driving off.

He soon reached the town square, found an empty bench, and sat down. With a sigh, he pulled out the stereo Kaizen had given him.

He turned it on, and soft, soothing music began to play.

Isaiah's shoulders relaxed, and for a moment, he let himself unwind.

But then—

"Killer Queen... detonates!"

Isaiah's eyes went wide, but it was already too late.

Unbeknownst to him, Kaizen had planted his Nen ability on the stereo—turning it into a trap. The moment Isaiah activated the stereo, his clothes became the first bomb.

And now, Kaizen was triggering the second explosion remotely.

With Isaiah's own touch sealing his fate, his upper body became the epicenter of the blast.

There was no sound.

No warning.

Just a silent, deadly flash—his body disintegrating into ash and scattering in the air.

Far away, Kaizen stood by the window, watching the distant horizon with an emotionless gaze.

"I'm not as soft as Gon or Killua," he murmured to himself.

His mind drifted to the original Heavens Arena arc. Gon may have been friendly and compassionate, but when it came to avenging Kite, Gon was ruthless. He hadn't hesitated to take down Neferpitou—even when she had shown signs of humanity.

On the Island of Greed, Gon had spared the Bomber trio because they had shown loyalty to one another. But it had been a conscious choice, not weakness.

Kaizen smirked. "I won't hesitate when the time comes."

A month later.

Kaizen stood at the front desk of Heavens Arena, filing his application to participate in a match. Time was running out, and if he didn't fight soon, he would lose his eligibility to compete.

The absorption rate of the crystal ball had reached 80%.

During the past month, Kaizen had spent time observing various battles. He'd even watched some high-level fights between Floor Masters and challengers—though the difference in skill between the two was often staggering. Most challengers couldn't last more than a few seconds.

"The progress is slower than I'd hoped," Kaizen muttered. "Maybe it's because there aren't enough matches above the 200th floor."

He glanced at the crystal ball, which seemed to pulse faintly with residual energy.

"The battles below the 200th floor are meaningless. They don't even scratch the surface of what's needed to unlock its full potential."

Kaizen knew that to make real progress, he had to fight on higher floors. Staying below the 200th floor would get him nowhere.

But that was not the only reason he joined the fight.

"I'll use these matches to push the crystal ball's progress myself," he decided.

With a determined glint in his eye, Kaizen handed his registration form to the clerk.

The second phase of his journey was about to begin.

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