"Is this... self-sealing?"
Seeing Shaiapouf's move, Ging didn't react much.
He just scratched his head casually.
He hadn't done anything yet; he was waiting for the opponent to make the first move so he could better understand this royal guard.
But instead, the other party, perhaps being too cautious, sealed himself up before any actual fighting began.
Although Ging didn't think Shaiapouf was being foolish, maybe it was a way to prepare for some powerful move, still, this kind of situation, where he hadn't even started, hadn't even thrown a basic attack, and already baited out the enemy's ultimate move…
Ging felt like he had gained yet another layer of insight into the strange complexity of Chimera Ants.
"Well, that actually works out nicely."
Looking at the cocooned, immobile Shaiapouf, Ging simply sat down on the spot.
"The main goal here is just to stall him and buy as much time as possible."
"Of course, killing him would be ideal, but... It's kind of a hassle either way..."
Ging leaned his chin on one hand, watching Shaiapouf's performance without much interest.
Elsewhere, Neferpitou was fully focused on healing Komugi while Shaiapouf had sealed himself up.
For a rare moment, both sides had fallen into a temporary peace.
In contrast, at the central staircase, where the final royal guard was located.
Boom!!
Menthuthuyoupi was furiously thrashing his transformed tentacles around, wildly destroying everything in sight.
The reason? Before him lay thick and impenetrable smoke.
Even though he had grown numerous compound eyes all over his body, he still couldn't see clearly in this strange haze.
"Damn it! Where are those bastards hiding?!!"
Menthuthuyoupi was simple-minded and liked straightforward, head-on fights.
Being interfered with and trapped in tactics like this was deeply irritating and maddening to him.
"Come out!!"
Tentacles shot out in all directions into the smoke.
It punched holes in the smoke, but those holes were quickly filled again.
This was Morel's Smoky Jail, a barrier made of smoke. It has no offensive power, but it is indestructible.
Even someone as strong as Menthuthuyoupi couldn't break this barrier made of smoke, and inside this barrier, humanoid figures would constantly appear; sometimes, one, sometimes several, they were distractions to mess with his judgment, giving him no rest.
At the same time…
Ratatatatat!!
A barrage of bullets rained down, aimed precisely at the compound eyes all over his body.
This was Kite's Crazy Slots, which had now rolled a machine gun.
The firepower and aura-infused bullets were strong enough to trouble even experienced Nen users.
So, even with his iron-like body, Menthuthuyoupi had to either whip away the bullets with his tentacles or close his compound eyes to avoid damage.
But once the eyes were closed, he would briefly lose vision in those areas.
Combined with the constant interference from Morel and his disciple Shoot…
Bam!!
A punch struck Menthuthuyoupi in the gut, and immediately, the attacker retreated.
It was clearly just a hit-and-run tactic.
The punch didn't hurt much, but this kind of teasing, provoking tactic, was raying Menthuthuyoupi's nerves bit by bit.
"Get out of here!!!"
Menthuthuyoupi roared.
The soundwaves from his roar were so loud that chunks of the ceiling began to fall.
He entered a full rage state once more, except…
He didn't notice the tiny, chubby white creature, with fluttering wings like a fly, hovering near his waist.
Until…
"Time's up. Start calculating interest."
That clear, robotic voice rang out, making Menthuthuyoupi aware of the creature's existence.
"What the hell is this thing?!"
Without hesitation, Menthuthuyoupi lashed out with a tentacle, smacking the little thing squarely in the head.
Whatever it was, if he didn't know it, and it appeared in battle, it was the enemy's ability.
And enemy abilities must be eliminated!
Whack!!
A.P.R. was hit and knocked away.
The little angel-like creature wobbled in the air for a moment, then flew right back toward Menthuthuyoupi.
"Huh?!!"
Menthuthuyoupi's eyes turned sharp.
More tentacles cracked through the air, hitting A.P.R. from every direction with immense precision.
But after that whole destructive rampage…
"Time's up. Start calculating interest."
A.P.R. simply fluttered around, still right beside Menthuthuyoupi, still smiling with that puppet-like grin while its head showed the rising interest count.
"My attacks... did nothing?!!"
"What the hell is this thing?!"
Menthuthuyoupi raged in helpless fury. He had no idea what A.P.R. was, what effect it had, or what it meant.
All he could do was scream in frustration, consumed by his rage.
Outside the prison, having successfully landed the punch to activate his ability, Knuckle exhaled in relief.
Their multi-person strategy had worked. A.P.R. was now stuck to Menthuthuyoupi.
From here on, it was just a matter of time before he went down.
Their mission was going... Surprisingly well.