"BOOM!!"
When the Aura Sphere struck Gaki, the world erupted in thunderous light.
His body vanished within the radiant explosion, the shockwave hurling him backward. A mushroom cloud of debris and dust mushroomed skyward, shockwaves rippling outward.
The blast aftermath whipped gale-force winds through the stands, forcing spectators to shield their faces with their arms.
As the dust slowly settled, the battered figure of Gaki came into view.
His condition was even worse than Zushi had been earlier—multiple fractures covered his body, blood gushing out like rivers. There was barely an intact spot left on him and his life force had completely vanished.
He was dead!
Under Lucario cunning tactics combined with a full-powered Aura Sphere, the already injured Gaki had met his end.
"We won!"
"Akira won!"
This time, the crowd reacted much faster, realizing within moments that the enemy had been defeated by Lucario!
The spectators erupted into fervent cheers, shouting for Lucario and Akira.
Akira had saved them!
After this battle, Akira reputation would be etched even deeper into people hearts—and Lucario alongside it.
Akira 'pet' had taken down the enemy in just two moves!
With Zushi earlier struggle as a comparison, Lucario overwhelming strength became even more apparent.
Thud, thud…
Amid the cheers, countless robots surrounding them suddenly collapsed to the ground, motionless.
"Hmm?"
Biscuit Krueger glanced at the now-unresponsive machines, a flicker of surprise crossing her face.
A thought quickly formed in her mind.
Did Akira do this too?
Though the crowd didn't understand what had happened, with no robots blocking their way, they decided it was best to leave. But some believed that with Akira at Heavens Arena, nothing too disastrous could happen.
They wanted to see Akira up close and chose to stay.
Thus, some left early while others remained in the stands.
What they didn't realize was that the situation was far worse than they imagined—the troublemaker wasn't just Gaki.
Many still clung to the hope that the matches would continue and they'd get to see Akira in action.
Little did they know, aside from Akira, not a single Floor Master was left to compete. Zushi had been injured—though Gardevoir healing had stabilized him but he remained unconscious.
The other Floor Masters had been controlled by the serum Jed injected them, turned into puppets at his whim.
***
In a secluded corner of Heavens Arena
"Why were the passages suddenly reopened?" Kurapika frowned, eyeing the now-unblocked pathways with suspicion.
Earlier, all exits in Heavens Arena had been sealed in an emergency lockdown and he had been heading toward the central control room.
But halfway there, the restrictions had been lifted.
Because of this, the departing spectators could now leave without obstruction.
Had something happened?
Could it be… Had the intruders in the central control room already been defeated?
Kurapika mind raced, but his steps didn't falter as he continued toward his original destination.
Since he was already halfway there, he might as well check.
For some reason, Akira flashed through his thoughts. He remembered Akira, the 251st Floor Master, was also at Heavens Arena.
What was he doing now? Could he have been the one to restore the central control room?
***
Central Control Room
"I always felt something was interfering with me…"
"Every action I took had this strange sluggishness to it."
"I needed three times—sometimes even more—the usual amount of 'On' to achieve the same effect."
"Failed to gain control of the screen and even the previously obtained channel control, even the robots are out of control..."
"There really is something messing with me here!"
Shura suddenly turned his gaze toward the dark corner, his cold face twisting into endless madness.
In the corner, fragments of space suddenly appeared out of thin air.
As the pieces fell one after another, the figure of Porygon-Z slowly materialized.
Its balloon-like body floated into view, its tiny eyes glinting with an almost human-like amusement.
Shura fury burned even hotter at the sight!
Just moments ago, he had been made a fool of, his every move exposed under the watch of this damned thing.
"So it was you causing trouble from the shadows!"
Watching Porygon-Z emerge from the void, Shura eyelids twitched uncontrollably.
As someone responsible for controlling networks and machinery, he had naturally heard of the digital world. But he had never heard of anything capable of traversing between the digital and real worlds!
Thinking back to how he had failed to detect any anomalies earlier, Shura expression darkened further.
This damned thing mastery over digital world far surpassed his own!
But so what?!
Since it dared to show itself, he would destroy it today!
How strong could this inflatable duck-like creature possibly be?
"You dare to stand in the way of our vengeance, no matter who you are or what you are, you'll die!"
Shura long hair whipped wildly around him, his disheveled appearance and deathly pale face making him look like a specter risen from hell.
An even more immense surge of 'On' erupted from his body.
Faced with an obstacle to his mission, Shura unleashed a far more terrifying aura of 'malice'. Countless strands of dark 'On' intertwined into thick ropes, writhing like tentacles capable of unleashing countless attacks in an instant.
Even without relying on machines, his mastery over 'On' alone allowed him to wield fearsome combat prowess!
At this moment, the utterly frenzied Shura finally lived up to his name.
Yet, Porygon-Z remained utterly unfazed by the horrifying sight before it.
In its eyes, Shura fate was already sealed.
Since its creation, Porygon-Z had been absorbing data from the digital world.
After such prolonged accumulation, it had long reached A+ rank—even verging on S- rank.
Shura was strong.
But Porygon-Z was far stronger!
A deep, pitch-black ripple appeared before Porygon-Z, its inky fluctuations exuding an aura that made Shura heart tremble.
'To possess such power…!'
'I can't let it unleash this attack!' Shura screamed inwardly.
Driven by his 'On' at full force, countless dark tendrils lashed out toward Porygon-Z!
The strength Porygon-Z had revealed far exceeded his expectations.
From the aura alone, he could tell—he wouldn't survive this attack! So he had to strike it down before it could act!
Fortunately, his movements were swift.
The countless tendrils of resentment struck Porygon-Z before it could release its attack.
Bam!Bam!Bam!
One after another, the tendrils mercilessly pummeled Porygon-Z, each strike amplified by Shura 'On' to devastating effect. The rapid succession of attacks left afterimages in the air, weaving a dark net that sought to ensnare Porygon-Z within.
Only after a long while did Shura finally cease his assault, exhaling lightly in relief.
To be thorough, he had even continued the barrage for a full minute!
He had seen Porygon-Z get hit with his own eyes!
There was no way it could still be alive! It must have been shattered into pieces by now!
Filled with grim satisfaction, Shura casually waved a hand, dispersing the dust before him.
The scene beneath the smoke and dust was now fully revealed.
There was no battered Porygon-Z, nor scattered fragments of limbs. Only a slowly dissipating Pokémon plush doll remained.
The doll looked adorable—a small green dinosaur plushie.
"A doll?" Shura stared blankly at the fading plushie, murmuring to himself.
Could this doll have been the true form of that inflatable duck?
Unfortunately, Shura didn't play Pokémon, so he naturally didn't recognize what this doll represented.
Normal-type move—Substitute!
Suddenly, Shura sensed something amiss and whirled around to look at another corner.
A pitch-black, profound wave abruptly shot toward him!
The ink-like undulations resembled a dark sea, crashing toward him in tidal surges.
Dark-type move—Dark Pulse!
Shura golden pupils reflected nothing but the image of the Dark Pulse, now mixed with panic.
He'd fallen for the trap!
That had been a decoy!
The real enemy had long since relocated!
It was only in his final moments that Shura realized this.
Moments later, his consciousness was completely swallowed by the Dark Pulse, collapsing lifelessly to the ground.
Porygon-Z glanced at Shura lifeless body before stepping into the digital world and vanishing without a trace.
***
"Is this...? So a battle really did happen here?" Kurapika held his breath as he cautiously entered the control room, carefully surveying the surroundings.
When he reached the central control room, all he saw were the fallen staff members and Shura body. Along with the exaggerated aftermath of the battle—the entire room looked as if it had been ravaged by a tornado.
Apart from the most critical machines remaining intact, everything else bore varying degrees of damage.
While such destruction might be expected from a battle, Kurapika couldn't shake the feeling that Akira was involved.
After all, there weren't many in Heavens Arena capable of handling such enemies.
***
Atop Heavens Arena rooftop, The highest point of the arena, where the entire city nightscape stretched out below in an unobstructed view.
"All dead, then..." Jed held a communicator, his eyelids lowered, golden pupils shadowed with gloom.
He'd just tried contacting both Gaki and Shura.
Neither call connected.
Under these circumstances, the conclusion was obvious—they were most likely already gone...
Jed pocketed the communicator and turned to glare coldly at the restrained Netero beside him.
"Seems your people have some skill after all." Jed spoke through gritted teeth, fists unconsciously clenching.
Now he was the only one left.
"Oh? My people?"
Even while restrained, Netero showed no particular concern, maintaining his cheerful demeanor.
"I wouldn't say they're my people—I'm hardly qualified to claim him as mine~"
Bathed in the night breeze, Netero couldn't help but muse.
He could probably guess—Akira must have intervened.
This was precisely why he remained calm, because Akira was here in Heavens Arena!
"Why?! Why can you still act like nothing's happened?!"
"Tell me, Netero!!"
Netero relaxed attitude enraged Jed, whose anger only grew fiercer from the loss of his comrades.
"Hohohoho, mainly because someone will come to my rescue."
"Otherwise I wouldn't be this calm."
With that, Chairman Netero playfully winked. If his hands hadn't been restrained, he would have stroked his beard.
"Hmph, Netero, you're getting old. Tell me, who can save you now?"
"Those two kids I just threw off? By now, they've probably been smashed into pulp!" Jed sneered, mocking Netero words.
What Jed didn't know was that in the original story, he was indeed defeated by Gon and the others.
Though that was more of a plot convenience.
Jed, who had been evenly matched with Netero, was inexplicably taken down by a sudden power surge from Gon.
He should have been corrupted by 'On', reduced to the same state as those Floor Masters.
Yet, he was forcibly awakened by the "power of love" between Gon and Killua, transforming into a "Super Saiyan" and defeating Jed with a single punch.
"I wasn't talking about Gon and the others."
"You probably don't keep up with current affairs, do you? Don't you even know about Akira?"
"He's someone far stronger than me~" Netero recalled Akira many feats, his memory lingering on that meeting.
Those five auras had truly startled him back then!
"Hohoho, the new generation surpasses the old. I really am past my prime."
"My era is over. The name of this new age is—Akira!"
Akira… Hearing the name, Jed remembered Netero earlier speech to everyone.
He had openly admitted inferiority to this "Akira."
"If you place so much hope in this Akira, I hope he has the courage to come."
"That way, I can tear him into pieces right in front of you!" Faced with Jed arrogance, Netero remained silent.
Only after experiencing Akira beatdown would Jed understand reality. No amount of words would change that.
"Hmph!"
Jed flicked his cape, turning his back to Netero, his pale face darkening.
The original plan was for Shura to lock down all communications in Heavens Arena while he negotiated with the Hunter Association. But now, with Shura out of the picture, he had to handle it himself.
Fine—no need to block information anymore!
He'd broadcast this scene to everyone across the six continents!
Let them see how vile their trusted Hunter Association truly was.
Let them witness the miserable fate of their idol, Netero!
***
Hunter Association Headquarters.
"I'm sorry, we have no comment at this time."
"Apologies, but we currently have no information to share."
...
The same responses echoed throughout the vast office.
Faced with public demands, the Hunter Association couldn't provide clear answers. The association secretary, Beans, was busier than ever, his short legs scurrying back and forth.
He might as well have wished for two extra legs.
In contrast, Vice-Chairman Pariston lounged in his chair, watching the chaos unfold without moving an inch.
"What terrible luck—Heavens Arena is under attack, and Chairman Netero is nowhere to be found."
"At least Akira is there. It seems he's got things under control."
Between answering calls from the V5 and fielding public inquiries, Beans still found time to mutter to himself.
As he ran, Beans caught a glimpse of Pariston lounging idly in his office and muttered under his breath.
"The difference between people really is vast."
"How can someone like you even exist?"
At that moment, a female staff member suddenly called out to Beans.
"It's happening! The mastermind behind this has started a live broadcast across the Six Continents, and Chairman Netero is in the footage!"
No sooner had she spoken than Jed figure appeared on the large screen in the office, with Netero imprisoned behind him.
And this footage was being broadcast live to the entire Six Continents!
In other words, everyone watching the live stream could see Chairman Netero being captured!
"Chairman..." Beans looked at the image of Netero, his head bowed, with deep concern on his face.
***
"To all members of the Hunter Association and everyone across the Six Continents, good evening."
In the pitch-black night, only the bright moonlight cast a hazy glow.
What appeared before everyone eyes was the mastermind behind the chaos at Heavens Arena—Jed!
"In just over ten hours, at five o'clock, I will execute Netero right here!"
As Jed delivered his speech, Netero suddenly sensed something and slightly turned his head to glance at a corner nearby.
A figure abruptly emerged from the shadows.
Under the faint moonlight, Netero could barely make out some of the figure features.
The next moment, Netero pupils constricted sharply!
What is this?!
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