What Is This Place!?

A black panel states "COMPLETELY USELESS!!" followed by narration explaining a strategy that could neutralize the King. However, the strategy of sealing the enemy's Nen with their own becomes useless if the enemy has a Nen remover. Knuckle and Shoot's hit-and-away tactic with Hakoware and support is shown in silhouette. Morel realizes that disposing of the opponent here would make Knuckle's strategy work, while also noting that if the ability is Nen removal, it presents a great opportunity. In the bottom panel, Morel swings his pipe and declares he cannot cancel Deep Purple, so he must use his remaining aura. Zitoh is forced into a defensive position, thinking he has no choice but to fight.

A cat-eared fighter bursts forward with explosive speed, eyes wide and mouth open in a fierce grin amid heavy motion lines and impact symbols. In the next sequence the same fighter grips a long weapon and declares, "THEN I CAN DEAL WITH YOU EASILY, YOU SPEED-ONLY FREAK." The opponent, hair whipping wildly, reacts with shock as multiple impact bursts erupt around them, exclaiming, "WHAT? JUST A SIMPLE ATTACK RELYING ON SPEED LIKE BEFORE?" The cat-eared fighter then emerges from a dark pool-like surface, staring upward with intense focus and stating, "YOU'RE IT. NOW..." Below, a small panel shows a surprised figure reacting with "WHAT DID YOU SAY" while another voice blurts "HUH!?"

In a barren landscape dotted with sparse trees, a tall ornate structure stands on a circular platform with a small figure beside it. A pipe-wielding man kneels in the mid-ground, one arm extended. In the foreground a bearded man with long hair and sunglasses stares upward in alarm, mouth open wide as he shouts, "WHAT IS THIS PLACE!?" while another voice trails off "WHA..." Large black impact symbols and motion lines fill the upper area, conveying sudden shock at the surroundings.

In a vast savannah landscape, Morel stands tense with his pipe extended, realizing the terrain around him. "IF THIS IS ZITOH'S ABILITY, THEN SOME OTHER CHIMERA IS A NEN REMOVER!? THIS IS THE WORST POSSIBLE SCENARIO!!!" he thinks. A large thought bubble questions, "A SAVANNAH...!? HAVE WE BEEN TRANSPORTED TO SOMEWHERE ELSE?" Below, Zitoh the feline Chimera Ant stands beside a massive ornate hourglass, one hand resting on it. "A GAME OF TAG." she declares. She continues, "I'M GONNA START..." and asks the unseen opponent, "DO YOU HAVE SOME TIME TO WASTE?" A distant armored Chimera Ant watches from near stone ruins. At the bottom of the page, a close-up reveals wide eyes behind sunglasses with the exclamation "TAG!?"

Zitoh leaps dynamically from the top of the giant hourglass, bow in hand and tail extended. "IF YOU DON'T TOUCH ME, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO LEAVE THIS PLACE." she warns. Another bubble states, "THIS IS A FIELD I MADE!!" A large SFX "ガラ" emphasizes the impact. "THE TIME LIMIT IS 8 HOURS!!" appears in bold text. Zitoh shouts, "LET'S START!!!" Below, Morel is yanked backward by his pipe, his body stretched by the force. A small inset shows Zitoh's surprised face with a question mark. In the distant background, the armored Chimera Ant stands watching as speed lines radiate outward from the action.

Morel stands far away in the barren landscape holding his pipe, declaring, "I'll take my time." The spiky-haired opponent yells back, "If you don't touch me, you won't be able to leave this place—!!" and "Hey, weren't you listening!?" A close-up reveals Morel's stern face behind dark sunglasses. Large text states the isolated space is about the size of a baseball field. Morel stands alone with his pipe as narration explains, "This place is a space created by Nen that is isolated from the real world. The surrounding is a space... just like he said." Morel ponders in profile, "①Is it possible to manipulate the cancellation from an isolated space? Even if it works, would it be possible to retrieve the aura inside this space? If I cancel and retrieve 'Deep Purple'... I can create enough smoke to cover this entire space... however..."

Morel continues weighing the risk: "If I cancel it, I can't reinitiate it unless I get that aura back. It's too risky to try...!" A black panel shows a puff of smoke above the dome-like space with text warning, "The worst case is for me to cancel 'Deep Purple'... and not be able to retrieve that aura inside this space!!" Morel grips his pipe tightly and declares, "At least not yet...!! I cannot cancel 'Deep Purple'!!" The spiky-haired opponent emerges from bushes calling, "This way, 'It'-san!" and notes, "Finally come out to play?" Morel walks forward with pipe in hand as motion lines and SFX (スッ ズ... ザッ) show movement. Distant figures and structures appear in the background.

Far across the barren ground, a tiny figure waves its arms and shouts, "I'M OVER HERE!" while another distant silhouette stands silently near an ornate stone pillar, replying only with an ellipsis. In close-up, the cat-eared girl Meleoron stares with wide eyes, then narrows them in tension. A scrap of paper labeled "Pika" flutters near a pair of black boots. The long-haired fighter with sunglasses levels a massive weapon and calls out, "HEY HEY." A calm voice answers, "YES." The sunglasses-wearer presses, "YOU'RE NOT THINKING OF..." The reply explodes across the page in a huge speech bubble: "I AM!!!" A blinding flash erupts at the base of the pillar as the weapon discharges, sending shockwaves, debris, and heavy black impact lines streaking outward. The cat-eared girl watches the blast with a fierce expression.

Meleoron warns that the opponent will never break the wall or the hour-glass in time. The long-haired fighter with sunglasses replies that there is only one way to escape. Meleoron smiles confidently, stating, "THAT IS TO CATCH ME." The sunglasses-wearer declares he still has plenty of time and will try a few more things. Meleoron, now looking aside, says he is not obligated to reveal much. The fighter wonders aloud, "HMM—I WONDER~?" A new figure appears in the background, noting that if the ability is touched within the time limit something will happen. Meleoron realizes the technique is Knuckle's "Hakoware," which means the battle will be drawn out. The sunglasses-wearer confirms, "THAT'S TRUE." The final panel shows Meleoron standing with hands on hips as large black impact shapes and the sound effect "!!" fill the foreground.

In an open grassy field dotted with sparse trees, Morel reclines on the ground with his massive pipe resting nearby, hands behind his head as he gazes upward. A distant silhouette stands far off in the landscape. Nearby, a spiky-haired young man leans in with an intense glare and asks, "...YOU'RE MOCKING ME?" Morel replies calmly, "WAKE ME UP IN FIVE HOURS." The spiky-haired youth stands up and walks away across the field while Morel remains lying down. In a sudden shift, Morel rises to his feet, gripping his pipe, and declares, "THIS ISN'T A BATTLE OF SPEED. IT'S A BATTLE OF THE MIND!!" He activates his ability as swirling smoke rings expand outward with the sound effect "KUKUKUKU" and the words "GET MORE IRRITATED." Morel continues, "YOU... YOU'RE MISUNDERSTANDING THE BASIS OF YOUR ABILITY."

From a high balcony overlooking a devastated cityscape filled with rubble and damaged buildings, Morel in a black suit stands with a shocked expression, thinking "MORAL DISAPPEARED WITH THE ENEMY...!" Below on the stairs, Zitoh with a lion-like mane sits injured. Morel notes, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF ABILITY IT IS, BUT HE CAN'T COME BACK FOR EIGHT HOURS." Zitoh's ability has been initiated. Morel concludes, "IT MEANS WE CONTINUE WITH THE PLAN. THE EXECUTION OF 'DEEP PURPLE' IS STILL INTACT..." Zitoh asks if there are any others. Morel replies that the rest appear to be ordinary pawns in white, while a black-haired man in a black suit and glasses is identified as another potential main culprit by Leol-sama. Morel adds he does not want to reveal his own ability yet.

A stern-faced man with wild hair stares forward, declaring he will need at least two other pieces. His thoughts turn to Hirin, who cannot move because of Zitoh’s Nen removal, forcing an attempt to isolate the black suit and fight him directly. In smaller panels, a wide-eyed feline character insists they will be there to protect him but he must never know what might happen. A curly-haired figure adds that in that case the king may want to go and deal with the enemy himself, while another notes the king’s games will end soon and urges making sure to get him. A powerful lion-like man stands tall in the foreground, suggesting it would be better if the king stayed in the castle until the selection has completely finished. Opposite him, an armored figure with a mask-like face asks if they were called. The lion-like man commands him to go and help Leol. The armored figure bows his head and replies yes, as you wish.

A small panel shows two surprised faces reacting with a question mark. In a spacious room, a tall man in a white shirt stands while a spiky-haired boy sits on a stool. The tall man remarks they seem to have run into a little problem. The boy asks how it is going. A close-up reveals a sharp-eyed character noting the king does not seem to have any chance of winning even after so many games, while another voice states she is extremely good. An intense close-up of glaring eyes fills the next panel. Diagrams of a board game appear with labeled moves: 4-5-1 Tsutsu, noting the number of incomprehensible moves has increased, and 2-8-2 Toride, explaining how a succession of weird Tsuke moves turned the tide instantly. The left side should have been easily taken over, yet the opponent’s moves have done so instead. A shocked face exclaims what.

Scattered shogi pieces litter the upper section of the board. Narration declares that with one decisive move the Shinobi, trapped since the match began, now dominates the board. Below, a frantic panel shows a duck-faced figure sprawled in shock, exclaiming that the opponent could never have predicted every one of his moves. An inset panel labels the 144-move sequence from opening to checkmate as impossible. In the next panel an armored warrior leans forward and calmly states it is checkmate, noting the right side is completely lost. A spiky-haired boy stares upward in disbelief while a small curly-haired figure watches nearby. The boy shouts that this simply cannot be happening again. The armored figure replies with a single word: yes. The bottom panel reveals a long-haired observer with a tense expression as sound effects echo and a large caption reads "Unexpected!? A struggling King!!" Inside the frame the armored figure adds that it is going to be rough.