DUEL 3

A wide forest clearing opens beside a calm body of water bordered by rocks. Several figures stand at a distance among the trees. In the foreground a bearded man in a suit faces a younger man with spiky hair. The bearded man says, "QUITE EXORBITANT." The spiky-haired man replies, "IF YOU CAN'T AGREE TO THAT, WE CAN'T GIVE YOU ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE 'COASTLINE OF ONE TSUBO.'" Smaller panels show the bearded man from behind and the spiky-haired man listening. Narration states, "ONCE YOU'VE HEARD WHAT I SAY, YOU SHOULD UNDERSTAND." The bearded man continues, "I'M AFRAID IT WOULD CERTAINLY BE DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO DISCOVER THE CARD ON YOUR OWN." Another panel adds, "THE CIRCUMSTANCES ARE WHAT THEY ARE, THAT'S WHY." The bearded man explains further, "WE BOUGHT IT FROM SOME GUY WHO CLONED THE CARD. HE JUST HAPPENED TO STEAL FROM A PLAYER WITH 'LOTTERY.'" A final caption reads, "CERTAINLY, ACQUIRING THE SIMILAR SS-RANK CARD, 'SECRET WOODS OF ONE TSUBO,' WAS A MIX OF FORTUNE AND CHANCE..."

In a rocky clearing, three men stand facing one another. A bald man in a uniform bows slightly while a bearded man in a light jumpsuit watches him. Nearby, a spiky-haired man in a dark vest raises his hands and speaks. The bearded man asks, "Is it really true you haven't acquired it yet?" The spiky-haired man replies, "If we could do it, we wouldn't ask for such a large sum." A close-up shows the bearded man's intense face as he says, "Let's hear your story." The spiky-haired man answers, "...Alright! Condition accepted." The scene shifts to a wide view of a dark treeline under an empty sky. Far below, the two men stand on a cliff overlooking a distant ship on the water; the bearded man strokes his chin while the spiky-haired man stands with his back partly turned.

The bearded man stands among trees and states that the group wants to team up to acquire the card. He notes they have had a hard time before and remained cautious. The spiky-haired man replies that it is not a bad proposition. In the background, several uniformed men and a small child with spiky hair watch the exchange. The bearded man asks if they have five people. The spiky-haired man confirms they do and explains they will fill the remaining six slots with other fighters. He adds that they have nine people total and two other teammates. The bearded man points out that eight of their nine will have to win their matches. The spiky-haired man agrees, noting they must also decide how to distribute the cards.

Killua stands facing forward with a serious expression and declares, "We'll see if we team up, afterwards. Show us your 'Ren.'" A small distant panel shows him from behind on rocky ground as a voice notes, "...Which means, whether or not we have a chance of winning depends on you." The bearded man in uniform turns slightly and replies, "Well, it's fine. Hey, hey, looks like the tables have turned." In a wide landscape panel the man stands with arms crossed against a treeline and announces, "Well, then, here I go." He crouches in the center of the next panel while the two boys watch from the left; a question mark floats above Gon. The man concentrates with "GU GU..." visible near him. The final panels erupt in motion lines and impact shapes as the man lunges forward with a fierce glare, shouting "HA!!!!" while Killua and Gon react in shock from the left side of the frame.

From a low angle the man leaps high above the cliff face, arms still crossed, while declaring, "My best vertical jump is 16m, boom!!" and "Hehehehe... If I release all my energy, I can jump even higher." Killua and Gon watch from below; Killua exclaims, "I want to try it too!!" while Gon observes, "He probably concentrated his aura on his legs the moment he jumped." A large speech bubble from the man reads, "That's great!" as the boys react with "OOH!" The final panels show Killua and Gon crouching in ready positions with "READY, SET..." text and the onomatopoeia "グッ グッ" while a large silhouette of the man's face looms in the foreground.

Gon and Killua launch forward in powerful leaps, their bodies surrounded by explosive impact and radiating speed lines as a massive blast erupts between them. A large speech bubble shouts "GO!!!!" Tsezguerra stands with arms crossed, reacting with a sharp "!?" as motion lines streak across the panels. His eye widens in shock while internal narration reads "TH... THESE GUYS... IN SUCH A SHORT TIME... THEY'VE FAR EXCEEDED MY HIGHEST RECORD!!" In the distance Gon and Killua stand side by side with arms outstretched. Tsezguerra's face fills the panel, sweat flying as he roars "JUST HOW MUCH DID THEY GROW ?!"

Gon and Killua sit on the ground amid dust clouds while Tsezguerra watches from the side. Killua sits cross-legged in the air declaring "YEAH! I WIN." Gon stands with arms spread shouting "DAMMIT!" Tsezguerra comments "STILL, IT DOESN'T REACH MY FULL POWER, BUT... FU... YOU'RE PRETTY GOOD." Two suited men from the Danda Group stand nearby as one says "SORRY, THEY'RE STILL KIDS... PLEASE FORGIVE THEM..." and the other replies "AH... LETTING YOU JOIN IS OKAY. NICE JUMP!" Further dialogue continues about sports choices and strength. Killua is shown in silhouette as someone calls "Killua! Just once more!" The Danda Group thugs prepare for the next matches with "GO!!" sound effects.

Gon, Killua, and Biscuit discuss their lack of experience in sports while planning their approach. Tsezguerra suggests beach volleyball and wrestling based on the opponents' confirmed events. Killua snaps that Gon is a pain in the ass and declares he will do the sumo. Gon asks what sport they should pick since they have no experience. Hisoka offers to handle boxing with his Nen as a countermeasure and states that juggling the soccer ball is fine with him. He adds that using Bungee Gum will let him win and that predicting the opponent's moves in bowling will make a perfect score easy. Gon declares he wants to do ping-pong and free-throw. Tsezguerra agrees to start gathering the other members and warns that because they have no experience he will give them a crash course. He notes that with Gon's earlier jump power they should not have a problem attacking but looks like Gon is his partner in the end.

Tsezguerra reacts with shock as he learns Gensuru's team has gathered 97 cards. He questions what this means while a man in a cap exclaims that this is bad. Gon stares in surprise as the realization hits that only the coastline of one Tsubo and Alexandrite Luck remain. A large group of people stands together outdoors at night near a lit building with a large X mark over the foreground. Inside a spacious hall with high ceilings and a distant screen, Tsezguerra states that when thinking of Gensuru's group they absolutely cannot afford to lose. He adds that they have gone over every sort of simulation practice for the last week.

In the boxing ring, the muscular spiky-haired fighter with boxing gloves taunts his opponent in the jester-style hat. "I'll make you eat dirt," he declares while the hatted fighter laughs "He he he!" The action intensifies as the spiky-haired fighter closes in rapidly. Narration explains his speed and Nen-enhanced abilities: "And he's fast, too... He's an 'In' fighter!!" Diagrams and text detail how increasing guard weight creates openings for instantaneous emission movements, causing his fists' power to drop dramatically. The hatted fighter is struck hard, grunting "Guh!!" A bearded man with slicked-back hair analyzes the scene, noting the patterns on the fighter's body are called "God's letters" that enhance Nen. The spiky-haired fighter lands a powerful blow with crackling impact lines. The narration concludes that his instant movement ability is limited inside the ring.

The spiky-haired fighter knocks his opponent down with a heavy blow. "Down!! Go to your neutral corner," commands the referee. The defeated fighter lies on the canvas while the victor raises his gloved fist triumphantly. Bells ring "Kan Kan Kan Kan Kan". The referee announces "Winner: Kesuu!" followed by "Winner: Rodo-Riotto!" A large man with a headband cheers with a raised fist. In the hallway, Tsezguerra confirms "Alright, that's three wins!!" The final panel shows the reaction group: Tsezguerra looking serious, the hatted fighter with hand on chin, a long-haired man, Biscuit with pigtails, Gon pointing forward, and Killua standing beside him.

A spiky-haired man leans in close to a jester-hatted figure and says, "HEY, YOU GUYS..." while another panel shows his profile declaring, "THIS IS GETTING INTERESTING. THE COMBAT LEVEL OF THESE SIX IS IDEAL." He continues, "AFTERWARDS, I'LL TAKE 'EM," adding, "IT'S OKAY IF YOU LOSE, UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES." Turning to a battered opponent, the spiky-haired man asserts, "FROM NOW ON, YOU'LL LET ME DO WHAT I WANT." Nearby thugs react with "I AIN'T FOLLOWIN' NO MORE OF YER DIRECTIONS," "WAIT!" and "GOTCHA." A white-haired boy confronts the group, stating, "DON'T YOU HAVE THE PLACE FOR OUR MATCH WRONG? OUT-SIDE?" Bopobo, the large bald man, is ordered, "HEY, SQUIRT, GET YER ASS OUTSIDE," as a small figure runs off. Bopobo mutters, "I CAN'T HELP BUT THINK OF THAT YARN GAVE ME." The spiky-haired man calls out, "HEY, BOPOBO! THE GAME'S OVER, UNLESS YA WANT ME TO KILL YOU HERE?" From behind, he warns, "YOU'RE GOING BACK TO JAIL, BOPOBO. THAT'S A BREACH OF CONTRACT." A crowd of onlookers watches the tense standoff.

Three figures react with confusion as Bopobo shouts, "I'M QUITTING THIS PIECE-OF-SHIT GAME!" and another voice asks, "THINK SO?" The spiky-haired man stands with a glowing orb in hand, pointing at Bopobo and declaring, "IF WE ALL GANG UP ON HIM, HE'S DEAD MEAT! THEN ALL WE GOTTA DO IS USE A BOAT OR SOMETHIN AND ESCAPE FROM THIS ISLAND!!" Bopobo roars back, "ANYONE WITH ME?!" In a sudden burst of speed and impact, Bopobo is launched upward with a massive strike, debris flying as he crashes toward a gigantic creature's eye and rocky maw. Below, the spiky-haired man sprints across the ground amid the chaos of the attack.

A massive muscular fighter is hurled through the air in a violent arc, his body twisting as debris and impact lines explode around him. In the background, a smaller figure stands ready on the arena floor. Below, a group of onlookers watches intently: a bearded man with a stern expression, Biscuit with her hair in a bun, Gon with spiky hair, Killua with black hair, and a blond man with a scar. Speech bubbles convey reactions from the crowd: one voice notes the fallen fighter probably thought he wouldn't get killed, another confirms the hit, and a third warns that breaking a taboo brings severe punishment. A separate panel shows a line of shocked spectators with wide eyes and open mouths. The page ends on a dramatic close-up of a spiky-haired fighter against a black background, his face calm as he declares he is next, with the reply 'ALRIGHT.'