Chapter 235

Two glowing circular panels on black background explain Knuckle's ability: "HE'S APPROACHING AT AROUND 160 TO 180 KILOMETERS PER HOUR...!! IF THERE'S STILL AT LEAST THREE SECONDS TILL THE NEXT INTEREST RAISE..." "THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE THAT WE CAN ATTACK HIM BEFORE HE NOTICES!!" A small cartoon creature labeled Potclean floats beside a timer box showing "0.0X seconds remaining till interest raise." Narration boxes detail how "Hakoware" raises interest every ten seconds after attachment and how the count resumes if the enemy re-enters the 100-meter radius. In the next tier, Knuckle shouts "HE'S COMING!" while leaping through foliage. A wide landscape panel follows. Then a character with slicked-back hair says "....." while running along a ridge. Knuckle's close-up shows surprise: "WHAT'S WRONG?" and a final panel captures his intense glare with a sweat drop and exclamation mark.

In a forested hillside, two figures watch from above as a muscular man with a distinctive hairstyle sprints at full speed. "HE'S GOT THE LEGS OF A CHEETAH," one observer notes. "IT'S IMPOSSIBLE. WE WON'T MAKE IT," replies the other. Below, the runner named Knuckle suddenly changes direction mid-stride, leaping away as an explosion erupts behind him. "HE COMPLETELY CHANGED DIRECTIONS RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!" someone shouts. "SHIT, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!?" Knuckle lands and calls out, "HE'S BELOW!" Close-ups show Knuckle's intense expression as he questions, "IT CAN'T BE... WHY WAS OUR AMBUSH BLOWN!?" A companion wonders, "HE CAN'T DEAL WITH 'ZETSU'!" Knuckle points upward and yells "ABOVE!!" A long-haired figure looks on in surprise. From behind, Knuckle realizes, "WE'RE FACING THE WIND... THE WIND WASN'T BLOWING AWAY FROM US. THE DIRECTION IS THE SAME AS WELL!! IT WASN'T THE SMELL...!"

Knuckle stares in shock at a bizarre new arrival. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?" he exclaims. A small insect-like creature flies past as a tall, grotesque figure with wild hair, bulging eyes, and a fringed skirt materializes in the center, arms crossed. The creature declares, "I'VE SPOTTED A SUSPICIOUS GROUP OF TWO." Nearby, a cat-like face reports, "GOT IT. THERE'S NO NEED TO DO MORE THAN WHAT'S NECESSARY. LET THEM BE." Another voice asks, "WHAT SHOULD I DO?" From below, someone wonders, "OH? HE'S HERE TOO? THEY SEEMED TO HAVE BEEN WAITING TO AMBUSH ZITCH-SAMA. THEY'RE NOT OUR TARGET." The strange being stands imposingly while Knuckle and the ponytail figure look on warily from the side.

A close-up reveals the lion-like man Leol grinning as he declares, "He's now indebted to me." Thought bubbles drift over a mountainous landscape, questioning what happened to Zitoh and whether Leol-sama let him fall into the ambush. Leol confirms the detour and that the target is now heading toward the capital. In the next panel Leol stands with one hand behind his head, stating, "The target is being engaged by infantry units at Liunton city. This is Leol." Beside him the curly-haired girl leans in. Smaller panels show her and Roger discussing the military's inability to handle the target. Roger, striking a confident pose with one leg raised against a pillar, tells her, "Go ahead north and wait for him there. Although it's just my intuition." The girl worries that the target has been moving for over thirty hours straight and is definitely stalling.

A wide view of a ruined city square shows overturned tanks and debris while a large speech bubble announces, "DIEGO HAS ALREADY FALLEN INTO THE ENEMY'S HANDS!!" In a narrow panel a spiky-haired boy leaps forward, kicking and shouting, "YOU LYING TRAITOR!!" with a sharp sound effect. Another panel shows a distant figure on a ledge warning that locking themselves in homes will lead to death on TV. The boy, now in close-up with sweat drops, thinks, "Dammit... Since Diego himself is appealing to the people on TV that he's well and safe... Although it's just a doll. I'M DEFINITELY AT A DISADVANTAGE!!" He resolves, "I'll just take out the dolls and military as I come across them! I have no choice but to stop instigating!!"

In a dense forest, Gon stands before a massive tree trunk, studying a digital map on his phone that displays numbered locations and terrain. He glances upward with a focused expression, sweat visible on his face. A close-up shows his determined eyes as he thinks 'NEXT...' and considers his next move. Gon walks forward through the trees and asks aloud, 'SHALL I GO NORTH?' A wide shot reveals the forest floor with a large structure in the distance. The panel reads 'JUST AS I SUSPECTED.' Suddenly, Gon spins around in alarm, eyes wide and body tense, shouting 'FOLLOWING ME!!' and 'SOME-ONE'S STILL...' as motion lines emphasize his reaction.

A large map of an island shows various character portraits and question marks placed at different locations, connected by lines and stars. Gon appears in a jungle setting, looking alert among dense foliage. A creature with a striped body and round head flies past him. In the undergrowth, Gon stands with his back to the viewer and yells, 'IF YOU HAVE ANY BUSINESS WITH ME, COME OUT!!' A second voice from the bushes asks, 'WHO'S THERE!?' as two small creatures react to his presence.

In a dense forest, Gon stands alert with a serious expression, thinking that his pursuer could simply be tailing him until more companions arrive and that the enemy has completely erased his presence. A large impact effect with bold black X marks and motion lines erupts across the panel as a distant figure flees through the undergrowth. Gon appears in close-up, sweat on his face, declaring he never loses in a battle of endurance. He then runs forward with fierce determination, vowing to shake off his pursuer no matter what, motion lines emphasizing his speed through the trees.

A large muscular man with tiger-striped arms stands with his back to the viewer on a rocky mountain path. A cat-faced humanoid with a long snout politely apologizes for stopping him. Another cat-like person with messy hair comments that the king is beyond here. A small floating creature hovers nearby. The muscular man replies with a casual 'yo.' A female cat-eared character with a tail notes that Furatta's warning saved her and that she would rather avoid a fight. A dark silhouette stands in the distance. In the lower panels the cat-eared girl looks surprised while holding up a small round object, saying it followed her no matter how she ran. The small creature asks what the thing is while another voice wonders what it could be.

A massive close-up shows the lion-like chimera ant Leol staring forward with wide eyes. "THAT THING..." he mutters. In the next panels a cat-eared girl and a tiny round creature appear. Leol asks, "WANNA GET RID OF IT?" The girl replies, "AND BESIDES, IT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE DOING ANYTHING NOW ANYWAY." Below, rocky cliffs stretch across the landscape. A voice asks, "PROB-" and another answers, "YOU CAN DO THAT?" Leol's profile appears as he says, "YOU'RE QUICK TO CATCH ON." The cat girl answers, "KUKU KUU," then adds, "BUT NOT FOR FREE, RIGHT?" Leol continues, "IF YOU CAN LEND US A HAND..." while the girl notes, "WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF TAKING CARE OF A JOB THE ROYAL GUARDS HAVE GIVEN US." Someone off-panel shouts, "LEOL-SAMA!!"

A wide aerial view shows a forested highway and a small bat-like creature flying above the trees. The creature reports, "I'VE LOCATED THE TARGET!!" and adds, "HE'S HEADED NORTH IN THE FOREST ALONG THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY NORTHEAST OF LUONTON CITY!!" Leol, now with the cat-eared girl and tiny creature beside him, orders, "DEPLOY ALL OUR MEN TO TRAP HIM!!" He adds, "NO MATTER WHAT, DO NOT LET HIM OUT OF YOUR SIGHT." The girl remarks, "NEFELPITOU-DONO'S INTUITION WAS RIGHT ON THE MONEY." In a separate panel she complains, "THOSE GUYS ARE A PAIN IN THE ASS— A HUNTER, HUH?" Leol states, "SO YOU WANT ME TO HELP HUNT HIM DOWN—" and concludes, "HE'S PROBABLY A HUNTER. WE'RE CHASING AFTER THIS ONE HUMAN." The girl raises her arms and says, "AND YOU CAN ALSO OBTAIN A NEW POWER IF YOU GO TO THE CASTLE." Leol replies, "OF COURSE, WE'LL GET RID OF THAT THING FIRST."

A massive lion-like beastman looms in close-up, his mane wild and eyes intense as he speaks. "HE WILL ALSO TEACH YOU HOW TO LEARN IT," he declares. "SHAIAPUFU-DONO WILL PERSONALLY SEE THAT YOU FIND A POWER BEST SUITED FOR YOU." Below, the cat-like woman responds with a sly grin. "IN RETURN, DO WE OFFER THE KING OUR LOYALTY?" she asks. The lion-man points upward, replying to her concerns about learning speed. "SOUNDS REEEEEE EEEAAA AALLY TASTY—" he begins, then continues, "ALTHOUGH SINCE I'M A SLOW LEARNER, IT TOOK ME AROUND THREE DAYS. IF YOU'RE FAST, YOU MAY BE ABLE TO GET IT IN JUST ONE DAY." A close-up of the lion's fanged maw confirms, "SIMPLE, RIGHT?" and "EXACTLY." He gestures onward, stating he will have his men scout the prey's powers first. The cat-like woman agrees reluctantly. "YOU REALLY ARE QUICK TO CATCH ON," the lion notes. In the rocky landscape below, she stands with hands behind her head while a small cloaked figure walks ahead. "WELL, IT SEEMS LIKE YOU'RE TRYING TO RECLAIM THAT TITLE—" she says. The lion-man adds, "EITHER WAY, YOU SEEM TO BE TAKING THE TASTIEST PARTS FOR YOURSELF AS ALWAYS—" and she replies, "WELL, I ONE YOU ONE SO I GUESS I DON'T HAVE A CHOICE. I MAY BE LIKE THIS NOW, BUT I'M SUPPOSED TO BE THE KING OF BEASTS."

Killua hangs from his yo-yo string high above the cliffs, sweat visible on his face. "IF I DON'T LOSE HIM OR DEFEAT HIM SOON, I'LL BE IN DANGER..." he thinks. "THERE'S NO WAY I CAN REACH THAT DISTANCE WITH MY YO-YO EITHER." Below, Gon leaps across the rocky chasm. Killua realizes, "HE'S GOT ME COMPLETELY MARKED," as motion lines show the yo-yo retracting. Gon lands in dense jungle foliage, shouting, "THERE'S A JUNGLE!!" Killua, now on the ground, plans his next move. "WHEN HE HOVERS LOW, I'LL INTERCEPT HIM WITH MY YO-YO!!" he declares. "WITH ALL THESE LAYERS IN BETWEEN, I WON'T BE VISIBLE AT ALL FROM THE SKY...!!" The two boys run through the thick vegetation as the chase continues.

In the dense forest, a large speech bubble emphasizes the urgency: "BUT IF HE LOST ME, HE'LL BE CIRCLING THE SURROUNDING AREA!!" Small panels show a creature lying on the forest floor amid roots and foliage, followed by a view of tall trees. A close-up reveals a spiky-haired boy with sweat on his face and a fierce glare, declaring, "IF YOU'RE GONNA COME AT ME, COME SOON!!" and "SHIT... I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!!" Below, an owl-like bat creature hovers with outstretched wings, stating, "NO MATTER WHERE YOU HIDE, I CAN 'OBSERVE' YOU." and "I SEE YOU, I SEE YOU!!" The bottom of the page shifts to a black background where the creature flies forward amid motion lines and sound effects. Large speech bubbles command, "CAPTURE ANY PREY YOU FIND!!" and "GO!! LEOL ARMY!!"