Hunter × Hunter Chapter 248: Smoke Deception

The long-haired man with sunglasses fires his bowgun while declaring, "THANKS TO YOU, I'VE OBTAINED AN AMAZING ABILITY!" Zitoh, still in beast form, laughs wildly "HYAHA HAHA HAHA THANK YOU!!" Close-ups show Zitoh's intense eyes and the man aiming. The beast lunges forward, shouting "HEY, HEY. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS? IT'S A BOW!! A BOW, YOU KNOW!?" and "DON'T YOU THINK IT'S STUPID TO BE APPROACHING ME LIKE THAT!?" Arrows fly through the air with heavy motion lines as the man dodges or reacts with a surprised expression.

Zitoh grips his long weapon and replies firmly, "NOT AT ALL.." while a small SFX reads ポト.... The cat-eared fighter stares up with a tense expression. A large speech bubble asks, "WHAT'S THE PURPOSE OF HAVING AN ABILITY THAT'S SLOWER THAN YOURSELF?" Floating sunglasses appear beside another bubble that says "HEY..." In the lower panels the cat-eared fighter declares, "LET ME TELL YOU WHY YOU LOST." Zitoh stands ready with his weapon as the fighter continues, "I'LL SAVE ME THE TROUBLE OF GETTING CLOSE TO YOU..." and challenges, "WHY DON'T YOU TRY OUT YOUR CLAW TOO?" Zitoh answers with a quiet "AH..." while the cat-eared fighter stands with claws extended.

From a high angle Leol stands alone and states, "IT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE STUPID." Below, Zitoh lies on the ground holding his weapon while laughing "HE HEHE HEHE HE." Leol's face appears in close-up with an angry expression and sweat drop. A massive impact panel erupts with radiating speed lines and the large shout "SHUT UP—!!!" as debris flies outward.

Morel grips his pipe and drives it hard into Zitoh's midsection while the beast-man thrashes and laughs wildly. Zitoh snarls through bared fangs, "HYA HAHA HAHA!! THEN IT WON'T MATTER WHETHER I TOUCH YOU OR SHIT ON YOU..." Morel's face tightens in sudden alarm. A black banner cuts across the page with the words "THIS FEELING..." and "IT CAN'T BE..." Below, Morel stares in shock, sweat beading on his face as he mutters again, "IT CAN'T BE..." His eyes widen further at the faint haze rising near him, the word "SMOKE...!?" forming beside his head.

Morel's eyes snap wide open in surprise, one hand reaching forward. In the next instant he seizes Zitoh by the shoulder and declares, "GOTCHA." Zitoh freezes, arms raised. Morel continues speaking from off-panel, "YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TAKEN YOUR EYES OFF OF ME. EVEN IF I'M SLEEPING, WE'RE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF BATTLE." Smaller panels show the sequence: Morel approaching the smoke copy of himself from behind while Zitoh crawls toward the decoy, then Morel creating the smoke duplicate right in front of himself. The narration reads, "AND APPROACHED ZITOH FROM THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF THE COPY. THEN I COVERED MYSELF WITH GRASS MADE OF SMOKE... I CREATED A COPY OF MYSELF WITH SMOKE. FIRST, RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME..."

Rain pours over a ruined cityscape as two figures clash in midair. One leaps dynamically while the other stands with arms spread wide. A massive black impact shape erupts across the panel. In the next tier, the long-haired man with sunglasses faces the spotted chimera ant and asks, "NOW... DO YOU WANNA KEEP FIGHTING?" A separate bubble adds, "A SAFE RETURN..." The chimera ant hesitates with "..." The long-haired man turns away, remarking "HMM. THAT'S THE WISE THING TO DO." while a small distant figure stands in the rain. The chimera ant refuses, "NO... NO THANKS." At the bottom, the chimera ant raises both arms dramatically and declares, "IF I GET CAUGHT EVEN ONCE, I CAN NEVER USE THAT ABILITY EVER AGAIN. I CREATED IT WITH THAT CONDITION." The long-haired man replies, "IT'S POINTLESS TO ASK ME NOW—" and continues, "HAD I FAILED TO CATCH YOU WITHIN THE TIME LIMIT, WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED? THEN YOU CAN TELL ME NOW, RIGHT?"

The chimera ant shouts "BE READY TO LOSE!!" while leaping away with motion lines. The long-haired man with sunglasses thinks, "I DEFINITELY WON'T LOSE NEXT TIME!!" The armored figure declares, "I'LL JUST GET A NEW ABILITY FROM SHAIU SAMA!!" and laughs "HA!! DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT." The long-haired man responds, "I SEE, SORRY ABOUT THAT." In the next tier the long-haired man notes how easily the armored figure is handled. The armored figure stands proudly on a pedestal. A black shape sweeps across the page. Below, the long-haired man lies on the ground as the armored figure says, "THAT'S A SCARY THOUGHT. I'D RATHER PASS." The long-haired man stands up holding a phone and calls, "COME TO AREA B. NOVU?" Narration states the chances for their side will lessen after the selection ends. The long-haired man concludes, "ABOVE ZITOH... IT SEEMS THAT ONE OF THE ROYAL GUARDS, SHAIU, HAS THE POWER TO HELP THEM DEVELOP THEIR ABILITIES. THE DECISION MADE BY GON AND KILLUA WAS RIGHT ON THE MONEY." A lone small figure walks through the rain in the final panel.

Morel stands with his back to the wall, giving a thumbs-up as he suggests they move the conversation inside. Knuckle, long hair falling over his sunglasses, agrees. A discarded object lies on the floor between them. Inside the room, Morel and Knuckle sit facing each other. Morel notes that their enemies have new forces, which could buy them time. Knuckle calls it a deadlock, observing that both sides are struggling to find an opening. A seated figure with a headband listens nearby. Morel recalls that Dragonfly was likely their surveillance camera and that getting rid of it helped. In a rocky, rain-swept area, a tall, muscular figure with a head covering stands over a smaller companion. The smaller one, Furatta, shouts desperately into the storm: "FURATTA!! REPLY!!" while the tall figure warns that without new plans they cannot locate the enemy.

A close-up shows a frantic face as someone yells "WAIT!!" and insists they will return. The speaker resolves to try something, declaring they must uphold their reputation with Pitou at all costs. In the rain, a lion-like figure sits while a small creature with a headband stands nearby. A hand activates a device, shouting "RENTAL POD!!" The small creature, now revealed as Furatta, holds the device and explains it has a search ability. He admits he did not tell the truth earlier because the others are idiots, and confirms it shows only because they are present. In the background, three small figures watch from the rain.

Detailed panels explain Leol's rental pod ability. The user must either see the target's special ability or know its name, then perform a favor and confirm the debt with specific words to initiate the rental. Once conditions are met, the issuing machine records the target's name, the rented ability, and usage count. The rental lasts one hour at a time, during which the target cannot use that ability but retains basic Nen. If the target dies, the data is erased and the ability becomes unusable again. In the rainy ruins, a large furry figure stands with two companions as a voice notes Furatta is alive. Someone wonders if the target might be out of range or unconscious. A close-up shows a grinning face declaring they can probably contact him eventually, though Furatta is not dead yet.

The group continues planning in the rain. A horse-like figure asks if the other will be okay alone. The response is to round up the trash while the speaker handles the one-on-one with the black glasses. A lion-like man with wild hair declares he would rather not reveal his ability and insists on handling the danger himself no matter what. In the background, the large furry figure and two others stand ready. A small creature says Okay... while a device displays Japanese text and the prompt OK ISSUE THE TICKET? A hand holds the device as a voice states they will successfully complete the mission. The final panel shows the device and a case labeled Instant as the character declares they cannot be tied down at a place like this.

A hand reaches out and takes the issued ticket from the bed. Motion lines streak across the room as the ticket is grabbed. In a nearby room, a small creature with spiky hair looks up and says they're here. Another small figure sits nearby. A long-haired man with a fierce expression rips something apart with his hands, declaring that he rips it apart to initiate the ability. The scene shifts to a dark cavern where a large, muscular, furry creature stands amid floating dragonflies. The creature declares that until the day the king owes him something, they will start the search.

A character with intense eyes reflects that he is the one always having his flow disrupted and that normally this would be humiliating enough to want to die. However, he cannot understand this feeling. In a grand hall, a lone figure sits on a throne-like chair at the far end. A woman with long hair stands holding papers and confirms that she has been resting. A man in uniform points upward in surprise. The woman admits she is terribly upset at herself for failing to come up with a unifying will so far.

A character wearing a wide hat stares forward with a stern expression, internally declaring the target of his thoughts repulsive. "HOW REPULSIVE... INTELLIGENCE, CHARACTER... I CAN'T EVEN SENSE A TRACE OF THESE THINGS." An extreme close-up of a wide eye follows, accompanied by narration: "IS OVERFLOWING WITH STRATEGIES SO BEAUTIFUL THEY CAN ONLY BE CONSIDERED AS THE EPITOME OF LOGIC...!? HOW IS IT THAT SOMEONE LIKE HER..." To the right, a spiky-haired figure crouches on the floor, body shaking violently with sweat and tears visible, accompanied by SFX "んがっ", "ぐっ", "ぐるるる". The hat-wearing character suddenly shouts "Y... YES!!" while another voice blurts "MMM-HUH!?" Commands ring out: "WE'RE RESUMING." "GET UP!" The spiky-haired character rises into a seated position, a small panel labeling the moment "9-6-5-1 SUI." In a dramatic close-up, the hat-wearing character fixes an intense gaze and states "THIS MATCH." He continues, "BET SOMETHING ON IT?" and "DO YOU WANT TO..." A bold caption overlays the scene: "An unexpected proposal... What could the king have planned!?"