Hunter × Hunter Chapter 277: Insult

An enormous explosion erupts in midair. Knuckle is sent flying amid debris and smoke as massive impact lettering fills the panel. Narration states that about three minutes and five seconds before Killua raised his index finger, Knuckle was in midair. Below, Knuckle plummets past broken railings and structural beams with motion lines showing his fall. Another panel shows a massive smoke cloud rising from the ground with a small figure visible inside. Narration notes that if there was one thing in which Knuckle had confidence, it was his ability to run. The final panel shows Knuckle landing or crouching amid rubble and smoke, still conscious.

On the day of his primary school graduation, the curly-haired young man managed to escape after knocking down a policeman to let his friends get away. On foot he evaded four police cars and two patrol bikes for an entire day and night. His stamina and capacity to maintain top running speed far exceeded that of a cheetah. He is a "Gisei Type." Deciding to show himself in order to distract the enemy from Shoot, he used a hit-and-run disturbance strategy, which in general was a good idea.

The curly-haired young man continues his high-speed run inside a large circular structure, glancing back with a focused expression. A massive hole has been blasted in the wall, with debris and wires hanging from the edges. Two inset panels zoom in on the damaged sections, one revealing a small rectangular object embedded in the rubble. Below, a hand grips a grid-like device as the man realizes the pursuer is not coming after him, with motion lines and exclamation effects showing his surprise.

A massive close-up shows Youpi's furious face against a black background, his mouth open in a roar as a starburst effect erupts behind him. "SHOOT...!!! OH, SHIT!!!" he yells. Narration explains that to Shoot and Knuckle, Youpi represented a major, important target, but to Youpi, Knuckle and Shoot represented nothing of the sort. It was simply a matter of perspective. Further panels depict the ruined throne room corridor with debris everywhere. Youpi believed that while he himself had been assigned to watch over the Great Staircase, both Pitou and Pouf were guarding the King himself. Youpi was still under the impression that the King was in the Throne Room. The job of the Royal Guards was to protect the King; Youpi's priority was to ensure that nobody managed to approach the King. As such, as far as Youpi was concerned, the most important thing was to prevent the enemies from approaching the throne room. Enemies who ran away, and enemies who had been thoroughly disabled, were no longer worthy of his attention. With the number of intruders currently unknown, the abilities of the enemies that appeared before him were but a secondary concern. In the distance, two small figures stand amid the rubble as Youpi glares toward them.

The ruined corridor stretches forward with rubble everywhere. Narration states it was evident that Youpi's eyes must have passed over him as he made his way back. Two small figures stand far down the hall. One voice asks "...IS THAT ALL WE ARE TO YOU ASSHOLES...?" Another replies "WHAT, YOU'RE JUST SWATTING US ASIDE...?" A massive close-up reveals Youpi's enraged face, hair wild, teeth bared, and body covered in motion lines. Narration describes this as a greater humiliation than either of them had ever experienced before. In other words, Youpi could not care less whether Shoot lived or died. Youpi's internal thought erupts in huge letters: "...JUST FLIES TO BE SWATTED?!" and "ARE SHOOT AND I..." The overwhelming sense of being treated as insignificant insects fuels Youpi's fury as he looms over the scene.

A massive fly-like creature looms overhead as two voices debate its next move. One speaker warns, "WE'LL SEE JUST WHAT YOU THINK OF THIS FLY'S ATTACK IN TEN MINUTES OR SO...!!!" The other retorts, "FINE, THEN... YOU'LL REGRET LOOKING AT US THAT WAY!!" Inside the palace, a man with slicked-back hair realizes the boss is using "SMOKE JAIL" in the throne room right now, meaning the king is alone with one opponent. A sudden hole is blasted through a wooden door as someone yells, "HEY!! YOU IN THERE, HUH?!" Outside, a cloaked figure with a wide stance laughs "HAHA HAHA..." while two thought bubbles read "PROTECTING THE ROOM THE KING'S LEFT BEHIND...!!" and "THAT IDIOT..." Below, motion lines explode around a clawed foot as narration states that once Knuckle noticed the king's miscalculation, a new miscalculation was born. Knuckle grits his teeth and mutters "DAMMIT... ALL..." while another figure in a feathered collar declares he can take a shot and get an overview of the other side.

Close-up narration declares that this is the kind of battle meant to be, with Shoot prepared to die from the moment he met Yupi's eyes head-on. Inside Shoot's mind, boiling fury replaces his usual calm reasoning. He recognizes the new miscalculation he himself created and that he ignored it completely. He imagines Yupi's face giving only the slightest glance as he heads to the third floor. On a black background, two figures stand back-to-back; one clutches the other while speech bubbles erupt around them: "ALL...", "HOW CAN I JUST STAND BY?!", "FOR WHAT PURPOSE?!", "THAT GUY SLIGHTED THE HONOUR OF MY COMRADE-IN-ARMS...", and "DAMMIT... ALL..."

In a shattered hall, bodies lie motionless on the tiled floor beneath a gaping hole torn through the upper wall. A voice wonders whether it will ever be possible to shake Shoot's hand once the mission ends. Debris explodes outward as a figure leaps through the destruction, shouting about humanity and the world. Against a black field, a close-up reveals a scarred face with a grim expression, questioning if anyone will be able to smile and laugh together about these events afterward. In the ruined chamber below, a lean, shirtless figure with long flowing appendages strides forward amid rubble and cracked tiles, internally raging that it cannot allow the insult to a friend to stand while knowing the truth all along.

A powerfully built man stands alone on cracked ground, his muscular torso bare and his expression stern beneath a distinctive curly head covering. His fists are clenched at his sides. A small speech bubble near his head states that something is impossible. Large, bold lettering across the lower half of the image declares there is not a chance in hell, accompanied by heavy impact lines and a burst effect at his feet.

On the cracked tile floor, a figure with hair tied back lies prone while another character kneels nearby. The prone figure mutters "...SORRY." A voice from off-panel responds "HEY... WHAT... ARE YOU..." The kneeling character with dark hair pulled back turns slightly and says, "I'M REAL SORRY ABOUT THIS..." Flashback panels show the same character explaining, "...AND PLACED MY FIST STRAIGHT IN HIS IDIOT FACE. 'CAUSE I STILL HAVEN'T LOOKED THAT GUY IN THE EYE... BUT COULD YOU JUST HANG ON IN THERE A LITTLE LONGER?" The dark-haired character's face twists in fury as he declares, "I'M GONNA SMASH THIS BASTARD UP FOR SURE!!!" He adds with determination, "NOW...FOR YOUR SAKE, TOO...!!!" Below, reaching hands appear amid motion lines as a voice cries, "THAT'S... MY...!!!" Another inner thought continues, "BUT SERIOUSLY?! THAT'S CRAZY!! HOW CAN I JUST LIE HERE AND BUY TIME LIKE THAT...!?" A final panel shows the back of a head with long hair and the thought, "...THIS IS WHERE I OUGHT TO KEEP CALM, AND STOP KNUCKLE DOING ANYTHING STUPID..."

Knuckle, the long-haired man with glasses, lies collapsed against a wooden surface, tears streaming down his face. His arms are crossed in front of him as he speaks with a trembling voice, "HE JUST... HE LOOKED AT ME... LIKE A PIECE OF TRASH...!!!" From above, a voice pleads, "PLEASE... KNUCKLE !!!" Another voice growls, "DAMMIT ALL!!! THAT BASTARD..." In a wider view, a standing figure in light clothing looms over the motionless body of the tied-back-hair character sprawled on the floor. The standing figure commands, "YOU SMASH THAT BASTARD..." while Knuckle's voice echoes from below, "...FOR ME, TOO...!!!"

A muscular fighter with a brain-like headpiece glares intensely, veins bulging as he thrusts forward with determination. Motion lines explode around him while he shouts with fierce resolve. "LEAVE IT TO ME!!!" he declares. "WE'RE JUST SIMPLE FOOLS," he continues, followed by a desperate "I'M SORRY, MASTER!!!" The scene cuts to a stark black panel dominated by a radiant white burst. Narration boxes appear on either side: "He had miscalculated..." and "...the importance of precious things." Centered in the light, bold text proclaims, "THERE ARE SOME THINGS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE WORLD!!"

A powerful slash tears across the top of the page amid heavy speed lines. Below, a multi-limbed chimera ant stands amid thick smoke clouds, arms outstretched with bladed weapons. Speech bubbles read "EVEN MY ATTACKS CAN'T PENETRATE THIS SMOKE!" and "YOUR MAJESTY!!!" A tiny figure floats nearby. In the lower panels, a tall striped figure looms while a long-haired man shouts "IS THAT YUPI...?" Another bubble wonders "I SURE HOPE THE OLD GUY'S DOING ALL RIGHT..." On the right, a small character calls out "YOU IN THERE?!? HEY!!" and "PITOU!! PUFU!!" while another yells "HEY!!" amid rocky, smoky terrain.

High in the cloudy sky, a swirling mass of aura hovers as Welfin stands with his massive missile launcher resting across his shoulders, staring upward. 'But why isn't Pufu responding to his call?' he wonders. In smaller panels, Welfin questions what they may have misunderstood about the royal guards. 'Is there... something...' he mutters. Nearby, another figure wonders why the king should be panicking while someone else notes how strange it is that the king sits calmly in his shell. In the large central panel, Welfin grips his weapon tightly amid swirling black aura clouds. '...Proceeding as it should...?!' reads one effect. 'I must not hesitate!!' he declares. 'I must concentrate on completing my mission!!' Another thought questions if the operation is real. At the bottom, a massive black shape with glowing eyes looms as narration states: 'The mind of a truly excellent warrior... I am sincerely impressed.' A final caption reads: 'However, that itself will serve as the shackles that dull your resolve...'

A black vertical panel shows a silhouette figure asking 'Am I the only one left here...?! What happened?! What’s going on?!' Nearby, the same character wonders why he cannot feel Pitou’s 'en'. 'Why the hell can’t I feel Pitou’s “en”?!' he shouts. 'Have the king, Pitou, and Pufu all disappeared off somewhere?!' In a dramatic panel, the character yells 'SHIT!' as motion lines and impact effects burst around him. A close-up shows him shouting 'SHADDUP!!!' A small cartoonish creature with a hat appears, declaring 'Now adding interest!' and 'It’s time.' In the final panels, the character with the small creature on his shoulder reacts to black fog. 'The hell is going on here?! This is really starting to piss me off!!!' he exclaims. He notes the numbers on his shoulder and decides he must find the king first.

In the ruined interior of a shattered building, a tall, powerfully built figure with long flowing hair stands amid rubble and broken walls. He extends one clawed hand forward, fingers curled as if grasping something unseen, while a small silhouetted human figure floats within a swirling black aura directly in front of his palm. The tall figure stares intently at the tiny form. In a separate panel below, a close-up reveals a distorted, strained face with motion lines indicating sudden tension. Beside it, Knuckle appears with a fierce expression, mouth open as he shouts a single word.

Knuckle stands with his back to the viewer in a wide, devastated landscape, fists clenched and body tense. In front of him looms a massive, grotesque humanoid creature with a misshapen head and powerful limbs, surrounded by floating black symbols resembling the number 4 and crosses. Explosive impact lines and debris erupt around the monster. Large text on the right expresses disbelief at the surrounding chaos. Text along Knuckle's back describes his mounting fury. A digital timer at the bottom reads 0:02:09:04.