Thump… thump…
In the great hall, the Pandora's Box's Nen users went sheet-white the instant they sensed the aura spreading like a tide. Cold sweat ran down some faces. Others slipped off their chairs and landed on the floor—and a few with weaker minds fainted outright, unable to bear the psychic pressure, their bodies reacting on their own.
Because Xiang Nan's aura carried a thin thread of killing intent.
Over a hundred Nen users made a spectacle of themselves all at once—completely rattled.
Tap… tap…
Xiang Nan's clear footsteps echoed through the church-castle. Black leather shoes descended the steps as he walked up onto the dais.
Omokage, who'd been looking relaxed a moment ago, suddenly changed color. He yanked his sister to him and, like a startle reflex, sprang aside.
Omokage had never crossed hands with Xiang Nan, nor had he ever directly felt his level as a Nen user. Back when Xiang Nan first found him there had still been a "barrier" between them; they "communicated" through Illumi. Later, when Xiang Nan cut ties with the military and Omokage formally joined the Republic of Padokea's roster and entered the Pandora's Box—well, that hadn't been for long.
Even so, Omokage had some idea of Xiang Nan's strength. The incidents Xiang Nan caused were huge in impact, and since Omokage was stationed in the military district—and with Manman, Xiang Nan's former little shadow, at his side—prying a few details about Xiang Nan from the girl wasn't hard for someone with his tact and brains.
He knew Xiang Nan was extremely dangerous… and that the recent deaths of the Ten Dons were Xiang Nan's doing.
But in Omokage's eyes, Xiang Nan only pulled that off by leaning on the Padokea military's advantage and backing. As a pure Nen fighter, at best he was on par with the Phantom Troupe—and failing that, just someone with a deep, scheming mind.
Omokage still felt confident he could handle him.
However, the aura Xiang Nan unleashed in that moment—never mind the mental pressure braided into it—just the sheer volume of it alone absolutely eclipsed anyone in the Phantom Troupe.
And—
Omokage could feel it: the man in front of him was only showing a sliver. He wasn't even trying.
He wasn't even angry.
Omokage triggered his ability. With hollow eye sockets fixed on his sister's pupils, he drew his eyeballs back to himself with Nen, then opened his eyes and stared straight at the man walking up the stage toward him, step by step.
His expression was steady, but there was a clear flicker of tension in his gaze.
He'd heard the rumors about Xiang Nan—cold-blooded, brutal, emotionless. Like a "machine" executing the military's will.
Whoosh!
Just as Omokage's body tensed to move, a gust lifted his silver hair. He sensed danger… but a hand had already settled lightly on his shoulder.
The man in the black trench coat stood eye to eye with him at arm's length, wearing a warm, easy smile. "Don't tense up… I've no intention of laying a finger on you. You're Pandora's Box, recruited by me personally. We're teammates."
Xiang Nan tipped his head. The eyes under his black round hat seemed, oddly, to carry a little "warmth."
Omokage glanced at the hand on his shoulder and said nothing.
Clever as he was, he realized one thing—the man in front of him could kill him.
There was a clear gulf between their levels.
For true Nen masters, the tiniest feedback and sensations are enough to gauge how dangerous a target is.
Xiang Nan drew his aura back and lifted his hand off Omokage's shoulder. Looking down with a faint smile at the crooked, sprawled agency members below, he said evenly, "This is probably my first official appearance in front of them, so… I figured I'd give their level a quick check."
"…"
Omokage stayed silent.
"From the looks of it… not bad. You've done well," Xiang Nan added.
Then his figure blurred off the stage, landing in the center aisle of the hall. Hands in his pockets, he strolled for the doors.
Before he left, he lifted a hand in a small wave with his back to Omokage. "Ping me if anything. Keep at it—I'll put in a good word for you with the higher-ups."
Owl, who'd been leaning against the wall watching the show, slid in close as Xiang Nan approached. He turned to stare at the man on the stage—so different from a moment ago, now mute—and his eyes were full of mockery. In truth, the moment he joined the Pandora's Box and arrived in the military district, he'd seen through Omokage's intention: this former Phantom Troupe "spider" wanted to defy the chain of command—in plain terms, seize the seat. That really did fit the Troupe's style. A spider indeed.
Once Omokage learned Owl had some connection to Xiang Nan, he kept trying to pry Xiang Nan's leverage and plans out of him. But with Owl's mind, there was no way he'd let that happen.
Owl had even concluded that Omokage knew absolutely nothing about Xiang Nan. If he truly understood how terrifying Xiang Nan was, he would never be doing this—rallying the Pandora's Box staff, cozying up to military brass, trying to block Xiang Nan's path and box him in, hollowing out the leader's power by degrees.
Even putting Xiang Nan aside, to Owl this mindset and these moves were laughably dumb. To the entire Republic of Padokea, Xiang Nan is one of a kind—irreplaceable. And now the secrets of the "Multiverse" are tangled up in it, too. No matter how long Omokage busied himself or how many little schemes he ran, the moment Xiang Nan stepped back into the military district, his web would shatter like glass.
Owl even suspected Xiang Nan knew all of it—and had foreseen it long ago. So this scene didn't surprise him at all.
Watching Xiang Nan and Owl disappear through the doors, Omokage's face stayed cool. On the floor, the Nen users who'd recovered were still shaken to the core, hearts pounding with dread.
This was the true head of the Pandora's Box—the legend of the military district…
A monster, plain and simple.
"Aaaah!"
Before anyone could calm down, Omokage's features twisted into a feral grimace as he burst out a powerful surge of Nen and roared, unwilling and enraged.
It wasn't only about strength. He'd realized something else.
For all Xiang Nan's surface-level praise, he didn't actually care about the talent Omokage had cultivated for the Pandora's Box. It was as if—even if every Nen user in that hall died right now—Xiang Nan wouldn't so much as flinch.
From beginning to end, he hadn't put Omokage—or the Pandora's Box Omokage had helped build—in his eyes.
Everything he'd done was worthless.
…
"Was that a little much?"
Elsewhere, after leaving Omokage's castle, Xiang Nan and Owl walked shoulder to shoulder.
Owl glanced over. "You think you overdid it?"
"It's fine. I was being very polite," Xiang Nan replied with a calm smile.
"You really haven't changed at all…" Owl muttered.