Currently, Chrollo had two abilities he could rely on.
The first was the external power given by Quick.
The second allowed him to assimilate the surface of the earth, transforming the battlefield into a frictionless ice-like surface.
In addition, he had his bookmarks.
The Bookmarks freed his hands and improved his physical combat abilities. In the original timeline, Chrollo's bookmark ability had never been shown before the duel with Hisoka in the Sky Arena. It was assumed that it was developed later.
The Phantom Troupe had faced many dangers before, and if the Bookmark had existed earlier, Chrollo would have had no need to hide. But now, the Bookmark had been created in advance, specifically to target Oboro.
"It's a one-on-one fight, yes, but since Machi was drawn in, this was Hisoka's active choice. Even if the two of you join forces to kill him, I will have no objection as the referee," Oboro said.
On the field, Machi glared at Hisoka and moved to act, but Chrollo raised a hand to stop her.
"No need, just step back," Oboro reminded her.
Chrollo looked at Machi. "The fun between Hisoka and me has just begun," he glanced at his distant opponent. "Right?"
"Hehehe, it doesn't matter, you two can come together," Hisoka said lazily, raising his hands and stretching his waist. "Although I don't want to see her wither before my eyes, there's nothing I can do from my current position!"
Seeing the serious look on their leader's face, Machi finally relented and left the arena.
"Let us continue," Chrollo smiled and stepped forward. The circular area created under his feet dissolved as he opened his book again and withdrew the ability.
Gently, he reassured the wary Hisoka, "Do not worry. Due to the limitations of my ability, I can only use it once, so you can attack without worry."
Chrollo maintained his calm demeanor as he had in the previous round, allowing Hisoka to take the initiative.
He had already put Hisoka in a difficult position once, leaving him unable to defend himself. Once something happens, there will always be a second time. Chrollo felt quite confident.
The atmosphere between them didn't suggest a duel between equals, but rather Hisoka trying to face Chrollo as an inferior challenger.
"Sharp," Illumi commented from the sidelines.
With a few simple words and actions, Chrollo had completely changed the atmosphere of the battlefield. In battle, numerous factors could affect a person's mindset, and momentum was one of the most important.
Hisoka's eyes suddenly widened as he swung his arms. In an instant, while Chrollo was still running, shadows attacked him from all directions. Some were corpses, others were broken stone slabs, all caught by Hisoka's bungee gum when he'd jumped away earlier. This attack, even if it connected, wouldn't pose much of a threat to Chrollo, it just served to confuse his vision.
Bang!
Chrollo retreated to an exposed space before any projectiles could hit him.
But this was exactly what Hisoka had been waiting for. He'd deliberately left that opening for Chrollo!
With the help of a strand of "Bungee Gum" stuck to the ground, Hisoka immediately pulled his body back to that spot and accelerated to maximum speed. It seemed as if he had crossed space itself, flashing to that position in the blink of an eye.
At such a speed, Chrollo wouldn't be able to react even with a warning.
Moments ago, Hisoka had appeared to be standing casually in the corner, but that was just a disguise. He had used the power of his feet to stabilize his body. If he'd let go of the Nen on his feet too soon, the bungee gum attached to his waist would have stretched to its limit, contracting like a rubber band and pulling him away too soon.
He'd anchored his gum to the ground, used the corpses for cover, and stretched it to its maximum distance. The stretched Nen had become incredibly thin from the distance, seemingly on the verge of breaking. It was remarkable that it could maintain such elasticity.
More importantly, Hisoka had hidden his aura.
He'd calculated the exact distance and the number of steps Chrollo would take. After approaching, he made sure that even if Chrollo felt the Nen in the air, he wouldn't have time to react. By that time, Hisoka had already thrown bungee gum objects at him, releasing the tension on his feet and completing a perfectly orchestrated ambush and sprint!
Hisoka's plan seemed to be flawless.
To avoid the projectiles, Chrollo's body was suspended in midair as he assessed the situation. He was caught completely off guard by Hisoka's explosive speed. The playing card in Hisoka's hand sliced toward the back of Chrollo's neck, aiming to sever his head!
In that split second, even someone as powerful as Chrollo could not react. He only had time to catch a glimpse of Hisoka's distorted face out of the corner of his eye.
"You are so gullible," Chrollo's lips curled into a smirk at the critical moment.
Then the man about to be beheaded disappeared, replaced by a sharp blade floating in the air.
A weapon Chrollo had used before.
He and the weapon had switched positions.
With a crisp sound, Hisoka's playing card knocked the dagger away.
Hisoka's eyes narrowed. Upon closer inspection, this blade was not one of the two Chrollo had wielded before!
What had happened?
Bang!
Suddenly, as Hisoka turned, Chrollo's knee flew towards him with deadly silence.
It connected with Hisoka's face.
The tremendous force instantly lifted Hisoka off the ground and sent him flying into the thick fog.
Blood splattered across the ground.
The sound of breaking bones echoed through the arena.
Had the blow directly hit the vulnerable back of his head, Hisoka would surely be dead.
A new ability!
"Switching coordinates?" Oboro raised his eyebrows from outside the arena.
In this level of combat, it was more about controlling the battle situation with the mind and paying attention to the smallest details.
The slightest mistake could be fatal.
Take Hisoka's maneuver for example. He had used the Bungee Gum to instantly pull himself to Chrollo's floating form. At such a speed, it would be almost impossible for an ordinary person to land at a precise point, let alone neutralize the remaining inertial force and control his body movements perfectly. But Hisoka had used his Nen to temporarily anchor himself, relying on his extraordinary physical strength to dissipate the momentum of his sprint, making the move appear smooth and seamless.
An ordinary person would have been thrown wildly off course.
Hisoka had executed a brilliant plan, but he was still one step behind.
The candy beans that Quick had given him had provided the power of the Inherited Nen, the first method of ground assimilation that altered the environment.
A buff that controlled and diminished the combat effectiveness of enemies in the area.
And this new nen ability, spatial displacement, was perfect for escape.
"Comprehensive," Oboro murmured.
If their positions were reversed, Chrollo could retreat immediately when in danger. This teleportation ability was indeed difficult to counter.
However, Chrollo hadn't used it before, which suggested certain limitations of the technique.
With the level of power Oboro had revealed, Chrollo must have calculated that he wouldn't be able to escape.
"A complete defeat," a soft sigh escaped his lips.
He suspected that Chrollo had other abilities in his book. So far, the spider-head hadn't been forced to reveal his true killing moves and he wondered if Hisoka had deduced them.
With the bookmark, Chrollo could use two Nen abilities at the same time instead of just one.
The ghost mist outside the arena rippled as Hisoka reappeared. His face was disfigured, bright red and twisted as if reshaped by the impact.
Chrollo smiled faintly and raised a hand. Surprisingly, another identical sharp blade materialized in his palm.
"This ability can hide prepared weapons in my body. When I attacked you earlier, I made you believe that I had hidden it in my clothes. It seems you fell for it," he explained.
"If I had used a poisoned knife, you would be dead by now."
Ridicule. Blatant mockery!
For what Chrollo said was the absolute truth.
His attacks lacked continuity, as if he wanted to give Hisoka breathing space. Furthermore, he took the initiative to demonstrate and explain his Nen abilities.
This went beyond mere contempt.
"Hisoka's Nen abilities are too simple," Illumi observed. "Even with his modifications, they're all artificial techniques, fundamentally different from the unpredictable variety of Chrollo's abilities."
He realized that even though Chrollo had enhanced his Nen, the difference in their raw power wasn't that great.
The glaring difference came from their Nen abilities. Hisoka possessed only one type of Nen, the principles and variations of which were relatively simple.
Hisoka's strength came from his personal skill in using Nen and his fighting style, but in this context, it had become a liability.
If you cannot overpower your opponent with sheer force, a single-natured ability becomes useless.
This explained why many Nen users pursued complexity and diversity in their development, making their abilities difficult to understand.
"What should we do? Should we save him?" Illumi looked at Oboro.
"Why should we save him? I already told you, he will die here," Oboro replied with a smile.
"Are you serious?" Illumi asked again.
"Of course."