HunterxHunter: I Became Stronger After Death

What Moro feared had happened—an open, blatant attack, showing no regard for the safety of passengers or the consequences.

When he sensed the outburst of aura, Moro's first instinct was to head to the airship's cockpit to assess the situation.

As he approached, a deafening crash reverberated throughout the airship.

Moro wasn't interested in the cause of the noise, nor did he want to be drawn into the chaos. His only concern was whether the airship could land safely.

However, after using En to probe the cockpit, Moro realized the worst-case scenario: the captain and crew had likely been manipulated.

This was, without a doubt, the worst possible outcome.

"Sir, please return to your cabin immediately and wait for further instructions…"

A woman's urgent voice came from down the hallway.

Moro turned toward the sound.

A young flight attendant in uniform hurried toward him, her face filled with anxiety.

Moro's sharp gaze scanned her. She seemed normal at first glance, but…

He suddenly raised his hand, forming a marble-sized nen orb at his fingertip.

Without waiting for her reaction, Moro flicked his finger, sending the white nen orb shooting toward her.

As soon as the nen orb left his fingertip, the flight attendant froze mid-step. Her head tilted back slightly, and her eyes rolled upward.

Moro's eyes narrowed.

The nen orb passed harmlessly by her ear, striking the wall at the end of the hallway with a soft thunk.

It was just a basic probing attack—so weak it could barely harm someone with even minimal nen defenses. Moro hadn't intended for it to hit her.

Yet her reaction surprised him.

Thud!

The flight attendant collapsed, her body limp and lifeless, her eyes still rolled back.

Moro, observing carefully, noticed that as she fell, her shadow—clearly visible under the light moments ago—vanished without a trace.

And as the shadow disappeared, so did her life. She was dead.

"Manipulation-type," Moro muttered, confirming his suspicion. He glanced toward the cockpit door and then back at the lifeless body on the ground.

The manipulation ability seemed to involve shadows somehow.

The flight attendant's behavior, demeanor, and even the natural flow of her aura had been indistinguishable from a normal person.

If not for her sudden overreaction, it would have been nearly impossible to uncover her true nature without resorting to a ruthless "kill-first, ask-later" approach.

Her exaggerated response had intrigued Moro.

Manipulation-type abilities usually allowed the user to control targets without worrying about their survival.

Other than suggestion-based or agreement-based manipulation abilities, most forced manipulation techniques essentially robbed the target of their life the moment control was established.

Yet in this case, the manipulator had abruptly severed their control just before the nen orb could strike the target.

It was as if they feared or wanted to avoid a specific outcome.

Could it be that any harm inflicted on the manipulated target was directly reflected back on the manipulator?

Perhaps this was a soul-invasion type of manipulation ability…

Abilities of this type allowed the user to inhabit the target's body, achieving perfect disguise while also enjoying real-time sensory feedback and communication capabilities.

However, such abilities often came with a significant risk—any damage sustained by the target could be transmitted directly to the user.

If that were the case, it might explain what had just happened.

To confirm his hypothesis, Moro formed another nen orb at his fingertip and flicked it at the corpse.

Thump.

The nen orb struck the corpse's head, producing a muffled sound.

Moments later, blood seeped from the wound.

"Looks like the ability has been fully withdrawn," Moro concluded, his gaze shifting back to the cockpit door.

"The attacker's main focus is on Kanzai, but they sent a manipulated attendant to stop me. Are they trying to ambush me, or just keep me from entering the cockpit?"

As Moro pondered, he activated En and cautiously approached the cockpit door.

Being an emission-type nen user, Moro had an easier time learning En, which was proving invaluable in this situation.

His earlier decision to probe the flight attendant was based on the noise caused by the attacker and the results of his En scan of the cockpit.

"Two people… still no reaction," Moro muttered as he disabled the lock and pushed open the door.

Inside, two figures in captain's uniforms stood at the airship's controls. They were likely the captain and co-pilot.

Moro observed them silently. A faint amount of nen surrounded their bodies, but something felt off.

Lowering his gaze, Moro looked at the floor behind them.

Under the cockpit's bright lights, there should have been shadows cast by the two crew members, but there were none.

Tap, tap.

Moro's footsteps echoed as he moved to the side of the cockpit.

The captain and co-pilot, clearly manipulated, showed no reaction to his presence. They operated the airship like clockwork, their eyes eerily blank, showing only whites.

"This is manipulation via direct commands," Moro noted.

He studied the situation further.

"One form of manipulation involves soul invasion, allowing perfect disguise but carrying significant risks.

"The other turns people into obedient puppets, but their blank eyes and missing shadows make the manipulation obvious."

Moro frowned.

"If the user doesn't reveal themselves, it'll be tough to find them."

Although En was an excellent tool for locating enemies, it was mentally and physically taxing. Scanning the entire airship while a battle raged between Kanzai and the attacker was impractical.

"If I could pilot the airship myself, this would all be much simpler…" Moro muttered.

In a lower cabin

A person was tied to a chair, unconscious. A long shadow stretched across the floor beneath them, cast by the overhead light.

Suddenly, a figure emerged from the black shadow—it was Deerfield.

"They noticed…" Deerfield's expression darkened.

Under normal circumstances, his ability would have allowed him to slowly take control of every ordinary passenger on the airship, turning it into the perfect arena for his manipulation-based Nen ability, Shadowless Domain.

Once all the passengers were under his control, he could activate their manipulation triggers one by one, ultimately capturing Moro.

But the unexpected clash between the other two groups aboard the airship had completely disrupted his plan.

What's more, his target was unnervingly sharp—sharp enough to likely have already discerned the mechanics of Shadowless Domain.

Capturing Moro alive just became a far more daunting task.

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