HunterxHunter: I Became Stronger After Death

The two methods of manipulation in Shadowless Domain:

Puppet Control – Stealing the target's shadow to issue commands.Decapitation Within the Heart – Using soul invasion to seize control of the target's body.

Moro's earlier deductions were correct.

While using Decapitation Within the Heart, any damage inflicted on the controlled body would be directly transferred to Deerfield, including death.

This explained Deerfield's extreme reaction to Moro's probing attack—he had hastily withdrawn his ability, forfeiting any further opportunity.

Reflecting on his rash decision, Deerfield felt a pang of regret.

Replaying the incident in his mind, he realized that if he had remained calm, he would have noticed that the trajectory of Moro's nen orb was slightly off.

Had he maintained his composure and the disguise, he might have achieved his goal.

But it was too late for regrets.

"Even though I failed…"

Deerfield lowered his gaze, his thumb rubbing the hilt of his blade as he pondered the deliberately misaimed nen orb.

"Faced with uncertainty, he avoids unnecessary casualties… That's something I can exploit."

Shaking off his regret, Deerfield refocused.

Even though Moro had likely discerned the nature of his ability, Deerfield still had room to maneuver.

With this thought, Deerfield summoned his nen, stepped into a black shadow at his feet, and sank into it, vanishing without a trace.

Deerfield's Shadow Flow Technique allowed him to move freely within the shadows of ordinary people in a limited area. However, this ability was incompatible with Puppet Control.

This was because those controlled by Puppet Control had no shadows.

Similarly, when Decapitation Within the Heart was withdrawn, the target died, and their shadow disappeared, rendering them unusable for Shadow Flow Technique.

This was why there had been a person tied to a chair in the room earlier.

Entering the shadows, Deerfield used Shadow Flow Technique to select his next target for Decapitation Within the Heart:

A security officer aboard the airship.

In the Airship Surveillance Room

A security officer sat tensely before a wall of monitors, a radio in hand as he relayed updates to his colleagues.

Suddenly, his expression froze, and his movements stopped entirely.

Deerfield had invaded the officer's body with Decapitation Within the Heart.

Click.

Deerfield switched off the radio and turned on the public address microphone.

"Attention, passengers. Attention, passengers. The airship is currently under attack by hostile forces. However, our security team has the situation under control. Please do not worry.

"To ensure your safety, all passengers are requested to proceed to the upper-level cockpit immediately. I repeat, all passengers, please proceed to the upper-level cockpit immediately."

After delivering the announcement, Deerfield switched off the microphone and glanced at the monitor displaying the cockpit.

So far, he had planted control triggers in over fifty people.

As long as these triggers weren't activated, the individuals would remain unaffected, behaving as normal. Meanwhile, they served as stepping stones for his Shadow Flow Technique.

With the announcement, Deerfield solved the problem of bringing the passengers to Moro.

He also included passengers he hadn't yet controlled, ensuring a large influx of people into the cockpit.

In the ensuing chaos, his controlled puppets would have ample opportunity to act, creating a near-impossible situation for Moro to resolve.

Unless Moro abandoned all restraint and killed everyone onboard to eliminate potential threats, Deerfield's strategy was foolproof.

"You rushed to the cockpit to take control of the airship, didn't you?"

Deerfield muttered to himself as he watched Moro on the monitor. "I won't let that happen. Now, show me how you'll handle this… Hm?"

Suddenly, Moro turned toward the camera.

For a brief moment, it felt as though their gazes met through the screen.

"He noticed…"

Deerfield's eyes narrowed, but before he could react further, the monitor shook, and the image turned to static. Moro had destroyed the camera.

"…"

Deerfield frowned.

Although he believed his plan was airtight, he couldn't shake the feeling that things wouldn't go as smoothly as he hoped.

Inside the Cockpit

Moro paid little attention to the recent announcement.

"How odd."

What intrigued him more was the clear targeting behavior of the enemy.

Would they really go to such lengths just to prevent him from interfering with the airship's navigation?

With this level of power, wouldn't it make more sense to focus on Kanzai?

Wait…

Something didn't add up.

Moro glanced at the broken camera.

The initial surge of nen and the loud crash earlier had come from the direction of Kanzai's client.

That client had the protection of Kanzai, a Zodiac-level Bodyguard Hunter.

To deal with someone of Kanzai's caliber, the enemy had not only split their forces but done so on a massive scale.

This realization struck Moro like lightning.

The captain and the person who made the announcement weren't targeting Kanzai's client.

Which meant…

"They were after me all along!?"

"Nearly fell for it."

Moro's gaze sharpened.

Had it not been Kanzai guarding the client, Moro might not have come to this conclusion.

Now certain of the enemy's intent, Moro shifted his focus back to the controlled captain and co-pilot.

He had already studied them carefully.

The method used to control them was command-based manipulation, typically employed for puppets.

The captain and co-pilot were already dead.

Until the manipulator issued new orders, they would only follow their current commands, with no additional behavior.

With this realization, Moro abandoned the idea of safely landing the airship or staying in the cockpit.

Initially, he had planned to drag things out here to counter the manipulator.

But now, he suspected the manipulator's abilities had inherent limitations.

An overly versatile ability could offer great flexibility but also came with significant drawbacks.

The dual manipulation modes, coupled with the potential for controlling multiple targets, likely demanded an immense nen expenditure.

If Deerfield could have seen Moro's deductions, he would have been deeply alarmed.

After all, Deerfield operated in the shadows, while Moro was in the open.

The disparity in information should have placed Moro at a disadvantage, yet he managed to see through the chaos to the truth.

Thud.

Resolute, Moro stepped out of the cockpit before the passengers could arrive.

Expanding his En, he headed toward the area where the initial aura surge had occurred to check on Kanzai's situation.

Preparing for the worst, Moro readied himself to deal with a potential airship crash.

As he moved, his En suddenly detected the presence of nen.

"Hm?"

Moro turned toward the observation deck.

About ten meters away, on the floor of the deck, was a series of intricate symbols glowing faintly with nen energy.

"Divine script?"

While Moro didn't understand divine script, he could recognize it, likely due to the benefits of his unique circumstances as a dimensional traveler.

"Why… is there divine script here?"

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