The Strongest Assassin of the Zoldyck Family!

"Who do you think will win?"

"Ron, I guess. Even Wendy isn't Ron's match, and Ted can't even beat Wendy."

"No, no, no. You can't judge a Nen battle like that. I actually think Ted has a better chance of winning—after all, this is the Beast Dojo, Ted's home turf."

"That's right. Just because Wendy can't defeat Ron doesn't mean Ted can't."

"Besides, the only word we have about Ron beating Wendy is from Wendy herself. It might not even be true."

"Let's see for ourselves how the Zoldyck Family earned the title of world's top assassins."

They were more curious about the Zoldycks than wary of them, because they belonged to one of the V5 nations—the Fiora Kingdom—whose overall power they believed outstripped that of the Zoldyck Family. They did think Ron was impressive, but that was it. 

They didn't consider Ted weak at all, and they had great confidence in their own people—just like that woman who had taken Wendy back to the Fiora Kingdom and refused to believe Wendy's praise of Ron.

Indeed, members of the Zoldyck Family were quite strong, and the reputation of being the world's top assassin family was certainly illustrious. But that still couldn't surpass a V5 nation. How could a young member of the Zoldyck Family be stronger than Fiora's own young geniuses? If the Zoldycks truly had such great power and talent, why would they confine their ambition to mere assassination?

"I wonder what Ted got out of the Land of Nirvana," someone said, gaze shifting to Ted, eager to see his performance.

"Roar!"

A thunderous roar rang out. In the next second, Ted's form ballooned, changing from a human into a giant ape, lunging straight at Ron. Ron reacted in a flash.

"Baki Hanma!"

Baki Hanma materialized.

"Demon Back!"

Already formidable, he grew even more powerful upon activating Demon Back. Confronting Ted, Baki Hanma rushed forward. One was huge, the other small; they collided. And yet, in terms of pure strength, Baki Hanma showed no obvious disadvantage. Moreover, his skill clearly outclassed Ted's by at least a level or two. For a while, they were deadlocked in a flurry of simple, brute-force strikes, with no fancy techniques—just raw hand-to-hand combat.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Fists thudded against flesh in dull, resounding blows.

"A Nen Beast?"

"Is that Zoldyck kid a Conjurer?"

"Like those people at the Star Dojo, perhaps."

"That Nen Beast is strong—seems more like an Enhancement-type power."

"One Nen Beast can actually hold off Ted's assault?"

Members of the Beast Dojo started to look more serious.

"That Zoldyck kid's no pushover. Not everyone can do this."

"Even in the Star Dojo, few young ones can handle that. But if that's his only Nen Beast, he still won't keep Ted at bay."

They grudgingly acknowledged Ron's skill, but they still didn't believe he was stronger than Ted. Growing impatient, Ted let out a loud shout and stopped throwing punches. Instead, he took one of Baki Hanma's attacks head-on, grabbed Baki with both arms, and crushed him to his chest.

"Bear Hug!"

Ted intended to use his formidable raw strength to physically squeeze Baki Hanma to death. It was a basic brute-force tactic—no technique required.

"It's over," said a young man, shaking his head at Ron. "So much for the Zoldycks and their 'world's top assassin family.' Nothing special."

Wendy heard this and glanced at the speaker, itching to argue. But since they were in the Beast Dojo, she swallowed her words. Arguing here was foolish: Beast Dojo people fiercely defended their own and were incredibly stubborn. Persuading them was basically out of the question. To convince them, you had to beat them first.

Suddenly, a crisp smack sounded as Baki Hanma's palm struck. The next instant, Baki Hanma vanished from Ted's grasp, replaced by another of Ron's Nen Beasts.

"Ryunosuke Akutagawa—Rashomon!"

Dark claws sprang up and slashed at the giant ape that Ted had become. The distance was too close, and Akutagawa's sudden arrival caught Ted off guard.

Squelch!

The devastatingly sharp Rashomon ripped into Ted's flesh. Even he couldn't endure that—blood spurted out, and he was forced to release his grip. Akutagawa backed up a few steps, putting distance between them, then launched a ferocious assault with those dark claws. Meanwhile, Baki Hanma moved into position, poised for an attack.

Ted's expression shifted. "That hurts—and I like it!"

"So there's another one. And it's no weaker than the first," Ted said, even more excited. "Good! Now this is worth my time—otherwise, I wouldn't be much of a training partner for Wendy."

Far from fear, Ted looked even more fired up. "If it'd stayed at that earlier level, I wouldn't see any value in being Wendy's sparring partner."

Meanwhile, many people in the Beast Dojo were taken aback.

"A second Nen Beast?"

"He must be a Transmuter. That trick just now swapped his two Nen Beasts, right?"

"Not bad. That ambush technique can catch someone off guard. But it's a shame he used it just to free the first Nen Beast. If he'd saved it, he could've blindsided Ted."

"Well, now Ted's aware of it."

Akutagawa's attacks were even fiercer than Baki Hanma's. Although both Nen Beasts were attacker types, Akutagawa specialized solely in offense, whereas Baki Hanma was more balanced—able to both dish out damage and tank it. You could think of Baki as a second-tier tank, while Akutagawa was pure DPS.

Two dark-red claws materialized behind Akutagawa and struck at Ted. For a moment, Ted was hard-pressed to do anything but defend. He couldn't find any openings, and Baki Hanma's watchful presence added to the pressure—strangely enough, Baki's inactivity only made Ted more tense.

Seeing this, a few Beast Dojo members started getting nervous.