Abengane: Part 2 (アベンガネ②, Abengane (Ni)) is the 147th chapter of the Hunter × Hunter manga, written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi.
Synopsis[]
Abengane tells Gon and Biscuit everything that has happened so far with Nickes' Alliance, then saying that the others are waiting at the hideout for the Bomber to disarm the bombs. However, he worries that the Bomber won't keep his word, and Biscuit suggests that they take him down by attacking him all at once. Abengane says that no one would want to go first since they know that the first dozen of them would undoubtedly be killed by Little Flower. He adds that Jispa was the best in combat among them, and after they saw what happened to him, they knew that they had no chance.
He says that their fatal mistake was letting the Bomber leave the game, stating that they just couldn't keep up with what they were seeing at the time. He adds that the Bomber also took advantage of the moment after Nickes had announced their progress and before they examined the new cards and their assigned duties, while they were all patting their own backs. However, he admits that even if the Bomber had chosen another time, the alliance would not have been able to deal with it since their approach mostly involved defending and carefully attacking after using "Peek". He adds that they had stopped thinking for themselves and had no experience dealing with players who cast "Leave" (since the alliance held 70% of the "Leave" cards). He admits that everything felt like a practical joke until the Bomber cast the spell, saying that he was calling all the shots and with their guards down, activation of the bombs was unavoidable.
Abengane tells the two that he warned them because he found them the most promising among the people he met in the game. He also says that he wants to teach them about spell cards, but his time is running out and he needs to use his remaining cards to warn others. He asks them to spread the word about the Bomber and to avenge the alliance. After he asks them to not let the Bomber clear the game above all else, he casts "Return" and travels back to Bunzen. Landing outside of the town, he admits to himself that Gon and Biscuit were the only ones he could meet with "Magnetic Force," but he hopes that his flattery might increase the chances of the Bomber being stopped. He then thinks that Nickes should be meeting up with the Bombers soon, worrying that he is running out of time if what they promised ends up being a mass detonation.
In the forest, Abengane sets up a fire and performs a ritual, pulling out a doll and asking the spirits of the forest to remove the unclean Nen from his body. He adds foliage to the doll and tosses it into the fire, causing it to billow toward the sky. As Abengane realizes that Countdown is a powerful ability, a hideous creature crawls out of the fire and it's explained that Abengane's ability utilizes the power of the forest spirits and combines with his conjurative ability to manifest a Nen beast that eats (exorcises) the Nen abilities of others. It's added that its size and appearance are based on the power and nature of the target Nen ability, with the creature staying around until either the target Nen user dies or Abengane fulfills the conditions to disarm the ability. However, it is stated that a Nen beast cannot exorcise Nen left behind by the dead. The Nen beast climbs up to Abengane's shoulder and devours the bomb. Abengane is glad that he doesn't have to worry about detonation, but the creature then slinks itself around Abengane's body, and he puts on a disguise to hide the Nen beast. He confidently says that the Bomber will assume that everyone from the alliance is dead, and so he plans to use that fact to his advantage.
Biscuit asks Gon what they should do, and he says that their plan is still the same, adding that the only way they can try to avenge the alliance is to get stronger. Biscuit says that they would need spell cards to get to their hideout and that it would be too late by the time they reach Masadora. Gon changes the subject and asks how long it will take to perfect his signature move, and she says that it will take years since his Nen is still developing and stresses that perfecting an ability is a lifelong process. She assures him that it won't be too long before he achieves his goal, and Gon is eager to know when.
Meanwhile, Killua meets the Kiriko family, who smell Gon's scent on him even though he showered beforehand. They agree to take him to the site for the Hunter Exam, saying that it will take four days to get there. Killua stresses that he wants to pass and return as quickly as he can, but they remind him that the exam starts on a set day, promising to get him there the day before. They ask to hear about his adventures with Gon since the prior exam, and Killua starts to happily tell them about Gon coming to Kukuroo Mountain.
Back in Greed Island, Biscuit tells Gon that he might be able to achieve his goal by the time Killua gets back, saying that the exam starts on January 7 and usually takes between one week and one month. Gon is excited at the chance to surprise Killua, and Biscuit reminds him that he needs to improve with the level one Transmutation exercise. Gon brings up the alliance again and says that they maybe should try going to the hideout, but Biscuit reminds him that it's past the deadline, they don't know the location, and don't have any spell cards to get there. Gon argues that some of the members may still be alive, but Biscuit does her best to convince him otherwise, saying that the Bomber would have made sure that his bombs were lethal. However, she does say that they will inevitably come across the Bomber and will need to go to the hideout to look for clues. She then proposes that they head to the spell card shop and turn in their monster cards to start collecting spell cards.
When they arrive at the shop, the shopkeeper informs them that they were sold out, but that they just got a new shipment. Gon and Biscuit immediately realize that it came from the alliance members who were killed. The shopkeeper reminds them to open the card packs within the shop and to place the cards in their books before they leave. She adds that they shouldn't buy too many because any that don't fit will disappear when they leave. The two buy 60 cards between them, and Gon acquires the S-rank "Fortress" card. They worry about what to do with the rare card, especially since there are only ten in the game. As they begin to panic, Biscuit tells him not to be loud since people will get suspicious, and Gon says that they should go to the trade shop for more information, also wishing that Killua were there since he knows more about video games. Lurking behind a corner, an unknown person is seen spying on the two of them. Back in the Kiriko's house, Killua suddenly sneezes.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Genthru (Mentioned)
- Abengane
- Gon Freecss
- Biscuit Krueger
- Jispa (Mentioned)
- Nickes (Mentioned)
- Killua Zoldyck
- Kiriko
- Spell Card Shop NPC (Debut)
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