Gourmet Hunter (HxH Fanfic)

They say you can't have your cake and eat it too. Many people understand this truth, but there are always those who still try to get both. (T/N: It literally means 'you cannot simultaneously retain possession of a cake and eat it, too'.)

Fast and slow are broad substitute terms, yet they sufficiently express two opposing extremes… equivalent to two endpoints in completely different directions.

One is on the left, the other on the right. If you want to reach both endpoints, you'll have to expend twice or even three times the effort and time.

Regarding Law's statement about wanting to choose both, Linne replied lightly: "As long as you are happy."

"Uh..." Law was immediately left speechless.

"Let's set aside the theoretical explanations for now. Allow me to properly test your limits." Linne withdrew her hand and began pacing to the side.

"That might not be a good idea."

Law's gaze followed Linne's movements. He was worried that given her advanced age, he didn't know what the consequences would be if she suffered a blow.

After walking about ten steps, Linne suddenly stopped, her back still turned to Law, and said calmly, "Discard that unnecessary concern of yours. Or do you believe the phrase 'old and useless' applies to me?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a surge of Aura erupted around her. Ripples spread across the sandy ground, and countless fine grains of sand lost their weight, floating upward slowly.

This was a pure, non-malicious aura, swirling violently around Linne's body, forming an oppressive, awe-inspiring pressure.

Linne turned around slowly, lifting her eyelids to reveal a pair of cloudy, seemingly lifeless eyes as she looked at Law.

"I was wrong!"

Meeting Linne's gaze, Law admitted his mistake honestly, and released his own Aura to resist the influence of Linne's aura.

Linne raised her right hand and said calmly: "Don't hold back when attacking me. Use your full strength. I may be old, but I'm far from being frail."

"Alright."

With that, Law could only assume a stance, opening his Aura Nodes to their maximum. The surging Aura flared out briefly before condensing around his body, forming a solid protective membrane.

Seeing Law's exceptionally solid Ken, a glint flashed through Linne's aged eyes. Without any warning, she crossed over ten meters of sand in an instant, arriving right in front of Law.

Her thin, bony arm traced a crescent-shaped arc through the air, silently striking toward Law's chest.

Despite the seemingly slow speed, by the time Law noticed, her palm was already inches away from his chest.

Swoosh!

Without even moving his feet, Law's figure suddenly flashed backward dozens of meters, evading Linne's strike.

"Oh?"

Linne let out a faint sound of surprise, and said calmly, "Emission."

Before her voice even faded, she was already charging across the sand again, closing the distance toward Law, who had retreated dozens of meters.

Her palm strike might not have been blindingly fast, but the explosive force behind her movement was nothing to scoff at.

Law focused intently on Linne's movements, using [Instant] once more to retreat backward… purely dodging without any counterattack.

The first and second times were forced evasions, and Linne's speed was indeed no joke, leaving Law no room to mount an offense while dodging.

But if Linne pressed forward with a third attack...

'Will she keep up the relentless assault, or…'

Law deliberately slowed the flow of Aura across his body, minimizing the chance of Linne detecting his intentions.

Suddenly, Linne dashed across the sand again, launching another attack.

Law waved his hand and left a Nen bullet in place, then used [Instant] to retreat another twenty meters away.

Linne's palm strike hit empty air, and the basketball-sized Nen Bullet Law had left behind hovered momentarily before suddenly exploding, splitting into multiple blades imbued with God Hand's power, shooting toward Linne at point-blank range.

At such close quarters, dodging was near impossible. Even then, Linne swung her arms, her palms brushing against the incoming Nen Blades.

Somehow, the moment the Nen Blades touched her palms, they melted away like spring snow, disappearing without a trace.

'What just happened?'

While feeling puzzled, Law abruptly crouched down, pressing his right hand against the sandy ground.

By sacrificing the ability to directly inflict damage, God Hand gained unparalleled sharpness.

Normally, only a Ken concentrated at a single point, or outright evasion, could defend against it. And yet, Linne effortlessly nullified it just now.

This meant the tactical value of God Hand would be severely diminished.

'Is this Linne's Nen Ability?'

Suppressing the doubts in his heart, Law raised his right hand, pulled out a pile of sand, then cupped the other end with his left hand. When he stood up, he pulled his hands to the sides of his body like a magician shuffling cards, and a long, horizontal sand pillar was formed between his hands.

No matter the battlefield, he would utilize everything at his disposal.

Imbuing the sand pillar with Aura, he propelled it forward, transforming it into countless weak, diamond-shaped sand projectiles that shot toward Linne.

There are a lot of diamond-shaped sand markers and they cover a wide area, so their power is so weak that they can be blocked by Ken.

However, whether Linne dodged or tanked them, it would create an opening for Law's follow-up attack.

Linne did not choose to dodge, probably because she realized that the sand markers were not very powerful, so she simply endured them. The sand markers shattered upon contact with her Aura.

At this moment, Law's Aura burst out, and in an instant, he moved to two meters in front of Linne.

However, instead of attacking immediately, he stomped the sandy ground.

With a loud bang, a thick dust cloud instantly billowed up, obscuring vision.

While kicking up the sandstorm, Law immediately activated In to conceal his Aura. Relying on memory, he circled behind Linne's position and swung his hand down in a chopping motion.

Bang!

His palm strike landed, and the resulting shockwave blasted the sand mist outward, revealing Law and Linne's figures.

That strike had been blocked by Linne's left forearm. Once again, she had somehow nullified God Hand's sharpness, or perhaps, she erased the Nen momentarily attached to the object.

As the sand dispersed, both Law and Linne moved simultaneously.

Linne swung her right hand, thrusting her palm toward Law's chest.

Instead of blocking, Law calmly exerted force, pressing down on Linne's left arm to disrupt her balance. At the same time, the flame emblem on the back of his hand lit up slightly, and Shin appeared out of thin air.

Shifting his palm into a knife-hand grip, his right hand closed around Shin's hilt.

The downward force didn't stop there, and like sawing wood, he pulled backward while maintaining pressure, the sword suddenly slashing toward Linne's head.

Shin's appearance was too abrupt, especially during the brief pause in their exchange, making it nearly impossible to defend against.

Linne's combat experience was vast. Even in old age, her reflexive thinking was sharp.

In an instant, she assessed the situation… if she didn't retract her strike, she'd be checkmated by the blade. Without hesitation, she withdrew her hand while dispersing the force of Law's downward press, dodging to the right.

The sword cut through empty air, striking the sand without a sound, leaving a several-meter-long trench in the ground.

Though the slash missed, Law followed up with a move Linne didn't expect… he simply released the hilt, bent his arm, and drove an elbow strike toward Linne, who had dodged to the right.

'Good boy.'

Linne's eyes narrowed. With no time to block, she could only predict the elbow's trajectory and swiftly channel her Aura to the impact point using her master-level Ryu.

Bang!

The elbow slammed into Linne's abdomen, the sheer force effortlessly launching her small body backward.

After sending Linne flying, Law swiftly retracted his arm, reached down, and grabbed Shin that was about to fall on the sand. Then, he took a step in the direction where Linne was flying, but suddenly stopped.

No matter what, this wasn't a life-or-death battle.

He had restrained himself in time, but Linne wasn't pleased by this.