HxH: I became stronger even after I died.

The cold sensation from beneath him, along with the jostling

of the vehicle as it traverses the rugged road, constantly reminds Moro—

This is reality.

He has clearly touched death, yet upon opening his eyes again, he finds himself back

a year ago.

Moro is somewhat dazed, unable to suppress the memories that surge from the

depths of his mind.

A year ago, he had awakened in this very cage-like compartment.

The unfamiliar environment and suffocating cage naturally intertwined with the

extreme panic during this cold jolt, dominating all his emotions at that time.

Now, reflecting on this moment, Moro cannot react with the same extreme panic as

before.

He quickly calms down and scans his surroundings once more.

With the light filtering through a small hole in the vehicle, he can see two rows of iron

cages inside the elongated compartment, each containing a naked person.

Moro is among them, completely unclothed as well.

His gaze sweeps over the others in their cages—some are male, some female, all

around his age, likely between 14 and 16 years old.

As he observes these imprisoned individuals, images from his memories gradually

overlap with their appearances.

While Moro examines the others in the cages, they are drawn to his awakening

movements and all turn to look at him.

In their gazes, there is mostly dullness and indifference.

Only two or three show expressions of confusion.

Moro ignores them and lowers his head to evade the many eyes upon him.

What on earth is going on…?

Fragments of memory flash through his mind—Feitan's cold eyes mixed with rage

almost replay vividly before him.

The cold blade slicing across his face and the sensation of life slipping away also

linger in his mind.

This feeling is like a snake coiling around his heart, bringing a chilling sensation deep

into his bones.

But—

Placing his hand on his chest, he can still feel his heart pounding fiercely.

He's still alive!

Moro confirms this fact and closes his eyes to calm himself as much as possible.

This strange way of escaping death has made him appreciate the preciousness of

having breath.

After a moment,

Moro slowly opens his eyes and looks down at the back of his right hand.

The tree ring tattoo is still there!

This invigorates him.

He remembers clearly that the tree ring tattoo slowly revealed its outline on the

second day after he crossed over and solidified within a few days.

But at this point in time, the tree ring tattoo has appeared and remains intact.

This is a significant difference.

Moro focuses again and moves his right hand into the light for a clearer view.

In the dim light, he quickly notices changes in the tree ring tattoo.

The previously filled white ring has now turned pitch black.

Moreover, the infinity symbol in the inner circle is gone; instead, it has been replaced

by—

Lv.1.

Moro's expression shifts; from looking at the darkened ring, he realizes that these

changes are likely due to the tree ring tattoo's influence.

And while the infinity symbol has turned into Lv.1, he wonders what this means.

Is it related to "Love Practice Song"?

Unbidden, images of Morena flash through Moro's mind.

"Lv" indicates a level symbol, and leveling up is one of Morena's Nen ability's most

unique aspects.

Thus, Moro cannot help but draw connections in this direction.

But what kind of relationship could exist between these two?

If the effect of the tree ring is to bring him back to a year ago upon death, then what

role does replacing the infinity symbol with a level symbol play?

Moro lowers his gaze as he sorts through all known information.

While pondering, he instinctively lifts his left hand to gently touch the tree ring tattoo

on his right hand's back.

"Hmm?"

At that moment, Moro notices a red "X" symbol appearing on the back of his left hand.

The edges of this symbol are dark like ink and exude an ominous aura.

"What is this…?"

Moro's pupils constrict as his attention suddenly focuses on this newly appeared "X"

symbol.

In an instant—

His consciousness feels like a small boat swallowed by a whirlpool; there's a brief

moment of disorientation.

Just within a breath's time,

Feitan's figure reappears vividly before Moro once more.

This time he can clearly see Feitan's icy killing intent hidden beneath layers of rage.

Swish!

The sensation of a blade slicing across his face and being choked by death's grip

returns with doubled intensity.

In the next moment, endless darkness engulfs him.

Moro experiences an incredibly realistic replay of death once again.

Then consciousness blurs once more.

The scene before him dissipates like wind-eroded dust; instead replaced by a heart

gripped tightly by dark hands.

Moro stares at that heart and suddenly gains an answer in his mind.

That heart being clutched by those hands is his own.

This inexplicable realization feels like data being forcefully transmitted into his brain.

Along with it comes information about something called "Death Node."

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, consciousness returns to reality.

Moro pauses for a moment, realizing he still maintains his original posture.

"Death Node?"

He mutters incredulously to himself as he slowly raises his head to stare fixedly at the

rusty iron bars before him; then sighs backward wearily against another bar on the

opposite side.

Death Node—

It can also be considered as his death date: June 23, 1997.

On this day, he died at Feitan's hands.

And then he was reborn back to this initial time point when he first crossed over—June

7, 1996.

There's no doubt that he has received an opportunity for a do-over.

However, the death node imprinted onto him will not disappear due to this rebirth.

If he cannot destroy the "Death Node" before June 22, 1997, then his heart will shatter

into pieces once again and return to Death's embrace.

The method to destroy this Death Node requires him to kill whoever created it before

that original death date arrives—using that act to counteract the "X" symbol on the

back of his left hand.

In other words, within one year he must personally kill Feitan who remains completely

unaware of this situation.

Only then can he resolve the curse stemming from the Death Node.

"A year…?"

Moro exhales deeply as thoughts about those dark hands gripping at his heart arise—

a sensation akin to being pierced by Kurapika's oath sword through his heart fills him

with unease.

Death Node is just Death Node.

Whether or not it can be destroyed remains uncertain; still better than facing

immediate death head-on.

Moreover…

Moro glances at the level symbol at the center of his tree ring tattoo.

Although he cannot yet determine its specific function, it should not be anything bad.

As long as he finds a way to change Lv.1 into Lv.2, he can realize its effects.

For now, let's focus on resolving immediate issues first.

Moro gathers his thoughts and glances over at those rusty iron bars.

The truck carrying them will arrive at a mental hospital built on a mountain in just a

few hours' time.

Officially it's called a mental hospital; secretly it engages in human trafficking and

organ trade operations.

Yes.

From the moment they were locked in these cages, Moro and others have been

brutally branded as livestock for slaughter.