Hunter X Hunter: I Got Stronger After I Died

The crystalline, razor-sharp blade pierced through a thin veil of light, pressing directly against Menchi's most vulnerable spot.

A thin trickle of crimson seeped out, slowly trailing down her neck.

Menchi's face turned pale. She opened her mouth, wanting to explain, but for a moment, no words came out.

She was completely overwhelmed.

Not just by Moro's piercing gaze and imposing presence, but also by the sheer force with which he had subdued her in an instant…

Moro stared at the pink-haired girl, who was now mere inches away from him.

The moment she had drawn her two kitchen knives, he had already recognized her.

In the original story, she was Menchi, a One-Star Gourmet Hunter and an examiner for the 287th Hunter Exam.

But right now, in 1996, she probably hadn't earned her One-Star title yet.

And as for her strength…

She was weak.

Moro wasn't sure whether he had simply grown too strong, or if this version of Menchi from this period was just too weak.

Regardless, throughout the entire process of subduing her, he hadn't felt even the slightest bit of pressure.

The true reason it had been so effortless likely came down to two factors:

The sheer sharpness of the Ruby Bird Knife.

His decisive tactic—abandoning some of his potential aura reserves in exchange for launching the fastest attack possible.

"Drop the knives."

Moro's cold stare softened slightly, but his grip did not. He showed no concern for the blood dripping down Menchi's neck.

So what if he recognized her?

Moro wasn't going to let familiarity with the original story cloud his judgment of the characters he encountered.

This was a real world.

And in this world, when facing a potential threat, one had to be cautious.

The moment Menchi looked at him with the eyes of a predator sizing up its prey, he had already labeled her as half an enemy.

Moro was highly sensitive to killing intent, and while he hadn't sensed any from her, if he had…

That knife wouldn't have stopped at just breaking the skin.

Hearing the icy command, Menchi's pupils quivered. She immediately let go, allowing her kitchen knives to clatter to the ground.

By now, she was already in a full panic. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, causing Moro's arm to sink into the soft curves of her body.

"Why were you following me?"

Moro's gaze bore into Menchi's panic-stricken eyes.

Struggling to catch her breath, Menchi finally found her voice, perhaps because Moro's killing intent had lessened slightly.

"Sairo… the Seven Chef Knives… the Bird Knife…"

"Oh, so you were trying to steal my knife?"

Moro's eyes filled with contempt.

Compared to Biscuit, who was also a strong hunter, the fact that Menchi—someone who would eventually become a One-Star Gourmet Hunter—had such little integrity was disappointing.

Are all Gourmet Hunters like this?

Menchi saw the contempt in Moro's gaze and quickly shook her head, speaking in a panicked voice:

"No! I never intended to steal it!"

"Your eyes just now… didn't say that."

Moro's voice was laced with mockery.

Menchi felt powerless.

Or rather, she felt unable to argue back.

She had never harbored hostility toward him. She had even prepared to pay a hefty price to buy the Bird Knife.

However, she had always been accustomed to evaluating people like she evaluated ingredients.

Her instinctual way of examining things made it seem like she was assessing prey, which naturally came across as hostile.

If they were on equal footing, she could have explained.

But now, with a knife pressed to her throat, any explanation she gave would only sound weak and meaningless.

Who was to blame for this?

Moro, for being too ruthless, not even giving her a chance to speak?

Or herself, for being too weak, ending up in a death trap after just a single exchange?

No…

If anyone was to blame, it was her own arrogance.

She had never considered that her way of doing things might lead to such a disastrous outcome.

Menchi closed her eyes in resignation.

Her pale, bloodless face carried a rare expression—one of fragile defeat.

Perhaps, for someone as bold and strong-willed as her, she had never expected to experience such a crushing moment.

Perhaps this was the first time she truly understood the consequences of arrogance.

Moro watched as Menchi went completely still, offering no resistance—like a prisoner awaiting execution.

His gaze flicked downward, landing on a small, bulging pouch tied to Menchi's waist.

"Don't move."

Moro's voice carried an unmistakable threat.

Then, he pulled his left hand free from the soft curves that had been pressing against it and untied the pouch from her belt.

Menchi didn't resist.

She had already given up on explaining or struggling. She simply kept her eyes closed.

Moro used his thumb to flick open the pouch. Inside, he saw a pile of gold coins—at least thirty or forty of them.

If these were just regular gold coins, their total value would be nothing special to a Hunter.

However, these were Tree Hollow Coins—a special currency used to store items in Tree Hollow's vaults.

Each coin was worth one billion Jenny and could be exchanged at any pawnshop within the Tree Hollow network.

So in other words, Menchi was carrying tens of billions worth of Tree Hollow Coins.

She had waited here for an unknown amount of time. And she had exchanged her money into these specific coins for an on-the-spot transaction.

That meant… she really wasn't planning to steal the knife.

She intended to buy it.

After all, she couldn't have been waiting here just to mug people for gold coins—that wasn't something Tree Hollow would allow.

Still, this reminded Moro of something important.

"Did Tree Hollow's staff tell you about my knife being stored here?"

Moro withdrew his blade, stepped back two paces, and asked without expression.

Menchi slowly opened her eyes—just in time to see Moro casually toss the pouch full of coins back at her.

She caught it on instinct.

"Answer."

Moro flicked the Bird Knife, shaking off the blood droplets.

Menchi hesitated for a moment, then answered, "No. Tree Hollow follows strict rules. They'd never disclose that. I happened to see the knife before the old man put it away."

"So you just decided to wait here, hoping to buy it from me?"

Moro could tell she wasn't lying.

He had asked to confirm Tree Hollow's confidentiality.

But now, he also saw the Hunter's persistence in Menchi—waiting indefinitely just for a chance to acquire what she sought.

You could call it determination.

Or you could call it stubbornness.

Menchi silently nodded.

Moro remained calm. "Forget it. The knife isn't for sale."

With that, he turned and walked away.

Menchi, still pale, stared after him.

Just then, two men appeared at the alley's entrance.

"She's the one?"

"Yeah. She has a Hunter License."

Their conversation made their intentions clear.

Moro stopped walking and looked at them.

They were both Nen users, but weak.

Just one glance, and Moro had already assessed their level.

Unfortunately, those two didn't have the same ability.

"You said she was alone, right?"

"Uh…"

"Never mind. We'll just kill them both."

The stronger one arrogantly declared their death sentence.

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