I stayed with Gon as he prepared himself to fight Knuckle first while Lynn and Killua moved to somewhere in the forest to fight Shoot. I hoped all the training we did was enough to beat the crap out of those two.

"Alright, I promised to give it my all." Knuckle unbuttoned his white coat and took it off, revealing his muscular build. "From the very beginning!"

The man charged at Gon in an unbelievable speed, and he was way much faster than I was. I observed the boy's aura and saw that he was trying to extend it, which could mean he was possibly using En to feel Knuckle's presence.

Unfortunately, he was too late to sense it and got punched by the man. I noticed some extra aura flowing out of his hands, and I was confused of why he wasn't injured when he got hit by that punch.

The next thing I saw was a little marshmellow creature hanging onto his arm.

"Hello. It's time. You've accrued interest." It said, and the number 210 on its forehead increased to 231. To my surprise, it grew slightly bigger in size.

What the heck is that thing?

"Confused, huh? I just lent you some of my aura." Knuckle stated.

"Wait, you can do that?" Gon asked.

"I charge 10% interest every...ten seconds."

"Ten seconds? Seriously?" I spoke up.

"Pay me back, or you'll go bankrupt." He pointed at the boy with the creature.

"Bankrupt? What do you mean?"

"It's now time. You've accrued interest." The creature said, and it grew even bigger after increasing the number from 231 to 254. I widened my eyes in shock.

"This is called Hakoware. Bankruptcy, Chapter 7. The creature with wings is called Amortizing Power Redirector, or A.P.R. for short." Knuckle stated.

The creature moved closer to Gon, and he punched it away. But it came back unscathed.

"Attacking it is pointless. It's only here to keep track of the interest. It's harmless and indestructable. Though it can be annoying sometimes."

"It's now time. You've accrued interest." It said again, and the number went from 254 to 279. Its size increased.

That got Gon distracted, and Knuckle punched him, sending him back a few feet.

"It's now time. You've accrued interest." The number went from 279 to 505, surprising me and Gon.

"Hey, it almost doubled!" The boy exclaimed.

"No way!" I replied.

"That's because I lent you 180 aura." Knuckle told him.

180 aura? What the hell does that mean?

He smirked. "Your mind is getting dusty. '180 aura' is just a numeric value of life energy. There is a certain amount of aura stored in a person's body, called M.A.P. or Maximum Aura Power. It varies with how much training they do to increase it. There is a limit to how much aura a person uses at a time, and that can increase through intense training. So your Potential Aura Power, or P.A.P. doesn't matter. If your Actual Aura Power, or A.A.P. isn't strong enough, you'll be at a disadvantage. You got that?"

I had absolutely no idea what he was saying. I stared at him in total confusion.

"It looks like the M.A.P. you can use through Ken is about 1,800 aura. When you're preparing for battle, you usually spend approximately one aura per second. When you use highly advanced techniques such as Ryu and Ken while fighting, your rate of used up aura increases by 6 to 10 times. The stronger your technique, the more aura you use up. Got it?"

Ugggggghhhhhh...

"You're still having trouble controlling your aura, so you're using up ten aura per second. That's 600 aura gone every minute in battle. Yesterday, you ran out of aura in 20 minutes. That means you used up 12,000 aura in an ordinary one-on-one fight."

My brain was starting to overheat. Aura, numbers, aura, numbers...aura...numbers...

"And you used Jajanken four times. Your A.A.P. is around 1,800 aura. But when you yelled 'Jan' to activate your attack, the aura in your fist was over 2,000 aura. That's because of the risks it has, and you took those risks to charge up your attack. A special provision covers such risks that are often attributed to special attacks. You spent around 5,000 aura in your first three uses of Jajanken alone. That puts your total consumed aura at 17,500."

I really didn't get this crap!

"You ran out of energy when you were about to hit me with your fourth attack through Round 2. Using Paper and Rock cost about 4,000 aura, which was twice the amount of a single attack. But Paper is an Emitter attack, and you haven't been training in that category very much, so that would mean you used about 4,000 aura on a weak attack. Its actual power is equal to only 500 aura. So, your maximum P.A.P. is approximately 21,500 aura!" Knuckle finally concluded his long and extremely confusing explanation, and all of that crucial information had taken its toll on my brain.

As for Gon, he fell face first to the ground, his ears emitting smoke from hearing too much about aura and numbers.

"I didn't expect an attack like that." He said, his voice muffled by the ground.

"I didn't understand a single thing he said." I whimpered and groaned.

Knuckle laughed at our denseness. "You two are not so good with numbers. That's fine because I'm just getting started. So you fools better listen up."

I groaned, not in the mood to listen to any more of his complicated information.

"When the borrowed aura, including interest, exceeds your current remaining P.A.P, you will go bankrupt. Aura works like a bank account, and it's like money. Keep spending, and your balance decreases. But the interest keeps growing. It's been a few minutes since we started this fight, and you spent at least 2,000 aura. Take a look."

Gon did as told and he was perplexed by how big A.P.R. had grown. I widened my eyes at its size and the number on its forehead.

"That can't be right. It's only been 2 or 3 minutes, and the number is way too high." Gon pointed out.

"120 seconds, but close. That's a perfect example of how debt can snowball out of control." Knuckle stated.

"It's time. You've accrued interest." The A.P.R. creature increased the number from 1,586 to 1,745 and grew even bigger.

"Even with the 390 aura I lent you, you're still under 20,000. Your debt will continue to increase until you can no longer pay it. In just 4 minutes and 20 seconds, you will go bankrupt."

"Okay, now what?" Gon asked.

"When you go bankrupt, A.P.R. becomes IRS or Individual Ren Suppressor. It follows the debtor for 30 days, forcing them into a state of Zetsu. In other words, you won't be able to use any Nen at all."

I gasped in shock. Knuckle didn't use his ability before, so that had to be why. He thought we were not capable of defeating him because of his frightening ability. If he were to use that on any of us when we first fought him, we wouldn't be able to train at all.

"But it's too late to give up now. So you better give it everything you've got, fool!" Knuckle demanded.

This was getting intense. The A.P.R. and interest continued to grow, and Knuckle said that if the borrowed aura and interest exceeded Gon's P.A.P., he'd go bankrupt, and he wouldn't be able to use Nen for 30 days. What was his number, 21,500? So if the amount of borrowed aura plus interest went past that number, then boom, he was done. His debt would not be paid.

"Hey, Knuckle!" Gon shouted. "Here I come!"

The boy charged at the man, and they both punched each other simultaneously before he jumped back. Knuckle only smiled.

"That was around 150 aura. You returned that amount to me while I lent you another 180. That increases your loan by 30. So what will you do? I won't suffer any serious damage until you have fully paid your debt." He explained.

"It's time. You've accrued interest." The A.P.R. said, increasing the number from 2,142 to 2,356.

I watched as Gon charged at Knuckle, and they got in a lightning fast hand to hand fight. Gon jumped back when he got finished, and Knuckle seemed impressed.

"You managed to land more hits. But you only repaid about 100 of the aura you owe me." The man stated, and I saw the A.P.R. creature grow bigger in size.

"That's just a drop in the bucket. You still haven't even paid off half the accrued interest."

"It's time. You've accrued interest." A.P.R. grew and increased the number to over 2,700.

Oh, man. At this rate, how was Gon supposed to pay back all that aura if the debt kept increasing? If he couldn't pay it, it was totally over for him.

As Killua and Shoot got ready to fight, I stood on the sidelines to watch them and discover what Shoot could do. I hoped the ex-assassin could win with his amazing assassination skills and Nen abilities.

A green aura was released by Shoot, making Killua and I tense up. What the hell was that? I didn't think he knew about either of our abilities, but I had a bad feeling about what Killua would do. I remembered the Hunter Exam, when he faced off against his brother Illumi and couldn't do anything to win. It was because he was manipulating him with his Nen to force him to go back to killing.

"I'll tell you this. I don't like hurting people, but..." Shoot took off his purple robe, revealing a missing arm and three floating hands. One of them was carrying a bird cage. I covered my mouth with one hand, stunned by his appearance.

"The four of you have shown me there are times I must fight out of respect." He finished.

Why are those hands floating? Is it because of Nen? If so, then I must assume he's a Manipulator like Lizzy. But what about the bird cage? Does he really need it? Or is it something that has to do with his ability? Either way, I can't let him catch me off-guard when I get to fight him. If none of us wins, we're not going back into the NGL.

Killua pulled out his yo-yos while Shoot prepared his floating hands for battle. I eyed them carefully as Shoot directed his hands at Killua. The ex-assassin threw one of his yo-yos at one of them, knocking it down. The hands continued to attack him, and he managed to deflect all three of them.

But Shoot got close to him with his amazing speed, stunning the ex-assassin. He tried to use his electricity to paralyze him, but the man landed a hit, pushing him back several meters. That shocked me a lot. How could he not dodge his attack? Why did his reaction speed decrease? I didn't understand.

They began to run away, and I started following them through the forest. I was so confused of why Killua wouldn't attack Shoot. An assassin shouldn't run away from a fight, so why him of all people? It didn't make sense.

When Killua stopped, I did as well and noticed that a dark spot has covered the part where his left eye should have been. Where did it go? How did it disappear?

He dodged Shoot's next attack, but the floating hands started attacking him again. He tried to deflect them all using his yo-yos, but one of them hit his left side. Shoot attempted to land another hit on him, but missed.

"Your moves are pretty good." Shoot complimented.

My eyes stared at the silver-haired boy in concern. It seemed like he couldn't snap out of his thoughts. I wondered what the heck was causing him to be like that in battle.

Suddenly, I noticed the handles of the yo-yos breaking, and Killua's fingers broke free, surprising me. He yelled as he charged at Shoot, feeling confident to attack him with everything he had. My mouth was wide open, as well as my eyes. The ex-assassin prepared his electric attack, until Shoot whispered something I could hear.

"Electric shock."

He gasped and froze, not believing what he just heard.

"Now that's scary. I don't want to get electrocuted."

Dammit. Shoot knows what his next move will be. Oh, Killua, what are you gonna do now?

My heart ached from seeing his terrified expression on his face. I couldn't help but stand on my spot, doing nothing that could help him overcome whatever fear he was facing.

"But how? How did you know?" He spoke up, his voice dead and cold.

No answer came from Shoot. I was silent for a long time, my mind having no words of encouragement to say. Our chances of winning had lowered down to almost zero, given the circumstances.

It was my turn to fight. Gon had gone bankrupt, and now he couldn't use Nen for 30 days. A demon-like creature was on his shoulder, doing its job to force him in a state of Zetsu for 30 days.

"Alright. Let's do this. Come at me, Knuckle!" I yelled, and said man punched his palm with his fist with lots of determination.

"Bring it on." He said, and the fight begins.

I charged at him, ready to face his flurry of attacks. I took a swing and missed, then I tried to kick him, but he blocked the attack and started throwing me lots of punches in an incredible speed. I dodged almost all of them and jumped back, making him smirk with confidence.

I gasped in realization and turned my head to see the same marshmellow creature holding onto my arm.

"Hello. It's time. You've accrued interest." It said, and the number 370 on its forehead increased to 407, and then it grew bigger.

"Aw, man! Do I have to pay my debt, too?" I complained, and Knuckle laughed.

"Better get to it, fool! Or else you'll also go bankrupt!" He said scornfully, and the A.P.R. increased the debt to 448.

"Fine! Take this!" I ran towards him again and attempted to land a powerful hit to repay all of the aura he lent me. I jumped up and kicked his chin, but he punched me in the face and sent me back. I didn't get any serious injuries, and neither did Knuckle.

"That kick was around 140 aura. But I just lent you another 190 aura, and that increases your loan by 50." He stated, and my brain couldn't take the torture of memorizing all these numbers.

"It's time. You've accrued interest."

"Shut up!" I snapped at it, and the number almost doubled to 850.

Knuckle disappeared from my sight, and I started using En to find his presence. The radius was only half a meter, which might not be wide enough to let me feel the presence and react in time. I looked around to see if I could find him, and all of a sudden, I felt him coming closer to me. Without hesitating, I threw myself to the ground to avoid his punch.

The man reappeared in front of me, and I stood up and stopped using En.

"You know that technique uses up more of your aura, right? Although it looks weak, you're still using up more aura." He stated.

"I know! But can you tell me how do I get rid of this thing over here?" I retorted, referring to the A.P.R. creature.

"It's time. You've accrued interest." It grew bigger and the number increased from 1,029 to 1,132.

"Either you pay your debt in full or knock me out. I would strongly recommend the first option, because it'll be impossible to knock me out. Especially if Hakoware is in effect." He answered, smirking at me.

Oh, right. Knuckle can't take much damage until I pay him back all the aura he lent me. But my attacks aren't powerful enough to repay all of it. Damn, now what should I do?

"It's time. You've accrued interest." A.P.R. increased the debt from 1,245 to 1,370 and grew itself more.

I looked back to see the number on its forehead and internally panicked. It had been only a minute, and the number had gone over 1,000 already.

"What are you waiting for? Don't just stand there and let your debt snowball out of control! Pay me back, or you'll go bankrupt soon!" Knuckle demanded, and I growled in annoyance.

"Okay!" I charged at him, and we started throwing punches at each other rapidly. As I landed more hits, I started sweating, and then I quickly jumped back to keep myself from wasting more of my energy.

"That was good, but you only repaid about 150 of the aura you owe me. You've got to do better than that! Do you want to let yourself be drowning in debt? Seriously, get over it and fight me with everything you've got!" He shouted.

The A.P.R. increased the debt from 1,658 to 1,824 and grew more in size. Two minutes, and I still hadn't paid him back much of the aura he lent me. I was in big trouble.

I got ready to fight Shoot after Killua decided to forfeit the match for some odd reason. He got his left eye back after Shoot deactivated his ability. That idiot. What was he thinking blowing his only chance to go back into the NGL and save Kite? It just pissed me off very bad.

As Shoot got his floating hands ready for battle, I made sure I had to keep track of their movements as they attacked me. Otherwise, he could use his ability on me and steal a part of my body to limit some of my attacks.

"Are you ready? I will fight out of respect, so I'll hurt you no matter what." He warned, and I agreed.

He sent his floating hands to attack me, and I tensed up at their speed. I moved around to evade their attacks, trying not to let my guard down. One of them hit me in the back, and another one hit my side. I landed on my feet and dashed towards him, with the hands following beside me. I took some swings and Shoot dodged all of my punches. One of his floating hands hit me in the face, sending me flying. It hurt pretty badly, but it was not too severe.

When I recovered myself, I began to conjure my four Elemental Rings, making Shoot tense up.

"Now, Scorching Inferno!" I charged at him, activating my fire ring and engulfing my fist in flames.

He got nervous and moved to the side in time. I threw another fiery punch at him, and then another one, and another one. He managed to dodge them all while running away from me. One of his floating hands collided with my face, sending me flying back. The ability was deactivated and the hands were sent to attack me again. I activated my earth ring and stomped the ground, making a stone barrier to block their attacks. It broke in only two hits, and I ran away from them.

He has such great control over those hands. Their attacks are quite powerful, due to the fact that he's coating them with aura to increase their strength. But I'm not going to keep worrying about deflecting them away. I have to land hits on Shoot alone, and I'm not letting myself lose confidence like Killua did.

I stopped running and used my wind ring to try to blow them away. But they easily got through and each landed a hit on me. One punched me in the face, one punched the back of my head, and one punched my stomach. Shoot ran towards me and attempted to land a hit, but I blocked his attack with my right arm while in midair.

However, when I landed on the ground, I noticed that my right arm was gone and was replaced by a dark mist. Damn it! Now I couldn't use my rings to defeat him!

I stepped back, feeling anxious about what would happen if he took all of my other body parts.

"You do have some nice moves. But I can't tell which is worse: being electrocuted or burned?" Shoot said, walking towards me.

My heart began beating rapidly from the intense feeling of nervousness, and bullets of sweat trickled down from my forehead. What could I do? I was totally defenseless without my rings, and I couldn't figure out a way to deactivate his ability without the floating hands hindering me.

No, I would never run away from a fight like this one! I clenched my fist and attempted to land a hit on Shoot, yelling with confidence as I drew my left arm back to punch him. Just as I was about to attack him, he dodged and moved behind me. All of a sudden, I felt a hard chop to my neck, and I gasped for air as I fell down to the ground.