Showdown! The Best of the Best

Chapter Eighteen

A hook lanced through the air at blinding speed toward Deku as the heroes dispersed. Before the hook could strike him, however, Bob stepped in front of him, blocking with his forearm. The hook, ghastly and jagged though it was, deflected off of his glove harmlessly. As the hook fell to the earth with a dull THUD, and began sliding back toward Skulker on its chain, Deku stepped forward, his body crackling with the power of One for All.

He sprang forward, taking the offensive and shaking the earth in his takeoff. Skulker's mocking grin warped into a scowl of anticipation as the wrecking ball of a boy hurtled toward him. He attempted to knock Deku off point with a punch, but the boy's hand came forward for the attack simultaneously, and their fists collided. The shockwave that followed rocked the battlefield, shaking the very foundations of Skulker's Island. Struggling with effort, the hunter ghost tried to exert dominance over the exchange, but, as his metallic armor quivered with shock, he realized that, somehow, this tiny human was stronger than he.

Too late.

Deku's right hook overcame Skulker's effort and he went tumbling, end over end, into a stand of trees. The boy hero landed, staring into the cloud of dust that Skulker had produced in his wake. Mr. Incredible strolled up next to him, giving him a nod of admiration. However, the moment was short-lived. Skulker emerged from the trees, screaming in ghostly anger, and holding something large in his two hands. A tree, which he had sundered from its trunk, that he intended to use as a battering ram. 

"COME ON!" He shrieked. 

The two heroes obliged him. 

Meanwhile, a box floated into the air, lilting several feet off the ground. Killua waited with anticipation before the box burst open and a beam of pink light rocketed towards him. The young assassin's reflexes were impeccable, however, and he jumped out of the way, evading it as if it were nothing. He landed next to Boruto, who wove the appropriate signs and produced five clones of himself, each with a puff of smoke.

All five of the clones ran at the Box Ghost simultaneously, somersaulting toward him like whirling dervishes. The oddly menacing, dock-worker looking ghost was unmoved, swatting each clone aside like paper bags. However, all the while, the prime Boruto was preparing for an attack. As the Box Ghost sneered at the pathetic efforts of the clones, Boruto Uzumaki ran towards him, his hand flickering with lightning. 

"LIGHTNING RELEASE!" He announced. "PURPLE ELECTRICITY!!"

The Box Ghost caught Boruto at the very last second, not enough time for a physical counter, but enough time to avoid being hit. One of his hovering boxes moved in the way of Boruto' attack, catching the youngster's hand. Boruto grimaced as the box ensnared him, realizing he was unable to move. The box flaps closed, trapping him completely, as the box shot up into the air, taking the shinobi with it.

"Hey, lemme down!" He demanded as his voice diminished.

Killua gulped in dismay. His only ally in this fight against an unknown enemy was now hurtling into the air, hundreds of feet above him. Meanwhile, the other boxes that hovered around the Box Ghost coalesced, shooting toward Killua. Focusing his Nen, the young assassin tensed his muscles, preparing himself to move. His fingers contorted into cat-like claws, and his body began to crackle with electricity.

"Godspeed!" 

The boxes shot toward him at a speed that a normal human would have been unable to react to. However, as the flaps of the hovering box-cannons unfolded, and purple energy blasted from each of them, the Box Ghost's mouth fell open in distress as he saw that the beams of energy hit nothing. They streaked through thin air, as their target was nothing more than a blur, dodging them as easily as a fly would dodge an outstretched hand. As Killua evaded one final energy blast, he came to a holt, thrusting out his hand toward the Box Ghost.