Chapter 13: Post-Match Review

Knock, knock, knock!

"Oh, Killua, come on in."

The person who opened the door was a young boy with a monk-like haircut. He smiled and invited the silver-haired boy inside.

"Good evening, Zushi." Killua walked into the apartment carrying a bag of canned drinks and handed it to Zushi, saying, "Here, a gift."

In the living room, a well-built young man stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the night view. Without turning his head, he said, "Killua, you're here."

Killua walked into the living room, his expression serious. "Wing, did you watch today's match?"

"Of course I did."

The young man addressed as Wing turned around. He was a disheveled-looking man wearing glasses, with his shirt only half-tucked into his trousers, but his expression was anything but calm.

"I watched the match because I was interested in Gryffindor. I didn't expect... to gain something else."

Killua slumped onto the sofa, cracked open a chilled drink, and took a sip. "So, is it true that this Hesser can actually steal his opponent's Nen abilities?"

Wing nodded and pulled out a videotape. "Want to watch it together?"

Killua had originally intended to watch it with his friend Gon, but remembering that Gon was still under Wing's "house arrest," he nodded. "Sure."

"Zushi, you come over too."

Wing inserted the tape into the VCR and called his student over to watch.

"Look, the flow of Nen on Gryffindor's body is extremely rapid; he can switch between offensive and defensive states instantly. This involves 'Gyo' (Flow), a high-level application technique of Nen."

As Wing used the remote to pause and fast-forward, he explained to the two, "Flow involves adjusting the amount of aura in specific parts of the body to change one's offensive and defensive power. To practice Flow, one must first master 'Ken' (Envelop). Look closely at the aura on Hesser and Gryffindor's bodies."

On the television screen, the aura on both combatants was dense and solid; every strike failed to shake the other's defense.

"Incredible. They are completely defending against every single move and aura attack."

Killua instinctively bit his thumbnail, his face grave. "Is this 'Ken'?"

"Yes. This is an advanced application of 'Ten' (Envelop) and 'Ren' (Enhance), a technique that uses more aura than usual to cover the body to strengthen one's offense and defense. This move requires a great deal of total aura and physical stamina, as one must continuously burst with aura to protect the entire body."

Wing pressed the pause button again. "Did you notice Hesser? His Flow wasn't proficient at first, but after just five seconds, his Flow and Ken were comparable to a veteran Nen user like Gryffindor."

He stroked his chin and mused, "My deduction is—Hesser only just learned Nen recently."

"Are you saying Hesser is actually a novice at Nen training?"

Killua looked incredulous, shouting like a startled cat, "Don't joke around! What kind of novice is this fierce?"

Since he was a child, he had been hailed as a "genius," and even his aptitude for Nen was considered monstrous by Wing. Now, seeing something even more monstrous appear out of nowhere, Killua found it hard to accept.

Wing scratched his messy hair and pressed the remote to resume playback.

"My guess isn't baseless. First, look at his aura flow. You can tell he received instruction from a master, but the timing and direction were chaotic at the start. This suggests he had laid a foundation under a teacher's guidance but hadn't learned more advanced techniques yet. Fast forward... right, now look here."

The screen showed Hesser being blown away by a tiger-claw strike from Gryffindor, smashing through the arena wall.

Zushi narrowed his eyes slightly. "He leaped backward in an instant to minimize the impact."

"Exactly. That was an instinctive reaction. It shows that Hesser's natural talent is terrifying; he is a born warrior."

Wing pointed at Gryffindor on the ring.

"Gryffindor is a veteran Treasure Hunter, likely from the 271st graduating class. He is quite famous in the industry. His pair of tiger claws can tear apart giant bears and even elephants, and those who provoke him often die in assassinations during rainy or foggy weather. Gradually, people came to call him the 'Rain Tiger.' Without a doubt, Gryffindor's Nen ability is highly suited for actual combat; he is a professional hunter specialized in killing. Yet, this very professional hunter was gradually suppressed by Hesser during their bout, while Hesser was using the very tiger-claw style that Gryffindor takes such pride in."

Killua and Zushi looked at the screen. On the ring, both were using the tiger-claw style, but Hesser was steadily gaining the upper hand.

Then, Gryffindor stomped the ring, and a cloud of dust obscured the view.

"I was there in person, using 'Gyo' (Focus) to monitor the situation on the ring."

Wing fast-forwarded and then paused. "Hesser somehow moved the referee from ringside to the ring to take his place, then circled behind Gryffindor at extreme speed, perfectly avoiding his 'En' (Circle) surveillance. And then..."

He pointed to the screen, where Hesser reached his right hand into the smoke, five transparent blades extending from his fingertips that only Nen users could see.

"Hesser defeated Gryffindor using Gryffindor's own Nen ability. He learned his opponent's Nen ability during the fight!"

Silence descended upon the living room.

"Are there really such monsters? To learn an opponent's combat skills just by fighting them... this is too absurd."

Zushi, the boy with the monk haircut, felt his worldview crumbling. If there were more monsters like this in the world, why should he even bother training in Nen? Wouldn't it be better to just go home and farm?

Killua’s eyes suddenly lit up. "Could it be that Hesser's own Nen ability is 'to steal the combat skills and Nen abilities of his opponents'? That would make sense!"

"If there were such a powerful Nen ability, the prerequisites would certainly be extremely harsh, perhaps even involving more than three stringent conditions."

Wing shook his head. "Such strict conditions could never be met in the heat of battle. There is only one possibility—it is Hesser's own talent. It is truly terrifying. And there is one key point..."

"What key point?"

"I heard that a few days ago, when Hesser first stepped onto the 200th floor, several Nen users wanted to ambush him—you know, the so-called 'baptism.' He didn't even have to strike; he simply activated 'Ren' and released his aura. Two of the physically weaker Nen users were instantly and severely injured on the spot, and the rest were so frightened they fled the scene."

Cold sweat dripped down Wing's forehead. "To be able to injure others simply through the pressure of 'Ren'—what kind of terrifying and violent aura must that be... Killua, Zushi, at this stage, you two must absolutely, under no circumstances, fight him."

Killua felt sweat breaking out on his own forehead. "I'd have to be stupid to fight him! No, Wing, you should lift the 'house arrest' on Gon. If we don't hurry up and train, I'm afraid we really won't be able to catch up."

Wing thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. "Fair enough. Go back and tell Gon to come find me tomorrow morning. I will test your Nen attributes and draw up a training plan for the next stage."

In the original story, it would have taken another month for Gon's "house arrest" to be lifted, and afterward, Killua and Gon, relying on their excellent talent, approached Nen training with a more playful attitude.

But now, stimulated by these events, Wing had released Gon early. Combined with Killua’s ignited fighting spirit, one could only imagine that these two protagonists would reach even greater heights than in the original story.