"Tonight at 8, meet at the clock tower."
Chrollo led the little Spiders down to rehearse. According to the priest, the upcoming performance was the first true major climax of "Pot Shadow Ninja"—the Chunin Exams.
Thinking of the two thick eyebrows stuck to Uvogin's chest, Sean found it hard to imagine what a ridiculous sight he would be playing Rock Lee.
"Young Master, this church isn't simple." At dusk, a sunset red appeared on the horizon.
After freeloading a sumptuous dinner, Tsubone followed behind Sean, walking toward the room the priest had arranged for them to rest in.
In the hallway, Sean opened the note, glanced at it, and rubbed it between his fingers until it turned to shreds. "A church that can establish itself in a place like this is naturally not ordinary."
"That goes without saying... but that woman's 'Nen' is what interests me."
"That 'Ms. Renko'?" Pushing open the room door, she closed it behind her. Tsubone narrowed her eyes. Her powerful Nen steamed out, instantly spreading from her center, covering the entire room in the blink of an eye.
"[En]?"
It was the technique of extending one's aura outward from the center of the body, capturing people or objects that maintained their form using aura.
This was an advanced application technique of Nen, derived from the Four Major Principles, [Ten] and [Ren].
Sean leaned against the window frame, observing Tsubone's [En] with great interest. The pink-haired silverback gorilla was hiding her true depth. Just looking at the range of her [En], the radius easily exceeded ten meters.
Tsubone nodded. She carefully checked the room and found nothing unusual. Adjusting the glasses on the bridge of her nose, she finally said, "To be honest, Young Master, I also noticed that woman."
"For a moment, the way she looked at you, Young Master, was very wrong."
"Maybe she just hates people with big eyes." Sean smiled. He still remembered that in the original story, Machi was insulted to her face by Renko just because her eyes were big. So... in the end, it was just the jealousy of a woman with small eyes.
"Then what the Young Master means is..."
"Her color is wrong." Sean condensed a ball of "Nen" at his fingertip and said deeply, "Normal people, including you and me, have 'Nen' that is primarily milky white. But Renko is different. The light spots seen through her body's surface are green."
'And that old guy's "Nen" lines... are golden.'
"That... is nothing surprising." Tsubone said in a relaxed tone, "That woman's 'Nen ability' has already broken its limit."
"The green that the Young Master saw is her own unique understanding and variation integrated into her 'Nen'."
"Didn't you say she's a mortician? Perhaps it's related to her profession."
'Nen ability limit breaking?' Sean's gaze shifted. He became interested and looked at Tsubone. "Explain in detail."
Tsubone held nothing back, using herself as an example. "'Nen abilities' also have a concept of level and limit breaking."
"I don't know about others, but for me, the more layers of limits I break, the more powerful the vehicles I can conjure will be."
"Of course, this is also related to me incorporating 'characteristics of the era' into my own 'Nen ability'."
"From small things like motorcycles, to medium things like cars, to large things like airplanes... as long as the era continues to develop, and the quality of my 'Nen ability' improves along with it, it's not impossible that I could even conjure a warship one day."
'So that's how it is.' A flash of understanding passed through Sean's mind. He suddenly thought of Hisoka. His 'Nen abilities'... [Bungee Gum] and [Texture Surprise], were undoubtedly also products of refining 'Nen' to its limit, breaking through, and then integrating characteristics like "flexibility" and "deceit."
'In other words, in the original story, Ms. Renko was able to perfectly restore Sarasa after she was dismembered...'
"Is it because she integrated characteristics like 'mending' or perhaps 'healing' into her 'Nen ability'?" Sean guessed.
Tsubone shook her head. "'Healing' is unlikely, but 'mending' is possible."
"I can feel that woman's 'Nen'; the quality isn't very high. It's roughly between the 'first-level limit break' and the 'second-level limit break'."
'Is that so.' Sean got the answer he wanted, stretched, and waved his hand to dismiss Tsubone.
"Tell Sarasa, after the performance tomorrow, we start work."
Tsubone understood. She placed her right hand on her chest and bowed, then opened the door and walked out.
The faint electronic arc died. The image of Sean was lost. In the small wooden hut on the back mountain.
Netero took off his glasses, glanced at Zigg, and said, "Hohoho... you Zoldycks are dishonest."
"The old master set the rule himself: before the age of twelve, no descendant is allowed to come into contact with knowledge related to 'Nen'."
"If I recall correctly, that Sean kid is only 11 right now, isn't he."
11 years old... starting to learn Nen without building a physical foundation... that's putting the cart before the horse. Those were Maha's exact words.
Zigg understood Netero's meaning. He poured new tea into the cup in front of him and smiled. "I know you're angry, but don't be angry just yet."
"You and I both know that cultivating both 'body' and 'spirit', supplemented with 'methods', is the correct path of training. The key issue is..."
"Netero... don't you think this child, Sean, is just too extraordinary?"
Zigg couldn't help but sigh. "'Body' is the 'essence' of the physical form, 'Spirit' is the 'essence' of 'Nen'."
"Sean was born with his aura nodes open, a natural 'Nen user' from the start. On top of that, at the age of ten, he broke the first shackle of his physical body, achieving something even adults at thirty might not be able to do."
"Even if Father wanted to hold him back, he was powerless to do so."
"It's not just that, is it." Netero took a sip of tea, looking at him meaningfully. "The old master values his pride above all. If something special hadn't happened, given his temperament, he would never make a decision that's a slap in his own face."
'As they say... the person who knows you better than yourself is your rival. Netero, as the only man who challenged Maha and walked away unscathed, truly has Maha's personality figured out.'
Zigg smiled but said nothing.
Netero glanced sideways at him, raised his voice, and laughed, "Hoho... looks like I really hit the mark."
"Stop playing mysterious with me, Zigg. We've been old friends for decades. The moment you drop your pants, I know what kind of crap you're about to take."
He slammed the cup on the table. The Chairman said confidently, "I've seen plenty of storms. Spit it out. You can't scare me."
"True." Zigg shook his head, muttering to himself, "It's just learning 'Water Divination' in an instant. In your eyes, that's nothing."
'Dammit!' "Beans, we're leaving!" Netero glared at Zigg. "You old brat, you're full of crap!"
"'Water Divination' tests endurance and focus. Without months of polishing, even the old master back in his day couldn't do it to this extent!"
So... "CLANG"
"What the hell are you talking to him for!" The wooden hut was kicked open from the outside. Maha rolled up his sleeves and burst in aggressively. 'Who is that brat looking down on?'
"Do you think my grandson is that bastard son of yours, Beyond? What a waste!"