"Kaizen, you really didn't disappoint me."
"Just one aura beast, and I'm already feeling the pressure. How strong will you be when you go all out?"
"This is getting exciting!"
Hisoka grinned, drawing the two machetes strapped to his waist.
He exhaled slowly.
Then—he moved.
With a flick of his wrist, he slashed in the direction of Kaizen and Natsu.
One blade after another.
Whip—!
Whip—!
Whip—!
Blades of wind shot out, slicing through the air with piercing screeches.
Hisoka had one of his own, too.
Compared to the Hexflare Bomb, Hisoka's machetes were simpler in ability—but far sharper.
Kaizen and Natsu immediately split up to dodge.
Just then—
Hisoka sheathed one of the blades and, with his free hand, drew out an entire deck of cards.
With a smooth motion, he flung them out.
The cards shot in every direction.
Up toward the ceiling, across the arena—
Then—
BOOM!
The floor erupted. Dozens of stone tiles shattered instantly, rubble scattering in all directions. Even the center of the ring buckled under the impact and collapsed.
In a flash, the once-pristine arena became a field of debris.
Kaizen, Hisoka, and Natsu were now obscured from view.
...
The explosion stirred up the audience.
The entire stadium roared with energy.
"Beautiful!"
"Now this is a real Floor Master-level fight!"
"It's on a whole other level compared to normal matches."
"This is insane—so cool to watch!"
But truthfully, most of them didn't understand what was happening.
They couldn't tell who had the upper hand, or who was on the defensive.
Only those trained in aura could grasp the flow of battle in the ring.
Even then, weaker users struggled to keep up.
Take the rookie fighters, for example—Riehlvelt, Gido...
They were left stunned and overwhelmed.
They hadn't even learned how to condense aura yet; there was no way they could follow the intricate techniques on display.
In contrast, Gon and Killua, who had only recently begun learning Nen, had a sharper eye despite their inexperience. Their focus allowed them to pick up more than the average spectator.
It just went to show—the difference a proper teacher makes.
Even so, they couldn't analyze the fight. They could only feel it.
Kaizen and Hisoka were simply far beyond what they could handle.
...
"Wing-san?"
Gon turned to him. "Can you explain what's going on?"
Wing was silent for a moment.
"You tell me first—what did you see?"
Gon answered, "At the start, there was a guy next to Kaizen who rushed at Hisoka, and Kaizen took out this sphere that fired off all kinds of long-range attacks."
"Hisoka used some elastic threads and threw cards."
"Then he blew up the arena—I think he wanted to limit Kaizen's movement and obstruct his line of sight."
Killua leaned in. "What about the guy beside Kaizen?"
"And that ball—how did it shoot fire, frost, lightning?"
"And Hisoka's red threads—what are those?"
They were both brimming with curiosity.
It was clear all of it was aura-related—but it was unlike anything they'd seen so far.
Wing sighed.
"This isn't something you should be dealing with yet..."
"But since you saw it, I'll give you the basics."
"Earlier, I told you about the four major principles of Nen."
"The figure who appeared beside Kaizen... and the red threads Hisoka created... those are all techniques derived from 'Hatsu'—personal expression of aura."
"You'll learn to develop that in time."
"But not yet."
"As for the ball Kaizen used—and Hisoka's machetes—those are called nen tools."
"They're like weapons imbued with aura. Think of them like swords or staffs used by ordinary people, but enhanced through aura techniques."
Killua and Gon exchanged a look.
"Hatsu?"
"Wing-san, when can we start learning that?"
Wing shook his head.
"Depends on how you progress with the basics. But listen carefully—if your foundation isn't solid, rushing into Hatsu will backfire."
His voice grew stern.
"You must be ready. If not, you risk creating an ability that doesn't suit you at all."
Wing knew by now that Gon and Killua were beyond average.
But even so—no, especially because of that—he didn't want them rushing ahead.
He planned to personally handle their basics. He had no intention of taking responsibility for their advanced training.
He simply didn't feel qualified.
The Hunter Association hadn't sent any Nen specialists to mentor Gon and Killua.
Asking Biscuit hadn't led to anything concrete.
Even Chairman Netero had told Wing to just continue teaching them.
So, here he was—doing his best.
Under these circumstances, Wing could only keep repeating the same warning.
"Push too far too fast, and you'll waste time at best—or worse, endanger your life."
Developing your Hatsu is serious business.
And there are a few outcomes.
One: you create something that fits you perfectly. Ideal scenario.
Two: you realize early that your ability doesn't suit you, and you scrap it to try again. Not great, but recoverable.
Three: you invest years into an ability that ultimately doesn't work for you. And by the time you realize it—it's too late.
Wing was determined to keep Gon and Killua from falling into that third category.
...
"Okay, Wing-san, we'll do it your way."
But even as they nodded, it was obvious from their eyes.
They were fascinated.
"This is... Hatsu?"
"You can make aura take all those forms?"
"That's amazing..."
"How does it change like that?"
"What kind of Hatsu could I develop?"
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (1047 chapters in total)