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Chapter 12: The Forbidden Shortcut
It was around 3:20 PM.
The sun had only moved slightly west from the center of the sky.
Kendo Club.
As the largest organization at Fujimi Academy with the most members, the Kendo Club occupied the largest practice hall in the school.
Since school had just ended, quite a few students had already gathered in the club room. Among them were existing members and new students interested in kendo who wanted to join.
However, among the crowd of students, the most dazzling was undoubtedly the cool figure with long, dark purple hair.
A distinguished background, superb sword skills, exquisite beauty, and a seemingly gentle but actually distant personality.
Busujima Saeko perfectly fit every fantasy associated with the term "Flower on a High Peak."
If Fujimi Academy had to choose a representative figure, at least eighty percent of people would vote for Busujima Saeko.
As for the remaining twenty percent?
One could only assume the freshmen were too new to have witnessed her brilliance.
Yet, this very "Flower on a High Peak," Busujima Saeko, actually walked up to a man and revealed a smile she had never shown before.
In that instant, the hearts of countless men in the Kendo Club shattered.
What? You say this man is Suyan?
Oh, never mind then.
After all, over the past year at Fujimi Academy, Suyan had frequently beaten these Kendo Club members into the ground during training to hone his own swordsmanship.
"Suyan-kun, you're here?"
Seeing Suyan arrive, Busujima Saeko showed a look of joy. She walked quickly toward him, her steps even carrying a hint of a skip.
The moment Suyan saw Busujima Saeko, he knew: she had signed the Contract.
He could sense the Nen seed of the same origin as his own within her body.
This was the proof of the contract.
Suyan nodded and suggested, "Let's find a quiet place to talk first."
"Alright, wait a moment."
Busujima Saeko wanted to say something else, but hearing Suyan's words, she looked around and realized this indeed wasn't the place for discussion.
She nodded, then went to communicate with a few Kendo Club members before returning to Suyan. "Suyan-kun, let's go."
Soon, the two arrived at an empty classroom.
Busujima Saeko said, "How about here? This used to be the activity room for a defunct club. Because it's out of the way, hardly anyone ever comes here."
"This works."
Suyan didn't object. "Saeko-senpai, after you went back last night, you must have signed your name on that contract, right? And you should have felt the Aura inside your body?"
"Thank you, Suyan-kun."
Looking into Suyan's deep black eyes, Busujima Saeko pursed her lips. She had many things she wanted to say, but in the end, she managed only a simple thank you.
"No, this is what you deserve."
Suyan shook his head with a smile and cut straight to the chase. "Alright, we can chat later. Since you've already sensed the Aura in your body, next, I will teach you how to control it."
"Yes."
Hearing this, the expression on Busujima Saeko's face became serious.
As a contract partner, Suyan's expectations for Busujima Saeko were far higher than for that "lazy woman" Marikawa Shizuka.
After all, Busujima Saeko was the combat specialist of the original anime, an existence capable of carving a path through a horde of zombies with just a wooden sword.
Therefore, Suyan was very much looking forward to what special abilities Busujima Saeko would cultivate and synchronize to him after learning Nen.
According to the normal process, the introduction to Nen requires a long period of training.
Just like Zushi, who trained alongside Gon and Killua in Hunter x Hunter, one needs to spend time painstakingly tempering the body and honing the will.
First, tempering the body is to familiarize oneself with it until one can sense the trace amounts of life energy—Aura—that slowly dissipate usually unnoticed.
Second, honing the will is to enable one to control this Aura with their mind, keeping it within the body and utilizing it.
This process would take at least a year or more.
Of course, for those with sufficient willpower, there is also the "Forbidden Shortcut."
For example, the protagonists of the original anime, Killua and Gon, used this method.
It's fast-acting; one can reach the introductory stage in less than a day.
First, a Nen User sends their Nen into your body, forcing open your Aura Nodes. This causes the Aura, which normally leaks out slowly like toothpaste, to rush out like air from a punctured balloon.
In this situation, even a fool could sense the existence of Aura.
Then, you just have to figure out how to control it.
The process is just a little bit dangerous.
Since the essence of this Aura is the body's life energy, if the person whose Aura Nodes were forced open fails to learn how to control the flow within four hours, they will lose too much life energy and likely die.
However, since Busujima Saeko had the Nen seed formed by the contract inside her, this entire procedure could be skipped.
She only needed to familiarize herself with the seed to quickly learn Nen.
Strictly speaking, the method of the contract could also be considered a type of "Heretical Cultivation."
Suyan explained, "First, this energy inside your body is called Nen, and those who use it for combat are called Nen Users. In the cultivation of Nen, there are the four fundamental principles: the Four Major Principles."
"Ten, Zetsu, Ren, Hatsu."
"Almost all techniques of a Nen User are extensions derived from these four basics."
"The first principle, Ten (Envelop), is the technique of controlling the life energy within the body to stop it from leaking away, and manipulating it to gather where needed."
At this point, Suyan paused and asked Busujima Saeko, "Saeko-senpai, do you have any tissues?"
"Ah? Yes."
Busujima Saeko was stunned for a moment. Although she didn't know why Suyan suddenly asked for tissues, she quickly took out a packet and handed it to him. "Is this enough? If not, I can go get more."
"It's enough."
Suyan took the tissues from Busujima Saeko, pulled one out, and infused it with Nen.
Instantly, the originally flimsy tissue became rigid in Suyan's hand.
"Watch closely. This is an advanced application of Ten."
With that, Suyan casually threw the tissue.
Spinning like a playing card, the tissue flew out and sliced into the concrete floor like a hot knife through butter.
How is this possible?!
Busujima Saeko's pupils trembled violently.
As the owner of that packet of tissues, she knew better than anyone that it was just an ordinary piece of paper.
Soft in texture, easily torn with a little force.
Yet now, it had easily embedded itself into the floor made of reinforced concrete.
Even though she had some psychological preparation regarding superpowers, seeing this scene still shocked her to the core.
Even if she had practiced kenjutsu since childhood and used the finest famous sword, she had absolutely no confidence she could achieve this degree of power.
And this was just an ordinary tissue. If it were a naturally sharp, high-quality sword?
No, even if it were just the White Oak Bokken she usually used...
Immediately, the girl's gaze toward Suyan became increasingly fervent.
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