"So, what exactly is Nen?" Gon Freecss asked with wide-eyed curiosity, clearly having listened in with growing excitement.
Beside him, Leorio and Kurapika immediately perked up and started listening even harder.
Judging by the Red-Nose Captain's reaction, this seemed like some kind of taboo topic—but… curiosity was hard to resist.
Leorio was thinking about whether this "Nen" thing might help with the Hunter Exam, and whether he could squeeze some kind of advantage out of it.
Kurapika, meanwhile, was thinking about whether Nen might be an overwhelmingly powerful form of strength.
After all, even though the Kurta Clan had a small population, their combat capability was absolutely not low. And yet the entire clan had been wiped out by just thirteen members of the Phantom Troupe—forcing Kurapika to think deeper about what kind of power could make that possible.
The Red-Nose Captain lifted his head to look at the sky and didn't even glance at Gon, ignoring him completely.
Roy, however, smiled faintly and said, "Nen is…"
"Ahem!" The Red-Nose Captain coughed violently, cutting Roy off.
Roy didn't care in the slightest. Instead, he said, "Maybe there's some kind of rule in the world about keeping Nen from ordinary people. But I don't care at all."
Hearing that, the Red-Nose Captain shrugged and turned around, heading back into the ship cabin.
Gon seemed to understand something and considered Roy's position. "If it's something you're not supposed to say, then you don't have to, Roy."
Kurapika and Leorio also nodded. They both desperately wanted to know what this so-called Nen was, but they still had a line they wouldn't cross—they wouldn't pressure someone they respected, and they wouldn't force him into an uncomfortable spot.
Roy just smiled lightly. "It's fine. If it's something I want to do, nobody can stop me."
And that was true. With Roy's current strength, there really wasn't anyone in this world who could stop him from doing what he wanted.
Not to mention the fact that Android 18 was likely already the strongest person in the world…
So whatever "unspoken rules" Nen users had? They could go to hell.
"Nen is basically an ability to control life energy. The power to freely manipulate the life energy released from your body—your aura—and apply it to attack or defense is called 'Nen.' Learning it is also a condition for becoming a true Hunter."
"Once you learn Nen, your physical abilities—strength, speed, overall body performance—will far exceed those of someone who hasn't learned Nen, by several times over. In general, if someone who can't use Nen fights someone who can, they'll lose horribly. They won't win."
"Of course, learning Nen doesn't automatically mean you're good at fighting. Some people awaken Nen abilities that are specialized in other directions."
"For example, there's a mafia family's ojou-sama who is a natural-born Nen user. She doesn't know any combat techniques at all, but she has a very powerful Nen ability—she can foresee the future."
"Nen abilities are a branch of Nen…"
"Nen is divided into four major fundamentals…"
"As for how to learn Nen…"
Roy held nothing back, telling the trio everything he knew about Nen without reservation.
When he finally finished his last word, the three of them—after listening to Roy's explanation—fell into a deep shock.
"Th-This… this is Nen?" Leorio swallowed, his voice dry as he asked.
Kurapika clenched his fists tight, biting his lip, not saying a word.
"So then… the Phantom Troupe must all be Nen users. And the strong kind, too." Kurapika's expression turned extremely heavy. But no matter what the situation was, nothing could stop his determination to take revenge.
"So this is Nen… It feels insanely strong." Gon didn't really have a concrete concept of "getting stronger" yet—he just thought it sounded incredible.
Then he suddenly remembered something. "Then my father—Ging Freecss—he's a Hunter. So that means he's a Nen user too, right?"
"Yeah. A Nen user isn't necessarily a Hunter, but a Hunter is definitely a Nen user."
"And since you said your father is Ging, that should be Ging Freecss."
As he spoke, Roy raised his right hand, made a golden glow appear on his fingertip with his aura, and then tapped his own forehead.
"Ging Freecss—one of the world's top five Nen users, one of the Hunter Association's Zodiacs with the codename 'Boar,' and one of the five strongest people in the world today. His achievements are enough for him to become a Triple-Star Hunter, but he never applied because he thinks it's too much trouble. He's also one of the creators of the Hunter game Greed Island. He's extremely intelligent, with accomplishments across many fields—biology, archaeology, linguistics, geology, game design—he's a truly incredible person."
The sudden golden light startled Leorio, Kurapika, and Gon. Then, seeing Roy recite "information" with a perfectly serious expression, they all understood at once.
"So this is Nen? Is this your Nen ability, Roy?" Gon looked thrilled, like he'd found something fun.
"Yeah. Something like that." Roy began indulging his mischievous urge to mess with them.
Android 18 watched Roy teasing them like this and couldn't help turning her head away as she laughed.
Roy put on a "demonstration" right there, making the three of them understand Nen even more clearly.
Kurapika and Leorio thought back to what happened with St. Elmo's Fire earlier, and both nodded in agreement.
(End of Chapter)
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