Chapter 102: Machi Is the Most Popular Woman in the Phantom Troupe... Right?
Right, this woman had indeed appeared at this point in time. After the match tomorrow she would stitch and treat Hisoka's two arms, earning herself seventy million Jenny in the process.
The craftsmanship would justify the price.
Ross quietly withdrew his gaze and didn't look at her again.
This woman's sixth sense was nearly on par with Kuwabara's. Ross was not prepared to get into a confrontation with the Phantom Troupe right now.
"Ross, are you into her or something~~~"
Killua was sharp. He sensed the pause in the hand on his head, immediately followed Ross's small movement, and naturally noticed Machi, whose presence stood out even in a crowd.
"You know an awful lot for someone your age."
Ross didn't explain. He just reached out to flick the kid on the forehead.
There was no way to explain it. If Killua got interested in her now, it would be pushing him straight toward a fire pit.
Rather than showing any embarrassment, Killua dodged with impressive speed and stood up with a visibly proud expression.
Given the substantial collection of age-inappropriate material in his second older brother's room, even accidental exposure had left him knowing considerably more than most kids his age.
The two of them chatted and wandered toward the souvenir area on the first floor.
Behind them, Machi stood still and looked, somewhat puzzled, in the direction they had gone. She couldn't quite identify who the source of the gaze had been.
A gaze had a temperature. Especially for someone with Machi's exceptionally sharp sixth sense, who had long since grown accustomed to being watched. But this particular one had been different. No obvious hostility. More like a careful assessment.
...Fine. Focus on the leader's task first.
She pushed the puzzlement aside and redirected her attention to the information delivery she needed to handle.
Killua, clearly in a genuinely good mood, chattered away with no apparent intention of stopping. Then he suddenly thought of something and asked with visible excitement.
"Ross! You already knew Nen when we met, right?"
"Yeah, pretty early."
If three and a half months earlier counted as early.
Killua's face settled into an expression of satisfied confirmation.
"So you're climbing the tower too?"
"Climbing the tower? I'm a floor-200 fighter. Didn't you know?"
"...What?"
This time it was Killua's turn to be stunned.
"I registered on February 4th. Didn't actually fight then, just left. I came back this time to try a match and see where things stand."
"No wonder. Gon and I only got here on the 11th."
Killua said this while looking somewhat eager about something.
"What, you want a match?"
"No... I'm still too green. My total training time is only about a month. I'm nowhere near ready to be casually fighting people."
He thought it over seriously and shook his head, openly admitting he wasn't qualified right now. He seemed considerably more self-aware than before.
"Fair enough. Being able to accurately read the gap between your strength and your opponent's, and knowing when to pull back, is its own kind of ability."
Ross was generous with the praise, fully committing to the role.
Kids needed plenty of encouragement to grow up right.
"By the way, who's your master?"
Ross asked this despite knowing the answer.
"Wing. A slightly scruffy young guy with glasses. Gon and I are both training under him right now... although Gon broke the rules so he's currently in a reflection period. We're on pause from training for now, just doing mindset work."
Killua answered honestly.
"A Shingen-ryu disciple. Solid fundamentals, personality suits teaching. But..."
"But?"
Killua looked curious at the shift in tone.
"But he's only suited to teaching the basics. To put it plainly, he's still training himself, and there are more advanced things he probably won't teach you, out of some deliberate choice. That's just how he operates."
Ross felt a genuine trace of mild frustration saying it. Wing was a decent teacher, but compared to Kurapika's master there was a substantial gap. He didn't teach complete curricula, preferring to let the two kids arrive at things through their own discovery.
Getting the basics right was important, and gradual progression was probably the most common approach. But on advanced techniques, this man had taught nothing beyond Gyo and In. And the most critical element, vows and restrictions, had barely come up.
You could choose not to have them practice it. But at minimum they should know it existed, so when they encountered it in the field they would have some understanding of what they were dealing with. In Ross's personal assessment, Wing was genuinely negligent on this point.
This was the Hunter world. The Nen user world. Once you were in it, living out a safe and peaceful lifetime was essentially impossible. Some things would always have to be faced eventually.
"You and Gon are different. You've been through more. You have better judgment about when to engage and when to back off. As for the extremes in Gon's character, you probably already know without me spelling it out. Some things are better left unknown until he's ready. Once he finds out, it tends to hurt him more than help."
Even though Gon was his best friend, Killua had absolutely nothing to argue with in any of that.
"Anyway, I'm not criticizing you two. What I mean is: if you ever hit something you're genuinely stuck on, and your teacher can't give you an answer, you can call me."
Ross reached into his jacket and with considerable self-satisfaction handed over a business card he had made during a training break.
Yes. He had copied Hanzou's bald-headed move entirely.
"Spirit Wave Style..."
Killua read what was on the card, expression gradually shifting toward surprise.
"I think I've heard of this school. About three years ago my dad mentioned it. Said it was a school with a real specialty in healing."
"Three years ago?"
Could that be connected to Silva Zoldyck's attack on and killing of the Troupe's Number 8?
Ross said nothing, but filed away the possibility that his master might have had some past dealings with the Zoldyck family.
"Oh, right. Did you put out more content for that indie game?"
Killua, having carefully tucked away Ross's business card, suddenly remembered the game with the strong sense of speed. For reasons he couldn't quite articulate, ever since starting formal Nen training, he had developed a certain affinity for the fast-running blue hedgehog.
"Not yet, but I have other games. Want to try one?"
"Obviously."
Killua's eyes lit up immediately.
Floor 229 arena. Packed to capacity, noise filling every corner.
Ross, seated near the center, had his eyes fixed on the two figures in the ring below.
"Finally starting!"
"Fighter Hisoka versus fighter Kastro!"
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