With a creak, Morin poked his head out from inside.
"It shouldn't be mealtime yet, should it?"
As he spoke, Morin, dressed in work clothes, jumped out of the Canned Goods Studio.
The Canned Goods Studio was the first gadget Morin had drawn over the past three days.
Gadget: Canned Goods Studio.
Effect: Provides a studio environment, with time flowing at a ratio of one hour outside to one day inside. Convenient for people with no time to work or students who have not finished studying before an exam. Doraemon took out this gadget specifically for Gian's younger sister when her manuscript deadline had arrived and she still had not finished drawing her manga.
There were also dedicated work clothes inside, so at least Morin no longer had to wear those tattered hemp clothes.
They were comfortable and casual overall, with a great style and perfect fit. Wearing them out would make people's eyes light up and earn him a compliment:
What a handsome guy!
Aside from the work clothes and the studio's office and study environment, the most important thing was the different flow of time from the outside world! Spending one day inside the Canned Goods Studio meant only one hour had passed outside!!
And what the still-growing Morin needed was time!!
The Canned Goods Studio perfectly made up for that need.
From the first day until now, the third day, Morin had not stepped outside even once.
Something Happened
Thanks to cwkOOO and wwetyuj for the tips!!
Machi had also spent some time cultivating inside the Canned Goods Studio, but she could not cultivate as crazily as Morin did.
Every so often, she went outside to see whether Uvogin and Nobunaga had come looking for them again.
Only at mealtimes did she return to the can on time.
But after obtaining this gadget, Morin's cultivation inside the studio had never stopped for a moment.
Twenty-four hours a day, even necessary bodily needs like eating and sleeping were handled inside the can, making the time spent on them negligible.
All told, over these three days up until now, he had cultivated for a total of sixty-six hours.
Converted into time inside the Canned Goods Studio, that meant he had cultivated for a full sixty-six days!!
Over those sixty-six days, he had trained tirelessly using the Nen knowledge he had learned from anime.
He could clearly sense his strength improving and his aura increasing.
After crossing over into this world, Morin had not only returned physically to his teenage years, but his talent also seemed to have been enhanced.
Over the past two-plus months, he had clearly noticed that the speed of his cultivation progress had been rapidly increasing.
"Maybe my talent is even a little stronger than Gon's and Killua's?"
That thought had already crossed Morin's mind while he was cultivating.
And after his sixty-six days of training ended, he discovered that the Nen on his body had already reached a certain level.
"At least, if I travel around outside and do not provoke any powerful people, there shouldn't be a problem."
He rolled his arm. "If I compare myself to Gon when he was training at Heavens Arena, then I should be stronger now than Gon was when he fought Hisoka in the original story."
"That's already pretty good. They fought in July, and Gon learned Nen in March, exactly four months earlier."
"And I surpassed him in just over two months. I did not even have Wing teaching me—I figured it all out on my own and developed strength like this. I'm stronger than this world's child of destiny, who has protagonist plot armor."
"Still, it also shows that I really lack suitable guidance—either an excellent teacher or a gadget related to this."
Those thoughts flashed through Morin's mind one by one.
They also clarified what he needed to do in the future.
"You've grown taller."
Machi looked him up and down.
Two months of training had caused Morin's body to begin developing as well.
"Aren't you the same?"
Morin thought to himself.
Come to think of it, Machi had only been eleven or twelve when the Phantom Troupe was founded, yet she looked as tall as a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old high school student.
Her development was simply incredible.
"The only downside is that the part that should be developing hasn't developed yet."
Morin's gaze swiftly and discreetly swept across Machi's chest.
Machi did not notice. Her expression became slightly serious instead.
"Something happened to Uvogin and Nobunaga."
She stated bluntly, "Mostly Uvogin. Two days ago, he got into a conflict with one elder's subordinates, so he and Nobunaga, who helped him, were both imprisoned."
"I only just found out and came to notify you."
"That does sound pretty bad."
Morin said, "But it shouldn't be too urgent, right?"
If it were truly that urgent, you would not have started by asking about my height.
"Yes, because Chrollo told me about it."
Machi nodded, mentioning that name again.
"He said he has some connections with the elder holding Uvogin and can mediate the matter."
Connections?
Morin curled his lip and thought:
"Even with connections, the other side is an elder who holds power in Meteor City. And Chrollo is only thirteen now, right?"
"A mere thirteen-year-old brat—no matter what he says... Uh, it seems my body is thirteen too?"
Morin first thought of himself, then of Gon, Killua, and the others.
"Gon and Killua are only twelve too, but with their strength and talent, they can speak on equal footing with many older seniors later on."
"As expected, this world is all about strength... Of course, it might also be because those two are so good-looking that people cannot bring themselves to dislike them. I'm not bad-looking either, am I?"
Thinking that to himself, Morin said aloud, "Did Chrollo say what he plans to do, or what he wants us to do?"
"No."
Machi shook her head slightly. "He only told us to gather first at the buffer zone on the outskirts, then wait until the results of his negotiations with the elder come out."
"Just us?"
Morin asked.
"Pakunoda, Franklin..."
Machi thought for a moment. "They're all people we know fairly well in Meteor City. I'll introduce them to you when we get there."
With that, she headed outside.
Pakunoda? Franklin?
They really were all familiar faces.
Morin shrugged as he watched Machi's back.
These future core members of the Phantom Troupe... I might know them better than you think.
The two left the dilapidated house one after the other.
Are You All So Bored That You Love Gossip This Much?
It was Morin's first time formally walking through the streets of Meteor City.
Meteor City had a population of roughly over eight million, reaching fifteen million at its peak.
That was already comparable to the population of an entire country.
From a bird's-eye view, Meteor City had a cross-shaped layout. Four broad, straight main streets divided it into four regions.
There was no government system interfering here. The entire Meteor City was managed by the Elder Council.
The council had
eleven
elders in total, each governing the east, south, west, and north
eleven
regions. Though there were factions, there were no factional struggles.
Machi's house was located in a remote corner of the northwest.
It was only a few minutes away from the iron wall separating the town from the garbage heaps.
If one had sharp enough eyesight, they could stand on the roof of Machi's house and see the mountains of garbage outside the city.
If they were lucky, they might even see trucks driving in from outside and dumping trash without a care.
It was precisely because of such a terrible location that no one fought with the eleven-year-old Machi for the residence, allowing a little girl like her to live alone.
Morin walked beside Machi toward the place they had agreed to meet Chrollo.
There were quite a few people coming and going on the streets. Most people merely looked indifferent when they saw Machi and Morin, acting as though it had nothing to do with them.
But a small number of people froze upon seeing Morin. The nicer ones merely gave him a teasing smile and even whistled.
The less pleasant ones openly cast disdainful and contemptuous looks at him.
Some even spat at him, though they did not do anything more excessive afterward.
"Looks like people have misunderstood something about me."
Morin spread his hands helplessly.
The expressions on those people's faces were so obvious that the words "pretty boy" might as well have been written across them.
"Obviously, I'm the one supporting someone else, aren't I?"
Morin shook his head speechlessly. Many people had seen Machi bring him back that day.
And since Morin had stayed indoors the whole time, he had indeed given these Meteor City residents, who spent every day muddling through life beyond mere survival, something to gossip about.
But... being mistaken for a pretty boy was going a little too far!!
Though given his current appearance, it was understandable why people mistook him for one.
"Do I look like the kind of guy with a weak stomach who can only live off a woman?"
Morin glanced at Machi beside him.
"Everyone eats my food! Are you all blind? Look at Machi—these past few days, I've fed her until she's gotten nice and plump!!"
Morin complained internally, though he could understand the simple values of Meteor City.
Supporting oneself was the basic quality needed to survive in Meteor City.
From the moment someone was abandoned here, regardless of the reason, the idea of supporting oneself would be carved into their bones.
Even infants born with congenital disabilities could find ways to survive once they began understanding the world.
Not to mention able-bodied people. Age was not a shield for someone to be lazy and willingly degenerate.
In such a straightforward environment, it was only natural for people to roll their eyes at and look down on Morin for being thought of as a pretty boy.
If they encountered some hot-tempered, blunt people, they would probably walk right up and loosen Morin's bones without saying a word.
"Although I don't want to bother with you, I don't have a habit of letting others look down on me."
As Morin spoke, his expression gradually calmed.
"Especially people weaker than me."
The moment his words fell, Morin's aura abruptly erupted, surging outward in all directions.
The expressions of everyone looking at Morin suddenly changed.
Some people with weaker constitutions even revealed terrified looks. Beads of sweat formed on their faces, and their bodies trembled slightly.
Before you continue