She held the water bottle behind her back, striking a protective pose:
"Morin said
that if I couldn't finish it,
I could give it to you.
Biscuit narrowed her eyes.
"I won't leave even a single drop, you hear?"
"Dear me, is a master really less considerate of the elderly and young than her disciple?"
Netero lowered the hand stroking his beard. "As it happens, it's been a long time since I loosened up these old bones."
He stood up, straightened himself, and stretched.
"Feel free to try."
Biscuit flashed her little tiger fangs.
"Don't underestimate a woman's desire for youth, old man!"
Sensing that the atmosphere in the room was becoming increasingly strange, Kruke, Kanzai, and Botobai exchanged glances, then silently got up and left. The Chairman was not the sort of person who liked taking things from others. It seemed his hands were itching again, and he had simply found an excuse to spar with someone.
Thinking this, they all quickened their pace.
They did not want Netero and Biscuit to still be unsatisfied after their spar and drag the three of them into it.
Better to slip away first???
Just as a duel was about to break out at the Hunter Association,
Morin connected another call.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Morin?! It really wasn't easy getting in touch with you!!"
The moment the call connected, Uvogin's loud roar came from the other end.
"You're too damn loud!"
Morin pulled the phone farther away with a disgusted look, casually digging at his ear.
Nobunaga's reprimanding voice also came from the other end. "You idiot, call him Vice-Leader!"
"What's with all these rules? I'll call him whatever I want!!"
The two of them started their usual bickering again.
Come to think of it, he had not heard the two of them arguing for over half a year. Hearing it now actually felt rather familiar.
"Oh right, Morin."
After the quarrel ended, Uvogin took over again:
"When are you coming over here? The Olympia Martial Arts Tournament we held when we came here last year was incredibly lively!!" Uvogin spoke excitedly.
"If I have time, I'll come over."
Morin replied casually.
"Are you still training?"
Uvogin asked, "When Pakunoda came to find us before, we were all shocked!"
"She clearly isn't a combat-oriented fighter, but her Nen training progressed even faster than ours!!"
At that point, Uvogin's competitive nature flared up.
"Pakunoda said you're training with a very powerful veteran Hunter, and that your progress has been far greater than hers."
"Pakunoda is already that amazing. If you're much stronger than her, just how strong are you?!"
"At the very least, definitely stronger than you!"
On the other end of the call, Uvogin was mercilessly mocked by Nobunaga again.
The two began making a racket once more.
During that time, Morin gradually learned what Pakunoda had been doing after leaving him.
Pakunoda had first gone to Heavens Arena, found Uvogin and the others, exchanged phone numbers with them, and then given them Morin's number as well.
After that, she went to find Chrollo and got their contact information connected.
Uvogin and Nobunaga had also witnessed Pakunoda's training progress during this time.
They had thought that fighting battle after battle at Heavens Arena had allowed them to improve quickly enough.
They had not expected Pakunoda to surpass them merely by following Morin.
That left both Uvogin and Nobunaga holding their breath.
"I remember Pakunoda left my side a long time ago. She should have gone to find you guys immediately, yet you only called me now."
Morin directly exposed their little scheme.
"Don't tell me Pakunoda taught you some tricks and knowledge about learning Nen, then after practicing for a while and feeling that your strength had improved quite a bit, you finally had the confidence to contact me?"
After Morin said that, there was an obvious pause of one or two seconds on the other end.
"No!!"
Uvogin and Nobunaga answered at the same time, their voices resolute.
That's exactly it, isn't it~??
Morin was full of sarcastic remarks inwardly.
"So when exactly are you coming over?"
The person on the phone suddenly changed, and Machi's cool voice came through.
"Come over?"
Machi's voice was calm, and it settled Morin's mind as well.
"My training may have reached one stage of completion, but it is far from over."
At that moment, Morin was on a small hillside near the Albamor Mountains.
He walked to the edge of a cliff, feeling the gentle breeze blowing through the mountains and wilderness, and could not help closing his eyes softly.
"From here on, the real tempering begins."
"Is that so?"
Machi fell silent as well.
"When will we see each other again?"
She suddenly asked that.
"I don't think it'll be long."
Morin smiled. "There will be plenty of chances."
At Heavens Arena, Machi also walked over to the windowsill.
Sunlight fell over her body, her long pink hair setting off her delicate and breathtakingly beautiful face, making her seem so clear and tranquil.
But upon closer inspection, one could still see her brows furrow ever so slightly.
"When we meet again, you're not going to leave all of us completely stunned, are you?"
Machi spoke calmly. "Pakunoda said you train very hard."
"Are you worried about me?"
"I'm just asking about your current condition."
"Don't worry. Before I see all of you again, nothing will happen to me."
As Morin said this, he changed the subject:
"Have you gotten used to life at Heavens Arena?"
"Mm. Every day, there are fights and business coming in.
It's fairly fulfilling.
Machi answered honestly. Uvogin and Nobunaga were there for the fights, while she was there for business.
"It's just that the quality of the so-called fighters here varies greatly. Uvogin is gradually finding it less satisfying, though his recent progress has also been incredibly fast."
Machi glanced at the noisy Uvogin behind her as she spoke.
"If he weren't planning to challenge the Tower Master and the previous Olympia Martial Arts Tournament champion, he probably would have become impatient long ago."
"His progress has been incredibly fast too?"
At that, Morin continued:
"How has your training been lately?"
"It's been fine. I've done the daily number exercises too, just more than what you originally required."
Machi moved her fingers, quickly forming the numbers one through ten with aura.
Then the numbers continued onward—eleven, twelve... She formed them all skillfully, showing that she had truly been studying diligently every day.
"Is that so?"
Morin smiled softly through the image displayed by the Visual Phone.
"While training before, I also obtained some insights into training the other categories."
Morin took out a stack of documents.
"Other than the Specialization category, there are materials for all the other categories. That naturally includes Transmutation too. Do you want them?"
"Mm, I do."
Machi answered honestly.
"Is that so..."
A playful smile suddenly appeared on Morin's face.
"These are training guidelines I obtained through great effort. They contain the essence of Shingen-ryu, the world's largest Nen ability training school."
"Just say what you want to say."
Machi replied bluntly.
"It's nothing. I'm just a little short on cash lately???"
Morin, who was not lacking money at all, felt like teasing her.
"Selling you one set of materials for eight or ten million Jenny isn't too much, right?"
He knew that Machi valued money, that sort of worldly possession, the most.
"..."
Sure enough, the other end of the call fell briefly silent.
In the image, Machi lightly raised an eyebrow.
"How much is one set of materials?"
Then Machi's even cooler voice came through.
Machi's Business! Obtaining a Superpower! Ninjutsu Training Tool Box!
"Since we're both members, I'll give you a twenty percent discount. How about eight million per set?" Morin joked.
Before you continue