Opening Nen

Human trafficking, organ trading.

Such things were far from uncommon in the world of Hunter x Hunter.

There were even specialized channels built around them, as well as information exchange websites serving both buyers and sellers.

The countless twisted desires of buyers could all be satisfied through platforms like these.

If nothing unexpected happened, Moro and the others would be picked out like livestock.

The unlucky ones would have their organs harvested outright, or be turned alive into decorative statues and dolls.

The luckier ones would become a buyer's plaything. They might suffer physical abuse, but at least they would survive.

Moro sat cross-legged, recalling what was about to happen next.

This truck would arrive at a mental hospital in a few hours.

As for the exact timing, Moro could not be certain. He only knew that the journey would take at least two hours.

And after the truck reached its destination, it would be attacked by an unidentified group during the "unloading."

At the time, most of the livestock imprisoned in cages like his had died in that attack.

The reason he had escaped unharmed was, on one hand, luck—he had missed the first wave of explosions during the unloading.

On the other hand, Molena had appeared in time. She had taken a fancy to him as a buyer and somehow persuaded the organization, whose influence stretched far and wide, to cancel the original organ order.

It could be said that without Molena back then, Moro would likely have become the fastest-dying transmigrator.

Now that he faced this sort of danger once again, Moro felt as if he stood at a crossroads, forced to make a choice.

Should he follow the established course and let Molena buy him, or find a way to escape while the truck was moving?

Moro's gaze flickered as he thought of Chrollo and the others who had attacked him, Dog Brother who had left his shop not long ago, and Molena's eyes that seemed like an abyss.

But he quickly reined in his thoughts and made his choice.

Now, he not only understood the world he was in, but had also mastered the common language.

So during this early transitional stage, there was no need for him to rely on Molena's acceptance any longer.

Naturally, he could not simply let events unfold as they had before.

This time, Moro did not want anything more to do with Molena.

"I need to open my aura nodes within two hours. If conditions allow, I also need to get my body accustomed to the techniques for using Deceptive Flying Stars..."

Moro raised his eyes toward the rusted iron bars standing vertically before him.

Since he had decided to escape while the truck was in motion, opening Nen was an essential prerequisite.

Normally, without guidance from a Nen user, even if one possessed knowledge of Nen in their mind, it would be difficult to open Nen independently in practice.

Even if one could open Nen in a short time, mastering the techniques afterward would be another hurdle that had to be crossed.

Ten, Ren, Zetsu, Hatsu.

These were the foundational Nen techniques known as the Four Great Principles. Under normal circumstances, Nen users had to devote vast amounts of time and effort to steadily practicing and reinforcing them.

As for casually opening Nen and then mastering Nen techniques in a short period of time, the odds of such a scenario occurring in reality were practically zero.

Nen ability itself was an incredibly profound power.

Knowing it, encountering it, learning it, using it, refining it, mastering it, understanding it down to the smallest detail, reaching the pinnacle...

Every stage of coming into contact with Nen required immense effort and dedication.

People like Gon, Killua, and the Fourth Prince of Kakin from the original story...

How could reality possibly have so many monstrous geniuses?

But now—

Moro would become one of them as well.

Closing his eyes, Moro began meditating almost instinctively. He let his consciousness slowly settle and sensed the latent aura within his body.

His more than half a year of prior experience played an irreplaceable role at this moment.

In just a few seconds, Moro easily touched upon his latent aura, then immediately tried to guide it into opening his aura nodes.

The entire process went smoothly.

Under Moro's precise control, the aura in his body flowed like streams toward every aura node throughout him.

It was as simple and natural as eating or drinking...

One aura node after another was forced open by the latent aura. Then, like surging currents, it rose and fell across Moro's body.

"Good."

Moro opened his eyes and looked down at his hands, which glowed with white light.

The aura erupting from within him ran wild and scattered like an untamed horse breaking free of its reins.

Given Moro's current physical condition, if he did not stop it, he would collapse from exhaustion within ten minutes.

But that was clearly a minor problem.

With a thought, Moro smoothly and naturally used the technique of "Ten," wrapping the wildly escaping aura around the surface of his body and suppressing the rapid depletion.

Even easier than I expected...

Having opened Nen and used the Four Great Principles without the slightest difficulty, Moro felt even more settled.

Successfully opening Nen meant that he had grasped a weapon that represented initiative.

What he needed to do next was create a disturbance when the time was right and force the driver to stop the truck.

Moro reached out and gripped a rusted iron bar in his palm.

Inside the cargo truck's cab.

A scruffy middle-aged man sat in the driver's seat.

Perhaps because the mountain road was rough and difficult to navigate, the middle-aged man looked extremely focused as he drove.

In the passenger seat sat a lazy-looking young man with a crew cut. He slumped in his seat as if trying to squeeze himself into it.

But anyone who paid attention to the crew-cut young man's eyes would notice that his gaze never stayed in one place. It constantly shifted between the rearview mirror and several surveillance monitors.

Remaining alert and observant at all times seemed to be his duty.

"Hm?"

The crew-cut young man's gaze swept over a monitor hanging diagonally from the roof of the cargo compartment, and he suddenly let out a startled sound.

Hearing it, the middle-aged driver instinctively asked, "Something wrong?"

"..."

The crew-cut young man did not answer immediately. He merely stared fixedly at the image on the monitor.

Moro's figure was clearly visible on the screen.

"How is that possible...?!"

Through the monitor's live feed, the crew-cut young man watched Moro open Nen within seconds and directly master the technique of "Ten."

His eyes widened. His previous laziness vanished in an instant, replaced by the disbelief of someone who had seen a ghost.

Opening Nen independently in just a few seconds had already overturned the crew-cut young man's understanding. To say nothing of mastering "Ten" at light speed afterward.

If he had not seen it with his own eyes, the crew-cut young man would never have believed them.

As for the possibility that Moro had been hiding his abilities...

Impossible.

The human value of this batch of livestock was extremely high. They were specially supplied to powerful officials and nobles, so he had personally handled every one of them and knew their backgrounds inside out.

The scruffy middle-aged man turned his head to glance at the crew-cut young man's reaction and frowned. "Zazan, what happened?"

"Stop the truck!"

Zazan suppressed the turmoil in his heart with great difficulty. Without explaining, he ordered the middle-aged man to stop in a tone that allowed no question.

Trusting Zazan's ability, the middle-aged man stepped on the brakes at once despite his confusion.

Zazan pulled out a handgun from the storage compartment and tossed it to the middle-aged man. Then, regardless of the changing expression on the man's face, he shoved open the door, jumped out, and strode toward the rear of the cargo compartment.

The middle-aged man gripped the gun and watched Zazan's actions. He silently released the safety, then got out as well and headed toward the rear of the cargo compartment from the other side.

Inside the cargo compartment.

Seeing the truck suddenly stop, Moro seized the chance to forcibly bend apart the rusted iron bar.

Creak, screech—

The sound of bending iron immediately drew the attention of the other livestock.

They looked toward the sound, and their minds instantly went blank.