Growth Plan and Parting

Growth Plan and Parting

"Where are you going next?"

In a hotel suite in Graham City, Hisoka sat on the floor stacking a tower of playing cards as he asked Oboro.

The two had already left the venue without saying goodbye to the others.

Because... there was no need.

From the very beginning, neither Hisoka nor Oboro had seemed interested in getting too close to the troupe members.

"I don't need to tell you."

Oboro opened the window, and a sudden blast of cold wind scattered the cards all over the floor.

"Oboro..."

Hisoka lowered his gaze. The look he cast at Oboro was somewhat eerie, as if he wanted to say something... His aura spilled out without restraint.

Sensing the aura, Oboro's whole body tensed, and he turned around.

Their eyes met. "Are you going to make a move against me?"

"Moritonio was only an appetizer. You should understand that the person who truly interests me... is you." Hisoka picked up a Joker, undisguised fighting intent appearing on his face as he slowly rose to his feet.

Crack!

Oboro released his aura as well... and the sheer volume of his aura surpassed Hisoka's.

The two auras confronted each other within the room, their pressure colliding... The surrounding glass could not bear the strain and began to crack.

"You'll die..."

Oboro pulled his hands out of his pockets. As he flexed his knuckles, they popped like firecrackers.

"How would we know without trying... Besides... being killed by you doesn't seem so bad." Hisoka spoke with a sickly air about him. It was clear that he had grown excited.

Oboro fell silent.

He was not confident he could handle Hisoka—or rather, defeat him... If they fought, his advantage lay in his understanding of Nen and his familiarity with Hisoka's abilities... He knew what methods Hisoka possessed.

His disadvantage... was combat talent. He had no real combat experience... Hisoka did not have much either, but judging from his fight with Moritonio, that man's battle instincts were monstrous.

If they truly fought, Oboro would definitely gain no advantage.

Still, even if he could not defeat Hisoka... Oboro was confident that Hisoka would not be able to do much to him either.

Looking at Hisoka's face, which was practically about to climax, Oboro frowned slightly and suddenly withdrew his aura.

"Hm?"

Hisoka, who had been about to assume a fighting stance, froze.

Whoosh! He understood... Oboro had no interest in fighting him.

But the foreplay had already begun, and Hisoka naturally did not want to give up... Without another word, he flicked a card toward Oboro's face.

Smack! Oboro reached out and caught the card firmly. "Your provocation means nothing to me... I can't summon even the slightest expectation for you—or rather, for you as you are now."

Hisoka let out a soft laugh at those words... and withdrew as well.

What he wanted... was a game of slaughter with Oboro, with both of them giving it everything they had... If Oboro was not in the mood, there was no point in attacking unilaterally. It would only ruin the fun.

"Is that so..."

Hisoka seemed to understand, but not quite.

"Go to the hospital... And don't follow me anymore..."

Oboro said flatly.

Hisoka had suffered considerable injuries in his fight with Moritonio. Several bones were clearly broken.

"We're parting ways..."

Hisoka heard the dismissal in Oboro's words. He looked somewhat disappointed, though it was impossible to tell whether he was putting on an act for Oboro or truly reluctant to part.

"Anyway... we'll meet again someday."

Hisoka narrowed his eyes and smiled. Stretching lazily, he turned and walked out the door.

There were no pleasantries, nor any unnecessary words.

Both he and Oboro truly needed room and time to grow...

Besides... Hisoka understood that the next time they met, given how strict and diligent Oboro was with himself, his strength would increase tremendously... He could not afford to be left behind either.

Oboro understood Hisoka, and Hisoka understood him just as well... After all, they had lived together for so long.

Hisoka could also sense Oboro's strength... Even though Oboro had always concealed it, the danger signals Hisoka felt through instinct could not be ignored.

"If you miss me, remember to call me."

Just as he was about to leave, Hisoka turned back and made a gesture at Oboro. Then he said goodbye and left.

"..."

After hearing that, Oboro looked at the Joker in his hand and discovered a string of numbers written on it.

It was clearly Hisoka's contact information.

"Testing me... What a twisted hobby."

Oboro clicked his tongue.

Hisoka had not truly wanted to fight him just now... Otherwise, he would not have written his number on the card beforehand, as though he had guessed Oboro's intentions. It had merely been a test... As for why... Hisoka probably believed that for two people who had only just stepped through the door of Nen users, now was not the best time to fight.

But without question, that lunatic had set his sights on him...

From the day Hisoka joined the Circus, Oboro had known... he would not be able to escape.

"If you really want to die... there's nothing I can do about it..."

Oboro muttered, tossing the card away.

He was not afraid of Hisoka... With the system and his extensive reserve of Nen knowledge, even if his potential was inferior to Hisoka's, Oboro was still confident that he could become strong... Most importantly, the Hunter world was vast and boundless. The peak he wanted to climb... was far beyond someone like Hisoka.

It was just that... no one would be happy about being targeted by a perverted lunatic.

In truth, as he had gotten to know Hisoka better, Oboro's view of his personality had changed somewhat. At the very least... he did not dislike him as much as before.

There was a rather childlike side to Hisoka's nature...

"There are still ten years before the main story... before the plot begins. For me, that's enough."

Once Hisoka had left, Oboro finally relaxed. He lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling as he murmured to himself.

Next... he needed to find a way to grow stronger.

He already had an idea.

First, he had saved some money from working at the Circus over the past few months. Since he had started performing on stage, Moritonio had shared the earnings from every show. That part was fairly decent of him.

It was not much money, but if he spent carefully, it would be enough to support him for a while.

It was worth mentioning that Hisoka had paid for this expensive suite. Oboro had not spent a cent.

Oboro planned to spend some time first laying down a solid foundation, putting effort into his aura capacity and his control and command of aura...

Then there was his body and Chinese Martial Arts. Neither could be neglected. As the saying went, when the trunk was firm, the branches flourished. Someone else might have already used their knowledge of the Hunter world to seek connections... to further advance as a Nen user.

But Oboro did not see it that way... The foundation determined the ceiling. Only by laying a solid foundation could he grow stronger in the future without worries... rather than taking strides too large and easily pulling a muscle.

The most typical example was the young Netero, who single-mindedly pursued the ultimate path of martial arts and wholeheartedly threw ten thousand punches every day in the wilderness... Those efforts laid the groundwork for the old man's later fame and strength.

Since his talent was not outstanding, all Oboro could do was stay grounded and make the most of the advantages he already possessed...

The system and knowledge! After sleeping well, Oboro left Graham Galance early the next morning with some basic daily necessities he had bought and headed for the wild mountains.

After searching for a while, he entered alone into a mountain range resembling a primeval forest.

His hellish training began!...

Time passed unnoticed in the mountains, and years passed unnoticed in cultivation.

Following the daily training plan provided by the system, Oboro roughly divided it into three parts.

The first was tempering his body and Chinese Martial Arts, indirectly strengthening his physique and stimulating more life energy—his aura.

The second was building a solid foundation in Nen, tempering his spirit before practicing the Four Major Principles of Nen.

Focus, words, Ren, Hatsu.

Focus meant concentrating on one's heart, examining oneself, and making plans.

Words meant turning those plans into language.

Ren meant strengthening one's inner will.

Hatsu meant turning thoughts into action.

Before practicing the Four Major Principles of Nen, ordinary Nen users had to go through these steps. Only after mastering these four points could they better use Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu.

The final training course was something Oboro had added himself.

He wanted to observe the "aura" of every kind of living creature in the natural environment so that he could gain a more thorough understanding of this energy.

He also conducted some experiments based on his own understanding of Nen.

And so, day and night alternated.

At times, Oboro stood beneath sheer cliffs, madly pounding rocks with his bare fists; at other times, he sat cross-legged beneath waterfalls with violent currents... He fought wild beasts and battled fierce tigers.

When hungry, he ate wild fruit or hunted animals to roast. When thirsty, he drank spring water... He went from struggling to adapt at first to slowly becoming accustomed to that rhythm.

He slept alongside bears in caves and kept company with troops of monkeys in the forest sea... From birds and beasts to insects, snakes, rats, and ants, Oboro completely immersed himself in their environment, observing how they survived.

The smaller the creature, the weaker its aura... but it was not absent.

Moreover... the fluctuations and attributes of the aura unconsciously released by each kind of creature seemed different as well.

It was as if Oboro had pried open the door to a "brand-new world."

Half a year later, atop a mountain peak, the greatly changed Oboro stood against the wind, gazing out over the vast forest sea.

The clothes on his body had long since rotted away... Apart from a piece of animal hide wrapped around his waist, he was nearly naked.

His hair had grown to his shoulders and hung loose... He looked little different from a wild man.

His frame now seemed a size smaller than it had been half a year ago. The difference was that the muscles throughout his body displayed the texture and hue of granite. His skin was dark, containing terrifying vitality and strength.

"My body can still grow further... But... I've temporarily reached a bottleneck. I'll have to wait until my body fully matures... My aura capacity has tripled. Not bad."

"I've also mastered both Chinese Martial Arts techniques..."

"Focus, words, Ren, Hatsu... Put plainly, they enhance one's will. Only with sufficiently strong mental strength can one control aura with precision... achieving the effects of 'fine control' and 'frequency shifting'... The foundation is nearly complete. Next come Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu..."

Oboro moved his limbs, feeling the feedback from his body, and smiled faintly.

Then he leaped from the hundred-meter-high mountaintop.