The Gate to Nen

The Gate to Nen Bang, bang, bang! Beneath the pitch-black night sky, deep within a dense forest.

A black figure flitted wildly between tree trunks like a ghost.

As he sprinted, he swung his arms, his steel-hard fingertips continuously tearing at the bark... leaving claw marks along the way that looked as though they had been carved by sharp blades.

Some of the smaller trees even snapped on the spot with dull cracks.

A few minutes later, the figure stopped. Silver light filtering through gaps in the shade illuminated his face.

It was Oboro.

Covered in sweat, he lowered his head to look at his slightly scratched but otherwise unharmed palms, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

Then he turned and glanced at the forest he had damaged.

"Hard work finally paid off. I've... finally gotten the hang of it..."

With that thought, he summoned the system panel and gave it a quick look.

Host: Oboro.

Age: 16.

Combat Rank: Fighter. (Can advance to: Martial Arts Fighter.)

Overall Attribute Evaluation: Ordinary human.

Skills: Iron Shirt, Vajra Finger.

Compared to his attribute values two months ago, his panel had now soared like a rocket. Yet he had not escaped the level of an ordinary human. This was obvious from both his combat rank and the system's overall evaluation, which was quite fair.

His personal attributes included strength, physique, spirit, endurance, and so on. These mainly determined the strength of his body and did not have much impact on combat power, because in Oboro's view, the setting of "combat rank" encompassed many aspects.

Besides the body, there were combat instincts, combat experience, reactions in the heat of battle, finishing moves, and more. The body was only one part of it. In particular, when it came to combat instincts, experience, and on-the-spot reactions, the top representatives in his memories were Hisoka and Chrollo, as well as Illumi and Silva of the Zoldyck family.

In other words, combat power emphasized overall ability and depended heavily on talent.

Of course, the body was the foundation of everything, because Nen power was, plainly speaking... a form of life energy.

The stronger one's flesh and blood, the stronger the Nen power one could develop.

In short, Oboro still had a long road ahead of him...

Still, for the current him, this was enough to put his mind somewhat at ease... Having reached a certain level meant he had gained the capital to stand on his own.

"Vajra Finger and Iron Shirt have both barely reached the beginner level... yet I was only rated as a Fighter. It doesn't even have the words Martial Arts attached to it..."

Closing the panel, Oboro rolled his shoulders and muttered.

By his calculations... Royal Graham's grand show was coming soon.

There was less than a month left.

That meant... he would not be able to stay with the Circus much longer. Where should he go next? "Hisoka..."

After tidying up a little, Oboro returned to the Circus grounds.

Recently, his situation in the Circus had become rather difficult as well... Because Hisoka had increasingly gained the trust of Captain Neo, everyone had grown even more disgusted with him. Since Oboro had gotten too close to Hisoka, even the members who had initially treated Oboro fairly well had begun deliberately distancing themselves from him. They no longer showed him any friendly expressions in daily life.

It could be said that... if he kept hanging around Hisoka, he would end up receiving the same treatment as him.

Although Oboro did not care about these insignificant small fry, being lumped together with Hisoka still made him uncomfortable.

"If it weren't for training Nen... I'd have dumped that lunatic ages ago!"

Oboro clicked his tongue.

The key to prying open the gate to Nen power was Captain Moritonio.

And the captain... thought highly of Hisoka.

At noon, the captain brought the three kids to downtown Garance to purchase supplies.

Recently, the girl Abachi had also become much closer to Hisoka and Oboro... occasionally chatting with them.

Oboro could tell that Abachi's change was likely related to the captain's guidance.

The streets were bustling, lined with all kinds of shops and street vendors.

Some of the architecture resembled the European-style houses Oboro was familiar with.

"That's Hundred-Face John Doe. This criminal has become quite famous recently..."

"A serial killer who has thrown the entire Yorbian Continent into panic!"

As they walked, they suddenly saw a large crowd gathered ahead, pointing at several portraits posted on a wall and talking incessantly.

After approaching, they stopped as well.

"This is..."

Standing outside the crowd, Abachi took a few looks.

"A notice from the government and several official organizations."

"I heard this guy's methods are extremely bloody. The victims were all horribly mutilated. Every one of them was crushed to death, their corpses flattened."

Whispers from the surrounding people drifted into their ears.

The wanted portrait on the wall depicted a burly man with lifeless eyes and a dull expression.

Out of the corner of his eye, Oboro subtly glanced at the kind-looking Captain Moritonio beside him... Other than him, probably no one knew that the serial killer they were discussing was right next to them!

"Hundred-Face... I think I've heard of him before."

Abachi's curiosity had been piqued. She looked at the three of them. "John Doe is an extremely common name in many places... Sometimes it even refers to a fictional person. There were many victims killed by him, and judging by the condition of the bodies and his methods, it could be determined that they were all done by the same person. But... there were reports saying that every time the murderer was caught on camera, his silhouette and build looked different... It seemed that every time he committed a crime, he had a different face, which was why he got that nickname."

"How do you know that?"

Hisoka asked with a smiling gaze.

"Several regions we visited before had wanted posters and flyers for this criminal..."

Abachi answered honestly.

"Heh."

Hisoka's lips curled upward.

Oboro glanced at Hisoka, knowing that this guy had already noticed something was wrong.

"Some people say this Doe is a makeup expert who deliberately lets himself get caught on camera to show off his skills..."

Abachi added, "I didn't expect the news to have spread all the way here."

Moritonio reached up and pinched the brim of his hat, urging them onward. "This man... is probably a neurotic trying to attract attention..."

Then the four of them slowly walked away.

"Looks like it isn't very safe here either... Don't go out at night lately. No wandering around." Moritonio said.

"Yes."

Hundred-Face!

The reason Moritonio looked different every time he killed someone was precisely because of his Nen ability... Texture Surprise, the ability Hisoka would learn in the future.

Oboro could not quite understand... Why would an old man who was a Nen user kill people...

If he was seeking thrills, challenging powerful opponents would undoubtedly be a better way to satisfy himself, wouldn't it? At the very least, he could hunt targets who were also Nen users... Killing ordinary people like this was truly beneath him.

Did he want to experience the thrill of torture and slaughter, or did he want to challenge the government's authority?

Or had Ging Freecss left him with psychological trauma during the Hunter Exam back then, twisting his entire mind?

That evening, when it was time to eat.

The troupe members had dispersed early, leaving only Hisoka and Oboro behind to dine.

They were clearly doing it on purpose, isolating the two kids.

"Because of you, I got excluded too..."

Oboro said expressionlessly as he ate a huge bowl of food.

Recently, he had been eating a great deal. His appetite was astonishing.

"Isn't that exactly what you want... No one will discover your secret..." Hisoka said with a fork between his lips, his eyes glinting slyly. "By the way... have you been playing with some new trick behind my back lately? I feel like you've gotten much stronger..."

A vein bulged on Oboro's forehead. "What does that have to do with you?"

"Of course it does. You're my only friend in the troupe."

"We're coworkers!"

Oboro corrected coldly.

"Fine, fine... Coworkers."

"You two, come over after you finish eating."

At that moment, the door was pushed open and Abachi walked in, reminding them.

"Okay."

Oboro's heart skipped a beat.

It's here!

He had a feeling that Moritonio was going to teach the two of them how to train Nen! The day he had been waiting for had finally arrived!

Still, Oboro felt somewhat nervous... He knew Hisoka would certainly learn it, but as for himself... honestly, he had no confidence in his own talent.

But with the system... he firmly believed that he could become a Nen user. If he lacked talent, it would probably just take an extremely long time.

Not everyone could master Nen... At the very least, in the entire Circus, only Abachi had succeeded.

There were generally three ways to unlock Nen power.

The first was to train through one's own efforts, opening one's aura nodes under a teacher's guidance and gradually growing through the Four Major Principles of Nen.

The second was to have a Nen user inject Nen aura into one's body as stimulation, forcibly opening the aura nodes... This was the more dangerous method.

The last was to figure it out on one's own.

Those who could master Nen power by themselves without anyone's guidance were all extraordinarily gifted... They were monsters, and such people were exceedingly rare.

After laying a foundation for his body, Oboro had not failed to try sensing the "energy within his body" and awakening his Nen aura... but he had not succeeded! As far as Oboro was concerned, he did not need any teacher, because his understanding of Nen abilities surpassed everyone else's.

He possessed every theory and related piece of knowledge concerning Nen.

This was the innate benefit of being a transmigrator!

His mind contained the development, applications, understanding, and techniques of every powerful Nen user in the current world. He even knew every setting Yoshihiro Togashi had created for the power system known as Nen.

When it came to Nen alone, in terms of academic achievement, Oboro believed... no one could compare to him.

There was no helping it... He had the old man's buff supporting him.

But... books were books. Whether they could be applied in reality was another matter entirely... At least for now, he could not awaken Nen by himself.

After quickly finishing his meal, Oboro ignored Hisoka and left directly.

"Hm?"

Hisoka was somewhat surprised. He rarely saw Oboro in such a hurry.

"Is something interesting about to happen..."