Mental strength and life energy

Kite had no intention of teaching Joey step by step. That was partly because of their current location and timing, but he had his own reasons as well.

Joey understood that, so he had no objections to Kite's suggestion. He also knew perfectly well that Kite was not his teacher.

He already considered himself lucky that Kite was willing to help him awaken Nen!

If he wanted to advance in his Nen training, Joey knew that, for now, he would mostly have to rely on his own memories.

Perhaps he would find other opportunities if he actually managed to leave NGL, but right now, just as Kite had said, the most important thing was learning to use Nen to run faster.

"The fundamentals of Nen Abilities can be divided into the Four Major Principles: Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu.

"Ten is the most basic. It stabilizes the aura flowing throughout your body. In that state, your speed should receive a certain boost, which should be enough for what we're about to do.

"But with your half-baked Ten, even setting aside whether you can maintain it at all times, the drain on your stamina alone will be more than you can handle.

"That doesn't even account for using your Nen Beast's ability during that time, so your best option is to master Zetsu as soon as possible.

"That means drawing all your aura back into your body. This state not only speeds up your recovery, but also makes your presence less noticeable. It's a basic ability you must master for this operation.

"And once you've mastered Zetsu, you can use Nen by opening only the Aura Nodes in your legs, which will let you keep running longer.

"If you can also learn to release a burst of aura-Ren-you'll even have a chance to sprint away in a crisis.

"Of course, all of that depends on having a strong physique, decent talent, and mental strength."

Kite delivered a lengthy explanation in one breath, but he had made all the abilities Joey needed to master in the short term perfectly clear.

As for Hatsu, the last of the Four Major Principles, Kite did not explain it.

But Joey knew that he could only begin training Hatsu after firmly mastering the fundamentals of Nen Abilities.

In that process, Joey would first have to determine his category-the area in which he excelled.

Only then could he combine what he wanted with his personality, habits, upbringing, and various other factors to create a finishing move best suited to him.

Joey also remembered the matter of categories quite clearly.

In the manga, the founder of Shingen-ryu martial arts had developed a diagnostic method.

A leaf was placed on a glass of clear water, and the Nen user channeled Nen into the glass. The resulting changes in the water and leaf revealed the user's particular aptitude.

This diagnostic method was called Water Divination, and Nen was divided into six major categories based on the different reactions of the water and leaf during the test.

They were Enhancement, Emission, Transmutation, Manipulation, Conjuration, and Specialization.

Joey had no opportunity to test himself, so naturally, he had no way of determining which area he excelled in.

Still, he was in no hurry. He understood the danger of biting off more than he could chew.

So after listening to Kite's analysis, he immediately asked about training Zetsu.

In truth, starting on Zetsu right away posed an enormous challenge for Joey.

After all, he had only just learned Ten, which involved basic control of aura with his Aura Nodes fully open.

Learning to close his Aura Nodes completely and restrict the release of aura under those circumstances meant training in the exact opposite direction. It would naturally be no easy task.

But Joey believed Kite must have noticed something. Otherwise, he would not have been so certain that Joey could quickly master Zetsu.

Especially given his final mention of physique, talent, and mental strength.

Joey's physique was average, and his talent was uncertain, but he could confidently say that his mental strength was exceptional.

Yet while physique was easy to assess, what had made Kite decide that he stood out in either talent or mental strength?

And his intuition told him that Kite had judged his mental strength to be exceptional!

"Starting with your extremities will help you get a feel for Zetsu faster. You still have time to try.

"Don't rush. Even a highly talented Nen user can't master the knack of maintaining Zetsu for long periods in a short time."

Kite readily shared his own experience.

"You'll ride a horse and keep practicing Zetsu in a moment. The time we spend escorting the translator and the others back will be your training time. On the return trip, I hope you'll be able to keep up with us."

Hearing Kite's arrangement, Joey wanted to shout, Training while bouncing around on horseback? How did you come up with something so hellish?

But then he reconsidered. If he did not leave on horseback, was he supposed to stay in the village alone?

Suddenly, Joey found every one of those horses rather handsome.

Killua and Gon had brought back four people and five horses in total. A young man with an afro and a short boy shared one horse. Both were Kite's companions.

Although neither had managed to earn a Hunter License, they were still elite amateur Hunters.

The other two were a scruffy, middle-aged man and a rather sweet-looking girl.

They each rode a horse and were dressed as locals. Officially, they were translators, but everyone understood that they were there to keep watch over the group.

Without much discussion, Kite briefly explained the current situation, then assigned a horse for Ponzu and Joey to share.

Ponzu's job along the way was to keep Joey from falling off.

Gon and Pokkle shared the last remaining horse, with Pokkle standing behind Gon to keep watch over their surroundings.

His Seven-Colored Bow was well suited to taking out any Chimera Ants that appeared before they got close.

Joey naturally had no complaints. He obediently climbed onto the horse, closed his eyes, and began carefully sensing his own Nen.

Kite and Killua would run alongside the group to provide support.

Once Ponzu had mounted and made sure Joey would not fall off, the group set off toward the border at a swift pace.

Joey could distinctly feel Ponzu behind him, but he had no time to dwell on anything romantic. All his attention was focused on sensing his Aura Nodes and controlling them so they would close.

His survival in the days ahead depended on it.

To Joey's surprise, however, while his concentrated efforts had not taught him how to close his Aura Nodes, he discovered that his control over aura was improving at an almost visibly measurable rate.

Recalling Kite's earlier words, Joey immediately reached a conclusion.

It was mental strength!

Joey already had an adult's soul. After crossing over, he had also devoured another adult soul and part of his original host's weakened soul, making his own soul far stronger than an ordinary person's.

And the soul corresponded to mental strength!

Mental strength, in turn, was closely connected to life energy. With his extraordinary mental strength, Joey naturally possessed greater control over his own life energy.

As he gradually explored the connection between mental strength and life energy, he even discovered that the aura Wallet continuously supplied to him really did contain a strand of life energy brimming with extraordinary vitality.

Joey abruptly opened his eyes and spread his hand. A wisp of emerald-green life energy flashed across his palm before sinking back into his body.

During that process, Joey suddenly seemed to grasp something.

He seized on that sensation and, thinking of the way that special strand of life energy had been drawn back into his body, pulled back his own life energy from his hand.

"That's the feeling."

Kite seemed to be watching Joey's progress constantly as he ran. Seeing that not a trace of aura was escaping from Joey's palm, he narrowed his eyes slightly.