A Huge Change, Continued

Chapter 44: A Huge Change × Continued

Destroying Chariot offered Kite no benefit.

On the contrary, during the fight, he discovered a flaw in how Chariot worked.

It identified enemies by temperature: the hotter something was, the higher its priority as a target.

During that process, Chariot had detonated against him because his weapon generated excessive heat after unleashing its power.

Putting all the information together, Kite began planning his escape once he determined that fighting Neferpitou to the end would mean certain death.

After making good use of the Magic Wand, his weapon switched to the Large Gun.

The heat released by its bullets became the perfect guide for Heartbreaker Attack.

It also became the best way to keep Neferpitou occupied.

During this process, Kite led Neferpitou back to the Organization Base at high speed.

The ammunition depot marked at the base on the Map thus became Kite's target.

To detonate the ammunition depot and shake off Neferpitou, Kite paid with one eye and his left leg over the course of the operation.

The ensuing explosion separated him from Neferpitou completely.

Using Zetsu under the cover of Weapon No. 8, an umbrella, Kite concealed his presence and evaded Neferpitou's subsequent search.

But the blood loss and the blast's impact also briefly knocked him unconscious.

Only when the Chairman and his two companions arrived, making Neferpitou wary enough to return to the nest, did the Whitesnake Morel controlled, formed from smoke, find Kite hiding there, still alive.

In the process, however, the three of them also experienced Neferpitou's terrifying presence up close, an overwhelming force so powerful it made them feel sick.

"Oh, right, Killua. Knov asked me to pass along a message. Your judgment was partly correct. He admits you're no ordinary kid, but you're still too weak."

Joey mulled over those words, feeling that they hardly sounded like something a man frightened into losing his will to fight would say.

It seemed that saving Pokkle, inadvertently giving Kite the Map, and severing his hand to release Sheer Heart Attack had all brought enormous changes to the Chimera Ant incident.

Kite had survived, and Knov might not have been frightened into going bald.

That made sense. The terrifying, oppressive atmosphere built up in the manga was gone, and he had encountered Neferpitou alongside the Chairman and Morel.

Neferpitou might have been strong, but the Chairman was certainly no weakling.

With the Chairman backing him up, why would Knov go bald?

Besides, if Joey really could create "Gold Experience," he and Kite, master and student united in misfortune, could both be made whole again and return to NGL.

Then Gon probably wouldn't go down that dark path, either!

And would Killua still remember that he had a younger sister named Alluka?

Would he even pull out the needle his older brother Illumi had embedded in his brain?

Without the Chimera Ant Kite had become, would those Chimera Ants loyal to the Queen still choose to submit to humanity?

Question after question surfaced in Joey's mind, but he did not regret a single decision he had made along the way.

The truck stopped in front of the house. On the way, Kite had also learned from Joey about the ability he was developing.

Like a proper mentor, he offered advice drawn from his own experience.

"Unless you absolutely need to draw on the power of vows, try not to touch it. It may make you stronger very quickly, but it can also make you lose yourself in that power.

"More importantly, limitations can sometimes become your weaknesses. And what you have to pay for a vow may far exceed what you anticipated when you made that decision, making the price much harder to accept."

Joey nodded firmly. "I understand. I'll take it step by step, even if it takes more time."

There was another point Kite had not mentioned, but Joey had gradually come to understand it since learning Nen.

The stronger the vows and limitations, the more restrictive the resulting ability would be.

Anyone hoping to become powerful solely through the "shortcut" of vows and limitations would, barring some exceptional opportunity, most likely stray down the wrong path and drift ever farther from true strength.

Of course, Joey silently excluded Kurapika, even though his vows and limitations had brought him quite a few drawbacks and weaknesses.

There was no denying that once his eyes turned scarlet, Kurapika could display tremendous strength even without using the abilities of his middle finger and little finger.

As for Gon, the other cautionary example of vows and limitations, there was little need to elaborate. Without Gon's monstrous talent, even someone who established the same vows and limitations would pose no threat to Neferpitou.

Ultimately, it came down to Gon's extraordinary innate talent!

And even then, without Nanika, Gon would have been done for in the end.

So unless it was absolutely necessary, the power of vows and limitations had to be approached with the utmost caution.

Besides, Joey genuinely had no need for that power.

While Kite recovered, the group settled back into their daily training routine.

The only difference was that, a few days later, Gon and Killua could already maintain Ren for three hours, and Biscuit sent them off to begin challenging Knuckle.

Meanwhile, after turning the Wallet back into a tattoo on the back of his hand once again, Joey finally succeeded in using Specialization Nen to turn a button into a scarab beetle.

The fluttering scarab was indistinguishable from a living creature, leaving Joey thrilled.

Through his incredibly powerful determination to restore his severed hand and his tireless efforts, his Specialization ability was finally beginning to take shape.

This was also one of the advantages of Specialization Nen: once its direction of development was established, an ability could be mastered faster than those of other categories!

The days passed at this steady, orderly pace.

On the tenth day of training, Joey discovered that his potential aura reserves had grown tremendously.

The improvement far exceeded what normal training should have produced.

After careful analysis, investigation, and comparison, Joey understood why.

It all came down to the Nen the Wallet infused into his body. That life force had not only allowed him to develop Gold Experience, but was also constantly nourishing his body and steadily increasing his potential aura reserves.

Although each increase was small, the gradual accumulation added up.

Now he understood why Yoshikage Kira had gone five years without training, yet Joey had still possessed a decent foundation of potential aura reserves as soon as he awakened his Nen.

It was all because of the Wallet!

But the thought that Yoshikage Kira had not kept the Wallet on his person despite its benefits made Joey more wary.

In fact, the more benefits the Wallet revealed, the more apprehensive he became about it.

Still, he would not let that stop his progress.

After successfully bestowing life once, Joey began trying to create larger living creatures.

Frogs, kittens, puppies, lions, tigers, and even elephants.

The larger the creature he created, the greater the drain on Joey, and every creature he created was one he already knew.

That did not include humans, though it did include human organs and body parts.

But when he tried to construct a human, something essential seemed to be missing.

The humans he constructed seemed more like animals that merely had a human appearance.

It was then that Joey realized the life he created with "Gold Experience" was actually more like objects he had given intelligence and reshaped.

Both the behavioral patterns and everyday movements of these transformed creatures were tied to Joey's subconscious memories and understanding of the creatures in question.

Gold Experience!

More precisely, perhaps it was an ability that let inanimate objects experience what it felt like to be alive!

According to Kite's analysis, Joey's ability was more like a combination of Transmutation and Manipulation.

The only addition was life force, which made the creatures he created more adaptable and gave them more unusual abilities.

But all of that was secondary to Joey. From the very beginning, what he had wanted to make most was simply human body parts.

So after testing the ability and confirming that it worked without any issues, he endured the pain and used a knife to cut away the well-healed flesh at his left wrist as everyone watched.

As blood splashed, Joey used "Gold Experience" on the drinking cup he had prepared.

Before everyone's eyes, the cup took on the form of his left hand as Joey remembered it.

Excitement and anticipation flashed in Joey's eyes as he pressed the detached hand against the wound at his wrist.