Guidance x Chrollo x Two Choices

"There's something wrong with the way you're using Zetsu."

A voice suddenly sounded beside Jiang Ye's ear.

The moment he heard it, the hairs all over his body stood on end, and his pupils contracted.

He sprang to his feet and kicked backward with his right foot, turning into a shadow that skimmed dozens of meters across the ground.

Once he had put some distance between them, he crouched in the shadow of a scrap heap, arms crossed protectively over his chest, and watched the spot where he had been.

"Who's there?"

His voice was calm and demanding, but it couldn't hide the pounding of his heart.

To get so close without Jiang Ye noticing, the other person had to have mastered Zetsu to its limits, or perhaps even possessed a more advanced concealment technique.

By the standards of power in the Hunter x Hunter world, someone like that was definitely no minor figure.

He held his breath and focused, fixing his eyes on the figure.

The other person hadn't pursued him, nor was there any sign that he intended to attack.

He simply stood where he was, hands in the pockets of his long black leather coat. The white fur at its collar and cuffs stood out in the dim light.

Jiang Ye got a clear look at him.

His hair was slicked back, his skin pale, and his gray-black eyes were as cold and calm as ice in the darkness.

A purple inverted cross tattooed in the middle of his forehead stood out sharply on his lean face. Two silver ball earrings hung from his ears, swaying slightly as he moved.

At the sight, Jiang Ye's brain was like someone had slammed the freeze button.

He recognized the outfit.

The black leather coat, the inverted cross on its back, the purple tattoo, the silver earrings.

Those distinctive features unmistakably proclaimed his identity.

The leader of the Phantom Troupe, Chrollo Lucilfer!

One of the most dangerous, cunning and unpredictable men in the world of Hunter x Hunter.

A top-tier Nen user from Meteor City, the spider head at the center of the web.

Jiang Ye's expression remained unchanged, but inside, he was on full alert.

"Who are you?"

He demanded warily, his tone giving nothing away.

Chrollo looked at him as he faced a formidable enemy. His expression barely changed as he answered evenly.

"Someone else who grew up in Meteor City."

"Plenty of people were born in Meteor City."

Jiang Ye kept his breathing restrained, his voice still tense.

"What do you want?"

Chrollo didn't rush to answer.

He found a reasonably flat sheet of scrap metal across from Jiang Ye and sat down, folding his hands on his knees as naturally as if he were in his own living room.

His gray-black eyes studied Jiang Ye with interest, from head to toe, from his gaze to his breathing, as though reading the title page of a book.

"You've awakened a Nen Ability."

Chrollo spoke directly.

Jiang Ye didn't deny it.

"But you only just awakened it. Your Aura Nodes opened naturally, without anyone guiding you."

Chrollo continued.

"You've grasped the concept of Zetsu, but your grasp of the details is crude."

"When you used it just now, you didn't close your Aura Nodes in one smooth motion."

"There were still gaps in your Aura Nodes that weren't sealed, and your aura was leaking out like a valve that hadn't been tightened."

He paused, then continued.

"Given who you are, you shouldn't know Zetsu even if you have awakened a Nen Ability."

"Without a master to teach you personally, working out even the basics on your own takes rare talent."

"But your body's foundation is too poor, and your grasp of Nen's fundamentals is too weak. Forcing yourself to use Zetsu to recover aura is more dangerous than you imagine."

"Before your aura is fully restored, your unstable control over your Aura Nodes will cause it to leak out and attract nearby experts."

The amount of information in those words set Jiang Ye's mind racing.

Everything Chrollo had said was correct, but that assessment was essentially a probe.

Chrollo wanted to know whether Jiang Ye had another force behind him and where he had learned his Nen Ability.

He couldn't let Chrollo notice anything amiss, and he absolutely couldn't show any sign that he recognized him.

A drifter who had lived in Meteor City for twelve years couldn't possibly know what the leader of the Phantom Troupe looked like.

"I worked it out myself."

Jiang Ye gave his answer in a steady voice, looking Chrollo straight in the eye.

"Back then, I sensed that if I didn't lock it in, I would die."

He wasn't lying. He really had worked it out himself.

If he had to name a teacher, it could only be that old bastard Togashi.

Chrollo watched him for a few seconds, then nodded. There was no telling whether he believed him.

"You figured it out bit by bit?"

"That's right."

Jiang Ye answered at once.

Chrollo didn't press the issue and changed the subject instead.

"There's a mistake in your Zetsu."

"Fix it, and you can recover thirty percent faster."

As he spoke, he extended his right hand and traced several paths through the air with his index finger to show the flow of aura.

"Don't force your Aura Nodes shut from the outside in. Let them close naturally from the inside out."

"Imagine each Aura Node is a door. Pull it closed from inside, rather than pushing it shut from outside."

"A door pushed shut has gaps. Only one pulled closed seals tightly."

Jiang Ye was stunned.

He really hadn't expected Chrollo to teach him.

The leader of the Phantom Troupe, a man known in the world of Hunter x Hunter for plunder, scheming and ruthlessness, was sitting in the middle of a heap of scrap and garbage, personally correcting Jiang Ye's mistakes in using Zetsu.

"You're... teaching me?"

Jiang Ye hesitated for a moment.

But he didn't waste the opportunity. He immediately used Zetsu again, following Chrollo's instructions.

The next second, the sensation of his Aura Nodes closing changed.

Before, it had felt like forcibly twisting a bottle cap shut, with aura still seeping through tiny gaps.

Now, following Chrollo's instructions and pulling them closed from the inside out, those gaps really did disappear. His Aura Nodes were like fully tightened valves, not letting a trace of aura escape.

The rate at which his body generated aura visibly increased.

If his recovery before had been water trickling out, now it was a flowing stream.

Jiang Ye opened his eyes and gave Chrollo a complicated look.

Chrollo remained expressionless, though a nearly imperceptible hint of satisfaction lay deep in his eyes.

"Good."

Chrollo nodded slightly.

"You learn quickly."

Then, paying no attention to Jiang Ye's strange look, he continued.

How to adjust the thickness of Ten's aura membrane according to the demands of battle.

How coordinating Zetsu with the rhythm of one's breathing while sneaking could produce an effect similar to "In."

When to release Ren's explosive power and how to keep it from overloading the body.

Hatsu was the final result of the Four Major Principles; forcing its development with an unstable foundation would lock its potential in place.

He spent more than ten minutes explaining a series of points about the Four Major Principles.

Every sentence was precise, concise and struck at the heart of the matter.

Jiang Ye committed it all to memory.

He had seen these things in various reference materials and manga in his previous life, but those had all been theory.

Chrollo was sharing experience honed in actual combat, suited to the logic of Meteor City's environment. It was far, far better than a textbook.

When he finished, Chrollo fell silent and turned his head to look at Jiang Ye.

Jiang Ye was silent for a few seconds, then asked the question that had been on his mind.

"Why are you teaching me?"

Chrollo didn't answer immediately.

The night wind blew over the iron frames above the junkyard, making a low, mournful sound.

He lowered his head, his gaze falling on Jiang Ye's elongated shadow on the ground.

After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke.

"Because we're the same kind."

Jiang Ye's heart jolted.

The same kind?

Chrollo says I'm the same kind as him?

The Chrollo he remembered was a thorough predator, a man so calm he was almost cold-blooded.

He would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, disregard conventional morality and treat lives as worthless.

He shouldn't have such an opinion of anyone, much less use a term like "the same kind," with its implication of empathy.

"I don't understand."

Jiang Ye shook his head.

Chrollo raised his eyes to him, his voice low and steady.

"There are two kinds of people born in Meteor City."

"One kind lives. The other lives and knows why they're alive."

"You're the second kind."

He stood up, the hem of his black coat sweeping over the iron scraps on the ground.

"How long have you lived in Meteor City?"

"I've been here since I was born."

Jiang Ye answered truthfully.

Chrollo nodded slightly.

He walked over and stopped three or five paces in front of Jiang Ye, looking down at the twelve-year-old boy.

There was no change of expression on his pale face, but his words were especially clear.

"I'll give you two choices."

Jiang Ye's eyelid twitched, and he immediately had a guess.

"First."

Chrollo extended the index finger of his left hand.

"Stay in Meteor City."

"It's big enough and chaotic enough. As long as you're careful to stay hidden and don't attract the attention of other Nen users, you can live a long time."

With that, he withdrew his left hand and raised his right.

"Second."

"Come with me."

"Leave Meteor City and go out into the world, somewhere with people, resources and prey."

"Plunder, fight and kill, and seize everything you need: food, weapons, intelligence and combat experience."

He lowered his hand, his deep eyes watching Jiang Ye quietly.

"Choose one."