Hunter Association Headquarters.
Chairman's Office.
"Seems like you don't need my help after all," a scruffy, scarf-wearing man with a desert-like aesthetic remarked with a grin.
Opposite him, Netero set down the phone and gave the man a sidelong glance.
"I never planned on involving you in the first place, Ging."
"Don't be so cold, Chairman," Ging Freecss laughed. "I was just worried about you."
Tch.
Netero scoffed and ignored him.
If Ging really cared, he'd take his responsibilities as a Zodiac seriously and actually help run the Association.
Instead of constantly disappearing on his own adventures.
"It's great to have such a talented junior in our ranks," Ging mused, his eyes gleaming with intrigue.
"Don't you dare cause trouble!"
Netero glanced at him and warned, "If you can get your own pass to the Dark Continent, I won't interfere. But you can't make a big show of it. Before I die, you can only assemble your team privately."
Ging shrugged helplessly.
He did have the idea of recruiting Aoki into his team.
But with the Chairman keeping such a close watch, he'd have to wait for now.
...
The next day.
Aoki continued his training, enjoying the Gourmet Hunter's cuisine and Miss Cookie's massages.
Frequent activation of his Genetic Lock also reduced the backlash intensity.
From the original three hours, it shortened to two and a half. (When only using [Zetsu], without relying on Miss Cookie's help.)
His life suddenly became peaceful.
But behind the scenes.
Some people were already growing extremely anxious.
...
...
NGL Autonomous Region border.
A man in a suit, smoking a cigarette, spoke into his phone.
"I'm here."
"Are we really doing this?"
"I think it's too rushed... Fine, you're the boss."
Pariston hung up the phone and shook his head helplessly.
The V5, upon hearing that Aoki was receiving training from Bisky, had panicked beyond belief.
They actually dispatched a team of thirty elite operatives, armed with firearms and grenades, intending to assassinate Aoki.
Pariston himself had been ordered to oversee the operation in person.
"Even if he's a genius in Nen abilities, so what?"
Pariston's expression was indifferent as he mused, "He needs time to grow."
"That monster Ging took six months to awaken his aura and develop his unique Nen ability."
"Aoki is even more of a freak, and with Bisky's guidance, let's say he takes just one month."
At this thought, Pariston grew even more dismissive.
Was it really necessary to send a thirty-man squad to assassinate a rookie who hadn't even mastered Nen yet?
This was bound to provoke Netero's wrath.
Retaliation was inevitable afterward.
If not for the hefty incentives offered by the V5, he wouldn't have bothered coming to supervise in person.
"Once they finish off Aoki, I'll head to the Kakin Empire. The Association's influence is weak there."
Pariston began plotting his escape route.
In his eyes, Aoki was already a dead man.
Caught off-guard against a thirty-man elite assassination squad—even a Three-Star Hunter would be lucky to escape unscathed.
Let alone a rookie?
There was no way Aoki could survive.
"Tch, I'll also have to deal with Bisky later. What a hassle." Pariston rubbed his temples in frustration.
He put on his earpiece, mounted his motorcycle, and entered the NGL Autonomous Region.
From another direction, a thirty-man elite squad drove in pickup trucks, winding through the mountain roads.
Both groups slowly closed in on Aoki's training location.
...
...
Deep in the forest.
Aoki sat on a rock, releasing his aura.
Zzzzt!
Electric currents crackled and danced around him.
In the blink of an eye, the aura transformed into a bolt of lightning, coalescing into the form of a wolf-like beast.
Szzzzzz...
The wolf was lifelike, as if it were a real creature, its jaws parting in a silent but ferocious snarl.
[ROAR!!]
No sound came out, but its killing intent was overwhelming.
Combined with the crackling electricity coursing through its body, it exuded an intimidating sharpness.
"Go scout."
At Aoki's command, the wolf-beast dissolved into lightning and shot forward like a bolt.
Its speed was blinding—like lightning itself.
No—
It was lightning!
To an outsider, it would appear as nothing more than a fleeting streak of light, darting through the trees in an instant.
"Manipulation + Transmutation + Emission + Enhancement—a Nen beast with autonomous consciousness that can also be remotely controlled..."
"It's a flawless technique."
"Just this single Nen beast alone proves your abilities are already at the level of a top-tier Nen user."
Bisky watched from the side, her face a mix of astonishment and admiration.
She had witnessed firsthand how Aoki had refined this technique day by day.
From an amorphous mass of aura, to a crude wolf-like shape, then gradually more defined, more lifelike—until finally, a complete Nen beast had taken form.
Bisky had seen it all unfold.
That was why she was so amazed.
Aoki had accomplished in five days what would take others fifty years.
"I have nothing left to teach you." Biscuit sighed. "My Nen type is Transmutation, yet I created an Emission-type Nen beast and use Enhancement for combat."
"As your teacher, I couldn't even integrate multiple Nen types."
"But you, my student, have achieved it first. The younger generation is truly formidable."
Aoki listened in disbelief, eyeing her sideways.
Had you actually taught me anything these past few days?
Aside from providing Miss Cookie's massages, you haven't been much use.
"What are you looking at? The Hunter Association's commission clearly states you hired me to teach Nen training!" Biscuit raised her chin defiantly.
Aoki conceded defeat.
Abandoning the argument, he refocused on his Nen beast to continue today's training.
Crackle... crackle...
Subtle bursts of electricity sounded within the wolf beast.
Deep streaks of inky blackness gradually appeared across its form like spreading ink.
"I must say, you're being too diligent," Biscuit remarked with mixed admiration and exasperation. "Now you're trying to incorporate Enhancement into your Nen beast too?"
"Why not throw in Conjuration while you're at it?"
"Then you'd have all five Nen types combined and become invincible."
Aoki ignored her.
He continued guiding the electrical currents within the wolf beast.
The dark coloration kept spreading across its form, intensifying the beast's lightning.
But the process was too slow.
Aoki felt something was missing—he couldn't complete the transformation in one go.
'How did the Fifth Raikage Darui create Black Lightning?'
He lowered his head in contemplation.
Lightning Release: Black Panther!
This technique, developed by the Third Raikage and inherited by the Fifth, could generate even more violent black lightning.
Unfortunately, the original Naruto series never explained exactly how it was done.
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