After awakening my Nen Ability, the immediate goal became clear: to train and develop this power. As I generally never leave the house unless it's for a medical appointment, my room serves as my training ground. While other children my age might be working, my new family is wealthy enough to employ multiple housekeepers, so I'm fine on that front.
By this time, my parents, the housekeepers, and my private tutor had grown accustomed to my odd behavior. They allowed me to carry on as I pleased, outside of study time and meals. For that, I am truly grateful. Of course, I never fail to give them my best family service. That means giving hugs and saying things like, "I love you, Papa!" or "Thanks, Mama!" and helping out around the house. I am careful not to look too obvious, simply building up allies within the family. Sponsors are always important, in any life.
Now, I can maintain Ten—the technique of enveloping myself in aura. Following the Hunter x Hunter system, the next steps are the so-called Four Major Principles: Ren, Zetsu, and Hatsu.
I'll start with Ren. I always begin by visualizing the cells throughout my body. I search for the pores releasing energy from each individual cell, squeezing every last bit of energy out, and imagining the powerful aura that emerges being held around me...
...!
I did it.
It was much easier than I expected. A strong aura burst forth from my whole body. It was still difficult to maintain, and it dissipated back into Ten after a while, but I managed to hold it for over ten seconds. What's puzzling is where all that energy was hiding in this weak body. Aura is life energy, isn't it? If so, I would have expected a much more pathetic amount. Perhaps it includes the energy I cultivated in my previous life?
Next is Zetsu. The image is to close all the aura pores throughout my body. I performed Ren standing up, but this time I'll use my meditation posture; Ren was exhausting. I close my eyes and focus on every single cell... I contain the energy emerging from all my cells, close the pores, and hide the aura inside.
...!
This, too, came easily.
The aura that was previously visible vanished completely, and my presence itself diminished. Why is this so simple? Ten took me over a year to master. It seems that my years of meditation, including those in my previous life, are finally paying off. I especially feel the cellular visualization technique is making the difference. The knowledge and experience from my former life are proving useful.
Speaking of which, I used to wonder how Zetsu could help with physical recovery and healing. In reality, the aura doesn't vanish; it simply circulates at the cellular level without appearing externally. Although the pores are closed, the generated energy is being utilized fully by the body. This probably enhances the body's internal repair mechanisms, accelerating recovery. It's a technique that suits my constitution perfectly.
As for the final step, Hatsu, I have an ability in mind, but I plan to develop it slowly after further foundational training. That's much better than rushing and ending up with a half-baked ability. Crucially, I also need to figure out my Nen type. Since this determines the direction of my future training, I should discover it quickly.
I retrieve a glass filled with water, place a leaf from the garden inside, and cup my hands around it. Let's try it!
Oh, the leaf is spinning around... That's it. I'm a Manipulator. Given what I have planned, I would have preferred to be an Enhancer, but this is certainly not a bad outcome. Satisfied that I knew my type, I reached to clear the glass to contemplate my future path when I noticed something odd.
The leaf's shape was wrong. Specifically, tiny portions of it were dissolving and vanishing. I tried again. The leaf spun, and though the movement was distracting, I clearly saw minute amounts of the leaf dissolving into the water!
Could this be a Specialist ability? Does that mean I'm a Manipulator-leaning Specialist? Or a Specialist-leaning Manipulator? Or perhaps I'm a rare double-type? The manipulation effect is definitely stronger, but what does it mean?
A Specialist... That's a challenging type to have. Since it's done, I have no choice but to devise the best possible ability for this type.
From then on, I simply repeated Ten, Ren, and Zetsu, adding in practice for aura manipulation and movement, such as Gyō and Ryū. It's nice that most of this can be done while sitting. To outsiders, I just look like I'm performing my usual meditation.
I must have repeated this for about a year. The aura I can contain feels much stronger. I still struggle to control Ren, but I can maintain it for up to an hour now. I seem to be terrible at detailed aura manipulation; I can maintain the aura, but the technique of containing it is what fails. This is despite being a Manipulator. Similarly, the advanced applications like Gyō and Ryū didn't work at all at first. I challenged myself for seven months, and after three continuous months, they finally started to work. I achieved a usable level in both only a month ago. Even so, immediate activation is impossible; it takes about five seconds from the moment I intend to use it until the aura actually moves. That makes them useless in combat.
Not that I intend to fight anyway. I'm doing this to reduce the risk of death; I don't want to go seeking it out.
On the other hand, my aptitude for Zetsu seems to be outstanding. I can activate it instantly, and the way my presence vanishes is incredible. Housekeepers looking for me walk right past me even when I'm in the middle of the room—I'm practically a zashiki-warashi (house spirit). I assume this is because my emotions are rarely turbulent, placing my mental state closer to that of a plant. Don't you dare say my presence is just weak.
On a different note, I never quite understood the application In in the original series, but experiencing it has given me some insight. It's likely a technique to erase the intent within the aura. Aura, which is essentially life energy, vividly reflects an individual's emotions and intentions. When you look at ordinary people, an angry person projects a rough, angry aura. Hisoka's sinister aura in the manga likely reflects his true intent. When one's intent becomes almost nonexistent, the aura becomes difficult to perceive. Hisoka, despite his terrifying aura, is also able to use In, which suggests he's not just a psychopath but a master-level practitioner.
In any case, I am now six years old. Lately, I hardly ever catch a cold, which seems to have relieved my parents. They were particularly happy because my younger brother was born a year ago, allowing them to focus their attention there.
Speaking of which, I finally figured out my family's business—or rather, my father's trade. On the surface, he runs a trading company, but behind the scenes, he's in the "Y-word business." American style, I guess that means the "M-word business." He was cagey when I asked before, but he apparently manages lottery assignments and multiple entertainment venues (meaning heavily implied). It certainly looks like that's the main gig. Plus, though my father has a friendly appearance, I've witnessed large, scary-looking men bow deeply to him and kiss the back of his hand several times. He's the Don, no doubt about it. That explains our financial security... Given that my family are immigrants, they're the equivalent of the Italian Mafia from my previous life.
Needless to say, I absolutely do not want to be the successor to that kind of business. Why would I inherit a death-risk profession when all I want is to stay alive? Fortunately, they don't expect much of me, as I am the sickly, slightly weird child who continues his odd habits, despite being the eldest son. No, wait—they do love me as a child. I mean in terms of a successor. My father once told me to do whatever I wanted in the future and that he'd support me. Then, when I said I wanted to be a Hunter, he laughed. I still don't get it.
So, when my younger brother was born, it was a win-win situation for all of us. Brother, please grow up well and become a magnificent Mafia Don. Watching him grow up healthy and strong with almost no sickness over the past year—the little pest—has been a huge relief.
But I digress. For my Hatsu, based on my types and ideas, I plan to develop two abilities.
The first is:
[Daily Health Restoration] (Manipulator-Type)
Ability: In the event of an unforeseen injury or condition, I use my aura to manipulate and restore my cells at the cellular level, bringing my body back to a healthy state.
Restrictions and Vows:
The amount of aura consumed increases according to the severity of the injury.
It must be activated manually.
It is a restoration ability, so it cannot grant superhuman regeneration.
Vow: I will never use any other Manipulator ability to manipulate another person or object.
Vow: If I exhaust my aura while using this ability, I will die.
In simple terms, it's a healing ability, or rather, a restoration ability, which is the key distinction. It's certainly powerful, even if it has no offensive capability. If I can realize it, it will be incredibly strong. I would become virtually unkillable. The fact that it restores rather than super-heals is the crucial point, making it extremely convenient. I hope I have enough memory capacity for this. I made the Restrictions and Vows quite severe, so it should be fine, but I still want to create one more ability. Still, a Vow that carries the risk of death, given my goal not to die, is questionable. That needs more discussion. For now, it's theoretical, so I'll develop it incrementally alongside my basic training.
Manipulator... Logical and laid-back.
Specialist... Individualistic.
...Given my personality, I was bound to have one of these types. Hisoka was great for devising this classification system. Due to my previous life's influence, I possess slightly stronger traits of both types. Since a true "double" type isn't possible, I fall right in the middle, which gives me a slight bonus in the learning rate for both categories.
✨ Hey Reader!
If you're enjoying this story and want to read more chapters right now, consider supporting me on Patreon.
Your support inspires me to create even better stories and reach my full potential!
👉 https://patreon.com/Writer4u
⭐10 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!