'The fun I just found can't just fly away like this...'
'This kid is really trying to piss me off~'
Maha gave in. He glared at Sean irritably, "Spit it out, what is it?"
"I want to know how to temper my body," Sean said, getting straight to the point.
Maha raised an eyebrow, quite surprised. 'The kid's not focusing on his main job~ Instead of drawing manga, he's going off to train. Isn't this putting the cart before the horse?'
The little old man could already foresee the four big words "Hiatus This Week" appearing frequently before his eyes.
He muttered reluctantly, "Do you have a heart?"
Sean frowned. What kind of question was that. "Of course I do."
"Then is your heart sincere?"
"Of course."
"No, your heart is not sincere." Maha rubbed the rocking chair, looking meaningfully at Sean. "I know a junior."
"He felt that both he and his martial arts were facing a bottleneck. After much thought, he came to one conclusion."
"That is 'gratitude'."
'Ugh... why does this sound so familiar...'
Sean perked up his ears, waiting for Maha's next words.
He heard Maha slowly recall: "In his words, it was an endless gratitude for the martial arts that nurtured him, and he wanted to do his utmost to repay it."
"So he made the decision to do ten thousand punches of gratitude every day."
"From spring to summer, from autumn to winter, the seasons turned. Every day: worship, pray, punch, day and night without stopping."
"At first, it took him a full 18 hours to complete ten thousand punches."
"After that, it got shorter and shorter."
"Until, in his 50th year, it only took him one hour to do ten thousand punches."
"On that day, he completely transformed, breaking his own shackles."
"Sean~ this is the body-tempering method Grandpa can tell you."
Sean: "..."
'What a waste of anticipation. Isn't the old man just talking about Netero in his youth?'
'Punches of gratitude... isn't that just Netero's self-created Shingen-ryu training method?'
'Using Netero as an example and calling him a "junior"... the old man is pretty shameless.'
Sean was speechless. Luckily, Maha was right about one thing—
A sincere heart!
In the world of Hunter x Hunter, the six major categories of "Nen" itself, as the foundation of training, are related to the Nen user's "personality," "heart," and "beliefs."
Just as a certain "Apple Cultivation Master" once crudely evaluated...
"Enhancers": Simple-minded, very pure.
"Transmuters": Fickle, compulsive liars.
"Emitters": Rough, impatient.
"Manipulators": Independent, argumentative.
"Conjurers": High-strung.
"Specialists": Individualistic.
Aren't these just the reflections of everyone's personality and heart?
'Looked at this way, Netero's Shingen-ryu indeed has merit.'
'As long as one holds onto a "belief" and stimulates the power of the heart, one can achieve twice the result with half the effort in training, and even integrate this power into one's fists to achieve incredible destructive effects.'
'But the key is, what is the "heart"?'
'On the surface, it's the heart organ. Everyone has one... No!'
'I have two!' Sean's expression changed abruptly. He had almost forgotten he was a reincarnator, born with two lives!
Not one life!
'So, according to the heart-reflection theory, one heart evolved the "Manga World" Specialist Nen ability. What about the other one?'
The fog in his mind roiled, directly pierced by a golden ray of sunlight. The moment Sean figured this out...
A line of text entered his mind...
[Detection: You have broken the 'self-knowledge barrier.' Favored by both Blue Star and this world, you are specially granted the "Specialist" Nen ability — "Appraisal"!]
[Detection: Nen ability conflict. Initiating fusion.]
[Report: Nen ability fusion failed. Retrying.]
[Report: Fusion failed. Retrying...]
[Report: Fusion failed.]
[Report: Fusion successful. "Sage AI" officially activated.]
[Currently recording host information.]
[Sean Zoldyck]
[Sex: Male]
[Bone Age: 10]
[Strength: 200. (Average person 10)]
[Speed: 100. (Average person 10)]
[Aura Amount: 150. (Average person 10)]
[Item: Kakashi's Sharingan (Pending Development)]
[Skill: Eight Inner Gates (Pending Cultivation)]
[Current Reader Feedback Value: 70 points.]
[Comprehensive Evaluation: E+]
A pattern of a hexagram appeared in his right eye as Sean's information was recorded.
Sean subconsciously lowered his head, pretending to adjust his clothes, but his heart was already stormy.
'As expected, I wasn't wrong. Two hearts should evolve two Nen abilities.'
'Now "Manga World" and "Appraisal" have fused into "Sage AI." It retains the function of "Manga World" and adds an anthropomorphic "Appraisal" function.'
'This will undoubtedly make my future cultivation path smoother.'
In other words... "Grandpa, you are truly a good person."
["Sage AI" startup complete. Officially in use.]
The hexagram vanished. After Sean received the panel's notification, he said this to Maha with a smile.
"Hmm??" The old man almost thought he'd misheard. 'I've lived this long, and this is the first time I've received a "good person card".'
He clicked his tongue, sizing up Sean, his expression strange.
"Hearing those words from your mouth, kid, I can't help but feel like you're insulting me."
'Haha... calling an assassin a "good person"... It's a good thing that Netero kid isn't here, or... his jaw would definitely drop...'
As if thinking of something happy, the old man rocked his chair and laughed heartily.
Sean watched him with a smile. He himself knew he was being sincere in his thanks.
'Just now, without the old man's reminder, I wouldn't have thought of the "heart," and naturally wouldn't have broken the self-knowledge barrier, allowing my Nen ability to evolve further.'
'However, just as the old man said... there's one more thing he wasn't wrong about.'
The current Hunter Association Chairman, one of the world's five strongest Nen users, humanity's strongest—Netero Isaac—was indeed the old man's junior!
Because the old man's true bone age was an astonishing... 300+ years old!
'What does that mean... I'm afraid even Ging's ancestor, Don Freecss, would only be this old if he were alive today!'
"Sage, appraise Maha Zoldyck," Sean recited silently in his heart.
[Maha Zoldyck]
[Sex: Male]
[Bone Age: 343]
[Strength: ? (Insufficient host strength, unable to view)]
[Speed: ? (Insufficient host strength, unable to view)]
[Aura Amount: ? (Insufficient host strength, unable to view)]
[Comprehensive Evaluation: ? (Insufficient host strength, unable to view)]
'In other words, the rumors weren't groundless.'
'The rumor that the old man was born in 1901 is false.'
'He might have really landed on the Dark Continent and eaten the Longevity Rice!'