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Chapter 459: Mastering Nen in Ten Seconds
Reis pointed at the remains on the ground. "They are frantically devouring humans. I was ordered here to investigate. I never expected these monsters' strength to far exceed the intelligence estimates."
Reis offered a bitter smile. "My 'Nen' wasn't nearly enough against them."
Dragon caught a new term. "Nen? What is that?"
Reis looked at Dragon, confirming that these three people truly knew nothing about the common sense of this world. "How did you defeat those monsters without even knowing what Nen is?"
Reis choked on his words. He sighed, deciding to give these three saviors a quick lesson.
"Nen is the life energy that exists within all living beings. It is commonly referred to as aura (Qi). Ordinary people cannot control this energy; their aura constantly flows out of the aura nodes in their bodies. But those who have mastered Nen abilities can freely control these nodes."
Reis extended his right hand. A faint white fluctuation of energy appeared on his palm.
Dragon's Rinnegan contracted slightly. He clearly saw the flow of that energy. It was very similar to Haki, but there was a fundamental difference. Haki leaned more towards the combination of willpower and the physical body, whereas this energy called Nen was much more refined and versatile.
"The foundation of controlling Nen is known as the Four Major Principles," Reis continued explaining. "Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu. Ten is keeping the aura within the body, strengthening the flesh and slowing down aging."
The white light on Reis's hand stabilized.
"Zetsu is closing the aura nodes, hiding one's presence. It's used to eliminate fatigue or for stealth."
The white light vanished. Reis completely blended into the surrounding environment.
"Ren is releasing more aura than usual." A powerful aura erupted from Reis, causing the surrounding weeds to sway wildly.
"Finally, Hatsu. This is the free manipulation and application of aura. Based on one's innate disposition, Hatsu is divided into six major categories: Enhancement, Emission, Transmutation, Manipulation, Conjuration, and Specialization. These six categories form the core combat system of this world."
Reis finished his explanation in one breath. He had expected these three to show shocked expressions. Instead, Dragon merely nodded thoughtfully. Kuma didn't even change his expression. Ivankov rubbed his chin with great interest.
"The application of life energy, huh." Dragon raised his right hand. Armament Haki coated his fist, with black Ryuo flowing across the surface. "This shares some similarities with our Haki."
Dragon turned to Kuma. "Haki is the combination of spiritual power and physical stamina. Nen is pure life energy. If we can fuse these two forces... using 'Ten' to lock down the leakage of Haki, and 'Ren' to exponentially amplify the output of Haki..."
Kuma understood Dragon's meaning. "The upper limit of Haki would be broken. Even Devil Fruit Awakenings require immense life force to sustain. Mastering Nen is equivalent to possessing an endless foundation."
Reis couldn't understand what they were talking about. What Haki? What Devil Fruits? But he could sense that these three were discussing something extremely terrifying.
Dragon looked at Reis. "Teach us."
Reis was stunned. "Teach you what?"
"Nen." Dragon's tone left no room for refusal. "Open the aura nodes on our bodies."
Reis swallowed hard. "Forcibly opening the aura nodes is extremely dangerous. If you don't master 'Ten' in time, your life energy will drain completely in a very short time. You will die."
Ivankov laughed. "Vee-haw! Just do it. We've even seen hell itself; why would we be afraid of opening a few holes?"
Reis looked at these three madmen. He knew he had no right to refuse, and they had saved his life. "Alright."
Reis stood up and walked over to Dragon. "Are you ready?"
Dragon nodded.
Reis took a deep breath, gathering the little remaining Nen in his body into his right hand. "Hatsu!"
He struck Dragon's chest with his palm. A strange energy forcefully surged into Dragon's body.
Dragon felt something within his body break open, like a closed dam being blown apart. Immense life energy gushed out from all 108,000 pores on his body like a breached flood. A visible white aura enveloped Dragon completely.
Reis was pushed back repeatedly by the sheer volume of aura. His eyes widened. "This... how is this possible! This level of aura! He's more of a monster than the monsters themselves!"
Dragon closed his eyes. He felt the life energy rapidly draining from his body, but there was no panic. He recalled the 'Ten' technique Reis had just demonstrated.
Guiding it with his will. Binding it with Haki.
The initially wild, leaking white aura slowly began to calm down. It stopped expanding outward, instead clinging tightly to the surface of Dragon's skin, forming a flowing coat of energy.
Reis was completely dumbfounded. "Less than ten seconds. He actually mastered 'Ten' in less than ten seconds! Just what level of talent is this?!"
Dragon opened his eyes. His purple Rinnegan looked even more profound against the backdrop of the white aura. He clenched his fist. Power. An unprecedented sense of fulfillment. This was a completely different power from Devil Fruits and Chakra. This was a treasure purely belonging to the physical body itself.
"So this is Nen." Dragon's voice was calm, but Reis could hear the storm brewing within it.
Kuma stepped forward. "My turn."
Ivankov also leaned in. "This Queen also wants to experience this wondrous energy!"
Reis numbly raised his hand. Today, he had truly witnessed what real monsters were. Compared to these three, the Chimera Ants didn't seem so scary anymore.
A few minutes later, Kuma and Ivankov had also successfully mastered 'Ten'.
Kuma's aura volume was equally astonishing. A white aura formed a materialized defensive layer outside his over-two-meter-tall body. Paired with his Paw-Paw Fruit, Kuma was now an impenetrable mobile fortress.
Ivankov's aura volume was slightly smaller, but his aura was highly active. The pink aura constantly changed shape around him, clearly undergoing some bizarre chemical reaction with his Hormone-Hormone Fruit.
Feeling the endless energy within his body, Dragon looked toward the deepest part of the forest. "Blake was right. The value of this dungeon far exceeds ten million Beri. Let's go. Let's go meet this so-called Ant King."
Dragon set off. This time, every step he took felt incomparably steady. The gravity of the entire forest seemed under his control.
Watching the backs of the three departing men, Reis had a strong premonition. The disaster in the NGL Autonomous Region might end in a way no one could have ever predicted. These three visitors from an unknown world... were the true natural disasters.
Reis gritted his teeth and dragged his broken body after them. He had to witness this with his own eyes.
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At the same time, deep within the ant nest.
Neferpitou sat atop a high stone pillar. Her ruby-like cat eyes stared in the direction of the forest.
"Meow~ What massive life energy. And there are three of them." Her cat tail excitedly slapped against the stone pillar, producing sharp cracking sounds.
"This is really making my blood boil. I hope you can play with me for a bit longer. Don't break too quickly~"
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