After explaining the training plan to the two of them and setting a time for inspection, Luo Ning left their vicinity. He had his own cultivation to attend to. Upon unlocking the permissions for A-rank Ninjutsu, Luo Ning found a technique perfectly suited to assist his training:
[EARTH STYLE: ADDED-WEIGHT ROCK JUTSU]
This ninjutsu, capable of creating earth to suppress opponents and deal massive damage, explicitly stated in its description that it could increase a target's weight by twenty to fifty times its base weight. Its area of effect could cover a circular area up to ten meters in diameter, and the duration was directly proportional to the caster's chakra. In other words, the more chakra released, the longer the weighted effect would last.
Luo Ning's plan was to use a Shadow Clone to cast the Added-Weight Rock Jutsu on himself, creating an extreme training environment. Within this environment, he would practice using the same methods as Kurapika and Pairo. The most critical step was perfectly controlling the jutsu so it would assist his training without causing physical injury. Furthermore, this process provided a perfect opportunity for Luo Ning to refine his precise control over his own energy. It was killing several birds with one stone.
First, he needed to reduce the chakra output during the casting. Completing the hand signs, the ground in front of him immediately caved in under the influence of the Added-Weight Rock Jutsu. He maintained the seal, lowering the chakra flow, and the potency of the effect began to diminish accordingly. Everything went smoother than Luo Ning had anticipated.
Once he familiarized himself with the sensation, he used a Shadow Clone to perform the jutsu. When the chakra output stabilized, he slowly transferred the effect onto his main body. Earth, transformed by chakra nature, began to cover Luo Ning's body like a layer of incredibly heavy armor. At this moment, Luo Ning did not activate his Sharingan; instead, he maintained the state of Ken.
With Luo Ning's current strength, he could maintain Ken for over forty minutes. This was partly due to his refined control over Nen and partly due to the increase in his total aura capacity. However, while using a Shadow Clone, he could only maintain this intense training for twenty minutes. The extreme weight brought by the Added-Weight Rock Jutsu felt heavy even while maintaining Ken. He struggled to lift his arm to grasp the shovel; Nen spread across the tool, and with a single strike, the mountain rock was sliced as easily as tofu.
Ten minutes later, Luo Ning was drenched in sweat. But he persisted. The Shadow Clone followed closely behind him, keeping its distance. Twenty minutes was Luo Ning's limit, yet he pushed through until his main body's last shred of Nen was exhausted. Only then did he sit panting in the newly excavated cave. Though he was soaked in sweat, he felt an indescribable sense of invigoration.
Luo Ning finally had some thoughts regarding his Hatsu.
The Enhancer class was the most suitable for combat among the six categories, yet Luo Ning had always thought of using it as a support system. In a way, this was putting the cart before the horse. While a key factor was that he possessed the abilities of a ninja—specifically a ninja with the Sharingan—discarding the inherent advantages of the Enhancer class and letting it become a mere backdrop for his Sharingan state left him feeling somewhat unsatisfied. After all, this was the world of Hunter x Hunter, not Naruto.
Furthermore, the room for growth in the Enhancer class was not small. If trained to the extreme, its explosive power could rival that of Ninjutsu. Whether it was Nen or Ninjutsu, both were performed by Luo Ning, and the total amount of energy in his body remained constant. What could change was the amount of chakra released for a jutsu or the amount of aura erupted for an ability, and these quantities would determine their respective strength.
Currently, the ninjutsu Luo Ning performed mainly revolved around the five basic nature transformations. These five attributes—Wind, Lightning, Water, Fire, and Earth—could all be categorized under the Transmutation class in Nen terms. Luo Ning's Sharingan state was a type of Specialization ability, so it had to follow the basic principles of Nen; as a Specialist, he could not perfectly utilize Transmutation abilities.
This meant that, using the same amount of energy, an Enhancer ability performed with Nen would be at least twenty percent stronger than a Transmutation ability performed while in the Specialist Sharingan state. Luo Ning's calculation method was sound, as this was information provided by Morena in the manga. Specialists do not face barriers when training in other categories. This was why many people who were unsure if they were Specialists would master other categories first, only to regret it upon discovering their true nature.
However, Luo Ning was certain his Sharingan state was Specialization. The ninjutsu he performed in that state were actually high-level skills executed by mastering multiple systems simultaneously. Just as Morena's Contagion was an ability developed by combining five highly mastered systems, Luo Ning's abilities needed to evolve and upgrade step by step.
Regardless, when Luo Ning used chakra, the destructive power of the resulting ninjutsu—given the same energy expenditure—would not exceed the power of an Enhancer punch. The different forms might make the results difficult to distinguish, but if applied to a similar power-delivery method—such as an Enhancer punch versus a chakra-enhanced Cherry Blossom Impact—the Enhancer punch would be stronger for the same amount of energy.
There were exceptions, of course, such as the mysterious middle ground where he fused his two powers to unleash even greater strength. But he set that aside for now. Based on the summary above, Luo Ning realized that his Enhancer abilities didn't have to be support; they could be his trump card.
When the blackened Gon used a charged Jajanken, he could take out Neferpitou, one of the Ant King's Royal Guards, in a single blow. Uvogin's goal was to make his Big Bang Impact as powerful as an atomic bomb. Netero was slightly different; he enhanced extreme speed rather than extreme destructive force. The speed of the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva was simply inconceivable, though its destructive power was slightly inferior to its speed advantage—at least in terms of presentation. Even his final move, Zero Hand, was not the ultimate expression of the Enhancer class itself but rather an emission of energy characteristic of the Emitter class.
Luo Ning's goal was the same as Uvogin's and Gon's: to push his attack power to the absolute extreme. While Manipulators, Conjurers, and Specialists were still playing mind games and calculating rules against him, he only needed to catch them and land a single hit to end the battle. To Luo Ning, that was what an Enhancer should be. In this process, strengthening himself also meant improving his aura capacity and physical constitution. One could say that the cultivation of an Enhancer was just that simple and unadorned.
As for the issue of aura capacity he had considered before, after some thought, Luo Ning decided to leave that to the S-rank ninjutsu: Strength of a Hundred Seal.
[Support the story with Reviews, Power Stones, and Comments—they mean a lot and keep me going! 30+ chapters waiting on patreon.com/elite_reads]
