"That old man... he's actually got a big heart."
Yuu watched the Captain disappear into the cabin, a faint smile playing on his lips.
He knew the Captain was heading inside to evaluate Hisoka next. Since that was none of his business, Yuu decided to give them space.
He turned and walked down the corridor, stepping out onto the deck which was already slick with sea spray.
Dawn was breaking.
Feeling the cold ocean breeze on his face, Yuu looked ahead. In the distance, a dark silhouette of an island was growing larger by the minute.
That had to be their destination: Dole Island.
Yuu leaned against the railing at the bow. He could feel that the "Nen" circulating in his body was much more abundant than before.
It's probably because I slept, he guessed. My body rested, so my energy reserves topped up.
Nen, after all, was directly tied to physical and mental vitality.
But more than his energy levels...
Yuu was still thinking about what the Captain had said earlier.
"The Kurta Clan massacre..."
Yuu muttered the words to himself, his mind working. If I remember right... that was almost certainly the work of the Phantom Troupe.
In the original story, all the evidence pointed to the Spiders. I don't know their specific motive, but the result was a brutal, one-sided slaughter.
Yuu stood in silence for a long moment before whispering, "Scum of the earth."
It was rare for Yuu to feel genuine disgust or revulsion.
He wasn't angry, exactly. Without having lived through it, he couldn't possibly share the visceral rage of a survivor like Kurapika.
But out of basic respect for life, he closed his eyes and offered a few seconds of silence for the dead.
Yuu considered himself a fairly gentle person. He was willing to be humble and respectful toward good-natured people like the old Captain.
But if he ran into people who trampled on life—like the Phantom Troupe, or the various serial killers that seemed to infest the Hunter world—he wouldn't hesitate.
Letting people like that go just meant more innocent people would die.
Why not do the world a favor and earn some good karma while he was at it?
Of course... the key phrase there was "do the world a favor."
If he ran into someone too dangerous to handle, Yuu wasn't going to throw his life away in a death match just for justice.
"When you get right down to it, this train of thought just confirms one thing..."
"At the end of the day, firepower is the only law that matters."
"Instead of worrying about things I can't change yet, I should use this time to train."
Having settled his mind, Yuu closed his eyes again.
He focused on the energy flowing around him, deciding to use the last few minutes before arrival to practice one of the Four Major Principles of Nen.
"Ten" (Envelop).
This was the technique of shrouding the body in aura and preventing it from leaking away.
Mastering Ten made the body tougher and kept you looking young. It also focused the mind, stabilized emotions, and shielded the user from external influence.
It was the foundation of becoming a Nen user—the critical first step.
Focusing his mind, Yuu tried to replicate the feeling of manipulating Cursed Energy.
Sure enough, he found the trick easily. He began to corral the mist-like energy drifting from his head, wrapping it back around his body like a second skin.
Just as I thought. 'Ten' and the technique for reinforcing the body with Cursed Energy are fundamentally the same.
Both require high mental focus, sensitivity to internal energy flow, and smooth manipulation.
The only difference is that thanks to the Six Eyes, my control over Cursed Energy is god-tier. With Nen, I'm not quite there yet. I'll have to grind to get the proficiency up.
Yuu tried to maintain the shroud of Ten for as long as possible. At his best, he could hold it for a few minutes.
But the moment his concentration slipped, wisps of energy would escape, and the shroud would collapse.
Thirty minutes flew by.
Yuu's sensitivity to the aura improved slightly. Just then, a tall, bizarre figure emerged from the cabin.
"My, my~"
Hisoka leaned against the wooden wall, resting his chin in his hand. He watched Yuu with intense interest, murmuring to himself.
"Growing up so fast..."
"Yesterday, this boy had absolutely zero aura. Just one night later, and his total volume has increased this much..."
"And by the looks of it... he's already practicing Ten."
Hisoka studied him seriously.
He didn't know what had happened overnight, but it was obvious that Yuu's technique was that of a total beginner. His perception and control were sloppy.
It wasn't quite what Hisoka had expected, which was mildly disappointing.
But after watching for a few more minutes, Hisoka noticed something else.
The boy was improving in real-time.
Every time he reset, the duration he held the Ten increased by twenty or thirty seconds.
If he really was a beginner... that speed of adaptation was prodigious, even by Hisoka's standards.
"Lucky me... looks like I found a very promising fruit to ripen~"
Hisoka licked his lips. A smile that bordered on unhinged spread across his face, and for a split second, a terrifying, bloodlust-filled aura leaked out of him.
"!!!"
Yuu felt a sudden chill crawl up his spine. It snapped him out of his meditative state instantly.
The Ten he had managed to hold for over ten minutes collapsed.
He spun around, scanning the deck behind him.
But there was no one there.
"Gone...?"
Yuu frowned. He was sure his Six Eyes had caught a trace of residual energy.
Whoever it was, they're fast. And they know how to use 'Zetsu' to erase their presence.
Plus, they can toggle their killing intent on and off like a light switch.
Dangerous.
"Hisoka..."
Yuu sighed, certain of the answer. There wasn't exactly a long list of suspects on this boat.
---
Yuu readjusted his breathing and the flow of his aura.
He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but as he practiced Ten and his focus sharpened... it felt like the duration limit of his Limitless technique was extending slightly, too.
"Unexpected bonus."
---
Thirty minutes later.
The ship docked at Dole Island.
The Captain stood on the deck and spotted Yuu leaning motionless against the railing. He walked over and slapped the boy's shoulder.
"Hey! End of the line, Yuu!"
Yuu snapped out of his trance and looked back. "Right."
"Follow me down the ladder, we'll—"
Before the Captain could finish, Yuu hopped over the railing and dropped.
"Whoa!" The Captain rushed to the edge.
Looking down, he saw Yuu land perfectly on the dock, looking up with a faint smile and a wave.
"Kid's got moves..." the Captain muttered. "I guess he wasn't joking about becoming a Hunter this year."
A moment later, the Captain walked down the gangplank. Looking at the calm boy in front of him, he no longer felt any need to protect him.
"Aren't you surprised?" The Captain gestured to the crowd. "Look at all these people. They came from all over the world to take the exam."
The dock was packed with hopefuls.
"Doesn't matter," Yuu said indifferently. " most of them were eliminated before they even got off the boat."
The Captain grinned. "Heh. Sharp kid."
"So... did I pass?" Yuu asked.
"Just like you said," the Captain replied flatly. "Aside from you and that clown, Hisoka, everyone else on my ship failed. Even if they find the exam site, they won't be let in."
The Captain paused, shifting his gaze from the crowd back to Yuu.
"By the way... I double-checked my files. You were on the list of candidates assigned to me. I completely missed you before. That was my failure."
"As compensation, I'll give you a tip."
The Captain pointed a calloused finger toward a distant mountain peak.
"See that solitary cedar tree up there?"
Yuu followed the finger and nodded. "Yeah, I see it."
"Head straight for that tree. It's the shortcut to the exam site."
"If you got it, then get moving. The exam has already started."
With that, the Captain turned to leave.
Yuu looked at the distant tree, then back at the Captain's retreating back. He waved enthusiastically.
"Thanks, Captain! Take care of yourself!"
"Yeah, you too."
The Captain didn't look back, just offered a lazy wave of his hand.
He walked back up the gangplank to the deck. During the break, he stood at the railing, looking down at the bustling crowd.
Even from this distance, Yuu stood out. That white hair was hard to miss as he wove through the masses.
But as the Captain watched, his brow furrowed.
"Is it just me... or is that kid running a little too fast?"
---