21 A student?

I must say that I didn't particularly enjoy Phase Two. Cooking was never really something I did, because I enjoyed it. I respect the craft and those who find joy in doing so, but I am not one of these. So when I found out that the second test was to cook for these two professional hunters it was rather tedious to do for me. Nonetheless, I passed the test. That wasn't what was interesting though. Something else was far more interesting. After the examiner Menchi, tries to fail everyone, the Chairman of the Hunter's Association appears. 

He had a ponytail, a thick beard, and stretched earlobes with two piercings in both ears. Netero was his name. He was seen wearing a traditional man's kimono and a pair of geta. The moment he landed I knew that he was interesting. I saw his path pass before my eyes and I understood that this one was on a similar path that I was. But he hadn't come to full understanding. 

When we looked at each other I could feel his excitement and surprise at seeing me. He never thought that he would ever see me in his life. And I can't blame him. I don't think he would have, had I not come here. I see that it takes a lot of self-control to not just sit to my feet and ask for either guidance or a fight. I smile when I see all of this and give him the feeling that I wouldn't leave. It's funny how he has seemingly achieved his inner happiness.

.

After Phase Two, I finally met with Chairman Netero. 

"I never thought I would ever see you. To think that you would appear here. May I ask what it is that you want?", Netero asks.

"I am living the greatest adolescence. I saw this child Gon and his friends and wanted to help them achieve their inner happiness. Destiny, fate, all of those things are things I can't stand, especially when they saddle those that don't choose that destiny for themselves."

"Hohoho, I understand. Then what about me?"

"You have achieved your inner happiness Netero. But you refuse or are unable to let go of those desires to truly grow beyond."

"Hmm ... I guess you're right. So then would you ..."

"Of course, that is why I'm here after all. I am interested in this power that the clown uses and which you also possess. In much greater quantities."

"This energy is called Nen. It's a technique that allows a living being to use and manipulate their own life energy known as aura; the term "Nen" can also be used in conversation to refer to the aura. A person capable of utilizing Nen is colloquially referred to as a "Nen user".

Aura is the life energy produced by all living bodies, it is vital for survival and directly linked to one's stamina. The points on the body from which aura flows out are called "aura nodes". Additionally, aura is invisible to non-Nen users, it can only be seen after the aura nodes in the eyes are opened. Nonetheless, sensitive individuals can feel its presence without being aware of its existence.

In normal conditions, the aura from all parts of the body tends to flow together, producing one mass of energy. This happens without the individual's awareness, typically resulting in aura slowly leaking away from the body constantly without exceedingly harmful consequences and stemming up and off the top of the head. On the other hand, if someone whose aura nodes are fully open doesn't attempt to close them or control the flow of their aura, they'll soon grow so exhausted that they'll be unable to stand or even lose consciousness. Learning to control one's aura nodes is the first step to becoming a Nen user."

"Hm, is that so? Quite an interesting concept. How about you show me instead? But let's keep it rather casual, and not go all out. We would destroy this ship otherwise.", I tell him. I prefer to see it happen in person and not have it told to me. I can tell that it's a rather complicated matter when compared to Haki. But the true power of Haki hasn't really been explored yet.

"Ohohoho, very well then. Let us begin.", Netero says and I can feel his excitement. He is a powerful man, even at that age. 

.

Our clash begins. I block his strike and then send a punch of my own. When compared to Netero I don't really have any technique, but he must have perfected his martial arts for decades by now. I feel his strength and the firmness of his muscles. 

Nen is truly an interesting technique. It makes the body age slower and increases the strength of the Nen user. I block more of his attacks and kicks. He is going at it in full swing. I can tell that he is holding back quite a bit. After trying to hit me for a while and my blocking, I decided to finally use my ability to copy abilities and powers. I focus on what I want to copy and then do it. 

Immediately I gain knowledge of his martial arts. I smile at that and then start to use it. Netero's eyes widen when he sees me using his martial arts like this. 

"What do you say we use some minor Nen? Not too much to damage the ship but enough to give me a taste."

"Of course. You are extremely powerful and skilled. To think you just copied my martial arts."

"Eh, it still needs work, but I'll get there eventually."

"Then I'll start. This state I am in right now is what we call Zetsu. Zetsu stops the flow of aura from their body altogether. By closing all of their aura nodes, the user is able to halt all outflow of their aura-like water from a valve, making their presence much harder or even impossible to sense. 

But when I want to use it, I open the aura nodes.", Netero says and I can see and feel his aura envelop his entire body. 

"This is called Ten. Once a person has opened their aura nodes, they must learn to keep their aura from leaking away from their body. Ten is the process of keeping the nodes open, but also having aura flow through and around the body rather than away from it. Once maintained, it creates a thin shroud around the user that feels similar to standing in a lukewarm, viscous fluid.", Netero explains and I understand the concept. After that, he continues. 

He then unleashes some of his aura and makes the training room shake. 

"This is called Ren. Ren focuses on outputting a larger amount of aura than Ten, projecting it outwards explosively. This amplifies the user's physical strength and durability and provides a large pool of aura for any advanced techniques or individual skills they decide to use, albeit at the cost of expending said aura.

If Ten is considered purely defensive, Ren can be regarded as its offensive counterpart, although it also grants the user vastly enhanced defensive abilities."

"I see. Are those all the techniques?", I ask him.

"No. From the Four Major Principles, there are Ten, Zetsu, Ren and Hatsu. After that, there are advanced techniques. Gyo (Focus), In (Conceal), En (Enfold), Ko (Temper), Ken (Fortify) and Ryu (Flow). I cannot show you my Hatsu right now because it is a rather ... strong technique."

"I see. And what is Hatsu then?"

"Hatsu ("Release"/"Act") is one's personal expression of Nen. Its qualities are influenced by, but not restricted to, the Nen user's natural Nen category, one of the six available. Hatsu is used to project one's aura to carry out a certain function, creating a special and unique paranormal ability that is colloquially referred to as a "Nen Ability"."

"I see. Well, Hatsu sounds very interesting. I wish to see this Hatsu then. As soon as you have some time, let us fight again but when we have more space. Now I experience some of your Nen.", I say and we continue fighting. I want to feel Nen and I have a feeling that I can unlock it if I feel it.

.

I unlocked my Nen and I have to say it is indeed a very warm and cosy feeling when you use Ten. I copied all of the techniques that Netero showed me. I wished to practice a bit until it was finally time for us to tussle a bit. I am interested in what his Hatsu ability is. He should have something similar to the one I can see for myself. 

I began my training and tried out all of the techniques. It wasn't that hard, to be honest. I liked the feeling that Nen gave me. It is not unlike Haki that training makes it stronger. But it is also different in that it depends a lot on talent apparently. Those with higher talent seem to have a very easy time learning Nen and can even develop techniques unknowingly. While there were similar cases in the Pirate world, it wasn't like here. 

I was given a hunter's license by Netero, since I was already more than strong enough to become a professional hunter and since he was the Chairman of the Hunter's Association, there was no problem. 

I didn't particularly like the rest of the hunter's exam. The third phase was a team effort where the groups had to fight a group of criminals however they wished and if they made it before their time ran out, they would get to continue on to the fourth phase. I watched Gon's group and saw how Kurapika handled his fight. He could have killed that man who had the spider tattoo on his back, but he didn't. His refusal to kill the man senselessly went as far as to theoretically 'lose' his fight, according to the rules. 

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The fourth phase was a manhunt which took place on Zevil Island. What you had to do was hunt the person whose number you drew. It was an interesting concept. In all of these tests, killing was never really a problem. I understood that it was done so intentionally, to prepare the potential hunters for life as a hunter. I didn't intervene when the clown had his bloodlust episodes and killed many people. All of them wanted to become a hunter and as hunters, they had to be ready. They decided to come here on their own, no one was forcing them. 

At the end of the fourth phase, only 9 people remain and out of these 9, 6 are newcomers. What follows then is rather interesting. All 9 contestants are asked who they are interested in the most, among the other contestants and who they would want to fight the least, as well as who they would want to fight the most. 

I use Kenbunshoku no Haki to listen in on these short interviews and find it hilarious. The clown apparently is most interested in Killus, Gon ... and me. But at the same time, he wants to fight them the least. I understand his reasoning. He has that desire to fight those who are strong and who have reached their full potential. So fighting Killua and Gon is not something he wants to do. 

And when he is asked who he would want to fight the most ...

"About the one I want to fight the most ... it's you as well as the other guy that has stopped doing the tests. He is very interesting, I can't help but want to fight him. Where is he hiding?"

"Very good, thanks a lot ... you can go back.", Netero says, not even caring about what the clown said. I smile at that because I know that Netero likes to annoy the clown.

The fifth phase is a special one, since unlike before, the winner quits the game instead of continuing to fight. It is a one-on-one fight and you only need one win to pass the exam. This is essentially a reverse form of a normal tournament and it will result in this exam having only one loser. Another special rule is that killing ... is not allowed. If you kill your opponent, you lose the exam and the exam will then be over. 

I found this an interesting twist to the normal and usual tournament rules and the theme of the hunter's exam up to this point. Before you could kill seemingly whenever you wanted, now that wasn't the case anymore. But I was very happy that the hunter's exam was finally over after this one. 

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This is the last chapter for the exam. Next one we will have a fight with Netero where he shows his Hatsu and then Sid will create his own Hatsu that will have some similarities to Netero's.