Chapter 86

TL: I had 2 exams yesterday, so I had to pull an all-nighter don't worry I'll compensate you guys.
"Alright, every time we meet, I take something from you, but I haven’t really given you anything in return..."

Ging thought for a moment. "Since I became a Hunter, I’ve faced many powerful opponents, and I’ve picked up a lot of offensive Nen abilities from them."

"And you’ve copied my talent, right?"

"Oh?"

Morin’s eyes lit up as he quickly understood what Ging meant.

"When did we ever face off?" Morin asked eagerly.

Ging was clearly proposing to teach Morin all the offensive Nen abilities he had accumulated over the years.

"Not so fast," Ging said with a calm smile. "I haven’t even developed Nen abilities for your apprentice yet."

Hmm, Kastro was still training in the Grand Canyon… working on his Nen abilities.

That apprentice of his was definitely ready for some Nen development.

"By the way," Ging suddenly recalled something. "Speaking of face-offs, who won between you two before?" He looked curiously at Morin and Razor, who had no visible injuries despite having just fought a fierce battle.

"Who won..."

Morin and Razor exchanged a glance, and in each other's eyes, there was a mutual respect and a spark of battle intent.

"Guess."

The two gave the same ambiguous response, leaving room for imagination.

Ging: "..."

He felt like he had been outdone by the two of them.

After the warehouse and bar had been rebuilt, Razor and his crew of pirate clowns resumed their roles as NPCs.

Ging and Morin headed into the canyon, where they found Kastro chasing a Cyclops around the area.

"Master!"

"Mr. Ging!"

Seeing the two of them, who had appeared in front of him using the Traveling Spell card, Kastro quickly stopped his pursuit of the giant and hurriedly greeted them.

"How’s your Nen training going?"

Morin immediately asked as he stepped forward.

"I’ve made some progress," Kastro replied modestly.

"Show me your best move."

Without any further small talk, Ging immediately entered guidance mode.

"My best move... I understand!"

Kastro took a deep breath. He knew that he was about to be taught how to develop his Nen abilities.

Without hesitation, he unleashed his signature move.

"Tiger Bite Fist!!"

His hands transformed into claw-like shapes, moving in a sawing motion like a tiger about to strike.

"This is my family’s martial arts technique, which I’ve been practicing since childhood," he explained.

"It’s got some flair," Ging commented while stroking his scruffy beard. "The form is quite impressive."

"If it hits a person, the destructive power isn’t bad at all."

"As an enhancement-type martial art, it’s solid, though I’m curious—have you considered developing this move as a Nen ability?"

Ging asked.

"Well, I’ve always thought of it as just a martial art..."

Kastro hesitated. "The Tiger Bite Fist is powerful, but if I could find a way to surprise my opponent with it, it’d be even more effective."

"Surprise attack? Are you planning on going for a speed-based strategy?"

Ging quickly understood Kastro’s line of thought.

"If you were a Manipulation-type or Conjuration-type, developing clones would fit. But since you’re an Enhancement-type, creating clones wouldn’t really bring out your strength, so let’s forget about that."

"Ah! My master said the same thing!"

Kastro nodded enthusiastically.

Morin had mentioned this before, and now Ging was echoing the same sentiment, which made Kastro finally dismiss the idea of developing clone-based Nen abilities. With both experts agreeing, it was clear that focusing on clones wasn’t the right path for him.

"That shadow-clone idea you mentioned earlier reminded me of something."

Ging crossed his arms and said, "For a technique that suits an Enhancer, emphasizes speed, and relies on surprise attacks... Hmm."

Suddenly, he snapped his fingers.

"If clones won't work, how about a similar effect—illusion?"

"Illusion?" Kastro looked puzzled.

"That's right! Illusions!"

Ging's eyes brightened as he clenched a fist and struck his open palm. "Illusions are a great substitute for clones. They offer some of the same tactical advantages while staying within the strengths of an Enhancer."

"Plus, illusions require much less operational control, so you won’t need to invest in Manipulation-type training. This would allow your natural Enhancer abilities to shine more."

"That said, creating illusions with aura will need some Transmutation skills," Ging added thoughtfully.

"But Transmutation is closely related to Enhancement on the Nen affinity chart, so it shouldn't be too hard to develop."

Ging’s advice was solid and straightforward. Nen abilities often combine multiple categories, provided the user maintains a primary focus.

For example, Genthru's abilities—"Little Flower" and "Countdown"—blended Conjuration, Emission, and Manipulation. Similarly, Gon’s "Scissors, Paper, Rock" utilized Enhancement as the core, with Emission and Transmutation as secondary elements.

"If illusions are the goal, I have plenty of offensive Nen techniques you can use as references..."

Once the ability's direction was set, Ging began personally mentoring Kastro, offering practical guidance step by step.

Watching this unfold, Morin nodded approvingly.

In the original timeline, Kastro developed the "Twin Substitutes" ability, which, while powerful, didn't perfectly align with his Enhancer nature. Nevertheless, combining it with his "Tiger Bite True Fist" made him a formidable combatant.

But Morin had always thought about whether it was possible to retain the raw power of "Tiger Bite True Fist" while fully optimizing Kastro's natural Enhancer talents.

With this in mind, he suggested the illusion concept.

If "Tiger Bite True Fist" could merge with an illusion-based technique, the resulting synergy might produce spectacular results.

How to integrate these elements? That would depend on Ging’s guidance and Kastro’s personal comprehension.

Morin had absolute confidence in both. Ging’s teaching prowess and Kastro’s talent made success almost inevitable.

He eagerly anticipated the day Kastro mastered his new ability.

A stronger apprentice would elevate Morin's standing as a mentor, bringing with it numerous tangible and intangible benefits.

Ging poured his heart into teaching, and Kastro trained diligently. The development of the new ability progressed rapidly.

Meanwhile, Ging didn’t forget his promise to Morin. In their downtime, the two often sparred, with Ging demonstrating every offensive Nen technique he'd accumulated over the years.

Ging planned to impart all his combat knowledge to Morin before heading to restore the Ruluka ruins.

Thus began a period of intense training on Greed Island.

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, more than two years had passed.

During this time, Greed Island grew increasingly lively.

Many Nen users joined the game, motivated by curiosity, the hefty rewards offered by Battera, or the desire to acquire the game’s unique cards.

Some players even hired 50 Hunters—three of whom were licensed Hunters—to help them clear the game.

None survived.

They either perished in the game or became trapped, unable to escape.

Though a few competent players entered the game, they found themselves lost without understanding its mechanics. Gradually, players began abandoning Ging’s intended game philosophy, choosing instead to band together in hopes of brute-forcing their way through.

Their plan was simple: collect cards en masse, split Battera’s reward, and call it a day.

The game’s creators—Ging and the other GMs—did nothing to intervene.

On one hand, they couldn’t restrict players’ freedom. On the other, they found such tactics beneath their notice.

If this approach could break the game, Ging thought, we might as well give up on creating anything meaningful ever again.

Not to mention, cards like "Coastal Shoreline" were heavily guarded—by the likes of Razor, no less. Breaking through would be impossible.

While the outside world bustled with chaos, the canyon between Antokiba and Masadora remained tranquil—or at least, it was quiet now.

Over the past two years, this area had often echoed with commotion so intense that even the island’s creators found themselves alarmed.

At this moment, deep within the canyon...

"Looks like it’s time to regroup," Morin said calmly.

Perched atop a massive rock, his toned upper body was exposed, revealing well-defined muscles.

Beneath his feet, the faint silhouette of a spider seemed to flicker in and out of existence, exuding an ominous aura.

Holding a phone to his ear, he listened to the steady voice on the other end. After nodding slightly, he replied, "Understood. I’ll be there on time."

With that, Morin ended the call.

Even on Greed Island, Morin had managed to maintain communication, thanks to a phone gifted by Ishkube.

Below him, Kastro stood tall, his silver hair cascading like a waterfall and his golden robe pristine.

Facing a massive boulder, he suddenly split into two. Then three.

And five...

Like shadowy clones, multiple copies of Kastro appeared, moving in unison.

"Phantom Tiger Bite True Fist!"

As they shouted in unison, all the clones pounced on the boulder.

Their auras flared, striking with devastating power.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion shattered the boulder, and the resulting shockwave caused an entire rocky outcrop to collapse.

Before Kastro stood a massive circular tunnel, cleanly punched through the mountain.

"Not bad," Morin said as he descended from his perch.

He inspected the result and nodded approvingly.

The technique’s power rivaled Gon’s fully charged "Rock" attack.

"Phantom Tiger Bite True Fist is finally complete!" Kastro exhaled deeply as the phantom clones dissolved into nothingness.

Turning to Morin, he bowed respectfully. "This wouldn’t have been possible without you and Ging-sensei!"

"You also need to give credit to your own talent and hard work," Morin replied with a smile.

Morin patted Kastro on the shoulder and said,

"These years of training haven’t been in vain."

Under GIng and Morin’s guidance, Kastro’s abilities had improved by leaps and bounds.

GIng carefully selected techniques from the offensive Nen abilities he’d accumulated throughout his Hunter career to craft the most suitable ability for Kastro.

After more than two years of relentless training, Kastro had finally mastered it:

Phantom Tiger Bite True Fist.

The name? Well, it was clearly one of GIng’s casual inventions.

According to GIng, "The name of an ability is just fluff."

Though Kastro wanted to argue, he silently closed his mouth and swallowed his intended rebuttal: "At least having a good name would boost morale when shouting it out."

GIng’s carefree attitude toward names even made Morin suspect that GIng’s own ability names were likely just as random.

If GIng had named one of his abilities "Gon" after his son, Morin wouldn’t have been surprised.

Nen Ability: Phantom Tiger Bite True Fist

Type: Enhancement + Transmutation

Effect: Creates illusionary clones, similar to shadow clones, to increase attack speed and mislead opponents.

- The stronger the user’s aura, the more clones they can produce.

- The clones increase attack speed proportionally to their number.

- If a clone is hit, it immediately dissipates.

The ability is straightforward, with no complex conditions or restrictions.

As expected of an Enhancer, directness is the essence.

The foundation of this ability lies in raw Nen strength.

It shares similarities with Uvogin’s Big Bang Impact, in that its effectiveness scales directly with aura output.

The illusionary clones operate similarly to the move Double Team from Pokémon.

The more clones created, the greater the confusion caused to the opponent.

However, if a clone is struck, it disappears instantly.

An additional effect of the clones is that the more there are, the faster the attack speed becomes.

As one certain vice admiral and kindergarten director, Kizaru, once said:

"Speed is power."

Or, as the legendary Fire Cloud Evil God put it:

"The ultimate martial arts are unstoppable and unbreakable—if you're fast enough."

With increased speed comes greater acceleration, and with that, the impact force of attacks becomes exponentially stronger.