Killua had felt something was off earlier.

First, it didn’t make sense that he was matched against Kastro instead of a rookie.

Second, during their fight, Killua noticed that Kastro held back more than once.

That had felt strange.

But now, Killua finally understood.

Why was his opponent Kastro?

Why had Kastro acted that way?

It reminded him of the Hunter Exam.

Back then, Kaizen had arranged for Hanzo, making things harder on purpose.

Now, Kaizen had done the same for him—arranging Kastro to push him further.

Still, Killua knew Kaizen meant well.

If not for Kastro, there was no way he could’ve made such a breakthrough and moved up.

Wing glanced at Kastro, then shifted his eyes to Kaizen in the audience. A thought crossed his mind.

Hisoka, who had been interested at first, soon grew bored.

But once Kastro revealed his ability, Hisoka perked up again—only to lose interest not long after.

"Enhancer-types really are dull," Hisoka muttered.

"It’s only their growth that brings me any fun."

Kaizen gave Hisoka a sidelong glance.

He already knew—Hisoka had lost interest in Kastro.

Once he understood someone’s ability, Hisoka no longer found them exciting. It had been the same with Uvogin.

Gon was the exception—Hisoka wasn’t interested in the Gon now, but in the Gon who would come next. He was waiting for that evolution.

...

"One more win, and I’ll be qualified to challenge a Floor Master," Hisoka said, glancing Kaizen’s way.

"Anytime," Kaizen replied coolly.

A few more days wouldn’t change anything for him. Advancing a few days sooner or later didn’t matter.

"Then I’ll handle it soon."

With that, the two walked out of the venue—Hisoka heading toward his luxury suite, Kaizen toward the player’s exit.

Killua and Kastro exited together.

"Kaizen-sama."

"Kaizen."

Kaizen gestured toward a nearby café.

"Let’s talk inside."

The three of them entered a private booth.

A few minutes later, the coffee was served and the door was closed.

"Cousin Kaizen," Killua began, leaning forward. "Did you arrange for Kastro to be my opponent?"

"I did," Kaizen said frankly. "If I hadn’t, you’d have ended up fighting some rookie killer. That wouldn’t have helped you at all. So I asked Kastro to give you a proper challenge."

Killua nodded. "I get it, and yeah—I gained something from it. But next time could you give me a heads-up?"

"If I told you in advance, it wouldn’t work," Kaizen said.

"And Killua, as a Hunter and a Nen user, you have to be ready for the unexpected. You won’t always have time to prepare. Even if I hadn’t arranged it, you could still run into unpredictable situations."

Killua accepted that and moved on.

"Then... can you explain Nen to me in more detail? I feel like Wing-sensei’s holding back on some stuff. Or maybe there are things even he doesn’t know."

Kaizen shook his head.

"I’m not going to tell you too much about Nen for now," he said.

"Some things you need to learn for yourself. You’ll understand why later."

"Once you’ve mastered the basics, ask me anything. Not just me—Illumi, Milluki, Silva-san, Great-Grandfather Maha, Kikyo-san—you can ask any of them."

"Alright," Killua replied. "I was also hoping to know more about Kastro. I think he’s got potential."

"He does," Kaizen said. "You both do. If the opportunity comes, maybe you’ll even team up someday."

"In the world of Nen, connections matter just as much as strength."

The coffee cups were empty now.

Kaizen returned to his floor.

Killua headed first to the medical department to check on Gon, then returned to Wing’s apartment.

...

"Wing-sensei."

"You did well, Killua."

"But I still lost."

"Against an opponent like Kastro, just holding your own is impressive," Wing said.

"He started training with aura earlier than you. He’s got more knowledge and more experience. It’s natural he’d be ahead for now—but you’ll have chances to surpass him in the future."

"Wing-sensei... do you know what form Kastro transformed into?" Killua asked.

He had tried asking Kaizen earlier, but Kaizen hadn’t answered. So now, seeing Wing, he couldn’t help asking again.

Wing was silent for a moment.

"Do you remember the four basic Nen principles I taught you?"

"Yeah," Killua nodded.

"Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu. Hatsu’s the one for specific abilities, right?"

"Exactly," Wing said. "But right now, it’s too early for you to understand. Once you’ve trained more, it’ll make sense naturally." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

...

Kaizen sat by the window.

A white bear lay at his feet, tail swishing lazily.

On the coffee table sat a glass of red wine.

Kaizen uploaded the latest Chapters of Bungo Stray Dogs, checked the analytics and comments, and, seeing nothing out of order, returned to the homepage.

Someone was walking toward him.

"Kaizen."

Kaizen looked up.

Nina had just finished training. She’d taken a shower and changed into fresh clothes, radiating a youthful, clean energy.

The little girl from before had grown up.

When Kaizen first arrived at Heavens Arena, he was just a kid.

Now, he was over sixteen. His face still held a hint of immaturity, but in height and build, he looked like a full-grown adult.

Nina was a bit younger, but not by much.

"What are you reading?"

"Comics," Kaizen said.

"It’s a nice way to unwind. Sometimes you can even get inspiration from them. You should try reading some, Nina."

"Inspiration? From comics?" she asked, puzzled.

"Yup. Most of the authors are just regular people—they don’t have aura, so their ideas about supernatural power can be way off. But sometimes, their imagination hits on something useful."

"For example, this one I’m reading now..."

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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (1047 Chapters in total)