Morrow ultimately chose not to interfere with Chimera's growth, leaving only a Star Mark on it.
Afterward, he bid farewell to Menchi and set off with Kurapika and Kalluto toward the departure port, boarding a ferry leaving Jappon.
Inside their private cabin, Kurapika and Kalluto were engrossed in their training.
Both possessed a strong determination to grow stronger, dedicating nearly all their free time to honing their abilities.
Morrow, however, did not join them. Instead, he sat by the cabin window, holding the scabbard he had obtained from the Bamboo Shrine.
This scabbard had been used to suppress the lingering Purgatory sword left behind after death, and it was enveloped in aura even more potent than that of the Poultry Scarlet Knife.
According to the old dojo master, this aura likely originated from an unknown Onmyoji.
Morrow had examined the scabbard before. Aside from the raised crisscrossing silver diamond patterns on its surface, there was nothing particularly remarkable about it.
Thus, he had no idea how the Onmyoji had achieved this.
The only certainty was that the Onmyoji was no longer in this world.
This meant Morrow could absorb the scabbard's aura at any time if he wished.
But he didn't.
For one, he had already filled the second ring.
For another, the aura on the scabbard was stronger than that of the Poultry Scarlet Knife. Given this, he thought keeping the scabbard might prove useful in the future.
Though carrying it around separately would look a bit odd.
As Morrow toyed with the scabbard, a thought suddenly struck him.
Why not try sheathing the Poultry Scarlet Knife inside it?
Of course, even without testing it, he knew the likely outcome.
There was no way it would fit.
Still, Morrow casually drew the Poultry Scarlet Knife and slid it into the scabbard.
As expected, there was none of the snug sensation of a blade fitting perfectly into its sheath.
For the Poultry Scarlet Knife, this scabbard was clearly too large.
With that thought, Morrow prepared to pull the knife back out.
But as he gripped the hilt and exerted force, he felt resistance.
It was as if some force within the scabbard was actively holding onto the knife.
Noticing this phenomenon, a spark of curiosity flashed in Morrow's eyes. He increased the force behind his pull and finally managed to draw the knife out.
What's with this suction force?
Morrow lifted the scabbard, peering intently inside, even using Gyo, but found nothing unusual.
So he sheathed the Poultry Scarlet Knife again and attempted to draw it once more.
The result was the same: clear resistance when pulling the knife out.
Without applying some strength, it wouldn't budge.
Interesting.
Morrow wasn't sure if this was an innate ability of the scabbard. Instead of unsheathing the knife again, he gripped the scabbard and gave it a few vigorous shakes.
Just as he had anticipated, some force within the scabbard held the knife firmly in place.
No matter how he shook it, the ill-fitting Poultry Scarlet Knife remained securely fixed inside.
This meant he could now store the knife within the scabbard without issue.
This unexpected discovery piqued Morrow's interest in the scabbard even further. The phenomenon of the poultry knife adhering, was it an inherent ability, or... did it respond to my needs?
Morrow stared at the steady, condensed aura hovering above the scabbard.
If it's the former, I'll need to thoroughly study its functionality. If it's the latter, then things just got a lot more interesting.
As he pondered, his curiosity grew even stronger.
He gripped the scabbard tightly with his right hand, then closed his eyes. Like a child, he poured thoughts, such as conjuring an energy blade out of thin air, into the scabbard.
A moment passed.
The scabbard showed no reaction.
Morrow opened his eyes and couldn't help but chuckle.
The essence of Nen is the fusion of Life Energy and Spiritual Will. While it can be understood as the manifestation of "the power of the heart," it doesn't mean one can easily obtain whatever they desire...
Morrow had merely considered the possibility, but after testing it, he couldn't help but realize how naive his idea had been.
Right, let's try injecting Nen...
With that thought, Morrow attempted to channel a wisp of Nen into the scabbard.
A stream-like aura flowed from his fingertips, but instead of wrapping around the scabbard as expected, it seemed drawn inward, seeping directly into the sheath.
Hmm?
Morrow's brow twitched slightly.
In that fleeting moment, a faint glimmer flickered within the scabbard.
Then, with a hiss, a tongue of fiery energy burst forth, launching a Nen orb the size of a baby's fist straight at Morrow's face.
Smack!
The orb shattered upon impact with his cheek, dispersing into motes of light that vanished into the air.
Fortunately, Morrow had his aura output protecting him, and the orb's power was minimal, causing no harm.
This...
Morrow stared at the scabbard, surprise flashing in his eyes.
Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he would never have imagined that the scabbard could not only absorb external aura but also convert it into energy and expel it.
This discovery suddenly reminded him of something, and he hastily grabbed the Poultry Scarlet Knife to examine it closely.
He worried the scabbard might have siphoned the knife's aura.
Running his fingers over the crystalline, resilient blade, he scrutinized it repeatedly. Only after confirming the Poultry Scarlet Knife's aura remained untouched did Morrow finally relax.
However, considering he would need to sheath the knife in this scabbard in the future, he decided to conduct a more rigorous test.
He carefully slid the Poultry Scarlet Knife back into its sheath.
Then, at regular intervals, he drew the blade to check the state of its aura.
After the third inspection, once he was certain the knife's Nen remained as stable as ever, his lingering concerns truly dissipated.
Never would have thought...
Morrow set the Poultry Scarlet Knife aside and turned his full attention to the scabbard.
Judging by the intensity of the lingering aura, the scabbard was only slightly stronger than the knife, yet it possessed an effect almost akin to a Nen ability.
Morrow had no idea how that Onmyoji had endowed the scabbard with such a capability...
Could the original intent have been merely to contain the Post-Mortem Nen of the Purgatory sword within the scabbard?
But over time, had the scabbard and Purgatory undergone some form of evolution or change during their prolonged struggle?
Morrow couldn't fathom it, and lacking further information, he wasn't inclined to delve deeper.
For now, he simply wanted to test the scabbard's ability further, perhaps he could uncover additional functions.
But given their current location on the ferry, testing conditions seemed less than ideal.
"Morrow, what just happened?" Lost in thought, Morrow was brought back to reality by Kurapika's questioning voice.
Snapping out of his reverie, Morrow looked up to see Kurapika and Kalluto standing before him, having paused their training.
Meeting their curious gazes, Morrow raised the scabbard in his hand with a smile. "Just discovered an interesting ability."
"What?"
Kurapika and Kalluto grew even more puzzled.
Morrow promptly demonstrated on the spot.
He attached a small amount of aura to the scabbard's surface, whereupon a force immediately absorbed the aura into the sheath.
The next moment.
The scabbard's opening resembled the muzzle of a flamethrower as it propelled a tiny Nen sphere outward, striking the palm of Morrow's other hand.
Witnessing this, both Kurapika and Kalluto showed expressions of astonishment.
"Interesting, isn't it?"
Morrow smiled, shaking the scabbard in his hand as he observed their reactions.
Kurapika stared intently at the scabbard. "How does this work?"
"I'm not sure either. It must be an innate ability of the scabbard," Morrow explained.
After discovering the scabbard's peculiarity, he felt grateful he hadn't absorbed the Nen from it earlier.
Noticing the curiosity in Kurapika's eyes, Morrow handed the scabbard over.
Kurapika took it and was about to imitate Morrow by channeling a small amount of aura into the scabbard when he suddenly noticed Kalluto's intense, unwavering stare.
"Uh."
Seeing this, Kurapika decided not to rush and instead offered the scabbard to Kalluto first.
Kalluto didn't hesitate, taking the scabbard and examining it curiously before stuffing some paper scraps inside.
Kurapika was taken aback, too late to stop him.
After inserting the scraps, Kalluto quickly aimed the scabbard's opening forward.
However, the expected "paper spray" never happened.
"Not fun."
Kalluto instantly lost interest and tossed the scabbard back to Kurapika.
Catching it, Kurapika smiled wryly before channeling a small amount of aura onto the scabbard.
As the scabbard absorbed his aura, a Nen sphere burst forth from its opening moments later.
Though the aura was weak, it was enough to eject the paper scraps Kalluto had stuffed inside.
Kurapika studied the now-quiet scabbard, gaining a more intuitive understanding of Nen's "unpredictability."
To him, this scabbard was no different from a Conjuration ability, he just didn't know how it worked.
Morrow watched Kurapika's reaction from the side, smiling faintly.
If this scabbard's ability has a high enough ceiling, perhaps it could...
Then, a thought crossed his mind: Use it to counter Franklin's Emission attacks.
The idea flashed briefly before he dismissed it himself.
At his current strength, there was no need to dedicate effort specifically for Franklin's sake.
However, the notion led him to another realization.
Now that he was free from the threat of the Death Threshold, he had ample time and energy to consider developing a new Emission ability.
Currently, he had three main abilities: Deceptive Shooting Star, Starlight Convergence, and the Shooting Star · Essence Siphon, which was part of the Shooting Star system.
Among these, Deceptive Shooting Star was a skill he had mastered before his Death Rewind.
But due to this Death Rewind, he immediately gained this ability upon awakening Nen naturally, bypassing the long and arduous development process. Therefore, this ability, strictly speaking, does not occupy his Nen capacity.
Starlight Convergence, on the other hand, is a derivative ability evolved from the mutated Etude of Love after its upgrade, which similarly does not consume Nen capacity.
As for Shooting Star · Essence Siphon, it was derived from the material of Post-Mortem Will abilities, making it a product of special conditions.
Looking at it this way, I indeed still have room to develop new abilities.
Morrow fell into deep thought.
The three abilities he currently possessed each had their own distinct characteristics.
Deceptive Shooting Star and Starlight Convergence both combined Emission and Manipulation traits, while Shooting Star · Essence Siphon leaned more toward the restorative effects of Enhancement.
From the perspective of Shingen-ryu's Nen of the Flame training philosophy, these abilities were already quite refined and required no further adjustments.
If he were to develop a new Emission ability, he needed to clarify several key questions.
First, should this new ability synergize with the existing system or stand independently?
While synergy could enhance the cohesion of his ability system, independent development might offer more tactical variations.
Second, should he focus on developing a multi-attribute ability or concentrate solely on pure Emission?
Multi-attribute abilities provided versatility, but single-attribute ones often achieved more extreme power and efficacy.
Most importantly, what was the fundamental purpose behind developing this ability?
Was it simply to diversify his combat methods, or to serve a specific role in the upcoming Phantom Troupe hunting operation?
Morrow pondered.
Regardless of the direction he chose, the birth of this ability wouldn't be as effortless as Deceptive Shooting Star or Starlight Convergence.
However, since there was no time pressure, the difficulty of the development process was ultimately inconsequential.
After much deliberation, Morrow found himself leaning more toward developing a purely single-attribute ability, one rooted in Emission.
With this premise in mind, he would have to choose between "power" and "functionality," or perhaps aim for both.
If I disregard synergy, the current Deceptive Shooting Star, though limited by its mechanics and lacking free controllability, already has sufficient power...
When it came to the choice between power and functionality, Morrow quickly reached a decision.
Since power wasn't a pressing need at the moment, functionality was the aspect to consider.
Using this as a starting point, Morrow's mind flashed with various functional Emission abilities.
Foremost among them was naturally the near-instantaneous movement ability of the Emission type.
As a transmigrator, familiarity with various works allowed him to recognize a common thread.
Worlds like One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach all featured ultra-high-speed movement techniques.
In this world, abilities enabling such movement would undoubtedly fall under Emission.
At this thought, the first thing that came to Morrow's mind was the light-speed movement ability of the reborn Chimera Ant King, which had left a deep impression on him.
However, that level of ability was far beyond his current reach.
Emission-based movement abilities can be broadly divided into two types: spatial teleportation and pure speed enhancement applied to the body.
Morrow rested his chin on his hand, thinking to himself: Abilities involving spatial properties are undoubtedly A-rank in difficulty to develop, whereas pure speed is comparatively simpler. But then...
His mind suddenly flashed to the scene in the original story where Leorio used a spatial punch to send Ging flying. If we specifically develop a high-speed movement ability involving spatial traversal, then perhaps we can derive a spatial traversal-based offensive technique from this foundation.
For example, with the assistance of the Star Mark's locking ability, we could first shift the target's defensive focus left or right.
At the same time, we could use this more concealed method to strike at positions where the target's Nen defense is lacking.
Additionally...
With such an offensive technique, we wouldn't need to rely entirely on the implantation condition of Starlight Convergence's Star Mark...