Chapter 3: This Is Way Too Interesting!
In his previous life, Kai had been so bored during the lockdown that he'd binged shows and anime at high intensity. Naturally, he hadn't skipped a classic "masterpiece-on-hiatus" like Hunter x Hunter. Because of that, he remembered the world's rules quite clearly.
In the world of Hunter x Hunter, every living being possesses life energy, known as Aura.
Normal people are unaware of their Aura, allowing it to leak away. Those who can sense and learn to control this power are called Nen users.
Based on an individual's personality, their Nen will fall into one of six categories.
The divination method, called Water Divination, is simple. Place a leaf on the surface of a glass of water, then focus your Aura around the glass. The resulting change reveals your type:
The leaf moves $\rightarrow$ Manipulation
The color of the water changes $\rightarrow$ Emission
The volume of the water changes $\rightarrow$ Enhancement
The taste of the water changes $\rightarrow$ Transmutation
Impurities appear in the water $\rightarrow$ Conjuration
Any other change $\rightarrow$ Specialization
"..."
After a quick review, Kai sat up straight. He stared at the cup of water and the still leaf floating on its surface, then placed his hands on either side of the glass.
The big tiger lay down nearby, its front paws crossed. Inside the cabin, the glow from its fur was somewhat dimmed. It let out a yawn, tilting its head at the human child, clearly not understanding what he was doing. There's water. Why is he staring at it instead of drinking?
Kai, of course, had no idea what the tiger was thinking. He was completely focused on gathering his Aura. Thanks to having already used his ability a few times, he could sense it easily, even with zero basic training. He gathered the energy in his palms and pushed it toward the cup.
And then, the leaf, which had been perfectly still, began to slowly move...
Just as I thought. I'm a Manipulator.
Kai had already suspected as much, so he wasn't surprised.
The six Nen types form a circle: Manipulation $\rightarrow$ Emission $\rightarrow$ Enhancement $\rightarrow$ Transmutation $\rightarrow$ Conjuration $\rightarrow$ Specialization $\rightarrow$ Manipulation.
There was a general, though not always accurate, rule of thumb:
Emission, Enhancement, and Transmutation were often used for more conventional combat—brawling, energy blasts, and giving Aura different properties.
However, among the weirdest and most powerful Nen abilities, there were "hax" abilities that were basically "instant-win" rules. These types of abilities were most common among Manipulators, Specialists, and Conjurers.
In the HxH world, any veteran Nen user knew one thing: Manipulation abilities often have a "first move wins" effect.
In other words, if you let a Manipulator successfully hit you with their ability, it's game over.
It was just that broken.
Kai's rose-gold pentagram had exactly this trait. As long as he successfully placed the mark on a target, he could control it freely.
"So, my ability... hmm, I'll think of a proper name later. For now, let's call it... Star Marker. But what are the exact activation conditions for Star Marker?"
Kai picked the leaf off the water, lost in thought. Just the simple act of gathering his Aura had left him exhausted. It was clear that his new, untrained child's body had a pitifully small pool of Aura. No wonder activating Star Marker just once had completely drained him.
He looked at the wolf he controlled, at the small, rose-gold pentagram inside its ear.
"Speaking of which... how do I get rid of it?"
He reached out and tapped the mark. In an instant, the pentagram dissolved into light.
"Whine!"
Freed from Kai's control, the wolf immediately yelped in panic.
But a deep, threatening growl instantly came from behind Kai. The tiger, its fur pulsing with a soft, jade-like light, leaped over Kai and slammed the wolf to the floor.
This radiant tiger was nearly five feet tall just on all fours. Its massive, heavy body easily pinned the wolf, which had already been wounded fighting for Kai. The wolf looked pathetically weak in comparison.
"Thanks, my Tiger Bro." Kai walked over and patted the pinned wolf's head. "Stop whining. This is just a test, it'll be quick."
His Aura was limited. How could he test this efficiently?
What was the most urgent thing to find out?
Kai thought for a moment, then pulled the baggy black suit jacket off his body and draped it over the wolf.
He plucked one of his own hairs, placed it on top of the suit, and held his breath. He focused his Aura, twisting the hair into a pentagram and pressing it down onto the fabric.
The ability failed to activate.
Kai could feel it. It wasn't a failure from lack of Aura; the conditions simply hadn't been met.
He panted, resting for a moment. He threw the jacket aside and tried again. This time, he twisted the hair into a pentagram and placed it on the wolf's fur, being careful to only touch the hair and not the skin beneath.
It failed again.
"So, the pentagram has to be in direct contact with the target's 'skin' to activate? Or at least, it has to be drawn perfectly on the 'body surface'?" Kai mused. "The preliminary conditions seem to be: 1. The pentagram symbol. 2. The symbol must be flush with the target's body surface—clothes will block it. 3. My Aura must be applied as these two conditions are met. All three are required..."
He wanted to keep testing, but he was completely spent. He was thirsty, hungry, and exhausted.
Kai picked up the cup and gulped down the rest of the water. He asked his Tiger Bro to keep the wolf pinned.
He searched the cabin and found a stash of emergency food: compressed biscuits, bread, chocolate, and some small cakes.
He also found a kid's shirt and pants. He rolled them up, put them on, and tied the pants with a rope he found. At least he wasn't running around naked anymore.
Considering the mafia corpses on the shore, he wasn't worried about expiration dates.
"Tiger Bro, you want some?"
Kai unwrapped the tastiest-looking cake and waved it in front of the tiger's huge head.
As expected of a rare creature from the HxH world, it was highly intelligent. It shook its head and gently pushed the cake back with its paw, as if urging Kai to eat it himself and not waste it.
As for the wolf, it was completely pinned under the tiger's backside, with no hope of escape.
To be honest, while Kai was grateful for the tiger's help, he was baffled. Why was it being so nice to him? I didn't pay for this service.
Kai began to wolf down the food—cake, chocolate, biscuits—and found another bottle of water.
In the quiet night, the empty cabin was filled with the sound of Kai eating and the low whimpers of the wolf.
While he ate, Kai picked up the newspaper again.
He couldn't read the Hunter alphabet, but he could look at the pictures. And the numbers, which, thankfully, seemed to be universal.
He saw a date on the front-page article: 1994-11-29. He quickly did the math. The main HxH storyline, with Gon leaving for the Hunter Exam, begins in January 1999.
In other words, it was the end of 1994. He was about four years away from the "start of the plot."
Kai's eyes fixed on one of the photos. It looked like a press photo from some political event. Two men were shaking hands, smiling their politician smiles for the camera.
One of them... was a fat man. He looked a bit oafish and wealthy, but with a sharp glint in his eyes. More importantly, Kai recognized him.
Isn't that the King of Kakin?
The guy whose family name is, for some reason, 'Hui Guo Rou' (Twice-Cooked Pork)?
Kai had read the manga all the way to the Dark Continent / Black Whale / Succession War arc. He'd skimmed a lot of it—the text density had gotten insane—but he definitely remembered the King.
"Does this mean... I'm in the Kakin Kingdom?"
Thinking of Kakin made him think of Kite. Thinking of Kite made him think of the Chimera Ant arc. Thinking of the Chimera Ant arc...
Nope. Not going there.
"Bad vibes." Kai tossed the paper aside. He felt rested enough. Time to use the wolf for more tests.
But just then, he realized something. Something that had been right in front of him this whole time.
This wolf.
It had been torn to shreds by the pack, on its last breath. How was it perfectly fine now? He couldn't even see any major wounds.
Was it just a superior breed with a healing factor, or...
He had to check. He ran around the cabin, the tiger's head swiveling to follow him. He couldn't find a "weapon." The kitchen knives were on a rack too high for him to reach.
Frustrated, he returned to the tiger. "Tiger Bro... I need you to do me a favor. Give this guy a little scratch." He pointed at the wolf.
The tiger didn't hesitate. A paw flashed. The wolf shrieked as a bloody gash was torn open on its neck. Hot blood nearly splattered on Kai's legs.
With the tiger holding it down, the wolf couldn't even struggle.
Kai watched the wound intently.
But the gash just... bled. The blood matted the fur and started to congeal, but the wound itself showed no signs of closing.
Kai's eyes lit up. He dipped his finger in the fresh wolf blood. He pushed aside the fur on the wolf's belly and, right on the skin, he drew a pentagram.
This time, he didn't use his Aura while drawing.
After the blood symbol was complete, he wiped his finger, gathered his Aura into his palm, and slapped it onto the pentagram.
Star Marker activated! A rose-gold mark appeared on the wolf's stomach.
A new rule: I can prepare the symbol first, and then apply my Aura later. It doesn't have to be simultaneous.
Kai nodded, satisfied. Then he looked back at the gash on the wolf's neck.
The wound... was healing. At a speed visible to the naked eye.
"It's a Manipulation ability... but it comes with a bizarre side effect... the target gets a powerful healing factor!"
Kai wasn't disappointed. He was smiling.
He quickly dipped his finger in the blood one more time. He paused, thought for a second, and then turned around. Using Kai-Wolf's "third-person" view for assistance, he accurately drew a blood pentagram on the back of his own neck. As he drew the final line, he infused his fingertip with Aura, sealing the pattern.
In an instant, a rose-gold Star Marker formed on his own skin.
Perfect.
With this, don't I have my own passive healing ability?
And more importantly, as a Manipulator, I've 'first-move-won' and manipulated... myself. This means other Manipulators can't control me. I'm completely defended!
The world of Nen... is just way too interesting!
Kai was reveling in his discovery when, through the cabin porthole, a sound split the night.
CRACK!
In the dead silence, the gunshot was sharp and sudden, echoing on the sea wind.
There are other mafia guys still alive?
Kai froze in terror.
And at that exact same moment, that bizarre, hot-and-cold aura drilled deep into his heart.
Kai's vision went black, and he collapsed, falling sideways toward the radiant tiger.
(End of Chapter)