Chapter 21: Unique X Understanding
"Um?" Pokkle said while watching the ash fall. "Is that supposed to happen?"
After an extended silence, the students turned to look at the unnaturally silent Wing, who was trying to decipher the meaning of this reaction.
"The delay between both effects makes me think that you, Sinbad, may belong to two separate Nen Categories," revealed Wing. He headed into his kitchen cabinet and pulled out a dust pan and broom to clean up the ash.
"Which categories?" Killua asked, folding his arms.
Zushi pumped his fists. "Is that common?"
After dumping the ash into the trash, Wing returned. "Due to the leaf's movement, that would place Sinbad underneath the Manipulator Category."
Sinbad couldn't help himself from smiling to himself.
"And the second?" Pokkle asked.
"Now the burning of the leaf is something different, a unique experience only tailored to Sinbad that I've heard of, especially the exploding effect," Wing answered, as he stepped around the table and made his way toward the whiteboard. He tapped onto the bottom of the hexagram diagram. "That would make him a Specialist."
Killua whistled as this result.
Pokkle turned toward Sinbad. "Lucky, being a Specialist sounds cool. That must be super rare."
Zushi's mouth widened in awe.
Wing shook his head. "Not necessarily, being a Specialist comes with its fair share of benefits and downfalls. As I previously mentioned, an Enhancer allows them to summon vast amounts of strength and speed that can overpower the opponent. So their range of abilities are limited. Can anyone arrive where I am hinting at?"
Killua grabbed his chin in deep thought. "What you are saying is due to the vagueness of the Specialist Category, they may be overwhelmed with its speciality."
"Correct, Killua," Wing complemented. "I will give you ten points for that response."
"Points?" Sinbad asked.
"Yes!" Zushi said with enthusiasm. "Whoever reaches one hundred points the fastest will get a special treat from Wing-sensei."
Ignoring the silly point system, Sinbad wanted further clarity on the manner. "I assume, however, that fights amongst Nen Users heavily relies on the versatility of the user's Nen Ability. How and where will the gaps in skill appear?"
Already having a vague idea of the answer, Sinbad still asked his question to further understand his own Category and hear the response of a veteran Nen User.
"Excellent question, Sinbad," Wing said. Before responding, he looked each and every student in the eyes. "Listen carefully, to what I am about to say. The utility and function of a singular ability can be more crucial and beneficial in a life or death fight than having multiple separate abilities that do not share any resemblance. This is a pitfall most novice Specialists fall for."
Immediately, Sinbad recollected his only Nen battle. The fight against Hisoka and on Bungee Gum, the mastery at which he wielded the ability flashed in his mind. Slowly, he began doubting Hisoka having an actual powerful ability hidden in his back pocket.
"Any hints to avoid them?" Sinbad asked.
Happen to be asked this question, Wing smiled and turned to his whiteboard, writing two words on the board.
Personality and theme.
'An ability personally tailored to a specific theme that I identify with.' Sinbad thought as his eyes widened, sensing the inner workings of his Nen Ability shape deep within his soul.
"Your Nen Ability should be an expression of the soul and the theme should be the body," stated Wing. He retreated back into the kitchen to replace the leaf.
Zushi and Pokkle nodded in excitement. While Killua went into deep thought, already thinking about potential themes for his Nen Ability, particularly for a Transmutter.
Wing smiled. "Now, shall we continue? Aren't you two boys itching to see your Nen Ability?"
"Osu!" Zushi crossed his arms in front of his chest, and then shot them downward toward his sides, keeping his arms balled up into fists.
Pokkle gave Zushi a dirty look, still salty about losing his match against him and sprinted back to the table to be the next one to use the Water Divination Test. After a strained effort, Pokkle's neutral Nen changed the color of the water to a faint orange, placing him in the Emission category. Next, while using most of his Nen, Zushi tugged the leaf ever so slightly, making him a Manipulator.
Wing decided to call it a night then and they will pick up tomorrow night by watching Gilgamesh's Floor Master fight.
…
Sinbad waved a flirtatious hand at the growing crowd for his 180th Floor match up. With extreme ease and style, he has climbed Heavens Arena and with each victory it brought more lingering eyes and buzz. Especially for the ladies, they squealed as he showered them in attention.
In the crowd, Wing and Zushi looked around in surprise. Zushi's face flashed hot from being shy of the attention he earned. He noticed Pokkle and Killua's non reaction.
"Is he normally like this?" Zushi asked, watching Sinbad work the crowd.
"It's an illness," answered Killua. Pokkle folded his arms and nodded.
The referee scolded Sinbad for stalling and not taking the match seriously, his opponent took deep breaths to not allow his tactics to mess with his head. Then the referee raised his hand in the air to signal the start of the match.
As the match began, Sinbad finally looked at his opponent. Nothing too redeeming about the guy, the standard looking tough guy that may know a thing or two about fighting. Since Sinbad was so close to reaching the 200th Floor, he decided to get serious and show the crowd a little something. In his previous fights, Sinbad would toy with his opponent for those in the crowd to see and empathize with his hard work and ability to dodge, create openings, and then strike at the enemies weak spot.
In this match, he wasn't going to wait for the opponent to do anything, as soon as his opponent took a step forward, Sinbad swooped in. He moved faster than he has shown so far during his time at Heavens Arena, shocking even those in the audience, especially Wing and Zushi, who couldn't even track his movements.
To the crowd, he disappeared and then reappeared in front of the opponent. He spun and planted a heavy kick directly into the man's stomach. The impact shot the man a few feet backwards, he managed to stay upright but the back of heels inched over the ledge and was nearly out of bounds.
Without skipping a beat, Sinbad rushed forward once again.
"Did you see that folks!" Coccoshouted into her mic. "Sinbad moved so quickly, I couldn't even see the attack!"
Damaged and afraid, all the opponent could do was defend himself, like a turtle hiding in its shell, he brought both arms and hands to protect himself.
Sinbad only saw weakness and pity, he pried open the man's only defense by slamming a fist into the man's exposed gut. This was an uppercut that launched the man high into the sky and then crashed into the far cement wall, just underneath the first level of spectators.
The power in which Sinbad generated for the punch caused him to jump and follow through with the attack as he leapt off the ground. As if he were in slow motion, his long thick purple hair twirled in the air as he fell back down. Gracefully, Sinbad landed back on the cement tile floor and was announced as the winner and had advanced to the 200th Floor.
Immediately, his fan club of seven women screamed and shouted his name.
The next match up on the 180th Floor was Killua and in similar fashion, Killua breezed through his opponent without suffering a single hit. To no surprise, especially since Killua reached this same level at the age of six, he returned to the 200th Floor.
Meanwhile, Pokkle won two matches in a row and will soon begin competing on the 180th Floor. And for the sole purpose of becoming a stronger melee fighter and someone that doesn't solely rely on his weapon and advantages, Sinbad forbade Pokkle from using Nen until the 200th Floor. And due to this restriction, Killua followed suit to not seem inferior.
Now, with their fighting done for the day, Sinbad and company returned to Wing's apartment to digest the Floor Master fight between Gilgamesh and Adam. Similar to the night before, Sinbad, Zushi, and Pokkle squeezed together on the couch while Killua sat on his own chair. He awkwardly sat on the chair to rest his arms on the back of the chair.
Wing placed the recording CD into the player and then the television flickered onto the two opponents. As Coccodescribed the two fighters, the camera focused and zoomed onto them. The living room was silent as they waited for the match to begin.
The referee signaled for the match to start and immediately Gilgamesh and Adam activated their respective Nen Abilities. The six gray orbs bubbled around Gilgamesh and the sprouted from Adam's exposed feet was lush grass, flowers, and even a majestic tree. And then hanging from that tree was a vibrant red apple.
After both parties activated their Nen Ability, Wing paused the video. "Now remembering everything that I taught you last night, what do you believe is the first thing you should try to learn about your opponent?"
"Which Nen Category do they belong to?" Sinbad asked, confident in his answer.
"Correct. Ten points to Sinbad." Wing said. The others smacked their lips, especially Killua who had the answer but didn't respond fast enough. "This is important to try and figure out the opponent as it will allow you to predict and anticipate certain abilities and possibilities. Now, who wants to guess Adam's Nen Category?"
Killua hopped in his seat. "Transmutation."
"Precisely, I believe that to be correct. Ten points." Wing answered, happily. "Now, who wants to guess Gilgamesh's category?"
Zushi raised his hand. "Emission?"
Wing shook his head.
"Conjurer?" Pokkle asked.
Once again, Wing shook his head. Pokkle smacked his lips in frustration.
"I'm assuming this is a trick question," Sinbad commented. "It can be harmful to preemptively assume someone's Nen Category without sufficient evidence. Due to the overly showmanship of Adam's Garden of Eden, it's enough for everyone here to guess him to be a Transmuter."
Wing clapped his hands in response to Sinbad's deduction. "Correct, especially since Gilgamesh only created six auraless orbs that haven't done anything. At this very instance, Gilgamesh hasn't done anything to rule any of the six categories out. Shall we continue?"
The students gave their confirmation and then Wing resumed the video. They watched as Adam spoke and relaxed onto the lavish grass, then a bright blur erupted from one of the orbs. Gilgamesh's conjured sword pierced Adam's chest.
Zushi and Pokkle shrieked from the scene, the graphic display of brutality of the sword entering the man's chest. Killua didn't show any signs of distress, only that his attention only focused further, trying to decipher Adam's plan.
'This is a Nen Ability of a Floor Master. There must be a trick to this ability. Where is it? How would I exploit it?' Killua's calculated mind engaged with the footage as if he were in Gilgamesh's shoes.
However, Sinbad laughed rather loudly. The rest of them got silent and turned their attention toward the outlandish and strange reaction.
"Personality and theme, huh?" Sinbad muttered out loud, quickly mapping out his twin brother's Nen Ability. There wasn't any fear due to his understanding of Gilgamesh's personality. He chuckled before saying, "It's just like him to want to launch swords at his enemies."
Allowing Sinbad's sudden outburst to end, Pokkle raised his hand. Noticing this, Wing called on him to speak. Pokkle's eyes snapped onto the television screen. "To go back to our previous question, would it still be presumptuous to accurately guess his Nen category?"
Wing nodded in agreement. "However, if I were to be in this situation, I would be extremely cautious and quite honestly, terrified."
Zushi was the first to react to his sensei's confession. "Why so?"
"The more experienced one is at Nen battles, they are able to quickly analyze and decide on the opponents Nen Category, now remember everything that we spoke about and the benefits of each category."
Wing paused as he rewinded the video to the second right before the sword fired. "The speed, power, accuracy, and durability of this blade shows signs of numerous categories. This alone would shake up any experienced fighter, and I was there to witness and I can testify to its confusion. The best case scenario is to wait for more information."
Of course, Sinbad already had an idea in his mind. As Gilgamesh's twin, he was well aware of his abilities and wouldn't be recognized as his only real threat in this world. For this reason, Sinbad accurately guessed that Gilgamesh was attuned to every Nen Category.
Wing replayed the video and allowed for the subsequent events to unfold, watching as Adam returned from the dead.
Completely terrified, Zushi and Pokkle hugged each other for comfort. "Zombie!"
"Is this to be expected from Nen Abilities?" Killua asked.
Wing shook his head. "This is exceptionally rare."
Sinbad remained quiet but was indeed excited to see the man, Adam return from the dead and resume his nonchalant behavior. His eyes lingered on the red hanging apple.
The video continued playing and the audio picked up Adam and Coccoannouncing over head, explaining the Nen Ability and its condition of eating the fruit.
Once Adam revealed the truth behind Garden of Eden and because of it, the immortality they gained from it, Wing paused the video. "Now, what would you do in this situation?"
This question stumped the students, they were unsure of what to do, because they all understood that this would play into Adam's hand since he created the apple with Nen. However, none of them could come up with a favorable solution.
Except for Sinbad who raised his hand.
A bit taken back by his quick response, Wing called on him to hear his answer.
"After determining and listening to Adam's true Ability, I would believe him that we were indeed immortal," Sinbad opened up his reasoning. "I wouldn't hesitate to eat the apple."
Wing's eyes widened, realizing that his twin brother came to the same conclusion. Even he, knowing the results, still wouldn't have eaten the apple.
Killua rose from his seat and turned toward Sinbad. "You're lying or a moron, eating the apple is exactly what Adam wants you to do."
"Perhaps," Sinbad responded with a shrug. "But, I would never take the word of the enemy and base my thought process on their words."
Before Killua could process Sinbad's words, Pokkle turned to Sinbad. "What do you mean?"
"I am going to make my decision and live with it," Sinbad turned his gaze to Pokkle. "In this situation, waiting around for what comes next will also play into the enemy. What if this Nen Ability were to be used to stall the enemy and prevent them from moving because they were scared of eating an apple? What if the longer you remained docile in this predicament will further increase the strength of the opponent by satisfying a different condition?"
"Are you basing your second question on the specific word choice of 'current state'?" Wing asked. During the Floor Master fight, he did pick up the wording and wondered what that next state may be but by then, Gilgamesh already ate the apple.
"Yes," Sinbad answered, turning his attention back onto Wing. "His ability forces the opponent to begin the game in the disadvantage, you are already in a losing position, so accept it and then turn the tides."
"But eating the fruit right away will only further put you in a disadvantage," Killua said, waving his hands around. "The correct option is to admit defeat."
"Admit defeat? Never." Sinbad repeated with disgust. His gaze switched to Wing. "Play the video. My brother wouldn't hesitate and make the correct choice."
'Is this some sort of twin connection?' Wing thought in amusement. Regardless, he resumed the video. They watched as Gilgamesh chewed on the apple and then swallowed.
The entire arena shifted from a paradise into hell, everything surrounding Gilgamesh turned into monsters and Adam grew wings.
"See, I told you!" Killua shouted, while watching the tape.
Sinbad smiled. "Keep watching, we know who wins remember?"
With his back to the camera, Gilgamesh revealed his blade that sang a tune of death that instantaneously killed everything in its compressed radius. Shredded skin, bones, and debris clouded in front of the camera blocking the fighting stage.
"Impossible," mumbled Killua.
Pokkle rose from his seat, taking a step closer. "So strong."
Zushi shriveled up on the crouch, afraid of the being known as Gilgamesh. The debris cleared and the lens vision returned, witnessing the death and destruction he caused. Adam–with his missing limbs–hovered in the air in a dazed state. Then came the finishing blow.
"So, eating the apple was built into the rules of his Nen Ability?" Sinbad asked Wing without waiting for any other interruption or lesson question.
Wing nodded. "Yes, this is an example of a Nen Condition. These can severely increase an abilities utility and strength exponentially, skilled Nen Users will have abilities with numerous conditions that need to be met to be Activated."
Sinbad's eyes widened.
Finally, the last piece of the puzzle for his Nen Ability had revealed itself.
After analyzing the Floor Master match up between Gilgamesh and Adam, Sinbad and company traveled back to Heavens Arena. It was mandatory for them to sign up for their 200th Floor fight or they would be demoted but more importantly Killua would be banned from competing due to him not signing up for a match his first time competing in the Arena.
Together they rode up the elevator and Killua glanced at Sinbad.
"So, have you decided on a Nen Ability yet?" Killua wondered.
Sinbad grabbed at his chin in thought. "I have a good start but there is more that I want to try out."
Killua smacked his lips. "Of course you do. I bet your brain is malfunctioning with thousands of cool ideas to fight with."
"Yeah but remember what Wing said?" Pokkle interjected, raising his hands. "I'm fine with just being a regulator Emitter, having too many options will only do me more harm."
"It's all about finding the proper conduit," Sinbad answered, gripping his blue ornate sword. His attention lingered on the blade. "As long as I develop the proper theme that reflects my personality, I should be fine."
"Right," replied Killua, dragging out the syllables.
The elevator chimed as they reached the desired floor and the doors retracted, revealing red painted and black granite walls. In stupor, the boys exited the elevators and by reading the signs on the walls, they began heading toward the 200th Floor front desk.
As they turned the hallway, a figure was laying in wait at the opposite end.
Chapter End…
A/N: Hello Readers!! I hope you are ready to witness Sinbad's rise to Floor Master!
Does anyone want to take a guess on who the person is waiting for them?