Six months later.
Early morning. The light was dim, and a thick fog permeated the forest.
Having spent his thirteenth birthday alone shortly after the exam, Yuu was now thirteen and a half.
His features had matured significantly compared to before, and his white hair now flowed past his shoulders.
At this moment, Yuu was sitting cross-legged beneath a raging waterfall, as if deep in meditation.
He silently sensed the approaching water droplets... falling from the sky, slowly decelerating as they got closer, yet never actually making contact.
In other words, he was feeling the entire process of the "Limitless" blocking an attack.
He was attempting to use this method to enhance his mental fortitude and concentration.
The results were remarkable.
Within the first month, Yuu could clearly feel his control over his various powers becoming increasingly proficient. Furthermore, his perception and understanding of both Cursed Energy and Nen had risen to a new level.
"The calmer I am, the more clearly I can perceive and understand the existence of both the Cursed Energy within me and the Nen surrounding me."
Having discovered this, Yuu trained with even greater diligence, gradually extending the time he spent meditating under the waterfall.
Through long and arduous training...
Yuu had now mastered the technique of operating "Ten" and the "Limitless Technique" simultaneously.
He had acquired a new combat stance that balanced physical enhancement with absolute defense.
However, the maximum duration he could maintain this was currently only five hours.
Though that might not seem long, it was more than enough for most battles.
Furthermore, the duration for keeping just the "Limitless Technique" active had extended to sixteen hours. Excluding sleep, he could essentially keep it active throughout his daily life.
Of course, that applied to a daily routine without high-intensity combat.
Fighting someone like Chairman Netero for hours would obviously be impossible.
After all, the brain gets tired.
Different activities consume mental energy at different rates, and the state of his brain determined how long the "Limitless" could remain active.
The logic was simple: one might be able to do elementary math problems all day, but solving advanced physics equations? Just one might leave a person feeling dizzy and exhausted.
...
"That's about enough."
Yuu muttered to himself, then snapped his eyes open. He walked slowly out of the waterfall and raised his hand to conjure his Nen beast, Kuro.
Kuro had grown significantly after consuming massive amounts of food over the past six months. It was now a size larger than a watermelon, and a third tail had sprouted.
Although the progress was undeniable, it was a pity that this was the result from three months ago.
"Since growing the third tail, devouring ordinary food no longer helps Kuro. At the same time, the waterfall training has become far less effective at tempering my will."
"Staying here any longer won't help increase my strength much."
Thinking this, Yuu retrieved clean clothes and stored food from the Nen beast's stomach. After a quick cleanup, he prepared to descend the mountain.
He had achieved the goal of his training—maintaining the "Limitless Technique" almost constantly in daily life.
But this alone wasn't enough.
Yuu knew he still had many areas to improve: physical fitness, combat experience, and on-the-spot reaction speed...
These weren't things that could be improved just by wrestling with ordinary wild beasts in the woods.
Of course, there were people like Netero who trained bitterly day after day, achieving the peak of strength in their fifties before descending the mountain.
But Yuu couldn't sustain that kind of ascetic lifestyle for the long term.
The most efficient way to improve practical combat skills was to fight powerful "Nen users"—preferably in life-or-death battles.
"Life-or-death battles will not only rapidly improve my combat experience but also give me a chance to grasp the core of Cursed Energy and achieve a true breakthrough."
Yuu thought of how, in the original work, Satoru Gojo learned the "Reverse Cursed Technique" while on the brink of death in his fight against Toji Fushiguro.
"And to get that kind of life-or-death experience, hunting dangerous criminals is a good choice."
For example, the Phantom Troupe.
...
With this simple thought in mind, Yuu descended the mountain with his long hair flowing behind him.
After some consideration, he decided to head to Heavens Arena first to earn some living expenses.
After all, even he hadn't transcended humanity; he still needed to eat, drink, and have a roof over his head.
Thinking of Heavens Arena inevitably reminded Yuu of the character "Wing," which inevitably reminded him of "Bisky."
And thinking of Bisky... Yuu could guess that if she saw him, she might reveal her true form—transforming into a snarling monster.
Just the thought gave him the creeps.
"Given Bisky's temper in the original series, and the fact that I ghosted her for six months... if she catches me, I'm definitely losing a layer of skin."
So, Yuu decided to disguise himself and use a fake name.
He would earn the prize money from the first 200 floors of Heavens Arena in the shortest time possible and then slip away immediately. He wouldn't stay a second longer than necessary.
After all, during this time, Bisky was likely venting to everyone she knew, including her disciple Wing.
So Wing definitely knew about his white hair and the bandages over his eyes.
...
One day later.
Disguised and using his Hunter License for smooth travel, Yuu arrived at Heavens Arena in the Republic of Padokea.
He now wore a beret and a black wig. With his blue eyes occasionally peeking out from behind sunglasses, he was frequently mistaken for a beautiful young girl as he walked through the crowd.
Now that he could keep the "Limitless Technique" active semi-permanently, Yuu could manually select which objects could approach and which were blocked.
Consequently, anyone attempting to hit on him or plotting something malicious was kept at a distance, unable to get close.
Inside Heavens Arena.
The lobby was packed with people.
Yuu entered, ignored the crowd, and skillfully found the end of the long registration line, waiting silently.
His behavior attracted quite a few stares; compared to the burly fighters around him, his frame looked rather slight.
However, Yuu didn't care about the looks or whispers. To kill time, he looked up at the combat footage playing on the screens above.
"Here it is, today's hottest match."
"That monster kid... he either finishes the opponent in a few moves or surrenders immediately... I bet on him getting an instant kill today."
Hearing this, Yuu quickly spotted a familiar figure.
"Killua..."
On the display above, Yuu saw an eight-year-old boy facing a strong enemy. Less than a minute into the fight, the boy surrendered without throwing a punch, then left the arena with a look of utter frustration.
The clip only lasted a few minutes before switching back to the live feed of the first-floor exams.
It seemed that popular matches like the one just now were prioritized for replays.
Although it was just a video, Yuu could tell that the opponent Killua had just encountered was a rare Nen user.
In Yuu's eyes, the opponent was weak, and Killua could likely win if he went all out. However, Killua had a Nen needle implanted in his brain by his brother, Illumi.
The needle carried Illumi's "Nen" and a simple command...
The moment he encountered an enemy stronger than himself, his first reaction must be self-preservation.
"However, that guy clearly doesn't look stronger than Killua..." Yuu mused. "It must be because the Nen radiating from the opponent gave off a dangerous vibe similar to Illumi's.
"That caused Killua to overestimate the enemy's strength."
...
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