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Kai chuckled. "Wanna learn?"
The trio nodded like mad.
"Sure," he agreed without hesitation.
This was street-level knowledge. Even if he didn't teach them, they'd pick it up eventually.
After all, the Phantom Troupe didn't raise any weaklings.
In a sense, these wild, self-taught misfits had what it took to become A-rank wanted criminals. Their raw talent was easily on par with the protagonists of the story.
"For real?" Uvogin looked shocked.
On Meteor Street, everything followed one rule: equivalent exchange.
And this kind of secret—one that could change lives—wasn't something you gave away for free. Not even for saving someone's life.
Here, human lives were the cheapest thing around.
Kai smiled at Machi, ignoring Uvogin, and continued calmly:
"There are two main ways to awaken Nen."
"The first method takes time—lots of it. You train through meditation, introspection, and constant self-discipline. You learn to sense the life energy within your body, and then, using sheer will, open the special acupoints one by one."
"This is the traditional method. It's relatively safe, but extremely slow. That's how it's usually done outside places like Meteor Street. It's the method used by those from schools like Shingen-ryu."
"Shingen-ryu?" Nobunaga asked.
Kai nodded. "Yeah, Chairman Netero trained in that school."
"How long are we talkin'?" Uvogin raised an eyebrow.
"If you're naturally gifted, a few months. If not… years. Maybe even a lifetime."
In Kai's opinion, the Shingen-ryu approach worked for only two types of people—those with genius-level talent, and those with monk-like perseverance. The kind of people who could shut out the world for years and keep training without losing focus.
"Too slow," Uvogin scoffed, crossing his arms.
Machi and Nobunaga quietly agreed. Time was life on Meteor Street.
A power that took years to master was a luxury for people in safer worlds.
Kai continued, "The second method is faster."
"I forcefully open your acupoints using my own Nen. Once they're open, you'll need to sense the flow of your own aura and learn to control it."
"If it goes well, you'll awaken in just a few minutes."
Before anyone could celebrate, Kai's tone turned serious.
"But it's dangerous."
"If you go the slow, traditional route, you gradually build control. If someone forces the acupoints open from the outside, you risk losing control completely."
"If that happens—if your aura pours out too fast—"
"You die."
Aura was like blood. Lose too much, too fast, and it's over.
Kai glanced at them. In the canon timeline, they had all awakened successfully—but that was years later. Right now, at this young age, there was no guarantee.
Nobunaga, however, grinned. "The greater the risk, the greater the reward."
Uvogin's eyes lit up. "How could I pass up something that sounds this fun?"
Machi simply said, "I'm not afraid of death."
Seeing their resolve, Kai nodded.
"Alright then. Give me five minutes to recover."
He had already used a lot of aura earlier when feeding them. He didn't want to take unnecessary risks.
...
After a short rest, Kai opened his eyes.
"Who's going first?"
"I will," Machi said.
She was closest to Kai, and for some reason, she instinctively trusted him.
"Alright. I'm going to inject my aura into you. Imagine it like blood flowing through your body…"
Kai carefully explained the entire process one more time. Then, he focused his aura into his palm.
Though the others couldn't see the Nen, they could feel it—the pressure, the intensity.
It was like staring down a wild beast with their bare hands.
"Is this Nen…?" Uvogin's fists trembled with excitement.
Kai warned, "Get ready. Here I come."
Gathering his aura, Kai struck Machi—smack!—on the hip with pinpoint force.
Before she could protest, a rush of warm energy surged through her.
She raised her hands—and to her astonishment, saw wisps of white aura flowing out from all over her body.
"It's… strange…"
Kai nodded. "That's your aura. Focus on it. Try to hold it close to your body and contain it."
"Feel it. Control it. The faster, the better. If you lose too much, you'll be in danger."
"Understood," Machi replied, focused.
Of the three, she was the most mentally stable. Kai was confident her heart was strong enough to endure the awakening.
Sure enough, within a minute, her once-wild aura settled into a controlled state, wrapping around her like a protective shield.
Uvogin and Nobunaga could feel the change just by looking at her.
"How does it feel?" Kai asked.
"Warm," Machi replied, clenching her fist. "Like I'm wearing a weightless coat."
Kai smiled. "Try to shut off your aura now. That's the technique called In."
Machi followed his instructions and quickly picked up the basics of Zetsu, Ren, and Ten as well.
Hatsu could wait—she wasn't ready for that yet.
"It's my turn!" Uvogin shouted, unable to contain his excitement.
Nobunaga sighed, knowing there was no beating him to it.
Kai warned, "Be careful. You're not exactly the patient type."
"I got it, I got it," Uvogin waved him off.
Kai frowned. "Then squat down. You're too tall—I can't reach your head."
Machi: "???"
Wait—you can activate Nen through the head?!
Then why did he hit her on the butt earlier…?
She shot Kai a death glare, mentally cursing him out.