NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12: Neguro Ability
As the smoke cleared, the hip-hop guy stood in the aftermath, his shirt in tatters and faint burn marks across his chest. He hadn't had time to fully defend himself, but the damage wasn't nearly as bad as Larry had expected. With a grin, the hip-hop guy ripped off what was left of his burnt shirt, revealing his well-defined, muscular physique. His body seemed to have grown slightly larger—an unmistakable sign that his Nen ability had activated.
***
Name: Extra no 3 Hip-hop Man
Strength: B-
Nen Ability: Scars Are a Man's Medals – An Enhancement-type ability that boosts his strength and speed in proportion to the severity of his injuries. The more damage he takes, the stronger he becomes, with a limit of two minor stage increases.
***
Larry couldn't help but think of how this ability resembled a beserker, whose attacks became fiercer the lower his health got.
Neguro, seeing that the sneak attack had failed, narrowed his eyes and spoke coldly. "If you three leave now, I'll spare you... but you're not taking a single coin with you." Before he could finish, a whip lashed out toward him, slicing through the air with a sharp crack!
The whip was long, thick, and tipped with a sinister hook, glowing faintly with a dark red hue—almost as if it had been soaked in blood. Neguro smirked, diverting a portion of his aura to his legs and stomping down hard. The ground beneath him shattered, sending cracks like a spider's web across the stone floor. The force of the impact propelled him backward with surprising agility, allowing him to dodge the attack effortlessly.
***
Name: Extra no 4 Leather-Clad Woman
Strength: C+
Nen Ability: Vampire Whip – A Materialization-type ability that manifests a whip up to four meters long. When it breaks through an opponent's defense, it absorbs their blood and converts it into aura to restore the user's stamina.
**
Almost simultaneously, two silver-white chains shot out from the hands of the man with glasses. Surprisingly, they didn't target Neguro or his guards, but instead wrapped securely around the waists of the leather-clad woman and the hip-hop guy. Larry observed closely and realized the chains weren't meant to restrain, but to enhance.
***
Name: Extra no 5 Glasses Man
Strength: C
Nen Ability: Shared Chain of Kin – A Specialist-type ability that creates up to two white chains, linking the user and two others. It allows the wearer to redistribute aura consumption and enhancements among the linked individuals.
Restriction & Oath: This ability only works on his blood relatives, but in exchange, it grants him a greater pool of Nen to manage.
***
Larry couldn't help but admire how well the siblings' abilities complemented each other.
In the world of Nen, every ability has its strengths and weaknesses. The key to maximizing potential lies in finding others whose abilities complement your own. When abilities are used in perfect synergy, they can create a force far greater than the sum of their parts. For the three siblings, their cooperation was a prime example of this. The leather-clad woman inflicted damage to generate Nen, which the man with glasses then redistributed to the hip-hop guy, providing him with a continuous energy supply. The glasses man also acted as a reservoir, ready to distribute additional Nen whenever needed.
Their teamwork allowed them to sustain themselves in battle far longer than most could imagine. If either the leather-clad woman or the glasses man were injured, the glasses man could transfer the damage to the hip-hop guy, whose ability thrived on taking hits. As long as they kept the damage under control, the enemy's attacks would only serve to strengthen them.
However, as Larry analyzed their strategy, he noted two glaring weaknesses. First, their overall strength was lacking. Even with the hip-hop guy pushed to his absolute limit, his peak performance would only reach B+ level. And by the time he reached that point, his injuries would be severe, making it impossible to sustain the fight for long.
Second, their team had no means of actual healing. They could redistribute damage and replenish Nen, but without a way to truly recover, prolonged battles would inevitably wear them down. A healer would complete their formation, but Nen users with healing abilities were notoriously rare. Additionally, the glasses man's ability was bound by an oath and restriction—it only worked on his blood relatives, which further limited their options.
Larry couldn't help but reflect on what made Hunter x Hunter such a captivating world. For him, it boiled down to two major factors: the vast, uncharted universe and the sheer variety of Nen abilities. The revelation that the known world was nothing more than a tiny archipelago in the vast Lake Mobius had left him stunned when he first read about it. The sheer scale of the Hunter x Hunter world was unmatched in any anime or manga he had ever seen. The concept of the Dark Continent—an unfathomable expanse that dwarfed the known world—only added to the sense of infinite possibility, a boundless adventure waiting to be explored.
And yet, his amazement only deepened with time as the mangaka's frequent hiatuses fueled his imagination further. Sometimes, he couldn't help but wonder—was it intentional? Perhaps leaving so many mysteries unsolved was part of the plan, a clever trick to keep fans yearning for more. After all, an unanswered question lingers in the mind far longer than one with a satisfying conclusion.
Then there were the Nen abilities themselves, each one more unique and bizarre than the last. From the terrifying ability to steal others' Nen with Skill Hunter to the ability that has the properties of both rubber and gum, the variety was endless. Larry's insatiable curiosity thrived in this world, where each encounter presented a new mystery to unravel. He knew that Nen battles were more than just raw power; they were battles of intelligence, strategy, and deception.
The key to victory often lay in uncovering the opponent's abilities before they figured out yours. In this sense, his cheatlike ability to analyze and draw conclusions quickly gave him an edge that Neguro and his men lacked. Larry's musings were cut short as Neguro's eyes darkened, a malicious glint flashing behind his sunglasses. "You fools have no idea what you're dealing with," he sneered, spreading his arms wide.
In an instant, a massive swarm of Nen-created insects materialized out of thin air and surged toward the siblings. The deafening buzz filled the cavern, and in mere seconds, the swarm grew into a writhing tide of black, crawling horrors. For anyone with a fear of insects, the sight alone would have been enough to induce unconsciousness.
***
Name: Neguro
Strength: B
Nen Ability: Swarm of Resentment – A Materialization-type ability that generates a relentless wave of deadly insects. The swarm doesn't kill its victims instantly; instead, it gradually devours them, maximizing their suffering to produce intense death aura. If the victim succumbs to despair, the swarm absorbs the resulting death aura, growing even more vicious and resilient with each absorbed emotion.
***
Larry studied Neguro closely. It was often said that a person's Nen ability reflected their true nature. Just as Hisoka's Bungee Gum represented his deceptive and playful personality, the siblings' abilities highlighted their strong familial bonds. Neguro's ability, however, painted a much darker picture—cruel, relentless, and designed to prolong suffering. It was clear he wasn't the type to play fair.