The Reincarnator's Tavern

Chapter 27 Ren of Force

Rayleigh, Gon, and Killua were invited to Wing's house on the two-month anniversary of Gon's punishment, and each was excited.

Killua was slightly peeved at Rayleigh because the latter claimed that he knew how Hisoka did all his tricks, but he refused to explain it to him.

Why? According to Rayleigh, he also ruined the surprise for Kastro, so Killua should figure Hisoka out himself.

Hisoka's match had given the assassin more questions than answers, so he was eager to finally learn about Nen and figure out what could be done with it.

Wing welcomed the trio and said, "Starting today, you'll train with Zushi. Gon, you kept your promise during those two months, right?"

Gon smiled and presented his string-tied pinky finger. "Right. It's thanks to this string. I was tempted a bunch of times, but each time I looked at the string, I calmed down."

Wing smiled, "That's because I put my Nen in it."

Gon looked surprised and asked, "Really?"

Wing answered, "No, that was a lie," making everyone cringe at the terrible joke.

Killua could not help but bring up, "How do you know he kept his promise? I mean, he could have said whatever he wanted to."

Gon was less than pleased Killua was throwing him under the bus for the sake of curiosity, but Wing still answered. "Because of the string. Let me show you. Gon, it's been two months, but how about you show us your Ten."

Gon closed his eyes and took a natural stance. A moment later, his aura covered his body. What was impressive was that, although the aura was shrouding him, it didn't dissipate away from him. It formed a thick layer around him like wearing a half dozen sweaters.

Wing turned to Zushi and asked, "What do you think?"

Zushi answered, "It's great! His aura is stable, and the flow is smooth, soft, and calm. He is really strong!"

Gon was elated and shouted, "I did it! I was afraid I forgot."

Wing said, "It's like swimming or riding a bike, it's not a skill that can be forgotten once learned. Of course, it takes a lot of effort to improve it."

Gon countered, "But how did mine improve? I did it faster and easier than before, but I haven't trained at all."

Wing smiled and answered, "That's the result of training Ten of Point this entire time. As you can see, your effort is never wasted. Now, show me your hand."

Gon presented the hand with the string-tied pinky and gasped when he noticed it. The string broke in multiple places.

Gon asked, "How did it break?"

Wing pushed up his glasses and answered, "I tied it in such a way that if you used Nen, it breaks."

Rayleigh grabbed Gon's hand and took off the string so he could examine it. He hadn't looked at it before, but now he noticed that the string had tiny inscriptions on it. Rayleigh asked, "Can I learn to do this?"

Wing answered, "It's called Divine Script, or Inscription. It grants what it is written on Nen-like properties, but can only grant the properties of the Nen of the person who writes it."

He continued, "I only know how to make an Inscription that makes something durable but breaks in the presence of Nen. It's basically a cheap trick."

He turned to a bookshelf and said with a smile, "I do have a few journals you can look at if you want to try figuring it out." The mischievous way he said it made everyone in the room recognize the offer as a prank, but Rayleigh feigned ignorance and said, "Yes, please. I'll return them if I can't get anything out of them."

Wing gave a smile filled with humor and shook his head.

Killua changed the subject by asking, "Wing, you saw the match between Hisoka and Kastro, right?"

"Yes."

Killua continued, "How did Hisoka do all of that? Rayleigh said he knows but refuses to say anything. Can we do all of that?"

Wing turned to Rayleigh and asked, "Oh, you know how he did it?"

Rayleigh nodded, "Yep," but didn't elaborate.

Wing smiled and turned back to Killua, "As for your questions about what he did and if you can do it, let's start with the first. Gon, have you seen the match on tape?"

Gon shook his head, and Wing produced a DVD and inserted it into his large TV.

The match started, and after a few minutes, Hisoka threw his arm into the air from under the handkerchief and revealed the playing cards that fell to the ground.

Wing paused at that moment and asked, "So, do you see it? There are wires of aura coming out of his left arm."

Rayleigh asked, "TVs can show Nen? I thought Nen was supposed to be hidden from the public."

Wing replied, "The video of this fight cannot be purchased outside Heaven's Arena. And only those from the Tower and in the local area can purchase the Fight on Pay-Per-View. And most importantly, this TV is very expensive. It was actually built using Inscriptions, so Nen can be seen from the videos it shows."

Killua stated, "But I can't see anything!"

Gon added, "Me neither."

Wing nodded, "Yes, Hisoka is using a technique to make his aura imperceptible. It's a high-level application of Zetsu called In, which means Hide. Thanks to this In, even if the opponent is very strong, he won't feel or see Hisoka's aura."

Rayleigh interjected, "Is that what Kastro used to make his Doppelganger invisible?"

Wing nodded, "Yes, though Kastro could also make it appear and disappear when he wanted, so the addition of In was superfluous."

Wing continued, "The technique to see through your opponent's In is called Gyō, which means Focus. Using Gyō requires focusing your aura while using Ren on your eyes to enhance the countless tiny micropyles within, granting you the ability to see even hidden Nen. This will be the first exercise for you three. You are tasked with learning Ren and Gyō, then seeing if you are capable of seeing through Hisoka's In."

Zushi asked, "Three? What about me?"

Wing answered, "You should already be able to use Gyō. Come here and show us your Ren."

Zushi released a strong breath to acknowledge his teacher's order and stood before the TV while taking a strong stance. He then used Ren.

This was the first time Rayleigh got a visual look at someone's Ren. White Knight covered himself in wax and Springheeled Jack moved too fast to see, so those didn't count.

With the micropyles in his own eyes opened, Rayleigh could clearly see the aura being ejected from Zushi's aura nodes. Unlike his expectations, though, it didn't disperse into the air. Around the outer edges of his strong, bursting aura was a calmer aura that held the explosive aura around Zushi without dispersing. It was basically Ten, which meant that Ren required bursting out the aura over the body while holding Ten at the same time on the fringes.

Normal Ten increased defense, but not offense. This Ren technique clearly had offensive properties as well.

What was more impressive, was that this Ren was far stronger than what Rayleigh felt back when he fought Zushi on the 50th floor. Rayleigh said, "You've gotten a lot stronger in the last few months."

Zushi was unable to respond, as holding Ren appeared to be very taxing for him.

Wing stated, "Now concentrate your aura into your eyes."

Zushi grunted, "Right," and the explosive aura was slowly concentrated to Zushi's upper body, while the aura being released by the lower body was halted. The concentration continued to Zushi's head and eventually, aura was fully concentrated onto Zushi's eyes.

Wing tapped on the TV and said, "Do you see the aura coming from Hisoka?"

Gritting his teeth, Zushi held his concentration with all his might while answering, "Yes!"

Wing added, "How many lines do you see?"

Zushi's eyes moved around the screen and answered, "Thirteen, I think."

Wing replied, "Almost, but you're close."

Zushi then released the tension in his body and started hyperventilating. Rayleigh could see how such a technique would be difficult to use in conjunction with the use of a Doppelganger.

Wing smiled, "You're making great progress, Zushi."

After getting a few breaths, Zushi replied, "I really did see it! Thank you, teacher."

Wing added, "Not completely. All of your Ren must be entirely concentrated in your Gyō. Once it is, you'll have reached the level required to break through the In of Hisoka. As long as you continue to practice, you'll be able to fight while using Gyō."

Wing turned off the TV and lectured, "Gyō is the classic technique to use against unknown opponents because you cannot hope to be the winner in a fight without understanding what your opponent is able to do. So, back to the first question Killua asked. Once you have worked on Ren and learned Gyō, you'll be able to find the answer to how Hisoka used his Nen to fight. As for the second question, if you can all do the same thing, the answer is yes, but also no."

Wing elaborated, "Hisoka's abilities were created with Nen. Can you create the same ability using Nen? Yes. But it will never be as strong as the same technique when Hisoka uses it. Why? Because Nen is heavily dependent on the person."

"Let's say I know exactly how to replicate Hisoka's technique. Let's also say Hisoka spent five years mastering it. In order to master it to the same degree as Hisoka, I may take ten years, twenty years, or I may never master it to the same degree. Copying someone is never a good idea. You should find something that suits you the most."

"Your Nen should come from yourself, not someone else. What do you want? What are you afraid of? What do you want to do? Where do you want to go? What do you want to do there? These questions will give form to your Nen."

Rayleigh asked, "Isn't that how you described the process for practicing Ten of Point?"

Wing nodded with a smile. "Exactly. The concept or concepts that comprise the single point on which you can focus your entire being are the best foundation for your Nen. But that isn't something you'll have to worry about now. Getting ahead of yourself without a strong foundation is the worst thing you can do for your future. In any case, we'll start now. First, all four of you, show me your Ten."

Rayleigh fully opened his aura nodes while cycling it through him. He kept a strong image of his aura as a pressurized diving suit. It surrounded him and kept pressure on his skin, keeping the rest of his aura inside him even though his aura nodes were open, while also protecting him from the outside using that pressure.

Killua's Ten wasn't all that different from Gon's, but Rayleigh's was noticeably stronger.

Killua accused, "Hey, I thought you weren't practicing."

Rayleigh sighed, "I only practiced once after opening my aura nodes. But it can't be helped. I've been meditating daily since I was four."

Wing asked, "Is that about your telekinesis?"

Ray nodded, "Yeah, it's something everyone on this island I was born on could do."

Wing nodded and looked over to Killua, "It won't take you long to catch up, so don't worry."

After confirming everyone's Ten, Wing returned to lecturing about Ren and stated, "Now, before we continue, I want to remind you of the warning I gave you about Ren. Although I said it was about the Ren from Nen of Flame, it was actually the Ren from Nen of Force. Do you remember what I said?

Rayleigh answered, "Ren makes people stubborn, so if you have bad habits or bad ideals, training Ren makes it more difficult to correct those bad habits and ideals."

Wing nodded with a smile. "That's exactly right. This is the inherent danger of training Nen that everyone must face. If a person learns Nen too early or when they have an improper mindset, they will harden that mindset every time they train Ren, making it difficult or, in some cases, impossible to grow out of. Because of this, you will find that many people who learned Nen too early or from a poor teacher may be unbalanced or immature."

Killua asked, "What about us?"

Wing smiled, "I believe you'll be fine. Nen of Flame's Ten of Point is the best way to train to mature the soul and prevent impurities from stubbornly latching onto your psyche. With a mature soul, bad habits you have or acquire in the future won't be difficult to remove as you gain more experience. The better your Ten of Point, the smoother your aura when you use Nen of Force's Ten of Shroud. I can tell from the smoothness of your aura that you have all been diligently practicing Ten of Point for the last two months. Although it has delayed your training, it has also given your soul a solid foundation, which is immensely beneficial for your future training."

Wing then returned his attention to the Ren character on the whiteboard and continued, "Now, the Ren from Nen of Force means Enhance. Ren is a technique to amplify your aura, basically a stronger version of Ten. Now, I'm sure you are wondering how that amplification occurs?"

The trio nodded, though Zushi already knew.

Wing continued, "The first step is accumulation. Using the focus from Ten of Point, you must visualize your aura being built up within your body. Imagine every single cell in your body gathering power. This is the accumulation stage. Ren is the act of forcing that accumulated aura out of your body without letting it disperse."

Wing walked to the whiteboard again and drew a stick figure with multiple arrows coming out. Then he drew a circle around it. He stated, "While forcing your accumulated aura out, you must also maintain Ten to prevent the aura from simply dissipating. The accumulated aura that has been forced out will move much faster and act with greater force than the aura that naturally flows out during Ten."

He then drew arrows of the aura bouncing off the inside of the circle of Ten and back to the body, then back to the circle of Ten.

Wing explained, "Without maintaining Ten around your aura, your Ren will only last for as long as you can force out your accumulated aura. As long as you maintain a strong Ten, the fast-moving aura will continue to maintain itself around you like so." More arrows were added to depict the aura bouncing back and forth between the stick figure and the Ten circle.

"Your own aura cannot harm you in most circumstances, so the fast-moving aura will harmlessly bounce off you while being trapped by your Ten. You can think of it like starting a fire and keeping it close to you to prevent it from going out."

He then started writing on the whiteboard. "The quality of your Ren is decided by four things. How much aura you can accumulate. How fast you can force that accumulated aura out. The strength of your Ten, which prevents your forced-out aura from dissipating. And your control."

He wrote down each on the whiteboard. Accumulation Quantity, Speed of Emission, Ten Strength, Control. He then turned to Rayleigh, "Knowing this, how do you think Gyō is performed?"

Rayleigh considered it before answering, "After forcing out your accumulated aura, minimize the volume of your Ten that contains your forced-out aura, and keep minimizing its volume and its location until your forced-out aura is only bouncing back and forth between your eyes and a layer of Ten around your eyes. Does the concentrated aura strengthen the micropyles in your eyes or act as binoculars?"

Wing answered, "Both. Good job catching that." Wing then turned to Killua and asked, "Which of these four things do you think determines the strength of your Ren?"

Killua answered, "How fast you force your aura out of your body."

Wing smiled and continued to Gon, "Why do you think how fast the aura is forced out determines the strength?"

Gon answered, "Uhh, because going faster means hitting harder?"

Though simplistic, the answer was correct. Wing circled the line Speed of Emission and said, "Exactly. The amplification Ren grants comes entirely from the speed of your aura after it has been forced out of your body. How much aura you can accumulate and how well your Ten bounces your aura back will increase your Ren's duration, but not its power."

Rayleigh asked, "What if you use Gyō on your fist?" Although Wing said the speed at which the aura was forced out determined the strength of the Ren, wouldn't concentrating Ren into a small area, forcing all of that fast moving aura into a single space raise the power as well?

Wing looked surprised for a moment before answering, "That's called Kō, but you need a much stronger foundation to use it. Feel free to practice it once you've mastered Gyō, but you are a very, very long way from using such a thing in a fight. Of course, as long as you continue to work on your foundation, you'll be able to use it one day."

Rayleigh asked, "What's the longest someone has ever maintained Ren?"

Wing didn't mind the curious questions, as they showed how interested Rayleigh was. Wing answered, "I'm not sure, but I know there was a time Chairman Netero maintained Ren for a couple of days while exploring a very dangerous place."

Zushi nearly shouted, "WHAT?! NO WAY!"

The trio had not used Ren yet, but from watching Zushi, they knew it was difficult. Maintaining it even for a few seconds was hard, much less for a full day.

Killua asked, "How long can you maintain Ren?"

Wing answered, "About half a day is my current max. Fighters classified as decent can maintain their Ren for half an hour. Fighters classified as skilled can maintain their Ren for three hours. And Fighters classified as experts can maintain Ren for a full day. I'm about halfway to being considered an expert."

Zushi collapsed, his eyes lifeless, as if he had his soul removed from his body.

Wing ignored the dramatic reaction and continued, "First we'll start with accumulation. Although you can try to fill your cells with normal aura, that is not the best way to do so. Shingen-ryu kung fu uses Nen of Flame as a basis for this. Instead of accumulating normal aura within your cells, you should focus on aura which matches yourself. When you focus on the concepts that you use for your Ten of Point, while using Ten of Shroud, the aura that matches or has close resonance with your core concepts will stay inside your body, while the aura that does not match or resonate with your core concepts will stay outside your body. In this way, you can accumulate only the aura that resonates with who you are at your core."

Wing continued, "This serves several purposes. Aura that resonates with the concepts that make up your core values is easier to absorb and force out, leading to a stronger Ren. But more importantly, if you always contain accumulated aura that matches the core concepts that make up your Ten of Point, your body will naturally shape that accumulated aura without your input and subconsciously create prototypes of what may become your aura abilities in the future."

"First, we will practice accumulating an aura that resonates with your values. Then we will practice forcing that aura out. And last, we will practice forming Ten around that aura to prevent it from leaking out. All three are done using highly focused visualization, so first, you need to create an image within your mind strong enough to direct your aura. The focus from Ten of Point is essential for this."

Everyone, minus Zushi, gave an affirmative grunt and their practice began.

Wing demonstrated everything once and gave examples of images and concepts they could use for visualizing the accumulation of aura, the expulsion of aura, and the trapping of the expelled, fast-moving aura. Zushi had woken up by then, and Wing had everyone practice until they could correctly perform accumulation and expulsion at least once. After making sure the trio understood the foundation, Wing let them go home. Rayleigh asked to borrow those Journals on Inscription before leaving, though.

Zushi returned with them because he usually spent more time in Heaven's Arena than not. He was already on the 90th floor, but had not broken through to the hundreds and didn't have his own room yet.

Killua looked over at Rayleigh and asked, "Do you think you can get anything out of those journals?"

Rayleigh glanced at Zushi, making Killua aware that Rayleigh didn't want to answer in front of him. Instead, Rayleigh answered, "I'd like to try."

Zushi said, "I had a look at those a few months ago. I couldn't understand a single page."

Killua invited Zushi to Gon's room on the 200th floor so they could keep practicing. Zushi's Ren was complete, and they only knew the steps, with none of them having succeeded in holding it yet.

Zushi agreed to help them, and they continued practicing. Rayleigh, Killua, and Gon all found a roadblock on the last step, forming the Ten.

Ten was essentially wrapping a wet blanket around a leaking pipe to prevent all of the water from leaking out, then wrapping that blanket in cellophane to keep it from dripping. When you opened your aura nodes to release your aura without Ten blocking it, the aura would escape the area around the body and not come back. The aura that Ten kept around your body would then prevent more aura from leaking through your aura nodes. But that was the thing, a fully formed Ten blocked aura from escaping the aura nodes due to the saturated presence of aura already outside those aura nodes. Ren required forcing the aura to escape the aura nodes really fast, but the presence of Ten drastically slowed down the aura the moment it was expelled from the aura timing was critical. If you initiate Ten to stop the aura from escaping too soon, the forced-out aura would slow down the moment it left the body and not amplify anything. If you initiate Ten to stop the aura from escaping too late, then the forced-out aura would escape the boundaries of your Ten and not come back.

After each failed attempt, they had to accumulate their aura again, but getting the timing right was just a matter of practice, of trial and error, so they eventually got the timing down a little before sundown. The trick was to start with Ten, allow it to break for a moment by slowing down the circulation of aura around the body to disperse the saturation of aura, then force out the accumulated aura and immediately speed up the Ten's cycle speed to build it back up and strengthen it. The unsaturated aura did not slow down the expelled aura, and as long as Ten was re-initiated before the shot-out aura escaped, it would bounce off the interior of the Ten and successfully form a sustained Ren.

After succeeding in the timing in three consecutive practices, Gon declared, "Yes! Finally." While Killua nodded and added, "It wasn't easy to slow down the Ten and find the perfect timing."

Gon nodded back but stated, "But concerning power, we haven't reached Zushi's level yet."

Rayleigh said, "We probably need to strengthen the visualization of the aura being forced out."

From the side, Zushi panicked and declared, "No! It's fine! Resting is also important, I suggest we stop here today."

Killua argued, "Oh, it's alright, I can go on."

Zushi firmly stated, "No, rest between practices is very important."

To the empathic Rayleigh, Zushi's actual reason for halting was crystal clear. His confidence would shatter if he witnessed their Ren surpass his in a single day, so he wanted them to stop while his own was still slightly better, or else he'd probably cry.

They would all be meeting back up at Wing's house the next day anyway, so it didn't really matter.

As they were using Gon's room, both Rayleigh and Killua left with Zushi when the practice ended and walked Zushi to the elevator.

Once the door closed and Zushi was on his way out, Rayleigh asked, "Do you want to take point, or should I?"

Killua looked surprised, but only for a moment. He sensed some bad intentions directed at Zushi, so he intended to follow him and make sure he got home safely.

Killua answered, "I'm trying to cut back on killing, so how about you take the lead, Mr. Pacifist."

Rayleigh nodded, and they both entered the adjacent elevator.

*Author's Rant on Ren*

I hate Ren. The author is inconsistent on how it works and how it is trained. In the beginning of the Greed Island Arc, neither Gon nor Killua can hold Ren for 2 consecutive minutes. Then they train for two months, and they can hold it for 30 mins. And after Kite gets Chimera Ant'd, Biscuit returns and trains them for a month and then they can perform Ren for 3 hours. The author does not know how Ren works. In the Anime and Manga they literally skip 80% of the explanation for how to use it just so people can't point out the inconsistencies. Every single other technique is explained in detail except for Ren! I had to make up the theory that matched the 20% the author gave, and I am happy with what I came up with because it matches just about everything.

What I hate more about Ren is how 100% of fanfics that use Nen have their MCs figure Ren out without a teacher. If you could just figure Ren out, why didn't Gon figure it out in his match against Guido? He figured out Zetsu without being taught, but he couldn't figure out Ren. Ten is considered an ability. The ability to open your Aura Nodes but keep your aura from dissipating. Ren is a complex Technique that requires more than one specific visualization to perform and an understanding of the theory. You might be able to figure out how to accumulate aura in your body after a while, and then figure out how to expel it, but not without days of trial and error!

Yes, I know I just said that the author never explained how Ren works and I am mad that fanfic authors also skip how it works. Ranting doesn't have to make sense.

*Rant over. For those who didn't stop reading at the rant, here's the rest of the Chapter.*

Killua's assassin training allowed him to move unnoticed by most, and Rayleigh could combine his normal Zetsu with Force Stealth to suppress his presence, making him as unnoticeable as Killua.

As the pair suspected, Zushi was being followed by those with less than good intentions.

The fighter from the 200th floor, the man with a single arm, approached Zushi from behind.

Those capable of seeing aura would witness a ghost-like arm of aura emerging from the man's side. The hand expanded until it was larger than Zushi, and in an instant, it stretched forward and grabbed him.

Rayleigh watched this from afar, not feeling any killing intent from the man.

Once the hand restrained him, Zushi was unable to move, talk, or even breathe. A few seconds later, he fell unconscious.

The peg-legged Guido then approached, along with the one in the wheelchair. Wheelchair boy took one of Zushi's shoes and passed it to Guido.

It wasn't difficult to figure out what was going on.

Before they could pick up Zushi, Rayleigh appeared and said, "Don't touch him."

Killua then approached from the opposite side.

Rayleigh got a read on their emotions and surface thoughts. He had a few options. He could shut them down, go along with them, or have some fun.

He couldn't shut them down, they had not hurt him or anyone else yet. And it certainly was not in his nature to just go along with bullies. That meant there was only one option remaining.

Rayleigh said, "You guys just want a win right? You're in luck. Neither Killua nor I have any interest in becoming a floor master. So let's make a deal."

The one missing an arm asked, "Oh? What kind of deal?"

Rayleigh answered, "Killua and I will sign up for a match with each of you and let you win. In exchange, you don't do this kind of thing again, and you leave Gon out of it."

The one in the wheelchair asked, "Why leave him out? What if we want more than two wins?"

Rayleigh answered, "Gon is already in big trouble with our Teacher for fighting Guido. There is also someone he has to fight on the 200th floor, so another loss to Guido and a loss to both of you would deny him that fight." You were kicked off the 200th floor once you lost four matches, after all.

Killua added, "Though if you just want a normal fight with Gon, that's fine too, but you need to wait until our Teacher gives the go-ahead, which is at the end of the month."

The guy with a single arm answered, "If you both are willing to be our opponents, we will agree to this deal."

The wheelchair guy added, "Wait. It's not that we don't trust you, but let's register right now."

Killua and Rayleigh exchanged glances and nodded. Killua replied, "That's fine, but in exchange, I don't want to do this kind of thing again."

Killua put Zushi on his back, and they returned to Heaven's Arena together to register for some matches.

Rayleigh signed up for a match with the one-armed guy to happen the following day. Apparently, his name was Sadoso. Rayleigh then signed up for a match with Guido a few weeks later and with the Wheelchair guy a few weeks after that. His name was Riehlvelt.

Killua's matches were about the same, but his match with Sadoso was after Rayleigh's. Killua's next match would then be with Riehlvelt second and Guido last.

Once everything was signed, Killua and Ray took the still-unconscious Zushi back down the elevator to return him to his house.

On the way back, Killua complained, "It's really annoying to not be able to kill people. Got any words of wisdom, Mr. Pacifist?"

Rayleigh nodded, "The paths we take in life are filled with trials. If we choose to overcome these trials rather than avoid them, we can become stronger. Of course, sometimes you don't get to avoid them and must choose between different trials. Killing them all is a trial, but not killing them is another trial. Which one will make you stronger by overcoming, only you can decide."

Killua frowned, "Okay, now you're just talking like an old geezer."

Rayleigh shrugged and replied back, "I have never watched a single cartoon, played with a normal toy, or had a birthday party lots of people were invited to. I'm not an old man, but I'm not a kid either. I suspect the same is true with you and Gon. It's why hanging out with you is so awesome."

Killua actually blushed a bit at that before turning away to hide his smile.

Trying to change the subject, Killua pointed out, "I'm surprised you offered to give each of those guys what they wanted."

Rayleigh smiled, "Is that what it looked like? I said we would both lose to them if they left Gon alone."

Killua frowned and asked, "You expect them to try this with Gon?"

Rayleigh nodded and replied, "Gon is probably signing papers for various matches right now. That's why they took Zushi's shoe."

Killua looked to the side and noticed for the first time that Zushi was, in fact, missing a shoe. He could guess that those jerks would use it as a message and a threat toward Gon. A shoe instead of a severed finger in a box.

Killua then guessed, "So you never had any intention of losing on purpose. You knew they would break their promise."

"That's right."

Killua asked, "But what if they try to take Zushi the next time and force you to give up?"

"Wing won't let there be a next time. If we didn't take this matter into our own hands, he would have. Remember how he felt when he showed us his, 'I am going to kill you,' impression? You think someone like that is really a pushover?"

Killua certainly remembered that and shook his head.

They knocked on Wing's door and Rayleigh explained what happened after he answered.

When Rayleigh explained how Sadoso squeezed Zushi unconscious, Wing let slip a moment of killing intent that made Killua understand that those idiots were really getting saved by Rayleigh.

Wing calmed down and took Zushi inside before returning to the door and thanking the pair for taking care of this matter.

Wing asked Rayleigh, "Are you confident in fighting Sadoso?"

Rayleigh nodded, "Yeah. Other than Telekinesis, I have a few other things I can do with my abilities that I've never had a chance to try out on someone. Now that I have a willing test subject, it would be incredibly rude to refuse his voluntary assistance."

Rayleigh was told in the Tavern to keep his Force abilities to a minimum until he got his Hunter's License. What he used when sparring with Netero was just the tip of the iceberg. After all, Rayleigh hadn't memorized the entire Temple of Force Skills for nothing.

Killua was surprised at this side of Rayleigh, but Wing just nodded with approval. Wing was actually quite vindictive when it came to others laying their hands on his students.

The pair returned to their rooms in Heaven's Arena and Rayleigh got out the Journals. There were two reasons Rayleigh had confidence in understanding them. First, he knew over forty different languages, taught to him through Impartation by Master Viz. No matter how Divine Script was formatted, it would probably have similarities with some of them. But more importantly, these journals were handwritten. Rayleigh didn't need to understand a single word. By using Psychometry on each page, he could directly read the memories and intentions of the one who wrote it.

Of course, he had a match tomorrow, which meant he needed to practice Ren. Thankfully, his split minds had developed to the point he could use one to practice Ren and the other to read the Journals using Psychometry. And that was how Rayleigh spent his night.

*Author's Note*

I know no one likes mid-story author notes, that was just a prank to keep you on your toes and probably won't happen again.