Chapter 61: Rubber Man Morris x The Legendary Zoldyck Swordmaster
It is known to the world that the strongest human is Isaac Netero.
He took over as the Chairman of the Hunter Association, single-handedly founded the Shingen-Ryu school, and formed the Zodiacs to serve as his sparring partners. With his hair tied in a topknot, he was a force to be reckoned with.
But few people know that in his youth, Netero was a man of pure conviction, dedicating his entire life to the pursuit of the pinnacle of martial arts.
At the age of 46, when he felt his body and mind had reached the absolute limit of human potential, he began to express his boundless gratitude for the martial arts that had nurtured him. He went to the high mountains and began a training regimen of ten thousand punches of gratitude a day.
From a prayer with hands clasped, to opening his stance, to the final punch...
The first ten thousand punches took him eighteen hours. Later, it became sixteen, then fourteen, ten, nine... until, at the age of fifty, he could complete ten thousand punches in under an hour.
Netero chose to descend from the mountain. With a punching speed that surpassed the sound barrier, he demonstrated a monstrous level of power that left the master of a dojo so thoroughly impressed and moved that he knelt on the ground and offered Netero the dojo's nameplate with both hands.
And the phrase, "to be filled with boundless gratitude for the martial art that nurtured you, and to repay that grace with your own humble efforts," became the core philosophy guiding generations of Shingen-Ryu disciples. It held an unparalleled significance, the very heart of their school.
Biscuit remembered it clearly. When she was a child, Netero would often pat her little head and teach her... when you encounter unpleasant things, don't always think of solving them with violence. Use your heart to feel, to understand. Look at the problem from a different angle, and you might just discover that the "unpleasantness" was merely a reflection of your own immaturity at the time.
BANG! BANG! BANG! The clash on the stage grew more ferocious. Flurries of Aura whipped the "maiden's" bangs into the air. Biscuit stared blankly at Roy, seeming to have forgotten that her disciple was still in the middle of a fight. Her beautiful eyes reflected only the image of the boy's smiling face.
"Who told you that?"
"Is that important?"
"Extremely important!" Biscuit leaned forward, her expression more serious than ever before.
Roy leaned closer, close enough to smell the fragrance of her body wash. "No one," he said truthfully.
"Hah—" Biscuit leaned back slightly. Roy gently stroked his cane. "I've also been training with a sword recently," he said in a low voice. "Thirty thousand swings a day. I just had a small epiphany..."
Small? Biscuit's pigtails shot straight up with a zing. She grabbed Roy by the collar, pressing her forehead against his. "What do you take the Shingen-Ryu school for, you little brat?!" she roared. "Say one more word and I'll beat you to a pulp!"
Weren't you the one who asked? Roy shot a look at Gotoh, holding a hand up to stop the butler from moving. He leaned back nonchalantly and gestured toward the ring with his chin. "You should be more worried about your precious student right now."
The clash of Aura had reached its peak. Wing, who had been dominating the fight, was distracted by the commotion below and took a kick from Morris. Fortunately, he managed to block it with his arms, avoiding a critical hit.
"Losing focus at a time like this, kid? Who are you looking down on?" Morris retracted his whip kick, but his assault didn't stop. He closed the distance again, intent on finishing Wing while he was vulnerable.
The kid had used some kind of trick. His power didn't seem great, but his hits hurt like hell. Morris wasn't going to give him another chance. He lunged for Wing's waist, his arms suddenly stretching like two soft whips and wrapping around him!
"Here it comes! Rubber Man Morris's special technique, the Rubber Pile Driver!" the announcer roared excitedly into the microphone. The crowd erupted into a wave of thunderous cheers. Hearing this, Biscuit let go of Roy, and they both turned their attention to the ring, their eyes quietly coated with a thin layer of Aura as they activated Gyo.
The Transmuter class is known for changing the "properties" and "shape" of their Aura, often manifesting as "soft" and "malleable." For example, Hisoka's "Bungee Gum" could stretch his Aura to great lengths. This Morris was using the same principle, shaping the softness of his Aura to imitate "rubber," transforming himself into a "Rubber Man"!
Whoosh~ The slippery arms of Nen coiled around him. Wing wanted to slap himself for getting distracted. He quickly protected his waist with Ten to keep his ribs from being crushed, then shot his hands out, grabbing the "arms" and beginning a contest of strength with Morris.
Unlike Transmuters, who specialize in the properties and shape of Nen, Enhancers focus on using Nen to strengthen themselves, pursuing physical power and maximizing their strength. Uvogin was a prime example: ignoring hails of bullets, charging through RPG fire, and shattering the earth with a single Big Bang Impact. He was the embodiment of "channeling all great power into oneself."
"And now we've reached the part where they measure each other's Ren. Whoever's Ren is stronger, wins."
A veteran Nen user was sitting in the row behind Roy and Biscuit. His eyes were also coated in Nen as he offered his commentary. Gotoh glanced back at him, his gaze sharpening. He leaned in and whispered to Roy, "It's that 'Divine Shot' Guy."
No one who made it to the 200th floor was a fool. Gathering intelligence on your opponents beforehand was a mandatory lesson for any veteran Nen user who wanted to survive in the Heavens Arena.
Roy nodded to show he understood, then glanced sideways at Biscuit. The old woman was back to swinging her short legs, seemingly unconcerned about Wing. She even had the mind to mock Roy. "So young and already learning to lie. Be careful, or I'll tell your parents."
Training with a sword, my ass!
That little brat almost had me fooled!
No one in the Zoldyck family was a swordsman. Thinking back on the... relationship between Master Netero and the Zoldycks, it wasn't hard for Biscuit to guess that Zeno, or one of the other Zoldycks, must have told Roy the secret of Shingen-Ryu.
Besides, what kind of swordsman uses a walking stick as a blade?
Only this little punk would try to pull a fast one like that.
Biscuit glanced at the cane in Roy's hand. It was just an ordinary hiking pole, nothing special about it at all. In fact, in Roy's hand, it looked a bit old-fashioned, bringing to mind the image of a frail old man on the verge of death, needing a cane just to stand steady.
"HRAAAGH—!"
The contest of strength reached its climax. Having failed in his sneak attack, Morris couldn't take down Wing in one move. Now, facing an Enhancer who specialized in strength, his defeat was sealed. As expected, Wing let out a powerful kiai, and with a deep shout, he flung Morris, Nen-arms and all, through the air!
BOOM—!
Morris crashed into the restricted area outside the ring, leaving a small crater. His tongue lolled out, and he passed out instantly.
The fight was over. The arena erupted in thunderous applause, tens of thousands of people chanting "Wing's" name.
As his master, Biscuit looked over smugly.
The boy, unhurried, drew his cane sword. The blade, etched with a black flame pattern, reflected the light from the dome above, so bright it was hard to look at.
"It's my turn."
Biscuit: "?"