Chapter Six: The Fundamentals
Takeshi arrived at three in the afternoon, carrying nothing but a small duffel bag and an aura that made my skin crawl.
He was shorter than I expected, maybe five-foot-eight, with a wiry build that suggested speed over strength. Mid-forties, with gray streaking through his black hair and a scar running from his left temple down to his jaw. He wore simple clothes, dark pants and a gray shirt, nothing that stood out. But the way he moved was different. Economical. Precise. Every step deliberate, like a predator conserving energy.
His aura was the opposite of Father's heavy, oppressive presence. Takeshi's felt sharp, focused, like a blade held at your throat that you couldn't quite see.
"You're Regis," he said. Not a question. His voice was rough, like he hadn't used it much recently. "Show me what you can do."
No introduction. No pleasantries. Straight to business.
We were in the private training room, the same place I'd awakened my Nen and later sealed my restrictions. The reinforced walls still showed cracks from where the Enhancer had slammed into them during our fight.
I let my aura flow, wrapping Ten around my body like I'd practiced. The black-tinged energy felt more controlled than it had a few days ago, but still crude. Unstable.
Takeshi circled me slowly, studying my aura with an intensity that made me uncomfortable. "When did you awaken?"
"Five days ago."
He stopped circling. "Five days and you already have this much control over Ten? Either you're naturally talented or you awakened through extreme stress."
"Both, probably."
"Show me Ren."
I pushed my aura outward, amplifying it. The pressure in the room increased slightly. My reserves depleted faster, but the output was greater.
"Zetsu."
I cut off the flow completely. My aura vanished, leaving me feeling exposed and vulnerable.
"Again. Faster."
We cycled through the basic techniques for twenty minutes. Ten, Zetsu, Ren, over and over until sweat poured down my face and my control started slipping.
"Stop." Takeshi held up a hand. "You have the basics, barely. But your aura flow is chaotic. You're forcing it instead of guiding it. That's common for self-taught users or people who awakened through initiation without proper preparation."
He sat down cross-legged on the training room floor and gestured for me to do the same.
"Nen isn't just about power output," he said. "It's about control, precision, understanding your own energy. The four basic principles—Ten, Zetsu, Ren, Hatsu—are just the foundation. There are advanced techniques built on those foundations. Ken, Ko, Gyo, In, En, Shu, Ryu. Each one serves a purpose."
I knew some of these from the series, but hearing them explained by an actual teacher was different.
"Ken is maintaining Ren for extended periods, essentially turning your entire body into a weapon and shield simultaneously," Takeshi continued. "Ko is focusing all your aura into one point for maximum offense or defense, but it leaves the rest of you vulnerable. Gyo concentrates aura into a specific body part, usually the eyes to see hidden Nen. In conceals your aura, making you appear as a normal person to Nen users. En extends your aura outward to sense everything within a certain radius. Shu applies your aura to objects. Ryu is the flow and distribution of aura during combat."
He stood up fluidly and demonstrated. His aura shifted and changed with each technique, visible to my untrained eyes because he was making it obvious for teaching purposes.
"Your first three months will focus on mastering these advanced techniques," he said. "No shortcuts. No jumping ahead to fancy Hatsu abilities. You need a solid foundation or you'll hit a ceiling you can't break through."
"I already have a Hatsu," I said carefully. "It manifested during a fight."
Takeshi's eyes narrowed. "Show me."
I hesitated. Predator could only manifest against hostile targets. That was the restriction I'd imposed. Takeshi wasn't hostile—he was here to teach me.
"I can't. Not without a genuine threat."
"Explain it then. What type are you?"
"Specialist. My ability is called Predator. I can manifest Nen beasts designed to counter specific enemies, but only if they have hostile intent toward me and only if I've gathered sufficient information about them."
Takeshi was quiet for a long moment. When he spoke again, his voice was different. Colder.
"You imposed restrictions on a newly awakened ability."
"Yes."
"Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? How many users have crippled themselves trying to add restrictions without understanding the fundamentals?"
"I understand the danger. I accepted it."
"Tell me everything. Every restriction, every condition, every penalty. Word for word."
I recited the vow I'd made. Hostile intent only. Twenty-four hour time limit. Information dependency. Random ability inheritance from the beasts. And the penalty—permanent loss of Nen if I violated the restrictions.
The silence that followed was heavy.
"You're either incredibly intelligent or incredibly stupid," Takeshi finally said. "Possibly both. That's a well-structured contract with meaningful limitations and appropriate rewards. But the penalty..." He shook his head. "Complete loss of Nen. Most users choose death as their penalty because at least it's quick. You chose something worse. Living as a normal person in a world where you know power exists but can never touch it again."
"It proves I'm serious. That I won't abuse the ability."
"It proves you're committed, yes. But it also means one mistake, one moment of misjudging someone's intentions, and you lose everything. Forever." He studied me with those sharp eyes. "Why did you choose that penalty specifically?"
I thought about how to answer. About the Phantom Troupe coming in two years. About needing power to survive but also needing to prove I wouldn't become a monster in the process.
"Because I need to be strong," I said finally. "But I also need to remember that strength without restraint just makes you a different kind of threat. The penalty keeps me honest."
Takeshi nodded slowly. "At least you understand the responsibility. Most young Nen users with Specialist abilities think they're invincible. They get careless, arrogant. You've built in consequences that will force you to think before acting." He sat back down. "Now explain the information dependency restriction. How much do you need to know?"
"I'm not sure exactly. During the fight where I first used it, I knew the enemy was an Enhancer, used Ko, preferred close combat, had underground fighting experience. The beast manifested strong enough to defeat him. But I don't know what the minimum threshold is."
"That's actually brilliant," Takeshi said, surprising me. "Information as currency for power. It encourages patience, intelligence gathering, strategic thinking. The exact opposite of most combat abilities that reward aggression and impulsiveness." He stroked his scarred chin thoughtfully. "And the random inheritance from the beasts. That's your reward for victory?"
"Yes. When the beast dissolves after defeating its target, I permanently gain one random ability it possessed. From the first one, I gained enhanced flexibility."
"Show me."
I stood and demonstrated, bending and twisting in ways that should have been uncomfortable but felt natural now. My spine curved more than it used to, my joints looser.
"Not a combat ability per se, but useful for evasion and mobility," Takeshi observed. "And you can't control what you inherit?"
"No. It's random. Could be something powerful or something subtle. I won't know until the beast dissolves."
"Another good restriction. Removes the temptation to game the system by trying to create beasts with specific abilities you want to steal. Forces you to work with whatever you receive." He stood again. "Your ability is well-designed. Dangerous, but well-designed. Now we need to make sure you survive long enough to use it properly."
***
The next three months blurred together in a routine of brutal training and careful study.
Every morning started at five. Physical conditioning first. Running, weights, combat drills. Takeshi didn't care that I was the heir to a crime family. In the training room, I was just another student who needed to be beaten into shape.
"Nen amplifies physical capabilities," he explained while making me do my hundredth pushup. "But if your base body is weak, amplification doesn't matter. A weak fighter with Nen is still just a weak fighter with extra steps."
After physical training came Nen practice. Hours and hours of cycling through the basic techniques until they became second nature. Ten for defense. Zetsu to hide presence. Ren for offense. Over and over until I could switch between them without thinking.
"Combat happens in seconds," Takeshi would say. "You won't have time to think about which technique to use. It needs to be instinct."
The advanced techniques came next. Ken was exhausting, maintaining Ren constantly for minutes at a time, then hours. My aura reserves grew deeper from the constant depletion and recovery. Ko was dangerous—focusing everything into a single point left me completely vulnerable everywhere else. I learned that lesson painfully when Takeshi would strike my undefended areas during practice.
Gyo was perhaps the most useful. Concentrating aura in my eyes let me see hidden Nen, the invisible threats that could kill without warning. Takeshi would hide his aura using In and make me find him using Gyo. The first week I failed constantly. By the second month, I could spot him nine times out of ten.
"En is too advanced for you right now," he said when I asked about it. "Expanding your aura to sense everything within a radius requires tremendous control and reserves you don't have yet. Maybe in a year or two."
Shu was practical. Applying aura to objects let me strengthen weapons or shield my clothing. Takeshi made me practice on various objects until I could coat anything I touched with a stable layer of aura.
"If you ever need to use an ordinary weapon against a Nen user, Shu makes it possible. Otherwise, you're swinging paper at a tank."
Ryu was the most complex. The flow of aura during actual combat, shifting between Ken, Ko, Gyo as needed. Adjusting defense and offense in real-time. Takeshi would spar with me, his movements barely visible, forcing me to react and adapt.
I lost every single sparring match for two months straight.
In the afternoons, while my body recovered, came the theoretical training. I read everything Takeshi provided about Nen types, famous users, historical battles. I studied the Ten Dons and their organizations, memorizing the political landscape of the criminal underworld. And I began compiling information on potential future threats.
The Phantom Troupe was hardest to research. They operated in shadows, stealing priceless items and leaving no survivors. But there were rumors, sightings, patterns. I filled notebook after notebook with everything I could find. Thirteen members. All skilled Nen users. Led by someone named Chrollo Lucilfer. They'd attacked the Kurta Clan years ago, stealing their scarlet eyes.
That last detail made my stomach turn. In the series, Kurapika's entire clan had been massacred for their eyes. Men, women, children. All killed so the Troupe could sell their body parts as collectibles.
These were the people I'd need to face eventually. Monsters wearing human faces.
In the evenings, Father would summon me to meetings. I sat in on negotiations, territorial disputes, business deals. Learned how the organization actually functioned, where the money came from, where the bodies were buried. Literally, in some cases.
The family council meetings were particularly educational. Once a month, representatives from the families under our protection would gather. They'd present their operations, their problems, their requests. Father would listen, make decisions, resolve conflicts. I watched and learned.
Viktor taught me the financial side. Money laundering, shell companies, legitimate business fronts. How to move millions without attracting attention from law enforcement or rival families.
"The violence is just the visible part," Viktor explained. "The real power is in the money flows. Control the money, control everything."
***
Three months after Takeshi arrived, he called me to the training room for an evaluation.
"Show me everything you've learned. No breaks, no holding back. Treat this like a real fight."
For the next hour, I demonstrated every technique, every skill, every scrap of knowledge I'd absorbed. My Ten was stable now, no longer flickering or breaking under pressure. Zetsu came instantly, cutting off my presence completely. Ren could be maintained for over an hour without exhausting me.
Ken turned my entire body into a weapon. Ko let me focus devastating force into a single point. Gyo revealed hidden aura. In concealed my presence from other Nen users. Shu coated objects with protective energy. Ryu let me shift between techniques fluidly during combat.
I sparred with Takeshi, lasting three full minutes before he finally pinned me. Three months ago, I'd lasted less than ten seconds.
When it was over, I collapsed on the training room floor, completely spent. Takeshi stood over me, barely winded.
"Final assessment," he said. "Your fundamentals are solid. Not perfect, but solid. You could hold your own against most amateur Nen users now. Professional fighters would still destroy you, but you'd survive long enough to escape or call for help."
He offered a hand and pulled me to my feet.
"Your aura capacity has roughly tripled since we started. Your control is a hundred times better. You understand the theory behind Nen combat. But you still lack real experience. Training room fights aren't the same as life-or-death situations."
"What do you recommend?"
"Controlled exposure. Not street fights or random violence. But situations where you'll face other Nen users under somewhat controlled conditions. Your father mentioned the Underground Auction is coming up in six months. That would be ideal. Hundreds of criminals, many with Nen abilities, all in one place. Observe them. Study them. Gather the information your ability needs."
The Underground Auction. Where the Phantom Troupe would attack in about eighteen months.
"And my Hatsu?" I asked. "Predator?"
"Without being able to test it in controlled conditions, I can't help you refine it directly. But I can help you prepare for using it. Information gathering techniques. How to read an opponent's fighting style quickly. How to spot weaknesses during combat. How to survive long enough for your beast to manifest and turn the fight."
He pulled out a folder filled with papers. "These are profiles of known Nen users in the criminal underworld. Study them. Learn their types, their abilities, their patterns. Practice creating mental models of what kind of Predator would counter each one. When you finally do face them, you'll have a foundation to build on."
I took the folder. It was thick, easily a hundred profiles.
"Three months of basics is just the beginning," Takeshi said. "You'll keep training daily. Keep improving. But you're ready for the next phase now. Actual intelligence gathering. Preparing for future threats. Building the knowledge base your ability needs to be truly dangerous."
He walked toward the door, then paused.
"You have talent, Regis. Real talent. But talent alone won't keep you alive in this world. Stay smart. Stay cautious. And never forget that your greatest weapon isn't the monsters you summon. It's the information you gather before you need to summon them."
He left me alone in the training room.
I looked down at the folder in my hands. A hundred profiles. A hundred potential enemies. A hundred opportunities to learn.
Three months of brutal training had transformed me from a complete amateur into someone with actual skills. My body was stronger, faster, more durable. My Nen control was solid. I could fight, could defend myself, could survive situations that would have killed me before.