"Does what my father said about everything changing above the 200th floor refer to Nen?" Killua wondered. "Is everyone up there a Nen user?"
He frowned slightly, recalling how that woman on the airship had suddenly grown far stronger.
"If that's the case, then I was definitely out of my depth back then. But why didn't Father just tell me about Nen? And why didn't he teach me himself? Cousin Ron is a Nen user, so Father surely is too. Same with Big Brother Illumi...and even Milluki."
Killua thought back to how he'd threatened Milluki during his last visit to the Zoldyck Estate. The memory made him feel a little awkward now.
"If my second brother was already a Nen user, then I would've stood no chance against him. Yet I dared to threaten him…"
"He's probably been laughing at me on the inside."
That realization shifted Killua's impression of Milluki a bit. At least, back then, Milluki hadn't openly mocked him for his ignorance.
"Cousin Ron also said we have to wait for the teacher arranged by the Hunter Association. Is there some hidden meaning behind that?"
Killua furrowed his brow more deeply.
Meanwhile, Gon's attention was on the big screen. "Ron's teammate? She looks pretty strong."
On the display, Nina dodged another attack from her opponent, slipped to the woman's side in a sudden burst of speed, and fired a punch straight into her waist.
The referee raised a hand.
"Clean hit! Ten points—match over! Winner: Nina!"
The woman opened her fist in frustration.
"I lost."
"Thank you for the match," Nina replied politely.
As soon as the referee announced the result, Nina hurried off the stage and headed out of the arena corridor.
"Let's head out too," Ron said, standing up.
Miste and Ponzu followed him.
"Big Brother!"
At the corridor's end, Nina jogged over.
"Nina."
She looked at Ponzu. "So you're Big Sis Ponzu, right?"
Since Ponzu was older, calling her "Big Sister" made sense. Ranking them by strength or how long they'd been in Ron's team felt more complicated, so going by age was simplest.
"Nice to meet you, Nina," Ponzu said.
Ron interrupted them. "Let's go back first."
They returned to Ron's floor. The previously empty training area now felt livelier. White Bear, seeing Nina return, padded close to her side.
"Big Brother, how long are you staying this time?" Nina asked, looking hopeful. She wanted Ron to stick around as long as possible.
"About ten days or so," Ron answered. "During that time, I plan to put everyone through a special training session. We've had this team for a while, but we've never engaged in a real group mission. Until now, it's mostly been individuals fighting alone, which doesn't build enough teamwork."
"Now, though, we finally have almost the entire lineup," he continued.
Ponzu was in charge of gathering intelligence.
Nina specialized in infiltration.
Miste handled direct combat.
Sally and Ruco provided long-range sniping.
Although Ruco's progress might not shoot up overnight, she could still contribute, particularly as Sally's partner. Against most enemies, that group alone was enough to finish the job. And if they faced even tougher opponents, Ron would remain hidden as the trump card.
When Ron first formed the team, he simply wanted people who could coordinate with him. But now, his strength had grown so rapidly compared to everyone else that the team served more like advance scouts—collecting information, drawing out enemies, acting as both "lookouts" and "bait."
For a Nen user, intel was everything. With a team to gather it in advance, Ron could plan his moves far more effectively. This was especially crucial if the enemy also had numbers on their side. Even if Ron was personally very strong, he couldn't ignore the advantage of multiple opponents.
Hearing that, Miste's eyes lit up.
"When Shizuku and the others return, we'll each introduce our abilities," Ron said. "In a team, every member must fully trust the others."
"After that, we'll figure out everyone's role in the group based on our various Hatsu, and assign tasks accordingly…"
He turned to Nina.
"By the way, Nina, how's Kastro doing these days?"
"He's already mastered the basic Four Major Principles plus Gyo. He's even developed his own ability," Nina replied. She glanced at Miste. "He modeled it a bit after Miste's transformation."
"Modeled it after Miste?" Ron raised an eyebrow.
It meant Kastro's path now differed completely from the original trajectory, where he used a technique that disappointed Hisoka. Ron wasn't surprised, though. That was exactly why he'd taken an interest in Kastro—he had no desire to see that talent go to waste. Kastro might even make a good backup member of Ron's team.
"What does he turn into?"
"A tiger," Nina explained. "Not an actual tiger, though—it's more like a hybrid form with human traits. He stands upright but has a tiger's claws and fangs, and his body grows bigger. It gives him strong defense."
She pulled out her phone.
"I took a photo before."
Nina showed Ron the image. He felt a sudden wave of familiarity. It reminded him of a class called 'Yaoshou' in a certain online game from his previous life. The resemblance was striking—practically identical.
This "White Tiger Transformation" Kastro had developed clearly suited him better than that original disappointing doubleganger Hastu. It would also make him stronger than in the original storyline.
"He calls his ability 'White Tiger Shift/Transfromastion,'" Nina went on. "Right now, he's at about D-rank as a Nen user—but he's improving fast."
Ron nodded. With his natural talent, Kastro was easily above someone like Sally or Ruco. Anyone good enough to catch Hisoka's eye, especially before reaching full potential, had to have real promise. Hearing Nina's explanation, Ron felt even more intrigued.