"This smell… don't tell me… you two actually took a dump together?!"
Uvogin stared at Kai, then at Machi, as if he'd just seen a ghost.
Kai's expression darkened instantly.
Goddammit—shit?!
If anything, the smell they carried came from what they had just eaten…
This bastard's mouth is ruthless!
"Shut the hell up!"
Before Kai could fire back, Machi had already lost her temper.
The always-calm expression she wore had now cracked, revealing clear panic.
Nobunaga raised an eyebrow. Machi's rare emotional flare surprised him.
"Wait… don't tell me Uvogin actually got it right…?" he thought, glancing between the two.
Kai rolled his eyes, then lightly smacked Uvogin on the shoulder with a grin.
"Quit guessing. Keep it up and Machi's gonna sew your mouth shut."
He added playfully, "Don't let the smell fool you—after one taste, you'll love it."
"Like it?"
Uvogin blinked, stunned, then shook his head wildly.
"Like the smell of shit?! No chance!"
...
Two minutes later—
"Sluuurp~~"
Uvogin and Nobunaga hunched over their bowls, furiously slurping up snail noodles.
"One more bowl!"
"No, TEN more!!"
Drooling like a wild beast, Uvogin shouted mid-bite.
"You pig! Stop spitting into my bowl!" Nobunaga snapped, trying to dodge flying flecks of soup.
"If you don't want it, I'll take it—gimme your bowl!" Uvogin grinned, already reaching across the table.
"In your dreams."
Watching the two fight like kids, Kai and Machi exchanged glances, both unable to suppress their laughter.
Some things never change.
Kai's gaze turned inward, focusing on his own energy flow.
He could feel it—this time, the number of snail noodle bowls he'd conjured was far more than before. Yet his Nen, his Qi, had barely been consumed.
The efficiency was off the charts.
At this rate, he could cast several tens of thousands more before feeling strain.
"If this energy ratio holds... then it's time."
"The plan can finally begin."
...
Forty bowls in total.
Uvogin alone devoured thirty.
Even Machi and Nobunaga stared in disbelief.
"Buurp—"
Uvogin leaned back and rubbed his stomach, clearly satisfied.
"Damn, that was good!"
Weirdest food he'd ever had.
Smelled like garbage.
Tasted like heaven.
While Uvogin was basking in his food coma, Machi turned toward Kai, eyes sharp.
"That ability of yours—what is it exactly?"
Nobunaga and Uvogin snapped to attention.
They'd seen Kai pull endless bowls of food from thin air like magic. Now curiosity burned in their eyes.
Kai knew he couldn't hide it anymore.
Though this wasn't exactly how he'd planned it, explaining to all three was close enough.
After all, Uvogin and Nobunaga had also saved his life.
He cleared his throat.
"What you saw just now... I call that power 'Nen.'"
"Every living being slowly loses a kind of invisible life essence. I call it Qi. Nen is the art of controlling that Qi."
"Some call people with these powers superhumans, mutants, or even immortals. But I prefer a more grounded term..."
"Hunters."
Uvogin squinted. "Kai… are you saying there are others with this kind of power out there?"
To them, Kai's ability was already otherworldly.
Even just conjuring food like this would make him a god on Meteor Street.
Kai nodded slowly.
"Yes. In fact, a lot more than you'd think."
"And not just in the outside world. There are people with Nen right here on Meteor Street too."
"What?!"
Machi and the others frowned.
Born and raised on Meteor Street, they'd never heard of such powers before.
Kai continued calmly, "The ones who oversee Meteor Street... the Elders. I'm pretty sure they're Nen users."
After all, Chrollo could steal powers—and he came from Meteor Street. It only made sense.
Ignoring their shocked silence, Kai pressed on.
"Nen is hard to define. Some users can blow up buildings. Others can barely threaten a regular person."
"My ability—it's a rare one, even among Nen users. I'll explain more later."
He paused, then added:
"All Nen abilities fall under six categories: Enhancement, Transmutation, Conjuration, Emission, Manipulation, and the most mysterious... Specialization."
"Specialists are different from all the others. So different, in fact, many believe it should be its own category."
Machi leaned forward.
"So, can Nen be used for fighting?"
Kai smirked.
"Definitely. A trained Nen user could let a child defeat a full-grown warrior."
"Unless you use heavy weapons, normal people don't stand a chance."
Nen could stop someone cold with just killing intent.
That kind of pressure?
It was like Conqueror's Haki.
Overwhelming.
The trio fell silent, thinking.
"...I don't buy it." Uvogin crossed his arms. "A kid beating me? That's bullshit."
Kai chuckled.
"Then watch."
He stepped forward, barefoot, and crouched.
Without warning, he unleashed a surge of Ren.
Boom!
A shockwave burst outward. The ground within a meter radius cracked open around him.
Dust rose. The air shimmered.
No muscle strain. No fighting stance. Just raw power.
Uvogin stepped forward, touched the fractured floor, and drew a sharp breath.
"He didn't even move..."
"...If that hit someone directly..."
There was a beat of stunned silence.
Then three pairs of burning eyes locked onto Kai.
"Teach us."